Review of the Case-Mate Torque silicon smartphone case

In April 2010, I bought the HTC Desire – one of the most powerful Android devices at the time. Despite the fact that I had set my mind not to upgrade so soon after I got the HTC Hero back in September the previous year. I even wrote a post for Android Guys called “Saving the Gadget” about not yearning for the “greener Google on the other side of the digital river”. But I ended up caving in anyway.

Before Christmas, with all the dual-core Tegra 2 phones around the corner, I got the urge to get myself a more powerful Android again. This time, however, I decided to resist that itch. The HTC Desire is still a great device – I love it, and I don’t really need to be able to play all the latest 3D games. During the 18 months that followed October 2008, I rocked five new phones. That’s mildly mental, it left pretty big holes in my wallet and I can’t really justify another frequent upgrade. So I made the decision to keep my HTC Desire for at least two years. There’s still not a single scratch on my Desire’s screen, and I wanted to make sure the device would last as long as possible. So I started Googling in order to find a great case for it. I ended up buying the Case-Mate TORQUE silicon smartphone case, and luckily, I was not disappointed.

Review of the Case-Mate Torque case for HTC Desire

First of all, the Case-Mate Torque has a great look in my opinion: it’s black, with a somewhat macho and futuristic sci-fi vibe. I had gotten pretty tired of how my phone looked, so the Torque case provided a nice change and I actually think it enhances the appearance of my HTC Desire.

However, the Torque silicon case is of course designed to make your handset more durable and sturdy, and Case-Mate has succeeded here as well. When I have the case on, it almost feels like I can throw my phone against a brick wall and it would just bounce right back, undamaged. Whenever I’ve taken the case off, the HTC Desire feels really fragile in comparison.

The Torque case, apparently created from a “double injection molded silicone”, naturally makes your phone bigger and heavier, but I don’t mind the extra weight. On the contrary, the additional grams just make your device feel solid and robust.

In fact, what I like most about the Case-Mate Torque is how it makes my phone feel really good in the hand, and it enables a great grip: there’s no chance you’ll accidentally drop your handset with this bad boy on. I might be imagining things, but a nice side-effect of the Torque is that I think the case actually boosts the sound from the phone’s speaker a little bit. The case creates a tiny sound hole around the speaker, and there’s a minor acoustic effect. There are holes for all of the phone’s sensors, ports, and indicators, so you never have to take the case off if you don’t want to.

Even though there’s a margin between the Case-Mate Torque silicon case and the touchscreen, it’s slightly harder to hit the edges of the screen with the case on, and it interferes a little bit with the optical trackpad. Not to such a degree that it bothers me, though. All in all, Case-Mate’s Torque silicon case exceeded my expectations, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a great protective case for the HTC Desire. The Torque is available for the iPhone 4 as well. While the Torque is the only Case-Mate product I’ve tried, it seems like the company’s silicone cases for other Android smartphone models have received favorable reviews as well.

Case-Mate Torque silicon case for the HTC Desire

Price: $24.99

Official product page: case-mate.com

Order @ Amazon

Pros: The silicon case is sturdy, easy to wash, and comparatively stylish. No problems putting it on or taking it off. It feels good to hold and enables a great grip. Provides excellent protection for the phone. A screen protector is included.

Drawbacks: Most people probably don’t like the extra weight. The case makes it a bit harder to access the optical trackpad and the edges of the screen on the HTC Desire.