Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought an OtterBox case for my previous Galaxy device and loved it, so when I upgraded to the S4, buying a case was an easy choice. The Defender Series provides very, very solid protection for your phone with as little added bulk as possible. PROS: --Case fits with the S4 as tight and seamlessly as possible. --Two piece hard case plus rubberized exterior pull-over provide protection that is the best I've found available. --Easy to assemble and take apart when you do need to get the phone out. --Proper openings for camera, flash and speaker on the back, for sensors and speaker in front. --Pull out tabs for headphone and mini-USB jacks. Keeps dust out. These tabs are now reinforced with plastic, an upgrade from my last Defender case for the Galaxy which had standard rubber tabs. --Sleek, black design goes very well with the black S4. --Bottom of case does not interfere with home key or softtouch keys at the bottom of the phone (this was a problem w/ my old one). --Raised lip on the case surrounds the screen, providing perfect protection from scratcing. --Comes with a built in screen protector (some will like this, I did not, see below). CONS (Not much here really): --Raised rubber areas where you press down the power button and volume rocker require a heavy press for the buttons to function. This was not the case on my old Otterbox, which only required a natural press of the botton/rocker. This may be a problem that goes away with more use, but this was the first problem I noticed, having to really mash the button down to get it to work. --Was not a fan of the built in screen protector, I didn't figure I would be when I made the purchase though. In fact I removed it after only a few hours of use. It didn't noticeably affect the touch screen, visual impact was minimal. The screen had a couple minor flaws (couldn't tell if it was scratched or what). I'm OCD about things like that so it wasn't going to work for me. If you want a case without a built in cover, you should probably know that the protector is glued into the plastic casing. It isn't something you can slide right out. This isn't to say it is difficult to get out. It is glued down, but you can easily lift up a corner and remove the screen. The glue will pull off easily in one piece as well. It really isn't a big deal, but it might be a good idea for OtterBox to consider a slide-out screen protector or something like that for those who either don't like the one that comes with it or don't want to use them at all (I am the latter, the raised lip on the OtterBox keeps the screen protected very well for me, I had my last Galaxy in one of these for 2 years and traded it in without a single scratch, no screen protector, the screens on this series of phones has been very durable in my experience). BOTTOM LINE: If you have an S4 and want maximum protection for your device, this is the way to go in my opinion. It protects the phone with less added bulk than one would guess or surmise from the photos. The case fits snugly and blends well with the phone. Minor drawbacks with the power and rocker buttons, and the screen protector wasn't personally for me, but overall these are negligible issues, it's a great case!