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Seidio kickstand cases for the Galaxy S III and HTC One X (review)

One thing I enjoyed about my HTC EVO 4G was the integrated kickstand. With high end media devices like the Galaxy S III and HTC One X I wanted to find a way to prop them up and enjoy movies and these Seidio cases provide this capability.
Written by Matthew Miller, Contributing Writer

I generally slide my phones into my pocket without a case, unless it is a simple shell protecting the back and sides. However, with excellent media phones like the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III I wanted something that I could use to prop them up and watch movies during my daily train commute and while on the plane. I've been using a couple of kickstand cases from Seidio and wanted to share a few of my thoughts on them with you and show them to you in my image gallery.

Seidio Active Combo with Metal Kickstand - Galaxy S III

The Active Combo with Metal Kickstandarrived in red for my blue T-Mobile Galaxy S III. The Active case comes in two parts; an inner soft polymer shell and an outer frame that fully covers the back and corners. It is simple to place your phone in the inner shell and then snap on the outside frame. The inner shell is black while you can choose from five colors of outer frame; black, white, red, purple, and blue. The red skeleton has a soft touch back so this case goes a long way to making my GSIII easier to hold and keep secure.

One of the main reasons I wanted to test this case is the kickstand. It is positioned about one-third of the way up from the bottom so when in landscape viewing mode it is off center a bit. It still props up your phone quite well though and the viewing angle, not adjustable, is just about perfect for media. I was hoping the kickstand would be a bit more substantial and well built though, something like the nicely designed on on the HTC EVO 4G LTE. It takes a bit of a fingernail to pull out the kickstand and from what I can see the simple spring mechanism is a bit weak and moves from side-to-side. I think it will be fine for regular use as long as you take some care with the kickstand. The volume button is not accessible with the GSIII propped up. You cannot prop up your phone in portrait orientation with this kickstand case.

The Active holster has a felt-lined face that you place your device against to keep it protected while the outside of your Active case faces out from your body. There is a clip that holds your phone in the holster and then another clip to hold the holster to your belt. There are seven angles you can rotate through on the swivel belt clip too and it seems to be a great holder for field work.

The retail price of this combo is $54.95. You can purchase it without holster for $34.95 and I honestly never use a holster anymore with my phones so that is my personal preference.

Seidio Active case with Metal Kickstand - HTC One X

I purchased the Seidio Active case with kickstandin white to match my white One X and it looks great. I did not purchase the holster combo so this one is priced at $34.95. It is available in the same colors as well.

There are openings for the camera and flashlight on the upper back. The speaker is down below the kickstand on the One X with an ample opening so that sound is not diminished. A difference between this case and the Galaxy S III one is that this one has a glossy finish while the GSIII has a soft touch finish.

The kickstand is held secure in the closed position by a magnet that does a good job of keeping the kickstand retracted. I am not sure why these cases don't have the kickstand positioned more towards the center, but Seidio must have tried to optimize the location. Unfortunately, the microUSB port on the HTC One X is on the bottom in landscape while the volume buttons are on the opposite side so Seidio placed the kickstand in the manner where you cannot charge up your One X while using the kickstand. If they would have rotated it then you couldn't control volume, which may just have been the better option here. They have the kickstand on the GSIII so that the volume button is inaccessible so why not here?

If you decide to try the HTC One X case, make sure you order the right one for your particular model (AT&T or international).

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