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So you have got yourself a brand new BlackBerry Bold and you are the envy of all your friends in the office. Most of them are still walking around with their Curve or 8830 and you know that deep down inside, they hope that you somehow manage to drop/smash/scratch/drown/brick your Bold — thus forcing you back into the realm of mere mortal BlackBerry owner.

You are on to their dastardly plans, so you are ultra careful when you drink or eat around your BlackBerry. You have altered your routine so that you always keep one pocket free of keys and coins, avoiding the ever present danger of the Berry Scratch. You even make sure that whenever placing your Bold onto a table or desk that you leave a 4″ – 6″ buffer between your device and the surface edge. No one is going to bump your baby by accident and there is NO WAY it is going to vibrate itself off that ledge!

Then one day the inevitable happens. Your guard is down, that cute girl in accounting or the hottie from IT passes by your desk and notices the bright ray of sunshine beaming from a slight crack in your drawer. What is that? they ask. You are ultra cool so casually you say: “That’s the Bold Baby”

They are intrigued, they want to see it and touch it. They are hot, you want to touch them – quid pr quo right?. You say yes, you can play with it a bit but be CAREFUL!

What you didn’t know is that the accounting goddess just got back from the tanning salon and the IT angel had just scarfed down a bag of greasy Cheetos.

All of a sudden time slows down, everything becomes clear. You see the oil glistening on their fingers as they mash the keys on your full QWERTY keypad. They touch the screen (who does that?), the number cruncher somehow drops the Bold onto a tile floor, the IT hardbody manages to leave a disgusting film all over your device.

They are not hot any more. They are f-ing up your prized possession and there is nothing you can do about it!

Right there on the spot you vow never to let another mortal touch your BlackBerry ever again no matter their level of hotness. You need protection from these evil doers and decide it will come in the form of a case for your baby. Not just any case will do though. You need something special (just like you).

Which Case to Buy?

There are a number of options available for people in your position. You can go with a holster option but that will not deter people from grunging up your technological wonder toy if they ever get their hands on it (plus you look like a futuristic sheriff with that thing on your belt). There is also the OtterBox option. A big bulky case that offers maximum protection for your BlackBery certainly sounds like it parallels your level of awesomeness and the promise of protection absolutely screams out to your OCD levels of precaution, but it is just too dam bulky and definitely detracts from the Beauty that is the Bold.

You need something slick, clean and preferably clear so that heads will still turn in envy when you flash your killer smile and your 480×320 resolution screen as you pass by.

Introducing the Seidio Innocase Crystal

The Seidio Innocase Crystal for the BlackBerry Bold is a simple two piece plastic casing that clips around your device in order to protect it from the elements and evil doers day in and day out.

On it’s own, the Crystal case from Seidio might trick you into thinking it is not so sturdy. The plastic feels rigid, but almost brittle to the touch, with only a minor amount of flexibility and a clear breaking point. You may fear that such a piece of plastic could not possibly work as well as all the reviews have stated. You might think you are right, but you are in fact wrong.

Once the Bold is nestled snugly into the Seidio Crystal Innocase, you notice a couple of things:

1. Your Bold still look bodacious! A little shiny compared to the factory finishes on the device, but aesthetically pleasing none the less.
2. Your Bold is not much heavier than it was without the added protection. Still super easy to whip it out and fulfill your daily obligations.
3. Your new Seidio Crystal Innocase is firmly wrapped around your BlackBerry and yet it can be popped off in seconds if you need to access your battery.

Your decision is almost made

This is almost definitely the case for you. Solid protection for the love of your life while maintaining the beauty that was originally intended to be on display.

You have tested the Seidio Crystal case in a number of ways, sometimes with fingers crossed that it would pass with flying colors. You have slid your device face down across a board covered in sand paper to ensure that the bevel around the screen provides adequate protection from surface level scratching. You have placed the BlackBerry in a small pool of beer that umm … someone else spilled on your desk and all you ended up with was a sticky Seidio case. You have given the Bold a slight toss onto the floor to test shock absorption. You got cocky and threw it at the wall – Bold was fine, case popped off – you are not brave enough to try that one again.

Your conclusion

The Seidio Innocase Crystal is a keeper. While it does not provide total coverage for the wonder product that is the Bold, it does a great job. There are still areas that are less than protected, like the screen (Stop Touching My Screen People!) and the various ports that provide all that BlackBerry connectivity. These however, can be addressed with the addition of a BSE (Best Skin Ever) that should fit snugly between the Bold and the Seidio Innocase and finalize the protection against smudging and scratching.

The Seidio case feels smooth and pleasant to the touch, although it does slightly interfere with the trackball when scrolling in an upward direction. It is not exactly in the way since you can still scroll until your heart’s content, but your thumb will touch the case every time you scroll up. This is an inconvenience to be sure, but not punch a hole in the wall or cry in the corner inconvenient.

The Seidio Innocase Crystal can be purchased from the BBGeeks Store. They are available in multiple colors and cases are available for many models of the BlackBerry other than the Bold.

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