Since the Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone has only become available (and many customer orders are still backordered), the availability of accessories is still somewhat limited. Sure, you can pick up a few bigger name brand styles at the AT & T Store, but they’re awfully expensive. As such, many new Lumia 920 owners will be scrambling online to find a case to protect their phones. One affordable option is the S-Line Back Case from Cimo Technologies. Cimo produces the S-Line design for a number of phones and tablets, including the Lumia 920, HTC 8X, and HTC 8S Windows Phone 8 handsets.
Colors and Style
The S-Line case for Lumia 920 is available in several transparent colors at present, including: clear, hot pink, purple, red, white, and black. For this review, Cimo provided us with clear and hot pink cases. The clear case really shows off your phone’s actual color, making it a great choice for any color of 920, but especially the cyan, red, and yellow handsets. I would only use the hot pink case with a white or black phone, as it certainly clashes with my cyan handset.
As for the S-Line in the case’s name, it describes the S-shaped line that runs along the back of the case. All of the colored cases are transparent to some degree. On one side of the S the color is foggier and less transparent, while the other side is the same color as the rest of the case. Cimo also makes a glossy version with no S-Line (in solid colors or clear), but I find the S-Line more attractive and distinct.
That said, small pockets of air show on the rear of the case on our white phone, whether using the pink or clear case. This doesn't happen on the cyan phone for some reason.
Build
Cimo’s 920 case is one solid piece of silicone material. The Lumia 920 pops into it easily quite easily. It fits on the phone perfectly with very little ‘give.’ Because the case is flexible, the phone can be removed with little effort as well, which I love.
The sides of the case have a textured grip that make the phone easy to hold onto, even if your hand becomes sweaty due to an intense gaming situation or simply living in Texas. While some might prefer a smoother grip and the occasional phone dropping, I find the S-Line a pleasure to hold.
Instead of having cut-outs for the Lumia 920’s volume, power, and camera buttons, the right side of the case is simply shaped around the buttons. This makes the buttons require slightly more pressure to push, but on the bright side you’re also less likely to hit them by accident. The covered buttons might take a little getting used to, but I don’t even notice them anymore.
Cut-outs
Case bottom
The S-Line case has cut-outs on the top, bottom, and rear. Starting with the back, there are holes for both the camera and flash. Both would seem to line up perfectly. However, when the phone's flash is used, some of the light reflects off of the case and can distort the colors of the photograph. I would recommend removing the case when you know you'll need the flash.
On the bottom, the hole provides ample space for the Lumia 920’s speakers and micro-USB port. Unfortunately, the material running around the front of the phone is a bit too thin in this location. On one of the two cases provided, it’s also loose in that spot and could potentially break if pulled. Hopefully Cimo reinforces that area in future production runs.
At the top, the cut-out allows access to the headset jack, but not the phone’s upper microphone (which is a small and easily overlooked series of dots to the right of the jack). This could result in slightly lower sound quality when shooting videos, unfortunately. But most of the early cases available fail to account for the top mic, presumably due to its relatively hidden appearance. Still, the oversight is easily fixed with a hole puncher. Thanks to reader Poddie for pointing that out.
Also, the cut-out for the headset jack is a bit too snug for one of the cords I plugged in. I had to really move the plug around to get a solid connection. Admittedly, a lot of plugs would be less thick than the one I used, so this likely won’t be a problem for most users. Still, the hole puncher solution works for this too.
Protection
Case top
The S-Line case should provide a good degree of protection to your Lumia 920. The phone will be just about immune to scratches from the rear and sides while using this case, and it also seems tight enough to prevent particles from getting between the phone and the case. The Lumia 920 can still charge wirelessly while wearing this case, by the way.
The only area where more protection could be desirable is on the front. Because the Lumia 920’s Gorilla Glass 2 screen is raised a bit over the actual shell of the phone, it ends up being just about flush with the S-Line case. If the material around the front edge of the case was a few millimeters thicker, it would provide a much greater degree of protection to the screen.
Overall Impression
Despite the favorable drop test results we’ve seen for the Lumia 920, the device will still take damage from falls. In fact, my girlfriend’s screen shattered when dropped from head height (thankfully we have insurance). That’s why it’s important to protect your phone with a case, especially if you can’t easily afford a replacement.
The Cimo S-Line Back Case is one of the better low-cost options for the Lumia 920. It doesn’t quite protect the screen as much as it should, but otherwise keeps the rest of the phone extremely safe. The S-Line does a great job of looking distinctive without obscuring the Lumia 920’s natural beauty. You can’t say that about a cheap rubber case. Choose a color that goes well with your phone and you’ll likely love the way it looks.
Cimo’s S-Line case for the Lumia 920 is available exclusively from Amazon at the moment, but the Windows Phone Central Store may carry it in the near future as well. We’ll have a review of Cimo’s HTC 8X case soon, so stay tuned!
