Seidio SURFACE kickstand case for Nexus 4 review

The Nexus 4's design has a lot of great features, but one of them isn't durability. With big plates of glass on both sides of the device and easily scuffed plastic around the sides, we wouldn't blame you one bit for wanting a case wrapped around it. Or like many of us, you may have gone without a case on your Nexus 4 at first, and now about 6 months in it has picked up some wear and is in need of a little facelift. 

Seidio makes many great cases, and it now offers what is called the SURFACE kickstand case for the Nexus 4, and it's designed to take a beating and add a little bit of functionality and style while it does it. Read along after the break for a closer look.

Like many hard shell cases, the Seidio SURFACE kickstand case attaches to the phone by coming in two pieces — the top two-thirds and bottom one-third — that slide over the ends of the phone and attach in the middle. The downside is having a seam where the two halves meet, but fortunately the placement means you'll likely never run your fingers across it. It also seals plenty tight so that it won't snag on clothing.

The case is a hard plastic with a soft touch coating, which along with the increased thickness gives your Nexus 4 an additional bit of grip. That thickness doesn't get in the way of the ports and buttons, which have adequately sized openings around them save for the charging port which interfered with just one of our many USB cables. The lip created by the case around the screen is just high enough to protect the screen when placed face-down, but not big enough to cause any usability issues — a tough balance to strike.

A little bonus can be found on the back of the case, and that is of course the kickstand which props the device up at an angle that is good for watching longer content while sitting on a table. The kickstand is made of some sort of metal material, and has a satisfying click when it is opened and closed. The mechanism is well shrouded to prevent accidental openings as well.

The Seidio SURFACE kickstand case is available now from ShopAndroid for $29.95, and comes in black, blue, red and white color options.