Review: Ecolife Vitalit Case

We've already introduced you to the EcoLife Elements Side and Top case. Ecolife produces a quality constructed case made from recycled materials. Along with the Elements Case, they also offer the Vitalit Case.

The Vitalit Case is a horizontal case made the same PET recycled material (recycled water bottles) that reminds me of cordura. While I'm partial to leather cases, I've been using the Ecolife cases for the past few months and have found them to be durable, comfortable and easy on the pocket book ($22.95).

Ease on past the break to read more on the Ecolife Vitalit, a few inherit problems, and possible solutions to make this case work with your Touch Pro 2/Tilt 2.

Construction

The Ecolife Vitalit shares the same quality construction as the Element Case line. The PET Material is a firm, cordura-like fabric that has just enough flexibility to make it work. The interior is lined with a felt-like material to help prevent scratches.

A large clip is mounted to the back of the case that is lined with the PET material. The wider size helps keep the case in place on your belt.

The key design difference in the Vitalit and Elements case is that the magnetic flap is cut at an angle and is secure by a single magnet on the Vitalit. The Elements flap is larger and is held in place by two magnets. One magnet or two, the Vitalit's flap holds things in place nicely.

Magnets

The Ecolife cases are "blackberry ready" in that there are magnets sewn into the lining to activate standby features on Blackberry devices. The problem this can create with the Touch Pro 2 is that these magnets can interact with the internal magnets on the Touch Pro 2 that are used to wake the device up when you extend the keyboard or extract the stylus. It's simply a case of magnets being magnets and not an exclusive problem to the Ecolife cases.

While you can use the Vitalit with other devices (Samsung Omnia II, Touch Diamond 2, AT&T Pure) the case fits the Touch Pro 2 extremely well. You can minimize the time it takes for the screen to go to sleep to reduce the impact of the magnets or you can install a simple .cab file or tweak the registry to disable this feature.

Performance

The Vitalit is cut thin to match the width of the phone extremely well. The Tilt2 rides close to the hip and doesn't feel bulky at all.

I'm on my fourth month using the Elements case and can see very little if any wear on the case. With the Vitalit sharing the same quality construction, it should share the same durability.

Overall Impression

If you're looking for a long lasting, comfortable, economical case the Vitalit may just be up your alley. The one caveat that is present is the magnet issue with the Touch Pro 2. There is a solution to this problem but in doing so, you disable the slide to wake features.

Elements or Vitalit? It all boils down to personal preference on design. The Vitalit seems to stand out a little more but it's truly a subjective measure.

If you can live without the slide to wake feature on the keyboard or stylus, then you will be hard pressed to find a better case for your Touch Pro 2 or Tilt2 Windows Phone.

Phil Nickinson

Phil is the father of two beautiful girls and is the Dad behind Modern Dad. Before that he spent seven years at the helm of Android Central. Before that he spent a decade in a newsroom of a two-time Pulitzer Prize-finalist newspaper. Before that — well, we don't talk much about those days. Subscribe to the Modern Dad newsletter!