Otterbox is really good, from what I've seen. But it's generally a bit more than I'm willing to spend, and too bulky. Personally, I prefer Incipio. Hasn't failed me yet...

I had an otterbox on my last phone... it cost more than the phone did. lol I got my current case on Amazon, and my phone has survived several falls since then.

Oh no. :( Surprisingly my phone as survived a lot of chaos but that might be because I have one of those rubbery cases on it. ;u;

My case is rubbery silicone around the phone, and a wallet. I think it acts like a shock absorber or something. I have a Galaxy S7, so the front and back are glass... I'm honestly surprised I haven't managed to break it by now.

I see. ouo Yeah I believe they do act as shock absorbers. XD Idk how many times I've managed to throw my phone out of anger at it and it's managed to survive. o_O

Yeah, I agree that Otterbox is REALLY bulky. It's probably okay if you have a purse, but I keep my phone in my pocket and the extra bulk and the rubberized surface make it really hard to get in and out.

I've seen plenty of cases that have a silicone shock layer inside a smoother plastic housing. Those are usually enough as long as you don't drop the phone face-first onto the corner of something, and there are glass screen protectors that claim to be able to protect from THAT.

https://s17.postimg.org/nni6pvm3j/20171212_141733.jpg
Mine rubber silicone and then the hard shell snaps on over the rubber

Hold on...$500 per new phone? What kind of millionare do y'all think I am? I can't even always afford groceries, let alone a $500 phone!
I splurged on my most recent one and paid $130. Most are in the $50-80 range.

Most people don't drop that much money on the phone up-front. Instead, their devices are subsidized to their cell phone plans, either as a monthly payment until it's paid off or as a part of the contract ("free phone with a two-year contract"). The latter has grown very unpopular in recent years so you don't see it very much anymore. Then you also get a discount for trading in your old phone -- whatever value is left in your old phone gets applied as a down payment against the new one.

Prepaid phones get away with it because prepaid minutes are ridiculously expensive compared to a standard phone contract -- they sell the phones at a discount because they know they'll make up for it by selling phone minutes.

I'm currently shopping for a new phone and a bit peeved that there aren't any good deals with the "free phone with a two-year contract" plan. My mom and I have used those plans for the past decade.

And now I'm just left sitting here, screaming at phone prices.

I get the cheap metro pcs plan they always have a free phone deal but I have had them so long I didn't get that deal when I joined but I've always got the $50-65 phones and here lately I get the (someone I know upgraded here's my old one that still works but how long) deal :/ I got lucky enough to get this lg stylo due to the hey -here's my old phone deal- it's lasted about a year so far in my hands..... longer than my hey here's a tablet you can have -one month till poop deal- I do have a brand new tablet now that I bought......

I wouldn't spend $1000 on a phone (I think $800 is the highest I've ever gone) and I wouldn't spend $3000 on a car (I think $8000 is the lowest I've ever gone). There's a sweet spot in both cases, balancing how long it's going to last (and you have to pay more to fix/replace it) against what you get out of it (no sense in paying money for features you don't need).

You still get basically the same deal with one of the $0-down phones. It mostly just means that the contract when you're not paying for a phone is cheaper, and at the end of the term the phone is yours to keep.

Yeah, but the upfront price seems a lot more than my previous plans. -grumbles-

It is, I am looking at getting an iPhone 7 for my birthday, and it is going to be around $550…. which is insane.