Making a mobile phone more grippable
 

Mods - Feel free to move to Jetblast but I post here as it is vaguely tech related.

My mobile telephone is a HTC One X. A truly fantastic device, but a slippery buggah that has now been dropped (thankfully each time on carpet) countless times. The sheer width that is part of what makes the screen such a joy to use is part of the problem, and the rest is the ultra slim case and shiny surface giving nothing to purchase against beyond simply squeezing tighter.

I have "solved" the problem for now with a two quid grippy rubber case from South American River, but it is a nuisance having to remove the case each time I want to clip the 'phone in to its car mount and the case means the phone doesn't just slide nicely in to a suit pocket; it fights the fabric every millimetre of the way - in and out!

What I'd really like is some sticky tape or small sticky pads with rough texture to increase friction; I can then junk the case and use the 'phone "naked" but with less chance of dropping it.

Suggestions? My searches have thus far not found anything suitable - which I find hard to believe!

Cheers.

Masking / drafting tape?

SD

Thanks for the idea, SD, but masking tape was the first thing I tried. Unfortunately it has three drawbacks; it is not rough enough; it is not sticky enough - getting dog-eared after only a few days usage; and it looks a bit low rent in a professional business environment!

Try Egrips Non-Slip Strips - Consumer & Promotional Products for Mobile Phones - Silicone Grip Material | Information for something suitable.

does your phone have a facility to put a tether on?

I found a small hole near the top of the side on my Galaxy Ace, the manual shows it to be for a wrist strap/tether (not supplied!) but a nice thought anyway. It might be more convenient with your car mount than the rubbery back cover.

Rans6....

XV105,

Look for one of those disability suppliers of tech accessories, they sell all sorts of weird and wonderful things, including no doubt some sort of mobile phone grip thing.

Otherwise, just get yourself a cheapo rubber case for the phone and be done with it.

Surely, this is a job for Duck Tape. If the phone is black, use black tape. Very professional.
If it isn't professional enough for you, make it a talking point.

Efe Cem Elci - Looks very promising, thank you! :ok:
rans6andrew - Nice idea, but no tether hole, unfortunately.
mixture - Good idea ref disability suppliers. Will follow-up if the first idea above draws a blank. Ref cheapo case, please see OP. :)
Ancient Observer - The phone is very large, very white (if there can be such a thing!), and already a talking point because of it so no Duck Tape, thanks!

Ouch!

I found the perfect product in the link above, went all the way through the ordering process, and found that the US$12.95 for three sets (standard pack size) suddenly became US$50.95 when shipping to UK was added! For a small plastic bag containing a sheet of sticky plastic pieces? I think not!

Now to see if I can find the products via another means.

Are you really really really sure there's no tether hole ? If you take the back off and look ? reason I ask is my HTC wildfire is also "slippery" but with a two part tether (loop that fits the phone, connector, longer cord) I grab the cord automatically when I pick up the phone. Also allows me to hang it around my neck and slip phone inside shirt.

You might also consider buying a case from amazon (only get a good 'un - the one I ordered is a p*ss-poor case that's slightly too big and is useless.)

Yes, absolutely sure. There is no tether hole. There isn't even a "back" to remove, the bodyshell being moulded as one piece in a nod to style and slimness but with side effect that when the battery wears out or something fails, the phone is replaced. (In practice, there are tutorials on the web explaining how to extract the screen and gubbins from the case, but it is not intented to be taken apart by the owner, or for the faint hearted). I'm lucky that I have completely free choice and don't pay for my phones, so this potentially quite serious design flaw became a non-issue compared to what I like about the phone (of which there is plenty to like).

I already have a case - and from Amazon ("South American River" in my original post was the clue!) and which works perfectly as something to grip - but I want to do away with it because it brings other disadvantages. Thanks anyway.

White Duck Tape
 

You can buy white Duck Tape.

Go back to the S.American river and search for white duck and/or duct tape.

Simples!

You can have GAFFER TAPE/DUCT TAPE in many colours:

RACE TAPE,DUCT TAPE, GAFFER TAPE, TANK TAPE,RALLY RACE | eBay

So if it's moulded in one piece you can't even put a bigger SD card in ? How the whatsit do you fit the SIM card ? I've never owned any phone where I didn't change the SIM card from old to new phone....

OK OK I found a video, a slide-out tray and you can upgrade the SD.

Not being able to change the battery is a BUMMER though.

Oh well, one step forward, two back, I'll be hanging on to my Wildfire a bit longer !

I wonder how it compares to the new Samsung Galaxy ? Samsung profits are way up and HTC way down, so maybe for my next smarty I'll switch my allegencies.

A friend in the UK wrapped a couple of the rubber bands the postman kept dropping outside his house around his.

Rubberised swimming pool paint on the back?