What are the pros and cons of each type of case, and which one do you prefer?

Hey everyone. I am having a hard time choosing a case for my Impression. Right now, I just have a screen protector for my phone, but wanted to get a case that would protect the back & sides as well (rather than a full body kit protector). I have been browsing through many vendors on Ebay looking for the perfect case. It seems that each type of case has its own pros and cons. I have narrowed it down to three different type of cases (that I have found so far):

* hard snap-on case
* gel/silicone case
* hard case w/ rubber skin (maybe a mix between the above)

There are probably some variants of each mixed as well that I have not listed--hopefully could give some more insight.

For the hard snap-on cases, I've read that they provide maximum protection, but the back and sides of one's phone could be easily scratched as the phone tends to "slide" inside the case? Also heard that for the gel/silicone cases, they give decent protection but attract dust and lint too much? Hmm...not too sure about the hard cases w/ rubbery skin though--anyone know if they are like a mix between the hard snap-on cases and gel/silicone cases, meaning do they BOTH attract dust and have the phone sliding issue as well?

I guess, really could anyone give me some more input on what type of cases are out there, and which one do you all use or prefer?

I was hoping to find a case that would be extremely suitable for the Impression (I have read that some cases can accidentally block buttons or the touchscreen that would make my "impression" experience less pleasing). I guess trying to find one that doesn't screw up the phone too much & matches its slide-out keyboard without affecting it too much, is quite hard. Balance must be the key.

Thanks.

GEEZ  And your a representative for this forum.   

^wow, tl;dr.

@OP. i thought your post was well thought out and very clear. i too have been researching and looking at what case to get. ive seen a number of nifty ones that are a sort of hybrid, but they usually dont have any out for the Impression. so all im really seeing are a buncha cheap s****y ones that are a hit or miss as far as quality and fitment goes. is there something out there that is soft on the inside and hard on the outside? or one that doesnt mess the buttons up and has worked fairly well for any of you? pics would be nice. thanks. ill keep searching in the mean time.

Welcome to the forum bestican. As we appreciate you being here, comments like that will get you no where. As you have just recently joined the forum you have no basis to speak on. We all have our bad days. As this comment you speak on was over a month ago and done and over with, please keep to the topic. That way someone else who searches will find information and not a topic full of badgering. Thankyou.

Hehe...would that "original" person be me?  Well, Damien, I guess you had made your point, so I just accepted the fact that I was informed and would not reply to this thread any further to bring up anymore trouble.

Oh, no worries. No problem at all. I'm fine with everything and anything, hehe. I've learned to take well thought out replies and criticism. I take them with respect and gratitude. I do believe you were right. In making these forums a more manageable place, it would definitely be MUCH EASIER to access (via search functions and whatnot) if threads were not repeated because of people not paying attention. Sometimes people are very fast and curious to post a question...perhaps they are all excited (like I was!). This phone indeed is fantastic. But, I totally understand your view. I guess I was just a bit preemptive in terms of just trying to list all the cases and each of their type. I would say I'm sort of a perfectionist and somewhat anal retentive person, heh. I was thinking if I made a thread that addressed everything at once, it would be a little bit more thorough. But no worries, I probably made it more confusing to people now, lol.  

Nevertheless, this forum is amazing as it provides a wealth of information to many users like me and ongoing. The Impression phone itself is just simply amazing. I'm pretty glad that we have some stellar informational stuff here. It's all good.