Today I got through the post the Flexishield Skin, available from Mobile Fun in the UK for about £10. I've been looking for some kind of tight-fitting case or skin since I got the N900. I tried the cheapo hard rubber two-piece case available on Amazon and Ebay, but turned out to be rubbish. The half that clipped to the screen kept falling off and there was a large crack already in the other half...pure junk.

So, I spent a bit more money and got the Flexishield Skin. First impressions were positive, it's made of a semi-soft non-sticky rubber material, feels flexible but sturdy in the hand. Here's a pic of the two halves next to the N900.



You'll notice there are cut outs for the front and rear cameras as well as for the proximity sensor. There are also cut outs for most of the side hardware buttons, except for the volume rocker and the camera shutter button. The volume key is easily pressed through the rubber skin, but the camera button not so comfortably. You really do have to look to locate it and then be very accurate if you want it to take a pic first time. Several times I found myself removing the skin so it was easier to take a snap.

The Skin lives up to its name and clings tenaciously to the device, not sure exactly how but they add very little bulk or weight to the phone. When holding the device the material feels quite 'grippy' and I feel there's less chance of the N900 slipping out of my hands and crashing to the floor. When the keyboard is open the skin doesn't get in the way of any of the keys, not even the top row. Here are some pics showing the tight fit.







Now the last picture shows the fundamental flaw with the Flexishield Skin....there's no cut out for the friggin' screen! Instead you have a thick layer of rubber over it that renders it all but useless. Yes, it is possible to press some of the larger icons on screen, but forget about hitting the task-switcher button in the top left or anything of similar size in the menus. I don't quite know what the designers were thinking, it's not as though the N900 has a d-pad or trackball or anything for navigation without the touchscreen.

Anyhow, I'm pretty disappointed with the Skin because of this. i am going to try to physically cut out the rubber covering the screen, but I don't currently have a knife sharp enough to do it. Overall, I couldn't really recommend this because of the lack of touchscreen access, and it's a shame really because it does fit the phone nicely and makes it feel much more secure in the hand because of the grip.

Ah well, it looks like my quest continues for the perfect N900 case/skin....