Overall, the LG Tribute Empire feels nice. It’s very lightweight and smooth. Unfortunately, the phone is also extremely slippery. It lacks the slight texture that decorated the back of our dearly departed phone, the Huawei Union. It’s constantly jumping out of my hands, falling off my thigh, or sliding off the arm of the couch. We knew right away that we had to put a case on that bad boy.
Thankfully, my uncle found us the B-Tact Series (Ultimate Protection) case at a Boost Mobile store, which fixed the problem.
How It Looks
The B-Tact Series is produced by Ondigo, though its box features Boost Mobile’s signature orange-and-black branding. The package is extremely easy to open: just pull on the tab sticking up from the top lid. A plastic tray out comes out with the case attached.
It’s a simple but cute case. It’s dark blue all over except for a ring of light blue that swoops around the phone’s front and encompasses the ports and buttons. It turns out that the color scheme isn’t just for looks (more on that later).
The funny thing is, the B-Tact Series is actually made for the LG Tribute Dynasty. The Tribute Dynasty was one of the phones that I nearly chose to replace the Union, if you recall. My comment that the two LG phones are “practically identical” was truer than I knew because the Tribute Empire fit into the Tribute Dynasty’s case perfectly.
How It Works
The B-Tact Series definitely eliminated the phone’s slipperiness. It took me a minute to figure out exactly how, though.
If you look closely at the case, you’ll notice a seam running between the two blue sections. I discovered upon further examination that the halves can be pried apart. The light blue part is a thin rubber mold that sits inside the hard plastic back.
The box provides the explanation for this. The two sections are part of a deliberate “dual-piece design,” where the rubber “protects the screen” and the plastic “resists scratches and drops.” It makes sense. Once you separate the two, you immediately see that neither piece could work as a case by itself.
Indeed, the number of times I’ve dropped the phone has decreased significantly since I put on the B-Tact Series. Its bulk makes the device easier to hold without adding too much extra weight, while its grainy texture, which is similar to that on the Union’s back, makes the phone easier grip. In a weird way, the case makes the phone feel more premium too.
My only problem is that the case is too thick around the ports. Oftentimes a charger (most of the ones I own) or a headphone jack (even the Beats one) can’t fully connect without some added force. Even then, the accessory usually falls out again.
This should be a dealbreaker. Since I use the official charger and rarely plug in headphones, however, I don’t encounter the problem often. I can live with it.
Conclusion
I owe my uncle a huge thanks for hooking us up with the B-Tact Series case. Despite some port obstruction issues, I don’t think I could have found a better case for the Tribute Empire.