One of the booths I was drawn to because of their personable and interesting press releases was Otterbox; mobile phone case manufacturers extraordinaire. Don’t get me wrong, there were dozens, if not hundreds, of mobile phone and mp3 player case manufacturers at CES this year, but Otterbox has been known to make really well designed and high-quality mobile phone cases.

So when Otterbox sent out a press release stating they’d be releasing a new line of cases on Friday the 8th, I perked up and listened. I happened past one of their booths on Friday afternoon and spoke to a rep there who clued me in that Otterbox had some big plans for mobile phones that have made waves in the industry lately but don’t have cases from Otterbox. (we were talking about the Motorola Droid, which I own, but he couldn’t give specifics in advance of the announcement)

Sure enough, Friday night Otterbox unveiled the Tandem series of Palm Pre cases, a dual-body case that fits the Palm Pre quite snugly, makes it feel comfortable and protected, but doesn’t stop the Pre from sliding open so you can use the keyboard or type on it. Otterbox also announced some new cases for its existing supported products, namely the iPhone/iPod Touch, Blackberry phones, and a variety of HP, HTC, and Samsung mobile phones, but the Tandem made waves.

Saturday I stopped by a different Otterbox booth and managed to speak to a rep who owns a Palm Pre and had a Tandem case on it, and the rubberized feel made the device feel solid in your hand and less likely that it would slide out of wet or sweaty fingers, but the case didn’t hinder the slider action for the Pre whatsoever. The Tandem comes in two pieces; one shell for the back of your Pre and one shell for the front that fits around the edges of the case so you can continue to use the screen without issue. It really is remarkable.

Now then, if Otterbox would hurry up and release a case for my Motorola Droid, I’ll be a happy geek!

[ Otterbox :: Tandem Series for the Palm Pre ]