Today we posted our first round of reviews of Droid 2 cases.  While most cases performed well, we did notice that all cases for the device do make it a bit difficult to press the top row of keys on the Droid 2’s keypad.

Without a case, there is only a couple of millimeters of space between the Droid 2’s screen and the keypad, as you can see in the image above.  This leaves enough space to fit your fingers over the top row of keys on the device’s keypad, making typing comfortable for the most part.

However, when a case is installed around the Droid 2’s screen the side of the case sits right next to, if not slightly over the top row of keys on the device’s keypad.  This makes it difficult to press the keys naturally, since most fingers will be too large to fit over the key.  Instead, you are forced to peck at the top row of keys – not a horrible experience, but definitely not preferable, especially if you have large fingers.

This problem was evident with all of the cases that we reviewed for the Droid 2.  We’ve provided a few examples below:  the Body Glove Snap On Cover, below left, the Verizon Kickstand Snap-On Hard Cover, below middle, and the Verizon Shell/Holster Combo, below right, all have the same issue.

As you can see, the Body Glove Snap On Cover and Verizon Shell/Holster Combo sit right next to the edge of the keys, while the Verizon Kickstand actually sits slightly over the top row of keys.  In our testing, all of these cases really had the same effect on typing – the proximity of the case’s side to the top row of keys forced us to peck at the top row.

This problem isn’t unique to the Droid 2 – some users of the original Droid complained about the same issue.  Still, we do wish that case manufacturers would take into account the added thickness that cases will add to a device, and design accordingly.