Archive for category iPhone Accessories

Review: Sound ID 510 Bluetooth Headset, the First With Its Own iPhone App

The Sound ID 510 bluetooth headset ($130) is compatible with any bluetooth phone, but it’s unique to the iPhone in that it’s the first headset to have its own iPhone app. Add in touch volume controls and a glossy design, and the headset could have been released by Apple itself. Although the headset lacks premium features like voice menus and quick contacts, the Sound ID 510′s size, performance, and accompanying app make it an appealing choice for iPhone owners.

The Sound ID 510 is small and compact even by modern bluetooth headset standards. It weighs only 0.28 ounces (8 grams) and is 2.1 inches long, 0.6 inches wide, and 0.3 inches in thickness. Despite the small size, the headset still offers excellent battery life, with 5 hours of talk time and 135 hours of standby. A downside is that it takes 2.5 hours to fully charge.


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Review: Cellet Jelly Case for iPhone 4

The Cellet Jelly ($8) is one of the most inexpensive cases we’ve seen yet for the iPhone 4, and while not particularly spectacular in any area, it features solid design (its only flaw being a loose fit) and doesn’t get in the way of using the iPhone, making the case a good value.

Our only complaint about the Cellet Jelly is a semi-loose fit that occasionally allows a corner of the case to slip off when removing from pockets. It’s not the worst fit we’ve seen, and the case will stay on the iPhone in normal use, but it’s nevertheless a minor annoyance. The loose fit also causes the case’s frame around the iPhone’s screen to take on a slightly bent or warped look at times.

But that’s about the only fault we could find with the case. Its most standout feature is not any one design element, but rather that, overall, the case doesn’t get in the way of using the iPhone on an everyday basis. If that seems like a no-brainer design wise, it’s telling that so many case manufacturers get it wrong.
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Review: Amzer Skin Jelly Case for iPhone 4

With the majority of iPhone cases costing in excess of $20, or else being ugly hunks of low-quality plastic, you have to wonder if it’s possible to get a decent case for your phone at a good price. The Amzer Silicone Skin Jelly Case ($10) comes in at a hair under $10, and while hardly without flaw, for that price it’s surprisingly good.

The Jelly is a simple soft silicone case, comprised of two different textures: rough and spackled around the edges and smooth on the back. The texturing reminds me of nothing so much as chew toy, hardly re-assuring. Personal views aside, the rough areas are pretty easy to grip, and pulling the phone from your pocket is a breeze.


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Review: MiniSuit Smoke Skin Circle Case for iPhone 4

The Minisuit Smoke Skin Circle for iPhone 4 ($15) is a transparent plastic case that suffers from bad design and bad looks. There’s little about this case that should interest an iPhone owner other than its affordable price.

The Minisuit Smoke Skin is made out of a rugged material called thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). The material is slightly pliable but has more in common with hard-shell plastic than it does with the more common silicone rubber. The case is transparent and decorated with a semi-transparent pattern of concentric cicles, which come in 6 different colors (pink, blue, black, green, orange, red, and whitish clear).

The main reason we can’t recommend the Smoke Skin Circle is that it makes the iPhone’s sleep button very difficult to press. The case covers up both the sleep and volume buttons with its own raised areas of plastic. The problem is that the material is so inflexible, it takes too much pressure to push and activate the iPhone’s sleep button through the case. It hurt our fingers to do so. While the volume buttons are not affected quite as much, they still are much more difficutlt to press with the case on.

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Review: SwitchEasy Colors iPhone 4 Case

The SwitchEasy Colors case for iPhone 4 ($15) continues its tradition of being one of the best-fitting silicone cases out there. And what it lacks in style, it makes up for in functional design and fit and feel.

A lot can go wrong with the design of an iPhone case (and often does), so that’s why it’s a pleasure to come across a case like the SwitchEasy Colors, which gets almost all the details right. Our favorite feature of the Colors is a perfect fit and feel. The case hugs the iPhone 4 like a glove, with very little looseness and no sagging that some lesser cases experience. Its surface has a pleasant soft texture that feels good to hold, where some silicone rubber cases take on a sticky rubber-tire feel.


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Review: Empire New-Skin iPhone 4 Case

The Empire New-Skin for iPhone 4 ($15) is the type of case that benefits from slick marketing photos, making it look like it’s made from better materials than it really is. In reality, the New-Skin looks cheap and suffers from durability issues. But it’s not all bad, as the case doesn’t get in the way of using the iPhone like some cases do. And it does have at least one feature of note: a cut-out for the iPhone 4′s SIM tray, something we haven’t seen yet, and which may appeal to frequent SIM switchers.


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Case Review: Griffin Reveal Etch

The Griffin Reveal Etch ($30) is the prettier sibling of theĀ Griffin Reveal, a see-through case we reviewed last week. The Etch shares an identical rubber border, but in place of a clear acrylic back is an attractive opaque triangle-patterned design for the back of the iPhone. Overall, the Reveal Etch is a solid case, lacking the typical flaws of lesser cases and offering good shock absorption.

The Reveal Etch‘s border is a semi-soft rubber band that is melded with the hard plastic back. The soft edge juts out from the rest of the case and thus takes the brunt of impacts, offering good shock absorption. This same band also prevents the iPhone 4′s grip of death, putting itself between your finger and the iPhone’s 4′s sweet spot.


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Review: Gumdrop MotoSkin iPhone 4 Case

A glimpse at the extra thick silicone of the Gumdrop MotoSkin ($30) is enough to know it offers excellent shock absorption for accidental drops. Unfortunately, at least one major design flaw ruins the usability of the case, making it an also ran in the growing pantheon of iPhone 4 cases.

Our main problem with the MotoSkin is that it makes the iPhone’s sleep button difficult to press. The sleep button is probably the iPhone’s second most-used button, and to interfere with its functionality is unacceptable. The case fails to leave enough room for your fingertip to access the button, so when you press down, you’re pressing the silicone of the case. Extra force is required to press down both silicone and button. While it’s not impossible to press the button, it’s much too difficult.


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Review: Case-Mate Barely There iPhone 4 Case

The Case-Mate Barely There iPhone 4 case ($25) is an eggshell-thin, plastic hard case that doesn’t offer up much in the way of protection or any other area for that matter. Its poor design makes it hard to justify the expensive price tag, even as a possible remedy for the iPhone 4′s external antenna atennuation.

When we reviewed the original Barely There case for the iPhone 3G, we were able to overlook its lack of shock absorption and give it a mild recommendation thanks to its stylish glossy exterior that matched the iPhone exactly and its scratch protection properties. But the new iPhone 4′s front-and-back glass have changed the iPhone case priorities away from scratch resistance toward shock absorption.

Unfortunately, the Barely There’s eggshell-thin plastic offers almost no shock absorption. The case’s rim around the iPhone’s screen barely rises above the surface, so the full force of a drop would be fully felt on the iPhone’s glass.
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Review: Case-Mate Vroom for iPhone 4

The Case-Mate Vroom ($15) for iPhone 4 is an affordable silicone rubber case that sports a masculine tire-tread pattern on its back. While we weren’t impressed with the previous version of the Vroom for the 3G thanks to a loose fit, the iPhone 4 version has improved enough for us to drastically change our opinion. We love the Vroom’s excellent protection at a cheap price, the improved grip, and as a remedy for the iPhone 4′s antenna attenuation problem.

As mentioned, our biggest issue with the previous Vroom was a loose fit that would cause the iPhone to slip out of the case during everyday use. It was so bad, we couldn’t give the case a recommendation. The issue has now been mostly fixed, as the corners fit much tighter, helping to prevent the case from slipping off easily, although there is still a little bit of looseness we’d like to see corrected.


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