4G mobile broadband provider FreedomPop has started taking preorders for a $99 case/sleeve that gives free 4G data speeds to an iPhone 4/4S. Backed by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom, iPhone owners who purchase FreedomPop’s case will be given 500MB of free 4G data each month. Full data packages will also be sold in the future, but those details have not been given at this time.
We know what you’re asking: Will this thing actually work? Take a look at this video and find out:
Apple’s Smart Cover is about as minimal as minimal gets, but recently mine has been getting a little slack — literally. Meanwhile, Miniot’s Mk2 wooden iPad cover looks like it may match Apple’s minimalism while actually working a lot better.
The Touchtype is a new Kickstarter project that aims to be the ultimate case for iPad typists. Like the Incase Origami Workstation, the Touchtype conveniently holds an Apple wireless keyboard and iPad inside a thin design.
Apple’s Bluetooth keyboard can be stored underneath the iPad, and the case itself props up any iPad model to let you type. With support for all of Apple’s tablets and a sleek, utilitarian design, the Touchtype looks like an awesome accessory for those who still want to use a physical keyboard with the iPad.
What better way to test a ruggedized iPad case than an excursion outdoors? And what better way to test a heavy and bulky ruggedized iPad case than on a bike trip, where the extra ounces and inches won’t really be felt?
That’s why, when we headed out this past weekend on a bike tour to the *Delta de L’Ebre* (Ebro Delta) in southern Catalonia, I saddled up, and I zipped the iPad 3 into an a G-Form Extreme Portfolio for the iPad 3. Short answer: It was invaluable, if a little unwieldy. Long answer — read on.
Here’s a win for customer service: Several readers have written in to ask about the excellent Skech Porter case for the iPad, which I reviewed a while back, but which is all but impossible to actually buy. Cult of Mac reader Chris decided to get in touch with Skech and ask just what was going on. The result will warm your cold little hearts.
Incase’s Box Case for the iPhone is just that: a boxy, sharp-cornered rubber case with a brutalist minimalism that wouldn’t look out of place on London’s South Bank. And not only does the thing look awesome, it also offers quite a bit of protection thanks to all the extra rubber at the corners. It’s probably not a good idea to start tossing your iPhone on the floor, but if it does accidentally drop, then it might at least bounce to a safe end.
How do you like the idea of a solar-powered iPad keyboard case? Sounds pretty neat, right? What’s even better is that it comes from Logitech, a company that already makes some great iPad keyboards, so at least we know that the keyboard itself won’t be marred by mushiness.
Spigen’s all-glass iPhone and iPad screen protectors use some special kind of silicone gloop to stick them in place, but that same gloop can be found in one of Spigen’s cases. It’s called the Diary, and as it consists of just one sheet of folded leather, it’s about as minimal as you can get. It’s also pretty classy, and has one huge, glaring omission.
True story: When my mother was pregnant with me, she and her friends got together to do a Ouija board. The story goes that the glass moved around, and then smashed. My mother told everyone that they should finish things up properly, and “put the spirit away,” or some such thing.
They laughed, and ignored her. Over the next few weeks, everybody present at the séance had an accident. My mother fell out of her car while leaning out the door to reverse. Luckily, her hair was styled in a bun, which cushioned the impact.
Did this make me superstitious? Nope. In fact, the first thing I thought when I saw this Ouija Book Cover Case (€66 or $87) from Etsy maker Joe V was “if you’re able to look into the future and communicate with the other side, Mr.V, then why the hell is the screen of your iPad so scratched up? Surely you should have seen that coming?”
Skepticism aside, the leather book cover looks like the perfect Christmas gift for Cult of Mac’s own resident mysticist John Brownlee aka. Dr.Crypt. Or should I say “pagan midwinter fertility-festival gift”? The hefty tome is etched with the alphabet, numbers from one to zero and — of course — the words “yes” and “no.” Thus equipped, our hard-working editor will be able to check up on us minions without even entering our Cult of Mac chatroom.
“Will Charlie finally write a serious post?” he will chant in monotone, as the empty diet Coke can moves all by itself over to “no,” yet again.
“Whose post will get the most page views next week?” he will continue, and the can will scrape drily across the leather towards the letter “B.” Then, as it slides down and right towards the “U,” Dr. Crypt will hurl the can aside in petulant frustration. “Damn you, Buster Heine,” he’ll shout, “Damn you and your interesting, reader-friendly posts!”
Then, as Mr. Brownlee’s harsh words float down onto the aging cowskin, something happens on the other side of the country. As Buster picks up his morning beverage and relaxes with his iPad to read the news, the air suddenly grows chill, and the screen doors start to flap and slam in the rising breeze. Buster looks up to see the livid, contorted face of his editor swirling in the mists now whipping in through the open windows. He starts, and the iPad slips from his hands, cracking the screen in one corner.
If only he’d had it in a sturdy, witchcraft-proof case.
Until I took delivery of the Don’t Panic iPad case this week, this Custom Jacket from Skech has been my new favorite iPad case. It looks like leather, but is in fact artfully textured (and fully vegan) plastic, it holds the iPad tight and safe, and it weighs next to nothing. It also look pretty damn good.
Let’s take a closer look.
Oh, man. Today is totally turning into Kickstarter day here on Cult of Mac. The latest accessory from everybody’s favorite crowd-funded idea factory is the Brydge, another keyboard case which will turn your iPad into a miniature MacBook Air-a-like.
This case has a little twist, though. Instead of offering an entire laptop-shaped shell into which you can drop the tablet, it has a clever hinge which holds the iPad and uses it as the entire lid of the clamshell case.
Imagine the scene: You are a student in England, living in a broken-down house further broken down into noisy, thin-walled apartments (or “flats,” to use the local term). One of your junkie friends has sold you a (totally legit, honest) iPad for just £50, and you need somewhere to stash it for both security and protection.
You look around your decrepit kitchen and see a chipboard door hanging from one of the cupboards. You rip it off and attack it with a saw, screwing and glueing until you have a sturdy box for your non-stolen tablet. To close the hole in the top you pull the artists beret you’ve recently taken to wearing from under a pile of dirty laundry and cut it to fit over the gap. Behold! An iPad case.
But what to do next? If your name is Eric Rea, you quickly form a company called Fine Grain, open up a Kickstarter project and start hawking your new invention under the name “BOWDEN + SHEFFIELD Minimalist iPad Cases.”
In theory, there are two players in the bookbindery iPad case market: Pad&Quill and Dodocase. But that’s a little like saying that there are two players in the tablet market itself: iPad and (snicker) Android. Technically it’s true, but the difference in real life is huge.
Sure, Dodocase makes a nice lightweight case, but it is pretty much the same one it launched a couple years ago. Pad&Quill’s cases, on the other hand, have just gotten better, iteration by iteration. Just like Apple’s products.
The latest are the Contega and Octavo cases for the iPad 3, and they pack a surprising amount of tech into such a traditional design.
The International ($350), from Think Tank Photo, is similar to every other piece of rolling luggage you’ve probably used, with a retractable handle and rolling wheels, but on the inside, instead of keeping your dirty drawers stowed, it secures treasures of a different kind: your plethora of expensive camera gear. And it does so admirably.
This is the world’s biggest and heaviest iPhone case. How big and heavy? Well, it’s chunky enough to stop any door in your home from closing, and heavy enough (2.1 kilos) to cause serious damage if hurled into an enemy’s face. In fact, the seller – Marudai – warns that “Serious injury and will certainly drop on top of the foot”. Ouch.
If you’re approaching or have arrived at forty, and you had any kind of interest in skateboarding as a youngster, then I have some very exciting news for you, which I shall deliver in four words: Bones Brigade iPhone cases.
Thomas Fulton’s Don’t Panic iPad case started life last year as a Kickstarter project. Now, after sending out cases to all his happy backers, the case is available for you and me to buy.
The case is made from floppy felt and leather, and is designed as much for using as it is for carrying and protecting. When closed, the felt closes up just like any other folio case. Open it up, though, and the fun starts.
This is the iPhone Shutter Grip. Can you guess what it does? That’s right: It adds a handgrip and a shutter release to your iPhone, letting you snap pictures one handed, and generally take photos without dropping the iPhone.
It even has a built-in tripod mount, and a secret second button.
True story: When I was around 14 years old, there was a kid who would come to school sometimes already wearing a condom. His reason? In case he suddenly got lucky. Needless to say, this never happened. If this kid is still around today, I imagine he’ll be the first in line for the Playa Case, an iPhone case which has a slide-open compartment for two condoms. Classy.
If you’re going to launch a real product on April 1st, then you may as well make it seems as ridiculous as possible, and that’s just what Brian Holmes did yesterday when he announced The Littlest Black Book for the iPod Nano, the new tiny, nano-sized Moleskine-style case from Brian’s company, Pad&Quill.
I actually mailed Brian yesterday to see if this was for real, and it is. There’s even a Kickstarter page to prove it, which is already almost a quarter of the way to the $4,500 goal.
You know what? You could probably do a blog about only iPhone cases and you’d still have something worth reading. Provided that the world keeps coming up with cases like this super-specialized iPhone Scuba Case, an underwater shell which gives you access to the camera app as you dive, that is.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Nz7ZsXLDOQI
The Woodero is a slightly different take on the wooden iPad case. Instead of a solid sleeve (like several Bamboo cases we have seen) or a Moleskine-like book (like the baltic birch-frame Pad & Quill), it works like a cross between a pencil case and a desk drawer. It also looks rather impractical.
This iPhone 4 money clip is either the best or the stupidest solution to the wallet/iPhone carrying problem that I have ever seen. The trouble is, I can’t quite work out which it is.
The new iPad makes a great photo studio. It has a 5MP autofocus camera, lets you adjust exposure separately (with a third party app like Camera+), has image stabilization and — like no other camera — has a huge range of editing apps to choose from and use right there in the field.
It is, however, very awkward to hold in one hand while you tap the screen with the other. You end up either almost dropping the thing, or taking a picture of your thumb, or just giving up.
I expect to see camera-friendly cases in the near future. Until then, though, I decided to hack together my own from a discarded iPad case from Speck. And amazingly, it turned out pretty well.
This hilarious iPhone 4 case will guarantee that you win any dorkathon you choose to enter. The plastic case — which covers the back and sides of the phone — is shaped like a raw hard drive, complete with vendor sticker, fake screws and even SATA connectors.