case - page 6

LAS VEGAS, CES 2013 –

iPhone protection company Hitcase is debuting a new iPhone 5 case at CES which is going up against the like of Otterbox to provide a secure shell for your iPhone 5. Going one step further, Hitcase has also made a harness system for the case itself, so you can mount your iPhone in a variety of different ways.

Like you’d expect from a rugged iPhone case, the Hitcase is waterproof up to 10 meters and fully protects all of the iPhone’s ports and switches. The back even integrates a wide angle lens for shooting scenes while outdoors with the case.

No one really likes slapping a case on their iPhone — no matter how pretty or how protective that case may be. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll try to find the thinnest, lightest iPhone case on the market in an effort to preserve Apple’s sleek and sexy design. Mod-3 feels exactly the same way, and they’ve designed the Radius, a new iPhone 5 case that’s so minimalistic you’ll hardly notice it.

If you’re a former BlackBerry user who’s just bought your first iPhone, and you’re struggling to adapt to its virtual on-screen keyboard, then check out the Spike SmartType from SoloMatrix. On show at this year’s CES in Las Vegas, and coming to iPhone 4/4S and iPhone 5, the Spike is a new case that slaps a physical QWERTY keyboard right across your handset’s display. You can fold it away when it’s not in use, and you never need to worry about charging it.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today, Speck expanded its family of CandyShell accessories with two brand new cases for the iPad mini. The CandyShell and CandyShell Grip both sport Speck’s patented dual-layer design, which combines a rubbery, shock-resistant interior with a hard plastic exterior to protect your iPad mini from accidental dings and drops. The cases are also available in an array of “on-trend” colors for 2013.

Seidio, a leading manufacturer of mobile accessories, has today announced the OBEX, the latest addition to its lineup of iPhone 5 accessories. In addition to offering unbeatable impact protection, the OBEX is completely waterproof and dust-tight, protecting your delicate device from liquids, snow, and even mud.

PowerSkin has used CES 2013 to introduce its next generation of battery cases for the iPhone 5. There are three in total, all of which are equipped with Lightning connectors and designed to provide your smartphone with portable power while you’re on the go, ensuring you never run out of battery life before you get home to your charger. Meet the PowerSkin Pro, the PowerSkin Hybrid, and the PowerSkin Battery Case below.

Ballistic is at CES in Las Vegas this week showing off its latest lineup of iPhone 5 cases, the Aspira series. Decorated with bright and pretty patterns, the new selection delivers sleek, “sexy protection” for Apple’s latest smartphone, but it’s not all about looks. The cases are made from a combination of soft rubber and hard plastic to ensure protection against drops and dings.

LAS VEGAS, CES 2013 – When I videochatted over Skype with one of Belkin‘s PR people a few days ago, I told them I was dumbfounded at the sound coming from the tiny speakers built into the pre-production Thunderstorm case they sent me to play around with (the review notes I scrawled down actually read “pretty fucking amazed with this thing”). Nate, whose face I could see gazing at me from Belkin’s Los Angeles office, seemed stoic. “Invariably people have that same reaction… we call it ‘the thirty seconds of wow.’ ”

iGuy is a new iPad and iPad mini case from Speck that’s built for one thing: taking a beating from sticky little kids. It’s design buries your device inside a bed of flexible foam that ensures no matter how many times its thrown, dropped, or sneezed on, it will come out looking as good as new.

The iGuy’s handles make the iPad easy to hold onto — not matter how small the user’s hands are — and the feet allow the device to be stood up when watching movies and cartoons. And despite all that EVA foam, you can still access all your iPad’s ports and buttons, as well as use its cameras.

iGuy comes in four colors — orange, green, red, and purple — and it’s likely to be the best iPad accessory you buy.

G-Form is a case manufacturer that’s famous for taking expensive devices and running them over, throwing them off balconies, and dropping bowling balls on top of them. The company is so confident its cases can withstand damage of this magnitude that it’s more than happy to prove it. Its latest trick sees Apple’s latest iPod touch take a 100,000-foot free fall inside the company’s new Xtreme iPhone 5 case. It survives without a scratch.

A lot of people want both an iPhone and a physical QWERTY keyboard, but they don’t want the extra bulk. Similarly, some people want a physical control pad, but they don’t want to ensconce their device in a massive case to get one.

That’s the genius of the EX Hybrid Controller for iPhone 5. It’s a Bluetooth controller that magnetically attaches to a special shell on the back of your device: flip it one way and it’s a keyboard, flip it another and it’s a gamepad. And when you’re not using it? Another magnetic backplate snaps on top of it to keep it protected and tidy.

The EX Hybrid Controller is on sale now for $49.90.

Source: iPhone 5 Mod

Believe it or not, Christmas is almost here, and we’ll mark this midwinter festival by getting together with friends and family and continuing to drink and eat far too much.

Meanwhile, we also buy gifts for those same friends and family members, whether they want them or not. Luckily, we’re here to help, and if you follow our festive advice, your gifts just might make it into the “wanted” category.

Today, we’re looking at last-minute stocking stuffers. To be honest, if you still haven’t finished your Christmas shopping, you should really be out hitting the malls today. But seeing as you’re here reading this instead, here are a few ideas.

The Mummy from Loop Attachment — the creators of the wonderful Loop wristband for the sixth-generation iPod nano — is a premium silicone case for iPhone 5 that aims to provide your handset with all-around protection while preserving its identity.

It’s designed to leave a lot of your handset on show, so you can admire its sleek and sexy form factor, and its Apple logo, while still providing plenty of protection against scratches, scuffs, and drops.

The case boasts an incredibly lightweight design that provides easy access to all your ports, buttons, and switches. Its special feature is that it allows you to slip a credit card into the back of the case so that you can grab a coffee on your way to work without taking your whole wallet.

The Mummy costs $25, and it’s available in a whole range of colors — ten in total.

One doesn’t see too many battery cases for the Galaxy S3. Unlike the glass-fortress iPhone — for which battery-cases are more numerous than species of bird — the S3’s battery is easily removable, somewhat lessening the usefulness of an external battery. But that didn’t stop iWalk from coming out with the Chameleon Easy, an impossibly sleek monster of a battery case with 2800 mAh on tap — which iWalk says is the highest capacity of any S3 battery to date.

One of the better Yuletide traditions is the venerable holiday Advent Calendar, in which each day of December leading up to Christmas is marked off on a special calendar by opening its corresponding door to find a small gift, toy or chocolate squirreled away inside.

This year, we here at Cult of Mac decided we wanted to give our readers their very own Apple-themed advent calendar, filled with the year’s best apps, gadgets, stories and other curios. So each day in December, we’re going to lovingly peel back the door on the Cult of Mac 2012 Advent Calendar to reveal another delicious morsel, something really special that came out this year that we think every one of you should enjoy.

Day 19 is here, and along with it, one of our favorite iPhone cases: the Speck PixelSkin HD.

In my line of work, I see a lot of plastic-y, rubbery, or other kinds of cheaply-made iPhone cases. So when I saw Crimson’s new iPhone 5 case ($45), looking all svelte and made from the same aluminum they bolt into Boeing planes, I just had to see if it was truly first class, or just another case made for coach.

Korean electronics giant Samsung has today announced that it will drop its patent-infringement lawsuits against Apple in Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The announcement comes just hours after Apple was denied its request to have 26 Samsung devices banned in the United States — though the two cases are unrelated.

I’ll admit it: I loved the BookBook for iPad. Yet less than a week after I’d written the review, the BookBook Case for iPad was already in a bin with all the other iPad cases that I’ve tried (and failed) to love longer term.

Why? The issue is pretty simple. The BookBook for iPad is a wonderfully made case, but at the end of the day, I find myself using needing a case for my iPad that is effortlessly pulled off and re-applied. Ironically, the reason why is because I’m constantly using another TwelveSouth product with my iPad: the HoverBar, a fantastic articulating arm for the iPad that I’ve got attached over my bedboard as a makeshift streaming video and audio console. Ironically, there’s just no way to fit an iPad into the Hoverbar if you’re using a BookBook as your case.

Now that the BookBook for iPad mini is here, though, I think I finally have a BookBook that will stay on my iDevice for more than a week or so. The iPad mini is simply the device the BookBook was made for.

Macally was one of the first manufacturers to get its iPad mini cases onto the market when the device was launched back in early November, and this one from the guys at MobileFun caught my eye for a number of reasons.

It provides protection for both the front and back of the device, with a hard plastic shell that houses the iPad mini, and a plastic cover that’s lined in soft, suede-like material. The cover also doubles as a stand for typing and watching movies.

The case provides access to your all of your device’s ports and buttons, and includes a cutout for its rear-facing camera. It’s priced at $47 and comes in a range of colors, but is it worth that price tag?

The GoPano Micro is a Kickstarter project that’s really taken off, becoming a huge success on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. So it’s no surprise to see that it’s soon coming to iPhone 5. It’s available to pre-order now from the GoPano store, priced at $60, with shipping expected to begin later this month.

Apple increased the iPhone’s screen size for the first time when it launched the iPhone 5, giving users an additional 0.5 inches worth of Retina display. If that’s still not enough for you, don’t think you’ll have to give up on iOS and turn to Android; pick up the popSLATE case instead and add an addition 4-inch display to your iPhone 5.

From the guys at MyBanana, this iPhone 5 sleeve is handmade in Israel from soft wool felt that’s designed to protect your handset while “keeping it fashionable and stylish.” Not only does it house your iPhone, but there’s also a handy pocket that’ll hold onto your credit cards and cash.

It’s priced at just £15 (about $24) and comes in grey and black, grey and magenta, and grey and turquoise. It’s cheap, then, but is it any good?

Back in February, I told you about an awesome iPhone 4S case called the Cellhelmet, which comes with one year of accidental damage cover absolutely free. If your iPhone gets damaged while inside the case, Cellhelmet will get it repaired or replaced — all you pay is the handling charge.

Now Cellhelmet’s coming to your iPhone 5.

The Speck CandyShell is a dual-layer case with a patented design that aims to give you all-around protection for your iPhone 5. It combines a soft, rubber interior with a hard outer shell that offers plenty of impact resistance for those unfortunate yet inevitable drops.

The CandyShell also provides protection for your volume keys and sleep/wake button, while providing access to your headphone jack, Lightning connector, mute switch, and camera.

It costs $34.95 and comes in a plethora of color combinations, including black and slate, white and charcoal, raspberry and black, grape and malachite, and many more.

I used to be a diehard Moleskine fan. I still love them, but I realized that I was spending too much time worrying about what to write in those precious pages that I never actually wrote much. So I switched to completely disposable (and easily scannable) index cards and I never looked back.

Well, apart from the time I found an index card written to me by my future self which said “Look behind you… NOW!” But that just turned out to be a drunken prank I played on myself.

So I have little time these days for Moleskine, Field Notes or any other fancy book that gets in the way of my scrawlings. But that’s not to say that this Field Notes Archival Wooden Box isn’t tempting.