Month: April 2014

Otterbox Preserver for iPhone 5s UnBoxing and Video Water Testing

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Otterbox Logo

I am always on the search for the ultimate phone case, and with my work and hobbies of riding a motorcycle I require something tough, something that will stand up to the elements and most importantly something that will keep my phone in absolute pristine condition!  Bulk doesn’t bother me and in recent times my favourite case has been the Otterbox Armor.  I had it for my iPhone 5, and it took me from the fine shores of Northern Ireland to the finer shores of Florida.  It took me through every theme park and thunderstorm Florida could offer and it never missed a beat.  Admittedly it was a beast of a case, but I was fine with that.  Nothing was beating it.

Since then and getting an iPhone 5s I have been looking for the same thing.  I have tried many cases since then, most recently was the Tech 21 Special Ops Combat case.  And to be fair to it, it is a crackin’ case!  It felt strong, I trusted it, the only thing it lacked was water resistance and it blocked the fingerprint sensor.  And let’s be honest it is the finger print sensor on a iPhone 5s that differentiates it from a 5.  You have a 5s and you’ll want to be able to use your finger print sensor or at least show it off on occasion.

So now that Otterbox has bought LifeProof and the designs boffins have started working together the inevitable outcome is the Otterbox Preserver.

Anyone who had a Lifeproof Fre case will instantly recognise the Preserver, the similarities are everywhere from the look to the feel, although the preserver feels stiffer, more rigid and just a little bit tougher.  These are all good things, that result in a sleek package.  If you are used to the Armor case this one will feel truly insignificant.

Now I am not one to torture test my phone or a case, plenty of others do that.  I buy a case to prevent my phone being tortured but it is good to know what you are playing with and the stats that the preserver boasts are as follows :

– Two-piece case with snap assembly for easy installation

– Internal foam cushions device and holds it in place inside the caseIncludes an adjustable lanyard for convenient carrying and tethering

– Waterproof: fully submergible up to 6.6 ft. (2 m) for 30 minutes (IP-X8)

– Drop proof: protects device from drops up to 6.6 ft. (2 m)

– Dust proof: blocks entry of dust and debris particles (IP-6X)

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OtterBox Defender for Nokia Lumia 920 UnBoxing

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From my previous post you can see that I recently purchased a Nokia Lumia 920.  Anyone who follows my blog will also know that I am a huge fan of tough cases for phones, it means I can go to work and forget about my phone, go out on the bike, go for a run and never be overly worried about the phone, safe in the knowledge that it is well protected.  Of course there is the fact that these cases will add considerable bulk to a phone and I appreciate that therefore tough cases are not for everyone.  With that to the side it is hard to deny that OtterBox make a good case, and it is for that reason that I opted for an Otterbox Defender for my new Lumia.

Also I should say that there is very little variety when it comes to this phone, and even the OtterBox was difficult enough to source in the UK.  The other alternatives were eBay imports that looked like rather cheap Otterbox imitations.  Maybe the difficulty in sourcing this case explains the condition it arrived with me in, you may see in the photographs that the packaging certainly had better days and although it is hard to see the case itself was filthy, covered in a thick layer of dust as if it had been lying in an old store room since the beginning of time.  To be fair the phone has been released for a while and the case itself didn’t come direct from Otterbox, so there are external factors worth considering.

Anyway this case does exactly what it says on the tin, it is big and bulky for shock and drop protection, the ports and switches are covered up with should offer good dust protection and it has a build in screen guard.  It is at this point that I find my only fault with the case.  The screen guard, when the case is installed, is not tight against the screen, there is a small layer of air in there that you feel when using the phone, it is almost like a cushion effect and it detracts heavily from the touch screen.  I mean heavily.  It is not nice to use.  Also this gap seems to be a magnet for dust.  After just a short period of time I noticed an alarming amount of dust and debris had accumulated inside the case, between the screen shield and the phone itself.  This case should be removed frequently and the phone cleaned.

Having said that as far as extreme protection goes for the Lumia 920 this seems to be the best option, so if it is protection you require, and can deal with cleaning the phone and case regularly and the reduction in sensitivity and less than pleasing use of the touch screen this is a decent case, offering a standard of protection that no one else seems to for the Lumia 920.  If you don’t need the heavy duty protection but like keeping your phones in pristine condition a decent full body shield such as those supplied by Zagg or BestSkinsEver may be the way forward?

OtterBox Defender for Nokia Lumia 920 UnBoxing :

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Nokia Lumia 920 UnBoxing

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I’m not completely new to Nokia Lumia phones nor the Windows Phone OS, having owned a Lumia 620 previously.  As a complete and utter Mac fanatic and convert I have to say the Windows Phone OS is exceptional.  Yes there are a few holes in the app market, but these are more ‘wants’ than ‘necessities’ and as every week passes these holes are getting filled in.  There is now very little that I can’t do on WP that I really see as an immediate must, except for the Sky Go App.  Come on Microsoft and Sky, Windows Phone users need Sky Go!

I previously did a simple guide for getting started on WP8, you can find that here : https://tbni.blog/2013/05/27/windows-phone-8-getting-started-tips-tricks/

Also to touch quickly on the built in Nokia Apps, firstly the Sat Nav Software is simply great.  Last year it took me all across Florida without a single hitch, and it frequently takes me round roads over here, that the rest of the developed world would maybe, on a good day, consider as a track!  Believe me, a Sat Nav working well over here is no mean feat!

So what is different and why did I see the need to change?

That’s an easy one, there are some unbelievable deals about at the moment on the 920 handset, I was able to sell my 620 for about £4 less than I bought it for and a few notes later I had upgraded to the 920.  The differences are basically, everything is bigger and better.  Bigger, better screen, more RAM, faster processor, more storage, much much better camera.

The full Specs of the phone for the technically gifted can be found here : http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_lumia_920-4967.php

Which leads me to my next point, the camera on the Nokia Lumia 920 is outstanding.  (The gallery images were not taken with it by the way – say no more!)  And with each and every update Nokia and WP8 are throwing out it just keeps getting better.  The latest rendition of this Nokia Camera App can be found here : http://www.windowsphone.com/en-gb/store/app/nokia-camera/bfd2d954-12da-415c-ad99-69a20f101e04

With the Nokia Camera App you are not far off the power of a basic DSLr!  With setting from Auto to Manual, Portrait to Sports, the need for a Point ‘N Shoot is quickly diminishing!  Another quality app that has been released by Nokia for the higher end Lumia range is called ‘Refocus’ and with simply touch gestures true depth of field imaging has been brought – live time – to the mobile phone camera system.  A quick preview and demo of ‘ReFocus’ can be seen here : https://refocus.nokia.com

With such a brilliant Sat Nav and Camera system on the 920 it has to be a contender to replace your sat nav in your car alone, and at similar money for a decent sat nag, and with the benefit of it being phone as well as a great camera the benefits are certainly becoming more obvious!

Finally, with Nokia MixRadio you have a massive catalogue of music to take with you, stream and enjoy for FREE!  Yep another brilliant free app in the Nokia Suite, and the details of it are here : http://www.nokia.com/gb-en/apps/app/mixradio/

Of course there has to be a problem right?  Yep unfortunately so.  And it is common with all smart phones.  The battery.  When Sat Naving, photographing and streaming the Lumia goes through a battery as quick as a hungry baby with a bottle.  Same can be said for many other phones of course, but it is a point to be wary off.  If long battery life is a necessity for you, you may need to look else where, or at least at a USB car charger and spare lead, or a battery pack, hell there are that many options I’m sure you’ll be grand!

Nokia Lumia 920 UnBoxing Gallery :

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