case Archives - Page 2 of 3 - TBNI.Blog

Amzer Crusta for Apple iPhone 6 Plus UnBoxing & Installation

December 30, 2014 by TomBoyNI

As you will know from my previous posts on cases and protection fro my phones I am generally speaking a fan and user of tough cases, the OtterBox Defender, OtterBox Preserver and Griffin Survivor would normally factor in my top 5 cases. Although one lazy Sunday morning a Facebook advertisement for an ‘Amzer Crusta’ case appeared on my news feed. It was being marketed as a tough case with a build in tempered glass cover (front and rear) thus maintaining the feeling and a lot of the looks of a ‘naked’ iPhone. The obvious exception being the large bumper round it!

I was intrigued enough to look closer and although Amzer as a brand didn’t appear to be overly familiar in the UK it did seem to have a good customer base in the USA, which seemed to be fairly positive. So I ordered one.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoT4aYmzjBE?list=UUESG0Ppfxruj–1Gzs7Esog]

iPhone 5 / 5s Bear Grylls Action Case UnBoxing

January 12, 2014 by TomBoyNI

I have always been a fan of the rugged style cases for my phone. The offer great drop protection and keep the phones in immaculate condition when being used in everyday life.

Whilst out shopping I noticed a ‘Bear Grylls Action Case’ with a nice yellow reduced sticker in a local supermarket. Reduced is always good and also it was bright orange. Thats a good way to sell me something – make it available in funky colours. The case was also available in a range of Camouflage colour options (wood land, DPM, and urban – there may be even more, as well as grey and plain black).

The cases are identified by a large BG logo on the bottom third which to be fair I am not convinced on. The rest of the case definitely gets my vote on aesthetics, however the big logo is just a little too garish for me. (Even though it bright orange.) I mean c’mon does anyone actually want to walk about advertising Bear Grylls?

Ballistic Smooth Series Case for iPhone 5 / 5s UnBoxing

November 30, 2013 by TomBoyNI

Just a quick unboxing gallery this evening of the Ballistic Smooth Series Case for the Apple iPhone 5 / 5s.

I have this installed on my iPhone 5s, which also has a full body Zagg Invisible Shield installed on it and as you can see the case still fits. If you are too using a screen guard you will need to be very careful as the case itself is rather tight fitting. It is a plastic case, so unlike a silicon based case it is not very flexible. Care is needed when popping in the last corner as it is easy to lift the screen guard, which happened to me, thankfully it didn’t damage it and the case went ok with a bit of gentle persuasion on my next attempt.

The case comes with a nice feature, namely its bumper corners, they are interchangeable and the case comes with four sets, green, red, white and black.

The case is called Smooth Series and it is for exactly that reason, it is smooth, it slips into your pocket easily. and won’t pull out every piece of dust and lint in your pocket unlike its silicon cousins. The case feels well put together, sturdy and strong, the bumper corner adding a little extra protection.

All ports are open and easily operated, the rocker switch functions easily and well, as do the volume buttons. The Home button is open, which is great for iPhone 5s users and their fingerprint centre. There is no screen protection although the case is desk safe, in that the case is edged and if set down screen first the edging means the screen will be kept clear of the desk.

Spigen Tough Armor Case for Apple iPhone 5/5s Unboxing and Review

October 17, 2013 by TomBoyNI

With the addition of the Touch ID Finger Print sensor on the new iPhone 5s it has meant that case developers are still working on the technology for my usual style of tough cases such as the Griffin Survivor, or Otterbox Armor / Defender Series. Obviously anything for the iPhone 5 that covers the home button will not be compatible with the new iPhone 5s’ Touch ID Sensor.

And like anyone with a new toy I want to play with it, so at this point covering the Home button isn’t the option I want to use. A quick search on the net then pointed my in the direction of a manufacturer called Spigen. I haven’t owned a Spigen case, nor seen or used one before so on taking some online reviews at their word I ordered myself a Spigen Tough Armor case. It was pretty expensive at £20 from Amazon, however if the reviews are correct it should be a £20 well spent.

As usual with Amazon it arrived quickly and on taking it out of the box I was pretty impressed. The case feels solid, and well manufactured. It looks good, the white version complementing the white iPhone well. The subtle branding of the case looks smart. The explanation of the tech behind it is basically impact diversion. The case takes a knock and the design of the case then spreads the forces from the impact throughout the case, keeping the forces away from your phone. The result is it shouldn’t break. Thats the theory anyway and the inside of the case has nice lines running from corner to corner, maybe this is an illustration of the force distribution or something. I think it looks like flight plans plotted on a flattened out globe, but anyway that hardly matters.

One thing I really did like about this case is that it comes with a serial number that you type into the Spigen website and it checks the authenticity of the case. As you will see from previous posts I have been a victim of counterfeiters before and this is a really nice idea by Spigen. Something other premium branded and high cost case makers should consider implementing,

The phone fits well into the case. The buttons are responsive, power and volume buttons are covered. The remaining ports and silent rocker switch are left open. There is a cut out on the rear for the shiney Apple logo to peek through, ye know just in case some one might not be aware you are using an iPhone.

G-Form Extreme Case for iPhone 5/5s – Unboxing and Review

October 21, 2017October 17, 2013 by TomBoyNI

Having been using my G-Form Case for my iPad since April 2012 and with it still going strong, (although a little dirtier than when it started life) I had a G-Form case ordered and sitting on my desk about 10 days before I even had my iPhone 5s. I had made an enquiry with G-Form to make sure it would fit (which it does) and that order was placed.

I am a huge G-Form fan, the iPad case I use is this one :

https://tbni.blog/2012/04/27/april-2012-review-g-form-extreme-sleeve-for-ipad-and-others-up-to-10/

I have had my iPad safely homed in it for 18 months and it has been in some strange and wonderful places. The iPad is still absolutely immaculate, the case although the yellow shows up any marks is still 100%, the material is uncreased, unfolded with no scuffs or tears. It is generally in a back pack but I have 100% faith in the job it is doing in there, after all back packs are not generally one of the safest nor more stable places on earth!

It is for these reasons that I decided to entrust my brand spanking new release day iPhone 5s to G-Form.

The case feels tough and strong with the reassuring ‘squigginess’ of the G-Form material. The case has a certain ‘tackiness’ or ‘stickiness’ that means you can put the case on the dash of your car and most of the time it will sit there, however it wouldn’t be as sticky as, for example, a Griffin Survivor. It slips into your pocket and out again with ease, something the pure silicon cases don’t. And it isn’t a dust magnet, so unlike the silicon cases when you put it into your pocket it doesn’t come out as if it has just done an impression of a vacuum in your pocket.

The case is face-safe, in that it has a raised lip sitting above the bezel of the screen, meaning you can place it face down on a desk and the screen won’t touch the desk.

All ports are open and plugging in the official Apple sync charging cable causes no issues, however the official Apple 9 pin to 30 pin connector won’t fit in, you would need the cabled adapter if this was an accessory you relied on.

The camera ports caused me no issues when taking photos, with or without the flash.

The full screen is open so using the Touch-ID fingerprint scanner on the iPhone 5s isn’t an issue.

Otterbox Armor Unboxing / Water Test and Initial Thoughts…

June 6, 2013 by TomBoyNI

With my upcoming trip to Florida now only mere hours away the Postman arrived at about 9.00am with the package I was waiting on…An Otterbox Armor.

Now these cases are not cheap coming in at around £70 – £75 (or $100) however the claims they boast are definitely worth looking into!

1. Crush resistance of up to 2 tonns (1.8 tonnes) of pressure.

2. Dirt / Dust Proof

3. Drop Proof (10ft / 3m)

4. Water Proof (6.6ft / 2m for 30 mins)

FAKE LifeProof by Fre Case – A Guide to Spotting Nasty Fakes!

May 28, 2013 by TomBoyNI

So after a thorough hunt on eBay I found a high feedback rated user, located in the UK (so local to me) who was selling ‘Genuine’ LifeProof Cases for the iPhone 5.

The case was at a price lower than RRP, but not by a huge amount. It certainly wasn’t one of these £9.99 ‘LifeProof’ cases that you see all over sites such as eBay, Gumtree, and now unfortunately, more frequently also Amazon.

The order was placed and delivery was next day, all in all so far great service from this ‘highly rated’ eBay seller. That is were the good news stops! Upon opening the box it was evident that I was NOT the proud owner of a genuine LifeProof Fre iPhone 5 Case. I was now the owner of a cheap and nasty fake. The only other option was that the genuine Fre LifeProof cases were in fact a very inferior product.

That is not the case! It is the fakes that are inferior!

Everything about them from the box, quality and decals, right through to the overall feel and fit of the case just screams nasty.

Here is a quick guide of what to look for, so that pretty much instantly you should be aware of a real v fake Fre LifeProof Case:

Griffin Survivor – iPhone 5 – Unboxing and Initial thoughts and reviews!

September 22, 2012 by TomBoyNI

Anyone who knows about my opinions on cases will know that I am a huge fan of the Griffin Survivor series of cases. It is pretty much what my iPhone 4s lived in, and now it is what my iPhone 5 has started its life off in.

These cases are hardcore. They are big and bulky, but when you are aiming for extreme protection they are the dogs dangles!

They are tested against drops, water (not waterproof unfortunately), sand and dust, and has received US military approval.

I tend to double up on the protection as well, as I also have the phone covered in a matt screen guard and rear protector too. If using an additional screen guard with the Survivor or any other type of case with its own built in screen guard you need to use matt. Anything else will case water marking between the two.

If you think this is a bit excessive you are probably most certainly correct, I just dont like the thought of a little piece of dust getting in there and scratched away at the phone unchecked for a long period of time, so easch to their own eh?

As far as the case goes there are a few notable changes from that of the iPhone 4 / 4s :

iFace 2 iPhone Case – Thoughts and Photos…

August 23, 2012 by TomBoyNI

As quickly as you have read and learn about the iFace cover for the iPhone, here now is the iFace 2. This allegedly has been produced to eradicate the problems of the iFace cover which unfortunately plagued the original case ( )

You will quickly see from the photos below that a lot has changed, the sleek contoured curves are gone, the little Apple logo is gone, and it has now went from being sexy hour glass shaped to a bit of a fat boy! The nice right colours are still present and the big fix is meant to be the camera doesn’t wash out when the flash is used, well guess what mine does, now depending on what case I choose I can have a yellow or red wash out.

iFace iPhone 4 / 4s Case : Thoughts and Photos…

August 23, 2012 by TomBoyNI

The iFace cases are currently found all over eBay and YouTube at the moment, they are hugely popular and also due to this popularity they range massively in price. Expect to pay around £5GBP to have one delivered in the UK, NOT the £20 – £30 some eBay sellers seem to have them for sale at!

I’m not going to write too much about this case or its predecessor, the iFace 2 case, coming next, as it is simply a bright, cheap and cheerful case.

It is surprisingly well made, and with little details like the cut out Apple logo on the bottom all adding to the overall quality of the case.

When it is on it actually looks really nice, and due to the contoured shape of it, it is a pleasure to hold. As far as protection goes I’d be off the opinion that in an emergency it will help in the event of a small knock, however it is certainly not an impact case.

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