What can be said about Scosche's $25 Clear case for iPhone (
) that hasn't been already said about similar hardshell iPhone cases? Precious little, in fact, so let's cut right to the chase: it's a two-piece-front and back-transparent-plastic case fashioned from polycarbonate, and including a thin, adhesive-film screen protector. There are openings for accessing all the phone's controls and ports.
The case, which is pretty slim, snaps together tightly—so tightly, in fact, that it's difficult to get off easily; this isn't a case for those who want to remove it frequently, which is slightly irritating since, like most other iPhone cases we've tested, dust and particles have a tendency to get trapped between the case and the phone. In the end, I had to resort to using a small screwdriver to pry the case apart, gently so as not to scratch the iPhone's exterior.
One distinguishing feature of the Clear case is the small rubber feet that Scosche has attached to the front and back of the case. There are four on each side and they provide traction for when you put your iPhone down on a slippery surface. While they may not add much to the case's aesthetic appeal, they certainly seemed to work well enough in their advertised capacity.
Scosche's Clear case is no revolution in polycarbonate cases, but it's a decent enough offering in the category, as long as you don't want to constantly take the iPhone in and out of the case.
Last week, I made a daring and sacrificing expedition to the desolate island of Aruba, where I battled horrifying beaches, a strong sun, overly-stuffing food, and fresh fruit smoothies.
Yeah, it was hell.
One night, we decided to brave the barren roads and take a rental car tour of the isle. We wound up lost, trapped in some dark remote desert area surrounded by cacti, abandoned buildings, and incredibly lazy wild dogs who did little more than stare at us in bewilderment. After 45 minutes of going in circles, we were losing hope, and on the verge of making camp and eating my brother for nourishment.
Worried for his life, The Bro whipped out his iPhone and discovered something amazing: he was able to use the Google Maps app to actually locate our position on the island, streets and all. He turned on Data Roaming, connected to the island's Setar cell network, and used the Find Me button to accurately triangulate where we were relative to our hotel. Within ten minutes we were back on the main road headed to our comfortable freshly-tidied rooms.
We were shocked -- it worked better than it does in Chicago. And we didn't know the Find Me feature functioned so well -- or at all -- anywhere outside the US, especially on an island in the south Caribbean.
Have any of you used Find Me anywhere outside the US, particularly in locations where the iPhone isn't sold? How'd it work?
File this one under "I guess this is good news." AT&T has announced a policy change: if you begin or renew a contract as of May 25th, the early termination fee (currently a flat $175) will decrease by $5 for each month of service you've already paid for. So, for example, if you decide to cancel a year into your contract, you'll pay $60 less—just $115.
That's...interesting. I suppose every little bit helps. Granted, the lowest you can get on the standard 2-year contract is about $60—and there's probably not much point to canceling when you've only got a month left.
As AT&T points out, there are still plenty of options if you want to avoid contracts altogether, although the only one that really applies to iPhone users is buying a "pay as you go" plan. Personally, I look forward to the day that cell phone contracts bite the big one, but it appears that's still to come.
[via iPod Observer]
Reader John wrote in to tell us of a problem he (and others) are experiencing with the iPhone's battery going dead very rapidly.
Dissatisfied, John decided to do a little detective work and found that the culprit on his phone is an errant IMAP connection. Apparently, in some circumstances the iPhone's Mail client may not correctly terminate the conversation with an IMAP server.
Because the iPhone is continously sending commands, the mail server will not consider the connection idle and time it out, as far as the mail server is concerned they are all legitimate requests. Because the iPhone is continously sending commands, the iPhone WiFi (or EDGE) transmitter is constantly working and therefore constantly draining the battery. This also explains why the iPhone gets very hot (because it is working flat out).John's experience has been in particular with a Kerio Mail Server and a QuickMail Pro server; though he says he had the same problem trying to access GMail over IMAP with the 1.1.3 firmware, that seems to be working for him on 1.1.4.
My initial hypothesis would be some sort of incompatibility between QuickMail Pro/Kerio Mail and the iPhone's IMAP client, since I've got a variety of IMAP clients set up on my iPhone (Yahoo, Gmail, .Mac, and a couple of my own), and haven't run into this problem at all.
How about it readers: experienced excessive battery-draining that can be traced back to IMAP? Sound off below.
Silicone skins to the left of us, silicone skins to the right of us! They're everywhere we turn nowadays. Like many of them, PDO's $20 TopSkin for iPhone () provides lightweight protection for your handset without hampering your use of its features and controls.
Available in four colors (black, blue, white, and hot pink), the PDO Top Skin has the requisite openings for the iPhone's screen, Ring/Silent switch, microphone, speaker, and earphone. Every other control is covered with silicone, though in the case of the dock-connector port and headphone jack, the material is in the form of cut-out flaps that you can pull back to get at the ports. Both the volume controls and Sleep/Wake switch, however, have rubber nubs that indicate where the controls are and let you operate them through the case; the Home button, on the other hand, has a slight depression over it to make it easy to find and use. The TopSkin also comes with a thin, adhesive screen protector and a detachable, rotating belt clip.
The flaps of silicone that cover the dock-connector port and headphone jack are thoughtful touches; they're easy enough to use when you want to get at the ports, otherwise springing quickly back into place to keep dust out. The nubs over the volume controls and Sleep/Wake button work fine, and the Ring/Silent switch hole is big enough for easy access.
The belt clip, which rotates 90 degrees, clockwise or counterclockwise, is one of the case's weak points—in some cases literally. Though the belt clip is detachable, I had trouble getting it to unclip from the plastic bracket it attaches to. When I tried to peel the silicone skin from around it, I ended up accidentally ripping through the material, which happens to be much thinner on that part of the case. I also found that the clip itself was difficult to take on and off my belt when I was trying to answer the phone. That's good, in that it's secure, but somewhat frustrating from a practical standpoint, especially if you're the type who spends a lot of time pulling out your iPhone.
Overall, the TopSkin for iPhone is a pretty good silicone skin, and one that won't cost a pretty penny, but its belt clip leaves a bit to be desired. If that's not a function that you're craving in your iPhone case, it may be a good choice for you.
At the special event earlier this month where Apple laid out the future of developing software for the iPhone, the company said that it would be providing the full suite of its existing development tools, such as Xcode, for creating iPhone applications. However, in the first version of the SDK that was rolled out, there was one notable omission from that lineup: Interface Builder, the application that lets developers easily design the UI of their program.
Given the importance of UI on the Mac, Interface Builder is a pretty critical tool in the development process, and some developers had chosen to hold off on their efforts until the SDK was revised. Which, as you might have guessed, was today. A new version of the SDK—build 9A2151 for the alphanumerically curious among you—has been posted, including the anticipated Interface Builder.
That seems to be the only major change in the latest build, according to the SDK's read me, which continues to list some known issues for what Apple calls the "Beta 2" release; Apple says "this second beta is known to be incompatible with installation folders
other than the default /Developer." So be a good little feller and install it where it wants to go.
Hey kids, thinking that selling iPhones to the black market might be a good way of making a few extra bucks? Well, you're not wrong, but you might want to consider all the implications before you do so. Take this pair of gentlemen who worked at the Salem, New Hampshire Apple Store. They apparently nicked 332 iPhones from their employers and sold them off before getting caught by the cops.
The estimated value of the stolen phones was about $132,468, and the two have been charged with felony theft. Let that be a lesson to you, would-be black marketeers. Stick to selling Nintendo Wiis on eBay, 'kay?
Tekkeon's $30 Hard Case with Soft Touch for the iPhone () is a hardshell iPhone case...with a twist. Or, more accurately, a flip. Available in five colors, its most distinctive feature is a hard-plastic screen protector that flips up to let you use the iPhone's touchscreen, and back down to keep the screen shielded when it's not in use. But just how well does that idea work?
Like most other hard cases I've tested, Tekkeon's is made of two pieces: a front and a back. These snap together around the iPhone, leaving a thin gap between them (more on that later). Wide openings let you get at the headphone jack and Sleep/Wake button on top of the iPhone as well as the microphone, speaker, and dock-connector port on the bottom, while the front features cutouts for the iPhone's receiver speaker, ambient-light sensor, and Home button. The left side of the case lets you get at the phone's Ring/Silent switch and volume controls, and the back has an opening for the iPhone's camera lens. There's also a removable, rotating belt clip that snaps into place or slides off when you don't want it. And, of course, there's the aforementioned flip-up screen protector.
While the screen protector is a nifty, novel feature, it can be annoying to use. Since so many of the iPhone's functions involve interacting with its touchscreen, you spend a lot of time flipping the case's door up and down. Worst of all is answering a call, which requires you to: 1) unclip the phone from your belt; 2) flip the door up; 3) tap the screen to answer the phone call; and 4) flip the door down (because you can't put the phone to your ear when the door is open). Though I got faster at this procedure with practice—I lost a couple phone calls while fumbling with it at first—it's still an irritating process (unless you largely use the iPhone's earbuds or a Bluetooth headset). Fortunately, the door can popped off from the inside of the case, which means you can avoid the problem, but you do so at the cost of screen protection.
The case itself is solidly built, and it holds together well. So well, in fact, that the instructions say you need a credit card to get the two halves apart again (don't worry, it's not to pay for a locksmith). Remember that thin gap I mentioned earlier? Slide a credit card in and twist and the you'll pop the latches. I wouldn't recommend trying with your fingernails if you want to keep them intact; it's pretty tightly sealed.
The case's belt clip is fine, if you want to use it, but unfortunately, it doesn't look like you can remove the mount for the belt clip, a small toothed wheel that sticks out of the back of the case; you're stuck with that nub even if you don't want to use the belt clip.
So though its screen protector is an interesting idea, Tekkeon's Hard Case with Soft Touch has practical limitations unless you're a devoted headset user. That, combined with the protruding belt clip mount, should make you consider whether or not this case is right for you.
Here's a nifty—and better, cheap—solution for all you folks out there who feel that the iPhone's virtual keyboard lacks tactile feedback. MyTouchKeys is taking the screen protector film we all know and love and adding small "bubbles"cut-outs over where each key on the iPhone's keyboard falls. That way, you get the feeling of depressing a button when you tap the keyboard.
A cool idea, to be sure, but I can foresee some issues with this solution. Like, what about all those times you aren't using the iPhone's keyboard? Wouldn't those bubbles cut-outs get in the way when you're just pinching and scrolling? What about when you want to use the keyboard in landscape mode?
Then again, since it only costs $8, it's not exactly a huge investment. Plus, right now, there's a buy one, get one free deal on, so technically you're only paying $4 each—not sure why you'd need two, but hey, you can go halvsies with your buddy.
[via Gizmodo]
