« August 2008 | Main | October 2008 »

September 29, 2008

OtterBox Defender - A Rugged Case for iPhones

A couple of months ago I bought an iPhone 3G. While not perfect, I really like it, it has exceeded my expectations. But it is expensive and I am concerned about damaging it.

Otterbox introduced a case to protect the iPhone 3G - the Defender. It has:
- a hard plastic case
- the plastic case has a transparent - non glare - membrane to protect the iPhone's screen,
- a silicone skin that covers the plastic case,
- and a holster with a belt clip.

Comments

- It does add quite a bit of bulk to the phone, but how could it really protect the phone without adding bulk?

- it is very well made,

- the buttons on the iPhone are a bit more difficult to use than without the case, but not a big deal. I got used to it in minutes.

- while typing on the virtual keyboard, I made a few mistakes when the letter or numbers was close to the edge. The raised edge of the case around the screen was the cause. Once again, after a few minutes - no problem. And the membrane hardly reduces the sensitivity of the touchscreen, but it does make it a little more difficult to see the screen in bright sunshine.

- The belt clip - very difficult to get the phone out of the clip. When I first got the Defender I had to release the clip from my belt and pry the phone from the case. I contacted Otterbox and they suggested:
- when the holster is on your belt, place your thumb on the back part of the holster,
- with your other fingers on the back part of the phone case, pull the phone up with your fingers.

This works very well. What I first thought was a problem with the product turns out to be very clever engineering - the phone is safe and secure - very secure - in the holster, yet it is easy to get your phone out of the holster when you need it. And for added protection the screen faces in when the phone is in the holster.

- there is a membrane between the speaker on the phone and your ear. I had to increase the volume to compensate for this. Not a problem for me, but it might be an issue if your volume setting is already set at maximum or close to maximum.

- This is not Otterbox's problem but I cannot use Monster Cables iCarPlay 250 with the case on the phone.
The plug that goes into the iPhone is too wide on the right side to use with the Defender case.

- the silicone skin has flaps that cover the headphone jack and the multi-pin dock connector. This is a very nice feature, I have been concerned about dust getting inside the phone via these ports when I am at job sites.

Please note that Otterbox does not claim to that this case is waterproof.

This case is not for everybody, it adds bulk to the phone, the case reduces the volume, and the screen is a little harder to read in bright environments. But if you are often in environments where you phone could be damaged, this could be the answer. It sell for $49.95, for more information go to Otterbox.

Do you have a case for your cell phone?

October 13, 2008
Yesterday I, by accident, dropped my iPhone from about four feet onto concrete. It landed on the side edge of the case. The phone still works perfectly, the OtterBox case did its job.

Posted by Bob Gatton at 5:45 AM | Comments (7)

September 15, 2008

TechCrunch 50 2008

Last week I had the opportunity to attend TechCrunch50 in San Francisco.This is the second year for TechCrunch, this year over 1000 start up companies applied to present their company before some of the top industry professionals in the web world, only 50 were chosen.

One of the companies chosen was Tingz, a company that I have worked with almost since it started.
Tingz lets you share information between your computer, smart phone and television, or with friends. No matter what device you are using this information will look and work the same way. To get more information about Tingz click on the link and go to 'learn more". The beta should be released soon.

All of the 50 companies were interesting, a few stood out. I liked:
- OtherInBox - it automatically organizes email
- Yammer - Yammer was chosen as the winner out of the 50 entrants, its a clever method of sharing information within a company
- Atmosphir - create your own computer games

And beyond the 50 companies presenting there was Demo Alley. The 'alley' had more companies. Animoto is a company that I will keeping an eye on.

Among the companies at TechCrunch50 is probably the next Facebook, MySpace or Twitter. Please go to TechCrunch50 and take a look at the entrants. Which one do you think will be the next big thing?

Posted by Bob Gatton at 12:59 PM | Comments (0)

JL Audio Subwoofer - Customer Service

Earlier this year I got a JL Audio Fathom F113 subwoofer for my home theater. JL Audio has been making great speakers for cars for years, a couple of years ago they entered the home audio market.

My Fathom F113 is the most amazing component that I have put into my system in a long time. I liked my old subwoofer, until I got the Fathom. It reproduced the lowest parts of movies and music with ease and accuracy. Nothing that I threw at it generated any strain at all. It should be a great product, it retails for $3700.

All was fine until about a month ago when the woofer started to 'flutter', producing a relatively low level deep bass tone, even when the rest of the system was turned off. I tried disconnecting the subwoofer from my system, the problem was still there.

I called JL Audio. After being on hold for about 30 seconds I was connected with a friendly guy that actually knew what he was talking about. What a surprise. After a brief conversation he coordinated an RA (return authorization) for my subwoofer.

I shipped the 150 pound subwoofer to JL Audio in Miramar, FL. They repaired and shipped it in three days. They only had the subwoofer for 72 hours! And the product arrived in perfect working condition. They even cleaned my fingerprints off of the beautiful piano black finish. And they paid for the return shipping and reimbursed me for the cost of shipping the subwoofer to them.

I have had more than a few products over the years that languished in a manufacturer's repair facility. One company had my amplifier for almost four months, and without the amplifier the rest of the system was totally useless. And when that company finally returned my amplifier, it still had the problem!

My Fathom is back in my home theater. Of course I wish that there had not been a problem with the subwoofer, but no product, or company is perfect. But the true mark of a quality organizaion is when there is a problem, how do they take care of it? JL Audio exceeded my expectations. Highly recommended.

Please share your best or worse customer service experiences.

(I would like to thank my friend Mack at Statement Media and Design for helping me schlep this 150 pound monster from my second floor home theater to the local FedEx office.)

Posted by Bob Gatton at 8:14 AM | Comments (1)