Case review-Case Mate Vroom for the iPhone 4

Hi again on what is a milestone for my blog. Today I got to 1000 viewings, so that's 999 from me and thank you to the other person! Seriously I never considered the amount of hits my blog would get, although I do know that the blog subject is popular, so a big thank you to all who have spared the time to read my ramblings lol!

Tonight I will be doing another case review but was wondering how many cases the average iPhone 4 user owns. It would be interesting to know who has the most cases and the numbers involved, my best guesstimate would be well over 100. If any of you own a large amount of cases why not let me know.

Ok back on track and tonight's review is on the Case Mate Vroom which is available from MobileFun.co.uk and is very reasonably priced at £12.95.

Case Mate Vroom

Now first off you will notice the name, which in my opinion is rubbish. I think the marketing dept at Case Mate must have been on a late night session when they came up with this name but it is even worse when you see the reverse of the case!

the back of the Vroom!

Yes it resembles a tyre tread but come on guys, surely you can do better than Vroom!

What's in the box?

Case Mate are very good in this department as, yet again, they provide a screen protector, applicator card and very good sized micro fibre cloth in addition to the case itself. Other manufacturers please take note!

Description.

The Case Mate Vroom is a single piece case made of a very high grade silicon. The unique aspect of this case is the tyre tread pattern on the rear which is actually very accurate. To be fair I have seen cars on the road with less tread than this case but that's another story!
As with all Case Mate cases I have seen or tried personally, all the relevant cut outs are in the correct place and very neatly done. You will have no worries about operating the iPhone 4 with this case so well done Case Mate in this department.

Lens and flash cut out

sleep button, audio port and secondary mic cut out

30 pin dock connector

volume control and vibrate switch

good lay on the table design

Using the Case Mate Vroom

The Vroom is one of the easiest cases to install, a real plus point. Due to the quality of the silicon it really does provide excellent impact protection. Another feature so often overlooked is the lay on the table design. As you can see from the image above, the Case Mate Vroom offers excellent protection in this department. As always, I use a screen protector with  this case. Unfortunately that is where the good points end for this case and on this I will elaborate.

I found the silicon to be very slippery to the touch, in an odd way it even felt slimey. This feeling is made worse by wet hands and I would not trust myself not to do a good impression of trying to hold a bar of soap! Yes the back of the case has a substantial amount of grip but the sides seemed to have been overlooked. In addition to this I found the case really difficult to extract from my trouser pockets. I know this is in contradiction to how the case feels, but it really seems to snag on cotton pocket liners.
The final annoyance with the Vroom is the amount of dust and grease from my hands it seems to attract. Now I don't have greasy hands, or at least my wife has never mentioned it lol, but just holding the case I seemed to transfer lots and lots of pale marks. The dust it attracts is really bad, it's a real "lint" magnet and after a few hours use I thought the case looked really "tatty".

Overall.

Case Mate are a premiere case manufacturer so the Case Mate Vroom came as a real surprise. I would prefer to see the case made a 2 part with a plastic outer, this would fix all the problems. I won't be using the Vroom again, unfortunately it is destined for the "odds and sods" drawer at home ready to give out as a gift to someone!!!!!(just kidding).
Overall I give this case a 3/10 and just think that Case Mate had a bad day when they drew this one up.

I will be back later this week, hopefully with my Xmas shopping done, so until then stay safe and warm,

Andy









App of the week-Fizz Weather.

Good evening guys and gals, hope you have had a good day. To those of you who have done your Xmas shopping today I say, "would you do mine please" as I have yet to start! I usually leave it to the last moment and then panic but I WILL do mine this week coming! I also know what day I won't be doing my shopping because the weather forecast is terrible. So how do I know this fact?

Well I don't have access to any weather super computer but I do have an excellent weather app called,
Fizz Weather  which is available from the app store and costs £2.39.

If you are anything like me, you will have tried a whole host of different weather apps, some free and some paid. Most I have tried have been rubbish, either very inaccurate or prone to crashing but Fizz Weather has proved to be totally reliable and also very accurate.

Fizz Weather

What is Fizz Weather?

Developed by Fizz Software Ltd, it is a weather app that encompasses so many features it will keep even the most critical of users completely satisfied. Fizz Weather is a feature packed weather application which uses local weather stations, situated at airports, to provide a very accurate weather forecast.

How do I use Fizz Weather?

Firstly it has access to over 58,000 cities globally and it is one of the few that located the village where I live. You can either search manually or allow the app to search using the iPhone 4 GPS. I searched manually and within seconds it located my village. It also located 8 airports within a fairly close proximity, all of which provide weather forecasts used by the app.
Set up was easy for me as I don't travel much. I simply set it for my village, changed 1 or 2 features in the settings tab and I was ready to use it.
If you are a traveller both nationally and internationally, you can select and store a number of locations as well as the default. Selecting a stored location is easy within the menu.

What does Fizz Weather report?

It provides the user with a huge range of choices. Everything is done by a very slick, touch screen UI which is extremely user friendly. Below are just a few of the huge range of features that this app gives the user.

It will provide the current weather forecast.

current weather report

This page shows wind speed, wind direction, visibility, barometric pressure, humidity in %, sunrise and sunset times as well as the airports providing the forecast. Graphically it is very easy to understand but a nice touch is it displays either the sun or moon, dependant on the time of day, with appropriate weather graphics. This is also the default report screen for any of the huge range of forecasts.

It will provide a 2 day forecast.

2 day forecast

The 2 day forecast is self explanatory. You can tap on the mini icons to get the default weather screen with all the relevant information.

You also get a 5 day, 7 day and 15 day chart which are used in the same way. With these 3 settings you also get access to mini charts which show a variety of important information such as temperature, rainfall and wind speed trends.

Showing "mini chart"

If you turn the iPhone 4 horizontally you get the full screen weather charts.

full screen temperature chart

full screen rainfall chart.

You also get maps and satellite screens, there is a radar screen but that does not work in the UK at the moment.

map screen



satellite screen

 There are more features including information about flights from major airports but I think you get the picture.

Overall user experience.

For such a feature filled app, Fizz Weather is an absolute breeze to use. The UI is totally intuitive and  probably the best I have seen on any weather app.
Whilst this app reports on a whole host of weather information, that information is very easy to understand. The weather forecast is very accurate and I find myself turning to this app on a daily basis, particularly with the extremes of weather we get in the UK at this time of year!

So there you have it. A cracking app which I consider to be a "must have" on your device. Download it, you won't be disappointed! This app scores a maximum 5/5.

I will be back soon with another review so until then, stay warm and safe.

Andy

What's in the news?

Hello once again, I hope you are all well. I thought I would add an extra feature to my blog. This will be in the form of a weekly iPhone news bulletin. I am doing this because, at the moment, I have to read through around 9 different web sites in order to get all the relevant information. I think it is a lot easier to read the news from one location so from now on I will do a weekly news post towards the end of each week.

ETA for white iPhone 4.

There have been a lot of rumblings across the various boards this week in relation to the white iPhone 4. The general consensus of opinion is that it will not be released in the US until February at the earliest and even later in the UK. I am sorry to bring this news to those of you who are waiting.

IOS 4.3 is imminent.

This is quite a surprise considering we have only just had the latest Operating System upgrade. The release of IOS 4.3 looks likely to be early next week (week commencing Monday 13th December 2010). As yet there is no mention of the contents of this next upgrade other than the News based apps being run on a subscription base. I was hoping for more in the way of Air Print compatible printers but it looks as if I will have to wait.

iTunes US improvments.

iTunes (US) have increased the song preview length from 30 seconds to 90 seconds. This is a really nice change, lets face it you can't really preview a new song in 30 seconds. As is per the norm, the iTunes UK site has yet to be amended.

Infinity Blade released!

Wednesday night saw the release of the much hyped game , Infinity Blade. This is the first in a line of games to utilise the brilliant Epic Unreal 3 game engine. I downloaded it in the early hours of this morning and spent a few minutes messing around. As promised the graphics are amazing, below are 2 screen shots I took in game.

screen shot taken in game

screen shot taken in game

I will do a full review of Infinity Blade in the next few weeks but early impressions are that graphically  the game is going to be a benchmark for all future games. I never thought the day would come where I would be playing a game on a mobile phone where reflections and textures are so life like.
Infinity Blade is available on the App store and is priced at £3.49.

Well that is the news! I will be back over the weekend with another review so until then, stay safe and warm,

Andy

Item review-Case Mate Tough Case for the iphone 4

Evening guys hope you are well. No doubt everyone is thoroughly fed up with the weather now, I know I am. On a positive note, with each passing post we are one day closer to Spring time!!!

Tonight I thought I would do another case review. This time the case in question is the,

Case Mate "tough" case for the iphone 4. RRP £27.95.

Case Mate Tough

What's in the box?

The Case Mate is a "two part case" and comes nicely packaged. In addition to the case itself Case Mate supply a complementary pack which contains a front screen protector, an applicator card for the protector and a really decent sized micro fibre cloth. It is always nice when manufacturers include these items because they are always very useful. The case itself is only available in black although it is described as grey in the literature.

What is in the box!

Product description.

As mentioned, the Case Mate Tough is a "two part" case. The inner is a very soft silicon whilst the outer shell is made of a very tough and durable ABS type plastic. The outer has a very nice "grippy" texture with the Case Mate logo, it is very comfortable to hold and won't slip out of a "wet hand".
The inner silicon section will provide a very high level of shock and impact protection, the outer will certainly withstand a decent amount of knocks and bangs. As with all cases I will never volunteer my device for a "drop test" lol!
The Case Mate Tough looks quite similar to the Otterbox Commuter case that I reviewed recently however it will provide more in the way of protection in my opinion.

inner section

outer shell

Installation.

This case is one of the easier of the "two part" cases that I have used. The inner silicon section is very easy to fit, the outer shell is no different. Once assembled the iphone fits very snug and gives the user a great deal of confidence that the device is very well protected.

Performance.

Once assembled the Case Mate Tough will provide plenty in the way of protection. Both sections are really well designed, the cut outs are in the correct place. The sleep and sound control buttons are covered by the silicon inner section but react well when pressed.

volume control

 The 3.5mm audio cut out allows easy access of an audio jack, as with all cases it pays to make sure that any after market earphones fit correctly. 

sleep button and audio/secondary mic cut out

At the base of the case there is a large cut out for the 30 pin dock connector, primary microphone and speaker. As with virtually every case I have used the iphone 4 will not fit into any desktop charger I own however it is not difficult to disassemble to do so.


30 pin connector, mic and primary speaker cut out

The Case Mate Tough also provides a lot of "lay on the table" protection. This is where the front lip of the case is deep enough to ensure that the device glass will not touch a flat surface when laid face down.
The cut out for the rear camera and flash is very generous, there are no problems when taking photographs or video whilst using this case.

Overall impressions.

I really like the Case Mate Tough. It offers a high degree of protection without being bulky. I like the way the case fits together and the texture of the outer shell is nice in the hand. I also found it to be aesthetically pleasing (wow big word Andy!)!
The Case Mate Tough is available from MobileFun and whilst it is not the cheapest on the market, it is very competitively priced in its particular standing as a "medium to high" protection case.
I give the Case Mate Tough a very strong 4/5, the only down side is the price, I can thoroughly recommend it if you need a real "work horse" of a case.

I will be back later in the week so until then, stay safe and warm,

Andy.

App review-Internet Radio Box.

Hi there one and all and what a cold night again. I just took a peek outside and realised that I am becoming soft in my old age as I really hate being cold!
Tonight I thought I would do a review of an app I found on Saturday. I spend quite a bit of my free time looking at various apps and this one caught my eye and I thought I would share it with you. The app in question is called,

Internet Radio Box

Internet Radio Box

There are no prizes for guessing what this app does I'm afraid, even I would guess correctly!
Internet Radio Box is an Internet radio application and, until today, it was free however it will now cost you 59p from the App store. Even so it is a bargain.,
There are, what seems like, dozens of similar apps available for download. I only downloaded this because it was free but first impressions are very good.

Key Features

Over 40,000 stations


Radio Box supports many formats including MP3, AAC(+) and WMA.
The play back quality from the stream is excellent.

Supports 3G, EDGE and Wi-Fi.
Use WiFi wherever possible because it is free and unless you have an unlimited data plan with your service provider the data usage over 3G and EDGE is very high.

Supports Multitasking.
This is a very handy setting. Listen to your favourite music whilst doing something else on the iphone 4. Not all radio apps support this.

iphone 4 Retina Display Support.
The UI is really nice and looks great, thus enhancing the user experience.

Sleep Timer.
A self explanatory feature.

RadioDeck directory.
Browse for your favourite channel by Genre, Country, Most Popular Station, or search.

RadioDeck Options

Built in WWW browser.
With media detection. Also has direct access to Facebook and Twitter.

Built in Data Monitor.
Allows you to keep tabs on your usage!

Data Monitor

Data Monitor

Those are just some of the features, there are many more including offline favourite management etc.

Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed using this little app. I have found some of the more "offbeat" Channels via the search function and so far it has not let me down.
The music playback is of the highest quality either via the iphone 4 built in speakers or via earphones. Another nice touch is that the name of the song and artist are displayed along with an option to purchase the track from iTunes.

I give Internet Radio Box a 5/5 rating  not only for it's price but also for the quality of music and choice of stations. Well worth the 20mb it will take up on your device so give it a try.

I will be back later this week with another item review so until then, stay warm and safe,

Andy.




























Item review-Cygnett OpticClear Screen Protector for the iphone 4

Hi again. Hope your weekend is going well, if you are a cricket fan then its going very well!

Tonight I thought I would introduce you to a very important piece of kit for your iphone 4 and that is screen protectors.
Screen protectors are hardly the stuff of exciting reviews but, because they are overlooked, they are often forgotten until it's too late.
Imagine taking your iphone 4 out of a pocket to find there is a huge scratch to the glass surface. Chances are the scratch is permanent and could have been avoided by using a screen protector.
I have tried a few screen protectors, some are good but some are very poor. The poor ones are difficult to install, have nightmare bubbles that are impossible to get rid off and, worst of all, seem to attract fingerprints from everywhere.
Later in this post I will give you a few simple tips that will help with installation but first I would like to introduce you to the,

Cygnett OpticClear Antiglare Screen Protector for the iphone 4. These cost £12.95 and are available from www.MobileFun.co.uk.

Now I appreciate that some may say that £12.95 is a lot of money for screen protectors. Six months ago I would have agreed, particularly when you can buy screen protectors for around the £3 mark from a famous Internet auction site but, you really do get what you pay for.

The Cygnett OpticClear come neatly packaged, the package contains 3 front and 1 rear protector as well as a micro fibre cleaning cloth and an applicator card.

package and contents

Installation of the OpticClear protectors was easy and stress free. Both front and rear were applied in around 10 minutes in total. Any small air bubbles were easily removed.

The relevant cut outs for camera, flash etc were in the correct place and neatly done. I bought some from that famous site I mentioned, the cut outs looked like they had been done with blunt scissors!

Once on I did notice slight granulation of the screens images but it in no way subtracted from the pleasure using the iphone 4.

There is no interference with the iphones touch screen responsiveness and in fact using the touch screen is a real pleasure as my fingers slide really nicely over it.

In other, cheap protectors, finger prints can be a real menace. With the OpticClear I find I have very few to worry about, one wipe with a micro fibre cloth and the screen stays clean for what seems like ages.

The OpticClear are anti glare which works extremely well, the screen is visible in even the worst of light conditions.



iphone with Cygnett OpticClear screen protector fitted.

rear of iphone with Cygnett OpticClear fitted

As you will see from the two images above, which were taken with the flash enabled on my camera, there is very little glare from the flash. Pretty impressive.

There is not much more I can say about these screen protectors, other than they come with a 2 year manufacturers warranty and work very well.

I give these 5/5 and thoroughly recommend them.

Installation tips.

As promised here are a few tips that I swear by when installing screen protectors.

1. The iphone must be absolutely spotless, any bit of dust no matter how tiny WILL cause bubbles.

2. Lie the iphone on a lint free cloth to avoid scratching it.

3. Put one index finger in a cup of clean water and then smear the water gently all over the screen prior to installing the protector. The water should literally be a "smear" you MUST NOT soak your device!

4. I always work from top to bottom.

5. Peel about 3 inches of backing tape away from the protector.

6. Align the protector with the camera, flash and proximity sensor.

7. Gently smooth and work the applicator card from side to side whilst pulling the remainder of the backing tape off.

8. Because there is a little moisture you can, if needed, slide the protector to line it up.

9. Gently, using the applicator card, work any bubbles outwards to the edges of the device.

10. Lastly, gently pull the front protector tape from the screen protector.

11. If you ever need to replace a protector, the easiest way to remove them is to do so with a small amount of cellotape.

I hope this helps. Any of you that know me personally can bring your device to me and, for a small, alcoholic drink, I will apply the protectors for you!

Take care and stay safe,

Andy.

Item review-Otterbox Commuter case for the iphone 4.

Evening all. Yet another snowy night so what's better than reading a review?Quite a lot if I am honest but I am here and if you are reading this, then so are you lol!

This evening I bring you another review. The item today is,

The Otterbox Commuter case for the iphone 4.



The Otterbox Commuter costs £22.95 and is available at www.MobileFun.co.uk. It is only available in black.

What's in the box?

The Otterbox Commuter comes in two parts, more of which I will explain later. In addition to the case, Otterbox also supply a small pack which contains a front screen protector, a micro fibre cleaning cloth and a small card to use when applying the screen protector. This extra pack is always handy and, as far as I know, Otterbox supply this courtesy pack with all of it's iphone cases.

Description of the case.

As previously mentioned, the Otterbox Commuter case is made up of two parts. The inner segment is made of an extremely soft, silicon rubber which is very easy to fit to the iphone. Once fitted this inner case provides a good deal of protection on its own. It neatly covers the volume buttons and has two really useful port protectors, one for the 30 pin dock port, the other for the 3.5mm audio jack. I really like this aspect of the case, the extra protection of these two ports is important in my opinion.

The rear of the silicon case has two cut outs. One for the Apple logo, the other for the rear facing camera and flash.

Rear of inner case

The outer segment is made of a very durable looking polycarbonate material which adds a slightly higher degree of protection. Again the outer case has cut outs for the 3.5 mm audio jack and the Apple logo.

rear of outer case

The outer segment has a nice rough feeling to it which really aids grip. I cannot see this case slipping out of your hands unlike some currently available.

Using the Otterbox Commuter.

Fitting the inner segment of the case is easy. Just make sure that the two port covers are in place. This segment, when fitted, has a slight lip which protrudes slightly and fits over the front of the iphone. I like this as it gives what is known as "lay on the table" protection. This means that when laid face down, the front of the iphone will not scratch on the surface, again another thing I look for when buying cases.

Fitting the outer segment is a little more tricky. I have found that fitting the iphone "top in" first makes it a lot easier. The outer segment is quite a snug fit and it is important that you take the time to make sure it is fitting properly.

Once the Otterbox Commuter is correctly fitted I found that all the various device buttons were easily accessable. The rear facing camera lense is not interfered with in any way. The case really does offer a very good level of protection without being too bulky.                 

                                                                   



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base of the case

top of the case



                                                  

case fully fitted

Overall I really like the Otterbox Commuter. Whilst not the most pleasing on the eye, it is what I would describe as a work horse. There are no issues when using it and I feel confident that it will protect my iphone 4 from everything bar a nuclear attack! If you want a case that does that, go for the Otterbox Defender!

My only real niggle with this case is that it is a little tricky to put together. I certainly wouldn't want to be putting it on and taking it off on a daily basis! Like most other iphone 4 cases currently on the market, I have yet to find a desktop charging dock that will take the iphone with the case fitted.

I give the Otterbox Commuter 4/5 and can certainly recommend it to you.

Until the next time, stay safe,

Andy.

Item review-Koss iSpark iphone 4 earphones

Hi once again and I hope that you are comfortably settled in for the night. I love this time of year, particularly when it is so blooming cold. It is nice to be able to draw the curtains, crank up the heating and forget about the miserable weather outside. Unfortunately, yet again, the United Kingdom shows its complete lack of preparation for inclement weather. If folk abroad can cope, why can't we? "Get off your soap box" Keeble!

This evening I thought I would do a quick review of an often overlooked item. I am talking about stereo earphones and in particular the,

Koss iSpark iphone 4 Earphones

Koss iSpark

The Koss iSpark are available at MobileFun.com , they cost a very reasonable £25.97. I have had mine for a few weeks so they are thoroughly tested.

What comes in the box?

In addition to the earphones, the Koss iSpark come with a soft carry case and a spare set of memory foam ear buds, I will explain more about the ear buds later.

Description.

I would guess that these are the low entry earphones made by Koss. The earphones are sound isolating and are made of a durable polycarbonate type material which is very light in both the hand and the ear. The lead is about 4 foot in length and although prone to tangling has posed no real problem for me.

The earphones are tipped with a very soft and spongy foam ear bud, which are easily replaced and a spare set is thoughtfully provided. Initially I thought the ear phones looked a little bulky but as you can see from the image below, that is far from the truth.

The Koss iSpark also comes with an in line microphone and button, allowing the user to access the iphones ipod and telephone functions. In use the button and mic always sit in a convenient place and are easy to use.

The earphone connector is a 3.5 mm jack and fits the iphone 4 perfectly. I have tried it with various makes of case and have never had a problem in fitting the earphones to the device. This can be problematic with other makes of earphone so it pays to test the jack and case if possible.

Overall use of the Koss iSpark.

Due to the light weight nature of these earphones, the user will never be left feeling as though they will fall out. The memory foam buds provide a really comfortable fit and the sound isolation worked really well.

The sound is surprisingly crisp with a decent amount of base response. I liked the fact that the base response was not over powering.

The in line mic is of very good quality, being able to immediately take a phone call is a real bonus. People I have spoken to whilst using the mic have commented on the excellent clarity of speech.

Whilst the primary use for most will be listening to music, many will really enjoy playing games whilst wearing these particular earphones. There is one particular app called Osmos where it is recommended that earphones are worn. Having played this game whilst wearing the Koss I can verify that the sounds made the game really absorbing.

There are no real negatives that spring to mind and considering the price the Koss iSpark earphones are excellent value for money. Yes there are better ear phones on the market but they carry a hefty price tag, with the Koss iSpark you get a pair of earphones that will satisfy a majority of users. With Xmas less than 4 weeks away, these little gems would make a cracking stocking filler.

I give these earphones 4/5. They would score a perfect 5/5 if they were completely tangle free but that is asking an awful lot considering the price.

I will be back later this week so keep checking in if you can so until then stay safe,

Andy.