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Casemaker OtterBox Acquiring LifeProof

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Apr 12, 2001
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In an event today at the CTIA conference, case maker OtterBox announced it was acquiring waterproof case maker LifeProof.

OtterBox will keep LifeProof's San Diego location and employees will remain in their current locations. OtterBox global headquarters remain in Fort Collins, Colorado. The companies are not disclosing any terms for the transaction.

otterproof.jpg
Much like OtterBox, LifeProof is a rapidly growing, multi-million dollar business with a strong global brand, comprehensive product offering, impressive intellectual property and thriving company culture. Over the next 30 days, OtterBox will begin incorporating the LifeProof brand into the OtterBox family. More information about product availability and alignment will be determined at the completion of the integration.

"The joining of OtterBox and LifeProof is a way to combine two great brands and provide customers with even more great products, services and choices for smartphone accessories," OtterBox CEO Brian Thomas said. "Both companies are successful because we foster an environment where everyone takes pride in being part of a culture that knows how to identify opportunities and grow them quickly. Our goal in this acquisition is to create more value for our customers than we ever could have generated while operating individually."
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OtterBox, with more than 600 employees, makes cases for a variety of different phone and tablet models, including the iPhone and iPad. The company claims it current holds 23% market share in the case market and is approaching $1 billion in yearly sales.

OtterBox's newest Apple-related case is the ultra durable Armor Series iPhone case.

LifeProof's main case is its waterproof iPhone case, but it also makes the Nüüd waterproof iPad case.

Article Link: Casemaker OtterBox Acquiring LifeProof
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/05/22/casemaker-otterbox-acquiring-lifeproof/
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rjtyork

macrumors regular
Jun 10, 2009
198
323
Crap!

Otterbox went downhill with the iPhone 4, 4S, and 5 cases they designed. I went with Ballistic for my 4S and Lifeproof for my iPhone 5 and laughed when I saw people struggling with their stupid otterboxes. Now they're going to ruin Lifeproof. I really liked those cases.
 
Dhelsdon

Dhelsdon

macrumors 65816
Feb 5, 2010
1,337
2
Canadian Eh!
Surprising acquisition, I love LifeProof and I hope it doesn't get destroyed by Otterbox. They make an excellent product!
 
roadbloc

roadbloc

macrumors G3
Aug 24, 2009
8,784
215
UK
rjtyork said:
Crap!

Otterbox went downhill with the iPhone 4, 4S, and 5 cases they designed. I went with Ballistic for my 4S and Lifeproof for my iPhone 5 and laughed when I saw people struggling with their stupid otterboxes. Now they're going to ruin Lifeproof. I really liked those cases.
Click to expand...

Just because they've bought them, doesn't mean they're going to run them.
 
FuNGi

FuNGi

macrumors 65816
Feb 26, 2010
1,122
33
California
Rocko1 said:
Lifeproof is overrated. Leaky ripoff garbage.
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I have gotten leaky iphone 4S cases from Amazon before. Tested them in a bowl of water for an hour and found droplets inside. Sent it back and got a new one that seems better. Both had the serial numbers and packaging suggesting they were not knock-offs. I've used my 4S extensively (2 weeks) in high-humidity rain forests of Panama and Costa Rica during torrential downpours etc. with no damage to the phone or visible moisture. I would NOT go diving with it though.

QuarterSwede said:
It isn't leaky but the screen protector is utter GARBAGE. It's wavy and scratch prone. Awful to use day to day. Incipio got it right with the Atlas and it's glass screen.
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True there is room for improving the front display. Makes using it tedious and does scratch faster than glass. Plastic will do that.
 
notjustjay

notjustjay

macrumors 603
Sep 19, 2003
6,056
167
Canada, eh?
FuNGi said:
I've used my 4S extensively (2 weeks) in high-humidity rain forests of Panama and Costa Rica during torrential downpours etc. with no damage to the phone or visible moisture. I would NOT go diving with it though.
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Yeah, I recently came back from a Caribbean cruise and I wish I had thought to buy a Lifeproof case for my iPhone before I left. I kept it safely dry the whole time but it would have been much more fun if I could have used it for photos at the beach or even briefly, gently submerged in the crystal-clear waters of Grand Turk or St. Thomas.

I wouldn't take it diving or put it underwater for long periods of time but if all you get are a few drops, that should be fairly safe. My non-waterproofed iPhone has received its fair share of small spills and being used in the rain and snow, and is holding up just fine.
 
Rocko1

Rocko1

macrumors 68020
Nov 3, 2011
2,070
4
QuarterSwede said:
It isn't leaky but the screen protector is utter GARBAGE. It's wavy and scratch prone. Awful to use day to day. Incipio got it right with the Atlas and it's glass screen.
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/\ This. The wavy screen protector is hideous.
 
QuarterSwede

QuarterSwede

macrumors G3
Oct 1, 2005
9,785
2,033
Colorado Springs, CO
Slightly off topic:

Having said all that I was researching cases for all day snorkeling and finally decided on a DryCASE. All the others were either rated for 6ft and 30min and/or were way too much ($80+) for something I'll only use for this particular vacation. The DryCASE is only $23 on Amazon Prime and is rated for 100ft (only going down to 30ft doing tandem SCUBA with my bro-in-law) and for long periods; they don't say how long and the longest I've read so far is 3 hours. It really ought to last indefinitely as it's vacuum sealed ... as long as the seal doesn't give, and it shouldn't since their is no air trying to escape and the water pressure should keep it in a collapsed, sealed state.

It's not a day to day case but none of those were all that great for diving. HitCase comes pretty close but it's $130 and it's more of a GoPro replacement anyway.
 
T

toke lahti

macrumors 68040
Apr 23, 2007
3,270
502
Helsinki, Finland
I just wish that Otterbox would start to publish the numbers of matteness (Gloss Units, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossmeter , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_appearance#Basic_types_of_light_reflection ) their screen shields.
Defender for ipad is just too glossy.
Surprisingly none of matte screen makers / sellers publish how matte their matte screen protectors are! This is absurd!

If we are going to get Lifeproof's ipad case from Amazon to hald of it's "official" price, like we can get Otterbox's products, I'd be interested to know how well the Nüüd would work eg. with Moshi's matte protector.
 
Rocko1

Rocko1

macrumors 68020
Nov 3, 2011
2,070
4
tonykaye said:
What waterproof case would you suggest?
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I would not trust any of the waterproof cases for diving/snorkeling. I would assume they are splash resistant at best. Otterbox Armor while bulky, seems to be working well. If you want to shoot underwater video/pics on your phone, I would get a DicaPac underwater bag, and test it before you put your phone in it. I use these for digital cameras and they work great.
 
A

aalu91

macrumors member
Aug 9, 2010
54
0
I've had my lifeproof underwater. No water can get in unless the case comes apart or the latch opens
 
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tonykaye

macrumors newbie
May 9, 2013
12
0
Minneapolis, MN
Rocko1 said:
I would not trust any of the waterproof cases for diving/snorkeling. I would assume they are splash resistant at best. Otterbox Armor while bulky, seems to be working well. If you want to shoot underwater video/pics on your phone, I would get a DicaPac underwater bag, and test it before you put your phone in it. I use these for digital cameras and they work great.
Click to expand...

An iPhone case capable of light diving/snorkeling waterproof-ness? That's what I want - with the added capability of being able to make a call underwater! (jk). I agree, the bags might be the way to go - you can get 10 for like $5 at Target. Probably cheaper on Amazon.
 
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