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iSee for iPhone: Avoid this product!

M

milhous

macrumors member
Original poster
May 17, 2007
67
20
Head's up everyone!

All retail Apple Stores and soon to be online store is selling a hardcase + holster package called the iSee for iPhone that's manufactured by Contour Design which retails for $29.95. This product consists of a 2-part polycarbonate shell for your iPhone as well as a holster that's supposed to firmly secure the encased iPhone in it. It comes in a black box with a blue cutout that shows the iPhone case.

While the shell itself seems to be fine, the holster on the other hand is completely unreliable. My iPhone has already fallen out of the holster and luckily there was no damage to it. The retaining clip on the holster is faulty and cannot reliably keep the iPhone in the holster. Your iPhone could very well fall out of the holster when walking.

Below is an e-mail that I sent to Contouer Designs support. if you need an iPhone case with a holster, please get something else and do not buy this product!

To Whom It May Concern:

This e-mail is to inform you that I am tremendously dissatisfied and disappointed with the "iSee for iPhone" product that I recently purchased at my local Apple Store.

First and foremost, the clip mechanism that keeps the iPhone (and its hardshell case) contained within the holster is faulty and cannot reliably keep the iPhone contained within the holster. My iPhone has already fallen out of it while clipped to my belt and luckily there was no damage to it.

I cannot believe that your company, in good conscience, can manufacture such a slipshod product to securely hold a $600 device firmly in place. This to me is a clear indication that no real-world testing was conducted on this product prior to release. I understand that your company may not have had access to an iPhone in actual testing, but you could've used something else to simulate the approximate weight of the product.

Lastly, the belt clip on the holster is thin, flimsy, and unacceptable for a $30 product. Has your company ever seen the belt clips that are on Blackberry holsters? They are thick, solid, and durable.

I will be returning the product to the Apple Store for a full refund and will be informing others as well as the online community that this product is to be avoided at all costs.

Regards,

REDACTED
 
J

jstennis1591

macrumors member
Jun 30, 2007
39
0
Agreed........It's terrible.....It's hard to put the iPhone into it because that little piece on the bottom back is nearly impossible to remove.....Poorly designed, and damn near useless

I just ordered the Belkin case which has the built in stand, and I'm hoping that one's better
 
MedRed

MedRed

macrumors 6502
Jun 9, 2007
331
1,092
I went into the apple store looking for the belkin case but they didn't have it so i bought the iSee. It SUCKS. I only had it on my iPhone for all of 5 minutes. Way too clunky and ugly.

My friend bought an iphone earlier in the day (different time zone) at an att store and told me about the belkin. I went to the att store and sure enough they have them. I'm very satisfied with the belkin. The form factor is much nicer and the ergonomics better.
 
T

ted124b

macrumors member
Oct 25, 2005
46
0
I agree, it is a very bad case I am going to return it today. Anyone know if apple charges a re-stocking fee for accesories?
 
A

Apple!Fre@k

macrumors 6502a
Jun 25, 2006
518
7
I've got the iSee case and I love it. No problems with it and it serves the purpose for me. While I agree the holster is a piece of junk, I recognized that before I even attempted to use it and don't use a holster anyway so it doesn't matter for me. I always stick my phone in my pocket. No matter how sturdy a holster it is I'm not going to worry about whether my $600 phone with priceless amounts of infomation is going to fall off and get stolen. As for the case itself, it's great! It's a tight fit---got to be careful putting it on---but that makes it all the better once it's on. All I can say is that for my needs, I'm satisfied and I'm one tough customer to please. Trust me on that! :)
 
G

grimmace

macrumors regular
Feb 9, 2003
231
68
Boston
I have the iSee case and I love it. I do agree with the holster though. I have used it and mine has not slipped out but I think that its best on its own. Easy to slip in pocket and I like the rubber tabs that keep it from sliding around. I may get something else but I dont want the whole thing to be rubber since that makes it difficult to slip in pocket. If doing activity like running, I think the arm band type is best.
 
A

angrygolfer

macrumors 6502
Jun 25, 2007
272
0
PA
jstennis1591 said:
Agreed........It's terrible.....It's hard to put the iPhone into it because that little piece on the bottom back is nearly impossible to remove.....Poorly designed, and damn near useless

I just ordered the Belkin case which has the built in stand, and I'm hoping that one's better
Click to expand...

I hate this case too. Its going back tomorrow. I don't understand why they put that piece at the bottom. I was afraid I was going to scratch my baby all up when I was removing it from the case. can you say JUNK!!!!
 
M

milhous

macrumors member
Original poster
May 17, 2007
67
20
ted124b said:
I agree, it is a very bad case I am going to return it today. Anyone know if apple charges a re-stocking fee for accesories?
Click to expand...

i just returned it today for a full refund. if you look on the receipt, you have a full 14 days to return an accessory.

the mall that i went to has both an apple store and at&t store and i went to both of them looking for another case. none of them really appealed to me so i left with nothing.

i think i'm going to stay away from holsters in general and just keep the iphone in my pocket. but i still get the feeling that i should get some sort of case for it should it accidentally fall out of my pocket for whatever reason.

but in the interim i'm actually using the free suede case that came with my 60gb iPod. better than nothing for the time being.
 
M

mchank

macrumors regular
Feb 26, 2006
207
0
I would wait a few months before buying any kind of case for the iphone, as I've read that accessory manufacturers didn't have access to any working iphones and had to build models out of wood and such because of Apple's secrecy, so there are bound to be fit and size problems. I'd wait for version two or refined editions and make do with slip cases or such for the time being.
 
F

Fredo521

macrumors member
Jun 16, 2007
78
0
Mass, USA
I bought this and I immediately regretted it once I opened the box. I returned it today to the Apple Store. Horrible, horrible product.
 
Romanesq

Romanesq

macrumors 6502a
Jun 16, 2003
914
90
Hoboken
At&t

Well if folks are looking for something at hand, the AT&T stores are carrying a Casemate which is very sturdy all around and fits perfectly. Has a screw on optional clip in back for a clip and also a nice little screen protector which I almost totally overlooked.

They are both very good from what I can tell. :cool:
 
H

hh83917

macrumors 6502
Jun 30, 2005
297
65
I was checking the exact case out yesterday at the apple store. But I went with the black soft plastic cover from Incase. I was thinking the plastic hard cover from iSee will scratch the metallic sides of the phone, so I guess I was lucky that I didn't buy it. Thanks for the heads up BTW. :rolleyes:
 
M

mlkeller

macrumors member
Jul 2, 2007
34
2
Kirkland, WA
Just out of curiosity, those having problems with the holster, does it seem to work better if you put it in the holster with the screen facing in? When I put it in the holster screen out, it does not seem to be in there securely and I could see it falling out. When I put it in the other way, however, it seems to lock in with a stronger click and does not fall out easily.

As others said, I like the clear case part and do not plan on using the holster anyway...
 
N

Nesto

macrumors newbie
Jun 29, 2007
20
0
mlkeller said:
Just out of curiosity, those having problems with the holster, does it seem to work better if you put it in the holster with the screen facing in? When I put it in the holster screen out, it does not seem to be in there securely and I could see it falling out. When I put it in the other way, however, it seems to lock in with a stronger click and does not fall out easily.

As others said, I like the clear case part and do not plan on using the holster anyway...
Click to expand...

I agree, I'm pretty sure it was designed to have the iPhone inserted screen in - when you put it in screen out, the indent in the phone case doesn't quite line up with the holster bulge and it isn't in there securely. Personally, I'm not a holster wearer, so only bought it for the case - which seems pretty nice. But you have to insert with care if you get a screen protector - it's a tight fit and will crunch the screen protector if you're not careful.
 
C

CAGadgetFreak

macrumors newbie
Jul 3, 2007
2
0
I agree, its crap!

So I went into the Apple Store and got my iphone. I saw a product that could only be made by Apple. It was a perfect apple like package. Sleek, well designed. I figured the product would be so as well. I bought the Contour isee case and like everybody else has found..it is a cheap piece of crap!! I have never had a case this bad. The holster doesnt keep the phone the in. The product is cheap feeling and it doesnt fit well. How does a cheap thing of plastic really protect my $600 dollar phone.. o, sorry, with tax and etc even more!!

Avoid! Avoid! Avoid!
 
C

ContourAndy

macrumors newbie
Jul 3, 2007
1
0
Hi, this is Andy from Contour Design. We've already made updates to the iSee for iPhone, addressing issues that have been brought up in these forums. Most of the cases that have been sold or are being sold have these updates. If anyone has issues with the holster, please let me know and we will do our best to help you out.
 
princealfie

princealfie

macrumors 68030
Mar 7, 2006
2,517
1
Salt Lake City UT
ContourAndy said:
Hi, this is Andy from Contour Design. We've already made updates to the iSee for iPhone, addressing issues that have been brought up in these forums. Most of the cases that have been sold or are being sold have these updates. If anyone has issues with the holster, please let me know and we will do our best to help you out.
Click to expand...

Wow, so there's actually a guy from the company lurking around here? :)

Well, some feedback is that the Belkin looks more sturdy but with the Contour I was worried more about the iPhone sliding out of the holster.
 
J

jstennis1591

macrumors member
Jun 30, 2007
39
0
returned the Contour, bought the Belkin

It's about 124089712350987 times better, only problem with the belkin is that the front piece seems a little flimsy.....I wish that they had used a similar front portion to the Contour, but kept the back (1 piece, and the integrated stand) from the Belkin, that would be ideal :)
 
C

CAGadgetFreak

macrumors newbie
Jul 3, 2007
2
0
Wow, thats very cool that Contour responded so quickly. They have always made great cases. I would go back and try the update. I have used their cases for my ipods without a problem. Thank you "Andy"
 
netdoc66

netdoc66

macrumors regular
Jun 27, 2007
178
95
New Jersey
bleh Belkin.

jstennis1591 said:
returned the Contour, bought the Belkin

It's about 124089712350987 times better, only problem with the belkin is that the front piece seems a little flimsy.....I wish that they had used a similar front portion to the Contour, but kept the back (1 piece, and the integrated stand) from the Belkin, that would be ideal :)
Click to expand...

The Belkin is no good the plastic will not hold the weight of the phone if it was attached to your belt. Belkin should know better. They'll lose creditability with Apple once people start cry to them about how their phones flew out of their cases.:eek:
 
aimfire

aimfire

macrumors regular
Jun 30, 2007
166
0
Sunnyvale, CA
I've bought 4 cases so far and am not 100% happy with any of them... at least 3 of the 4 are going back to the store... and one of them being the iSee...

Very difficult to get the phone in/out of the iSee case, and I agree about the holster... seems flimsy, like the iPhone could pop out at any time.

The one thing I did like about the iSee though, is the belt-clip...
Just about all of these iPhone cases have the stupid "swivel clip" that causes the phone to stick out over 1" from your waist... just asking to get snagged on something!
 
M

mainemacuser

macrumors newbie
Mar 6, 2007
20
0
Maine
iPhone case

milhous said:
Head's up everyone!

... is faulty and cannot reliably keep the iPhone in the holster. Your iPhone could very well fall out of the holster when walking.

Below is an e-mail that I sent to Contouer Designs support. if you need an iPhone case with a holster, please get something else and do not buy this product!
Click to expand...

Thanks for your post. I was seriously considering this case for my iPhone. I will keep looking.
 
W

wongulous

macrumors 6502a
Dec 7, 2002
952
2
Good to know. I wanted a good, thin (but sturdy), super-clear, minimalist acrylic case with the option to put on (or not put on) a clip/stand-up... I too will keep looking.

Anyone have any other suggestions? I don't want a big logo on the back, no rubber or silicone, no leather, and as minimalist as possible as not to detract from the iPhone design.
 
J

jshbckr

macrumors 6502
Apr 20, 2007
421
1
Minneapolis, MN
wongulous said:
Good to know. I wanted a good, thin (but sturdy), super-clear, minimalist acrylic case with the option to put on (or not put on) a clip/stand-up... I too will keep looking.

Anyone have any other suggestions? I don't want a big logo on the back, no rubber or silicone, no leather, and as minimalist as possible as not to detract from the iPhone design.
Click to expand...

If you don't mind it not being acrylic, you should look into ShieldZone's InvisibleSHIELD. I guess it's damn near invincible and it's a clear sheet that you put on the iPhone. You can check out the installation video on their site (it's iPod installation). It looks simple, and due to the spray they give you, it looks like it'd be better at eliminating bubbles.
 
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