WEDNESDAY
So I got the case today after purchasing online Sunday night. For those who were asking, I never tried the original Blade due to the bad reviews but I realized that every single negative review was of Blades bought on ebay from knock off sellers. I recently watched a new youtube review of the genuine case from g4landings.com and he specifically states that people complaining of signal issues, no lay on the table design, cheap incompatible screwdrivers and severe GPS issues are directly linked to the FAKE KNOCK OFFS, not the design of the case. Also the redesigned Blade 4S looked much improved as far as the internal design so I gave it a try. Also, the new iPhone 4S claimed to have a much better dual antenna design so I figured put the two improvements together and it hopefully wouldnt have any worse signal degradation than all the other aluminum cases. I'm at work where there is strong signal and i havent noticed any degradation yet, so I'll have to wait until I get home to see how the signal is there and on the road with the GPS as well. I'll post some pictures and a review later....
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FRIDAY
SHIPPING AND COMPANY:
I received the case today from
www.g4landings.com the only authorized retailer in the US, an they shipped super fast; ordered it Sunday night and got it today USPS Priority. They accept PayPal payments and usually ship out same day. Their customer service is great. They return phone calls super fast as well as e-mails.
LOOKS:
The case looks amazing. The machining is very detailed, the quality just seems top notch. The anodized color and laser engraving is great as expected. The buttons are definitely the best I've seen on any iPhone case. The port openings are normal for one of these cases. The 30pin connector seems like a good size while the headset jack seems like 3rd party headphones will have issues. The SIM card cutout is pretty long as others have mentioned-not sure why they made it soooooo much longer than the actual tray, but who cares, I don't sit and stare at the side of the case, and it looks fine anyway.
INSTALLATION/PERFORMANCE:
Installation was pretty easy. I put electrical tape on the volume and lock buttons to protect them from scratching and I already have the Zagg IS on the back and sides as well as the case comes with plenty of bumper and crash pads. I'm impressed that the rear invisible shield is not even touched by the bumper!? Fits like a glove-everything lines up perfectly and there is no metal to metal contact. The silent switch cut out is perfect and it's not difficult to get your finger in it. Contrary to other reviews, the Blade DOES have lay on the table protection, though it seems to be only by .3mm or so by my estimation on the front screen. The back of the case has more of a lay on the table ridge closer to 1mm thick. Due to the slim profile, there is obviously no flash issues with the camera or anything.
RECEPTION:
So, I've had it on for a couple days now and anywhere i get 3-5 bars without a case, I get 3-5 bars with the case on. However at home (a split level house) where I normally get 1-2 weak bars (2 upstairs, 1 downstairs), upstairs i have no issues but it does stay at 1 bar more often than without the case, BUT downstairs where i normally get 0-1 bars but usually a consistent 1 bar, the phone has problems getting a connection to make a call, which is disappointing, but to be expected with a full metal case.
OVERALL:
Overall, I'm very pleased with the case, though. There is obviously some signal degradation, but my experience over the last 3 days is it is only a loss of 1 bar in general. People have been complaining of the phone turning into a "brick" or losing 2+ bars or going into searching mode where normally they have 2+ bars but my phone hasn't experienced anything like this unless I'm in the basement of my house or in an area with very poor coverage to begin with.
So all I can say is, if losing 1 bar would be detrimental for you, definitely don't buy this case, but if you live in the city or usually have 3+ bars, try it out. It's definitely my favorite metal case. I havent tried the deff cleave or the el3ctron cases because I don't like the designs but I did try the ElementCase cases and the Vapor Comp is ugly and feels cheap and the plastic polycarbonate piece cracked where it screws into the aluminum piece, but the Vapor Pro was really nice but just too bulky for my liking. I love the slim profile and the design of the Blade S. To each his own as everyone likes to say on here.
SHOWING PHONE IN CASE BEFORE SCREWING ON THE BACK PIECE...
Ohhh yeahh.
