its no my phone is a pictures that i found the case that i buy is red and black is suposed to arrives this week when it arrives i will post pics and a review
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Blade Aluminium Bumper (Looks Nice)
- Thread starter reeco
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I should get one in the mail any day now
Look forward to hearing about it...design appears to be similar to the e13ctron, hopefully the performance will be as well!
My mini review
Well first let me say that I have no stake in this aluminum induing antenna reception war breaking out on this forum and I decided to buy this last week, based on how it looked when I saw it discussed in this forum. This is my first aluminum case. It took about a week to arrive via airmail from Korea.
I got the case a few hours ago and decided to put it right on. I like the way the case looks but to be honest, I am not crazy about how it feels in the hand. The edges are very uncomfortable thanks to the back piece that screws on. It's sort of like the corner pieces intentionally protrude out into your hands. It feels kind of like a thorn is pushing into your hand. Just for anyone who is confused the back art is not part of the case, its a Gelaskin.
As far as the reception issue, I can say without a doubt that one exists. How serious it is though, I am not sure? Without the blade case, in my apartment I constantly get 4 bars. (I have been using a clear inCase case) I live on Oahu which is saturated with coverage and surprisingly, AT&T here is very good. The point being that I live in a strong coverage area. After putting on the blade case (with my phone in the exact same location as where I was getting 4 bars) I get 1 bar, while occasionally seeing the phone jump to 2 bars. Even with 1 or 2 bars, I could still get accurate GPS, strong Wi-fi and 3G with no problem, but at the very least the indicator showed a substantial decrease in cell strength.
After putting on the case, I went out to eat near my house and never went to searching mode and would generally see 3 bars and occasionally 4 while still maintaining good GPS and 3G service. I didn't attempt any voice calls but text and internet worked fine.
The only cosmetic issue I noticed was the buttons are a little loose and mine shake around and cause a rattle. The kit comes with little padded stickers that may go on the buttons to reduce the shaking but I haven't put them on yet.
I am going to try the case for a week and see how it goes. The biggest issue, I foresee is how uncomfortable it is to hold. I am sure opinions on all this, will vary from person to person in this thread but I just wanted to share my initial thoughts.
And now enjoy the pics
Well first let me say that I have no stake in this aluminum induing antenna reception war breaking out on this forum and I decided to buy this last week, based on how it looked when I saw it discussed in this forum. This is my first aluminum case. It took about a week to arrive via airmail from Korea.
I got the case a few hours ago and decided to put it right on. I like the way the case looks but to be honest, I am not crazy about how it feels in the hand. The edges are very uncomfortable thanks to the back piece that screws on. It's sort of like the corner pieces intentionally protrude out into your hands. It feels kind of like a thorn is pushing into your hand. Just for anyone who is confused the back art is not part of the case, its a Gelaskin.
As far as the reception issue, I can say without a doubt that one exists. How serious it is though, I am not sure? Without the blade case, in my apartment I constantly get 4 bars. (I have been using a clear inCase case) I live on Oahu which is saturated with coverage and surprisingly, AT&T here is very good. The point being that I live in a strong coverage area. After putting on the blade case (with my phone in the exact same location as where I was getting 4 bars) I get 1 bar, while occasionally seeing the phone jump to 2 bars. Even with 1 or 2 bars, I could still get accurate GPS, strong Wi-fi and 3G with no problem, but at the very least the indicator showed a substantial decrease in cell strength.
After putting on the case, I went out to eat near my house and never went to searching mode and would generally see 3 bars and occasionally 4 while still maintaining good GPS and 3G service. I didn't attempt any voice calls but text and internet worked fine.
The only cosmetic issue I noticed was the buttons are a little loose and mine shake around and cause a rattle. The kit comes with little padded stickers that may go on the buttons to reduce the shaking but I haven't put them on yet.
I am going to try the case for a week and see how it goes. The biggest issue, I foresee is how uncomfortable it is to hold. I am sure opinions on all this, will vary from person to person in this thread but I just wanted to share my initial thoughts.
And now enjoy the pics
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Nice pictures man, thanks for the short review and photos. I'm tempted to order this case but not to sure about the whole alumium case thing yet, still kinda skeptical.
Way too many sharp edges, BIG indentations, and useless extra holes for me. In the end it's really the reception issues that are a deal breaker.
Thanks for the review and pictures
I ordered one but still waiting.
I have 5 bars at my house with or without cases and bumpers. My wife and I drop more calls at home than anywhere else. I still am skeptical on the "new" bars being used.
With all fairness I would expect some signal loss wrapping the phone in aluminum.
One of the reasons I purchased it was for looks but primarily the confute of the case itself. Working in gloves 50 to 60 hours a week plastic gets slippery and the rubber cases get filthy.
I ordered one but still waiting.
I have 5 bars at my house with or without cases and bumpers. My wife and I drop more calls at home than anywhere else. I still am skeptical on the "new" bars being used.
With all fairness I would expect some signal loss wrapping the phone in aluminum.
One of the reasons I purchased it was for looks but primarily the confute of the case itself. Working in gloves 50 to 60 hours a week plastic gets slippery and the rubber cases get filthy.
Very nice pics. Mine should arrive in a few days I hope.I don't worry about reception that much because I bought a few aluminum cases already and depends on the case I lose 1 bar at most.Never really thought about the back piece though. That might be a problem.Anyway thanks for the mini review.
That case reminds me of when you see a nice looking car approaching you, and then when it goes by and you see the back end, you feel like the designers gave up after designing the front. Beautiful front end, but really stupid design for back. It just does not go with the rest of the case.
Try actually driving around with the gps. My vapor case allowed the gps to be accurate sometimes, but other times it had me 50 yards off the road, or simply did not track at all.
Blade case looks great from front....but ugly from back....
Just my opinion...worthless as it is.
Try actually driving around with the gps. My vapor case allowed the gps to be accurate sometimes, but other times it had me 50 yards off the road, or simply did not track at all.
Blade case looks great from front....but ugly from back....
Just my opinion...worthless as it is.
That case reminds me of when you see a nice looking car approaching you, and then when it goes by and you see the back end, you feel like the designers gave up after designing the front. Beautiful front end, but really stupid design for back. It just does not go with the rest of the case.
Try actually driving around with the gps. My vapor case allowed the gps to be accurate sometimes, but other times it had me 50 yards off the road, or simply did not track at all.
Blade case looks great from front....but ugly from back....
Just my opinion...worthless as it is.
Are people talking about the artwork on the back? That's not an integral part of the case I'm sure. That had to have been applied separately by the reviewer. Check the web site for the actual case included.
I like the look a lot but It seems to kill reception quite a bit, more that I can live with.
I'm pretty sure everyone is talking about the red frame and not the artwork. And I agree with everyone else on the design. The back really looks like it was an afterthought and just doesn't fit well with the front. Not to mention those edges where the screws are happen to be unsightly (IMO).
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Just received my case a couple hours ago.I got the silver one. Looks very nice, fit and finish are excellent. The finish is very similar to that of the Vapor 007.The back piece is fine, very flat against the glass except at the corner where the screws are, it could get a little uncomfortable because of the sharp edges. As for signal and wifi, if I'm down in my basement i lose about 5db but if outside no signal loss,full five bars and wifi is unaffected. As for GPS, it's nonexistence.It kills me gps completely.I just tested it with TomTom,cannot pick up my location at all.Once it found me it would be atleast 1000 feet away and it would jumps around never have a lock on me.So if you're planning on using the GPS I suggest you stay away from this case.
Here are a few pictures of the all silver with the ebay aluminum back. I think it matches perfectly.
Just received my case a couple hours ago.I got the silver one. Looks very nice, fit and finish are excellent. The finish is very similar to that of the Vapor 007.The back piece is fine, very flat against the glass except at the corner where the screws are, it could get a little uncomfortable because of the sharp edges. As for signal and wifi, if I'm down in my basement i lose about 5db but if outside no signal loss,full five bars and wifi is unaffected. As for GPS, it's nonexistence.It kills me gps completely.I just tested it with TomTom,cannot pick up my location at all.Once it found me it would be atleast 1000 feet away and it would jumps around never have a lock on me.So if you're planning on using the GPS I suggest you stay away from this case.
Here are a few pictures of the all silver with the ebay aluminum back. I think it matches perfectly.
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My big question is, does the case tighten against the phones metal antenna or against the glass? Is it metal against metal or metal against glass? Is it lined with anything like foam tape or plastic? If it clamps on metal or glass without a liner it's a no go for me.
The inside is not lined with anything but don't need to because it's tighten against the metal, doesn't touch the glass at all.
Edited. Actually the inside have 4 small pieces of foam separating the metals.
Here's a close up view.
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Bare metal tightened against bare metal, if it's bumped it will damage the phones metal. The case could be tightened to not shift but that would do damage also. It might be minor but any permanent damage to the phone itself even a minor ding doesn't work for me.
It looks pretty sturdy though. I don't think it's going to damage the phone's metal in case of a drop because of the thick outside piece of aluminum might absorb the impact but I'm not willing to find out though.
Having a continuous metal band tight against the antenna certainly will bridge between antennas. If a persons hand with the death grip problem can degrade the signal, a continuous metal band with do a job on the signal that is worse.
Yea I understand what you're saying but somehow this case doesn't affect the signal at all but kills my GPS though.
That surprises me. I'll take your word for it. I have an Element Vapor that works fine and a lot of people in this forum have told me that can't be. So I'm with you when you say it works.
Yea, I try not to talk about the Vapor anymore because nobody here believe it when I said I have no issue with it.
About the Blade everything is good so far except the gps. I'll try to use it again tomorrow and see what happens.
edited:If you're in a low signal area like a basement or something expect to lose around 5db.