A black chrome front with a HYBRID back would be cool.
You mean like this:
It's a great combo! Best looking one I have.
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e13ctron aluminum case Full Review
- Thread starter chris975d
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You mean like this:
It's a great combo! Best looking one I have.
chris.... i'm drooling over your setup!
I actually had to take my case off. The aluminum really killed my reception, internet speeds, and GPS.
I wish Los Angeles / Orange County had better AT&T coverage...
So you're really close to e13ctron, any idea if they just gave up on the hybrid back? The last review made it sound like it was ready for production within weeks.
I actually had to take my case off. The aluminum really killed my reception, internet speeds, and GPS.
I wish Los Angeles / Orange County had better AT&T coverage...
So you're really close to e13ctron, any idea if they just gave up on the hybrid back? The last review made it sound like it was ready for production within weeks.
chris.... i'm drooling over your setup!
I actually had to take my case off. The aluminum really killed my reception, internet speeds, and GPS.
I wish Los Angeles / Orange County had better AT&T coverage...
So you're really close to e13ctron, any idea if they just gave up on the hybrid back? The last review made it sound like it was ready for production within weeks.
No, they most certainly haven't given up on the hybrid. They know that a lot of people are waiting on it, and just have been totally swamped with orders for the original all aluminum case. For the past few months Jacob and the guys have been adding mills/fixtures to be able to produce the volume needed to fulfill all orders, and have finally gotten all that in place. I have a strong hunch that you're going to see the Hybrid go up for sale very soon *hint*. But that's me saying it, not the company. I do know the back design will change slightly from my prototype to the final product, which will only make it better. It'll still be totally compatible with the original aluminum front, but will be even stronger and have an even better fit. I may have a test piece of this final design very soon to show you guys before it goes on sale.
I was just thinking, if the company is going to make a hybrid back, maybe they could make a separate closed back design in addition to the hybrid bumper... just thinking out loud.
e13ctron doesn't offer this yet, and I'm not sure if they ever will. But if that's a design that you're looking for, another company I deal with does offer that very thing...an aluminum front with interchangeable "bumper" style, and fully enclosed hybrid backs...the Fusionwerkz Sabre. I did a prototype and a final review here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1096109/
Look toward the bottom of the first page for the final product pics and review. It's a different style than the e13ctron (more squared off), but performs pretty much identically. And the price can't be beat ($55 shipped). Just another good option out there for hybrid cases.
Initial Impressions
Got my s4v today (black/black matte, black screws). Have a crazy weekend so probably will not get to post pics or a well-thought out review for a while, but...
My initial impressions after just a few hours are very good. The case is very well machined. The engraving is top notch, and the fit/finish is perfect. I love the look and feel of the case in the hand and on the phone. It adds a little heft to the phone, but I think that is a good thing. It fit very well and had no problem going over my Ghost armor stuff. In fact, I love the perfectly matched grain of the case and the matte back of the Ghost armor (a bonus). Absolutely perfect machining, could not be happier.
As far as signal... Again only a few hours testing, but really seems no real world difference. I normally have 2-3 bars at home and no change with the case on or off. I am not currently jailbroken, so I will have to do that to give decibel levels, but again, as far as real world usage goes, it seems unfazed.
Hats off to the e13ctron crew, top notch product, the 1st iPhone 4 case I have been happy with (if you read other threads, you know I am picky). I will probably pick up a hybrid back whenever it is released for the s4v, but I will be satisfied as is until then.
Got my s4v today (black/black matte, black screws). Have a crazy weekend so probably will not get to post pics or a well-thought out review for a while, but...
My initial impressions after just a few hours are very good. The case is very well machined. The engraving is top notch, and the fit/finish is perfect. I love the look and feel of the case in the hand and on the phone. It adds a little heft to the phone, but I think that is a good thing. It fit very well and had no problem going over my Ghost armor stuff. In fact, I love the perfectly matched grain of the case and the matte back of the Ghost armor (a bonus). Absolutely perfect machining, could not be happier.
As far as signal... Again only a few hours testing, but really seems no real world difference. I normally have 2-3 bars at home and no change with the case on or off. I am not currently jailbroken, so I will have to do that to give decibel levels, but again, as far as real world usage goes, it seems unfazed.
Hats off to the e13ctron crew, top notch product, the 1st iPhone 4 case I have been happy with (if you read other threads, you know I am picky). I will probably pick up a hybrid back whenever it is released for the s4v, but I will be satisfied as is until then.
hey so i just recieve a element case black ops. and for the price idk if im super impressed.
im thinking about e13 but i have a few questions.
do most headphones fit?
can i mix and match gloss and matte without ordering everything serratly.
would that even look good?
im thinking about a orange top and a darker bottom. idk what yet though. dark grey looks good.
any other ideas?
edit: id return the vapor pro. would save me a considerable amount of money...
2nd edit: gloss or matte. i saw a vapor 4 glossy and it looked like plastic to me... does this happen with these
im thinking about e13 but i have a few questions.
do most headphones fit?
can i mix and match gloss and matte without ordering everything serratly.
would that even look good?
im thinking about a orange top and a darker bottom. idk what yet though. dark grey looks good.
any other ideas?
edit: id return the vapor pro. would save me a considerable amount of money...
2nd edit: gloss or matte. i saw a vapor 4 glossy and it looked like plastic to me... does this happen with these
Update
2 questions for the e13ctron crew here on MRF:
1) I am not going to jailbreak 4.2.7 on the CDMA iPhone until an untethered solution is released. So... an other way to do a "field test" with decibel readings on my phone? I don't think so, but figured I'd ask.
2) Maybe this is a silly question, but not sure? I noticed my battery draining today. On a hunch, I turned off wifi, and sure enough, while the bars are staying the same (2-3 at home, 1-2 at work, the phone is spending time flipping between 3G and non-3G (whatever the little circle indicates on Verizon's network. I don't think this was the case without the case. Is this really a signal degradation issue? Or something I just haven't noticed before?
2 questions for the e13ctron crew here on MRF:
1) I am not going to jailbreak 4.2.7 on the CDMA iPhone until an untethered solution is released. So... an other way to do a "field test" with decibel readings on my phone? I don't think so, but figured I'd ask.
2) Maybe this is a silly question, but not sure? I noticed my battery draining today. On a hunch, I turned off wifi, and sure enough, while the bars are staying the same (2-3 at home, 1-2 at work, the phone is spending time flipping between 3G and non-3G (whatever the little circle indicates on Verizon's network. I don't think this was the case without the case. Is this really a signal degradation issue? Or something I just haven't noticed before?
you mean like this: :d
it's a great combo! Best looking one i have.
exactly!!! :d
The only way to really test is to jailbreak. That's the only way you can see db's. Even on 4.2.7 its still fairly easy to jailbreak and it could be worth it for 90 bucks! If you need help, let me know and I can walk you through it.
Thanks for the offer... I can handle it, it was more just the hassle of it being tethered. But I think an untethered one just was released today, so I'll get to it soon...
e13ctron aluminum case with white iPhone 4
Hi,
as the white iPhone seems to be 0,2 mm thicker in height (measuring from glass to glass) I was wondering if the e13ctron S4 case can be used with the white iPhone 4. As far as I know the aluminum frames only sit on the metal frame of the iPhone. Therefore it should work. Is there anybody out there who has tried out a white iPhone with the e13ctron S4 aluminium frame?
Any help is appreciated.
All the best,
Thomas
Hi,
as the white iPhone seems to be 0,2 mm thicker in height (measuring from glass to glass) I was wondering if the e13ctron S4 case can be used with the white iPhone 4. As far as I know the aluminum frames only sit on the metal frame of the iPhone. Therefore it should work. Is there anybody out there who has tried out a white iPhone with the e13ctron S4 aluminium frame?
Any help is appreciated.
All the best,
Thomas
I have tried the Vapor Pro and the Element Hybrid and they both worked although the fit was for sure different and very tight!! I will be trying the the e13 as well so I will let you know. Im my opinion, a black case looks terrible with the white so you need another color. Green, blue, red or anything but black. So I am trying orange and silver so I hope they fit.
So did the jailbreak today (with the new 4.2.7 untether
)I am not so happy with the results. If people care about screenshots, fine, but here are my tests in my home, all in 1 location:
Case on: -97db
Case off: -86 db
Case on: -101 db
Case off: -77 db
Case on (front only, thinking maybe hybrid back would be better): -99 db
Case off: -84 db
So at the most generous, I am getting -84-86 db naked, and -97-101 with the case on. A 13-15 db drop seems like a lot to me for what was considered one of the better aluminum cases for signal.
I wouldn't care if it didn't affect performance, but I have been having some problems with missed/dropped calls, and my battery is draining faster (I think because my network mode is flipping back and forth).
Can someone knowledgeable please comment here? I am not sure if this is the best I can expect with an aluminum case and wait for the hybrid back, or if I should return it. Is it possible there is an issue with the liners or something? I am grasping at straws, because I really like the case...
Well that doesn't sound to good. I have one on the way also and I was curious if this would be the results. To be honest I am not surprised really. At&t operates on a different frequencies then Verizon does and that is why company's like element strongly advises you against buying their case if you have a Verizon phone because the signal will not penetrate near as well. That's why they came out with the Pro specifically for Verizon because their first one wasn't. Man that sucks to hear, I will check and see how mine does but Element or Atomic may be the way to go unless e13 comes out with the hybrid for Verizon phones. I'll let you know how mine does hopefully later this week.
So did the jailbreak today (with the new 4.2.7 untether
I am not so happy with the results. If people care about screenshots, fine, but here are my tests in my home, all in 1 location:
Case on: -97db
Case off: -86 db
Case on: -101 db
Case off: -77 db
Case on (front only, thinking maybe hybrid back would be better): -99 db
Case off: -84 db
So at the most generous, I am getting -84-86 db naked, and -97-101 with the case on. A 13-15 db drop seems like a lot to me for what was considered one of the better aluminum cases for signal.
I wouldn't care if it didn't affect performance, but I have been having some problems with missed/dropped calls, and my battery is draining faster (I think because my network mode is flipping back and forth).
Can someone knowledgeable please comment here? I am not sure if this is the best I can expect with an aluminum case and wait for the hybrid back, or if I should return it. Is it possible there is an issue with the liners or something? I am grasping at straws, because I really like the case...
I am starting to think you are right about a different design/frequency. Here is the additional kicker. I remove the case entirely, and I get -73-80 db. I lay the plastic liner over the top of the phone, and very carefully lay just the top piece over the top, leave the bottom half naked, and within 10-15 seconds, I am at -90-93 db. Same with the bottom half, top naked. With half the phone open, there should not be any signal loss right? Unless the aluminum really is detuning the antenna. Is this a product defect? I e-mailed e13ctron about this a few hours ago.
Thoughts?
I honestly don't know. I mean there is a reason why Element will not sell their regular case to use on a Verizon phone and I am 99% sure this is why. I would contact them or at least try. Their website says this"Returns by e13ctron- We will gladly accept the return of products that are defective due to defects in manufacturing and/or workmanship for 30 days from the date of purchase. Fulfillment mistakes that we make resulting in the shipment of incorrect product to you will also be accepted for return 30 days from the date of purchase. I would say that if your phone is being affected that negatively then it would fit in that category and you could go through PayPal. But I think Jacob would probably switch you out with another one to try or refund you. He has been pretty good about that in the past. I would do the PayPal thing as a last resort. The case just may not work with the phone. I don't really know anyone else who has one besides you so unless someone else jumps in then I would think its probably like I said and you will have to go with another case. I don't know.
This test makes me wonder if a E13ctron hybrid will kill the signal even with the AT&T phone. I guess chris975d would know since he has a prototype. I don't remember maybe he already did a test that showed no loss.
That's what I was wondering too about the Verizon version, and why I tested it that way. I don't know if you can make the same leap to the AT&T version though...
Let's not be hasty here. This isn't a bad company or even necessarily a bad product. I really like the case and want to use it if I can salvage the signal issue. I am posting here honestly because I want the help and I am not getting a reply from the company so far...
If you look back earlier in the thread, you'll see that the hybrid back has virtually no effect on signal. Less than 3 dB drop, and many times none at all. Exactly the same performance as my Atomic hybrid. Something you have to remember about both Verizon and AT&T is that they both have two frequencies at which they operate. 850 MHz and 1900. The carriers are often allowed to use only one of the frequency bands in a given area. Typically the lower frequency will penetrate things better (like buildings, and maybe aluminum cases). And the performance of all these types of full metal cases depends greatly on location. So if you're in an area where your carrier uses 1900Mhz (AT&T or Verizon), you might see more signal impact using a metal case. The higher frequency doesn't penetrate things as well.
Chris is exactly correct on this. This is what I was trying to explain because Verizon is pretty much known for using 850 MHZ everywhere which won't hardly penetrate a house let alone a metal case. Then you have at&t that uses 1900 and will penetrate cement and other very hard and thick objects. Verizon has gone with the first method because the signal will travel further giving them better coverage in most places, At&t is just the opposite. So neither is bad, just bad for case manufacturers for the Verizon phone. That is why I was so impressed by what Element was able to do with their case!