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Fusionwerkz Raw - latest info
- Thread starter yankintx
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Yes, a few actually. But not for long. I am done with them too. Metal cases on iPhones don't work period. I don't care who makes it.
True, but each to their own so i'll keep an open mindlol
ufc you got a vapor?
To be honest, you don't even want one. You will regret buying it later unless gps and your 3G speeds don't matter to you.
I get 5 bars of 3g everywhere I go, and dont really use the gps. so probs wont affect me that bad.
Its up 2 u.
The more I look at this case in different lights, it's got the worst surface machining effects of any case I have had. The "grain" goes many ways and just looks "rough" - like they skipped final buffing....
I can take the mismatched machining and the signal attenuation, but the "sharp" edges make it uncomfortable to hold on a long call...removed and going back...
Received my RAW O royal blue case last week and it's going back. Here are my thoughts:
-Machining was great, along with anodizing (quality-wise)
-Color was not as vibrant as the pictures made it look. My royal blue was almost just a subdued blue
-Fit on the phone was great, but it screwed with my screen protector
-Feel in the hand was awkward
-Found that this was the only aluminum case that screwed with my WiFi signal for some reason. 20ft away from my router and I was down a bar
-Presentation of the case was absolutely awesome. The tin the case comes in is cool, along with the suede-ish pouch. Definitely had the coolest packaging out of any of the aluminum cases.
-Signal wasn't affected as much as the other aluminum cases, however I didn't take exact readingsdue to the fact that I couldn't deal with how it felt in the hand, so it went back
Overall, with the exception of the color, this case was everything I was expecting it to be. Fusionwerkz did take the time to make the best possible product they could, and I feel they accomplished this. I do not feel they misled or misrepresented anything (exception of color). I don't know how to respond to others who aren't pleased with the machining or anodizing as mine was actually really good. I'd say it was on par with Element Case for quality, but the case wasn't as complex as the Vapor, so it's tough to compare.
On a note, if anyone is intersted, I'll offer it up to Macrumors members if they want, just PM me. I'll sell for what I paid, not looking to make money. Otherwise, it's going back. I can get pictures if necessary.
-Machining was great, along with anodizing (quality-wise)
-Color was not as vibrant as the pictures made it look. My royal blue was almost just a subdued blue
-Fit on the phone was great, but it screwed with my screen protector
-Feel in the hand was awkward
-Found that this was the only aluminum case that screwed with my WiFi signal for some reason. 20ft away from my router and I was down a bar
-Presentation of the case was absolutely awesome. The tin the case comes in is cool, along with the suede-ish pouch. Definitely had the coolest packaging out of any of the aluminum cases.
-Signal wasn't affected as much as the other aluminum cases, however I didn't take exact readingsdue to the fact that I couldn't deal with how it felt in the hand, so it went back
Overall, with the exception of the color, this case was everything I was expecting it to be. Fusionwerkz did take the time to make the best possible product they could, and I feel they accomplished this. I do not feel they misled or misrepresented anything (exception of color). I don't know how to respond to others who aren't pleased with the machining or anodizing as mine was actually really good. I'd say it was on par with Element Case for quality, but the case wasn't as complex as the Vapor, so it's tough to compare.
On a note, if anyone is intersted, I'll offer it up to Macrumors members if they want, just PM me. I'll sell for what I paid, not looking to make money. Otherwise, it's going back. I can get pictures if necessary.
As far as the machining/anodizing, the only ones that seem to have issues are the clear and the black, according to the owner of the company (Phil). He's told me that he used a different anodizer for the blacks/clear than he did for the gunmetal and blue. He wasn't happy with the overall finish on the blacks/clears, especially the RAW-C (closed back) model. Even my RAW-C clear has uneven brush marks, but my gunmetal is flawless. He's going to start using the same anodizer that did the blue/gunmetal for all the colors now, and is going to be adding new colors in the next few weeks, as well as a true MIL-SPEC anodizing in black, green, and gray. Those will be in the next few weeks as well, as of our last convo yesterday.
He Told me the same, seems like a genuine guy and gives great customer service. Unlike the other case companies.
Sent mine back today also, mostly due to the buttons being hard to access, and the case is almost unpleasant to hold. GPS was off only slightly compared to the Alumacase I had. Packaging on the product was amazing though, quite sad though because I can say more thought was put into that then the actual case
Everyone go and look at the Alumacase thread and look at that message that guy got from that case!! I wonder if its 4.2 feature they through in there? Its crazy that it knows that you have a case that causes interference on the phone.
Fusionwerkz Raw case
Lets keep this review short and sweet. I'm going to hit the key points and the rest I'll leave you to debate.
The presentation is top notch. Well thought out, yet simple and bold. I'll let the pictures do the talking.
The finish, the uniformity of the grain is not perfect. That's the thing, its not perfect but some things are better with flaws than perfect (common theme in life?). Gives it a handcrafted feel and a rugged edge. Comes with 2 extra spare hex bolts and a hex key. Installation was straight forward, I managed to install with front and back and side protection from SGP ( definite plus in my book). The gunmetal anodized finish is superb, not too dark and not too light. Overall, the imperfections gives it a handcrafted feel and originality.
The comfort, a rugged edge (or sharp edge feel). Definitely a masculine feel to it, you can hold onto it securely and not feel like a plastic or rubber case from a shopping mall kiosk. The buttons are a little harder to access. Especially, the sleep button.
The field test, initially, right after the case was mounted I noticed the reception degraded. From normal 4.5 bars to 3 bars around my area los angeles. Testing calls to Hawaii, no drop calls or static noise. The real test is when I go back to the island and see if the case is usable in the poor reception areas. The GPS was hesitant (a few seconds lag) but was on point for navigon and g map. I have uploaded two video reception tests, that I normally have full 3G speed, but with the case the speed was reduced to 1.5mb or less.
**added**
This is a unusual to me, I took my phone and used it at my friends house a city across and look at these speeds! I have never seen these speeds even with 5 bar at home. (NO, im not on wifi). Could anyone explain this to me?
Video reception tests
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMcECFOFL_Q
part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFIEQUQp3rw
Completely satisfied? Perhaps. But with everything said, Fusionwerkz has put out a decent product at a very reasonable price. I'm not going to return their case (I understand the cost to put out a product and they have to make up for their investments) nor blame them for the reception being degraded. I knew before purchasing, all aluminum cases so far, has this issue (if not worst). And still I took the chance, silly me.
Video reception tests
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMcECFOFL_Q
part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFIEQUQp3rw
All pictures copyright THINKDIESEL
Lets keep this review short and sweet. I'm going to hit the key points and the rest I'll leave you to debate.
The presentation is top notch. Well thought out, yet simple and bold. I'll let the pictures do the talking.
The finish, the uniformity of the grain is not perfect. That's the thing, its not perfect but some things are better with flaws than perfect (common theme in life?). Gives it a handcrafted feel and a rugged edge. Comes with 2 extra spare hex bolts and a hex key. Installation was straight forward, I managed to install with front and back and side protection from SGP ( definite plus in my book). The gunmetal anodized finish is superb, not too dark and not too light. Overall, the imperfections gives it a handcrafted feel and originality.
The comfort, a rugged edge (or sharp edge feel). Definitely a masculine feel to it, you can hold onto it securely and not feel like a plastic or rubber case from a shopping mall kiosk. The buttons are a little harder to access. Especially, the sleep button.
The field test, initially, right after the case was mounted I noticed the reception degraded. From normal 4.5 bars to 3 bars around my area los angeles. Testing calls to Hawaii, no drop calls or static noise. The real test is when I go back to the island and see if the case is usable in the poor reception areas. The GPS was hesitant (a few seconds lag) but was on point for navigon and g map. I have uploaded two video reception tests, that I normally have full 3G speed, but with the case the speed was reduced to 1.5mb or less.
**added**
This is a unusual to me, I took my phone and used it at my friends house a city across and look at these speeds! I have never seen these speeds even with 5 bar at home. (NO, im not on wifi). Could anyone explain this to me?
Video reception tests
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMcECFOFL_Q
part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFIEQUQp3rw
Completely satisfied? Perhaps. But with everything said, Fusionwerkz has put out a decent product at a very reasonable price. I'm not going to return their case (I understand the cost to put out a product and they have to make up for their investments) nor blame them for the reception being degraded. I knew before purchasing, all aluminum cases so far, has this issue (if not worst). And still I took the chance, silly me.
Video reception tests
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMcECFOFL_Q
part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFIEQUQp3rw
All pictures copyright THINKDIESEL
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Nice review Diesel. I wish more thought was put into the ergonomics on this case, otherwise I'd probably keep it. At first I thought about grinding recesses for the sleep button and volume/mute buttons but then the case would look butchered. Also to note, bits of felt string will poke out and lay on top of the screen, bits of trash and particulate get stuck in there also.
I think the color and finish of the gunmetal is great. I have the vapor regular, nickel, 007, frost and AR 15, atomic, alumacase and this one is by far my favorite look, color and finish.
The reception is the same as the vapor no problem around town in good signal area, issues at home where I even get poor reception naked.
The reception is the same as the vapor no problem around town in good signal area, issues at home where I even get poor reception naked.
I think you also need to realize that different people have different results with these aluminum cases based on location. For the vast majority of people, the Vapor barely works for them due to it's dramatic impact on signal, but some people have good results with it. But even the formal testing of it by Gear Live (I believe it was) showed it cut signal strength by 99% of what it is with no case. And Element is bringing out a new design soon to address the signal issues. Likewise, the Raw may work really well for some people, like myself and this poster. It's hurt my reception none, and my GPS performs just as it does with a plastic case on my phone. So making a blanket statement like "the Vapor outperforms this case all the way" isn't entirely true. You need to add the words "for me" in there.
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I owned a Vapor, own an Alumacase, own an Exovault, and I'd say that the gunmetal Raw-O is equal in finish to the Vapor and Exovault. In just the last two pages you have beedish saying the finish is on par with Element, johnnybgood saying similar, and look at thinkdiesel's data performance above with the Raw installed. Also reference mine from my pics earlier in the thread. So that's already more than just "me and one other guy". And if we are comparing that, let's go to the Vapor thread, or any of the other forums talking about it, and read all the horror stories with that case. Again, as I said, these aluminum cases seem to be ultra sensitive to location of the user. For some, the Vapor might actually perform OK. For others, it might not work at all and the Raw may work better (you've already got 3-4 posters here saying that).
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You're comparing two different cases, with two different finish and two different designs. One is glass bead blasted finish and the other isnt.
Also you payed double the price, if not more? it would be a different story if u payed the same price. You're fortunate to get a vapor, i've tried for 3 months to no avail, and NO, im not forking out 150+ for a case on the bay. Doesn't fit my means of living nor do I need it. Definitely a case of form over function.
I understand your frustration but it seems like your pessimism stems from dealing with the other cases. You got your trial, and lesson with aluminum cases. But you knew coming in NONE of the aluminum cases work. Simply enjoy your vapor if it works for you, as the case for all these aluminum cases. Some might work, and some just wont.
