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Grove Announces Preorders for Redesigned iPhone 5 Bamboo Case
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unless the new phone comes out, I hardly care about any cases, not that I ever did... so vote down if you got pissed at this post. wait...
Life is too short to use protection.
well, don't use any protection if you want your life shorter
Its made of wood! How original!
Well at least we know his iPhone is not a witch, because wood floats!
About a year, maybe a little less. Both iPhone cases started to crack and fall apart at approximately the same time. We were not rough on these cases. There were some parts of the cases that are very thin and prone to breakage. I tried to apply Cyanoacrylate ("Super Glue") to the cracks to prevent them from getting larger. The unglued parts would then start to crack and the cases eventually just fell apart. It was frustrating and sad because I liked how the cases looked.
The Grove cases will protect an iPhone from a moderate fall, but at the expense of the case being damaged and the eventual disintegration will begin to accelerate. Once the case starts to fall apart, trying to glue it will not work well. The glue residue is unsightly and the close tolerances in the fit of the iPhone into the case prevents it from seating properly.
With all this said, maybe the new design with the (plant fiber?) liner will reinforce the fragile bamboo. I hope so because I would like Grove to be successful. They seem like a nice group of folks and I wish them the best.
Here you go. I hope this helps. This is what they look like after you have glued and re-glued each time the case cracks in a new place. A real mess.
I found photographs dated 7/21/2011 where I photographed the iPad case cover problem while on an airliner. The screen cover warps so badly that it will not activate the screen lock and the iPad screen turns on and off repeatedly. I wrote Grove about it and they said it was normal and expected. So, again, no satisfaction from Grove for a product that does not work well. It looks good but does not work good.
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Yep glued mine too, wifes broke within a week
Though my 4s Case was dropped twice from 8 feet and it didn't break....
Though the iPad case sees very gentle usage and has held up well.
I did preorder the new one though, seeing it is reinforced.
That's why this is a pre-order. They won't start making them until they have confirmation on the size etc
You're half right - I mis-read the comment. Paper is lots of things beyond some wood fibers though, including rock, sizing chemicals and other fun stuff. Our wood is natural wood with nothing but an adhesive backing to hold it onto the phone.
And for those that have issues with my hand-cut wood back, I agree completely that it is anything but perfect. I measured the glass back using a digital caliper, but had to hand cut it out of a sheet of our wood. I'm working to get a few of the film-based phone/computer/tablet wrap companies to start playing around with the adhesive backed wood, given they already have the dies made to perfectly cut back wrap, side strips and in some cases front frame.
Laminated bamboo or wood is a bad idea for cases IMO. Wood moves, so does bamboo. It will change dimensions with the relative humidity like any other piece of furniture etc. If you restrict the material movement, the case will split or buckle.
Looks good to me, but may not be as durable as it appears. You can keep a coat of wax on the exposed wood parts and possibly cut down on the dimensional changes with the humidity.
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You mean veneer?
Wood doesn't absorb the shock of a fall as well as silicon. I like the way it looks but im not a fan of hard shell cases.
Sure - it is veneer, but it's not like any other veneer manufactured and often when I tell people we produce thin veneer, they think we're some kind of wood mill, which we're not. Our process is only similar to common veneer in that we use logs to make the product. Other than that, our lathes are completely unique and the finished product isn't like any other veneer. You're right that moisture, or lack thereof, can be have an effect on any wood. With the wrap-style wood covering that I did on my iPhone 4S, there's been no issue other than the adhesive moving last week while I was outside in the Vegas 106 degree heat. You can't notice any dimensional growth or shrinkage, even if it is occurring. Of course the cherry I used started out uncoated, but after time it has been varnished with hand oils so it is in effect a sealed wood.
Don't fall for bamboo and wood cases for gadgets
They are unreliable! Whatever reason they use to prove how their products are good, it does not matter... People, there are tons of threads regarding poor reliability with bamboo and wood iPad and iPhone cases based on user experiences. Search MacRumors accessories forums.
They are all start-up company gimmicks! I've seen so many complaint threads on them. Way overpriced for what they actually are! "Natural" does not mean its durable. You pay for 90% premium. Just my opinion. I couldn't shut up any more when I saw a thread like this!
I do not approve of this product nor thread.
They are unreliable! Whatever reason they use to prove how their products are good, it does not matter... People, there are tons of threads regarding poor reliability with bamboo and wood iPad and iPhone cases based on user experiences. Search MacRumors accessories forums.
They are all start-up company gimmicks! I've seen so many complaint threads on them. Way overpriced for what they actually are! "Natural" does not mean its durable. You pay for 90% premium. Just my opinion. I couldn't shut up any more when I saw a thread like this!
I do not approve of this product nor thread.
You've got the interest of one
I'd like to know more about your product, such as thickness, wood species available, etc.Clinton
FYI, Superglue is only effective for non-porous surfaces (e.g., smooth plastics). In my experience, it is totally ineffective on materials with porous surfaces (e.g., wood and other natural materials). I would expect superglue to exacerbate/accelerate the cracking since it would introduce more material to areas already failing under stress while failing to create a reliable/durable bond. I suspect you might have had better luck with wood glue (although I'm no expert).
My comments are limited to your (attempted) fix (i.e., I have no opinion on the product itself).
I believe you are correct on the stress aspect. It was a disaster. Although the bamboo wood bonded together fairly well, adjacent areas begin to crack under stress very quickly and then broke.
However, many use the type of super glue I used on RC (remote control) airplane models which are often constructed of balsa wood. That wood is very porous and the joints created are very strong. I used a "thin" version of the CYA as using the "thick" version would create problems with the tight tolerances to get the iPhone slipped into the grove cover.
I desperately tried to save my Grove iPhone cases as I loved the look of them and I like the idea of bamboo. Even with my care, the cases eventually disintegrated (as the above pictures show).
They are unreliable! Whatever reason they use to prove how their products are good, it does not matter... People, there are tons of threads regarding poor reliability with bamboo and wood iPad and iPhone cases based on user experiences. Search MacRumors accessories forums.
They are all start-up company gimmicks! I've seen so many complaint threads on them. Way overpriced for what they actually are! "Natural" does not mean its durable. You pay for 90% premium. Just my opinion. I couldn't shut up any more when I saw a thread like this!
I do not approve of this product nor thread.
Natural doesn't mean durable, true. It also doesn't mean "not durable".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR9-xMpWaOU
Necroing this thread to see if anyone has used Grove's iPhone 5 Bamboo case. I'm not one to drop my phone very often; I am just looking for a light weight/profile case that prevents scratching of the rear surface when the phone is set on tables and such. Looking sweet is an added bonus.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.