iChair is a fairly new company that makes iPhone, iPod Touch, & iPad cases that have integrated stands built into them. The iPhone 4 version is sort of a hybrid case with an outer hard shell and a soft micro fiber inner layer. Will the iChair prove to be a great innovation to the boring market of iPhone, iPod Touch, & iPad cases or will the attempt at a unique line of iDevice cases go wrong? Read on for the full review of the iChair for the iPhone 4 to find out.
I have seen a few cases like the iChair, although non have come close to the simplicity that iChair offers with all of their cases. Basically, the little stand on the back of the case flaps out and you are either able to set it up in landscape mode or in portrait mode depending on what you are doing. First and foremost is installation. Installation was very easy when it came to the iChair case. To install the case on your iPhone 4, you simply slide the top part in as well as the bottom part just like you would with any slider style case, plain and simple.
Lets take a quick look over all of the buttons and the port access. At the top of the case you have two very large cutouts for the audio jack and the sleep/wake button. I had no problem accessing both of these and while the audio jack is a little recessed, you shouldnt have any problem when it comes to using moderately sized headphone cables. Going to the left side of the case you have one single opening for your volume rockers and your silent switch, these are also very easy to get to. Going to the bottom of the case you will notice a hot dog shape cutout for the speaker, mic, and the dock connector. I could fit my Apple cable in here just fine although you may want to be wary of larger size cables since it is a pretty recessed cutout. Last but not least is the camera cutout on the backside of the case. I have not had any problems when it comes to taking photos with the flash enabled.
Now for the grand finale, on the back of the case you will find the iChairs focal point, its very tiny (but mighty) stand. Before you use this however, I highly recommend that you flip the stand about 5-10 times to make it loose and get rid of any dust or debris that may be causing some stress. I have to say that this stand is awesome as I was using this for writing emails and texting while in landscape mode the whole time. I found it very fun to play games such as Cut the Rope in portrait mode.
I think that one of my most favorable things that I absolutely loved about the iChair was the fact that it works with screen shields. iChair even provides both a front and back screen shield so they can assure that your phone is fully protected. Although the stand would be more useful in the iPad version of the case, I did find a few times throughout my day were I was constantly using the stand for movies and just to make my phone stand upright and look snazzy while it was charging.
Another thing that I liked about the iChair was the tremendous amount of protection the case offered when my phone was sealed inside of the phone. In case you didnt know, the iChair is injected with a thick layer of microfiber on the inside that not only protects the back from scratches, but also provides a fairly good amount of drop protection in an accident. If there were any griped to be had about the case it would be the fact that it does stick inside of your pockets if you were trying to take it out. This is due to the matte and velvety feel that wraps around the outer part of the iChair. Even though this is not a deal breaker for me, it is definitely one to put out to someone who puts their phone in their pocket all the time.
Even though this case has a few minor flaws, it is a very cool invention who someone that uses their pone to watch movies, needs an alarm clock, and many other type of things. The iChair is available in two different combinations (Black with black and white top, or black with black and blue top), includes a screen protector (front and back), a microfiber cloth, and a squeegee. You can pick up the iChair case for $34.99 at iChairs website (link below) and shipping is free!
Rating: 4.5/5
Pics:
I have seen a few cases like the iChair, although non have come close to the simplicity that iChair offers with all of their cases. Basically, the little stand on the back of the case flaps out and you are either able to set it up in landscape mode or in portrait mode depending on what you are doing. First and foremost is installation. Installation was very easy when it came to the iChair case. To install the case on your iPhone 4, you simply slide the top part in as well as the bottom part just like you would with any slider style case, plain and simple.
Lets take a quick look over all of the buttons and the port access. At the top of the case you have two very large cutouts for the audio jack and the sleep/wake button. I had no problem accessing both of these and while the audio jack is a little recessed, you shouldnt have any problem when it comes to using moderately sized headphone cables. Going to the left side of the case you have one single opening for your volume rockers and your silent switch, these are also very easy to get to. Going to the bottom of the case you will notice a hot dog shape cutout for the speaker, mic, and the dock connector. I could fit my Apple cable in here just fine although you may want to be wary of larger size cables since it is a pretty recessed cutout. Last but not least is the camera cutout on the backside of the case. I have not had any problems when it comes to taking photos with the flash enabled.
Now for the grand finale, on the back of the case you will find the iChairs focal point, its very tiny (but mighty) stand. Before you use this however, I highly recommend that you flip the stand about 5-10 times to make it loose and get rid of any dust or debris that may be causing some stress. I have to say that this stand is awesome as I was using this for writing emails and texting while in landscape mode the whole time. I found it very fun to play games such as Cut the Rope in portrait mode.
I think that one of my most favorable things that I absolutely loved about the iChair was the fact that it works with screen shields. iChair even provides both a front and back screen shield so they can assure that your phone is fully protected. Although the stand would be more useful in the iPad version of the case, I did find a few times throughout my day were I was constantly using the stand for movies and just to make my phone stand upright and look snazzy while it was charging.
Another thing that I liked about the iChair was the tremendous amount of protection the case offered when my phone was sealed inside of the phone. In case you didnt know, the iChair is injected with a thick layer of microfiber on the inside that not only protects the back from scratches, but also provides a fairly good amount of drop protection in an accident. If there were any griped to be had about the case it would be the fact that it does stick inside of your pockets if you were trying to take it out. This is due to the matte and velvety feel that wraps around the outer part of the iChair. Even though this is not a deal breaker for me, it is definitely one to put out to someone who puts their phone in their pocket all the time.
Even though this case has a few minor flaws, it is a very cool invention who someone that uses their pone to watch movies, needs an alarm clock, and many other type of things. The iChair is available in two different combinations (Black with black and white top, or black with black and blue top), includes a screen protector (front and back), a microfiber cloth, and a squeegee. You can pick up the iChair case for $34.99 at iChairs website (link below) and shipping is free!
Rating: 4.5/5
Pics:
