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ID America Release ICE/DRYICE Hard Case for iPhone 4
- Thread starter Austin M.
- Start date
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Very nice and well thought out design. I like to looks of this one, but I would think that the ICE would be a fingerprint magnet.
. . . and I wonder if the DRYICE would be a lint magnet?
But agree it looks really interesting!
ID America Dry Ice & Ice for Phone 4 (Review & Pics)
So your probably wondering why I haven't been doing a bunch of iPhone case reviews. Well, I have been enjoying a lot of other technology and have gotten over the iPhone accessory headache for a few days now. I guess it would be best to start right back in where we left off with a review of a couple of cases from one of my favorite companies, ID America, the famous makers of the Gasket and the Skyline. Today, we will be taking a look at their newest editions to the store, the Ice and the Dry Ice. The Dry Ice and the Ice both feature a see thru polycarbonate shell, one being hazy, and one being crystal clear. Catch the full review after the jump!
As always, let's take a quick dive into the way ID America packages their cases. Much like the Skyline & the Gasket, the Ice and the Dry Ice both arrived in a very stylish and simple Apple styled box. After taking a few minutes of ripping and clawing my way in, I was presented with both the Dry Ice & the Ice, both on separate packages, of course. In case you didn't know, both the Ice & the Dry Ice both include a set of front and back screen protectors, a very nice and soft purple microfiber cloth, and an application card. My installation and review of the shields can be found at the bottom of this article.
Let's get onto actually installing the case on the phone, which wasn't the easiest in my experience. Like almost any other snap together style case, I simply set my iPhone 4 into the back of the case and snapped the front part of the case onto the back. This is, however, where a torrent of problems started to erupt, most of them I will get to later. First off, I was constantly having too realign the case so that the notches would line up correctly. And even when they were lined up correctly, they were nearly impossible to snap together, and required a very large amount of force, not a good start.
Let's take a quick overview of the case. On the top of the case you will find two individual cutouts for the sleep/wake button and the audio jack. The sleep/wake button was extremely easy to press and I can guarantee that all headphone jacks will be compatible due to the fact that the cutout is so large. On the side of the case you will find one single cutout for the volume rockers and the vibrate switch. All these buttons were very easy to get to and I had no problems at all registering any of them. On the bottom of the case you will find one single cutout for the dock connector, the speaker, and the mic. The opening is large enough that most cables should fit and a few docks may be compatible, but not all. Lat but not least, you have a vey generous cutout for the camera and the flash which have had no problems whatsoever when it came to using the flash in low lit areas.
All right, let me talk about what I like, and we can get to the negatives later. First off, I love the design that this case has going for it, its simple and elegant at the same time. Both the Dry Ice and the Ice look plain sexy with their see thru material and the Dry Ice looks absolutely stunning when viewed in direct daylight. The Dry Ice is also coupled with a very smooth silicone material on the outside that feels great in the hand. Also, since all the buttons are cutout fairly large, most third party accessories work just fine with the case, which outed a big fat smile on my face. No need to take the case off here folks, everything works and is compatible just fine. Then again, you won't be taking it off very often if at all. Why you ask? Read on for the answer.
Short and simple, this case is literally impossible to remove from the iPhone 4. Once installed, I went through so much pain and suffering trying to get the case of the phone. Even the strongest forces of pulling was not nearly enough to get the case off. I just ended up damaging both the case and me in the end. I found the best way to get this off is too slide a fingernail in between the points where the case connects and pull upwards. Finally, after about ten minutes of bent and hurt fingernails, sore thumbs, and frustration, I was able to get the case off. As much as I hate to point out every negative aspect of a product, it's my job to be as unbiased as possible and point out what's good and bad about a product. Anyway, let's move on.
This case also has some major watermarking issues. I installed the case without a backside screen protector, and while it wasn't exactly perfect (there were still some very tiny watermarks in the corner) it was enough to make me try on the back protector to see if that would help. Bad move, the backside protector made it about ten times worst. After a few minutes of putting the case on with the backside screen protector, watermarks would show up everywhere and would not go away at all. That's not very pretty for the sexy iPhone 4's back.
Last but not least, this case does bubble the screen shield. Just like almost any other case that comes with protectors, I always install them to get the full affect. After putting on ID America's screen protector (the screen protectors are of very good quality by the way) and installing the case, bubbles started to show up everywhere, in the corners, sides, bottom, and front. I tried to smooth out some of the bubbles with a credit card, but alas, to no avail.
Before we wrap up, I would like to do a quick write up of the screen protectors, one of my favorite add ons. Installation was very easy and if you would like to know how I go about installing my shields, you can refer to some of my past reviews. Everything lined up perfectly, the front camera, the speaker grill, and the home button cutout were right on the money. After a few days of use I did not notice any scratches or scuffs. Also, I lost no touch sensitivity and the screen was absolutely crystal clear. So far, the included screen protectors have been absolutely fantastic and are an amazing addition to the case since these could easily hold its own against some other high end companies like Power Support and SGP.
Overall, I cannot recommend the Ice & Dry Ice. They have a plethora of problems and while they do look quite cool equipped on an iPhone 4, the major problems overpower the coolness and for me, make for what appears to be an unfinished product. It's too bad this case was released so early, as it had so much potential. If most of the issues can be worked out, these may have a fighting choice. For now, they just flat out aren't good. You can pick up the Dry Ice and the Ice for $19.99 on ID America's website. Click in the link to find out more.
Rating: 2.5/5
Pics:
So your probably wondering why I haven't been doing a bunch of iPhone case reviews. Well, I have been enjoying a lot of other technology and have gotten over the iPhone accessory headache for a few days now. I guess it would be best to start right back in where we left off with a review of a couple of cases from one of my favorite companies, ID America, the famous makers of the Gasket and the Skyline. Today, we will be taking a look at their newest editions to the store, the Ice and the Dry Ice. The Dry Ice and the Ice both feature a see thru polycarbonate shell, one being hazy, and one being crystal clear. Catch the full review after the jump!
As always, let's take a quick dive into the way ID America packages their cases. Much like the Skyline & the Gasket, the Ice and the Dry Ice both arrived in a very stylish and simple Apple styled box. After taking a few minutes of ripping and clawing my way in, I was presented with both the Dry Ice & the Ice, both on separate packages, of course. In case you didn't know, both the Ice & the Dry Ice both include a set of front and back screen protectors, a very nice and soft purple microfiber cloth, and an application card. My installation and review of the shields can be found at the bottom of this article.
Let's get onto actually installing the case on the phone, which wasn't the easiest in my experience. Like almost any other snap together style case, I simply set my iPhone 4 into the back of the case and snapped the front part of the case onto the back. This is, however, where a torrent of problems started to erupt, most of them I will get to later. First off, I was constantly having too realign the case so that the notches would line up correctly. And even when they were lined up correctly, they were nearly impossible to snap together, and required a very large amount of force, not a good start.
Let's take a quick overview of the case. On the top of the case you will find two individual cutouts for the sleep/wake button and the audio jack. The sleep/wake button was extremely easy to press and I can guarantee that all headphone jacks will be compatible due to the fact that the cutout is so large. On the side of the case you will find one single cutout for the volume rockers and the vibrate switch. All these buttons were very easy to get to and I had no problems at all registering any of them. On the bottom of the case you will find one single cutout for the dock connector, the speaker, and the mic. The opening is large enough that most cables should fit and a few docks may be compatible, but not all. Lat but not least, you have a vey generous cutout for the camera and the flash which have had no problems whatsoever when it came to using the flash in low lit areas.
All right, let me talk about what I like, and we can get to the negatives later. First off, I love the design that this case has going for it, its simple and elegant at the same time. Both the Dry Ice and the Ice look plain sexy with their see thru material and the Dry Ice looks absolutely stunning when viewed in direct daylight. The Dry Ice is also coupled with a very smooth silicone material on the outside that feels great in the hand. Also, since all the buttons are cutout fairly large, most third party accessories work just fine with the case, which outed a big fat smile on my face. No need to take the case off here folks, everything works and is compatible just fine. Then again, you won't be taking it off very often if at all. Why you ask? Read on for the answer.
Short and simple, this case is literally impossible to remove from the iPhone 4. Once installed, I went through so much pain and suffering trying to get the case of the phone. Even the strongest forces of pulling was not nearly enough to get the case off. I just ended up damaging both the case and me in the end. I found the best way to get this off is too slide a fingernail in between the points where the case connects and pull upwards. Finally, after about ten minutes of bent and hurt fingernails, sore thumbs, and frustration, I was able to get the case off. As much as I hate to point out every negative aspect of a product, it's my job to be as unbiased as possible and point out what's good and bad about a product. Anyway, let's move on.
This case also has some major watermarking issues. I installed the case without a backside screen protector, and while it wasn't exactly perfect (there were still some very tiny watermarks in the corner) it was enough to make me try on the back protector to see if that would help. Bad move, the backside protector made it about ten times worst. After a few minutes of putting the case on with the backside screen protector, watermarks would show up everywhere and would not go away at all. That's not very pretty for the sexy iPhone 4's back.
Last but not least, this case does bubble the screen shield. Just like almost any other case that comes with protectors, I always install them to get the full affect. After putting on ID America's screen protector (the screen protectors are of very good quality by the way) and installing the case, bubbles started to show up everywhere, in the corners, sides, bottom, and front. I tried to smooth out some of the bubbles with a credit card, but alas, to no avail.
Before we wrap up, I would like to do a quick write up of the screen protectors, one of my favorite add ons. Installation was very easy and if you would like to know how I go about installing my shields, you can refer to some of my past reviews. Everything lined up perfectly, the front camera, the speaker grill, and the home button cutout were right on the money. After a few days of use I did not notice any scratches or scuffs. Also, I lost no touch sensitivity and the screen was absolutely crystal clear. So far, the included screen protectors have been absolutely fantastic and are an amazing addition to the case since these could easily hold its own against some other high end companies like Power Support and SGP.
Overall, I cannot recommend the Ice & Dry Ice. They have a plethora of problems and while they do look quite cool equipped on an iPhone 4, the major problems overpower the coolness and for me, make for what appears to be an unfinished product. It's too bad this case was released so early, as it had so much potential. If most of the issues can be worked out, these may have a fighting choice. For now, they just flat out aren't good. You can pick up the Dry Ice and the Ice for $19.99 on ID America's website. Click in the link to find out more.
Rating: 2.5/5
Pics:
Last edited:
Thanks!!
Thanks for taking the time to review and photograph an interesting couple of cases. Really interesting design, especially the Ice. Since I don't change cases often, and don't use a screen protector, I might have been interested, but wow, those watermarks on the back really dampen the mood, so to speak . . .
Thanks for taking the time to review and photograph an interesting couple of cases. Really interesting design, especially the Ice. Since I don't change cases often, and don't use a screen protector, I might have been interested, but wow, those watermarks on the back really dampen the mood, so to speak . . .
i am testing out and reviewing both cases also, i have noticed that the screen shields that come with it are thicker then some others and if you use them it causes a very little bit of watermarking, i am using a hishop front and i also tried sgp front screen protector and had no watermark on the back, could just be the cases i got. i had no problems installing the case at all it was very easy but getting it off was pretty hard. ill have a full review up at some point when i finish really using and testing them out.
It's not that thick at all, not unique? Have you seen other cases like this one?
