To begin I just want to mention my current and previous cases:
- iSkin Revo2
- SwitchEasy CapsuleRebel
- SwitchEasy Colors
- SwitchEasy Capsule Neo (current)
When I was ordering my iSkin Revo2, I had glanced at the original Fuze for the original Iphone and completely fell in love with it and was actually jealous that it wasn't available at the time for the Iphone 3G.
I really loved the the clean look of it and the Dual Layer design with the soft shock-absorbing layer seemed like a no-brainer that nobody else had done yet. The two-tone colour looked fantastic and I really liked the fact that the docking port cover was attached to the case as opposed to say the SwitchEasy Neo where it's a separate piece (along with the headphone port).
Ok well, enough talk about the original Fuze, here is the new iSkin Fuze in Magma Red for the Iphone 3G:
Looks pretty nice huh?
Well, to be honest, this is where the 'pretty' part of this review ends and where the 'pretty awful' part starts.
First of all, what's missing from the above images is the steps you have to take to put the case together. The reason I have not included the pics is because when I first tested it out I had such an incredible hard time separating the 2 pieces that I decided not to do that again a second time because of the chance of breaking the case. It would've been nice if iSkin provided a small plastic tool that you could use to pry the case apart and not cause scratching.
What you also don't see in the images above (or the images to follow) is that there is NO soft shock-absorbing layer dubbed "Dual-Layer Design" that is similar to the original Fuze. There are only 2 pieces to this case and you can easily see it in the above images.
The little user guide that is included with the packaging also states to remove any existing body or screen films prior to installing your iPhone into the case as it can "result in diminished fuze fit and/or function". So what this means is that if you had any protective invisible shield type stuff, that you should remove it.
Ok so what's really wrong with this case?
Lets start with the port covers. Although the case does a good job covering all the ports with the exception of the headphone port, it adds so much bulk over the ports that it is extremely difficult to click them, especially the power button which seems nearly impossible to click down with the phone in one hand.
Here's one thing I'm kind of concerned that wasn't caught before this case went to production. The silent switch button is pretty much impossible to switch once your case is on. I don't have long nails, but I can't imagine why they made it so difficult to access this button. I use it all the time; when I jump into a meeting at work, I switch to silent mode, and when I'm out of the meeting I switch back. If anybody else gets this phone, please post here whether or not you can switch it easily or not.
The dock connector port is covered well, but the design of the port cover has left 2 open areas where you iPhone can be easily scratched if you had your iPhone in your pocket with keys or stuff of that nature.
Also, I'm not really sure how this happened but there is some extra plastic sticking out on the dock port cover seen here. Definitely not something you want to see when you're dropping $45+ on a case.
Since we're on the subject of design flaws, lets look at some of these close-ups of the fitment.
Here you can see how the 2 pieces of the case do not sit perfectly flush:
Here's a couple of other shots showing the fitment. Notice how the red piece isn't straight and has bumps along the way:
Also, I don't know about you, but I can guarantee you not many people are going to be thrilled to see these swirls in the clear plastic. I can tell you that it bugs the crap out of me because they are very visible. Also, note that the home button is clear in color where as it's black on their website.
Take a look at these two images again.
Can you see these cross (+) markings just above the mic/speaker? It looks like that part of the case was pieced together. Hmm?
In this picture, if you look at the circled area, you can see that the case cover is actually not sitting flush...its sticking out on the left side. Tsk Tsk.
Also, I removed the 'Integrated Touch-Through Screen Guard' because I had already put a screen shield on it that was included with my SwitchEasy Neo and considering it took me almost an hour to smooth out the bubbles, I wasn't just going to take it off.
As I attempted to take the Integrated screen guard off, it snapped off easily, and the tape along the edges just got tangled. So now, I can't put it back if I wanted to because the tape won't separate.
Well, that's all I have for now. I have not actually taken it out with me yet so I can't give my final verdict on it yet but for now, I'm disappointed with iSkin. I really thought they would've done a better job with the Fuze 3G as many people were looking forward to this case.
If you can swallow all the little flaws I mentioned above and don't mind dropping $45 US on a case with quality of this caliber, then this is probably a great case choice.
For now, I still feel the SwitchEasy CapsuleNeo is my favorite, with the iSkin Revo2 coming in second place, and the iSkin Fuze 3G trailing in 3rd.
- Darius
(BTW, GO OBAMA!)
- iSkin Revo2
- SwitchEasy CapsuleRebel
- SwitchEasy Colors
- SwitchEasy Capsule Neo (current)
When I was ordering my iSkin Revo2, I had glanced at the original Fuze for the original Iphone and completely fell in love with it and was actually jealous that it wasn't available at the time for the Iphone 3G.
I really loved the the clean look of it and the Dual Layer design with the soft shock-absorbing layer seemed like a no-brainer that nobody else had done yet. The two-tone colour looked fantastic and I really liked the fact that the docking port cover was attached to the case as opposed to say the SwitchEasy Neo where it's a separate piece (along with the headphone port).
Ok well, enough talk about the original Fuze, here is the new iSkin Fuze in Magma Red for the Iphone 3G:
Looks pretty nice huh?
Well, to be honest, this is where the 'pretty' part of this review ends and where the 'pretty awful' part starts.
First of all, what's missing from the above images is the steps you have to take to put the case together. The reason I have not included the pics is because when I first tested it out I had such an incredible hard time separating the 2 pieces that I decided not to do that again a second time because of the chance of breaking the case. It would've been nice if iSkin provided a small plastic tool that you could use to pry the case apart and not cause scratching.
What you also don't see in the images above (or the images to follow) is that there is NO soft shock-absorbing layer dubbed "Dual-Layer Design" that is similar to the original Fuze. There are only 2 pieces to this case and you can easily see it in the above images.
The little user guide that is included with the packaging also states to remove any existing body or screen films prior to installing your iPhone into the case as it can "result in diminished fuze fit and/or function". So what this means is that if you had any protective invisible shield type stuff, that you should remove it.
Ok so what's really wrong with this case?
Lets start with the port covers. Although the case does a good job covering all the ports with the exception of the headphone port, it adds so much bulk over the ports that it is extremely difficult to click them, especially the power button which seems nearly impossible to click down with the phone in one hand.
Here's one thing I'm kind of concerned that wasn't caught before this case went to production. The silent switch button is pretty much impossible to switch once your case is on. I don't have long nails, but I can't imagine why they made it so difficult to access this button. I use it all the time; when I jump into a meeting at work, I switch to silent mode, and when I'm out of the meeting I switch back. If anybody else gets this phone, please post here whether or not you can switch it easily or not.
The dock connector port is covered well, but the design of the port cover has left 2 open areas where you iPhone can be easily scratched if you had your iPhone in your pocket with keys or stuff of that nature.
Also, I'm not really sure how this happened but there is some extra plastic sticking out on the dock port cover seen here. Definitely not something you want to see when you're dropping $45+ on a case.
Since we're on the subject of design flaws, lets look at some of these close-ups of the fitment.
Here you can see how the 2 pieces of the case do not sit perfectly flush:
Here's a couple of other shots showing the fitment. Notice how the red piece isn't straight and has bumps along the way:
Also, I don't know about you, but I can guarantee you not many people are going to be thrilled to see these swirls in the clear plastic. I can tell you that it bugs the crap out of me because they are very visible. Also, note that the home button is clear in color where as it's black on their website.
Take a look at these two images again.
Can you see these cross (+) markings just above the mic/speaker? It looks like that part of the case was pieced together. Hmm?
In this picture, if you look at the circled area, you can see that the case cover is actually not sitting flush...its sticking out on the left side. Tsk Tsk.
Also, I removed the 'Integrated Touch-Through Screen Guard' because I had already put a screen shield on it that was included with my SwitchEasy Neo and considering it took me almost an hour to smooth out the bubbles, I wasn't just going to take it off.
As I attempted to take the Integrated screen guard off, it snapped off easily, and the tape along the edges just got tangled. So now, I can't put it back if I wanted to because the tape won't separate.
Well, that's all I have for now. I have not actually taken it out with me yet so I can't give my final verdict on it yet but for now, I'm disappointed with iSkin. I really thought they would've done a better job with the Fuze 3G as many people were looking forward to this case.
If you can swallow all the little flaws I mentioned above and don't mind dropping $45 US on a case with quality of this caliber, then this is probably a great case choice.
For now, I still feel the SwitchEasy CapsuleNeo is my favorite, with the iSkin Revo2 coming in second place, and the iSkin Fuze 3G trailing in 3rd.
- Darius
(BTW, GO OBAMA!)
After such a long wait..you would expect a much better product. Iskin need to seriously look into their quality control..this is horrible.
