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Pinlo United

jbromer

jbromer

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 13, 2008
612
7
MD, USA
http://www.pinlo.com/e/products/iPhone4/UNITED Case.html

Yet another aluminum (partial) iphone case. Cheap - $33. Not sure how attractive it is, but it is thin. It may have less effect on reception as it is a hybrid, although it really looks like the aluminum covers most of the antenna.

I am sure the reviewers will take a crack at it...

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quite a slick looking piece of kit. i think i'll go ahead and order one. thanks for the info.
 
Looks nice.

I do not see a pic of the front of the iPhone with the case on. I cannot tell if there is face-down protection. The back has a lip, but the front looks like it covers just the sides.
 
Anyone planning to review this? Could someone comment on the design and any prediction on signal loss? Should it be less because of the plastic part, or not because the majority of the case is aluminum?
 
jbromer said:
Anyone planning to review this? Could someone comment on the design and any prediction on signal loss? Should it be less because of the plastic part, or not because the majority of the case is aluminum?
Click to expand...

I think I may pass on this one, doesn't look too convincing.
 
I'm really surprised this case isn't getting more traffic, it looks like a great less expensive option to the Atomic Hybrid. I just ordered one up, and it should be here in a week. I'll post pictures and my opinion then.
 
So have anyone else tried this case? The most important thing is the signal issue, I want to buy one but I dont to lose signal like all other alum case
 
Mine is en-route from Hong Kong, so I will definitely give my impressions when I get it. I find this case intriguing, in concept. Let's see how it works.
 
Argh pulled the trigger and bought a silver one on ebay, coming from hong kong, prob takes a good 15 days. Let see how this case hold up
 
Well they finally delivered my case....

I'm gonna send it back. Here's why:

-The front piece creates bubbles in my Power Support front screen protector near the edges. That won't work.

-The aluminum (silver finish) doesn't really look, act, or feel like aluminum, and the paint job on the frame doesn't seem to be particularly high quality.

-The pictures on the website don't show it well, but the aluminum piece has a very different finish to it than the front silver piece. The front is essentially chromed, and I don't really like the look of the two together. I also don't really dig the clear front piece, but I knew that going in.

-The product, as a whole, just doesn't really feel like a quality product. I know this is an objective thing, but you know how you hold the iphone in your hand, and you know that it's a high quality build? This doesn't give off that vibe at all.

I think everything I listed here is subject to opinion besides the screen protector thing, and as such I could see this being the case for someone out there. It's just not the case for me. If I were to do it again, I think I'd get a different color (red or black for the back, and black for the front) since the case doesn't look aluminum to me.

Hope this helps, sorry for the bad news everyone.
 
IJBrekke said:
Well they finally delivered my case....

I'm gonna send it back. Here's why:

-The front piece creates bubbles in my Power Support front screen protector near the edges. That won't work.

-The aluminum (silver finish) doesn't really look, act, or feel like aluminum, and the paint job on the frame doesn't seem to be particularly high quality.

-The pictures on the website don't show it well, but the aluminum piece has a very different finish to it than the front silver piece. The front is essentially chromed, and I don't really like the look of the two together. I also don't really dig the clear front piece, but I knew that going in.

-The product, as a whole, just doesn't really feel like a quality product. I know this is an objective thing, but you know how you hold the iphone in your hand, and you know that it's a high quality build? This doesn't give off that vibe at all.

I think everything I listed here is subject to opinion besides the screen protector thing, and as such I could see this being the case for someone out there. It's just not the case for me. If I were to do it again, I think I'd get a different color (red or black for the back, and black for the front) since the case doesn't look aluminum to me.

Hope this helps, sorry for the bad news everyone.
Click to expand...

Probably because the aluminum is just extremely thin and lightweight that it doesn't feel as solid as other metal cases you may or may not be used to. I think the black and red are nicely finished.
 
Aww man....I ordered mine from and authorized seller on ebay....I hope I can send it back if I dont like it. I thought at least the back alum would be at least high quality. It does look like it from the pic but I guess I'll wait till I get mine
 
romeo0119 said:
Aww man....I ordered mine from and authorized seller on ebay....I hope I can send it back if I dont like it. I thought at least the back alum would be at least high quality. It does look like it from the pic but I guess I'll wait till I get mine
Click to expand...

It is high quality.
 
Plastic in front looks super cheap - lame.

With all the crappy cases i've ever paid $30-$40 for I'm glad I finally bite the bullet and bought the Vapor Pro blackops - it's definitely more worth it then going through a series of cheap cases.
 
Got my Pinlo United case in the mail earlier this week. It took about 15 days to get to me and it took me about 30 minutes to figure out I don't like it.

Button holes are deep and it makes them hard to press. The button cut outs are sharp. While I don't think they will cut anyone they are "uncomfortable" feeling. The bevel detail on the back of the case also shares this feeling.

The case reduces my wifi signal by one bar in my house. And while I don't have proof that the cellular signal is reduced I did drop two calls on the same day. My phone does drop calls on occasion so I can't blame the case 100%. Two dropped calls in short order is not normal. In a area where I have poor signal I had no signal last night.

I sent Pinlo a email asking for the return procedure 3 days ago and have yet to receive a return email.
 
Just to update this thread. I have yet to hear back from Pinlo on the return. I have also emailed all the other address listed under the "contact" section of their site and all the emails have been returned.

Needless to say "Buyer Beware"
 
Do not buy! I purchased this case and while I loved the look the openings for the ports were pretty tight. Since returns to Hong Kong are expensive I decided I could live with it. One week after I got the case I dropped my phone from a short distance onto carpeting. The metal completely twisted and the case is unusable. I emailed pinlo expressing my dissatisifaction that such a small drop could render a $40 product unusable. I have received no replies to any of my emails asking if I can return or get another product.
 
Yep I agree, dont buy, I got one and now im stuck w it, got used to it now but I was expecting a high quality product, this is far from a quality product.
 
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