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Why are 99.5% of iPhone cases Toys 'R' Us garbage?
- Thread starter Radiating
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Yes, Your cases look great! You need to make one out of Rich Mahogany! J/K
We may try some woods at some point, (I am a big fan of Mahogany) as long as it's FSC® certified. We like having the only provably eco-friendly case out there
Thats an opinion, I like the logo on the back of my phone case.
[/QUOTE]No, there isn't a single case made from ceramic or glass. Would it kill a manufacturer to make these things out of them? The metal ones are unessesarily extremely bulky and usually garish and the leather ones aren't cases but wallets. There are only one or two leather backed cases.[/QUOTE]
A glass case doesn't seem practical, Whats the main thing you have to worry about breaking when you drop your phone? The glass screen.
Im no expert on ceramic material, but I believe it shatters similar to glass.
[/QUOTE]That's interesting because I have a degree in design and I see almost none of the elements of design in any case. They all look tacked on.[/QUOTE]
No elements of design...would be taking a random piece of paper and crumpling it around my phone. If I decided to cut it so I could better cumple it around my phone, technically that has some design in it. Im pretty sure the cases out right now do a little better than that.
The case im getting,
http://www.marware.com/stash-iphone-5-case-wallet#.UGx2svk5xG4
Seems like a lot of thought went into designing this case.
[/QUOTE]The reason I made the post is because I am frustrated with case manufacturers. They all seem to be made by first time entrepeneurs out of their basements or chinese bulk manufacturers and do not reflect good design like that found in any major company.[/QUOTE]
The case industry is very competitive and theres a huge advantage to start selling a case when the iphone comes out. Many companies have to design cases based on the specs they get of the phone. The phone has been out for less than a month, better cases will come out as the initial rush to just get some case to slap on your phone dies down; Companies will start making more unique cases to stand out, just give it time.
[/QUOTE]If you compare every other case in the world to the Apple bumper you will clearly see the difference in good design vs bad design. Good design flows, you don't notice it's there. Show me a non-Apple, non-Gresso case that doesn't stick out like a sore thumb for the 4/4S/5.[/QUOTE]
Apple knows the designs for their phone way before any other company will know so of course their cases are going to well designed because they weren't rushed during the design process, plus their infinite budget to use helps.
And really there are already some great cases out there, I really don't understand your complaints.
I agree, very cool looking case. First attempt I've seen to integrate an iPhone case with a wallet.
By the way, multiple
go back to design school
If you look at an iPhone case's life cycle...it's not very long...1/2 year at most. First to market usually sells the most..they gotta produce different colors, different versions...Bigger ports are easier to manufacture AND CHEAPER than say a case with a crap load of speaker holes in it...there's also less blems/waste produced with a case that has big ports vs a case with speaker holes...your tool has to be very precise and just done properly to achieve that type of detail all the time. You'll have mold flow issues in that speaker hole detail if not done correctly...all this takes time= money. Money that is unnecessary to spend when everyone is rushing to get it to market.
If you look at an iPhone case's life cycle...it's not very long...1/2 year at most. First to market usually sells the most..they gotta produce different colors, different versions...Bigger ports are easier to manufacture AND CHEAPER than say a case with a crap load of speaker holes in it...there's also less blems/waste produced with a case that has big ports vs a case with speaker holes...your tool has to be very precise and just done properly to achieve that type of detail all the time. You'll have mold flow issues in that speaker hole detail if not done correctly...all this takes time= money. Money that is unnecessary to spend when everyone is rushing to get it to market.
From the business' POV, if you can make a profit selling junk, why not?
It works because people are willing to buy garbage cases. If you want to make a difference, support companies that make quality products, and don't bother with the cheap knockoffs.
The problem is (pointing the finger at myself), it's easy to spend $2 to $5 on a cheap POS case, and a lot of us will get a few garbage cases before either deciding to spend $ on a nice one or to just go without a case. But by then the manufacturer of the garbage case already got my money.
It works because people are willing to buy garbage cases. If you want to make a difference, support companies that make quality products, and don't bother with the cheap knockoffs.
The problem is (pointing the finger at myself), it's easy to spend $2 to $5 on a cheap POS case, and a lot of us will get a few garbage cases before either deciding to spend $ on a nice one or to just go without a case. But by then the manufacturer of the garbage case already got my money.
I agree with you on this for sure. I picked up a cheap case for now...I'll probably wait for a quality case from element or mophie for my permanent one.
Btw 99.55555% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
Btw 99.55555% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
I would say the majority of iPhone users, just want a cheap case to protect their investment...that's the $10-20 range product...I think Radiating is not part of this demographics.
So the reason people value cases is because of either good functionality or good design. A unknown company logo does not add value to the product. In fact most of the time is reduces the value of the product and worsens the design. This is why I use the words "tacked on" or "plastered on" to describe the issue. Apple does not put it's logo on several products, e.g. ear pods. When it does put it's logo on it's product it is done in a way that compliments the design and is "neat' not that looks plastered on.
If the logo adds value to the product then put it on. If it does not add value then leave it off and put the label in an inconspicuous spot. You don't see your chouches shipping with big logos plastered in the middle of their cushions.
Logos do not increase sales when it comes to cases because the logos are small and difficult to read anyway and the owner will be almost always with it so an interested customer will simply be able to ask the owner.
So you're saying that 99.5% of cases are designed for the 10 year old who has a $650-$850 device with a $700 a year mobile plan? That doesn't really make sense. I think carving out a cool niche that appeals to those who like Toys 'R' Us stuff is great, but I think most manufacturers are just doing a bad job and designing a product with the wrong focus because it's easy to make something cheap. I hope the phone case industry matures soon though.
You can't seriously think that everyone is satisfied with a product that is poorly made when they could have one that is well made.
Yes, I've designed, enginered supercars and manufactured prototype parts with my own hands. As well as having designed many other things. It's really not that hard to turn out a decent product, just hire a designer.
Absolutely. There is a lot involved which is all the more sad that these guys don't even bother to pay a designer 1/100th the start up cost to just to ensure their product delivers value to the buyer.
Ceramics aren't that hard to work with you can easily manufacture jewlery out of them and sell the products for a few dollars. The start up costs are less than injection molding. High end watches are a great inspiration for any design, and asside from the movement the actual parts are usually not that expensive. I've bought watches that cost less than $170 that features saphire glass and ceramic inlays. Glass is also not that difficult to work with. The point I was trying to make is that everything doesn't have to be made of the cheapest plastic you can find. Watch manufacturers are a great inspiration. They have no problem with this.
It really just seems to me that most of these case manufacturers don't even try and everything you can get is a half hearted atempt to make a quick buck.
Cheap doesn't have to mean poorly designed or low quality materials. Again Apple managed to make a bumper case with metal buttons that cost next to nothing to manufacture, it's design flowed well with the product it's meant to go on and clearly some effort was put into making that happen. My only qualm with it was that it could have been more scratch resistant.
If a company just made more products like this, and maybe used a hint of higher quality materials, not nessesarily for the case just for the buttons I bet they would be very popular.
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I agree there's a place for ceramics and glass in the design of certain things, but a phone case? Kinda partially defeats the purpose of having a case on a phone in the first place, wouldn't you agree? Sure they'd be great for scratch resistance but they'd be useless when it comes to impact resistance.
When Omega supplied NASA with Speedmaster watches for their astronauts to use, there was a reason why they used hesalite (read: plastic) crystals. Plastic will absorb impacts better than glass or sapphire and won't shatter into multiple, small shards if something happened.
Think about it...who does Apple employ to make these parts? the Chinese...What's their salary or hourly wage or are they paid per part? Think about who Apple is. When they first released their optically clear polycarbonate G3 Cube (or was it G4)? The tool had to be polished after every pull to retain that optically clear injection molding. Nobody, I mean no other manufacturer go to these lengths in production that Apple goes through. You can't honestly compare Apple vs any other iphone case manufacturer out there and say "they did, why can't others". There's no other company like Apple...they spend ridiculous amts of money on design, R&D, manufacturing, processing, etc.
Bottom line.......
There are some great cases out there and they are definitely not hard to find. 99.5% of people find a case they are happy with, Yeah thats an educated guess, but its a fact that its more accurate than your speculation that 99.5% of cases are crap. Stop being so negative and critical, especially when for the most part its not even true.
100% agree. There are only a few cases that actually look good on the iPhone 4S, namely the Graft Leverage and Draco IV. Everything else is garbage.
This thread is really kind of funny. You know the saying, "different strokes for different folks". Speaking of Rado's, I'm totally enthralled with my ceramic automatic watch and didn't mind paying the premium price.
On the other hand for me, I must have bought 12 cases or more for my iPhone 4S before finding "the one" which was a Case Crown Glider in white which fit and matched the white phone perfectly. What I like best is a minimalistic case that incorporates well with the design of the phone and gives some protection. Then it has to hold up well - don't want it to show scratches and look like crap quickly. Amazingly enough the Incase slider was the case I bought with my phone at Best Buy and it is exactly what I was looking for. Very similar to the Case Crown but extremely light weight and perhaps toyish but for me, it's perfect.
So here I go - sporting my white ceramic Rado and my white iPhone with my white toy case and I'm happy as a clam.
On the other hand for me, I must have bought 12 cases or more for my iPhone 4S before finding "the one" which was a Case Crown Glider in white which fit and matched the white phone perfectly. What I like best is a minimalistic case that incorporates well with the design of the phone and gives some protection. Then it has to hold up well - don't want it to show scratches and look like crap quickly. Amazingly enough the Incase slider was the case I bought with my phone at Best Buy and it is exactly what I was looking for. Very similar to the Case Crown but extremely light weight and perhaps toyish but for me, it's perfect.
So here I go - sporting my white ceramic Rado and my white iPhone with my white toy case and I'm happy as a clam.
I understand your frustration. Here is my biggest one at the moment:
Terrible marketing of the product on their own website.
I can understand maybe not having all the pictures with the device when it's in preorder only, but once it is released, get some real pictures up! Everyone should be able to track down a real iphone on launch day and I can't imagine it would be too hard to borrow one for an hour while you take pictures of it in a case in exchange for some free cases. Show all angles, show all colors of the case on a black and white iphone. It's extremely irritating to see a product that sounds or looks nice from one view, but not be able to see everything about it.
Terrible marketing of the product on their own website.
I can understand maybe not having all the pictures with the device when it's in preorder only, but once it is released, get some real pictures up! Everyone should be able to track down a real iphone on launch day and I can't imagine it would be too hard to borrow one for an hour while you take pictures of it in a case in exchange for some free cases. Show all angles, show all colors of the case on a black and white iphone. It's extremely irritating to see a product that sounds or looks nice from one view, but not be able to see everything about it.
Well there's your mistake...Rado watches aren't really that "premium".
Never said that Rado watches are premium. I said that I didn't mind paying the premium price as I love my watch. For ceramic watches with a slim profile, there aren't any others out there, premium or not, Rado is the only one in the game. Don't get me wrong - there are a ton of ceramic watches out there much cheaper but not automatic watches and not slim.
So my point is that it's truly all in the eyes of the beholder.
Me lika dis post.
And probably MOST of time they are just trying to make some cash off from a product they know a lot of people want a case for.
Well there's your mistake...Rado watches aren't really that "premium".
Never said that Rado watches are premium. I said that I didn't mind paying the premium price as I love my watch. For ceramic watches with a slim profile, there aren't any others out there, premium or not, Rado is the only one in the game. Don't get me wrong - there are a ton of ceramic watches out there much cheaper but not automatic watches and not slim.
So my point is that it's truly all in the eyes of the beholder.
it's ok..I like RADOs...slim and purty..it's a good evening watch..my everyday is my Tissot T-Touch...I'm outdoorsy so I like my compass function...it trips people out every time I demo it.