We’ve got another look into the future for you this week and this time we need some feedback! Here’s a glimpse of one of our new designs:
Now, you decide!
What colors would you like to see offered in this case for both the outer and inner layers? Which shape do you like better – hexagon or squares? Please comment and help our product development team pick!
The Apple iPad is one of the most exciting things to be launched this year and we at case-mate wanted our cases to match the uniqueness of the device while also highlighting its utility. A lot of people were really trying to get into the mindset of being an iPad user. Guess what – the iPad is so unique and at the same time so common that identifying key demographics to such a device would be useless.
The initial launch of the iPad was met with great skepticism with people questioning if it fell in between the iPhone and the Macbook. Frankly, once people buy it, they will find a use for it, and it’s becoming clear that people will definitely buy it.
I have seen crazy flow charts giving you reasons why you shouldnt get it and toons and “Pad” jokes flying around on twitter and facebook, here’s an example:
When i watched the iPad launched, Mr. Jobs said ” it works” repeatedly, while many of us were still questioning the existence and functionality of this product. If you understand the true value of innovation, what Apple has done with the iPad is given out a base and asked the consumers to flavor it. Its like giving people the option to create a sandwich, but giving them the bread to start out with – you just have to choose all the vegetables and meat to fill it up. Thrusting innovation into the hands of consumers makes us feel that we’re able to contribute to the overall experience of the product which fuels curiosity to learn and while becoming accustomed to and reliant on the product.
Apple did it with the iPhone and they will do it again with the iPad. There are already rumors of a free netflix app you can use to stream movies. Bored of typing? There’s a dragon dictation app; which is already available for your iPhone – simply write an article, letter, email, whatever by dictating everything you want to say. Apps define the user experience of a device and with the launch of the iPad Apple is working towards creating a massive app store.
I recently read an article on core77 discussing the term “disruptive technology.” They claim, “Too many companies—and the marketers in charge of bringing these companies’ innovations to market—assume that “disruptive” connotes a highly-sophisticated, high-end product with cutting-edge technology that will appeal to early adopters.” With the launch of the iPad, we have yet another device that falls into this category. I’d argue there is no logical demographic identity for the iPad – and as a company we plan to keep this in mind as we develop accessories from both ends of the pyramid.
As more iPad reviews flow in, we’ll begin to see people adapting the product to their interests; affirming that the conventional design process is never complete with a product that develops with the user experience. Websites and companies must become iPad compatible to compete in this new market.
From a physical hardware standpoint, it’s always best to keep it simple and adaptable – it helps cater to a larger segment of consumers, and the move forward from physical form is becoming simpler everyday in the consumer electronics segment with overall experience becoming the top priority.
As with any product, there will be various disadvantages to the device in terms of restrictions, etc., but the aftermarket accessories and creative thinkers with DIY ideas will think of more ideas and products. The device is almost more of a consumer than a creator. Here’s the way I interpret Apple’s smart device lineup:
iPhone: Communicator
iPad: Consumer (data and knowledge)
Macbook: Creator.
So, judging the device on certain functions really doesn’t truly hold. If I have a chance to get one, I think I will be in complete awe of what it can do.
When I was designing cases for the iPad, I looked at various universal patterns that speak to a lot of users, from a functional standpoint it’s very important that we offer protection for a device that’s a simple viewer, yet fragile. So, if you happen to drop one, we got it covered. Here are Some pics of the cases I designed:
PC MAG’s 12 Coolest Accessories for the iPad: The Gelli series.
The Traveler, also designed by me 
Another PD Slice, another Industrial Designer to introduce; who says seconds are for Thanksgiving lunch only? This week meet Vyasateja Jyothigowdanapura. Try saying that 10 times fast! We prefer to call him VT for short. Similar to Alex, VT has is own personal blog. Waddoyathink?
If you’re a fan of Case-mate (if you’re reading this post than I think it’s safe to say you are) then you’ve heard about our new wireless charging solution for iphone called the Hug®. Case-mate has partnered with Fulton Innovations to bring Universal Wireless Charging Technology to the loyal Case-mate masses.
How does it work you may ask? Inductive charging transfers power through a magnetic field from a power base to your handset device, nerd alert! The technology is really cool. Fulton Innovations is partnering with other industry leaders to incorporate the technology into more and more of your daily devices. Imagine never having to plug in your laptop because the coffee table charges it for you? Yea, awesome. So I know what you’re thinking, Dave you good looking, funny, charming delight of a person, how could this technology save the world?
Well, I started thinking about how cool this technology is and what could be done on a large level and a wireless light bulb went off in my head, electric cars! One of the big drawbacks to the electric car is the recharging complications. I symbolically married the peanut butter (inductive charging) and jelly (electric car in this case) and have figured that inductive charging and electric cars could team up to save the world!
So here we go, you have an electric car and you incorporate the inductive charging into your garage floor and bam, by simply parking in your garage you’ve plugged in your electric car for the night. Now on a bigger scale when you stop at a red light you’re usually held up for 2-4 minutes. If you multiply that 2-4 minutes by four red lights then that’s roughly 15 minutes of charging you could grab on the go. Are you picking up what I’m putting down so far?
Now on an even larger scale we could put this technology into parking lots and even the office where your car probably spends most of its time. Now your car is spending more time on the charger than it is using its power reserve. Imagine arriving to work in the morning with your car on empty (which wouldn’t happen if you had it charging in your garage overnight) and leaving work at night with a full “tank” and all you did was park? What a country, right? I know there are a few details I’m glossing over but hopefully you see what I’m electronically driving at.
At this point you can do the math on the trickle down effect of this master plan. Petroleum demand dwindles down drastically. Harmful and toxic emissions dwindles down drastically. The air gets cleaner due to the drop in carbon emissions and the issues and conflicts regarding the dependency on foreign oil dissipate. Most importantly your beloved Case-mate Blog writer gets to say his four favorite words, “I told you so.” So while inductive charging is just beginning its world saving mission with your phone, it might possibly save the world in the future!
I’ll be continuing the food theme with this week’s blog post of another horrible item that should never be consumed by humans. With that being said two of our regular case-mate cast of characters (Ian and Jeremy) plus one brave non-pork eater, Tommie embarked on a quest as challenging as Frodo’s of throwing the ring into a volcano, or Harry and Lloyd’s road trip to Aspen to drop off a suitcase. They made the attempt to ingest the Double Bypass Burger at the Vortex Bar and Grill here in Atlanta.
For those of you that aren’t familiar with the Vortex Bar and Grill and their infamous Double Bypass Burger I’ll fill you in. The Double Bypass Burger consists of 1 pound of sirloin patty, topped with two fried eggs, six slices of American cheese, and eight slices of bacon, all served between the two grilled cheese sandwiches used in place of the regular hamburger buns.
Ian and Jeremy had their sights set on the OG Double Bypass Burger, and Tommie, who doesn’t eat pork, substituted the sirloin for a nice turkey burger.
Before game time I caught up with the guys and asked them a couple pre-game questions.
Going into the Double Bypass Burger (DBB) how are you feeling?
Ian: well I’ve been training pretty intensely for the past couple months, so I feel like I can tame this beast.
Jeremy: A little intimidated… I mean, wouldn’t you be?
Tommie: Pumped and ready to devour the beast!
How long have you been training for this day?
Ian: Like I said, a couple of months…
Jeremy: My whole life, this is the moment I was born for. Anything that happened before today and anything that happens after does not matter.
Tommie: Haven’t. Don’t need to. I got this.
If one word could describe what’s going through your head what would it be?
Ian: Sassafras
Jeremy: Destroyed!! Everyone that knows me knows “DESTROYED” is my victory phrase.
Tommie: Diabetes.
If you were to compare the DBB to a mythical creature what would it be?
Ian: The great Minotaur of the Labyrinth of Crete. It’s horns being the grilled cheese sandwich buns that could very well be the weapon that keeps me defeating this monster.
Jeremy: After I conquer this burger I will wield it’s powers, much like the head of Medusa.
Tommie: Big Foot.
How much film have you watched on the DBB, and have you reached out to any of its former challengers?
Ian: I’ve watched much film on this challenge and I’ve tried my hardest to get into the minds of the past champions that have defeated this beast, like Sam “Surly” Sanders and Bob “The Belcher” Higgins, I will try to do them proud and support their honor.
Jeremy: None. I am a freelancer. I’m a professional. This will be a victory belonging to myself with no outside influences… Why? Do you have any tips?
Tommie: None. I got this!
Have you ever done anything like this before?
Ian: I have only ever tried amateur events held in local Waffle Houses and IHOPS, never anything that measures up to this feat.
Jeremy: Yes, this is the first time that I’ve done it without some sort of video camera, alcohol induced bet or girls to try to impress. This one is for me.
Tommie: No, but I still got this!
What is your strategy on gameday? Do you eat or do you hold out for the DBB tonight?
Ian: So far, I’m just trying to eat light until the event. Lunch will consist of 3 ribs left over from last nights training session.
Jeremy: I’ve been eating all day. It’s the same strategy that I use the week before Thanksgiving. People who starve themselves before an event like this are really hurting themselves. I hope none of my competitors are seriously injured, but that will teach them to step in the ring with me.
Tommie: I will run on the treadmill for 20 min. today, burn 250 cals. Yeah Baby!
Do you like jazz?
Ian: Only traditional, old-school jazz, not that free-for-all jam session crap that loops for hours and hours.
Jeremy: I do. I can’t tell you the name of one jazz artist. But I like it. Reminds me of the time I went to New Orleans and didn’t come back for 3 fuzzy months. I still don’t know what the happened there…
Tommie: Heck yeah. Nina Simone. Hello!
We all know about the challenge the DBB brings to the table, but have you left out or underestimated the dark horse that is the tots (served as a non-negotiable side)?
Ian: I’m sorry, but the cheesy-cheese goo covered fries + tots that accompany the super-stack heart attack burger are a mountain all on their own; I’m not sure if I can ever climb that.
Jeremy: That is actually my greatest concern. Tots tend to expand as you eat them and I don’t think my competition understands the seriousness of this tot-expansion.
Tommie: Yeah, but that doesn’t scare me or does it? I got to fart.
If you do conquer the DBB what will you do? (Please don’t say “Go to Disney World,” if anything Knotts Berry Farm would be a great choice)
Ian: I first plan on starting my 6 month tour around the southeast promoting my memoir, “The Monster in Me”, from there I plan on reaching out to the less fortunate and helping their abilities to eat large quantities of food, which should last another 6 months. After all is said and done, I will cast aside all of my earthly possessions and start my pilgrimage. Along the way I will join forces with the Dalai Lama and spread our powers of peace. Then, I’ll probably just have a Coke.
Jeremy: It will take several days to pass all of the cholesterol through my system, much like the time I chugged a gallon of ice cold milk. Strange things happen to your body after events like these. So I’ll be laying low for a while.
Tommie: Gloat in my victorious stomach pains.
One last question, do you have any questions?
Ian: No? Wait… Can I have a second to think about this?… Oh, alright…
Jeremy: Huh?
Tommie: Yeah. Who had time to make this questionnaire. Get back to work.
So that’s what was racing through their heads before the match and here are some photos of what went down.
Ian and Tommie both finished their Double Bypass Burger, unfortunately Jeremy wasn’t so lucky and the beast did the taming. Although coming up short, Jeremy is still a winner, and Ian and Tommie will forever stand as reigning champions over the Double Bypass Burger.
The more toppings on a pizza the better. This week it is my pleasure to introduce to you one of the most requested toppings of Product Development.
Without further ado, here’s a link to case-mate’s Industrial designer, Alex Marshall’s blog!
http://byronalexmarshall.blogspot.com/2010/03/share-your-stuff-portfolio-story.html
It is amazing the things you can accomplish in the morning before work and still be on time.
Shower ✓
Breakfast ✓
Brush teeth ✓
Police officers in my living room ✓
Yes I said police officers, yes that’s plural.
8:15 a.m. I was blow-drying my hair.
8:25 a.m. I opened the front door to let Weagle, my dog go outside.
8:35 a.m. As I was starting to get dressed for the day, Weagle began to bark uncontrollably (not uncharacteristic for him) so half dressed I turned the corner to find TWO fully uniformed men in blue standing in my hallway yelling FREEZE; POLICE!
They were IN my HOUSE, not outside my house, knocking on the door. Apparently, someone called 911 from my house. The irony is I do not have a land line, just a cell phone. I told the officers this and their only response was, “We need to see proof of I.D. that you live here.” So, just my luck, I couldn’t find my drivers license. Finally, I walked outside to my car and find it. After validating my residence one of the cops radio’d the operator to get the phone number that called. He repeated it out loud to me like I was supposed to lead him in the right direction. Of course, I did not recognize the number.
8:45 a.m. The officers were squeezing their way out of my locked gate (best part of the whole experience).
9:00 a.m. I slid into my desk like Tom Cruise in Risky Business, not a minute late, no thanks to the po-po, 5-0, pigs, fuzz, bacon, boys in blue, cops, dogs, feds, flat foot, Johnny law, LEO, narcs…
This weeks Niche Society is a V-LOG (its basically when you do a blog, but you use a recordable video device to capture movements and words, and broadcast it over the Internet using a state of the art technology known as YouTube, this process is very expensive so I hope you guys enjoy it).
We have a vending machine at the office, so some co-workers and I decided to break down ALL the snacks and rank them 1, 2, 3 along with a People’s Choice. So watch the V-LOG and send it to all your friends.
So I’m back, sorry it’s been a few weeks since my last post. I was out in Vegas last week for MAGIC, a streetwear fashion trade show and this week I had the black plague. But alas I’m back here at the old bullpen delivering you this week’s Niche Society.
Last time I shared how to hack great coffee at your desk with everyday materials. This week I’ve employed the help of a special guest, Jeremy Jones, one of our graphic designers. Jeremy has a creation called ‘Super Hot Dogs’ and I will show you how to assemble them with the minimum office kitchen facilities.
Ingredients: 1 medium plumb, juicy red tomato; 1 crisp, pungent red onion; 1 jar of Claussen pickle spears; 1 large plastic container of off brand Mayonnaise; 1 delicious, buttery smooth avacado; 1 packet of Smithyfield down home off the farm succulent hickory smoked bacon; 1 package of Kroger brand white flour hot dog buns; 1 package of very rare Oscar Meyer hot dogs; and one blue plate.
Step 1: Take a paper towel, place it in the microwave carefully throw 3 pieces of Smithyfield down home off the farm succulent hickory smoked bacon onto the paper towel and cook for 2.5 minutes.
Step 2: Slice your plumb red tomato, pungent onion, buttery smooth avacado into spears mimicking the spear shape of the Claussen pickle spears. Also place the Smithyfield down home off the farm succulent hickory smoked bacon on the blue plate.
Step 3: Take your very rare Oscar Meyer hot dogs, place them on a paper towel and cook those little dogs for 1 minute.
Step 4: Add the dogs, the Smithyfield down home off the farm succulent hickory smoked bacon, ketchup and mayo to the bun.
Step 5: Carefully assemble your Claussen pickle spears, avacado, red onion and plump tomato on the Super Hot Dog.
Step 6: Eat every last bit, except three very large crumbs.
I hope you enjoyed this edition of Office Hacking, I’ll see you guys next week for the BEST – and the final – version of Office Hacking.
After having a few weeks off cleaning up Fairbanks’ leakage, PD has decided to keep the information channel light this week. However, do not make the mistake of confusing light with irrelevant or you will really miss out.
Innovation is hard work. Inspiration for innovation is even harder. What makes case-mate so unique is that we have the ability to create our own inspiration. In PD the #1 thing that inspires us is music.
Maybe its because we have a BOOMING Bose system or maybe it’s our impeccable taste in music, either way… “music/ makes the designers/ imagination/ floooow (In Madonna’s voice.)”
If your foot’s not thumpin’ yet we will leave you with a playlist of a typical day in the life of Product Development:
Metric and Decemberists
Zef Side-Die Antwoord
El ten eleven
Ferras
Justice
Daft Punk
LIL WAYNE (notice the caps lock)
Sugarland
Kings of Leon
Young Money
Madonna
Black Eyed Peas
Winds of Plague
Beyonce
Passion pit
Bollywood songs ( hindi )
Jay-Z
Muse
Static X
System of a Down
Slipknot
Jennifer Nettles
Mudvayne
Rob Zombie
Chevelle
Coal Chamber
Outkast
Disturbed
Drowning Pool
Godsmack
Hollywood Undead
The Offspring
P.O.D.
Papa Roach
Sevendust
The Union Underground
?>