The Case-Mate Blog: Make A Statement

A friend of ours, Vince, helped us out with some testing a little while ago and designed this awesome DIY case for his iPhone 3 G that I just had to share with you! Here’s his cases and a description of his artwork. To design a unique case like his just click here.

For my inspiration I wanted to create something about the old south using images indigenous to southern culture, the shotgun house, white wash fences, pigs, wasps but in a way to make them seem like memories. So the scales are off. I enjoy doing that. The childs photo I found at an antique store not far from here and loved it. Made me wonder who he was or is. That’s why I put the bar over his eyes because we don’t really know, more than likely never will. Before the phone, individuals weren’t so important. Few but the immediate family, neighbors and the name you left behind on a tombstone bore witness to your existence. That’s why I fashioned my name from a tombstone at the top. Of course the telephone poles and lines suggest how we grew to communicate and the 404 area code was at one time used for most of Georgia. I thought it was a nice carry through.

I tried to keep this short and sweet and it may seem a bit disjointed but this is the gist of what I was thinking when I created it. It’s more of a sketch than a finished work. Maybe one day I’ll come back to it and create a larger work from it. Who knows.

Ok, with a little help from Kate Gosselin… As it turns out, Kate uses the case-mate ID Credit Card case when she goes for a jog! It’s one of our most popular designs so it only makes sense that a busy mom like Kate would simplify her life as much as possible and use an ID case to keep what’s important close at hand.

Yes, that’s right, we always try to be green and recycle around the office and now we’re glad to find out that our packaging has been helping others recycle too. Spotted on the weekend in ATL!

We recently held a 3-day giveaway contest leading up to the launch of the iPad on April 3rd. Here’s what one of our lucky winners, Nick Frollini, has to say about the Traveler Case he won!

I was pleased to be selected as the winner of the new “The Traveler” iPad case from Case-Mate. I’ve owned several products from the company over the years and have always been pleased with their quality and customer service. I should start by noting that I am generally a fan of either a sleeve style case or a ‘shell’ case, so this was my first foray into a portfolio style case. After spending a few days with the case, I can say that it will definitely be a winner for folks looking to bring their iPad into the office or to a meeting, but is probably not the case you’ll have your iPad “hanging out” in around the house.

The good:
- Amazing quality; beautiful felt, gorgeous leather accents, tight stiching
- Secure; the iPad is a snug fit and is definitely not going anywhere, small magnets secure the cover
- Storage; just enough space for business cards and a few pieces of paper
- Comfortable; it feels great in your hands and is perfect for reading a book

The not-so-good:
- Vertical only; using the case in horizontal mode just felt a little weird
- Access; while the volume and home buttons are easily accessible through the leather, the headphone jack and dock connector are covered… simple cut-outs here would make the case more useful (as you could charge your iPad in the case); hopefully they will consider this in a future revision.**

Overall: this is a lovely, well-made case. If you are looking for something classy to use in a meeting, but want something less pretentious than a black leather portfolio, this may be the case for you.

-@nickfro

**Editor’s Note: We have already made plans for the next version of the iPad Traveler Case to include access to ports.

Whoa… This story blew our minds!!! We hear some pretty unbelievable stories about cell phones being saved by case-mate cases, but we’ve never heard a story about a case saving a case-mate customer before.

According to reports, a woman in Dayton, OH survived a stray bullet shot when she was hit in the exact spot of her BlackBerry cell phone – sporting a green case-mate Barely There case.

Check out the photo evidence:

And video:

Now that’s what we call protection!!!!

I love getting these stories from customers! Phil, thanks for sending!

Case-mate, I just wanted to drop a thank you to you guys since your case saved my iPhone 3G from sure destruction!

You see, I have a Second Skin Case on my iPhone but on this particular day I did not have the second color on, just the black base. My 4 year old son was asleep when the time came for us to drive and pick-up my wife and daughter form drama rehearsal, so I had to put him in his car seat. Just before I did, I placed my iPhone on top of our PT Cruiser and forgot it was there. I jumped in the car and started on the journey.

The ride consisted of 8 miles with traveling speeds of 25 to 55 mph. It also included small town traffic, stop signs, traffic lights, a railroad crossing, a bridge and it was raining! As I pulled in to the theater I heard the top of the car vibrating and was struck with sheer horror as I realized my wonderful iPhone was on top of my car. I leaped out and the horror morphed into joy as I saw my dear iPhone still sitting on top of the car and realized it had amazingly stayed for the entire trip! I laughed and gave a thunderous applause, for it was saved!

Not sure if the Second Skin Case was designed for such adventures…but nonetheless, there it is!!!

Thanks again!
Phil B.
Cary, NC

Editor’s Note: Do you have a great story about how your case-mate saved your phone? Send it to us: blog at case-mate.com!

Not long after writing about how an iPhone got run over and survived, another amazing story landed in my inbox today!

Dear Case-Mate,

I would like to express my appreciation for the integrity of your products. I recently purchased an iPhone and promptly looked for a fashionable durable case. After extensive research, I choose a Case-Mate Hipster iPhone case. A couple of weeks ago, while getting ready for work, I noticed my iPhone was missing off the dresser. I feared the worse and looked outside and there it was laying on our concrete patio with teeth marks showing on the outside of the case. My seventy pound boxer dog was hiding around the corner of the house when I went out to retrieve it. I open the case and could not believe what I saw. There was no broken glass, not even a scratch on the phone, in-fact the puncture marks had not even penetrated through the case.

Thanks Case-Mate, you saved me a lot of money and frustration and I will always purchase my cases from you in the future.

Sincerely,
David L.

The case:

The culprit:

The target:

Editor’s Note: Do you have a great story about how a case-mate case saved your phone (or your life)? E-mail us at blog (at) case-mate.com

Rick W. from Dallas, TX wrote to us with a great story about how our signature leather case protected his iPhone 3G!

“After working a 14 hour day I wasn’t paying complete attention and left my iphone on the back of my Avalanche and drove back to hotel. The next morning I remembered that I had put my phone on the back of my truck and had to retrace my 6 mile drive from the night before. I was amazed that I found my phone about 3.5 miles away from the job on the side of I40 in Oklahoma City. It had apparently been run over and knocked to the side of the interstate. The case was damaged but minimal damage to the phone and it still works !!! Maximum protection !!! See photos.”