Otterbox Galaxy S3 cases: First pictures from Mobile Fun

Wednesday 23rd May 2012 by William Judd in Android, Mobile Accessories.

Otterbox commuter

Popular case-manufacturer Otterbox have finally announced their full line of Galaxy S3 cases and we’ve got the first images up right here. The cases come in two varieties and five colours each, for a total of ten different options overall! I’ve got to say that they look fantastic, too, with cool designs that complement the S3′s curvaceous shape.

The Otterbox Commuter is a beautiful balance of size and protective ability, packing a lot into a little. The Commuter makes the S3 only slightly bulkier, but delivers a large measure of impact and scratch resistance thanks to its unique three layer system.

There are exposed silicone corners for impact dissipation, a smooth outer layer that enhances grip and resists scratches, and an included screen protector to prevent damaging the 4.8″ display. There are even silicone plugs to protect the charging port as well.

If you’re looking for a good blend of style, size and safety then the Otterbox Commuter is definitely an excellent choice. Check out the links below for more information:

Otterbox defender

 

Our second line of Otterbox products is called the Defender Series. These Defender SGS3 cases offer an increased level of protection compared to the Commuter, but are slightly thicker in turn.

It all starts with a dedicated thermal formed screen protector that provides impressive protection for the Galaxy S3′s titanic screen. The inner core of the phone is wrapped in a customised polycarbonate shell, enhancing the phone’s rigidity and resistance to crushing damage. Finally, all of this is covered with a final shock absorbing silicone wrap.

As before, the charging port and audio jack are covered with a silicone plug to prevent dust and moisture from reaching the phone’s innards. The Otterbox Defender also comes with a belt clip and holder in the package, so that you can affix it your person for easy accessibility when you’re travelling or working.

All in all, the Otterbox Defender is a great choice if you’re looking for a maximum protection solution – if you have an active lifestyle or just are a bit accident prone, the Otterbox Defender for the Galaxy S III is the perfect case. Check out the links below for more information:

So that’s it – ten brilliantly coloured and cleverly designed cases for the Samsung Galaxy S III. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to let us know via the comments below or our social media presences on Facebook, Twitter or Google+. Thanks for reading!

Lifeproof Cases for iPhone

Wednesday 23rd May 2012 by William Judd in iPhone, Mobile Accessories.

The LifeProof iPhone case was perhaps best described by an American friend of mine as “the Abrams Tank of iPhone cases.” Perhaps a more fitting description for an English audience would be the Challenger II (which is advertised as the world’s most reliable battle tank) – this is the case that you get if you want your iPhone to survive and outlast everything you throw at it.

While this means the case is a little bulkier than its compatriots, there’s not too much in it – while it’s a few centimetres longer than an uncased iPhone, it’s only about 1.3 mm thicker. It’s also relatively light for the amount of protection it provides, weighing only 28 grams. This seems like a good deal, because the extra armour gives the iPhone some pretty crazy abilities – you can drop it onto a concrete floor from six feet up, you can immerse it in the sea up to six feet and you can generally be assured than any accidental damage will be protected against.

The polycarbonate chassis is softer than you’d expect, and as such is less likely be brittle and crack. The rear polypropylene cover also gains a bit of flex and stability, and even the rear speaker is protected by a Gore-Tex filter. The buttons are covered too, meaning that you gain a lot of protection against sand, dust and dirt as well as the water mentioned earlier. Finally, the screen is covered by a solid little piece of double AR-coated optical glass, which is basically a screen protector on steroids.

It’s pretty easy to see how the LifeProof iPhone case got that military IP-68 rating – this is definitely a slickly industrial design that’ll stand up in the harshest environments.

The LifeProof case is available in two colours – white and black – and we have additional bike and armband mounts coming soon. Have a look at the product pages below for more information!

Jawbone Big Jambox

Wednesday 23rd May 2012 by William Judd in Mobile Accessories.

The Jawbone Big Jambox is a triumphant, grander version of the original Jawbone Jambox. It’s become six times larger by volume, a move that’s allowed it to incorporate some quite breathtaking acoustics. It’s really in a class of its own when it comes to battery powered wireless speakers – nothing comes close to pulling off the kind of design that the Big Jambox does.

The Big Jambox uses the same Yves Behar wave, hex, and dot relief textures as the original Jambox, and they look even cooler at this larger size (if I’d have to guess, I’d say about 20% cooler.) The Jambox is also completely covered in that distinctive perforated steel mesh, providing a lot of strength to the device – this is a speaker that’s going to last you a while. There’s even an elastomer rubber that covers the end caps for an extra bit of impact resistance.

Despite its name, and its relative increase in size compared to the original Jambox, the Big Jambox is still easily portable – you can carry it one hand without problems. It comes with the same inputs as its predecessor – a 3.5 mm stereo jack, a micro USB jack, a 360 degree echo cancelling microphone, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and some comfortably large and spongey buttons. There are buttons for volume up, volume down, talk, skip forward, skip back and play / pause.

You can also download apps, customisable voice alerts and a programmable digital signal processor (DSP) which’ll allow you to switch to the LiveView listening mode, which grants a more immersive but focused sound. LiveView is good enough that you can pick out individual pieces of an orchestra, with 3D positioning good enough that it can convince you there’s a sound flying around your head. It’s an impressive ability for a non-surround system, and really shows off the audio tech that’s been including in the Big Jambox.

The whole Jambox Big Bluetooth speaker runs on a 2600 mAh rechargeable battery that should be good for between 10 and 15 hours of play, depending on how loud and thumpy you like your music. And that audio quality is plenty good – far better than anything I’ve heard before from a portable speaker, and sounds better than a lot of wired full set speakers I’ve used too!

If you’re looking for excellent sound quality, unhampered mobility and the ability to share sound with others around you, then you can’t do better than the Jawbone Big Jambox. For more information, check out the product page link below:

If you’ve got any questions, feel free to leave a comment below and we’ll surely respond if we can.

Help us reach 20,000 entries in our HTC One X contest and win a prize!

Wednesday 23rd May 2012 by William Judd in Android, Mobile Accessories.

We’re giving away a sim-free HTC One X in seven days time. We’ve received over 19,000 entries so far, but we’d love to reach that 20,000 entry milestone.

To encourage more entries, we’re going to be giving away a prize if we get to 20,000 entries: An Android Bluetooth Speaker!

You can use it for listening to music and handsfree calls – there’s a powerful 2W speaker and a clever integrated microphone, so it handles both tasks easily. The robot’s head even acts as a remote control – you can skip tracks with a twist and pause with a push. It’s a cool little robot, so if you’re an Android fan it should be a nice little bonus for you.

Anyone who enters from the time this blog is posted is eligible and we’ll be choosing a winner when we hit 20,000, so get going!

HTC Car V100 Reviewed

Tuesday 22nd May 2012 by William Judd in Android, Mobile Accessories.

The HTC Car V100 is a clever Bluetooth handsfree car kit: a speaker and microphone in a compact stylish design. As well as allowing you to safely and legally take calls in the car, the car kit includes clever text-to-speech functionality for the ultimate hands-free experience. The audio quality is good for the cost, thanks to the large speaker and dual microphone with noise cancellation.

The only large omission I can find is Multipoint – that is, connecting to multiple phones or devices at once. If you do have two phones or a phone and a laptop, or whatever the case may be, a better choice may be the Clip and Talk V3+. However, if you only plan on using this Bluetooth Car Kit with one phone or other device at a time, then the V100 remains a good, easy-to-use choice.

All in all, the V100 is definitely a strong contender if you’re looking for a mid-range Bluetooth car kit. It’s slim, stylish, and functional. The V100 is compatible with all Bluetooth-enabled handsets, not just phones made by HTC.