That “something” is carbon fiber-styled leather, a material we haven’t seen before in iPod or iPhone cases, and there’s no doubt that it’s interesting: whether through a nylon coating or “infused carbon,” the leather has a vaguely metallic glint, a plastic feel, and an overall look that evokes fast cars and motorcycles. It covers as much of the classic, touch, and iPhone as did the prior Signature Leather Cases; there is literally no difference in shape, protection, or accessory compatibility here. Consequently, you can refer to our earlier reviews (iPod classic, iPod touch, iPhone) for all of those details. The only change is to the iPhone case, which no longer has a belt clip nub and screw on its back, as explained further below.

Reactions to the new material will vary from person to person: to fans of real carbon fiber, this synthetic leather alternative is a close but not quite accurate approximation, while those who don’t like carbon fiber won’t see much to get excited about here. Each of these cases still has the weight and slight pliability of a soft leather skin wrapped around a hard shell, and our editors split between opining that these cases were a modest visual upgrade or downgrade from Case-Mate’s original Signature Leather versions. This is a nichier material, and made less generally appealing by a higher price tag: you’ll pay a $20 premium over the standard Signature price for the iPod classic or iPod touch cases, and even more for the iPhone version. While a small premium isn’t surprising for a more complex leather casing, $20 per case feels like a steep jump here given what you’re actually getting.

The iPhone version of the Carbon Fiber Leather Case is a different story. Unlike the standard iPhone Signature Leather Case, the Carbon Fiber Leather Case for iPhone is described as the “Carbon Fiber Leather Case/Holster Combo,” and bundles both the case and a matching belt clip holster together in a $90 set—a $40 premium over the same combination of case and holster offered in the company’s Signature leather. This is the reason that the included iPhone case has no belt clip or nub of its own; if you want to wear it that way, you need to keep the holster attached at all times, adding to the case’s weight and thickness. Since the Carbon Fiber Leather iPhone case isn’t sold separately from the holster, the only way to get an iPhone case in this material is to pony up $55 more than you would for the Signature case; since we weren’t fans of the Holster before, we can’t get excited about the carbon fiber look or pricing here, either.

It’s worth a brief note that these cases remain good but not great in overall protection. Each case has a completely open top and substantially open bottom, as well as exposed top sides. The iPhone and iPod touch cases expose the entirety of each device’s screen and Home button, with the touch version covering more of the rest of the iPod’s face than the iPhone version. Each case includes a simple rectangular screen protector and cleaning cloth; the iPod classic version doesn’t cover that model’s Click Wheel. Ideally, Case-Mate would use somewhat more protective film covers or leather moldings on its cases’ fronts, but the company definitely does better than some of its competitors in overall coverage.

Even given the caveats above, there’s no doubt that the carbon fiber look has its fans, and that some people will be willing to pay a little bit more for a case that’s close enough to the real thing in appearance and feel to pass casual inspection. While a little too expensive to merit the stronger B+ rating of their Signature Leather predecessors, the iPod classic and iPod touch versions of this case are still pretty good and recommendable; only the iPhone version, sold at too great of a premium and bundled with the unnecessary holster, misses our general recommendation mark. It’s still worth considering if you’re a really big fan of carbon fiber, don’t mind the big belt clip, and are willing to shell out for both parts.

Sorry i havn’t done a review in a while (it’s been christmas and all)

anyway onto the review

There’s no third-party accessory maker quite like Geneva Lab, which quickly made a name for itself with the simultaneous April 2006 releases of Model L and Model XL, two gigantic iPod audio systems that were literally capable of serving as both conversation pieces and speakers: their lacquered wood cabinets and minimalist style were changes — and positive ones — from the numerous garish cheap plastic audio systems that preceded and followed them. But there was a non-trivial problem: due to Geneva’s initially “naive” understanding of manufacturing and distribution costs, the company’s already expensive pricing shot upwards and upwards after L and XL’s release, such that the $599 Model L eventually became a $999 speaker, while the $1,075 Model XL now sells for $1,999. A smaller version, Model M, was subsequently released at $500, shooting up to $799 before coming to rest at $699; an even bigger home theater storage-sized speaker called GenevaSound HT retails for $3,999. At these prices, the company’s products went from just barely mainstream to truly nichey, the sort of lineup that only makes sense with an installed user base as huge and diverse as that enjoyed by the multi-million selling iPod and iPhone families

This month, Geneva debuted its most mainstream product yet: GenevaSound S ($300), also known as the Model S, a distillation of the best-known features of its prior systems into a considerably smaller enclosure—one that can actually be sold in retail stores and carried out by customers without strong-armed assistance. Evoking the word “cute” more or less spontaneously, particularly by reference to its bigger brothers, GenevaSound S is actually one of the nicest-looking small iPod and iPhone audio systems we’ve ever seen, coming equipped with one feature that is so seriously impressive that people may fall in love with it on first sight, as well as a few annoyances that may bother early adopters to no end. It is, in short, a system we’d recommend to users who are more style- than price- or sonically conscious, and willing to live with idiosyncrasies in order to have an eye-catching little speaker on their desks or elsewhere in their rooms.

On their desks? Could that be possible in a Geneva Lab product? Yes: GenevaSound S measures roughly 9” wide by 7” deep by 5.5” tall, and weighs 7 pounds—a toy by comparison with the 38-pound Model L. The light weight and four rubberized feet allow it to be placed on a desk without problems, while an included plastic and metal stand raises it to a height of 8.5”, just right to see the red LED clock screen hidden behind its metal front grille. You can choose from the same white, red, or black body colors as its predecessors, each with the same high-gloss lacquered finish and mostly wooden case; the silver feet, stand, and Geneva badging are the same on each unit, and included silver Infrared remote controls differ only in button colors, which are matched to the speakers’ bodies.

To underscore one point before we go further into this review, GenevaSound S is a beautiful looking piece of audio hardware. The simple, rounded box design is classy, clean, and particularly impressive when it’s elevated with the stand, a part that we felt should have been included with the larger Model L and XL units even before they shot up in price. Unpacking and assembling everything from the $300 box leaves you with a sense that you have just acquired something of actual value, unlike so many of the cheap, plasticky speakers we’ve tested and found to be better inside than out, or weak in both regards. Geneva Lab does a great job of creating solid-feeling, sharp-looking speakers, on par with the very best we’ve seen from top competitors.

Functionally, GenevaSound S is a considerably stripped down version of its older predecessors. Most notably, it contains only two drivers with a total of 30 Watts of power, a big step down on paper—if not quality—from the multi-driver 100-Watt Model M and L units. Less importantly, it loses the slot-loading CD player found in all of the other models, a feature we couldn’t care less about, and there’s still an FM radio inside, plus a single alarm for the aforementioned clock, with the tuner, clock, and an iPod/No iPod display sharing the same four-character red LED indicator. An auxiliary audio input is found on the unit’s back, and the included boxy remote has six radio presets, clock and alarm setting buttons, and bass and treble controls.

The clock radio and alarm functionality in GenevaSound S are both okay rather than thrilling. Geneva Lab includes a telescoping silver antenna for the radio, which we found necessary to actually tune in stations, and equally easy to initially connect and accidentally disconnect when we were moving the unit around. Tuning is accomplished in 0.1 steps, which is less than optimal for U.S.-based users but fine for international markets, and reception is solid so long as the antenna is attached and the unit’s in a decent location in your room. You can easily program the clock—sadly, on military time—as well as the alarm, which basically wakes the system in the mode that it was previously left in, radio or iPod playback, or sounds a tone if the system was left on too low of a volume level. We’d classify all of this as unimpressive, though it all works; a DAB radio version of Model S for users outside the United States will also be available.

There are two surprises in GenevaSound S. First is a capacitive top control panel; second is a motorized dock that rotates to a closed position when no iPod or iPhone is placed inside. We don’t think we’ve ever used these words together before, but here goes: these are simultaneously two of the coolest and stupidest features we’ve ever seen implemented in an iPod or iPhone audio system. Press the power button—brilliantly nested in a little concave corner of the top surface—and the touch panel lights up right next to the dock. Our eyes popped when we saw lights glowing from the lacquered top surface, and we loved the volume dial found next to the dock: it’s a flat glowing circle, like the old third-generation iPod Scroll Wheel, and turns up or down as you swipe on it. Other buttons are further towards the back, near the power button.

But there’s a problem. The volume controls are so close to the dock that you can easily brush the volume upwards or downwards accidentally when you go to access the iPod or iPhone’s screen and controls, as you may want to for menu navigation. Situating the volume dial on the other rear corner would have been a much better idea, though probably not as easy for the company’s engineers. As a consequence of the design as it is, you may well decide, as we did, to be extra gentle when accessing the iPhone or iPod, and to rely as much as possible on the remote to control the unit. Even so, we accidentally hit the controls again and again. This shouldn’t be the case, but it was.

Then there’s the dock, which is programmed for whatever reason to swivel closed whenever you undock the iPod or iPhone, switching automatically to the integrated FM radio. We found the dock’s motion to be interesting, but an annoyance to use because you need to press the “Mode” button to re-open the dock almost every time you want to insert your iPod or iPhone. Geneva sees this as a dock protection feature; we’ve never had a problem with any other dock that would require such a thing. Additionally, the dock’s universal well was just a little too tight, making the insertion and removal of Universal Dock Adapters a challenge: we had to use a screwdriver to pry out the one included adapter when it wouldn’t fit our encased iPhone 3GS. Add to these little inconveniences the fairly high failure rates of capacitive touch controls and mechanized docks and you may wonder, as we did, how long Model S will continue to work properly. A one-year warranty mightn’t be enough under the circumstances, but we have to withhold final judgment on this point as Geneva’s systems haven’t had any issues yet.

Sonically, GenevaSound S has an obvious challenge to face: convincing users that sound quality isn’t everything at a $300 price point, a task made considerably easier but not eliminated by virtue of its impressive cabinet design. In our tests, it appeared that Geneva Lab used Bose’s SoundDock as a benchmark for sound quality, attempting to rival the SoundDock’s well-known sound signature mostly because that’s what people would expect at a minimum for the asking price. As we’ve noted many times before, however, the SoundDock is $100 too expensive for the sound and overall package it offers; using it as a benchmark isn’t a bad strategy, but matching its sound at the same price point isn’t going to blow anyone away, either

The good news: at normal listening levels—say, 40 out of 100 on its volume dial—GenevaSound S does offer effectively the same sound quality as the SoundDock, though the two systems don’t have identical sound signatures. Surprisingly, GenevaSound S is a little clearer and stronger in the treble department, with similar additional clarity in the midrange, which made songs sound slightly more dynamic and detailed, offset by small differences in bass that occasionally made the SoundDock sound a little warmer. Neither system rivals the low-end performance of competing systems with dedicated subwoofer drivers, however; they’re much closer to each other in all regards than to, say, Altec Lansing’s iMT800, and don’t have the sort of thump or sparkle of the top systems we’ve tested at this price. Then there were two other surprises, namely that the remote’s bass and treble controls had little to no positive impact on GenevaSound S’s output, and that the SoundDock was capable of reaching a slightly higher peak volume level. The difference wasn’t huge, however, and one point bears repeating: those looking for serious audio horsepower will find more of it in many competing $300 systems we’ve tested, albeit with other compromises that need to be considered. One additional note on sound: iPhone 3G and 3GS units had no audio interference issues with the system unless they were in EDGE mode, at which point light TDMA noises could be heard modestly through the system during silences.

Sound isn’t the only factor I consider when rating a speaker, but it’s an important one, with aesthetics, features, interface and value all weighing on the final letter grade as well. Considered in its totality, GenevaSound S offers more bang for the buck than the SoundDock—no shock given that Bose’s product didn’t begin its life as a great value, and has barely evolved in the five years it’s been on the market—but although Geneva has released a more sophisticated device, some of the resulting complications detract from its comparative advantages. We loved the attractive, elegant cabinet design, and appreciated that the company added both a clock and radio to a roughly SoundDock-equivalent speaker system without boosting the price. On the other hand, we hated the interface issues that detracted from GenevaSound S’s ease of use, and found its sound quality to be acceptable only by reference to an overpriced benchmark. That said, we wouldn’t use the word overpriced for GenevaSound S, but there’s little doubt that its $300 price tag is as much a result of its aesthetics as anything else. If it wasn’t for its interface issues, GenevaSound S would have rated a little higher, but by the same token, if it was even a tiny bit more expensive, our rating would fall commensurately lower. It’s just about right where it currently stands; should it receive some substantial post-release fine-tuning, it’s the rare system that we’d consider revisiting.

Todays review will be on the aquapax from www.aquapac.net  -please visit and enjoy there amazing products.

So onto the product, well the delivery was alot quicker than I expected ( 4 days in total I think ), the envelope it came in was a recycled paper pulp instead of the ordinary bubble wrap which was surprisingly protective and good for the enviroment

In the package: there was a plastic bag, containing the aquapac a neckstrap some instructions and a hand written note, which said; please find iphone case for review keep us informed. A nice little touch that makes  a huge difference in my respect for the company.

On to the case it’s self, it gives a nice first impression because of it’s looks, a nice cleap window that let;s the user take pictures under water, up to 5 metres, i’ve only tested it to 3 metres as it’s hard to fing water that deep in a short space of time. It is 100% waterproof to atleast this, but i reckon you could easily get deeper with this. The user instructions were pretty friendly and easy to use.

So in conclusion, if you’ve got a passion for swimming and electronics please buy this wonderful case, if not get it for a rainy day ( literally ) as there is no doubt your product will be safe and sound, not to mention dryer than you are.

My unboxing vid!

Lastly a little note to aquapac try to use more modern examples of your product on your site, as you picture old mobile phones not a big problem but I feel this may put some buyers off.

Thanks for reading my review on the aquapac and don’t forget to visit www.aquapac.net

C’ya!!

Belkin’s two cases are virtually identical to one another except in name: the Clear Case for iPhone and Remix Acrylic for iPod touch ($30 each) are iterative sequels to Belkin’s early and beautiful but flawed Acrylic Case for iPhone. That case incorporated several cool new ideas: a rotating, detachable belt clip frame that transformed into a video stand, a design that really showed off the iPhone’s curves, and an included adhesive hook that could be placed in your car to mount iPhone conveniently inside. But it also had the unfortunate tendency to pop open, spilling the iPhone out, and was not especially protective of the device’s screen or controls even when it was inside.

The good news about both of these cases is that they’ve fixed the prior Acrylic Case’s pop-out issue. Rather than just using slender tabs to hold the front and rear plastic shells together, Belkin now permanently joins them with a small top-mounted hinge, and locks them together much more firmly on the sides. This is achieved without compromising the earlier case’s great looks: both the Clear Case and Remix Acrylic are very attractive cases.

They’re not precisely identical to the earlier design, however. Both cases now use frosted clear back shells rather than crystalline ones, and though the iPhone version has a glossy front shell, the iPod touch version’s front matches the frosting on its back. Belkin’s earlier clear belt clip and frame have been replaced by matte black versions for both devices, though they retain the prior great functionality and shapes. You can easily remove the frame and clip if you want to carry your iPhone or iPod touch around in a thinner form.

Another piece of good news is that the cases are highly compatible with iPod and iPhone accessories. Both of their bottoms are left open for easy attachment to Universal Docks and large accessories; similarly, headphones of all sizes can be attached without issue, and Sleep/Wake button access is also provided on each unit’s top. Full screen and Home button access are also available, with the iPhone version including open side controls and a fully exposed camera. You won’t have a problem using any of the devices’ features.

The compromise? Protection. Belkin still doesn’t include screen protection, and is atypically lightweight in even covering each device’s face—all the front shell offers is bezel protection, rather than the fuller front halves of most other clear iPhone and iPod touch cases we’ve reviewed. The iPhone case is still a B- in protection, with the iPod touch version rating a little higher only because it has fewer top, side, and back portions to cover.

What ultimately boosts both cases’ ratings, however, is their highly functional clip and stand design, as well as their undeniably good looks. Though DLO trumped its competitors this time out with the superb iPod touch VideoShell, which offers similar stand functionality and more protection at a lower price point, Belkin’s designs still have a lot of appeal. On looks and versatility alone, we’d put both Remix Acrylic and the Clear Case on our short lists of top choices; they’d have been at the top of those lists with superior protection for their prices.

Hi

Today i’m going to review a case sent to me by www.proporta.com . The maya II pouch for ipod/iphone 3g/s/ipod 80,120,160gb and other phone ( i’m using it for my lg cookie)

The packaging was yet again amazing, a flip type closure with a magnetic seal all sent to me along with a reicept and a flyer with various different products on it.( there was also some indian which wasn’t as nice as the english breakfast tea but o’well)

Now onto the case itself, I got the white one with a black suede corner and a red part net to this with holes in it, hard to explain so check it out for yourself on there website: www.proporta.com The case was made of a softer kind of leather alternative which was much more pleasing to the hand than real leather Inside the case it has a velvet, soft material inside which keeps the device from scratching. But because it’s not specifically for my device there is a little too much slack casing the device to fall out if taken out of my pocket the wrong way up, which was one One of my main concerns with a pouch case was that it would be too hard to get the phone in and out to use it. Turns out I shouldn’t have worried. The Maya case has a velvety lining that not only protects the screen from scratches but also makes it very easy to slide the phone in and out. I just turn it upside down and my phone glides out into my hand.

Well all in all I’d again have to give proporta 5/5 for super customer service (thanks hannah!) and for their amazing products, so for just £14.95 please don’t hesitate to visit this amazing site!!

Thanks for reading my review and I hope you’ve enjoyed it!

Today i’m going to review an ipod touch 2nd gen. silicon case.

I got this case from www.points2shop.com they shipped fast and I didn’t have to do anything but sign up to get it!

So on to the case, well my first impresions were bad, well I thought it looked a bit umm cheap looking, it came ina clear plastic bag which was sealed down by some sticky stuff

The case didn’t fit my ipod well at all, and there are no holes for wifi volume adjustment or hold etc, only a large slit in the bottom for ipod docking and stuff.

All in all my advice to you would be to avoid this case at all costs, it’s cheap and nasty, but on the other hand if you can’t afford a case for more than £1 get this one as it’s probably the cheapest in the world  

Thanks again-thedailyreviewer!

Hi

Today I’m going to review my Lg cookie or kp500. Well to start, I thought it was very gimmicky, well thats what I though before hand. But the day i recieved it I was as pleased as a kid on christmas, no freezing no shut down not come back ons etc.

Well the device its self came in a rather large box with a few pieces of wasted packaging, but no worries there. The box contained a wall charger, a usb cable, the phone it’s self, some earbuds, a screen protector and some instruction manuals cds etc. Unfortunatly no memory card.
Before switching on the device I applied the screen protector which was perfect a few bubbles but soon sorted out. I switched on the Lg, took a few seconds to start-up. And up came a welcome message which had a simple explaination of the device along with a short film type thing. The first thing I realised was after the touch screen calibration the touch interface was really smooth and fast.

Some of the features consisting on this device were; some games which were pretty entertaining for about 3 hours lol, snakes and ladders, a pipe game and a roulette game (which I still don’t get what you have to do) it came preloaded with 1 track, a tacky ringtone which I really hate but is still my ringtone;) , and some apps ie a camera, 3.0 mega pixel (good outside but appauling in some indoor lights) Muvee studio,which is picture movie make type thing. An fm radio. basically does what it says on the tin, a voice recorder, an organizer a web browser which is pretty fast considering the phone is not 3g, a drawing panel that is pretty fun in the car. A tools app which contains a calculator, a converter, a world time thing and a stopwatch.

Now onto the phone’s performance. As i’ve said before the touch screen is quick and responsive, the bluetooth is average as is the camera. But start-up and shut-down speeds have let the phone down a fraction, there much too slow.

Some final cons would be that that sometimes you can forget it’s a phone ( which im not sure is a con or not but o’well) Also the start-up message that came up at the start is still there on the power-on after almost 12 months of having the cell.

But apart from that this phone has served me well with almost no bad points, and if your thinking of getting one for christmas or whatever get one. Lg have drastically dropped the price of this device from $170 to about $75.

Well I hope you’ve found my review helpful, and check back for more daily reviews

Today i’m going to do a quick review of my amazing ipod touch 2nd gen luxe case from ifrogz.

 It’s a pretty good case in nice colour ways I got the pink and black version, you can also get red, magenta and yellow (I think?)

The colour is amazingly deep, no cheap tacky faded colours either. Well the bottom which is a matt black and the the top is pink, made of a more hard silicon type material. The case itself is a two part slider case that can be removed by pushing a button in the middle.One thing i’m really impressed with this case is that inside the case there is a velvety type inner which stops scratches on your ipod during application. Included in the packaging is the case itself and also a screen protector.

 Well a quick conclusion to the case. I’d give it a 9/10 as there is a need to ‘wear the case in’ as it is rather stiff on arrival, but the case feels amazing in the hand so 5/5 for feel and looks.

So all in all if you’re looking for a cheap yet quality and affordable case don’t hesitate to buy this for just $29.99 this is amazing value for money, and keeps your ipod clean and scratch free (which improves the future sale price) so thanks for reading my very quick review of my luxe case (which unfortunatly i had to by with my own money for review perposes) from the amazing  ifrogz store: www.ifrogz.com Anyway you’ll see more of me tomorrow with more shockingly good reviews of ipod case and other electricals. C’ya!!

The case arrived at my door in like 4 days which surprised me for some reason as i was expecting a long wait.The packaging was amazing, a magnetic flip type case which contained; the case, in a nice grey-black type colour, a lanyard cable, matching colour, a belt clip and some instructions.

now onto the case itself, it justs flips open, nice and easy. more packaging inside the case.

To use the case you just have to slide the ipod into it viola!!
A nice snug fit, unfortunately there is no magnetic catch on it so it just kinda closes shut but sort of stays there ???

There is easy access to dock connector, headphone etc. Also doesn’t block wifi connection.

The belt lip is pretty easily put on but i don’t use this.

Well overall the case feels very sturdy and quality made, and well put together

This case will set you back £40.00. I’m not sure if i recommend this case simply because of the hefty price tag and there are sooo many competing products out there, but if your looking for a life long lasting case don’t hesitate to get this.

Well I hope you have enjoyed my review and I’ll see you (kind of) tomorrow

One idea that caught my attention was to give your products away for bloggers to review. With one of his previous books (The Long Tail, I believe), Chris says he sent out 800 copies to bloggers to review. As a result, the web was brimming with buzz and information about his book. Consequently, sales on Amazon led the market for the book.

If you have a product, don’t you want as much Google visibility as you can get? Most people search for reviews of your product on Google before pulling out their wallets. If you want to maximize your online presence, you should send out complimentary copies of your product to bloggers like me. If it’s a product within my area of interest, I’ll review it on my site. Not only will my post reach 850 people, it will also give you Google presence — sometimes on the first page if I SEO the post well.

This technique of free-giveaways-for-reviews is of course risky. You can’t give someone a free copy of a book or software with the agreement that they’ll “say something nice or else won’t say anything at all.” Sure, some people may blast your software and explain how problematic it is. But if it’s that problematic, the software will die anyway.

so if you’like to send me products contact me via email : liverpoolkp345@hotmail.com with the re: reviews