Update: Check out the video I made of its unboxing here.
First, an aside: I just wrote my Business 111 Midterm (which is actually worth as much as the final exam) last night and I… well, I’m feeling great! I finished with time to spare (like, lots) and I had thought I had done something wrong (like skipping a page). I went back, checked everything, and left with 15 minutes left and much rejoicing. I suppose this is what I get for preparing well. Lesson, children: get reviewing early and thoroughly.
Everyone who knows me well knows I’m a bit of an OCD when it comes to certain things. One of them is how I treat expensive gadgets. I hate scratches, dents, nicks, or scuff marks on any of my electric toys. I noticed a hairline fracture on my white PSP immediately after it had slipped out of my hands (inside a hard, acrylic case, mind you) and onto the tiled floor. I get angry at scratches left from accidentally leaving my keys and a cell phone or GBA SP in the same pocket. These things bother me, and as a result I will go to no short lengths to ensure that they should never happen.
Since getting my iPod Touch this summer, I have been using a case I bought for the equivalent of $3 CDN. It is a great fit. It is a pale lime green. And it is silicone. It protects my iPod in the off chance that I drop it from a small height (this has happened only twice so far, and the falls were short). I rather liked this silicone case at the start. I put my iPod inside this case and have removed it a grand total of two times so far, each time to clean the silicone under the tap, and air dry.
I have since grown to dislike silicone. I’ve never thought the idea of it being in some breasts attractive one bit, and now I’m of the school of thought that thinks it unattractive on gadgets as well. Yes, it stretches to fit gadgets snugly, and yes it protects some decent shock protection while being cheap and easily replaceable. But damn, does it ever get linty and sticky and downright dirty.
I dislike not being able to slide my iPod easily in and out (and then back in, for good measure) of my pockets. The rubbery silicone ensures I get a sticky situation in my pants, where friction is maxmialius. That is also before I even begin to think about what sort of lint and trampiness it might pick up from inside such pockets as these. Gadgets, in my world, should be sleek, slim, and smooth to the touch. Silicone may not add much bulk or weight, but for its stickiness it might as well be sandpaper wrapped around a brick in my pants.
Thus, I went in search of the perfect case for someone such as I, with the specific needs I have. Not everyone will have the same criteria when looking for such personal things, but here were mine.
5 things I look at before buying gadget cases:
- Weight and Bulk: I need something slim, and lightweight. I hate having anything in my pockets that would feel and maybe look particularly out of place. I need to help, bulging in my jeans, thank you very much. I want something light and unobtrusive.
- Form Factor: This ties in very closely with bulkiness. I am a man with simple tastes. I like slim and slender.*Amy looks up from her work somewhere, with the creeping sensation that somewhere (namely, here) something magical has just happened*Anyway, I like many gadgets today because companies like Apple and Nintendo are gearing their gears towards making gear that looks good. That’s why I don’t understand these people who go out and buy the biggest chunks of leather, acrylic, or silicone rubber to cover up their otherwise beautiful gadgets. I am much in preference of minimal (but essential) coverage, with form hugging over parachute-airbagging.
- Pricing: I am not particularly rich compared with some of those crazy childrens I know/have seen on YouTube, reviewing iPhone cases because they have nothing better to do. At the same time, I don’t mind paying a little more than usual if I see something I genuinely like and could see myself using for a long time to come.
- Protection: I suspected that if I was going to fulfill at least two of the three above criteria, I’d have to compromise a little on the protection. But then I remembered that I do take care of my things, so I’m not tossing/sliding/spinning/throwing/dropping/endangering them opn a regular (or ever) basis. Thus, I figured sacrificing some unnecessary robustness for looks and usability began to make a lot of sense for someone like me.
- Availability: Some cases are great looking, very slim, and fall exactly into what I might want for myself, but I just can’t get my hands on them. Thus, out of the question.
In any case, I bought an Air Jacket hard-case (black matte) for Touchy Feely (i.e. my first generation Touch) the other day for just short of $30. Before you get up in arms about this extravagant price (but is it really?), the case comes with a pair of screen protector films (in Canada, they are about $15 for a pair, but are much cheaper in other places like HK); one is crystal clear film, the other is an icy, matte, anti-glare and/or fingerprint film. The case itself is a grand total of 0.7 mm of black, matte plastic goodness. I am very interested in just how much thinner that is compared with my already relatively thin silicone jacket. If anyone is interested, they can probably ask me how it is and whether I’d recommend it in a week or two, after it arrives in the mail and I have some time to get used to it. In the mean time, my breath is bated and my Business is mastered.
