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So looking around, it is obvious that there is no such thing as a dock that fits the G2/Desire Z equipped with an Otterbox. I have heard of a material called Friendly Plastic which is very malleable when prepped but when it hardens, it becomes a very strong plastic. I'm thinking of creating a custom cradle that will fit the Desire Z with the otterbox which will include a charger as well. So I'm going to be buying the material from Amazon and see if I can mold the plastic into a dock that custom fits my phone with the otterbox on.
I'll give updates as I work on this project. It might take a month or two since I am doing my Master's degree, an internship and also working on a film for school (we go into production this week [in fact equipment check out is tommorrow and we shoot thursday]). I'll try to get this thread updated as I work on it so stay tuned.
03/01/11
Ordered parts to create a custom dock. I looked around for Friendly Plastic which is extremely hard to find in California (specifically in the LA area). I found on amazon.com a similar item called Instamorph which I checked their website. It is extremely well planned and pretty much the same item but much cheaper.
http://www.instamorph.com/
Now if you delve into their site, they show you how to do it and towards the bottom of the page, there is also a "techniques" page where you can do some pretty cool stuff with the material at an advanced level:
http://www.instamorph.com/instructions/
They sell specifically via Amazon. If you spend over 25 bucks in on amazon, you might be able to get the super saver shipping, so if you plan any shopping, add this along for free shipping.
another item I bought is a Left Angle Micro USB Extender.
Now this guy is extremely rare and pretty expensive if you get it custom made.
I found a site called www.usbfirewire.com which sells various types of usb and firewire cables for an ok price. I'm saying that it is ok because it is a very unique type of cable that I am looking for therefor it seems to work best for me. This is the one I got:
http://www.usbfirewire.com/Parts/rr-mcbl-ext-xxg.html
2 things to note here: a custom made cable would cost $50, but the one I got cost me a little under 13 bucks.
Another note is that I got the 5inch length cable because I don't want to spend too much time trying to fit 3 feet of cable inside a dock of malleable plastic. I plan on utilizing as little space as humanly possible to give it the cleanest look.
Currently I have spent: $22.45 + $16.45 = $38.90
This seems like alot but it's because again, it is custom.
Once I get it, I will give more updates.
03/04/11
I just received the stuff, both of them. So I can say that they shipped really fast. I'm going to start making a test trial run of the Instamorph pellets and get used to it before I make the actual dock.
This is the Instamorph and what the pellets look like:
The 5 Inch Micro USB Extender:
2 hours later:
Lessons Learned:
1) 150 degrees Fahrenheit is a very low heat level. On my electric stove, it was around a 3 or 3.5 out of 10.
2) Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT have any of the Instamorph beads touch ANYTHING PLASTIC (this includes the otterbox, plastic cutting sheets, saran wrap, anything that you even think might be plastic). Instamorph can and will stick itself to any plastic material especially when it's closer to the 140-150 degree temperature. It is much safer when it's much much cooler. (you can find this out by touch. if it starts to resist molding, then it is probably safe to attempt an imprint, but you should test it with the smooth side of your otterbox. It will take several tries)
This is what happens when you get impatient:
3) Find a surface that is smooth (glazed surface is good).
4) Use metal equipment. Instamorph will NOT stick to metals, so using any material such as a metal spatula or a metal ruler to get hard edges. if you have a good non plastic cutting surface, you can use a knife or blade to cut it for corners and use your fingers to give it an edge.
5) find a curved edge (again non plastic) that you can mold the initial part of the plastic to get a rough shape.
6) You will constantly place the plastic back into the pot to make it soft again if you're doing alot of changes and shaping. You get on average 2 minutes of molding until it gets too hard to mess with.
1 hour later (dinner):
Ok, now that I am back from dinner:
Today I focused on creating the rough shape of the dock. I'm starting from the part that cradles the phone.
First of all, I set my stove on low. I am at 140 degrees Fahrenheit. When you boil the pellets, this is when you pull it out:
Use tongs or something to take out the mass. If you think you're a badass and want to do it with your bare hands, you are most certainly welcome to do so. Here's another look of it when it's pulled out:
I then use the backing piece as a reference. I treated this mass like play-do. I rolled it and then spread it out on the counter surface. Here I force it into a larger mass that is about 3/4 cm thick.
I waited for the mass to cool down to a semiwhite color before I take a spatula to press down on the edges to get a flat boundary. This is what it looks like when it cools down completely:
Note that you see a notch on the bottom right. This is because when you open up the silicone port for the micro USB, it is a small flap. I use this as a reference piece so that I can create a gap for the flap to slide in so it goes straight into the slot without damaging anything.
The next part is to create the side guides to help you glide the phone in when you lock it down.The first part that I worked on is the right side of the cradle which is the bottom part of the phone. Here i created a long rectangle piece. I then use the edge of my kitchen counter (which is rounded, almost circular) to create a preliminary curve. I then measured the general area of it to how high it would guide the phone.
Originally I was planning to have it go all the way up to the end of the phone but I decided it was a bad idea and cut the side down to about halfway to allow me to grab it from the top half.
Now I worked on the left side (top of the phone). Here I noticed that there is a silicone cover for the headphones, so I decided to have the guide as tall as where the silicone port is at.
Now that I have done all that, This is all extremely rough work. Once I assemble the pieces that does not have the Micro USB port, I'll be sanding them down and smoothing it out so it looks better. Here's the general look of how it will be fitted in for now.
First of all this is only the part that the back of the phone will be sliding down. I am planning to create the bottom part that will house the Micro USB cable and the back piece that will hold the backing upright as the back base.
END OF DAY 1.
I will update on a later time. I am on set from 5:30am to 5:30pm so I might have time to work on the next step, but right now I might update this thread next week depending on how much time I have. I am currently juggling an internship, class, film production, post production, and moving to a new apartment (has to be done by the end of this month) so I might not update for a while. Hopefully I can work on it soon.
Small Update: 04/05/11:
After having an extremely hard time molding the material with a spatula and the kitchen counter, I finally caved in and bought a set of clay sculpting tool. (Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000SVRSRY ). I'm waiting for it to come in the mail.
Another update to this is that I switched my method for creating the dock. I decided to start from the bottom first. I created the base for the dock by creating the first layer, this is where the general layout of where the microUSB cable will be laying on. Then I worked on creating smaller pieces that fit around the first base that sculpts itself around the cable. I'll be posting some pictures sometime later when I have more time.
April 26 2011:
I should've updated this a long time ago, but my internship has finally come to an end so I had enough time to give an update.
First thing I did was make use of the tool set that I received via Amazon from the above mentioned link:
Now with the use of these tools, I start to put the dock in parts and layers.
The first thing I did was create parts of the first layer, combined them into one piece, then finally heat them in the water pot just long enough to get a small amount of the whole surface moldable without damaging the core structure.
From that I create the next layer which is the top layer:
note here that the top piece (with the weird looking hole in it is made to accommodate the silicone flap that covers the port that comes with the otterbox case.
the last piece hasn't been change too much because I'm still trying to decide if I should have a backing piece for the phone or have a "well" that holds the phone just from the bottom.
the layers will be secured through 4 small metal bolts (the ones that you get from Ikea furniture that feature adjustable shelves [the small metal bolt thingies that you can remove and adjust.])
Another thing to note with this is that when using the pottery tools, you can easily dip the tips in the hot water for 5-10 seconds to heat it up and allow custom targeted molding at parts you specifically want.
Here are some more pics of the parts as I molded them.
5/27/11
So for the past few days I've been tweaking with the design and finding methods to give it a more defined look. While I was at Ikea, I came across these handle pieces that were meant for a particular furniture. They had 90degree angles, metal, straight. So I bought that and use it as a partial mold when I shaped the edges. After working about 6 hours over the course of 2 days, I have come pretty close to what I want before I finish it with sanding and a way to put it together.
Here are the pics of what I have ended up with so far. I still need to sand it, and also figure out a way to combine the pieces without encasing the cable permanently.
Here are the two pieces separated:
This is the bottom piece on where the connector pointed upwards
This is the bottom with the cable in it
This is what the pieces will look when put together (assuming that I can find out a way to combine them together [non permanently])
This is the dock with my phone in it (notice the rubber bands. It's only a temporary measure to keep it together). And It's charging! that means the connection is secure!
This is the side view from the right side
This is the side view from the left side
top view of the dock
From this point, I'd like to ask your help and suggestions as to how I can put the two pieces together to so that if anything happens, I can open it up and replace the cable again. I'm also considering the opportunity if in the far future when I happen to replace my Desire Z I can always remold the piece without doing extensive damage to the cable if it happens to survive.
My next steps are as follows:
Add a piece in the back to support the weight of the phone.
Sand and prep the surface to make it smooth.
Create a method to hold the 2 pieces together
potentially spray paint it to a specific color
Any suggestions would be great since this is my first ever project that is building a custom material.
Thanks!
5/29/11 - 99.90% completed!!!!!
After spending roughly 6 hours on it, I have managed to finish the dock!!!
The first thing I did was to drill 5 holes into the dock to place the metal pin. I started by drilling with a 1/16 drill bit as a guide. and finally followed up with a 3/16 drill bit. I drilled from the bottom piece with the 2 pieces together but stopped part of the way through the top piece because it was unnecessary to drill all the way through. This is for the metal pins to place in between the pieces.
After that I worked on just the top piece and drilled just deep enough for the pin to fit in flush.
Went back to the bottom piece to cover up the holes by using the plastic pieces that got pulled up as I drill to fill in the bottom hole and using the rounded end of one of the clay sculpting tools to jam pack it back down to the bottom to ensure a strong fit.
I then combine the 2 pieces together to see the fit. I noticed that I failed to account for the notch between the pin so I went back to the hot pot and heated up the inside surface of the bottom piece and placed the metal pins in and pushed it in so the notch sinks below the surface (with the help of a hammer [and no, don't go "HULK SMASH" on it, just tap it lightly]).
From that point, I tweaked the fit with the cable inside of it and by looking through the gap, I either added or removed plastic parts so that it finally closes completely.
After that is all done, I started with a 60 grit sand paper (with a hand sanding tool) and worked on ALL the surfaces and sanded until I got 99% of the surfaces rough
I then go back and refit the metal pins to make sure that the pieces still fit and see if I need to make tweaks (which I did since at 60grit, it takes away quite abit of plastic).
I did a little more tweaking with the plastic. Adding and removing as necessary to make it fit flush.
After all that is done, I go back and worked on all the surfaces again with a 150grit sandpaper to give it a smoother finish. and finally finished it off with a 220 grit sand paper.
A good hour and a half later of hand sanding it and sore back and arms the surface is as smooth as a 220grit sand paper can offer.
The last thing I did was reheated the hot pot to around 145 degrees Fahrenheit. I took apart the dock again and this time placed it in the hotpot for around 10 seconds. Just enough for the malleable plastic to "shrink" back into the plastic and give it a smooth finish.
After it's done, I ran the pieces through cold water to set the plastic and put the whole thing together.
Below are the pics of what I have done (again, these are thumbnails. Click on it for full size):
All the pieces completely disassembled. 5 metal pins. 2 plastic parts. Left Angle micro usb extender
Metal pins inserted into the bottom piece
Dock completely assembled
My phone on it
Plugged in!!!!
Landscape mode! (and notice that it's charging! So the cables work!)
More angles
Finally, I have one thing to ask of you guys. Should I leave the dock to look as it is or should I do something about it?
I am thinking about either spray painting it or buy a "skin" (think DecalGirl skins) and cut out the pieces to fit around it.
Tell me what you guys think and what you can think of to make it better! Thanks!
oh yeah, and I finally did something about the back piece of my otterbox when it got screwed up. I did the sandpaper treatment on it and here's what it looks like now:
Sounds interesting, looking forward to seeing your progress/results.
I'm currently in the process of ordering parts. So here's a question for everyone:
Which would be the best extension port for the dock. Standard USB, Mini USB, or Micro USB.
My plan is to mold a Micro USB male head to another adapter to give it the most commonly used female port. The idea is to plug in a cable into the dock to minimize the chance of the inner cord being damaged and moved unncessarily. (think of the docks you get off ebay that just have a male port to plug in the phone and a female port out the back end so you can plug in a cable of your choice (length, brand, etc)
Here's a poll of what your preference:
http://www.polljunkie.com/bA7AA5/Poll10601.aspx
Updated: 3/4/11
Any progress/updates?
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Unfortunetly, not yet. I have to get through this month first. I need to have a first cut of my film out very soon, internship, finish moving to a new apartment and deal with classes. I will be promptly resuming this project when this month is over.
Sent from my Desire Z via XDA App
small Update. Check bolded txt in OP
Updated April 26. Bolded text in OP
Updated May 27. Bolded txt in OP
mputtr said:
From this point, I'd like to ask your help and suggestions as to how I can put the two pieces together to so that if anything happens, I can open it up and replace the cable again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not try Moulding little tabs onto one side & then a hole on the other so it kinda snaps/slides together. That way you can always reopen it at a later date
KarlosTheJackal said:
Why not try Moulding little tabs onto one side & then a hole on the other so it kinda snaps/slides together. That way you can always reopen it at a later date
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so you're saying to have one of the pieces have tabs that extends to the other piece and add a hole to kind of screw it in? Sounds like a good idea as well!
I'm a little fuzzy on the visual of it, is it possible for you to provide a visual example so I might be able to replicate it? Thanks!
Updated! 99.90% done!
does anyone have suggestions or comments on how I can improve on the dock?
The finished project looks awesome man! I think, like you said, if you added some type of black texture or skin to it that it would look fantastic and even store purchased. Great craftmanship.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App
PatrickHuey said:
The finished project looks awesome man! I think, like you said, if you added some type of black texture or skin to it that it would look fantastic and even store purchased. Great craftmanship.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah, so you think a black coloring to the dock would work? I'll test that out!
I'm also thinking of maybe taking the top piece back into work and take out more of the recess/well for the phone and maybe fashion a silicone or softer piece for the phone to rest in and might look better. (that or get a sanding head bit and sand it down till it's smooth)
Would you suggest using a skin (like a sticker type material) or just spray paint the darn thing?
as usual for those who have read any of this, I would like to get suggestions on what I can do to improve upon it.
Currently I'm also researching a method on how to activate the phone's "dock" mode. As far as my research goes, some android phones have a special magnet inside of it that reacts to polarity (one polarity for car mode and the other for home dock). I also read that potentially, HTC made a special micro usb cable that has 1 additional pit that "activates" the feature. I do not really know much of this so I'm trying to figure out how to make this happen. If someone here happens to know, and it can be something I can physically manipulate, I'll modify the dock to include the manipulation.
and again, Thanks for the praise and your suggestions!
nice work and detailed instructions are always nice. I would definitely spraypaint it black. Did you form the top and bottom parts by hand? they look a litte bumpy to me.I thought about doing this for mine and integrate it into my desk.
As for the docking mode (deskclock) i use Alarm Clock Plus. It switches into dockmode when you plug it in. I think they getting the info if its docked either from the orientation of the phone and its usb connection or the poweradapter - maybe both. Maybe its the dock im using but i did't notice some special wiring oder plug.
dieterxy said:
nice work and detailed instructions are always nice. I would definitely spraypaint it black. Did you form the top and bottom parts by hand? they look a litte bumpy to me.I thought about doing this for mine and integrate it into my desk.
As for the docking mode (deskclock) i use Alarm Clock Plus. It switches into dockmode when you plug it in. I think they getting the info if its docked either from the orientation of the phone and its usb connection or the poweradapter - maybe both. Maybe its the dock im using but i did't notice some special wiring oder plug.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
everything is formed by hand mostly. the curved parts had to be done by hand, but I did take down alot of the uneven by sanding it down for a good hour and half.
I'm currently using Alarm Clock Extreme and it does not have the dock mode, which bums me out, but I'm supplementing it with Night Clock which is a really neat app. I also paired it up with Automate It by adding a kill app on unplug action so it's sorta kinda like dock mode.
do you have any suggestions as how I can make the surfaces smoother? Is there something that I can do or get to remove the bumps more effectively?
i would use some kind of metalblocks and put the dock between them but that only works before putting it all together. Or maybe just wrap the plastic around the metalblock so that its hollow.
I probably wont be doing anything like messing with metal material since I do not have the necessary equipment nor do I have the time and money to afford that.
But I'm thinking of potentially using a skin type material and spraypaint it + my own design for it.
I had some fun with the dremel tool at my schools workshop room so I was able to get the right depth and well for the phone to slid in.
I wonder if there is anything like silicone material that can be injected on top of the material so I can make an impression (safely) and so when it sets it actually is cushioned rather than placed on the hard plastic.
I'll see if I can post more pics if I deem that the extra sanding I did made any difference.
Any updates to this?
Has anybody dropped their device yet? What happened? Did the screen break? Where are the weak points of this device? I suppose that if it lands with one of the corners, the damage could be hugh. The iBallz may offer good protection against dropping in any orientation. However, we don't know if it is compatible with our device yet.
The reason I am asking is that I love this device. I have a Capdase case (about 440g). I work at home these days and have the case removed. I found it a bit stupid to use the case because it added weight and bulk to this device. By itself, the PRO 12.2 is not so heavy but not so light. When I went out, I put the case on and felt the weight in my bag and while holding it. The official book cover from Samsung seems to be the lightest (about 200g). However, I read a review that the cover is fragile and it is not so protective. The Gumdrop is the most protective but it is a bit heavier than my Capdase case. It also raises the white color boundary of the LCD screen. As I rest by hands on the area near the home button, the raised boundary may interfere with my use of the device. It seems that if one wants more protection, one has to choose a bulky device like the Gumdrop and Ottobox cases. Am I right?
I have a white device. I prefer a case that has bright color like those for the Samsung Note 10.1 2014:
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SAMSUNG-GALAXY-N...OOK-COVER-CASE-HARD-SHELL-STAND-/331059591828
(fluorescent green, orange and the reddish pink). I want it to be very light yet protective. Moreover, I prefer not to have the white area on the LCD screen covered. Any suggestion?
petercohen said:
Has anybody dropped their device yet? What happened? Did the screen break? Where are the weak points of this device? I suppose that if it lands with one of the corners, the damage could be hugh. The iBallz may offer good protection against dropping in any orientation. However, we don't know if it is compatible with our device yet.
The reason I am asking is that I love this device. I have a Capdase case (about 440g). I work at home these days and have the case removed. I found it a bit stupid to use the case because it added weight and bulk to this device. By itself, the PRO 12.2 is not so heavy but not so light. When I went out, I put the case on and felt the weight in my bag and while holding it. The official book cover from Samsung seems to be the lightest (about 200g). However, I read a review that the cover is fragile and it is not so protective. The Gumdrop is the most protective but it is a bit heavier than my Capdase case. It also raises the white color boundary of the LCD screen. As I rest by hands on the area near the home button, the raised boundary may interfere with my use of the device. It seems that if one wants more protection, one has to choose a bulky device like the Gumdrop and Ottobox cases. Am I right?
I have a white device. I prefer a case that has bright color like those for the Samsung Note 10.1 2014:
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SAMSUNG-GALAXY-N...OOK-COVER-CASE-HARD-SHELL-STAND-/331059591828
(fluorescent green, orange and the reddish pink). I want it to be very light yet protective. Moreover, I prefer not to have the white area on the LCD screen covered. Any suggestion?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Peter,
I couldn't make much suggestions in the way of what case to get, but I can tell you that I've dropped my tablet at least twice, in the i-BLASON case. It fell from an elevated bed and bounced along the frame supports, it must have hit them 3 or 4 times, and finally hit the floor (it fell from about 5 or 6 feet up). No damage at all, though it was horrifying to watch! The other time it fell from about three or four feet, smack! on the floor, I think face down. No damage then either. I don't know what experiences others have had with falls, but so far it seems pretty strong. I don't know how much was the case, and how much was the device, though.
I dropped my first Note Pro off the roof of a moving vehicle at 60mph . . . leaving it up there was the biggest bonehead mistake I've made in years.
I can honestly tell you that it shatters into many pieces when being run over by a truck at 60mph . . as witnessed by me through my side view mirror after i heard it tumble across the roof of our company SUV. 5 lane highway with no shoulders. I wasn't about to stop to survey the damage. Cleanup crew had probably picked it up that night as I could not see it anywhere in the area the next day I drove through the area. Either that or someone else grabbed it but it surely wasn't repairable.
Lesson learned and after a month of grieving I bought another, installed whatever case was at Best Buy at the time and went home to insure it via squaretrade. I do a lot of field work so I need to protect this thing from myself.
Thanks for the experience. It seems that for any device (laptops, tablets, phones), the corners are the week points. I bought the Gumdrop case. It seems to offer good protection but it adds weight and the entire thing became bulky. It was like carrying two Note PRO 12.2. Kind of stupid as we want lightweight devices. I found the rubber case slippery and the entire thing is hard to handle. It might be easier to drop with the case on. Then, I bought the iBall. It fits the PRO 12.2 very tightly. I don't know if it is bad to the tablet. I also worry that if I just hold a corner (the ball), the tablet may break.
petercohen said:
Thanks for the experience. It seems that for any device (laptops, tablets, phones), the corners are the week points. I bought the Gumdrop case. It seems to offer good protection but it adds weight and the entire thing became bulky. It was like carrying two Note PRO 12.2. Kind of stupid as we want lightweight devices. I found the rubber case slippery and the entire thing is hard to handle. It might be easier to drop with the case on. Then, I bought the iBall. It fits the PRO 12.2 very tightly. I don't know if it is bad to the tablet. I also worry that if I just hold a corner (the ball), the tablet may break.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It shouldn't snap in half from holding it at the corners, but constant pressure on the glass can cause micro fractures that severely weaken the screen's integrity.
So if it's really very tight, you may want to be prepared for a possible screen crack appearing out of nowhere. Especially when there's fluctuations in the ambient temperature.
So, it depends on how tight the fittings are.
Hi all,
This is my first post here, following my upgrade from a venerable Nexus 7 (2012) to a Tab S 8.4 in November. I'm grateful for the numerous posts in the XDA community that instructed me on things such as disabling the capacitive buttons, so I thought I'd share some feedback on a couple of cases for which I don't see much discussion.
I started out with a rooCase Origami that I purchased from Amazon, because I wanted the ability to stand the tablet in portrait mode while keeping a reasonably slim profile. I really liked that the case added minimal bulk to the tablet, but the floppy, multi-fold cover was annoying, mostly because the magnets couldn't hold it closed. Also, the tablet didn't stand too well in portrait mode (tap a little too hard on the screen and the kickstand would give away). So, I returned the Origami in favour of a GearIT 360 spinner (also via Amazon).
The GearIT case has proven to be perfect for my needs. The tablet is very secure in the cradle, but pops out easily when you need it (which is necessary to access the card slots). The speakers, camera, ports, and IR blaster are fully exposed, and the camera is deeply recessed so it'll be hard to scratch the lens. The exterior is a twill fabric that's really nice to grip, and the magnets are reliable for waking the tablet and keeping the cover closed. As well, the cover folds in such a way that the soft inside rarely touches other surfaces (unless you fold it back like a magazine), so it won't leave dirt and debris on your screen. I've also been pleasantly surprised that the case hasn't attracted much cat hair (which is easy to clean off with a sticky roller or tape).
The 360-degree rotation enables you to stand the case in a variety of ways while maintaining a surprisingly slim profile for the tablet, and the best part is that you can properly use all of the angles available to you. With non-rotating cases (such as the Origami and Samsung Book Cover), you sometimes find that the screen will be upside down in landscape mode (when apps only rotate in one direction). You can solve this with an app to force screen rotation, but with the GearIT you just turn the tablet around 180 degrees. This also means that the power/volume keys are always on the top when in landscape mode. One of my favorite ways to use the case is to fold it into landscape typing mode (lowest angle), then rotate the tablet into portrait mode. It's the same effect as propping up one end of the tablet on a book.
After about five weeks of daily use, the case still feels solid. The folds are definitely looser than when I first got it, but that's to be expected given how often they're flexed. The rotating hinge ratchets so that your tablet doesn't swing around at will, and it's still nice and tight.
Perhaps the only thing I don't like is that the chrome trim doesn't match the bronze trim on the tablet. Although if I had a choice, I would have taken chrome over bronze...
Cheers!
I received this case from Roocase for evaluation and wanted to share here. As you'll see, the review is not entirely positive. I asked the Roocase people if I could post in a public forum and they said "yes" without even seeing the review. To me this is a good sign of a company that cares what its customers think, and isn't afraid of negative feedback. I haven't changed the review, and while I still think that this case is probably a "don't buy" I will certainly consider Roocase the next time I'm in the market for a tablet case.
I tried to give as critical a review as possible. To me, when a product is titled “executive” it receives an additional layer of scrutiny, especially for an image-conscious businessperson whom might be a target consumer. Thus this review considers of particular importance the looks and usefulness as a business tool.
Here is an Amazon link to the case: http://amzn.to/1Vy5AGv
I received the portfolio in a nondescript cardboard box that was adequately sized to protect the case. The packaging was simple, which is a positive in my mind. I’m not a fan of big unrecyclable plastic boxes. That said, a product called “executive” should probably have a slightly more premium-looking packaging. I suggest reviewing the images, fonts, and content of the current packaging to something matching other, more modern designs.
The exterior leather is adequately solid and the stitching is tight enough to give a premium feel. The only error in the stitching is where the binding strip overlaps itself on the bottom corner at the fold. The error here is small and will probably not be a point of failure, so I’m not overly concerned. The interior stitching left something to be desired. On the inside left, the card slots and pockets have a little too much give, leaving a “pouch” look. Probably useful if one plans to keep a lot of papers in there, but it doesn’t look great when empty. The stitching around the inner tablet was not perfect, but that’s just being nitpicky.
The zipper is tight but the zipper handles are annoyingly large and there is absolutely no reason to use a double-ended zipper since they both need to be completely retracted to open the case. The handles have a small point on both sides of the base that causes the zipper to catch; every second or third time I used them they got momentarily stuck. That said, they feel solid; I’m not concerned that they will break any time soon. Another annoyance is that the zippers hang out even when completely retracted; holding the case against your stomach you end up with the zipper sticking into you (this would be solved by using a single-ended zipper, BTW). Finally, when completely closed the zippers sort of clatter together, not a big deal, but annoying. Besides these points, the zipper looks and feels good and did not have any problem closing the case, even when filled with materials.
The Roocase logo is attractive and nicely embossed in a good place on the cover. I appreciate that you understated the logo and hope you (and everyone else!) will continue to do so. I would not have had a problem with a second logo in the same place on the back, or an embossed logo on the interior.
The pockets on the inside left are adequate, though I personally do not think I’d use them much. They are too small to fit a standard sheet of paper (though this is the size of the tablet, not the case). The credit card/business card holders are of an appropriate depth and held tight to even a single card. The windowed pocket is similarly good, though I don’t see myself using it for anything. It might make sense to have more specific pockets, such as for a particular size of notebook. For me, I’d probably forgo the pockets altogether, or make a single pocket in which a (smaller) notepad could be hung horizontally.
The sides and spine are a perfect combination of rigid and thick and work well for both protecting the device and preventing objects held in the case from impacting on the screen. The overall feel in the hand is satisfying, though, considering the weight of the tablet is so low, it might be nicer to have a little less weight in the case.
The interior tablet holder is, unfortunately, where this case fails. There are several problems. First, the enclosure looks and feels cheap, both with and without the tablet. I personally hate tablet cases that cover the bezel; on the tab s 10.5, one of the more important gestures (swipe in from the right) is actually hindered by the case, which is unacceptable. The interior case should have used the hard plastic/metal corner compression style. As it is, the interior case looks and feels like strapping a bit of cardboard with some loose plastic on the front to an expensive tablet. The Velcro slipped under the bottom of the tablet causes a slight lift, bulging the bottom end of the tablet out. This means that when placed flat on a surface the bottom middle pushed up just enough that the whole thing wobbles when touched, even when using the small integrated lifting mechanism.
The faux leather hangs loosely around the screen no matter how tightly I pushed the Velcro attachment. The exterior case may be leather, but the inner case is clearly not. Pressing buttons on the tablet on the top and side is hindered, though this is a relatively minor nuisance. The port for the charger cable is accessible, but the 3.5mm headset jack is close; my best headphones have a square-ish connector that can’t be turned while the case is on. Both front and back cameras are fine, as is the light sensor. The fingerprint sensor, home button, and two capacitive buttons are fine, but the bezel-covering looks the worst here, sticking up from the screen. The case I received is slightly different than the one pictured on Amazon; they've (smartly) removed the strip of leather above the home/capacitive buttons.
The hand strap is tight and nicely recessed; the material touching the back of my hand was OK but should have been better; if I’m going to hold this thing with a hand strap for any amount of time the material should be a bit less abrasive. The small lifting mechanism on the back is also a nice touch, it worked well and gave the tablet a small lift when placed flat on a table. That said, I’d never use this case alone, and the rest of the case is intended to prop the tablet up already, so I don’t see when I’d be using this. The small lift also is placed just behind the button attachment (discussed below) so that it cannot be comfortably extended or replaced while buttoned in the case. This might actually have been a useful mode for the case; I briefly used it like this and found that it held the top of the case open fine, and provided some top-down privacy on the screen. I think certain business users might have actually liked such a feature.
Beside the bezel-covering faux leather, the single worst feature of this case is the button clasp that attaches the inner case to the outer. When the inner case is placed flat on a surface, the button always touches first, though not excessively. When attaching to the outer case, the button must be pressed very hard; this required placing pressure on the middle of the screen. I did not enjoy doing this. I assume the tablet can handle it, but I won’t be doing it again for fear of damaging the screen or the electronics.
When attached in the full case, the case works well in both landscape and portrait. While more options for angles are always nice, I think the angle you get is pretty good. I found it odd that, when used, the logo is on the table; I don’t like logos, but I’d think Roocase might!
The pen/stylus was a nice though unnecessary addition. It works about as well as most styli, and feels acceptable in the hand, if a little small. The tip feels very cheap. I did notice that it has both black and blue ink pens, but unfortunately you can’t tell which until you start writing. A perfectly good free add-on; nobody is buying this case for the pen/stylus.
The outer case is solid and I’d be confident that my tablet would survive a significant fall so long as the zippers were closed. However, if the zippers were open or if only using the inner case I’m sure that even a small fall would result in disaster. The bezel-covering inner case doesn’t even cover the lower corners of the tablet, which hangs out just enough to be the first thing that would impact in a fall. It becomes difficult, with this description, to even call the inner case a “case.”
In summary, the case looks nice from the outside, though the zippers are a bit annoying. The outer case is sturdy, tough, and would provide exceptional protection from both falls and pressure applied to the exterior. The interior pockets are fine, but I don’t see them being particularly useful given the application and size. Using the tablet propped up was stable in both tablet and portrait orientation, and the angle of the screen was good. The inner case feels cheap, particularly the loosely-fitting bezel-covering faux leather, which made an expensive tablet look cheap and negatively affected both my ability to use swipe gestures on the screen and the 3.5mm audio connector, and caused the tablet to wobble when placed without the outer case on a flat surface. The button clasp is also unacceptable, as connecting it required putting pressure in the middle of the screen. Both of these things would need to be corrected for me to be able to recommend this case to anyone. As it is, I am unlikely to use this case, which is a shame, considering that from the outside it is very nice looking and clearly would provide a lot of protection.
Nice Review, I too got the same Case and haven't done a review yet, as I wanted to get to know it a little and use it as much as possible. I have to say I like the product a lil more than you describe. Somethings I totally agree on. Such as the inner case covering the bezel. A little less would be adequate, But I do notice its soo tight on the tablet, it pulls it one direction causing the left side of the screen to become covered up. I remove it from the outer shell a lot to utilize the hand grip while I'm at work, which I use it to pull up blueprints and what not, so I love that feature.
Gotta say you put more detail in a review than most people. Good job.
I'll start off by saying that I was given this case solely for the purpose of writing an unbiased review. Here it goes!
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE: Poetic has now revised the case where the formerly intrusive "P" logo is now moved above the fingerprint sensor. The "Affinity" branding that used to be on the right edge of the case is now completely removed. All other dimensions, accents, materials, cutouts, etc. have not been changed. The updated version can be purchased from Amazon (where I acquired mine) from the link below. Two additional pictures have also been added; one that compares the cases side-by-side and one with the phone in the revised case
<MODERATOR EDITED - SPAM REFERRAL LINKS DELETED>
My phone: Nexus 6P 64 GB Aluminum. Slickwraps skin applied; white carbon fiber back with white carbon fiber frame with matte black visor. Intelliarmor TGSP version 2.
Overall quality: There are two types of materials here; Black TPU and the clear stuff. I don't know what the clear material is, but I'd describe it as a malleable plastic. There are no rough edges
Overall Appearance: This one's subjective, but I like most of the design. I never wanted a case that was opaque. I always liked customizing my phone with skins and whatnot, so a transparent case is to my preference. However, I ultimately prefer having no back cover. Yup, I like true backless bumpers. Down the road, I might introduce a hobby knife to the back cover and remove the center clear plastic section for two reasons:
1. I like the phone to feel thin in the center
2. I don't like the possibility of trapping dirt/dust/sand/lint between the case and the phone (although the vinyl would protect my phone anyways)
Fit: The fit is pretty snug. When trying to get the phone into the case, it was slightly tight. I would probably credit that to the fact that I have frame vinyls applied. That being said, I don't think it's tight enough to warp the phone in anyway. "Snug" is the perfect descriptor here. Referring to the picture that shows the screen of the phone right at the edge, you can see that the entire screen glass is exposed. That means a full edge-to-edge glass screen protector should work here. I emphasize the word "should" because I don't have an edge-to-edge TGSP. I also think the frame vinyls might push the case outwards a slight bit, but it doesn't seem like that makes any considerable difference if you want to use a full coverage TGSP.
Buttons: Before I used the case, I only had the frame vinyls applied. The frame vinyls made it a bit more difficult to find and click the buttons. The case actually adds the "clicky" feeling back to the buttons. This is because the inner surface of the case that comes in contact with the buttons has protrusions that make direct contact with their perspective buttons. The vinyl no longer dampens the feedback of the buttons while using the case. The buttons are not considerably any more or less sensitive than a naked phone.
Cutouts: Please refer to pictures for cutout measurements.
Regarding the USB-C port, the cutout is sufficient. If you look closely at the picture where the phone is plugged in and laying with the screen up, you may notice that that case is slightly bulged outwards when plugged in. The stock USB-C cable makes slight contact with the case and causes the said bulging. This did not cause any difficulties when trying to plug the phone in. In fact, most probably would never even notice this at all. I'm just weird like that.
Referring to the headphone port, the cutout is enough for my headphones (which has a pretty civilian sized plug). However, I know some people like to use studio quality headphones that have huge plug heads. Those who use headphones with larger plugs may need to enlarge the cutout, but I'd venture to say that the included cutout dimension would suffice for the majority.
Referring to the camera cutout, only the area around the vital hardware are exposed. The rest of the visor is covered. Seeing that some people are afraid of shattering this glass, this may be a relief. Looking closely at the rectangle of black TPU around the camera, you'll notice the top and bottom bars are resting on the aluminum body as opposed to the glass visor (mostly). I would think this helps in the event of a dropped phone, as the impact would hopefully spread onto the aluminum body instead of the glass. I'm just guessing that would be how it works out. I'm not testing that for you guys!
Referring to the Nexus Imprint cutout, it's well bevelled. It's not rough on the fingers, but Imprint was more comfortable to use without any case (well duh). It's not difficult to put my finger onto the sensor, but it just felt like an extra edge to feel while trying to unlock the phone.
Feel in the hand: The case is actually pretty minimal. It doesn't add significant bulk to the phone, and allows the phone to still feel pretty thin. The side edges have have some ridges that add to the grippiness of the case. Aside from the vinyls, I've been running the phone without a case. The extra grip is actually much appreciated. The edges also raise the screen slightly off a flat surface when placed screen down. Huge plus because I like to leave the phone out at the dining table, but face down because I don't want the phone to interrupt my meal. The four corners of the case are also bulged ever so slightly. I assume this is good for shock dampening in the event of a corner impact drop.
rice923 said:
I'll start off by saying that I was given this case solely for the purpose of writing an unbiased review. Here it goes!
My phone: Nexus 6P 64 GB Aluminum. Slickwraps skin applied; white carbon fiber back with white carbon fiber frame with matte black visor. Intelliarmor TGSP version 2.
Price: It's $10 on amazon. Not expensive, not cheap. Pretty normal pricing.
Overall quality: There are two types of materials here; Black TPU and the clear stuff. I don't know what the clear material is, but I'd describe it as a malleable plastic. There are no rough edges
Overall Appearance: This one's subjective, but I like most of the design. I never wanted a case that was opaque. I always liked customizing my phone with skins and whatnot, so a transparent case is to my preference. However, I ultimately prefer having no back cover. Yup, I like true backless bumpers. Down the road, I might introduce a hobby knife to the back cover and remove the center clear plastic section for three reasons:
1. I like the phone to feel thin in the center
2. I don't like the possibility of trapping dirt/dust/sand/lint between the case and the phone (although the vinyl would protect my phone anyways)
3. I'm not a fan of the logo smack in the center of the back, especially when the original Nexus logo is obstructed. Considering there are three total logos/labels on the case, this one should've been omitted.
Fit: The fit is pretty snug. When trying to get the phone into the case, it was slightly tight. I would probably credit that to the fact that I have frame vinyls applied. That being said, I don't think it's tight enough to warp the phone in anyway. "Snug" is the perfect descriptor here. Referring to the picture that shows the screen of the phone right at the edge, you can see that the entire screen glass is exposed. That means a full edge-to-edge glass screen protector should work here. I emphasize the word "should" because I don't have an edge-to-edge TGSP. I also think the frame vinyls might push the case outwards a slight bit, but it doesn't seem like that makes any considerable difference if you want to use a full coverage TGSP.
Buttons: Before I used the case, I only had the frame vinyls applied. The frame vinyls made it a bit more difficult to find and click the buttons. The case actually adds the "clicky" feeling back to the buttons. This is because the inner surface of the case that comes in contact with the buttons has protrusions that make direct contact with their perspective buttons. The vinyl no longer dampens the feedback of the buttons while using the case. The buttons are not considerably any more or less sensitive than a naked phone.
Cutouts: Please refer to pictures for cutout measurements.
Regarding the USB-C port, the cutout is sufficient. If you look closely at the picture where the phone is plugged in and laying with the screen up, you may notice that that case is slightly bulged outwards when plugged in. The stock USB-C cable makes slight contact with the case and causes the said bulging. This did not cause any difficulties when trying to plug the phone in. In fact, most probably would never even notice this at all. I'm just weird like that.
Referring to the headphone port, the cutout is enough for my headphones (which has a pretty civilian sized plug). However, I know some people like to use studio quality headphones that have huge plug heads. Those who use headphones with larger plugs may need to enlarge the cutout, but I'd venture to say that the included cutout dimension would suffice for the majority.
Referring to the camera cutout, only the area around the vital hardware are exposed. The rest of the visor is covered. Seeing that some people are afraid of shattering this glass, this may be a relief. Looking closely at the rectangle of black TPU around the camera, you'll notice the top and bottom bars are resting on the aluminum body as opposed to the glass visor (mostly). I would think this helps in the event of a dropped phone, as the impact would hopefully spread onto the aluminum body instead of the glass. I'm just guessing that would be how it works out. I'm not testing that for you guys!
Referring to the Nexus Imprint cutout, it's well bevelled. It's not rough on the fingers, but Imprint was more comfortable to use without any case (well duh). It's not difficult to put my finger onto the sensor, but it just felt like an extra edge to feel while trying to unlock the phone.
Feel in the hand: The case is actually pretty minimal. It doesn't add significant bulk to the phone, and allows the phone to still feel pretty thin. The side edges have have some ridges that add to the grippiness of the case. Aside from the vinyls, I've been running the phone without a case. The extra grip is actually much appreciated. The edges also raise the screen slightly off a flat surface when placed screen down. Huge plus because I like to leave the phone out at the dining table, but face down because I don't want the phone to interrupt my meal. The four corners of the case are also bulged ever so slightly. I assume this is good for shock dampening in the event of a corner impact drop.
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Good review, thank you
The frosted P kills it for me, which is too bad because I like every other design aspect of it.
Elnrik said:
Good review, thank you
The frosted P kills it for me, which is too bad because I like every other design aspect of it.
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After I get my "x only" Dbrand skins, it should look more acceptable. I'm probably still gonna end up making a true bumper out of this down the road[emoji1]
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE: Poetic has now revised the case where the formerly intrusive "P" logo is now moved above the fingerprint sensor. The "Affinity" branding that used to be on the right edge of the case is now completely removed. All other dimensions, accents, materials, cutouts, etc. have not been changed. The updated version can be purchased from Amazon (where I acquired mine). Two additional pictures have also been added; one that compares the cases side-by-side and one with the phone in the revised case
I also received this case for review purposes, so if you don't mind, I'll just tack some of my thoughts to your review rather than creating another one? If you don't want this, just let me know!
I've been using this case for the past few days. I received the "updated" version that has the P above the fingerprint reader.
I enjoy the overall feel of the case. I like the ridges on the sides, it really allows you to get some grip on the phone, I feel less likely to drop it.
The buttons feel nice and click nicely, but because of the ridges I have a harder time finding them (and determining power from volume keys) when I'm not looking at the phone. I'm sure this will get easier over time.
I like the clear plastic on the back, I'm running mine stock without any skins, but it's still nice to see the faint nexus logo from the graphite version. As you mentioned that it felt like a snug fit, mine actually feels a little loose in some places, like the top and bottom.
The opening for the finger print reader is larger than the scanner, and I actually prefer this to one the same size as the reader. I feel like it's easier to find and unlock, and recognizes a little easier
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
heleos said:
I also received this case for review purposes, so if you don't mind, I'll just tack some of my thoughts to your review rather than creating another one? If you don't want this, just let me know!
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Absolutely fine by me! It's a review thread and you have some thoughts about the same product. All good
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
I bought this case. Overall a good case,but my phone keeps turning on in my pocket (I've butt-dialed and accidentally texted gibberish several times since getting this case)
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
diomark said:
I bought this case. Overall a good case,but my phone keeps turning on in my pocket (I've butt-dialed and accidentally texted gibberish several times since getting this case)
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Something sounds fishy about that. Never had that problem even once. Also, it takes a fair amount of effort and coincidence to butt dial on a 6p. Gotta press the power button, followed with a way to unlock the device, then precisely press the dialer icon, and choose someone to call. You may want to look into it a bit deeper. I've never butt dialed a single person since owning any smartphone in any configuration in the past 5 years.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
I have smart lock paired with my watch, so all it takes is a swipe (which I guess it can register in my pocket) after it wakes up (which it does from power button being easy to press)
Add that opening to a hangout notification and I've had it send my location to one person and call another - plus I'm frequently finding it having typed random characters (but not necessarily sent) while in my pocket.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
diomark said:
I have smart lock paired with my watch, so all it takes is a swipe (which I guess it can register in my pocket) after it wakes up (which it does from power button being easy to press)
Add that opening to a hangout notification and I've had it send my location to one person and call another - plus I'm frequently finding it having typed random characters (but not necessarily sent) while in my pocket.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
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I see. Sounds like all the planets aligned. If you decide you still want to use the case, I would recommend actually shaving down the inside of the button (the side that physically touches the power button of the phone). That should cut back on the sensitivity, but it's effort that I don't know if you'd like to invest.
Design of the Poetic Affinity has changed
They have now removed the AFFINITY branding and brought the P to be above the fingerprint scanner.
Bhalraam32 said:
They have now removed the AFFINITY branding and brought the P to be above the fingerprint scanner.
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Yep its nice. I still need to return my old ones.
good combo on the frost :good: my main concern is protection as im pretty prone to dropping my phones lol, so could u plz update on how it has held on till now, and how good is it at actually protecting the phone.
Lord. Tech said:
good combo on the frost :good: my main concern is protection as im pretty prone to dropping my phones lol, so could u plz update on how it has held on till now, and how good is it at actually protecting the phone.
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It actually has good protection for as thin as it is due to the way its built. Very sturdy case.