i’m just about done switching over…

the story…

my girlfriend graciously gave me her black macbook. well, rewind a little bit and what actually happened was…somehow, her screen got damaged (dropping while inside of a padded case). she dealt with it for a while by using an external monitor. then the holidays came around and she decided to treat herself to a refurb’d imac (brand-new as far as my eyes could tell). anyway, knowing that she’d eventually have an imac she basically said i could have the macbook if i could replace the screen.

$130 spent on ebay and about an hour’s worth of surgery made me the proud owner of a macbook :) all reformatted and even running leopard (thanks to herman)

i am enjoying it very much. for those of you who’ve experienced the switch, you know what i’m talking about. there were only a few things to get used to and i adjusted to those few things rather quickly. in fact, pretty much all of the changes were very favorable. after just a couple days of being on the mac platform, i found myself trying to call up some of the mac features on my computer at work. :P

i think microsoft is still good, but apple is definitely better. there, i said it…but i won’t let myself become an ifanboy. i hate ifanboys.

the end

i have a a pretty unheatly obsession with keeping electronics shiny. when i decided to get myself an iphone, i knew that a good case was a required investment.

well, what’s a good case?
like most apple products, elegance and simplicity go into the design philosophy.  with that said, my main consideration for a case would be based on looks that compliment the iphone’s. my next consideration would be based on coverage. and third…i don’t think there’s a third.

i’m not gonna make this too long. i’ve had experiences with 4 cases and i’ll just state the “good” and the “ok.”

contour hardskin
$29.95
my first case.

good: complete coverage of the iphone, including buttons. smooth, velvety matte-black finish. looks great and all the openings line up just right.

ok: case comes apart into 4 pieces (front, back, 2 button covers) so putting the iphone in the case isn’t all that easy. button covers are optional, so you can reduce the parts to just the front and back panels.

*note: this case totally took a beating when a puppy got bored and decided to play with my phone.

incase slider case
$34.95
my second case.

good: in my opinion, the best looking case on the market. i don’t know what it is, but the clean lines and openings on this case gives it a sophisticated sci-fi feel. perfectly molded so all the openings line up. slide-out bottom allows for docking (but really, who cares?)

ok: buttons are exposed. not really a deal breaker for me (i did buy it), but i really wish it had button covers even if it added more pieces to the assembly. if the bottom cover was used like it was designed, i’d imagine that over time you’d start to see marks on your iphone – cause really, it’s just plastic sliding on plastic.

case-mate vroom
$14.99
my third case.

good: cool looking tire-tread pattern on the back (hence the name). durable one-piece rubber material. complete coverage. camera hole cut-out is impressively exact.

ok: attacts dust and lint. a sliver of the chrome still shows. there have been a few times when the corner of the case slightly started to slide off.

incase protective cover
$29.95
fourth and final (?) case.

good: complete coverage. one-piece rubber material. interestingly, it’s grippy but doesn’t attract dust. nice topographical map design on the back (may not be for everyone but incase seems to use this pattern on some of their other products). wraps around the the chrome frame (an improvement on the vroom).

ok: a bit of a struggle to put on, but that’s it…i don’t plan on taking it off and putting it on all the time.

*note: the sizes are a bit inconsistent. they’ll vary by 1 to 2mm. my first case was on the smaller size and fit around my phone rather stupidly. after doing some image research online, i saw that the case actually fit well for some people. so i went back to the mac store again to see what was up. i held up 2 of the same cases next to each other and sure enough, i saw some variation on the size of the case. if you’re gonna go with this case, go for the bigger one.

a couple images of the incase protective cover >>>