Lifeproof Nüüd case for the iPhone 5

Today I am reviewing the all new Lifeproof Nüüd case for the iPhone 5.  I was very anxious to see what this case was all about after getting the chance to review the Nüüd case for the iPad.  Lifeproof has become a household name when it comes to waterproof, let alone "anything proof" phone cases.  The Nüüd line of cases they have released separate themselves from anything else they have released due to the "screenless" technology i.e. there is nothing separating the bare screen from your fingers while still remaining waterproof.

Lifeproof has truly revolutionized the market with the release of the Nüüd line in my opinion.  Releasing a very rugged phone case, adding the fact that it is waterproof PLUS you don't lose touch sensitivity?  What else could anybody ask for?  The case claims that it can protect against drops up to 6.6 feet, submersion in water up to 6.6 feet as well as protection against dust, sand and snow.

The Lifeproof Nüüd case has remarkable build quality and is undoubtably one of the best i've seen.  The front face of the case is a matte polycarbonate that feels and looks outstanding, we will come back to this later in the review.

The back half of the case is a new design that varies quite a bit from Lifeproof's Frē case.  Instead of the back window that would only display the apple logo on the Frē, the Nüüd is one large clear window so you can see the majority of the iPhone which I really like.  There was a lot of attention to detail with this design as the perimeter of the back panel is a frosted material so it does not pick up scuffs and scratches when set down screen side up.  The clear portion of the back panel is recessed below the frosted rim so it shouldn't get scuffed.

The camera is covered by anti-reflective glass and does not degrade photos at all.

The sides of the case are comprised of a hard rubber material that provides plenty of grip.  On the left side, the volume buttons are covered by this material as well as the slider for the silent switch.  On top we have a simple rubberized button for the sleep/wake button, feedback is not bad.  Around the bottom, we have the Lifeproof typical "screw-in" jack for the headphone jack that now has a tether attached to it so it does not get lost.  The lightning port is covered by a hinged door with a seal that works perfect, I wouldn't expect anything different.

Getting back to the front faceplate.  There is a lot going on here but it all works perfectly.  You are probably wondering how the case can be waterproof while still allowing the bare screen to be used.  Underneath the faceplate, there is a gasket around the perimeter which squishes against the phone screen providing a waterproof seal.  The bezel comes right up against the touch screen that can sometimes cause issues using the controls in iOS7 but it's just a minor complaint as they are still usable.

One of the new features in the Nüüd is that the home button is a separate piece now that makes use feel like you are actually pressing the home button.  It is somewhat loose fitting and I think that can be corrected but it is not an issue.

Sound quality is another thing i'd like to touch on.  As you would probably expect, sound quality is skewed while using a waterproof case.  Sound travels into the back plate of the case and resonates there to help elevate the volume while still coming out of the bottom port making it sound tinny.  I feel it is improved over the Frē case though.  Call quality is not degraded with the Nüüd.

This case is offered for $89.99 available in 2 colors, black and white at this time.

Mophie Juice Pack Air for iPhone 5

The product that i'll be reviewing for you guys today is from Mophie and it is the Juice Pack Air case for the iPhone 5. Mophie has been a household name when it comes to battery cases for your iPhone and is top dog as far as i'm concerned.  Mophie products are targeted to the user whose work day goes beyond 9-5 and having extra battery power is paramount.  

Lets start with my first impression of the Juice Pack Air.  Holding the case in hand, you will immediately notice the premium soft touch finish of the case; it is REALLY nice.  The next thing I noticed is that they have finally moved the status LED's to the back of the case versus having them on the bottom.  In addition to that, when the case is being charged, the lights will illuminate for 30 seconds but will turn off after that as to avoid being bothersome when you have this charging on your nightstand at night.  The last major thing I noticed is that the charging port has moved to the bottom instead of the side which should help out a lot with broken ports like the prior cases.  Speaking of the charging port at the bottom, it looks like there are gold contact patches - could this mean some sort of Mophie dock?

The case itself is surprisingly lightweight (2.68oz) so it doesn't feel like a brick when installed.  The headphone jack is recessed by a large amount and Mophie has included a headphone extender to offset that issue.  There is nothing more that Mophie can do about that since Apple moved the headphone port to the bottom.  The left side of the case features covered buttons for the volume up/down as well as a built in slider for the vibrate switch.  The top of the case is similar and has a built in button for the sleep/wake function.  Like I mentioned above, the back side of the case contains the status LED's, a button that illuminates those LED's to check charge status and a switch to trigger the battery on and off.  The opening for the camera and flash is black lined so it does not cause any flash back.  

As for the technical specs, it packs a 1700 mAh battery which is touted to provide up to a 100% charge of your device.  This will vary of course based on your usage while it is charging along with your phones settings i.e. email push etc.  This amount of power should suffice for most users without a doubt.  One thing to note is that you cannot sync your phone over the provided wire.  You will have to sync wirelessly to iTunes.  This should be a non issue for most people especially since most users sync to iCloud over night anyways.

So, with all that being said, I love the Juice Pack Air case and certainly recommend it.  You simply cannot go wrong with a Mophie product.  The Juice Pack Air case retails for $99.95 and is available in 3 colors - Black, White and Red.

AIAIAI TMA-1 Headphones

AIAIAI is a little known company that produces great headphones.  I will be going hands on with their TMA-1 on-ear studio headphones for my followers today.

You know what they say about first impressions.  Upon unboxing the TMA-1's, you'll see your headphone nestled in a tray of (what looks like) studio noise isolating panel.  In the box, you will get a detachable coiled headphone cable (1.6 m length), 1/4" screw on headphone jack, a pair of pleather covered replacement ear cups and a TMA-1 branded carrying pouch for all of this.  Like I said about first impressions, everything is matte jet black, totally sick in my humble opinion.

Build Quality - these cans are constructed of all nylon soft touch material (no metal).  They are fairly light weight in hand and will not feel heavy during listening sessions.  I am a big fan of the ear cups that seem to be made of a type of pliable foam; they are very comfortable and don't exert much force against the sides of your head.  The upper band is lined with this same foam making them very comfortable.  The cord is a heavy gauge wire unlike a lot of other headphones i've reviewed.  This cord will definitely hold up to heavy usage especially in a DJ environment like these are designed for.

Sound Quality - The TMA-1 headphones have a warm and not overly bright sound signature.  The sound stage is large, extremely life like almost like you're hearing music being performed live right in front of you.  Treble and mids are ungodly crystal clear, in perfect balance and make vocals sound accurate.  Lows are well balanced (yet a litle light), not overpowering allowing all channels of sound to hit your ears instead of drowning in bass like Beats by Dre models.  In my opinion, I think the bass could be a little more tight and a tad more heavy but of course, this is an opinion and varies by listener.

I truly like these headphones.  They are hands down, the most comfortable set of on-ear headphones i've ever worn.  I have had them on for a long time testing them as I am writing this and there is absolutely no discomfort from squeezing on any part of my head.

Retail price for this gem is $250 but they're currently going for $204.95 with free shipping on Amazon here.  

B&W P5 Headphones

Bowers & Wilkins has been a huge leader in home theater equipment for years - can they transfer that success into a pair of headphones?  Lets take a look into their P5 headphones right now.

The first thing you'll notice with these headphones is their build quality and their aesthetics.  They ooze premium quality like the interior of a BMW or Mercedes Benz.  With their leather wrapped ear pieces and the industrial looking metal on the outside of the ear pieces with Bowers & Wilkins engraved in, these are just plain sexy.  

Moving on to noise isolation, B&W boasts the fact that the P5 are closed back with sealed earpads.  With that being said, during my testing, I agree they surely do seal out almost all exterior sound.  What is mention worthy though is that there IS some sound that will leak out. I'm not saying it matters for the listener (:D) but it may be a concern for those around you, especially if you listen to these in an office environment. 

By design, the P5 headphones are pretty comfortable to wear and won't squeeze your cranium too much to the point of discomfort.  After an extended period of wear, say an hour or more, I feel they get to be a little snug on my ears.  It's not a deal squasher, but it helps to take a break from listening for a bit.  Other than that, they are very pleasant to wear not to mention the plush pad on the top band that rests on top of the listeners head.  

Sound Quality - this is what you guys truly care about, right?  The B&W P5 are more true neutral and warm but they are no slacker in the bass department.  Listening to Daft Punk's Random Access Memories, you can definitely hear the warm sound of the P5's.  They prove to be a little light on the treble at regular volume levels but the treble begins to emerge at higher volumes.  In my opinion, I prefer a warmer headphone like this versus something that is so heavy on treble that it gives you a headache.  Warm headphones allow a much more pleasant and comfortable listening experience.  

In the packaging, you will find the P5 along with a replaceable headphone cable (with no 3 button iPod controls), a 1/4" headphong plug and an uber premium carrying bag for your precious new headphones.  Retail cost is $299.99, available with free shipping on Amazon here.

Spigen Leather Wallet Case Snap for iPhone 5

Hi guys, today i'm going to be reviewing another case from Spigen - the Leather wallet snap case.  I don't want to sound like a broken record, but Spigen is truly leading the game when it comes to premium, awesome, amazing cases for the iPhone.  

This case is a new style of case for me as i've never owned one like this.  It is a wallet/flip/folio type of case, reminiscent of a case for an iPad.  Flipping the case open, you can see on the left side there are two slots for you to put your credit cards, debit cards, license, etc.  The slots are pretty narrow meaning you can only fit around 2 cards per slot.  Behind those two slots, there is an opening where you can store some cash but again, the more you load this thing up, the thicker it gets which leads me to a small concern of mine.  With this wallet case loaded, the cover doesn't exactly stay securely closed just like when a guy loads up his new wallet.  I would have liked to see a little flap with a snap to secure it.  Moving on to the right hand side of the case, this is where you will snap your phone in, but there is a special feature here.  The case that holds your phone is actually removable from the wallet portion of the case making this a dual purpose case for you guys.  When you detach the case, it is essentially a Spigen Ultra Thin Air - really cool!  

The build quality is definitely top notch.  The leather feels great in hand and has the smell of fresh leather.  The detailed stitching, color contrast and interior lining screams premium.  Another really cool thing that Spigen did is to leave the back of the case cutout so you can use the camera while it is fully installed in the wallet portion.  

The Spigen Leather Wallet Snap case will set you back $54.99 on Amazon.  Unfortunately, you do not get any screen protectors here; you will only get the case itself which is available in two colors - Scarlet Red or Black.

Spigen Saturn Case for iPhone 5

Hey guys, today i'll be taking a look at the Saturn Case by Spigen.  The Saturn Case is very similar to Spigen's popular Ultra Thin Air case for those that like extremely lightweight and thin cases.  The only difference is the fact that the back of the case is mostly aluminum with diamond cut edges.  Spigen claims that the Saturn is slightly thicker but I did not really notice any difference.

Like I previously mentioned, the Saturn is a snap on the back style case that simply - snaps onto the back of your iPhone.  The basis of the design is the same as any other case like its type but Spigen went one step further to integrate a back plate of real anodized aluminum that mimics the two tone design of the iPhone 5.  The edges are diamond cut (even around the camera cutout) to give the case a glimmer shine when it is in direct light similar to the edges of the iPhone itself. 

Spigen's Saturn case leaves the bottom and top of the phone totally open allowing full use of any stock or aftermarket lightning chargers as well as any size headphone jack.  The left side of the case has separate cutouts for the volume buttons and the vibrate switch.  Other than that, there isn't much to the case; it is a simple snap on style thin case that will help provide bump and scratch protection but I would be leary to say it will protect your phone in a drop from more than a few feet off the ground.  There isn't really much lay-on-the-table lip protection for the screen and that is especially true with the Spigen GLAS.t slim screen shield that i'm using at the time of this review.  The only issue I have with this case is the bottom portion of it where it stops by the lightning port leaves an edge exposed where I typically put my pinkey finger when holding my phone one handed.  It is a minor annoyance but it was noticable for me right away.  This is the same for all snap-on-the-back style cases, though. 

The Spigen Saturn case is available for $26.99 in 3 different colors to match your iPhone.  For that price, you will get the case and a set of jelly home button stickers - unfortunately no screen shield included this time.  Right now you can grab one of these from Amazon's official Spigen store here for $19.99 with Amazon Prime!

Spigen GLAS.t SLIM Glass Screen Shield for iPhone 5

Up for review this evening, I have the all new GLAS.t SLIM premium glass screen shield from Spigen SGP.  Spigen is the absolute master of premium glass screen shield products.  They have recently released a line of SLIM products and the GLAS.t has received the SLIM treatment.  

First off let me start by saying if you have never had the opportunity to use a pure glass screen shield, you are missing out on a must have product. Spigen's glass screen shields provide a level of smoothness that is superior to the naked iPhone 5 glass.  Think I am exaggerating?  You honestly have to try for yourself.  The GLAS.t line of premium glass screen shields are silky smooth, resist fingerprints like nothing i've ever used before and are extremely tough at at harness of 8-9H. 

The SLIM version of the GLAS.t comes in at 0.26mm thin versus 0.40 of the standard GLAS.t.  I previously reviewed the standard GLAS.tR and this slim version is very noticeably more thin.  This is particularly obvious at the home button as it is not as far recessed. With this one, I don't feel as if I need to use a jelly or aluminum home button sticker due to the recessed area.  

I honestly cannot express how insanely awesome this screen shield is.  If I could recommend any one "must have" product for iPhone users, it would without a doubt be a GLAS.t screen shield of any type i.e. GLAS.t or .tR or either slim version.  The price is not easy to swallow at $27.99 but I can assure you it is money well spent especially considering their replacement policy which allows $15 replacements if you ruin it on install or in a drop.  Go out and get one to try for yourself!

Spigen Linear Blitz for iPhone 5

Today i'll be reviewing the Linear Blitz case from the folks at Spigen SGP. It seems that as of late, Spigen has been diligent in releasing cases with real aluminum parts. There is something “high quality” about a case that has metallic parts versus a cheap feeling plastic or rubber and they've hit that mark with this case.

The Linear Blitz is a multi-piece case comprised of 3 components; a frame, a backplate and a lower frame that locks all the pieces securely together. The frame parts are polycarbonate while the backplate is 100% real aluminum.  Spigen has built in plastic buttons for the volume and sleep/awake buttons that function perfectly, not degrading their functionality at all and look awesome.  There is a nice large cutout for the mute switch providing easy access to it.  The lower frame part has a series of cutouts over the speaker and microphone to ensure sound isn't hindered during normal operation.  Cutouts for the lightning port and headphone jack are on the slim side but don't pose a problem for apple's accessories.  The only branding on the case is Spigen's name on the left side and "Linear" written on the back plate.

I've been testing this case for a bit now and can say that there is no degradation of wifi signal due to the aluminum back.  I had seen some complaints about this online but no issues here.  The only issue to note from my personal testing is that the back plate has a tiny bit of "play" in it i.e. when the case is assembled, I can slide the backplate up and down by a tiny bit and is noticable to me.  I do not think this will cause any scratching of your iPhone but it is a minor annoyance to me. 

I have paired this case with a Spigen GLAS.t slim screen shield and can report that it works perfectly, almost like they were designed to compliment each other.  With the screen shield installed, there is a tiny bit of lay-on-the-table lip but it's almost negligible.  These two combined together is one amazing combo and would highly recommend it to you guys.

The Linear Blitz case is available in 3 colors; metal slate, metal red and satin silver for $31.99 on Amazon here.  Included in the packaging, you will get a Linear Blitz case, Steinheil ultra crystal screen shield, microfiber cloth and a set of jelly home button stickers. 

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