DefaultCase is offering iPhone cases for a penny. But are they worth even that much?

You know what they say about things that sound too good to be true. But when your friends start getting excited, it’s harder to ignore a deal. Such was the case (if you pardon the pun) with DefaultCase, the company selling iPhone cases for a penny. I decided it was worth my time and small change to investigate the claims of this curious product. My summary: DefaultCase cases are easily worth 1¢, but probably not the $4 you have to pay to get one.

I suggest reading Which iPhone 4 Case Is Best? A decent case is well worth the money.

Why Case Your Phone?

As I said in my earlier review of iPhone 4 cases, I’m not really a “case guy”. My original iPhone and 3GS went “naked” for years with no ill results. Cases ruin the slim “pocketability” of the iPhone, adding bulk to a solid device that doesn’t really need protection.

But the iPhone 4 is different. Although I love the “Leica camera” look, the exposed glass front and back are an accident waiting to happen. Antenna attenuation hysteria was exaggerated, but adding a case does seem to deliver better signal strength.

Therefore, I reluctantly recommend that iPhone 4 buyers consider using a case. I further suggest looking for the slimmest case you can find; something with a rubber edge that protrudes above and below the glass front and back.

Introducing DefaultCase, the Company

In this era of cool grassroots startups, DefaultCase looks great. Their web site is slick but not overly-so, featuring personal messages from employees and users. And the product message looks killer: Rather than spend money on advertising, they’re “giving away” iPhone cases for “1¢” to spread word-of-mouth.

A company based on grassroots marketing with a killer deal on a must-have product? Does this sound too good to be true to you?

Introducing DefaultCase, the Case

The plain baggie reveals the DefaultCase's true mall-kiosk-knockoff nature

DefaultCase offers two iPhone products: A perforated iPhone 4 case in nine different colors and a solid iPhone 3G/3GS case in six colors. Both cases are single-piece units made of hard molded plastic and painted with matte colors. They are slim fitting, adding very little bulk to the phone. They likely wouldn’t protect an iPhone much in a drop, however.

Each case is offered for one cent plus $3.99 shipping within the United States. No discount is applied when ordering multiple cases, and they ship via US Mail in rather large boxes. So the actual cost of a DefaultCase is $4.

I ordered one of each case to review here.

DefaultCase iPhone 3G/3GS Case

The cases are packaged in a chintzy, unlabeled plastic bag, and opening the bag releases the noxious fumes of fresh paint. Mold quality on the 3G/3GS case is poor, with visible seams, uneven and downright sharp edges, and rough spots.

The DefaultCase fit the iPhone 3G and 3GS devices I tried it on fairly well, gripping the phone more solidly than the similarly-designed Incase snap cases. The camera hole was perfectly placed and the volume and mute buttons lined up well.

Paint quality is even worse, with major under-spray on the interior revealing pink plastic underneath the white paint. This discoloration is clearly visible in the photo at the top of the page. Although the exterior of the case is more even, close inspection reveals uneven paint there as well.

DefaultCase iPhone 4 Case

The DefaultCase is ill-fitting and poorly-finished

The iPhone 4 case is somewhat better constructed but just as poorly-executed.

Again, the cheap plastic baggie emitted paint fumes, indicating insufficient drying time at the factory. The case is better-molded, with only a short seam visible near the headphone jack. But the finish is not good, with numerous rough edges along the bottom, top, and side rim as well as the back.

The DefaultCase fits poorly on the iPhone 4. It is slightly too narrow, with the sides spreading out to accommodate the width of the phone. This causes a misalignment of the side opening, placing the volume buttons too close to the top. A bit of the phone’s back is visible through this and the mute hole.

The paint quality is just as poor with the iPhone 4 case, with two noticeable under-sprayed areas on the back showing up as glossy circles in an otherwise matte field.

Stephen’s Stance

The DefaultCase business model is intriguing, but it falls flat on actually delivering a case worthy of the Apple phone. The cheap generic cases are poorly made and ill-fitting, and the rough finish is completely out of place on a slick iPhone. The details are bad enough that I cannot imagine any iPhone owner being satisfied with a DefaultCase.

I suspect that the company formed around the simple idea of selling cheap imported iPhone cases on the eBay model: Make a enough money from the shipping charge to break even and to bid up a bit more profit eventually. I’m surprised DefaultCase hasn’t yet jacked up prices a little bit – I’m sure it would be all profit for them. For comparison, the identical “Smile Case” sells on Amazon for $5 to $6.

Although the company claims to use “top quality materials” and that the case is “expertly crafted”, the reality is far from this. These are mall-kiosk-grade junk cases sold at rock-bottom prices. I would not use a DefaultCase even at the actual cost of $4. A decent-quality case like the Griffin Reveal is worth the extra $10-$20 over the cheap DefaultCase.

Note: Some of these links include affiliate codes that help pay for this blog. For example, buying an Amazon Kindle with this link sends a few bucks my way! But I don't write this blog to make money, and am happy to link to sites and stores that don't pay anything. I like Amazon and buy tons from them, but you're free to buy whatever and wherever you want.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | Review: DefaultCase, The 1¢ iPhone Case
This post was categorized as Apple, Deals, Personal. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

This blog post is probably out of date. If you want to set up Exchange ActiveSync, you should instead consult one my guides:
	iPhone Exchange ActiveSync Setup		iPad Exchange ActiveSync Setup
	iPhone ActiveSync Troubleshooting		iPad ActiveSync Troubleshooting

That's right: I now have five Exchange ActiveSync accounts on my iPhone!

Among the many exciting features of Apple’s version-4 iPhone OS is the long-awaited ability to sync to multiple Exchange ActiveSync servers. The new software, now dubbed iOS 4, can synchronize mail, contacts, and calendars between many different services that use Microsoft’s Exchange ActiveSync protocol, including Microsoft Exchange 2003, 2007, and 2010 and Google’s Gmail service.

Who Needs Multiple Exchange Servers?

You may be wondering if you need this capability. After all, only business people commonly use Microsoft’s corporate Exchange email server, and they tend to only have a single account. But Microsoft’s Exchange ActiveSync protocol is widespread: It is supported by Google Gmail, Microsoft Live Hotmail, and many other services. Contrary to expectations, most people actually do have an Exchange ActiveSync account, and many have more than one!

I currently use no less than five Exchange ActiveSync accounts, and I’m very pleased to have all of them successfully synchronized with my iPhone. I use Google’s Gmail service for personal mail as well as two Google Apps domains (GestaltIT.com and Fosketts.net). I also have two genuine Microsoft Exchange server accounts belonging to corporate clients. It’s amazing to have all of these up and running on the iPhone!

How To Set Up Multiple Exchange ActiveSync Accounts

Setting up a Google account as Exchange instead of IMAP brings additional functionality

It’s really quite simple to set up multiple Exchange ActiveSync accounts in iOS 4: You just do it. Where the old iPhone OS would complain if you tried to enter a second Exchange ActiveSync account, iOS 4 happily accepts them. It’s not clear what the limit is: I set up five Exchange accounts and see no limit in sight!

Refer to my iPhone Exchange ActiveSync Guide for step-by-step instructions on setting up Exchange ActiveSync on the iPhone. I’ve also put together an iPad Exchange ActiveSync Guide.

Note that many folks, like me, had already added their extra Gmail and Exchange accounts as IMAP, since the old iPhone OS had no trouble with these. In this case, you should disable these accounts first to avoid trouble. I decided to turn off my old IMAP accounts rather than deleting them, just in case I needed to fall back to this method in the future.

Look at that! A unified inbox! But why all those other inboxes?

Note that iOS 4 also includes two long-awaited features: A unified inbox and threaded message view. These work great with multiple Exchange ActiveSync accounts, allowing quick access to all your messages.

Quirks and Bugs

Apple seems to have used an incorrect (too short) Exchange server timeout. If you are running iOS 4.0, you should install the Exchange timeout profile (per Apple TS3398) by clicking here from the iPhone and rebooting.

Although iOS 4 mail is much nicer, it’s far from perfect. Most importantly, all this only works on iOS 4 compatible hardware: The iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4. The original iPhone has to stick with 3.0 and its single-Exchange limit.

Apple may have added a unified inbox, but they made the mail app list even more cluttered by listing everything three times: Once in the unified inbox, again with a line-item per account inbox, and a third time per-account. Odd.

By default, every Exchange account added is named “Exchange” rather than using the email address like other account types. This is ugly, and requires the user to manually change the account name in Settings->Mail to avoid confusion.

It took a while for the Calendar app to synchronize, and it used incorrect calendar names for a while. Also, it seems to only synchronize the default calendar, not any others you might have.

iOS 4 will happily maintain duplicate contacts in one or more lists. I synchronized Address Book with Gmail and Entourage, so all of my contacts were listed four times. It’s probably best to synchronize only one contact list to avoid this situation.

Pay no mind: You won't lose all your Exchange contacts, just those from this account!

When you turn off contact synchronization, iOS 4 pops up a disturbing warning that “all Exchange contacts will be removed.” They won’t. It will only delete the contacts from that one Exchange ActiveSync account.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | How To Set Up Multiple Exchange ActiveSync Accounts in iPhone iOS 4
This post was categorized as Apple, Everything, Features, Personal. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

The Aliph Jawbone Icon gets even better with A2DP support

I’ve been pretty pleased with my Jawbone Icon headset. It has good battery life, clear audio, and is comfortable to wear for an extended period (once I found a loop that works for my ears). But Aliph’s claim that the Jawbone Icon could be upgraded with “apps” was underwhelming: None of the launch apps were compelling, and the app site itself remains in beta. But the company redeemed itself last week by releasing something I’d long hoped for: Bluetooth A2DP streaming audio support as an app.

Check out my full review of the new Aliph Jawbone Icon headset!

A2DP What?

Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) is a Bluetooth “profile” defining how high quality stereo or mono audio can be streamed between devices. The most popular use is listening to music from an mp3 player or phone on wireless headphones or an in-car audio system. A2DP support is fairly new but becoming increasingly common. All wireless Bluetooth headphones these days support A2DP.

Apple added A2DP streaming to the iPhone 3G and 3GS in OS 3.0, and this has spurred uptake of the standard and production of compatible headsets, headphones, and other devices. I briefly experimented with A2DP headphones when this support was added but set them aside: There is no way I would wear the huge, clunky, ugly, heavy stereo Bluetooth headphones that dominate the market! I suppose that the Motorola MOTOROKR S9 isn’t bad, but can Sony and Plantronics seriously believe people will wear theirs?

What I Want

I was much more interested in streaming non-music mono content to my wireless headset. I frequently find myself doing other things while listening to podcasts and baseball games (thanks to the awesome MLB app), sometimes dangling a single earbud so I can pay attention to the real world. That’s why Aliph’s A2DP upgrade is music to my ears!

The iPhone streams most audio to A2DP-compatible headsets like the Jawbone Icon. Tap the Bluetooth audio icon in the lower left to switch audio output devices.

Immediately after applying the free A2DP update, I fired up the iPod app on the iPhone to try out the sound quality. Before using it, though, you must tell the iPhone to “forget” the Jawbone and re-pair it so the device will “see” the new A2DP profile support. The sound quality is good, even for music, and it doesn’t seem to be too much of a battery drain. I expect it to last a good three hours or so on a charge.

An added bonus of this upgrade is in-headset volume control and one-tap call canceling. Whether listening to A2DP audio or using the Icon as a standard phone headset, pressing and holding the button cycles through louder and quieter volume levels. But call canceling is even more important to me. The iPhone’s “voice control” often dials the wrong person from my contacts list, so tap-to-cancel is critical!

All in all, Aliph’s latest update is one more reason to declare that the Jawbone Icon is the ultimate iPhone headset. It sports an on-phone battery gauge, support for voice control, and now streaming audio, and it’s even cheaper than the previous Jawbone models! It works great with the iPad, too. The only thing I’d still like to see is an iPhone app to control the headset settings. Hey, a guy can dream, right?

Note: The original iPhone has A2DP-compatible hardware but Apple does not enable it even with OS 3.0. Only the 3G and 3GS models have official A2DP support. But I’ve heard that jailbreaking can enable A2DP even on first-generation iPhones.

Note: Some of these links include affiliate codes that help pay for this blog. For example, buying an Amazon Kindle with this link sends a few bucks my way! But I don't write this blog to make money, and am happy to link to sites and stores that don't pay anything. I like Amazon and buy tons from them, but you're free to buy whatever and wherever you want.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | One More Reason to Buy a Jawbone Icon Headset: A2DP Bluetooth Audio!
This post was categorized as Apple, Everything, Personal. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Apple is recalling every iPhone 3G power adapter with American-style (NEMA 1 or Type A) plugs

Wow! Apple is recalling and replacing all of the compact power adapters shipped with every iPhone 3G sold to date in many countries! According to Apple’s support release, the prongs can break off and become lodged in an outlet, posing a risk of electric shock. And of course, inconveniencing the person who wants to keep their iPhone charged! American-style two-blade adapters in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Japan, and several Latin American countries are affected.

Looks like Apple is trying to make good on their defective power designs. Let’s hope they learn from this and the MagSafe debacle and make better-quality devices in the future!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2008. | Apple Replaces ALL iPhone 3G Power Adapters
This post was categorized as Apple. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.