AT&T HTC ChaCha spotted in the wild


Remember the HTC Status, or better known as the HTC ChaCha,

which will arrive over at AT&T?

This is the first of what could possibly be a bunch of

“Facebook phones” – handsets that feature a dedicated Facebook button.

What you see here is not an official image but a leak,

where you will find the famous “F” button (implying Facebook, of course),

letting you post onto your own wall or others in a jiffy with but a single button press.

Bear in mind that this will be a mid-range handset, so do not expect all the bells and

whistles of a high end model to come along with it. It will still take some time before the HTC

Status arrives over at AT&T, and while we do not know how much it will cost, it should not burn a large hole in your pocket.

READ MORE - AT&T HTC ChaCha spotted in the wild

Leaked Photos Of The Nokia 700 “Zeta”



A couple of days ago we had reported that Nokia was looking to push out four new Symbian handsets,

which would be powered by 1GHz processors. Well as it turns out, one of those handsets on the list,

the Nokia 700 “Zeta”, had its photos leaked, giving us an idea of what we might expect from the final product

(assuming of course, that the leaked photos are not the final product).
READ MORE - Leaked Photos Of The Nokia 700 “Zeta”

HTC Status page launched on Facebook


AT&T certainly has plans for the upcoming Facebook smartphone, known as the HTC Status (which we looked at earlier this morning in a sneak peek). Having rolled out a new page on Facebook concerning the HTC Status which will be an AT&T exclusive later this summer, you can find out everything you need to know about the upcoming handset there. It is said that the HTC Status will allow you to share just about anything with a single touch, ranging from music to photos, location and status updates. HTC Status also boasts of a chat widget that enables you to see when your friends are online at a glance. Imagine holding all those live instant chats from the device itself, early memories of BlackBerry messaging starts to flood my brain now.

As with most Android-powered HTC handsets, there is the “Quiet ring on pickup” feature that will reduce the ring volume whenever you pick the phone up. As for the “Pocket mode”, that will increase ring volume when your phone is in a pocket or bag – now talk about smart. Running on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and HTC Sense, the HTC Status will ship with 512MB of ROM and RAM, powered by an 800MHz processor, supports a 2.6″ touch screen display at 480 x 320 resolution, and has a 5-megapixel main camera with autofocus capability while a VGA front-facing camera is there for video calls.

READ MORE - HTC Status page launched on Facebook

Kapok case gives camera features to your iPhone


So the iPhone 4 is becoming quite popular as a camera.

Canopy appears to have seen this coming.

Check out their Kapok case for the iPhone 4.

It protects your iPhone while also adding several features that are handy

for those who may use their iPhone as a camera a bit more often.

Made from a plastic core with soft touch coating,

it also includes an embedded metal insert to give rigidity for an integrated tripod mount.

Features dual, two-stage buttons that perform functions based on application (SDK available).

A camera tools application is available from iTunes that allows you to control the camera’s functions like a point and shoot.

Also includes a mini-USB input port for sync + charge and a mini-USB to USB cable. Available in 5 colors, $69.99 each.
READ MORE - Kapok case gives camera features to your iPhone

Amphibian Waterproof Hard Case for iPhone 4



The Amphibian Waterproof Hard Case for iPhone 4 from Proporta is tested and guaranteed to be waterproof to 3 meters. You’ll be able to take photos underwater, and you can make and take calls while the phone is in the case. The system consists of a hard polycarbonate case that can be used alone and an outer silicone skin that protects against water, dirt, and sand. There’s a lanyard attachment point so you can wear it around your neck. The Amphibian Waterproof Hard Case for iPhone 4 is $37.95 at Proporta.

READ MORE - Amphibian Waterproof Hard Case for iPhone 4

myTouch 4G Slide Sighting…


Yes, yet another Android Phone that is soon to hit the streets. However, I like the design of this one. And word is the keyboard is quite good, but it is heavier than the G2 (which is quite weighty). It seems that it will be running Sense UI, with some myTouch tweaks here and there. No word on price and availability yet but I can’t wait to try that keyboard.

Source: TmoNews.com

READ MORE - myTouch 4G Slide Sighting…

iProp iPad Stand Review


We’ve reviewed our share of iPad stands here on The Gadgeteer. Today I want to show you another iPad stand, but this one isn’t for your desktop, it’s an iPad floor stand called the iProp. The iProp is an adjustable stand that will allow you to use your iPad hands-free for watching movies, reading, or even as a musical stand.

Note: The images in this review can be clicked for a larger size.

The iProp is comprised of 3 main parts. The heavy duty V shaped metal base, which weighs 3 lbs, the flexible gooseneck and the iPad holder. It ships unassembled, but don’t worry, assembly only requires 1 bolt. They even include the tool to tighten it.



The iPad holder is made of black plastic. It holds the iPad by the bottom two corners and top edge.



If you flip the holder over, you’ll see the ball and socket connector that is used to attach the holder to the stand. This connector allows you to rotate the iPad 360° as well as tilting it to almost any angle.



You can use the iProp with the original iPad and the iPad 2. To use it with the iPad 2, you’ll need to attach a stick on foam spacer to the back of the holder and small spacers to the corner holders.



The only assembly required for this stand is to attach the flexible gooseneck to the base with the included bolt and washer. There’s an Allen wrench included to tighten it. The hole in the base is countersunk, and the instructions say to tighten the bolt flush with the base. As you can see from the image above, I wasn’t quite able to do that… Either I’m not strong enough (very possible right now…) or this is just as far as it will go. This isn’t a big deal if you intend to only use the iProp on a carpeted floor. But if you are going to use it on a hard wood floor, I’d be worried that this could cause scratches. I was surprised that there were no stick on feet included with the base.



Once you have attached the gooseneck to the base, you are ready to put the iPad in the holder and attach it. This is done by loosening the socket connector, sliding the ball into the socket and tightening it back down again. You can turn the iPad either in landscape or portrait orientation and adjust the angle of the screen. Once you’re done, tighten the socket connector to keep it in place. At this point, you can adjust the gooseneck, too, if desired. If you leave the gooseneck straight up and down, the stand is 36″ high.




Forgive my lack of fashion. I didn't feel like changing my clothes for the picture.

I’ve found the iProp to be a great music stand. I can use the iPad with the TabToolKit app to let me easily view sheet music while I practice songs on my ukulele. It sure beats printing the music and putting it on my lap.

This stand is very sturdy and at 9 pounds, it is heavy enough that there is no worry that it will topple over. I can think of quite a few uses for it in addition to my own musical stand use. For example, it would be useful for watching movies and videos in bed or on the couch hands-free.

Other than the bolt on the bottom of the base, the only complaint that I have about the iProp is the price. You can buy a heavy duty stand for much less. Of course those stands don’t include an iPad holder like this one. Even so, I do think the iProp is overly pricey. On the plus side, they do ship free to anywhere in the US.

READ MORE - iProp iPad Stand Review

Third Rail Slim Case and Smart Battery System for iPhone 4 Review

You choose a sleek new smartphone, then the internal war begins: case or no case? Cases can obscure the looks that attracted you to the phone in the first place or make it much heavier. Or you find out that all those features drain your battery so quickly that you can’t make it through a long day without needing to recharge. External batteries can keep you going all day, but it’s hard to use a phone with a big battery pack dangling from the charging port. Some cases have built-in batteries, but they are too big and heavy to keep on your phone all the time. Third Rail offers a case and external battery system that gives you what you want – protection and power – without the things you don’t want – bulk. Let’s look at the Third Rail System for iPhone 4 I received for review.

In the Box


Slim Case

Smart Battery

USB to micro USB cable

USB adapter for charging other devices


Note: Some images may be clicked for an enlarged view.



The Third Rail Slim Case is a thin, two-piece case that slides on to your AT&T or Verizon iPhone 4. The case is made of hard plastic and is only available in black. The outside has a rubbery coating; inside is smooth and shiny. The case is a snug fit. There are three little copper rails on the back of the case that act as the battery contact.



Bottom with power switch and sync/charge connector.


The Slim Case covers the back and sides of the iPhone, but it leaves the back camera, power button, headphone jack, microphone, volume buttons, and the mute button open. The bottom of the case extends past the bottom of the phone, and there’s a standard Apple docking connector inside that plugs into the iPhone 4. Openings are left on both sides of the bottom so you can still hear the speakers. There is also a micro USB connector and a switch on the bottom of the case.

The Smart Battery is a thin black rectangle with three of the copper rails on the outside and a rechargeable 1250mAh lithium-ion battery inside. The back of the battery has four tabs that attach it to the case and three copper contacts that will line up with the rails on the case.

The battery is about 3.2” long X 1.75” wide. The case is about 4.8” long X 2.4” wide X 0.4” thick without the battery or 0.6” thick with the battery. It weighs about 0.9 oz alone, or 2.29 oz with the battery in place.

You’ll notice I gave measurements with and without the battery. The beauty of the Third Rail System is that you leave the thin, protective case on the iPhone 4 all the time, but you only attach the heavy battery when you need to supply extra power to your phone. Simply snap the Smart Battery to the back of the Slim Case and flip the switch on the bottom of the case to start recharging your iPhone 4.

You won’t have to take the Slim Case off to charge and sync the iPhone 4. Connect the phone to your computer with the included micro USB cable to sync and charge it. If you install the Smart Battery, both the phone and battery will be charged. Circuitry directs current to charge the iPhone 4 completely before sending power to the Smart Battery.

The 5 LEDs on the bottom of the battery blink as it charges. Charging is complete when the lights turn off. There’s a button under the LEDs. Press it and the LEDs light up to show the remaining charge.

Because the battery and case are separate, you can buy extra Smart Batteries to be sure you’ll never run out of power. You can charge the battery alone by plugging the micro USB charging cable directly into it. The batteries have the connectors on the back and the copper rails on the front, and they have tabs on the back and slots on the front. You can connect all your batteries together and charge them all at once. Even better, you can connect all your partially charged Smart Batteries together and they’ll consolidate all their power to top off power on the fullest battery.

Finally, you’ll notice an extra connector on the bottom of the Smart Battery that’s marked out. If you use the short USB adapter cable, you can use the Smart Battery to charge up another device, such as a Bluetooth headset, MP3 player, or similar items. You can also charge your iPhone 4, Smart Battery, and another device all at once using the micro USB cable. Now you know why they’re called Smart Batteries!


I found the case to be fairly comfortable on my iPhone 4. It added weight, but it didn’t seem to change the size of the phone otherwise. The case didn’t interfere with the operation of the back camera at all. Since it leaves the front of the iPhone 4 completely open, there is no chance it will interfere with the front-facing camera or the ambient light or proximity sensors.

It felt much heavier with the battery in place, but it wasn’t uncomfortable to use – especially when you remember this is only a temporary configuration. My iPhone 4 had about a 71% charge when I plugged in the battery. It was completely charged (the lightning bolt had changed to the plug on the battery icon) in 67 minutes. The Smart Battery still showed 4 out of 5 LEDs when I checked its power. The 1250mAh capacity of the battery is only about 87% of the iPhone 4’s 1440mAh battery. Inefficiencies of transferring power inherent with any external battery will result in about a 60-70% charge of a completely drained iPhone 4’s internal battery from the Smart Battery.

I disconnected the Smart Battery from the iPhone and used it as an external battery to charge up my iPod nano. The nano showed about 50% power to start. It was charged to 100 % (power plug showing on the battery icon) in about 71 minutes. The Smart Battery was still showing 4 out of 5 LEDs.

The Third Rail System is very flexible. Right now, they only offer the Slim Case for the iPhone 4, but they mentioned plans to introduce cases for other devices in the future. That means you’ll be able to use the Smart Batteries you own with a new phone just by purchasing a new case. It also means that everyone in the family can have Slim Cases for their phones and share a Smart Battery. You can purchase the complete System for iPhone 4 (Slim Case, Smart Battery, and cables) for $89.99. Extra Slim Cases (available for iPhone 4 only right now) are $39.99, and an extra Smart Battery with cables is $59.99.

I usually don’t like phone cases with external batteries built in because they are clunky and heavy. I do like the Third Rail System for iPhone 4. Most of the time, my phone is in only the Slim Case, which adds little bulk. I only have to use the heavy battery when I need it. Unlike most other battery cases, the battery is always available for emergency power for other devices, too. And it’s flexibility means that it won’t be obsolete the minute you upgrade to the iPhone 5. The only thing I don’t like is that it’s only available in black. I’m bored with nothing-but-black electronics.

READ MORE - Third Rail Slim Case and Smart Battery System for iPhone 4 Review

Living with the Motorola Xoom


Julie got the first look at the Xoom, and did a couple of excellent posts on it including a First Looks and the full review. If you are wanting the complete run down on the tablet I highly recommend these posts. And, as always on The Gadgeteer, the comments are full of great additions as well.

Julie may have received it first, but I got to spend a long time with mine, so I wanted to share my observations. Also, she did such an excellent job with the nuts and bolts, I will focus on more general observations.

The Xoom is certainly not the first tablet. There have been a few based on the Android OS that even predate the iPad, but it was the first that ran Honeycomb. This is designed from the ground up to be a tablet OS. If you are used to Android, it’s not a big change, but there are some adjustments.

There are no buttons on the front. The power button is on the back, and a rocker volume button is on the side. I like buttons, but I was all right with it after a while. You do have a toolbar visible at the bottom of every screen:

The first icon takes you back, the second icon takes you to the home screen and the third displays the recent applications. If the current page of the application has a menu, a grid icon can be touched to display the menu. On the right side you have icons for any notifications. On this screen the first is the debugging notice (I use that to grab screens), the second tells me Words With Friends is ready for my next move, then you have the current time, signal strength and battery level.

If you tap the settings, you can see more information:


Tapping the settings icon (sliders underneath the time) gives you access to common settings.


So two taps takes you to a screen to control Airplane Mode, access Wireless settings, turn on/off auto-rotate, set brightness, turn off notifications and finally get to all the Settings.


The ability to turn off notifications is a great feature. Especially if you are using it as a reader. Late at night, my wife can deal with the glow of light, but is not a fan of the occasional alert tones.


Room to Breathe

Apps designed to take advantage of the new real estate on the display really shine. Of course Gmail embraces it:


I really like the layout in landscape. I have my inbox on the left, and the contents of the e-mail on the right.


One of the first applications designed for tablets was the CNN app. Once again, a nice use of the layout:



Battery Life

I thought the battery life was good. I mean, after all, I need to sleep sometime. Even while playing some intensive games (like AirAttack HD) I was at 2-1/3 days before wanting to recharge:

Reading actually took the most out of my battery, since the screen was on the whole time. This was one of the worse results:

One disappointing thing about the Xoom is you cannot charge via USB. This is a big deal for me, I have far too many adapters to track as it is. However, I think this is the current state of tablets. I assume the batteries are too big to efficiently charge via USB. I just wish it was an option for when you find yourself without the adapter.

The Home Pages

If you are used to iOS, you may be confused by the home screens in Android. With Honeycomb, when you download an application from the market it does add it to a page for you (unlike previous Android releases). But the icons you see on pages are just shortcuts, not the apps. Managing this is very easy, and I am still a widget fan:


Form Factor


You know what I want? A tiny tablet that will fit in my change pocket and expand to give me a 17″ display. Yeah, we are not there yet. To me this is always about tradeoffs. I love my Sony Reader that conveniently fits into my coat and jacket pocket. The Xoom won’t. But the screen real estate is great. I still would like to try a smaller tablet on for size. I am just not convinced I want one this big. It is also heavy. However, it has a great display and a sturdy feel. I am a big fan of the rubberized finish, and have become accustomed to the size. I’ve now borrowed and read most of the first three books of the the Songs of Ice and Fire series on the Xoom. So I guess that speaks to the form factor issue. However, since returning it I have returned to my PRS-700 Sony Reader, and have been enjoying its weight, size and portability. I am still a fan of e-ink for reading, but the display on the Xoom was very acceptable for reading.


Half-Baked?

One of the complaints about the Xoom is that it was rushed to market, and is half-baked. It does appear rushed, but I think it is more like 7/8ths baked. Yeah, I kind of made that up. But still, it would be nice if it shipped with 4G and the SD card enabled, however the fact that it can be upgraded to 4G and the SD Card slot will be activated with an update makes it less of a big deal for me. It did not ship with Flash capability, but that is already fixed. And 4G and SD card capability will never be coming to the iPad or iPad2.


Bottom Line

Is it worth it? Will I buy one? The answer to both is maybe. I like it more than I expected to. It is a great tool for surfing the web, working on e-mail, using twitter and reading. Do I need it? No. Do I want it? Yes. The issue to me is the cost. If you can justify the purchase I think it is a great choice in the tablet space. If I had the money, and had to choose one now, I would be getting this. Am I saying it is better than the iPad? No. I haven’t used an iPad for any length of time, and trying to label one “best” is pointless to me. It’s just a better device for me than the iPad.

READ MORE - Living with the Motorola Xoom

Tom Bihn Breve for iPad and iPad 2 Review

Tom Bihn makes great bags, and I can say that with absolute confidence. My husband has a Tom Bihn Empire Builder bag that he has used every single day for the past 8 years. After seven years, we bought him a new Absolute Shoulder Strap, but the bag itself looks as good as the day he opened up the package. I’ve owned a Zephyr bag, which is a slightly smaller version of the Empire Builder, for several years. While mine doesn’t get as much use as Butch’s does, my bag also looks brand new. When I saw that Tom Bihn was selling the Breve, a minimalist bag for iPad/iPad 2, I knew I had to try one. Tom Bihn was kind enough to provide me with a Breve. They even threw in one of their new screen cleaning cloths. So, does the Breve live up to my expectations?

Some photos, including the top one, can be clicked for an enlarged view.


The Breve has a 1050d ballistic nylon exterior; the interior is soft, brushed nylon that almost feels like a microfiber cleaning cloth. I measured the bag at about 12.5” wide X 9.6” tall X 0.3” thick. The bag is bound with a black fabric tape that extends about 1.25” past each end. These tabs are topped with a heavy-duty black plastic ring; the strap connects here. The strap is made of 1” wide black belting material. It is flexible enough that the edges are soft. No strap pad is needed because the strap doesn’t feel like it’s cutting my skin. There are heavy-duty, large black plastic and metal clips at the ends and a length adjustment buckle that seems to be made of the same plastic. The strap adjusts from 31.75” to 56.5” long, including clips. It allows the bag to be worn as a shoulder or a cross-body bag. The bag plus strap weighs about 10 oz on my digital scale.

The Breve is available in Black, Kiwi, and Steel. (Navy, Cardinal, and Forest colors should also be available in late July.) I asked for the Kiwi because I want a little more color in my life. The Kiwi is a nice, bright green that looks good with the black accents and zippers. It’s not a fluorescent color, so it should fit in all but the most conservative of businesses.



UltraSuede Screen Cloth in front of the Breve bag.

The front has two zipper compartments that form a shallow V. The strip of black belting sewn on the front separates the zippered area into two pockets. As you look at the bag, the pocket on the left is very narrow; anyone with hands larger than a child’s will have trouble reaching in to get something at the bottom of that pocket. There’s no gusseting in the pockets for a little extra room. When my iPad 2 was in the back pocket, I found that my iPhone 4 in the bumper case was a very snug fit in the left pocket. I decided I’d just use that narrow pocket for the iPad charging cable. My phone and the Tom Bihn Screen Cloth fit in the larger pocket on the right. It’s big enough that you’ll be able to reach in and hunt for a small item that fell to the bottom of the pocket.


The back of the Breve has a full-width zipper. This zipper, like the two on the front, has plastic teeth and a metal slider body. This compartment holds an iPad or iPad 2. The interior of this compartment is made of 0.25” open-cell foam laminated to brushed nylon. Both sides of the iPad pocket are made of this material, which means the front pockets also have this material at the back. (The outside of the front zipper pockets has no padding).



The back of the Breve has three stitching lines. I’m not sure what the purpose of this is. I guess this very minimal quilting could make the back more protective for the iPad inside. Or it could simply be the stitching holds the ballistic nylon exterior fabric to the interior padding.

The Breve is designed to work with both the original iPad and the iPad 2. I keep my iPad 2 in both the Smart Cover and the HyperShield back cover all the time, and I was very happy to see that it fit in with room to spare. The pocket is deep enough that my iPad 2 fit completely below the zipper, so I don’t have to worry about the zipper’s metal slider body scratching anything. I also tried the original iPad in the Belkin Grip Vue case; it fit in the pocket and stayed below the zipper as well, but it was a tighter fit.



For reference, Rachel is 5'2" tall.

I love the Tom Bihn Breve! I haven’t had it long enough to say that it will wear as well as the Empire Builder and the Zephyr have. However, I trust the quality of the Tom Bihn products I’ve owned to think that the Breve will still be in great shape long after the iPad has been replaced by the next great thing. It’s big enough to carry my iPad 2 without having to strip off the cases I normally use. I could put my keys and phone in the front pockets, attach my small wallet with a wrist strap to the Breve’s strap and have everything I need while doing errands. The color isn’t one that I would have chosen in the past, but I really like it. The Breve is as sleek as the iPad it was designed to protect. I can’t think of a thing that needs changing other than perhaps resizing the front pockets to give the left one a bit more room.

I’ve mentioned the Screen Cloth a few times, so I’d better give you some more details. The cloth is made of UltraSuede, and it comes in Lapis Blue, Peony Pink, and Asphalt Gray. I received the Asphalt Gray. The cloth has a swoopy, flag-fluttering-in-the-breeze shape. It measures about 8.25” X 8.25”. It’s thicker than most screen cleaning cloths I’ve used, and its suede-like surface helps it clean my iPhone and my iPad 2’s screens quickly, no matter how smudgy they are. You can add a Screen Cloth to your order for only $7.00.

I don’t think you could go wrong with the Breve. It’s just big enough to carry what you need for meetings or for doing errands around town. It’s light enough that it doesn’t break your back, even when you’ve got it loaded up. And there are enough colors available that you should be able to find one that fits your style.

READ MORE - Tom Bihn Breve for iPad and iPad 2 Review

Mivizu Sleek Leather Case in Black Stone for iPhone 4 Review

I’m reviewing an iPhone 4 case from Mivizu called the Sleek Leather Case in Black Stone. It is part of a collection of cases from Mivizu with 11 different finishes, including carbon fiber, that center on a flip cover case design. I spent a week with this as my only case to get a proper feel for using this as someone’s primary iPhone cover, and came away impressed but with a couple slight problems. Read on for my review of the Sleek Leather Case in Black Stone.

The Mivizu Sleek Leather Case in Black Stone is slightly larger than the iPhone 4, covering the phone completely with a flip top that’s covered in soft leather with a slightly spongy padding under the leather. The leather is soft glove leather but tough enough not to tear with keys in your pocket, and it has a great feel with a good grip to ensure it won’t slip out of your hands even when a little sweaty. There’s nice light colored stitching on the edges which contrast beautifully with the deep black leather of the case creating a very good look. The back and sides are covered with soft leather also, but only the cover flap has a plush feel with a slightly spongy material under the leather.


The plastic of the case is hard and surprisingly durable, handling sharp keys and everyday wear with aplomb. It’s flexible yet hard enough to offset a drop from waist level onto a hard wood floor- which was completely accidental. After my heart started again, I checked both the iPhone and Mivizu case: neither had a mark on them. In fact, the leather and underlying case material came through the week without any marks on it at all. The cover has a flap that grips the iPhone when closed, ensuring it doesn’t open accidentally and yet doesn’t offer any real resistance when opening the cover to use the iPhone. Overall the design is simple, elegant, and very functional.


The inside of the case and back of the cover flap has a soft felty material where your iPhone sits, which is nice and soft but does collect lint like nobody’s business. It’s not deep enough to collect sand or dirt, and I always check the inside of a case to ensure it’s clean after a bad beach incident with another case and my 3GS. The top of the case is made of the same hard plastic, covered in that awesome leather of course, and has that felt material on the back of it.


The back of the case is plain except for Mivizu embossed into the leather on the bottom and the camera cutout near the top. The cutout is actually one of the weak points of this case, but most cases that enclose your iPhone 4 have similar problems because of the LED flash. When using the flash in a dark room, the edges of the cutout create a bright washout effect because flash illuminates the sides of the cutout. I took the iPhone out of the case when using the flash in a dark environment to get around this problem, but it’s not a huge issue.


The other issue I found was the cover flap getting in the way when rotating the phone from portrait to landscape. This is not an issue with the Mivizu case, but rather a side-effect of having a cover on the case, so I don’t think it’s a problem with the case itself but it’s something to consider whenever getting a case with a cover flap. I’d certainly not want a removable cover ( I’d lose it in a hour ), and the big plus is that having the cover means my iPhone is completely covered and only very slightly larger than an, uh, naked iPhone.


After the week with this Mivizu case was over, I find myself still using it. The feel of the leather, and the fact it’s only slightly larger than a bare iPhone, has won me over from the bumper that I kept going back to. I think I like the case because the feel screams quality, plus it looks great too. I used to have a leather case for my Treo, and I forgot how much I like the soft grippy-ness of a leather case over plastic. The Mivizu case has good looks and sleek design, but the feel of the case and protection of the flip top cover make it a winner. It’s not perfect, the flip top gets in a way sometimes when rotating the screen and the flash washout of the camera cutout are the two issues I found, but even with that considered this is still my favorite case right now.




READ MORE - Mivizu Sleek Leather Case in Black Stone for iPhone 4 Review

Turn Your iPhone into a Gameboy


The andgod shop at Etsy has a line of silicone covers that turns your iPhone 4 into a Gameboy. The cases are made of 3mm silicone, and they are available in a variety of colors. Prices range from about $7.00 to about $13.00.

READ MORE - Turn Your iPhone into a Gameboy

Warning: Rocketfish Mobile leather folio stains HTC Flyer

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There aren't a whole lot of HTC Flyer accessories out there right now, especially in local stores, so you may be tempted to pay $52.99 for Best Buy's Rocketfish Mobile leather folio. It's a nice-looking case with a slim profile, magnetic closure, and the option to fold it backward for use as a stand.

But don't buy it.

I used it for a few weeks with the Flyer and while I was perfectly happy while doing so, I was oblivious to what was going on inside the case. What I discovered while preparing to send the loaner unit back to HTC was that the black lining had stained the device's white plastic. And based on my cleaning attempts, the stains appear to be permanent.

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Once I put the Flyer into the case (a few weeks ago), it stayed there. And if I didn't have to return the unit to HTC, it would've continued to stay there. If not for the staining, which is worse on the top and bottom edges than on the other surfaces, I would have recommended this folio to anyone looking for a case.

I was also planning to use it with the HTC EVO View 4G (Sprint's sleeker version of the Flyer), which I'm buying when it's released next Friday, but when I returned the Flyer to HTC, I also returned the case to Best Buy.

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I suppose it's possible that this is an isolated occurrence and it may not even matter to those who never plan to take the Flyer out of the case, but the only time I'll ever mention the Rocketfish Mobile leather folio again is to warn case-seekers about it.

READ MORE - Warning: Rocketfish Mobile leather folio stains HTC Flyer