Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with case

iPhone 4S case that's easily removable?

Lucinda — Mon, 20 May 2013 07:09:01 -0800

after breaking my iPhone 4S screen twice in a short amount of time, it's obvious I need a new case. But it's never that easy.... Because I have this car stereo (which requires you to put the phone into the dock with its own special case) I need a case that I can take off and put back on quickly, with latches that won't break with repeated use (figure I'll be removing/replacing it at least twice a day).

I was looking at the Otterbox Armor Series, but I've read reviews that the latches are very hard to open. I also looked at the Reflex Series but the screen protector is one that you apply directly to the phone's screen, and I would prefer a case that has a built-in screen.

Argh, packaging for shipment!

aramaic — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 13:02:20 -0800

I need to pack three fairly delicate, 1" thick panels which are 18" by 15". Ideally all three would be in the same container, but I'm having difficulty navigating the world of hard shipping cases... These are fretwork panels with some surface relief (so their thickness is variable at differing points on the panel; the thinnest point is 1/8" and the thickest is 1").

The question boils down to this: if you were confronted by the need to ship three 1" thick, 18" by 15" fretwork panels in a single box that must survive repeated Fedex/UPS shipments, to whom would you turn?

Problem: cash is not infinite, which (thus far) has put most "custom case" builders out of reach.

Stay put once you're out of my pocket!

sio42 — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 06:25:56 -0800

iphone case filter: My friend has an iphone 4s. He likes that the rubbery silcon case means it doesn't slide around if he puts it down somewhere. (For example - the little wooden ledge to hold your drinks in the dart room at the pub.) However, he does not like that when he pulls it out of his pocket, it pulls everything with it. Is there a case that might meet the grippy requirements when placed on a surface yet slide out of the pants pocket more easily?

Sculpted (not printed) Han Solo in carbonite iPhone 4 case?

bdk3clash — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 19:38:20 -0800

Are there any iPhone 4 cases that feature Han Solo frozen in carbonite that are sculpted/3d, and not printed? The only one I've managed to find is this, which seems a little dicey.

Looking for the perfect iPad 4 case

JoanArkham — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:20:46 -0800

I just bought an iPad 4, and (since I rarely spend this much on myself) I'm really paranoid about taking care of it. All the special snowflake details inside... The main things I'm planning on using it for are surfing the web while on the couch and watching movies and TV while on the treadmill. I have a shelf set up in front of the treadmill, so I don't need to rest the iPad directly on it, but it does get a little wobbly if I'm jogging hard.

I'll probably wind up traveling with it at some point, but I won't be carrying it back-and-forth to work or anything.

I was originally looking for something with a fun design, but now I'll settle for just functional.

Based on this previous question I was looking at BookBooks and Dodo cases (they're both beautiful!), but I'm concerned they won't function as a sturdy stand for movie viewing.

I also found this one via that thread, but I'm still concerned about sturdiness. Also, we bought a similar case for my mom's iPad at Christmas, and it took several tries to get the thing to fit. And I am known for breaking things with my freakishly large man-hands. (Doorknobs, handles, important little plastic bits, etc.)

The best the Apple store could do was a $40 tripod thingie to go with the $50 SmartCase.

Any help, especially first-hand experiences, would be appreciated!

Want to use nice new sunglasses more often than a fancy parlor room

availablelight — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 08:23:42 -0800

I can't believe I'm using a question on this but please school me on something very basic, again. For the first time as an adult, I own sunglasses that did not come from the drugstore and cost $12. Not very expensive, but expensive enough, especially for me, if you know what I mean. (And medically necessary.) I'm too cheap to even want to think about having to replace these in the next few years. They came with a gigantic hardshell case perfect for travel. But what do people do when you take them off at a restaurant, party, store, planetarium, etc? I don't carry a purse. (The case I have is such a tank that it wouldn't fit well into my existing clutches and laptop bags, etc.) I don't wear button downs with front pockets I can dangle them out of like a boss (and my dad in the 70s and 80s). I don't want to not use them because I'm flummoxed about having to carry around this gigantic case, particularly with some upcoming travel in areas where I absolutely need to be wearing them.

Glass in gun cases?

john123357 — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 00:01:01 -0800

I have noticed that in most portable gun cases which are hard plastic on the outside with a foam core inside there seems to be pieces of shiny glass embedded in the foam. I have only noticed this in gun case foam not other types of foam for example, the foam inside couch cushions or bedding. Why would they put glass inside gun case foam?

iPad sleeve that will work with an attached keyboard

Canageek — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 16:41:59 -0800

I am looking to get my Mom and iPad sleeve or carrier, to protect it from kicks, drops, scratches and whatnot while it is in her purse. There seem to be about a zillion of these around, in so many styles that my head spins, but I think what I want is along the lines of this. The problem is it also needs to fit a Logitech Ultra Thin Keyboard Cover as well as the iPad, and I can't read that from the specs page. Does anyone have experience using a similar Bluetooth keyboard/cover with a sleeve and can recommend one that works? I'd like something small, and not aesthetically unpleasing, because Mom is going to be much more concerned about if it is light and looks nice then if she can throw it off a building. That said, I am buying it to protect the iPad. Products in question:
-Fancy new Retina iPad
-Logitech Ultra Thin Keyboard Cover (Product Dimensions: 27.9 x 20.3 x 1.9 cm ; 499 g)

I know there have been a lot of questions on this already; However most of the responses are cases that attach to the iPad, and thus won't work with the keyboard, broken links, not updated to the latest iPad, or over $100, and I am kinda on a budget ($20-30 would be my limit, though a little over would be OK I guess).

Thank you for your help

cases/covers for series 7 tablet

madmethods — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 10:22:39 -0800

Are there any third-party cases/covers for the Samsung Series 7 tablet? There's a Samsung Series 7 tablet at work, and the cases/covers from Samsung aren't very appealing. Looking for something that's slim, offers a little protection, has a cover that opens like a book, that type of thing. But really I'd be interested to hear of any third-party options that exist.

Case Me?

lonefrontranger — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:11:49 -0800

Help me find a very specific style of classy, unisex iPhone 5 "wallet" case? tl;dr: flurry of special snowflakes contained within. mr. lfr recently got us both iPhone 5s because he is a wonderful geek like that. We both like to keep them skinned, but not in hard cases, for reasons of convenience and preference. To protect them from drops, falls, bumps and scratches, whenever we're not actually inside the house or at our desks at our workplaces, we've been keeping them in some nice fabric wallets that mr. lfr's mom found us a couple of years ago. Unfortunately these wallets were designed for the (shorter, wider) iPhone 4, and MIL no longer remembers where she found them (some mall gadget store or other) so that we could potentially get the same ones configured for our new 5s. And of course after a couple years of kicking them around, we can't find any tags or logos on them to ID them (I am an inveterate tag-ripper, sigh). And of course the major problem with keeping our 5s in the old 4 wallets is also that the new form factor is taller and skinnier and thus they don't fit properly for the over-strap to securely fasten so that... yep, disaster ensues.

so klutz that I am, last week I somehow managed to grab my wallet off the seat of the car such that the (unsecured) strap flipped open and my brand new iPhone flew out, landed on its face in the parking lot and smashed. $300 later (yep, not merely a klutz but a boneheaded klutz without AppleCare) I have a replacement phone and a Hex Axis wallet that I grabbed in the Apple store... but it is decidedly meh. Sure, it's useful for averting another disaster, but I don't love it.

Here is what I don't love about the Hex case: It doesn't fully enclose the phone, meaning the ports on the bottom are all wide open to moisture, etc, if I am carrying it in a jersey pocket on a bike ride, and also to the lint, dust and cat hair that somehow finds its way into all my pants pockets. It requires clipping the phone into a hard "bumper" style holder that is fixed to the wallet. This not only precludes putting a skin on the phone, it also renders it difficult to remove if I want to use the phone in a dock, or else just set it on my desk at work to listen to headphones, without also having all my other wallet items lying out in plain view. It doesn't hold enough; 2 credit cards, an ID and a couple pieces of paper currency, and it barely closes. And last but not least, the moleskine-style band that you must wrap over it to hold it closed because it is stiff and plasticky and overstuffed with a mere few things inside, also makes it extremely klutzy to access the phone when I get a text alert or call.

Here is what I'd (ideally) like to find for both of us as nice gifts: an iPhone 5 compatible phone case/wallet that is made of real leather or some other suitably durable, classy and lightly moisture-resistant material that has the following features:

- phone should drop in securely, preferably vertically (i.e. not in landscape orientation), and is enclosed on all four sides when the case/wallet is closed. Headphone access unimportant, "kickstand" designs unimportant - we both prefer to remove the phone from the case to listen to music/watch video.
- wallet/case is made of durable, good quality, somewhat weather and moisture-proof material (preferably leather, but some kind of waxed canvas or quality tight-knit fabric would work) that doesn't look cheap. The HEX case claims it's "real leather" but IMO it looks and feels awful and tacky and stiff and cheap, so it wouldn't surprise me if it's "vegan leather", aka plastic. note that I for sure wouldn't have spent fifty dollars on the damn thing if I'd realized it was so meh in the store, but I couldn't open the box to find out, I was in a hurry, and I didn't want to risk another drop without a case on :P
- needs to have enough slots / space for a couple credit cards, a couple of loyalty cards, my ID, my bike racing license, and one or two currency bills. I don't keep a bunch of other crap in my wallet like receipts and change, but these are the non-negotiables for both of us.
- needs to be low-profile/minimal and slim enough to easily fit in a pants pocket and/or cycling jersey pocket. Our old wallets are roughly 3.25x5" or 8.5 x 12.5cm which translates to "just fits, barely". Slightly longer and slimmer would be okay, but not by much.
- not be made of plastic or otherwise gimmicky, glitzy, tacky, sparkly or pink (so says the both of us).
- ideally there'd be a dee or receiver on the back for maybe a wrist strap and/or key fob for use off the bike.
- I'd prefer something nicely handmade in the U.S., but that's not a deal breaker.

Here are some nicer wallet cases we've found over the past 2 days of Googling around and paging through Etsy that are close to what we want, but not quite perfect:

- This is beautiful but a) far, far too expensive and b) I don't particularly care for the magnets on it (don't they ruin credit cards? seems a bad idea) - I'd rather have an overlap strap/snap instead. Also, no receiver or clip for a key fob.
- this is close, but the top is too open / not fully enclosed (over-strap is too narrow, not a full top), the card slot is exposed on the back, and not under the over-strap as I'd prefer.
- this is even closer to what I want, and is essentially a leather version of our fabric iPhone 4 wallets, but alas, there's no key fob / dee. Additionally, I worry that the thick leather and heavy waxed-cord construction of these, while very nice, also renders them too bulky to easily fit in a jersey or pants pocket.
- and on reviewing the recent iPhone 5 questions on AskMe that generated results: these are okay, but again, too expensive, don't seem to have a top-loading version with a flip closure, and don't otherwise have a secure closure (afaik they just fold shut).

Thanks, and I know I'm being unbelievably picky but I'm sure someone here will know exactly what we're looking for and have a link to it. I'm stumped and need to quit paging through Google results so I can actually focus on things like work.

iPhone cover with a hip no-slip grip

komara — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 12:32:39 -0800

Help me find an iPhone case / cover for my mom, please. She carries an iPhone 4 or 4S.

Requested features:
Construction: one piece.
Material: rubbery, not hard plastic.
Profile: thin, no big grips or padding.
Design: bright, floral, colorful. Prints are fine, though going towards whimsical or cutesy would be the wrong direction. Birds are nice, as are sunsets and oceans.
Price range: all.

With the millions of options out there I figure I'd rather ask you, since you already have exactly what I'm looking for and you remember where you bought it.

Bonus internet love if you point me towards a pack of several single-color covers so I can just gift her a pile of options.

Looking for a slim hard case (not a shell, not a Pelican case) for MacBook Pro 15" Retina

StrawberryPie — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 14:30:03 -0800

Looking for a slim hard case (not a shell, not a Pelican case) for MacBook Pro 15" Retina I'm putting together an emergency kit and want to find a hard case for a MacBook Pro 15" Retina. The specific purpose is to be able to put my laptop in a soft backpack that has no internal reinforcement or padding; for that reason, the case needs to be hard in order to help resist bending forces. I don't mean something like the Incase Hardshell or similar; these are just shells and don't provide structural strength. I mean something closer to the Crumpler School Hymm, except that the School Hymm is not very hard. The case needs to be as small as possible, so things like the Pelican cases are out because they're too big. It would also be useful for the case to be water resistant, but it doesn't have to be waterproof like a Pelican case.

As a default, I might still get a School Hymm and add an internal hard plastic panel, but I wanted to ask first if anyone knows of a better hard case all together.

Why have case endings and gender endured in language?

stenoboy — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:03:16 -0800

Case endings and gender in language: why? I'm curious as to why so many languages employ what seem to be difficult grammatical structures, and I'm thinking particularly of case endings and also genders.

Historically, how did they develop? Is language easier without them?

I am sure 'difficult' is a relative concept, and growing up around a language you wouldn't find these endings or genders strange, but as an English speaker who doesn't have to deal much with these grammatical phenomena (other than the odd 'her' for a ship, and a 'whom' now and again), I find it odd that more langugages haven't dropped this grammatical baggage.

Take German: German has retained gender and case. However, the gender only seems to affect the articles and demonstrative pronouns (this, these - I might be wrong on the nomenclature!), whereas the noun themselves remain unmodified unlike as in Latin or Russian.

Why is it in English and other languages (Dutch, Scandanvian languages other than Finnish) did away with the case endings (although those other languages mentioned maintain a gender system).

Is there any evidence that these grammatical forms are weakening at all, or are they too ingrained within the structure?

Also, how do new words coming into a language get assigned a gender?

I must say, having to learn three genders AND cases puts me off learning a language. I don't know how people ever overcome this hurdle!

Encase my laptop-- please!

drjimmy11 — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:17:43 -0800

Does anyone make a stylish laptop case? So someone in another thread recommended Ernest Alexander stuff, which is absolutely spectacular. I recently got one of their messenger bags and love it.

If you go to this webpage, you'll see they make iPad cases and "banker's folios," but no laptop cases. Right now my Macbook pro lives in a hideous black foam thing.

But someone must make one with that Ernest Alexander style, right? Kind of vintage-y, made of good material, a cool color... I can't explain it any better then to say I want something exactly like their iPad cases except for a 13" MBP. Thanks!

(I have seen the other questions and just to be clear: I am looking for mainly a style item that also holds my laptop and keeps it from getting too dirty inside my messenger bag. I don't need a "shell" or hardcore protection. A little cushioning would be nice in case I drop my bag, but not a huge deal.)

Are there good iPhone 5 cases available now?

jeffmshaw — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:04:40 -0800

Are there any excellent iPhone 5 cases available now? My iPhone just arrived today. Yay! But I'm a klutz, and I'm scared of beating it up. I was going to order a Lifeproof case, but theirs are not ready.

Are there any cases that are available now that I can be confident will protect my phone? I can wait a little while, but like I said, I have a bad track record with harming my phones and I want to keep it safe as quickly as I can.

I mean, he deserves to fry, but so quickly?

BlahLaLa — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 17:32:55 -0800

Why is the Sandusky trial moving so quickly? In my area the high profile cases seem to take months, if not years, to come to trial, and then the trials themselves take weeks or months. Sandusky's trial started last week and I believe the judge told the jury that they will likely have the case on Thursday. Explain? Maybe I'm judging by a warped standard, but the highest profile cases in my area -- Southern California, so I'm thinking OJ, Rodney King-related, Menendez Brothers, Michael Jackson's, etc -- seemed to take forever to get going, and then the trials themselves were also slow. But the Sandusky trial is going at an extremely rapid rate, at least to my civilian eyes. Why is this?

Case (like iPad) for a Asus Transformer Prime

WizKid — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:34:39 -0800

I'm trying to find a slim case for Asus Transfomer Prime. Slimmer the better. I really like the iPad2 case. Silicon material like iPad case is preferred over leather. This would be ideal, but the reviews are not that good. Thanks.

Help Me Protect My Gratuitously Expensive Phone

thelastcamel — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 17:47:47 -0800

I need a slim iPhone holster, and I can't find one for the iPhone4. I had an awesome holster for my iPhone 3. I got it at Fry's and it had a slim holster-clip, not one you pinched to put on, but you could just slide it over your belt or the top of your pants. I seem to remember it was brown leather-like material on the outside, and the inside was striped: pink, green, and orange, among other colors. It was a vertical clip, and there was a little enameled logo on it that reminded me of the swiss army logo (but I think this one was white/cream). I can't remember the brand, and I can't find anything for my iPhone 4 that is comparable. All the holsters I've seen are bulky, with giant plastic clips that stick out and are uncomfortable.

Have you got an awesome holster with a slender clip? Tell me what brand you have!

If you don't have a holster, but have a skinny case you love I'd like to hear about that, too. I've almost given up on finding a good holster.

Cover me.

saradarlin — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:52:44 -0800

What iPad 3 case should I get? I have an original iPad with the black Apple cover. I am familiar with the Apple Smart Cases and they are ok, but in general I just remove it to use the iPad. What I like about the old case is the way I can prop it on my lap (like right now) where the triangle thing on the smart case just hinges or pops loose. I also like that the old case provided a grippy back and sides which suited my irresponsible uses *cough* in the bath *cough*. Googling for iPad cases just leads me to a crazy selection of questionable covers. So can anyone recommend a cover that they really like and might suit me? I'm in Canada so anything off Amazon is easy for me to get, other sites can be touch and go.

Help me not make another $425 mistake

jacquilynne — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:44:28 -0800

Please recommend an iPad 2 case. I've dropped it a few times with nothing more than a nick but I recently dropped and broke my iPad and while Apple replaced it for half price, I clearly can't keep paying for more half-priced iPads. I have the Apple cover thingy, but that's not protection from damage.

So, I need a case.

Not a slip-cover, because I don't drop the thing when I'm not using it, so something I put it in to carry it around isn't going to help.

It should function in some way as a stand, or work with the Apple cover so I can still use that as a stand.

Thinner and lighter is better as I use the iPad as an eReader.

Available in Canada or to ship to Canada is a must.

protect my fire baby!

tr33hggr — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:23:03 -0800

What cover should I buy for my Kindle Fire? Looking for a cover for my new Kindle Fire. There seem to be two types, sleeves and the wrap-around units that also double as stands. I think I'd prefer the latter since my daughter likes to watch movies on the unit, but I want it to be steady and also serve as a protective case for transport and some reviews of those units leave me wary. Hive mind owners, what case/s are the best? I'd prefer to buy from Amazon since I have birthday money to spend there, and am not interested in anything with leather.

Guide me oh wise ones.

iPad 2 like cover for iPad?

satyricaldude — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 21:10:09 -0800

iPad 2 like iPad cover? I was on the train and saw a guy with an iPad. The cover folded over like an iPad 2 cover, with the difference being that the entire back was a plastic case that snapped on. Does anyone know where to find this?

Integrated Instrument Case/Stand

sandking — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 20:22:54 -0800

I wish for a musical instrument case, that also transforms into a music stand for holding sheet music. Does such a beast exist? I know someone who plays violin professionally and has to lug around both a violin case and various music stand incarnations. It would be so much easier logistically if the case was also the stand (with some assembly/transforming of course)...is there any such product currently on the market? Is that something that other musicians would be interested in?

Goofy-proof iPhone 4/4s cases!

kitsuloukos — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 06:19:11 -0800

Which one of these iPhone 4 cases will resist my goofiness better? Or other suggestions? Hello Metafilter!
So here's my question plain and simple: I've decided to buy myself an iPhone. I'm goofy (the reason why my current cell phone has a half-functional screen). I don't want to have to rebuy a 800$ toy if I drop it.
CASE.

I did my homework, but I still wanted to see if the hive had any personal experience with one of these cases. Feel free to share funny or sad stories involving your iphone 4 :) Also feel free to suggest other cases.

Here are the cases I felt gave a reasonable amount of protection, especially against drops, while keeping the overall ease of use of the phone to a maximum (and are not TOO ugly - even if oh my they do hide the beauty of the phone :'( ) :

-Otterbox Commuter
-Otterbox Reflex
-Case-mate tough case (either the regular, the hybrid or the custom)
-Speck candyshell
-Incipio NGP (the see-through grey isn't that bad)
-Impact Band (in white, I'll probably also put protective clear shields on both sides of the (white) phone, or I thought maybe of of these wooden skins would look nice on the back of the phone)
-Incipio DRX
(I have also heard mixed things about the Lifeproof case)

The community here usually comes up with the greatest ideas, so I can't wait to hear your advice guys! :)

Wanted: Indestructable wallet.

furnace.heart — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 11:37:26 -0800

I need a new wallet. I love myself the looks of the Muji aluminum card case. It's also the perfect size, but I'm worried about its durability. How does this little buddy hold up in a back pocket?

I'm not as concerned with skuffing and appearance, as I am functionality. I'm more concerned with warping and the friction clasp not working.

Ideal wallet only needs to hold 4 plastic cards, 6 paper cards, and usually no more than 6 US sized bills.

I destroy cloth wallets, and they have a tendency to destroy my plastic cards, and would much rather move to a purchase-once-never-again rigid metal item. Any suggestions if the muji doesn't hold up? Thanks!