This review is brought to you by Bustle. It’s time to step up your selfie game. A new iPhone case — dubbed, of course, the Selfie Brush — lets Instagram and Snapchat fanatics look their best at any moment. So, how exactly does it work? The phone case doubles as brush and promises the perfect selfie. Put your phone in the case, touch up your hair, and snap away. Now the only hard part of looking good on Instagram will be making the tough decision between Valencia and Lo-Fi.
I know, I know — selfies can be a tad bit obnoxious. But hey, they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. Might as well embrace them, right? The Selfie Brush promises “professional results” (Are there professional selfie photographers?) while capturing you at the best angle possible. Hey, it’s even easy to find in your purse and comes with a headphones jack and storage space. Gotta love technology.
Now that the selfie brush has made its way into the world, the makers should be reaching out for celebrities endorsements. STAT. After all, quite a few of our favorite stars are known for posting quite a few selfies on their Instagram accounts. If you have millions of followers, you might as well look good.
As the industry releases yet another giant in the new iPhone 6, Many manufacturers are right along side them with the latest and greatest accessories to accompany them. This post is brought to you by the blog from laptopmag and offers a great review of some of the latest gadgety cases for the new iPhone 6.
The tech industry’s worst-kept secret is now public knowledge, and the iPhone 6 is finally here. With a curvy new design and a larger 4.7-inch screen housing a blazing fast A8 processor and iOS 8, the new iPhone is a mouthwatering device. You’re going to want to keep all that goodness safe for as long as possible, while retaining your new phone’s sleek, sexy 0.27-inch profile. Thankfully, the world’s bumper makers are ready to offer your phone some cover-up. Here are the best cases to protect your iPhone 6 while making the smartphone more useful.
1. PureGear Hip Case+ ($35)
Want an iPhone bumper that does it all? PureGear’s Hip Case+ is a 4-in-1 system that packs a kickstand, two card slots, 180-degree rotating belt clip and a rubberized grip in one protective body. With the Hip Case+, you can take your credit card and ID with you, and stow your phone on a belt, purse handle or backpack strap for easier access. Available in black or gray.
2. BuQu PowerArmor ($80)
Even though Apple’s bumped up the size of the battery on the iPhone 6, chances are you’re still going to need an external charger for a long day out or a camping trip. BuQu Tech’s PowerArmor squeezes a 2,500-mAh battery into a sleek, lightweight body that protects your phone from bumps and falls. A row of LED indicator lights on the back shows you how much extra power is available, while a slide-lock connector makes it easier to put on or remove the case. It also includes a microUSB cable for charging, and will be available in November 2014.
3. Urban Armor Gear Folio ($40)
If you want real assurance that your new iPhone will be protected from your clumsy butter fingers, Urban Armor Gear’s iPhone 6 Folio is a good option. Its armor shell is lightweight and meets military drop test standards, while its FrogSkin (not actually the skin of frogs, but a patented material) exterior is water-resistant so your phone will be safe from splashes. The facing cover holds slots for up to three credit cards, and Urban Armor Gear promises unfettered audio and glare-free flash. Available in red and black.
4. CM4’s Q Card Case ($40)
Those looking for a little more style and flair with their phones will like CM4’s premium-looking wallet cases for the iPhone. You can comfortably fit three cards and some cash in the back of the case, while the front features a slightly raised (1mm) bezel to protect your iPhone 6’s new 4.7-inch display from cracking. Best of all, the Q Card Case comes in three alluring colors – black, gold and an emerald-like green.
5. Verus Damda Slide ($30)
I couldn’t keep my eyes and hands off the Verus Damda Slide when I saw it at the Super Mobility Show in Las Vegas. The shiny metallic paint on the plastic case adds a premium touch to the case, but did not add much bulk to the iPhone 6 mock at all. While the sliding mechanism on the units I saw were somewhat stiff, Verus told me it will get smoother over time. You can keep up to two cards in this cover, which has dual-layer shock absorption technology to protect your phone from falls. Available in dark silver, satin silver, dark red, champagne gold and yellow.
6. X-Doria Scene Plus ($30)
Give your iPhone a splash of color with X-Doria’s eye-catching, semi-transparent Scene Plus series. It features 3D pattern accents created by a multi-layer printing process that makes the patterns appear to move as you shift position. A raised front bezel protects your iPhone 6′s pretty face, and the rubber bumper offers light protection against bumps and scratches. Available in pink ombre, black bubbles, black stripes and gold digital dust.
7. Zuna Drive ($40)
This bumper gets your iPhone 6 ready for a ride. Featuring an extension that bends out of the case and hooks onto your car’s air conditioner grill, the Zuna Drive lets you securely hang your phone on practically any car. Launched at CTIA in Las Vegas, the Zuna Drive for the iPhone 6 clamps on sturdily for convenience and peace of mind while driving, even in a rental or friend’s car. Available in white, orange, blue and black, the Zuna Drive is in production and will be available to order soon, according to the company.
As if there weren't enough unique selfie gadgets out there as wellas unique phone case designs, the Selfie Brush now combines both genres to offer an everyday tool as well as a great tool for the ideal selfie photo.
The review from Lucky reveals: The Selfie Brush, which is both a phone case and a hairbrush, has become the must-have tool of the selfie-obsessed (along with the first #NoFilter lipstick.)
Staff at Lucky, a fashion and beauty site, tried out an advanced version of the brush and defended its need to exist.
"If you've ever taken a selfie, you know that a hair-related issue usually comes up," one editor wrote. "Whether you're in a group shot or flying solo, flyways are the enemy. Also, holding the paddle gives you a wider range of angles for your photos."
Designed to fit an iPhone 5 and 5S, the selfie brush comes in black, pink and purple, and is due to be released in the US in September 2014. The Selfie Brush company has also released notes on 'how to take the perfect selfie' on its website. Notebooks at the ready!
Their top tips include:
1. Show off a soft and playful smile. Ditch the duck face and highlight your personality through a flattering expression.
2. Capture your best side. Experiment in the brush's mirror to find the most flattering view of you.
3. Find the right filter. Adjust tone, light, glow and contrast to hide blemishes and show your best features.
This great Phone Case DIY Tutorial shows you how to make a cool and realistic running paint design for your phone. This lifelike design is unlike anything you will find on the store shelf and will definitely set your mobile device apart from the crowd.
Great for gifts or that one of a kind look you can call your own. For a great collection of low cost and high quality clear phone cases, feel free to check out our store's link below.
Much like the LG G3's circle view case, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Flip View Phone Case allows for quick functionality without draining the battery life. The design is sleek and thin yet still allows the user the protection and functionality of other models.
The Galaxy S 5 S-View Flip Cover comes in black, white, rose gold, and pink smooth faux leather or gold, blue, or green perforated faux leather. The phone recognizes the color of the case and changes the background to a complementary color – or you can choose your own background image. This case is $49.99 at Samsung.
The Galaxy S 5 Wireless Charging S-View Flip Cover is available only in white or black smooth faux leather. It also replaces the S5′s battery cover and has rubber gaskets to maintain the water resistance. It contains an integrated Samsung ID chip and utilizes the global Qi standards for inductive charging. You charge your S5 simply by placing the cased phone on the Samsung Wireless Charging Pad. The Galaxy S 5 Wireless Charging S-View Flip Cover is $69.99 at Samsung.
This great review is brought to you by Susie Ochs of Techhive.com and reviews three top selling battery cases for the iPhone. Many of these cases are designed for other makes and models and offer the security you need to give your mobile devices an extended using experience.
You know the feeling—that sinking feeling when you notice your phone is at 7 percent charged, and there’s just no way you’re going to make it to a power outlet for a while. You can turn the brightness down to barely visible, you can turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, heck you can even put that sucker in airplane mode, but it’s not going to save you. You’re stuck choosing between using your phone now, or trying to save that 7 percent to play some music on your bus ride home…which isn’t for hours.
You’re screwed.
I’m an old fart who sits at the same desk all day, surrounded by free USB ports and power strips studded with AC adapters, and my car is one big charging station too. But college students spend long days wandering around sprawling campuses where they might not stay put in one spot for more than a couple hours at a time. If anyone needs a good battery case, it’s a student. And while it’s a drag to pay triple-digit prices for an iPhone accessory, I found three battery cases for iPhone 5 and 5s that go beyond just juicing up your phone.
Otterbox Resurgence, for the school of hard knocks
I’ve shattered three iPhones. My husband has broken zero—his iPhones stay pristine, actually, because he keeps them safely ensconsed in the nigh-indestructibleOtterbox Defender. And every time I break another phone, my friends ask me, “Don’t you use an Otterbox?” while my husband is smart enough to keep quiet.
PHOTO: MICHAEL HOMNICK
You have to pry the front piece off the flat back part to get your phone out, and it's not a fun thing to do.
Be smart like him, not dumb like me. The Otterbox Resurgence isn’t cheap—it costs $100, but it beats paying to fix a shattered screen. Your screen stays uncovered, unlike the Defender, but the Resurgence curves around the front edge just enough to protect against most drops where the iPhone lands face-down—unless, say, your screen directly strikes the corner of a table on its journey to the ground. (Otterbox offers an “Alpha Glass” screen protector add-on for $30.)
Besides the Otterboxy protection, the Resurgence has two things going for it: a beefy 2000mAh battery, and some style. It comes in four colors—I like Teal Shimmer, and even the gray (sorry, Glacier) is nicer-looking compared to basic black. In our lab test, the battery was enough to bring a completely dead iPhone 5s back to 74 percent charged in 1 hour and 13 minutes. If you’re just topping off your iPhone, the Resurgence knows to stop charging when the phone hits 100 percent, which is very handy.
PHOTO: MICHAEL HOMNICK
The Resurgence in Glacier gray.
Its biggest drawback is that it’s really hard to take off. Every time I had to remove the case, I felt like I was going to break my phone in half. The Resurgence comprises two pieces that snap together, and having to pry the face piece off the sturdy battery that makes up the back is a nerve-wracking experience. (You can charge and sync your iPhone with the Resurgence case still on, but I need to access my phone’s Lightning port pretty frequently, to connect to my car stereo.) I also didn’t like the way the covered sleep and volume buttons felt, kind of mushy, without the satisfying metal clicks that you get from a naked iPhone.
Mophie Space Pack, like a backpack for your phone
Mophie’s Juice Pack line is pretty much the Kleenex of iPhone battery cases—you just say “Mophie” instead of “battery case” and everyone knows what you’re talking about. The special brilliance of the Space Pack is that it combines a Juice Pack with extra storage, like a built-in thumb drive. You’ll pay a premium, of course: the 16GB case is $150, 32GB is $180, and 64GB is $250. The 16GB version should be enough for most students, storage-wise, but doubling that for $30 isn’t a bad deal.
PHOTO: MICHAEL HOMNICK
The Space Pack's extra memory is a convenient way to keep your important files with you at all times.
To add files to your Space Pack, you connect it to your computer with a micro-USB cable, and then just drag files onto it like you would a flash drive. There’s no restriction on file type, but each file has to be 4GB or smaller. Then on the phone, a companion app called Space lets you access those files, and it automatically sorts them into folders for you based on file type: Photos, Videos, Music, Documents, and Other Files. A built-in player lets you listen to music and watch videos right in the Space app. You can view documents like PDFs and Word files in the Space app too, or use the Open With command to send them to a different app for editing.
MOPHIE
The beautiful, easy-to-use Space app lets you access the case's stored files.
This is a great way for college students to keep a backup of important coursework, or just extra movies and music that wouldn’t normally fit on your phone. The drag-and-drop syncing is so convenient, and you don’t have to worry about crowding your phone’s built-in storage or relying on iCloud or Dropbox to access your files. A thumb drive is a cheaper way to port files around, but with this, you can actually read those files when you're away from your computer.
PHOTO: MICHAEL HOMNICK
The Space Pack is a two-piece slider case, so it's easy to remove, and the lights show how much charge is left.
The Space Pack is easy to put on and take off too—the bottom part pops right off, exposing the Lightning port in case you need to plug something else in. The covered buttons are just as mushy as on the Otterbox, but the Space Pack is slightly slimmer. A switch on the back lets you control when the Space Pack recharges your phone, and four little LEDs make it easy to see how much charge you have left—info that’s also in the Space app.
In our tests, the 1700mAh Space Pack brought a dead iPhone 5s up to 70 percent in 1 hour, 18 minutes before croaking. The case itself recharged the fastest of the three reviewed here, going from dead to fully charged in 2 hours, 7 minutes, which is 30 minutes faster than the Resurgence.
Duracell PowerCase and PowerMat, your phone’s home base
I could probably misplace something in a phone booth. I lose stuff in my cubicle all the time, and it’s way smaller than a dorm room. So the thing I like most about using the PowerCase is having one spot to put it down every single time—the PowerMat wireless charging station. Another bonus is that the Lightning cable I used to charge my phone with is now just…an extra cable. You can never have enough extra Lightning cables.
PHOTO: MICHAEL HOMNICK
Look, Ma, no cables! OK, the one cable from the wall to the PowerMat.
This particular PowerCase and PowerMat combo is $120 at the Apple Store, only a small premium over the Otterbox. The case is easy to put on and off, and I love the big cutouts at the bottom—depending on the size of your favorite headphones’ connector, you might not even need to use an extension cable, which you definitely do with the other two cases. Cutouts for the iPhone’s sleep, volume, and mute controls avoid the mushy-button problem of the other two cases, too. A button on the back of the PowerCase controls charging and lights up LEDs to show you how much is left.
The square PowerMat stays plugged in to the wall, and then you can just drop the PowerCase on top. The P on the back of the case lines up with a P on the mat, but it can go in any orientation. It’s easy to get right every time, because hidden magnets help snap it into place as soon as you get anywhere close. You can choose to stick the PowerMat onto something with two adhesive strips, which helps it not lift up when you pick up your phone (since they’re stuck together with those magnets, after all). But even if you don’t use the adhesive, it’s still possible to pluck the iPhone off the charging pad one-handed, after just a little practice.
PHOTO: MICHAEL HOMNICK
The PowerCase is so nice to use that you might not mind how long wireless charging can take.
Using the PowerMat is convenient and charmingly futuristic—OK, OK, until you compare it with Android and Windows phones that have wireless charging built in. In our tests, the 2000mAh battery performed the best of these three, charging a dead iPhone 5s to 84 percent in 1 hour, 24 minutes. But using the PowerMat to fully charge the dead PowerCase also took four hours, compared to around two hours to charge the Space Pack (using a wall charger), and two and a half for the Otterbox. The PowerCase does have a micro-USB port under a little flap that you can use for wired charging and syncing away from the PowerMat.
Bottom line
These cases all performed well, so it comes down to choosing the feature to best suit your needs: If you just want a solid case with a battery and drop protection (not to mention a little color), the Otterbox is a good buy. I love how the well-made Space Pack fits the phone and carries tons of extra files. And the convenient PowerMat and the best battery performance are huge points for the PowerCase. Any of them has enough power to make sure your iPhone 5 or 5s can keep up with you.
PHOTO: MICHAEL HOMNICK
PHOTO: MICHAEL HOMNICK
PHOTO: MICHAEL HOMNICK
MOPHIE
PHOTO: MICHAEL HOMNICK
PHOTO: MICHAEL HOMNICK
PHOTO: MICHAEL HOMNICK