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29 'iPhone cases' stories April 2013 - June 2013
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OtterBox CEO discusses LifeProof acquisition, product portfolio diversity, and roadmap for growth [Interview]

Avatar for Zac Hall Jun 3 2013 - 1:28 pm PT
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OtterBox President and CEO Brian Thomas

We’ve seen OtterBox frequent the headlines lately, most recently for announcing at CTIA that it acquired its competitor LifeProof, and we’ve served up several hands-on reviews of their products.

I recently had the opportunity to discuss OtterBox and its vision for the future with President and CEO Brian Thomas, who is a former high school teacher turned company leader.

OtterBox, for me, is the defacto hyper-protective case maker and king of their market, but Apple and Jony Ive have increasingly thrilled us with beautiful hardware design of iPhone after iPhone. I wondered if there is room for an OtterBox product in every user’s life, especially those who most admire Apple’s design aesthetic.
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As expected, Otterbox acquires fellow case maker LifeProof

Avatar for Mark Gurman May 22 2013 - 2:34 pm PT
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Otterbox and LifeProof executives announcing the deal at CTIA

At CTIA, notable case maker Otterbox announced that it has closed an acquisition deal for competing iPhone case maker LifeProof. Both companies offer similar cases with a focus on durability.

During a question and answer session, executives from both companies revealed that the deal was 120 days in the making.While LifeProof will be embedded into Otterbox, the companies shared that the LifeProof branding is well-known and will be retained in some yet-to-be determined fashion.

We’ve been hearing rumblings of this acquisition for several weeks.


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Review: Otterbox Defender iON powered iPhone case

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy May 21 2013 - 9:52 am PT
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGule4qJaM0

As I mentioned in my review of a couple of wood cases, I’m not normally a case kind of guy. I’ve never quite seen the point of paying a premium for something beautifully designed and then hiding it away inside a case.

However, a cycling holiday from the Netherlands to Denmark in which my iPhone would be used for both photos and video suggested that at least a temporary change of policy might be in order. Videoing while cycling always carries the risk of an unintended phone-road interface, and using it with the screen on a lot during some long days might also be pushing the battery-life …
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OtterBox releases iPhone Defender Series battery backup case w/ intelligent power management app

Avatar for Apr 23 2013 - 12:25 am PT
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From 9to5Toys.com:

Otterbox has just released the iPhone 4/4S Defender Series case with iON Intelligence.  In addition to the rugged protection you’ve come to expect from OtterBox, this case also features a backup battery and intelligent power management app.  According to Otterbox, “The iON intelligence software is an app that estimates battery power and predicts battery time remaining by monitoring device usage habits.”

This hardware and software combo enables iPhone users to continually use their devices without worrying about battery life.  The case eliminates the typically frustrations of battery case owners by “clearly displaying the power status for both the case and device and intelligently predicts when the phone battery will run out.”  The Defender Series with iON Intelligence iPhone 4/4S case is available now with a retail price of $130, but for a limited time you can save 15%  with coupon code “AM2012” bringing the price down to $110.50.

And yes, we’re told an iPhone 5 version is in the works. More images and full press release follows:


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Review: ifrogz vs iWood iPhone cases – does wood work?

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Apr 15 2013 - 7:19 am PT
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I’ve never been greatly enamoured of the concept of phone cases. You pay all that money for a beautiful design that Jony Ive and his team sweated over for months, then hide it in some butt-ugly plastic case.

I’ve always just used a matte screen-protector (as much to remove reflections as protect the screen from damage) and a Zagg stick-on leather cover for the rear, leaving the phone reasonably well-protected from scratches but without making it look like something bought from Toys-R-Us.

But I was intrigued when I saw that a couple of companies had brought out iPhone cases made from real wood. I love wood as a material, so decided to give the cases a try. On test here are the Zagg ifrogz Natural Wood Case for iPhone 5 and the Miniot iWood for iPhone 3/4/5 …
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