Whenever I get a new toy, like the Apple iPad, I always think to myself first, “Wow! This is really awesome!” Then I think, “Now what can I buy to protect it or carry it around in?”. As much as a love the feel of a naked Apple product, so to speak, I like to live by the words of “Better safe than sorry”.
So the two products that I decided to purchase for my iPad are the Belkin Grip Vue in Clear and the Incase Neoprene Sleeve Plus. Here are my initial thoughts below on both products.
The Belkin Grip Vue in Clear:
Out of the box, the case is pretty solid, yet still a bit flexible. The material feels like solid rubber. Slipping the case on the iPad was snug, which means a tight fight! It doesn’t slide around or have any extra play on the case. After placing it on the iPad, all of the holes cut out are perfectly lined up! Seriously it couldn’t fit any better. It has a solid and grippy feel at the same time, so I’m more confident that I won’t drop it. Also, since it’s now protected in the back, I can place it down anywhere without feeling like i’m going to scratch the back surface of my iPad. The case doesn’t feel bulky at all and it really feels like it’s not even there. Plus being clear, you can still see the beautiful Apple logo on the back and Belkin’s logo is barely visible, which is a plus for me! You can barely see it in the first photo below. I would highly recommend this case to anyone. I truly believe that this is the best case out there right now for the iPad.
The Incase Neoprene Sleeve Plus:
If you’re familiar with the Incase line and have a laptop case made from Incase, you’re probably already familiar with their quality of products. The inside features a faux fur soft material and extra padding. If you have read some reviews on this product either online or on Youtube, people are complaining that although the quality is excellent and is what they expect from Incase, they feel that the fitment isn’t great. They claim that the case is a little too large and the iPad floats around while in it. Although this may be true, I think that Incase designed the case to fit the iPad, plus a hard case on top of it. So after already having my Belkin Grip Vue on the iPad, I decided to order the Incase Neoprene Sleeve Plus as well and see if it fits into the bag. Because although the Belkin Grip Vue is great to carry around your iPad, it doesn’t protect the face when carrying it around. As my suspicions were correct, the Belkin Grip Vue mounted on the iPad, fits perfectly into the Incase Neoprene Sleeve Plus, with no extra room or slack. Now, I have both Incase Sleeves that perfectly match. One for my MacBook Pro and one for my iPad. In addition, as you can see in the first photo below. The Incase Sleeve also comes with a flexible stand, so you can place your iPad on a table for easy viewing of movies, etc. The only thing though, is that the stand I believe is made for using just your iPad with no case. Although the Belkin Grip Vue fits perfectly on to the stand, the angle of viewing is straight at 90 degrees with the case on. If the case was off, I’m sure there would be a slight angle to the iPad, due to the minimal extra bulk to the back of the iPad from the case. The Incase Neoprene Sleeve Plus is definitely worth it and I recommend it, if you have a case already installed on your iPad.
Category Archives: PRODUCTS
iPAD PRODUCT REVIEW : BELKIN GRIP VUE + INCASE NEOPRENE SLEEVE PLUS
LEATHER CRAFTSMEN ALBUMS
Every time I photograph a wedding, engagement session or portrait session, I always think about layouts, as you probably have seen the many collages on my blog. Sometimes photos look great by themselves, but other times, little details put together, completes a story, much like how an album layout is created. My album company of choice, has always been Leather Craftsmen. There are just so many endless choices and I get excited to create something that shows off my photos well and compliments the look I’m after. Take for example Annie and Brian’s wedding album, that I just delivered last week. Leather Craftsmen just amazes me every time they ring my doorbell and drop off an album. There’s just something special about opening the blue box and thumbing through the finished product.
Annie and Brian’s album is a 12×12, 50 page album, with an optional photo on the cover, optional spine engraving and optional matching slipcase.
Brian Khang Photographer | Brian Khang Photographer Blog | Wedding Portfolio | Portrait Portfolio | About Brian | Contact Brian
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MOPHIE JUICE PACK AIR : REVIEW FOR THE IPHONE 3G
Don’t you hate being told what to do or be restricted to what you could do? I honestly felt like that when it came to using my iPhone. I was always concerned if my battery would die or always carrying around a charger. Well I needed a solution and after a lot of researching, I settled on the Mophie Juice Pack Air. I was finally able to put it through some testing after a few days, so I can actually or hopefully write a useful review for everyone. I’ll just list my positive and negatives below.
Positive:
- For a case / extra battery, this one seemed to be the only one on the market that is the thinest. It is a bit bigger than an iPhone with a case, but you can’t really notice.
- Does what it says with battery life. I was seeing 2x to 2.5x more battery life.
- Has an on and off switch on the bottom, so you can use the case to recharge your iPhone or when you need extra juice. The manufacturer recommends turning it on when you need power because constantly on, demands more power, keeping your iPhone at 100% charged.
- Quality and fitment is perfect.
- Some complain about the weight, but I don’t really notice that it’s a lot more. I do notice some weight though.
- Looks are normal. I say that as a positive thing, because it does just look like a plain iPhone case.
- I can use my iPhone all day, with my brightness on about half and push email to 15 minutes. I can’t seem to drain it in now in one full day.
Negative:
- I wish the case had the speaker holes at the bottom. I don’t mind it being in the front, if you noticed, that is where the sound is re-directed.
- In addition to the above statement, dust can also get trapped in the openings for the speaker and mic. That’s if you put your iPhone in your pocket. You can clean it by blowing it out or taking your case out.
- Some have seen a decrease in signal strength from the case. That is something I am still questioning. For the most part I haven’t seen it, but there are times when I notice Helen’s iPhone without a case gets better reception. But it’s usually a bar or two. I would rather sacrifice that for power.
- It uses a mico-usb plug, so to find a car charger, you need to find one that can just plug a usb plug to it.
My final thought is, that all in all, it does what it say. If you are finding that you are limited to using your iPhone because of the power issue, then I would strongly recommend this. For me, I’m always on my iPhone and don’t mind the extra thickness or weight.
LEATHER CRAFTSMEN : JAPANESE BOOK CLOTH ALBUM
There’s nothing I enjoy more than the smell of fresh new albums in the morning! I always feel like a kid on Christmas when the Leather Craftsmen delivery man shows up at my door. I couldn’t be more happy with this new album for Matt & Sarah that LC delivered to me. They always do awesome work and that’s why they are my album company of choice!
Matt & Sarah needed a guest signing album for their wedding coming up in May and they wanted something different, other than the traditional leather albums. So I suggested LC’s Japanese Book Cloth and Leather. It so happens that Matt & Sarah are using Sage Green in their wedding, so they wanted that color for their album as well. I also want to add that it’s a great idea to have a high quality album for your guests to sign, so that it will last for years to come.
Checkout the “bk” studio logo discreetly placed inside the album.
