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CASE HISTORY
INTRO
It's been over a year since we looked at the cellphone case
market, and what a change there's been. Rick Maybury has been trying a few out
for size...
COPY
Last year What Cellphone published the UK's first ever in-depth
survey of cellphone cases. It was a bit of a struggle, but we managed to come
up with a dozen or so leather cases --
mainly black, and mostly dull --
costing between £20 and £50.
What a difference a year makes! This time around we're up to our
elbows in cases of every imaginable colour, style and finish. There's
everything from sober executive styles to extremes of wackiness and kitsch,
selling from £10 upwards; cellphone cases just got interesting...
Whatever the style we're still concerned about quality of
manufacture and finish. We check the positioning of holes and cut-outs for
controls, earpiece, microphone, sounders and accessory/charger sockets,
durability and of course, value for money. We award extra points for features
like elasticated sides, so the case can accommodate fatter, high-capacity
batteries, moreover we ruthlessly wiggle, jiggle and generally give clips, belt
loops and fastenings a really hard time.
We could have filled the mag a couple of times over with all the
cases now on the market, but you can take it as read that a good proportion of
them are still boring black leather bags. We haven't ignored them completely,
but we reckon the alternatives are the highlight of this year's cellphone case
survey.
REVIEWS
ATEC £20-£25.00
This range of hand-sewn cases hails from Italy. They're made from
supple Nabuk leather; a variety of colours are available, including black and
the range covers most popular makes and
models of phone. The cases have a strong smell; leather mixed in with a whiff
of adhesive, fortunately the latter wears off quite quickly. The stitching on
our sample was faultless, there were no loose ends. Cases are lined inside with
soft velvet, and there's no protrusions to scratch the phone. The sides are
elasticated and the belt clip on the back is made from sturdy spring steel. Fit
and alignment are excellent. A classic design that looks, feels and
(eventually), smells like a high quality item.
Design ****
Quality of manufacture ****
Value ****
VERDICT 90%
Contact Lemon Accessories
(0973) 282104
CELLTEC 'SCHWING', £25.00
CellTec do all the usual black leather cases but this outrageous
multi-coloured vinyl jobbie caught our eye. The 'Schwing' has a detachable
leather wrist strap, the sides are elasticated and there's a stiff,
vinyl-covered belt clip on the back. The material feels a bit clammy and the
holes for the mouthpiece and earphone were slightly off-centre on our Nokia
2110 sample. Nevertheless the general standard of finish is fine. It might
clash a bit with pin-stripes but come on, this is meant to be fun, great for
clubbing, holidays and fashion statements...
Design ***
Quality of manufacture ***
Value ***
VERDICT 80%
Contact CellTec Accessories,
(01420) 538538
HAMA/SAMSONITE, £40.00
Here's a name you'll be familiar with. The Samsonite brand is
synonymous with high-grade luggage but they're making quite an impact with
their extensive range of cellphone
cases. We've been looking at distinctive two-tone burgundy and green designs
for Ericsson and Nokia handsets, they cover most other models as well. The
sides are not stretchy but the Ericsson case has room for a larger battery.
Attention to detail is impressive, the quality of the fixings is better than
average, and instead of Velcro there's press-studs. The finish is impeccable
and hole alignment is spot-on. It's top-grade merchandise, and that's what
you're paying for.
Design ****
Quality of manufacture *****
Value ***
VERDICT 85%
Contact Hama UK, (01256)
708110
KONDOR SUEDE CASE, £18-£25.00
Kondor were the stars of last year's case survey, they were one of
the first companies to break away from the black bag-syndrome. They've
maintained their lead and built up an impressive range of coloured cases made
from leather and suede. The piping on the suede cases is both good to look at,
and practical; the standard of manufacture is excellent. The finish is good too
with neat, even stitching, accurate hole alignment, elasticated sides and
super-tough belt clips, with a Velcro catch, for added security. Good value,
recommended.
Design ****
Quality of manufacture ****
Value *****
VERDICT 95%
Contact (01202) 486666
NEW FACE COMMUNICATIONS, £15.00
This might be just the job for anyone with one of those snazzy
special edition phones. Instead of a transparent window exposing just the
keyboard and display, the see-through panel on this case just keeps on going,
all the way around in fact, so you can see the back of the phone too. New Face
reckon they'll be covering most popular makes and models by the time you read
this. The sides are elasticated, there's a belt clip on the back, with a wrist
strap. The holes are all in the right places and the finish is generally good.
Design ****
Quality of manufacture ***
Value ***
VERDICT 80%
Contact New Face
Communications 0181-951 4535
ORA, £20
Are Ora getting all trendy? It very much looks like it. They've
just introduced a range of coloured leather cases that, like the rest of their
accessories, fits just about everything on the market. The style doesn't seem
to be significantly different from their regular black cases, but there's
nothing wrong with that. They're all well made, the stitching is even, and the
holes line up. They're fitted with springy belt clips and detachable wrist
straps. Good solid stuff.
Design ****
Quality of manufacture ****
Value ***
VERDICT 88%
Contact Ora, (01296) 415445,
P. J. LEATHERCRAFT, £13 - £25.00
There's something for everyone in the P.J. Leathercraft range. In
addition to all the usual coloured leather styles they have fake crocodile and
snake-skin, plus red, green and gold glitter finishes. P.J.L actually have two
ranges, the standard and executive, that between them cover pretty well all the
phones on the market. They also do shoulder holsters and belt pouches too,
available in the same amazing assortment of textures and colours. All of the
samples we've seen have been finished to a good standard, though the stitching
was a bit wonky around the belt-clips on a couple of them. Hole alignment is
generally good and most cases have elasticated sides.
Design ****
Quality of manufacture ***
Value ****
VERDICT 82%
Contact P.J. Leathercraft
(01278) 723360
THE TANYARD COLLECTION £20-£25.00
If you thought snake and alligator-skin was a bit OTT then take a
look at the Tanyard collection. How about Zebra, Leopard, Tiger and spotty dog!
Yes, they do a Dalmatian finish as well, plus about 40 others, from coloured
leather, to gold lame, and denim. The cases themselves are made to a good
standard, all the usual features -- elasticated sides, steel belt clips etc. --
but there are exposed metal rivets inside. They're slightly recessed, and
smooth, but we'd still rather they'd been covered up.
Design ****
Quality of manufacture ***
Value ***
VERDICT 92%
Contact Tanyard (01458)
442371
VEGA, £40-£60.00
Vega need no introduction, they make the toughest, butchest belt
and shoulder holsters on the market. They're also amongst the dearest but just
feel the thickness of the leather, the quality of the stitching, finish and the
smell of that Italian leather. There's a Vega holster fit just about every
phone, and now they've started doing cases for spare batteries as well; prices
for those start at £25. The design of the holsters doesn't change much from
year to year but we've noticed they're now using plastic belt clips, presumably
to reduce chafing. What a load of softies, we say bring back those metal clips.
Design ****
Quality of manufacture *****
Value ***
VERDICT 90%
Contact Vega, (01706) 44177
VIVANCO, £25
Vivanco's Business Class case range looks really smooth. A soft
supple leather is used for the semi-rigid front and rear panels; they're more
like wallets than cases. All of the holes lined up perfectly on our Nokia 2110
sample. The top flap is fastened with press studs, it's a shame the rivets
aren't covered up as they might scratch the battery pack. The sides are not
elasticated, so phones with heavy duty batteries are a squeeze. A touch pricey
but a timeless design that's built to last.
Design ****
Quality of manufacture ***
Value ***
VERDICT 80%
Contact Vivanco UK, (01442)
231616
VOCALL, £15-£25.00
Vocall do all the standard-issue black and coloured leather cases,
and very good they are too, but we've looking at a couple of their latest
products. They're holsters, made from leather, denim, nubuck and suede, in a
range of colours that includes the ever-popular black, burgundy and British
Racing Green, plus some really lurid shades, for bright young things. There's
four sizes of holster, that Vocall reckon cover most types of phone. They're
simply made, the standard of finish is good and being holsters, there's no need
to worry about holes and cut-outs. Worth considering.
Design ****
Quality of manufacture *****
Value ****
VERDICT 91%
Contact Apex Distribution
(01707) 266222
WESTSTAR CONNECTIONS £9-£40.00
Weststar is another company with something to suit all tastes, no
matter how weird they may be.... In addition to all the fake animal and reptile
skins they do a couple of tartan cases as well, (we're not sure which clan...).
They have a huge range, the designs are pretty straightforward, though the
'Wonderbag' style for Ericsson handsets is unusual and rather neat. The
standard of manufacture and finish is generally fine, and all the cases we've
tried fit well. They're good value too, prices for basic coloured suede and
leather cases start at under £10.
Design ****
Quality of manufacture ****
Value *****
VERDICT 94%
Contact Weststar Connections,
0181-903 3903
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( R. Maybury 1996 1107
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