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Skinit inkFusion Pro iPhone cases are unique, fun, and protective
Tired of having the same iPhone case that everybody else has? How about making a custom case that is distinctly your own? That's what the customizable Skinit inkFusion Pro cases (US$34.99) are all about. Grab a picture that fits your unique personality and with a few clicks, you're on your way to getting a case that protects your iPhone 5/5s and makes you stand out. Check out the review, then have a chance to win a free Skinit inkFusion Pro case from Skinit and TUAW -- and if you don't win, we have a discount code worth some bucks off on your order. Between now and August 25, 2014, use the code TUAW25 when checking out for 25 percent off your order. That gives you a custom iPhone case for just $26.25, a real bargain! Skinit describes the inkFusion Pro as a "two-piece thermoplastic polymer fusion case". There's both a hard shell on the outside of the case and an inner liner that absorbs impacts if you drop your iPhone. That inner liner is pretty boring -- it's basic matte black -- but it's the outside of the case that counts. When ordering your inkFusion Pro case online, you load an image. That image can come from anywhere -- your computer, one of a zillion stock images that Skinit has access to, a picture from a website, photos you have saved on Facebook, Instagram uploads, Flickr, or even Google+. When the image has been uploaded on the Skinit site, you can scale or rotate it, add text, change the color or apply filters, and then preview the image before you send the case off for manufacturing. About a week later, you'll get a padded envelope in the mail containing your work of art -- otherwise known as your inkFusion Pro case. The printing quality is very good -- I made a case featuring a photograph I took of a Magellenic Penguin at the Valdes Peninsula in Argentina, and other than the case having a bit more of a brown tinge than the original photo, the image was sharp and wrapped around the sides of the case. The fun thing is that I now have a nice iPhone case that will remind me of a day spent walking around tens of thousands of penguins. The case has the requisite cutouts for the camera and flash, speaker, Lightning port, headphone jack, and mute/orientation lock switch. There are pass-through switches for the volume toggle and wake/sleep button. The inkFusion Pro case is simple to install and remove as well, so if you decide to get more than one, it's easy to swap 'em out. Just remove the interior liner from the hard shell, put your iPhone into the liner, and then put it into the shell. To swap shells, just pull the liner-enclosed iPhone out of the shell and snap it into another shell. The entire inkFusion Pro case weighs just 1.2 ounces (34 grams), so you're getting a lot of protection without a lot of weight. My only gripe is that the interior liner is a bit "deep", meaning that there's a significant lip down near the iPhone Home button. Rather than being able to slide my finger right onto the Home button for Touch ID, I found that I had to approach it at an angle. Touch ID still worked, but the entire setup just felt a little awkward at first. That "lip" does provide the iPhone screen with protection from face-down drops, so it's probably a good thing all in all. Conclusion The ordering process for making your own Skinit inkFusion Pro iPhone case is fast and easy, the custom cases are reasonably priced, and the resulting case offers protection from accidental drops while reflecting your interests and personality. The inkFusion Pro case adds customizable fun to a market filled with look-alike cases. Rating: 3-1/2 stars out of 4 stars possible Giveaway OK, I got a penguin on a Skinit inkFusion Pro iPhone case, but you could have your girlfriend, kids, dog, cat, or even Justin Bieber (God forbid) on one of these cases. We've teamed up with Skinit for a giveaway of a coupon code good for a free case -- you provide the artwork, we'll supply the code. Here are the rules for the giveaway, and if you don't win, remember that the coupon code I talked about in the first paragraph of this review will give you 25 percent off on one of these great cases. Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before August 11, 2014 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected in a random drawing and will receive a Skinit coupon code valued at $34.99 to create their own inkFusion pro case Click here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
T-Mobile to let users craft their own Gekko shells?
Geckos don't have shells, but Gekkos will -- and it looks like T-Mobile is going to be serving up an unprecedented level of customization for its latest Sidekick. Hiptop 3 is showing mockups of what appears to be T-Mobile's shell creation site, a special little place on the internets where users will be able to design their own Gekko (aka Gecco, aka Sidekick 2008, aka "please just release this thing already") skins, which in turn will likely be outsourced to Skinit for manufacture. Considering the Sidekick's line wild, crazy, and creative target demographic, it seems like a great idea and a potential gold mine of secondary revenue for the carrier. Who's going to be the first with an Engadget shell, hmm?
Skinit brings skins to D-Link routers, world sighs
Yeah, Skinit has been providing skins of all sorts to a plethora of devices for some time now, but apparently, it has just gotten around to teaming up with D-Link. Granted, we've no idea what type of cruel, tactless individual would actually go so far as to spend money (and simultaneously demolish any hope of resale) on vivid coverings for their router, but for those who dig this type of thing, you can finally eat your heart out. As of right now, consumers with a DIR-655, DIR-625, DIR-615, DGL-4500, DGL-4300, DGL-4100 or DIR-624 can surf on over to Skinit's website and choose from a smorgasbord of options or create a skin of their own for $14.99, but don't act like we're condoning said action, alright?
Microsoft talks third-party Zune accessories
You can't run around launching fancy new music players these days without a secondary offensive of cases and car chargers following close behind, and Microsoft's new Zunes have a veritable cavalry behind them. In addition to the official accessories we've already heard about from J Allard and crew, the company's lined up a number of third-party manufacturers to crank out 60 different Zune-friendly products, including Polk, Belkin, DLO, Monster, Altec Lansing, Targus, iHome, Memorex and Griffin. Microsoft's new pals will be releasing everything from speaker docks to RCA cables, so it looks like you'll be able to build a happy little home for that new Zune of yours when it launches next month.
