designed by m AL13
Latest
designed by many AL13 v3 case for iPhone 6/6 Plus ... and a few more cases for you
Design house designed by many has been around for a few years, with some fascinating products for Apple customers. Early on, the company was one of the first to come up with a protective aluminum bumper for the iPhone, and the AL13 bumper is now in its third iteration. In this review, I'll not only look at the AL13 v3 for iPhone 6 Plus, but several other designed by many cases and protective films. AL13 v3 Aerospace Aluminum iPhone Bumper (US$84.99 for iPhone 6 Plus, $79.99 for iPhone 6) The AL13 seen at the top of this post is wonderful minimalist protection for your iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. It comes in five different finishes: silver, black, champagne, space gray, and green, and is incredibly light - it adds only 0.6 ounces (17 grams) to the weight of the iPhone 6 Plus. Unlike some competing designs, no tools are required to install or remove the AL13. The company has created a two-piece design that features two protruding plastic pieces that lock into corresponding holes on the bottom part. Installation is a very quick snap, while removal takes a little bit of force. The interior of the machines aluminum bumper is lined with polycarbonate so that your iPhone is cushioned and the bumper won't scratch the iPhone's metal. There's a bit of a lip on both the front and back of the bumper to protect your iPhone's screen and back from flat drops onto the ground. That extra bit of height also accommodates designed by many's MPACT GLASS screen protector, which is included with the case. I found the AL13 v3 to be a gorgeous accessory to the iPhone 6 Plus, with the silver aluminum finish perfectly accenting the silver finish of my phone. The power button, mute switch, and volume rocker all use pass-through switches on the case, and their are ample openings on the bottom of the case for the headphone jack, microphone, Lightning connector port, and speaker. To top it off, the AL13 comes in a beautiful aluminum box, so it's a perfect gift for that iPhone 6 or 6 Plus owner you know. Rating: 4 stars out of 4 stars possible ThreeD Case for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus ($29.99 for iPhone 6 Plus, $24.99 for iPhone 6) The next case from designed by many is the ThreeD Case, which is a bit different from your ordinary run-of-the-mill polycarbonate case. First, it has a very unique 3D triangular pattern on the back side. While that looks good, it also provides an extra grip for those who fumble phones. Moving the case from side to side you can see the extra depth that is added by the pattern, which changes depending on how the light is hitting it. It's quite attractive, and the case comes in white, black, champagne, and space gray finishes to accent your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus. Other than the stunning design, the ThreeD Case is somewhat similar to a lot of less expensive polycarbonate cases on the market. However, designed by many did use an "uber premium polycarbonate composite" for this case that is recyclable and RoHS-compliant, and they include an MPACT GLASS tempered glass screen protector. Rating: 3-1/2 stars out of 4 stars possible BEZEL Case for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus ($29.99 for iPhone 6 Plus, $24.99 for iPhone 6) The term "case" is really a misnomer for the BEZEL Case, as it's technically a bumper with no back. Think of the AL13, except without the aluminum on the outside, and you have the BEZEL Case. As with the other cases, designed by many includes one of the excellent MPACT GLASS tempered glass screen protectors with the BEZEL Case to provide extra protection for your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus display. The case comes in black, white, silver, champagne, and space gray, and features pass through buttons for the volume rocker and power switch. There's an opening in the side of the bumper for the mute switch, and the entire bottom of the case is open for unimpeded access. Rating: 3-1/2 stars out of 4 stars possible SLIM Case for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus ($24.99 for iPhone 6 Plus, $19.99 for iPhone 6) Finally, we come to the least expensive member of the designed by many case/bumper family, the polycarbonate SLIM Case. It's a rather generic polycarb sleeve with no special design features, really. It does come with the MPACT GLASS screen protector, and can be purchased in clear translucent, smoke translucent, black, silver, champagne, space gray and white. While you can get similar cases for quite a bit less from a number of vendors, they probably don't include a tempered glass screen protector. Rating: 3 stars out of 4 stars possible Giveaway Thanks to our good friends at designed by many, we're giving away one each of the AL13 v3 (silver), ThreeD Case (champagne), BEZEL Case (white), and SLIM Case (black) cases or bumpers reviewed here. Here are the rules for the giveaway: 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 January 23, 2015 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time. You may enter only once. Four winners will be selected in a random drawing. One will receive a AL13 v3 aluminum bumper for iPhone 6 Plus valued at $84.99, one will receive a ThreeD Case for iPhone 6 valued at $24.99, one will receive a BEZEL Case for iPhone 6 valued at $24.99, and one will receive a SLIM Case for iPhone 6 valued at $19.99. Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
Designed by m's AL13 iPhone 5 bumper: Review and giveaway
The first time you know there's something special about the AL13 Aerospace Aluminum iPhone 5 bumper (US$59.99) from Designed by m is when you open the plain cardboard box. Slide off the top, and inside you find a slender, aircraft-grade aluminum (13 is the atomic number of aluminum, by the way...) bumper and a packet containing a screen protector. We've reviewed a ton of aluminum bumpers for the iPhone 5 over the past year, but just about all of them require some sort of special tool to install or remove the bumper. That's not true of the AL13, which features a slide cover -- like that on the brushed-aluminum box -- for assembly and removal. To install the bumper on the iPhone 5, you simply slide off the back, drop in the iPhone and then slide the back onto the bumper again. The inside of the AL13 features a thin liner to keep the bumper from scratching your precious phone, and there are precise cutouts for all of the various buttons and ports on your device. The edges are chamfered to match the general design of the iPhone 5, and the only ornamentations added by Designed by m are a tiny circled "m" logo on one side of the case and a diminutive AL13 logo on the other side. The AL13 comes in five different anodized finishes -- gunmetal, blue, slate, silver and red. As mentioned previously, there's a polyurethane screen protector to keep your display scratch-free, and for the back, there's a protective film. Designed by m notes that the design of the AL13 does cause a signal loss of about 5 to 10 percent, but counters with a comment that the average loss for other aluminum bumpers is about 25 percent. The top feature of the AL13, in addition to the no-tool installation, has got to be the weight. It's a feather-light 14 grams, or adding only about 12 percent to the weight of the iPhone 5. So, does it do what it should do -- protect your iPhone 5? Sure -- it will keep your baby from getting scratched on the sides; it provides some protection from drops on the sides; and the added protective films should help somewhat as well. Conclusion The Designed by m AL13 is a lightweight way to protect your iPhone 5 (or 4 / 4S) without hiding it in a thick plastic shell. Pros Very easy to install and remove, no tools required Reasonably priced at $60 (some other aluminum bumpers we've reviewed have cost as much as $150) Nicely packaged, would make a wonderful gift for a friend or relative Sleek, adds to the lines of the iPhone 5 rather than detracting or hiding them Cons A little bit of "play" in the case might be annoying to some people Who is it for? The iPhone 5 owner (there are also 4/4S versions available) who wants to protect his or her investment without compromising weight or the design of the device. Giveaway We have not one, but TWO AL13 bumpers to give away, both in the beautiful gunmetal finish seen in the photos accompanying this post. Here are the rules for the giveaway: 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 September 10, 2013 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time. You may enter only once. Two winners will be selected and each will receive a Designed by m AL13 Aerospace Aluminum Bumper for iPhone 5 valued at $59.99 Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
