More Griffin Wave Case for your Apple iPods

Griffin Wave, a tried and true design of iPhone case is now available across most iPods (including iPod Touch 2G, Nano 4G, and Classic 80/120GB). If you recall, I have had two good reviews on the WAVE cases for both the original iPhone and iPhone 3G.

These new WAVE design, in my opinion, actually looks even better than the ones made for the iPhones. I will try to get some hands-on review for you guys shortly.

The wave cases are going from $25 to $35 depending on the single or double pack:

Wave for iPod nano 4G: available individually in white or black - $24.99
Wave for iPod nano 4G 2-packs: available in black & green or black & white - $34.99
Wave for iPod touch 2G: available individually in white, black or pink - $24.99
Wave for iPod touch 2G 2-packs: available in black & green or black & white - $34.99
Wave for iPod classic 80/120GB, individually in white or black - $24.99

Review: Griffin Wave Case for iPhone 3G

As mentioned in the my earlier post, the Griffin Nu Form case I've been sporting is no longer available for me to use since it was cracked upon dropping it onto a carpeted floor. I've taken this opportunity to review the Griffin Wave case for the iPhone 3G. I've used the WAVE case in the past for the first gen. iPhone (see review here), therefore it isn't a new thing for me to try it out on the iPhone 3G. The big difference is instead of one case, Griffin now ships two colors in the package, giving you four combinations of color design to your iPhone 3G. The package I received for reviewing comes with the blue and white cases; for simplicity, I only installed the white case; for the creative folks, you can switch out the two halves so you can have a dual color scheme.

Again, the overall case design is pretty much the same as the original WAVE, the two halves utilities a "wave" design to hold on to each other tightly. The material is a nice rubberished finish providing much needed grip on the phone. This case, however, is stronger therefore it is noticabliy thicker than the Nu Form, which may be a good thing to insure protection. The LCD protection is done with a acrylic layer, that is super-imposed over the screen, it is no longer the peel and stick type (which I prefer). It did take me a few tries to line up the LCD protector and while installing the case.

The white case I used looks nicely against the white iPhone 3G I tested with; at lunch time, I saw a young lady sporting a black/gray case combination for her black iPhone 3G which looked sharp as well. The only part where I noticed that could use improvement is the fit on the docking area, I noticed a small gap in between the two-halves (see pic). Otherwise, the WAVE case design has always been a good product and I think they've done a great job bringing it to the iPhone 3G.

Much Needed Update

My faithful reader and good colleague Yann emailed me today asking me why I haven't posted an update for quite some time, its due to the fact that I have recently moved my family into the Garden State, just across the Hudson river from Manhattan. I'll need to update my PR folks to ensure product review samples are going to be shipped to the new address. As far as some technology and mobile experience goes, here are some updates, I''ll post some pictures later tonight.

1. Downfall of the Griffin Nu Form: the beautiful Griffin Nu Form for the iPhone 3G case I've been sporting did not survive my usage. After a month of usage, I noticed the base of the case (removable portion intended for easy docking) starting to wear down its thin rubber surface revealing the black pastic beneath. Aside from the aesthetics, it also reduces my grip. The unthinkable happened when I dropped my iPhone 3G onto a carpeted surface. To be clear it was at work so the phone hit those commercial grade thin office carpeting which probably has concrete underneath. My iPhone 3G was well-protected however, the trauma proved to be too strong for this case, hence it cracked the top/back panel of the Nu Form. One of the benefits of the Nu Form is it being extrememly thin thus not adding excessive thickness to the iPhone 3G's gorgeous design. However, being so thin took its toll on its ability to withstand impact, I have since moved onto the tried and true WAVE case for the iPhone 3G, I've used the WAVE for 1st generateion iPhone in the past, so I will provide a quick update for the 3G version shortly.

2. More product reviews to come: I am arranging for more products to be reviewed shortly, some of the things to come: Griffin Clarifi, Power Jolt, Air Curve, Simplifi as well as some iPod Touch 2G and Nano 4G accessories. I am also a little behind on some mobile application reviews, hope to get to those soon.

3. My new TV: yup, yours truly finally decided to step up to the world of 1080P high definition goodness. I've been eye'ing on a 46-52" LCD for quite some time, with my move into a place with bigger livingroom, I jumped on a Best Buy clearance deal on a 52" Sharp LC52d64U. At first glance, watching a 52" television felt like it was too big; after a couple of minutes, I slapped myself upside the head and said "one can never have a TV that is too big" and I've been smirking ever since. I've retired my 37" Aquos into my bedroom, and I find myself thinking the 37" looks small now that I am used to the 52" screensize. BTW, I am famous for not wanting to spend a fortune on a TV stand, so for anyone who's looking for a decent looking TV stand capable of handling a big TV set with some room to spare, checkout this Ikea Lack TV stand, get it with the black-brown finish, it looks pretty good (I'll post a couple of pictures later).

4. Mobile Madness: In a whim, handset makers are going nuts to throw out some interesting devices, with BlackBerry Storm, Tombile/Google G1 around the corner, they are throwing up emulators left and right to give us the most interactive previews possible. Meanwhile, HTC Touch HD has been named iPhone killer,this market is getting hot.

Review: Griffin Wave iPhone Protector

(Full picture gallery here)

Couple of days ago, I gave Griffin ClearBoost iPhone protector a review and I really liked it. So I was very anxious to give Griffin Wave iPhone protector a good look. The Wave is a polycarbonate case intended only for basic protection (unlike ClearBoost which also offers wireless signal improvement). Nevertheless, I find the Wave to pull its weight in doing what its suppose to do - to protect your iPhone.

Griffin Wave comes in 7 unique colors. In each package, you'll find the protector case which comes in two-halves along with a screen protector and cleaning cloth. Installation, once again, is a "snap" literally. Whats unique about this case design over the ClearBoost is its "wave" molding which gently grabs each other shut. Griffin calls it wave-shaped enclosure.

Once installed, the Wave gives the iPhone adequate protection against your pocket, purse or bags. The entire back-side is made up of a rubber like finish which increases the grip action in-hand or table-top (whereas the ClearBoost protector only has a strip of rubber-like finish running down the backside antenna). Once again, there are precise openings shaped perfectly to give you access to all of iPhone's ports, controls, and speakers. The fit and finish is solid and if I were to pick, I would probably go for the black color finish to give off a Darth-Vader like appearance.

Conclusion: Apple iPhone is a pretty expensive investment, I would recommend picking up one of these protectors at Amazon for around $20(MSRP $24.95); I know too many people said they've dropped their iPhone and dented its sides; this protector can help soften the impact. [To clarify, this case does not protect against shock; please take good care of all of your gadgets]