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Friday, January 24, 2014

Review: CAT Active Urban rugged phone case for iPhone 5 and 5s

Natasha Cooper writes:

As someone who has been through more iPhone screens than I’d like to remember, when I recently upgraded to an iPhone 5s I was keen to keep it in one piece - for a few months at least. Cue the new CAT Active Urban Phone Case, which claims to protect your phones from falls of up to 1.8 meters using a reinforced material that can also be found in protective equipment for motor bike riders.

That last sentence doesn’t conjure up an image of a very attractive or discreet looking cover but you’d be surprised; it is much slimmer than expected and it doesn’t make the phone feel bulky to hold.

I’d say the design is undoubtedly aimed more at the male market but, although rugged looking, it is attractive enough in black and silver. I always feel it is a shame when covers completely disguise a good-looking smartphone but if you are looking for heavy-duty protection then I think it is to be expected.

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As a professional caterer I use my phone a lot in the kitchen for looking up recipes and taking photos. I was pleased that the cover wipes down easily and the volume buttons are still as functional as when the phone is case-free (which they aren’t always with other cases!).

Although I haven't had any ‘major’ phone dropping incidents in the month since I have had the case, it has endured the day-to-day routine of being in a busy kitchen and suffering the occasional tumble. My iPhone 5s (hidden in its new manly disguise) looks as good as the day I bought it, which means this case gets the thumbs up from me.

I should add that the case has attracted a number of admirers. I’ve had several people ask what it’s like and where you can buy it. There’s not much else to say about a case other than its design and its effectiveness, but I’d say this one is worth buying at the current price - I’ve seen it at £19.95 on Amazon and am sure my local phone shop would offer a similar deal. It feels good, looks good and protects the phone very well from general daily use.

Natasha Cooper is co-founder of Coopers Kitchen, a catering service that provides high quality home-cooked food to South East London and Sussex. The CAT Active Urban case was provided to The Fonecast by Bullitt Mobile.
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Opinion Articles

Hanging on the Telephone

Are we waiting for mobile marketing to make a move?

Mark Bridge writes:

At the beginning of the 21st century I moved from Vodafone to work for its Vizzavi multimedia portal, wooed by talk of context-specific advertising that would one day use a customer’s location and search history to ensure any ads were precisely targeted. And I’m not the only person who’s been seduced. Consumers, ad agencies, client companies and mobile networks have all been promised much by mobile marketing.

Yet more than a decade later that kind of sophistication seems to be lacking from most mobile marketing messages.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 29th April 2013

Money, messaging, microphones and M2M

Mark Bridge writes:

This week there was only one set of financial results that attracted the mainstream tech media. Apple reported the first drop in quarterly profit for several years as figures fell by 18% to around £6.1 billion. On the positive side, it made around £6.1 billion profit. It also announced dates for its developer conference in June and promised a new version of iOS.

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Fixed line nightmares vs simple mobile

...and why Mobile Termination Rates need to fall

James Rosewell writes:

Due to growth in staff numbers my business (51Degrees.mobi) is in the process of moving offices. Coincidentally I'm also moving our home broadband. It’s not been a pleasant experience.

This got me thinking, because a few weeks ago on thefonecast.com we discussed why Ofcom isn’t treating Mobile Termination Rates (MTR) in the same way as fixed-line termination rates. The mobile industry justifies higher MTRs on the assumption that a mobile network costs more to run than a fixed-line network. It was certainly true when the fixed costs of running a mobile network had to be shared across a relatively small number of customers, even if they did pay a fortune for their contracts and terminals. Intuitively I'd say that’s just not true anymore.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 22nd April 2013

Spring in the air

Mark Bridge writes:

The past few days have seen the arrival of two familiar seasons. Not only has the sun peeked its head from behind the clouds in an approximation of Spring but the mobile industry has been releasing its quarterly results.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 15th April 2013

Going up...

Mark Bridge writes:

It’s claimed there’s recently been some dodgy equine activity in the mobile industry. No, I’m not talking about the dancing pony that promoted Three UK. I’m not even making lasagne jokes. I’m talking about the ‘Trojan horse’ threatening to monopolise the mobile marketplace.

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A month of mobile: O2 counts on 3, Microsoft counts to 10 and Apple counts its profits

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