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My Every Day Carry (EDC) – The 2024 Edition

Posted in Products with tags , , , , , , , , on November 16, 2024 by itnerd

My every day carry or EDC has evolved slightly since the last time that I covered what my EDC consists of. I’ve tweaked some of the items that I carry not only for meeting my daily needs but to add some style as well. So let’s have a look at what my EDC consists of the following:

I am still using the iPhone 14 Pro as it’s a fast phone and none of the Apple Intelligence stuff or the camera upgrades have enticed me to switch to the iPhone 16 Pro. I have a dbrand Grip Case on it and I protect the screen with a dbrand Prism 2.0 screen protector. The only thing that I have done to the phone is have the battery replaced under AppleCare when the battery health went below 80%. Now for formal occasions I have been known to switch my case to this one from Mujjo, but I might be able to get away with not having to do that as the dbrand case is something that I might be able to roll with for any occasion. We’ll have to see the next time I have to do something super formal.

I now use the original Apple Watch Ultra as that fits with the sports and other athletic activities that I do. I’ve had this for over 2 years and the battery health is currently at 94% which is outstanding after two years. While you see it here with the Apple Nike Sport band, I do have a selection of bands that I can swap to if the need arises. Including this recent addition. I’ve also customized the watch with apps that make it close to a Garmin watch as that fits with the fact that I am a very athletic person.

Next up is the Ekster Carbon Fibre Cardholder which is made of 3K carbon fibre. All the cards and ID that I need are in this slim and light package that I barely notice in my pocket. It does have RFID blocking capabilities which is a good thing. One thing that I should point out is that if I am wanting to slim down what I carry, I can switch to either this MagSafe wallet for formal occasions, or this MagSafe wallet if I am going for a bike ride. In either case, I just take my ID out and place it in the MagSafe wallet of choice and the wallet on the back of my iPhone 14 Pro.

I make sure that I know where my wallet is at all times by having this Zike Smart Tracking Card inside the wallet which integrates with Apple’s Find My network. One thing that I really like about this tracking card is that unlike a lot of them, this one is rechargeable. So when the battery goes dead, I just toss it onto a wireless charger and I get a charge that lasts about six months as opposed to having a card that works for about two years that you then have to replace when the battery goes dead.

If I want to listen to music while I am on the go, my Apple AirPods Pro is my go to as they allow you use active noise cancelling to shut out the outside world, or use transparency mode to stay aware of what’s going on around you. I have been wanting to replace them with the AirPods Pro 2 but these won’t die. They are wrapped up in the dbrand AirPods Pro Grip case to make sure that I don’t drop and damage them. I should also mention that I did replace the stock silicone ear tips with the Comply Foam Tips which not only make the AirPods Pro feel more comfortable in my ears, but they allow the AirPods stay in my ears better. They also sound better and noise cancelling works better.

When I am not driving, my sunglasses of choice are the Rudy Project Zyon’s. My wife originally got them with the prescription inserts. But she then moved onto a different Rudy Project model. Thus I took them, removed the inserts and have been using them ever since. I really like these as they provide a great amount of coverage, which means better protection for my eyes.

My keys are the next things that I grab. My keys are in a KeyPort Pivot 2.0 key holder which on the inside I have a 64GB USB stick, a multi-tool that in a pinch can open an Amazon box, a SIM card ejector tool, and a pen. Oh yeah. It also has my keys as well. One thing that I appreciate about this setup is that keys don’t dig into my thighs and they don’t jingle. I also have my key fob for my condo along with an Apple AirTag on them to find them when I misplace them. Since you can’t directly mount an AirTag to anything, I use the Belkin Secure Holder with the AirTag as it’s secure and cheap relative to the cost of what Apple wants you to pay for their products.

If I am driving I take my car keys with me as well, and they too have an Apple AirTag along with a Belkin Secure Holder on them.

The Groove Life Groove Belt is a great addition to my EDC as I can use it for formal occasions or just wearing jeans. It comes together using some really strong magnets and you feel like a superhero when you put it on. I’ll also point out that you can resize it at will which is handy as I have steadily been losing weight over the last couple of years.

The last item is some Blistex or some other form of lip protection as I get really dry lips.

That’s my EDC or every day carry. What do you think? What do you think I should add to it or change? And were you able to spot the theme? Drop a comment below and share your thoughts. In the meantime, stay tuned for a look at my Tech Sling that I carry with me when I see clients as that has a lot of interesting things in it.

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Spigen And dBrand Have A Beef On Twitter… And I’m Here For It

Posted in Commentary with tags , on June 18, 2024 by itnerd

First, for those of you who don’t know what the term “beef” means, here’s a quote from Urban Dictionary:

“to have a grudge or start one with another person.“

In this case, for reasons that I do not understand, phone accessory company Spigen decided to start a beef with dBrand:

This is a reference to that situation where dBrand made a racist remark on Twitter and got called out for it. The thing is, that happened in April. Why is Spigen bringing this up now? That literally makes no sense because that incident is over and done with. Maybe Spigen is trying score some cheap points at dBrand’s expense? I don’t know.

dBrand for their part returned fire:

But they didn’t stop there:

I checked and that is Spigen’s share value in Korea. Which doesn’t exactly look healthy as it seems to be on a decline from its high of roughly 39,000 WON a few years ago. For the record, 29,850 WON which is their current share price is about $29 CAD.

The net result is that Spigen has started something that I bet it wished it didn’t. And I suspect that dBrand is going to finish them. I really don’t have a favourite in this fight. But I think it’s safe to say that the entertainment value from this will be significant the longer this goes one.

Get the popcorn ready.

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Review: Spigen Rugged Armour Card Holder For MagSafe

Posted in Products with tags on June 17, 2023 by itnerd

When I go out for a training ride on my new road bike, I try to carry as little as possible. Specifically, my house keys, my iPhone 14 Pro, and a couple of pieces of ID. Up until this point I was using this Ekster MagSafe wallet to carry my ID. But the problem is that it is leather, and leather and sweat are not a good combination. So I wanted another option that was more compatible with doing an activity that involved sweat. Thus after some hunting around, I found this:

This is the Spigen Rugged Armour Card Holder For MagSafe. It holds two cards and is made of a silicone like material.

You can get a better look at that material here with a pair of cards inserted into the card holder. The fact that it is made of silicone means that sweat will not be an issue. The company says that it holds two cards, and they are right as I attempted to sneak my VISA card into the card holder on top of two other cards and it wouldn’t fit. But that’s still fine as I only need to take my drivers license and health card with me when I ride. I’ll also mention that if you have other Spigen gear, the faux carbon fibre motif fits in with their cases and the like. That way you can be all “matchy matchy” as my wife would say.

On the back you’ll note that there are two pads on the bottom. They are made of some sort of material that is tacky. And that is what makes this card holder work. When put directly onto an iPhone or onto a MagSafe case like this one, it stays solidly on the back of the iPhone or case. That’s another win for me as I have always been concerned about a card holder like this coming off my phone and being lost someplace on a bike ride. In my opinion, that’s less likely to happen with this card holder.

The Spigen Rugged Armour Card Holder For MagSafe goes for $39 USD and I would really take a good look at it if you want a card holder that is guaranteed to stay on your phone no matter what, and is made of a material that is more durable than leather.

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Review: Spigen iPhone 14 Pro Case Tough Armor (MagFit)

Posted in Products with tags on September 23, 2022 by itnerd

Protecting my new iPhone 14 Pro is top of mind for me because when you spend the kind of cash that Apple wants you to spend on a phone, you want to make sure that nothing happens to it. For that reason, I went with the Spigen iPhone 14 Pro Tough Armor Case (MagFit) to protect my iPhone 14 Pro:

This is a case that offers the following features: 

  • All-new foam technology for an extra layer of shock resistance
  • Combination of TPU and Polycarbonate for dual protection from drops and scratches
  • Reinforced kickstand with raised lips to protect screen and camera
  • Certified [MIL-STD 810G-516.6] protection and Air Cushion Technology for anti-shock protection
  • This case completely covers every edge of the iPhone for complete protection including the camera bump.
  • The screen has raised edges to protect the screen.
  • The case works well with screen protectors.

Let’s dive. Starting with the first two items:

You can see it uses a combination of materials to give it the ability to fully absorb shock. Which is exactly what I want as I want to make sure that this phone will survive a drop. Before you ask, I have used these cases on other iPhones and they’ve survived drops without an issue. Your mileage may vary.

The case has a built in kickstand to allow you have the iPhone in landscape mode on a table handsfree. It’s plastic and locks into place when not in use. Another feature is the addition of MagSafe, and I had no issues with it in terms of charging. The magnets are strong as it passed my “hang from a MagSafe charger” test. And wireless charging works fine as well.

The case has duplicate buttons are very large and tactile in terms of pressing them, and cutouts for the silent switch, speakers, and Lighting port. The edge of the case around the screen is slightly raised, which means that if you put the iPhone face down, the screen isn’t going to touch the surface. It’s also wireless charging compatible and Apple Pay seems to work fine with it. The case isn’t bulky which means it doesn’t change how you hold your iPhone, but it isn’t thin either. Likely because you need it to be that way to provide meaningful drop protection. It also doesn’t add much weight. 

The only thing that I would note as a con for this case is that it attracts fingerprints. Lots of fingerprints. You might want to choose a colour that hides fingerprints better if that matters to you.

I’d recommend the Spigen iPhone 14 Pro Tough Armor Case (MagFit) for daily use or for those who have “butter fingers.” This case is $59.99 USD and as far as I am concerned it’s worth every penny. Especially if you’ve spent a lot of money on your iPhone 14 Pro.

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Review: Spigen iPhone 14 Pro Screen Protector EZ FIT GLAS.tR 

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 20, 2022 by itnerd

When Apple shipped the iPhone 12 series, they brought forward “Ceramic Shield” to make the screen far more shatter resistant. However shatter resistance is inversely proportional to scratch resistance. In other words, your new and really expensive iPhone 14 has a screen that is more likely to scratch. Which means that you need a screen protector. That’s where the Spigen iPhone 14 Pro Screen Protector EZ FIT GLAS.tR comes in. Because replacing a screen protector is cheap. Replacing a screen is expensive.

Inside the box you get two screen protectors, a pack of screen cleaning wipes, microfibre cloth, dust removal tape, a squeegee, and instructions. The cool thing about this screen protector is that it is built into the tray which is exactly sized for your iPhone.

All of this means that installation should be pretty straightforward. And it is. Here’s what you do: 

  • First you need to remove your old screen protector if you have one and use one of the screen cleaning wipes to clean the screen. Then use the dust removal tape to remove any dust that’s left on the screen. 
  • Next is to put the installation tray on the screen after removing the backing tape on the screen protector.
  • Then you need to slide your finger up and down the channel in the middle of the screen protector to get rid of as many bubbles as possible.
  • Wait 30 seconds then pull the tab off. 
  • Then you remove the front tape and use the squeegee to get rid of any remaining bubbles. In my case there were a few.

Once you do that, you can declare victory and have a beer. Because if all goes right, you will get this result:

Unlike some of Spigen’s other screen protectors, this one covers the entire screen including the “Dynamic Island” which has the Face ID sensors. But it didn’t seem to affect Face ID in any way. You’ll also note that it has a tiny cutout for the speaker at the top of the phone.

One other thing that you should note is that this screen protector is not an edge to edge screen protector. That’s because it’s designed to be used with cases as an edge to edge screen protector may pop off if you use a case with it. I will be reviewing a number of cases this week so I’ll let you know if any of those cases become an issue with this screen protector.

The last thing that I note is that thus far, this screen protector seems to resist smudges and fingerprints, is easy to clean, and interacting with it doesn’t feel any different. All of which is a good thing. Now I didn’t test scratching it and seeing if it survives an impact. That’s because I would argue most of these screen protectors advertise 9H hardness as this one does and they tend to scratch with a 6 or 7 pick on the MOHS scale which is pretty tough. So any testing in this regard in my opinion is kind of irrelevant as you will get a decent amount of protection out of it as long as you don’t abuse it as long as you don’t buy something that’s too low on the food chain. Which this one is not. 

The Spigen EZ FIT GLAS.tR SLIM Screen Protector For The iPhone 14 Pro goes for $34.99 USD. It’s relatively easy to install, gives you great clarity, and should give you the protection that you need for the screen of your new iPhone 14 Pro.

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My Every Day Carry (EDC) – The 2022 Edition

Posted in Products with tags , , , , , , , on May 20, 2022 by itnerd

My every day carry or EDC has evolved over the last year or so. I’ve tweaked some of the items that I carry not only for meeting my daily needs but to add some style as well. As we go through this, you’ll see a trend. Let’s see if you can spot what it is. Let’s start with the phone that I carry on a daily basis:

My current phone is the  iPhone 12 Pro. It covers my needs for a fast phone with great cameras, lots of storage, and an amazing screen. I always keep my phones in a case, and the case that I use on a daily basis is the Spigen Tough Armor which has a kickstand for watching media hands free. But more importantly promises twice the military standard for drop protection. Something that I’ve unintentionally tested on a few occasions. To add to that protection, I have added a FloLab NanoArmour Anti-Microbial Screen Protector screen protector on it so that scratches on the screen are a non-issue and it gives the screen some extra resilience. The anti-microbial features are really just a bonus. You’ll also note that on the back I have a carbon fibre skin done by dBrand which is most evident around the camera and Apple logo.

The Apple Watch Series 6 with cellular is my smart watch of choice as its a great way to stay in touch without carrying my phone if I choose to do that as I can stay in touch minus my phone as this is the cellular model. It also keeps track of all my health metrics as that’s important to me these days. While you see that I have a Nike sports band on it at the moment, I have a variety of bands to choose from.

My keys are the next things that I grab. My keys are in a KeyPort Pivot 2.0 key holder which on the outside includes a flashlight along with a Lightning to USB cable which can allow me to charge my phone if I need to in a pinch. On the inside I have a 64GB USB stick, a multi-tool that in a pinch can open an Amazon box, a SIM card ejector tool, and a pen. Oh yeah. It also has my keys as well. One thing that I appreciate about this setup is that keys don’t dig into my thighs and they don’t jingle. Besides having actual keys and a key fob for my condo along with a hook to allow me to hook onto things like door handles that look sketchy, I also have the Apple AirTag on them to find them when I misplace them. Since you can’t directly mount an AirTag to anything, I use the Belkin Secure Holder with the AirTag as it’s secure and cheap relative to the cost of what Apple wants you to pay for their products.

My car keys also live in my pocket and they have an Apple AirTag which is being held in a Belkin Secure Holder so that I can find them when I misplace them.

A new addition to my every day carry is this Ekster Carbon Fibre Cardholder which is made of 3K carbon fibre. All the cards and ID that I need are in this slim and light package that I barely notice in my pocket. It does have RFID blocking capabilities which is a good thing. It also is a statement piece when I whip it out to pay for something. Or as the kids would say, it’s a flex.

I have this Chipolo CARD Spot tracking card in my cardholder so that I can use Apple’s Find My app to find it should I misplace it. While it hasn’t got the same sort of precision finding functionality of an AirTag, it does allow you to play “Marco/Polo” to find it if you lose it. One bummer is that it has non-replaceable batteries. That means that I will have to spring for a new one in a couple of years time. Hopefully by then there will be other options in this form factor that have replacement batteries.

I’ve been carrying this Victorinox CyberTool M for years. And if you look at the picture, it shows as you can see that it does have some light scratches on it. Despite that it still looks great and works just fine. That’s a testament to the quality that Victorinox builds into I use it to do everything from open up computers and to open up Amazon boxes as it has 32 different tools on it that are useful for almost any situation that I have found myself in. I have a pouch for it that has a loop that allows me to put it on my belt. It is beaten up. But that’s not a surprise as the CyberTool M and the pouch are well over a decade old.

Let’s say that I can’t carry my Swiss Army knife because I’m getting on a plane. Or I choose not to carry it. I have two other options for multi-tools to choose from. The first is the Axiom FLAT PACK TO 8 multi-tool. Originally designed for cyclists who might need to fix something on the road, I’ve found that it is useful for opening up computers as it has Allen keys as part of the deal. It doesn’t take up a whole lot of space in my pocket and it’s durable.

My second option is the Swiss+Tech Transformer 11-In-1 multi-tool. While it is on the heavy side, it does have a full array of screwdrivers and a flashlight among other things in a package that fits in my pocket. I’ve only ever had to replace the batteries for the flashlight. Beyond that, it’s survived the test of time as I have had this since the late 2000’s.

If I want to listen to music while I am on the go, my Apple AirPods Pro is my go to as they allow you use active noise cancelling to shut out the outside world, or use transparency mode to stay aware of what’s going on around you. I put them in a Spigen Rugged Armour AirPods Pro case which protects them from scratches and provides some drop protection. The case came with a carabiner that recently broke. Thus I replaced it with a more heavy duty carabiner that has a screw lock along with a matte black ring. One other thing that I have done is replace the silicone ear tips with the Comply Foam Tips which not only make the AirPods Pro feel more comfortable in my ears, but they allow the AirPods stay in my ears better.

If I am going to be out for while and I need to ensure that I have enough power to keep my phone online, I drop this Jackery Mini power bank in my pocket. It’s a 3200 mAh power bank that allows me to get about a 70% charge on my iPhone 12 Pro should I need it. It will also give my AirPods Pro a full charge as well. It doesn’t take up a lot of real estate in my pocket which is a good thing. In terms of a cable, that’s when the Lightning cable that’s on my key holder comes in handy as both my AirPods Pro and iPhone 12 Pro can use that to get a charge.

In a rare photo of yours truly, you can see the Rudy Project Deewhy sunglasses with Polar3FX HDR Grey lenses. Rudy Project doesn’t make these anymore, but that doesn’t matter to me as they work extremely well for me. The lenses are polarized lenses that filter harmful UV rays and eliminates glare by selectively filtering non harmful wavelengths through the lens. It’s designed to filter glare from car headlights, sun rays and the refracted light on wet or shiny surfaces like water and snow. All of which means that my eyes don’t take a beating when I drive. I also use them when I am walking around town. You can also see the Devon+Lange 3 layer face mask that is made from silver infused premium modal, and it has a filter pocket to hold the included PM2.5 filters. There’s also a removable and replaceable nose piece to ensure that they fit properly. These masks are comfortable to wear, I can breathe in them and I can wear them for long periods of time without an issue.

When I can’t be bothered to take a trip down to the car to get my Rudy Project Deewhy sunglasses as that’s where those sunglasses normally live, I often grab these Rudy Project Agon sunglasses which live at my desk. They have the “Laser Black” lenses which allows for about 12% light transmission. But I also notice that they enhance contrast and I can wear them while driving, or taking a walk in the woods or just walking around. The fact that they enhance contrast means that you can pick up small details that would have gone unnoticed even by the naked eye. Such has cracks in the road while driving or uneven terrain while hiking. That makes them a great general purpose pair of sunglasses for me.

From the mundane item department comes this tube of Blistex. I often have dry chapped lips. So to mitigate that I always have some lip balm on me. In this case it’s Blistex, but I have also been known to carry ChapStick as well.

That’s my EDC or every day carry. What do you think? What do you think I should add to it or change? And were you able to spot the theme? Drop a comment below and share your thoughts.

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Review: Spigen Rugged Armor AirPods Pro Case

Posted in Products with tags on November 23, 2021 by itnerd

I’ve had my AirPods Pro with MagSafe case for just under a week. And the number one complaint that I had since reviewing it is the case is super slippery. In fact, when I handed the AirPods Pro in the case to her to look it, it slipped out of her hand. Thus the possibility that the case would scratch or crack would be on the table. That told me that I had to put a case on the case to stop that from happening. That sounds counterintuitive. But there is an active market for AirPods and AirPods Pro cases. In my case, I chose the Spigen Rugged Armor AirPods Pro case.

It comes in three colours. Matte Black, Charcoal Grey, and Military Green. Each with a hint of carbon fibre. The Matte Black was the one for me. Here’s what you get in the box:

You get the top and lower half of this case, a piece of adhesive, a carabiner, and instructions that you won’t read as it’s pretty clear how to put them together. Before I do that, let me highlight something on the upper half of the case:

It has adhesive installed on it as I have to assume, opening and closing the case will be enough to have the upper half fly off the case if this adhesive wasn’t there. I didn’t use the optional adhesive for the lower half because it was quite snug fitting. Two minutes later, this was the result.

It’s made of thermoplastic polyurethane and has a rubber feel to it. So you’re not going to drop these. And if you do drop them, it will absorb the shock of hitting the ground. The only downside is that it does pick up dust as you can see here. It’s also doesn’t add any amount of bulk to the AirPods Pro. Which means that it can still live in your pockets just fine.

On the back you can see that it has a duplicate reset/pairing button on the back. And you will note that this case doesn’t cover the AirPods Pro case 100%. But there’s no way it could as it would not be able to hinge open. This shot also highlights the carbon fibre look that this case has.

Finally, you’ll note that this case doesn’t interfere with wireless charging as I tested that with this wireless charger. You can also see the slot for the Lightning port at the bottom if you want to plug a cable and charge that way. One thing that I will note is that the light on the front of the case can be hard to see at certain angles.

Do I have any gripes about this case? No. It does everything that I need a case for AirPods Pro to do without adding a lot of bulk. But at the same time adding a bit of style. I consider this worthy choice for those who want to protect their rather expensive AirPods Pro. I got these on Amazon for $22.99 CDN, which is a good price for the level of protection that this case provides.

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Review: Spigen EZ FIT GLAS.tR SLIM Screen Protector For The iPhone 13

Posted in Products with tags on September 30, 2021 by itnerd

When Apple shipped the iPhone 12 series, they brought forward “Ceramic Shield” to make the screen far more shatter resistant. However shatter resistance is inversely proportional to scratch resistance. In other words, your new and really expensive iPhone 13 has a screen that is more likely to scratch. Which means that you need a screen protector. That’s where the Spigen EZ FIT GLAS.tR SLIM Screen Protector For The iPhone 13 comes in.

It claims to be an extremely to easy to apply 9H hardness screen protector that will protect your iPhone 13. Let’s test that to find out. Here’s what you get in the box:

Inside the box you get two screen protectors, a pack of screen cleaning wipes, microfibre cloth, dust removal tape, and instructions. The cool thing about this screen protector is that it is built into the tray which is exactly sized for your iPhone. Not pictured is a squeegee.

All of this means that installation should be pretty straightforward. At it is…. For the most part: 

  • First you need to remove your old screen protector if you have one and use one of the screen cleaning wipes to clean the screen. Then use the dust removal tape to remove any dust that’s left on the screen. 
  • Next is to put the installation tray on the screen after removing the backing tape on the screen protector.

Then you need to slide your finger up and down the channel in the middle of the screen protector to get rid of as many bubbles as possible. Wait 30 seconds then pull the tab off. Then you remove the front tape and use the squeegee to get rid of any remaining bubbles. In my case there were a few. Once you do that, you can declare victory and have a beer. Although my installation wasn’t 100% perfect. I had a couple of specks of dust that I didn’t clean. So I had to redo it with the second screen protector to get this result:

One other thing that you should note is that this screen protector is not an edge to edge screen protector. That’s because it’s designed to be used with cases as an edge to edge screen protector may pop off if you use a case with it. In my case my wife’s daily driver is this Spigen Tough Armor case and because it is from the same company, it works very well as that case does not interfere with it. The last thing that I note is that thus far, this screen protector seems to resist smudges and fingerprints, is easy to clean, and interacting with it doesn’t feel any different. All of which is a good thing. Now I didn’t test scratching it and seeing if it survives an impact. That’s because I would argue most of these screen protectors advertise 9H hardness as this one does and they tend to scratch with a 6 or 7 pick on the MOHS scale which is pretty tough. So any testing in this regard in my opinion is kind of irrelevant as you will get a decent amount of protection out of it as long as you don’t abuse it as long as you don’t buy something that’s too low on the food chain. Which this one is not. 

The Spigen EZ FIT GLAS.tR SLIM Screen Protector For The iPhone 13 goes for $34.99 USD. It’s relatively easy to install, gives you great clarity, and should give you the protection that you need for the screen of your new iPhone 13.

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Review: Spigen iPhone 13 Tough Armor Case

Posted in Products with tags on September 29, 2021 by itnerd

Protecting my wife’s new iPhone 13 was top of mind for me because when you spend the kind of cash that Apple wants you to spend on a phone, you want to make sure that nothing happens to it. For that reason, I went with the my go to case which is the Speigen iPhone 13 Tough Armor case.

This is a case that offers the following features: 

  • All-new foam technology for an extra layer of shock resistance
  • Combination of TPU and Polycarbonate for dual protection from drops and scratches
  • Reinforced kickstand with raised lips to protect screen and camera
  • Certified [MIL-STD 810G-516.6] protection and Air Cushion Technology for anti-shock protection
  • This case completely covers every edge of the iPhone for complete protection. 

Let’s dive in a bit. Starting with the first two items:

You can see it uses a combination of materials to give it the ability to fully absorb shock. Which is exactly what I want as I want to make sure that this phone will survive a drop. 

Next up is the kickstand:

The case has a built in kickstand to allow you have the iPhone in landscape mode on a table handsfree. That makes it perfect for watching videos. The kickstand snaps into place so that you don’t have to worry about it flopping around and snapping off.

The case has duplicate buttons are very large and tactile in terms of pressing them, and cutouts for the silent switch, speakers, and Lighting port. The edge of the case around the screen is slightly raised, which means that if you put the iPhone face down, the screen isn’t going to touch the surface. It’s also wireless charging compatible and Apple Pay seems to work fine with it. The case isn’t bulky which means it doesn’t change how you hold your iPhone, but it isn’t thin either. Likely because you need it to be that way to provide meaningful protection. And it terms of looks, my wife notes how the red that Spigen used in this case matches well with the Product Red of her iPhone 13 as evidenced by this picture.

I can say that this is my go to case because I have dropped my iPhone 12 Pro that has the same case in server rooms and off tables with no ill effects for my iPhone. And as a bonus, if you want MagSafe compatible version, Spigen can help you with that.

This case is $40 USD, though I will mention that you can find it for less on Amazon. As far as I am concerned it’s worth every penny. Especially if you’ve spent a lot of money on your iPhone 13. I highly recommend this case if you value your iPhone.

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Review: Spigen EZ FIT GLAS.tR SLIM Screen Protector For The iPhone 12/12 Pro

Posted in Products with tags on December 14, 2020 by itnerd

When Apple shipped the iPhone 12 series, they brought forward “Ceramic Shield” to make the screen far more shatter resistant. However shatter resistance is inversely proportional to scratch resistance. In other words, your new and really expensive iPhone 12 has a screen that is likely to scratch. Which means that you need a screen protector. That’s where the Spigen EZ FIT GLAS.tR SLIM Screen Protector For The iPhone 12/12 Pro comes in.

It claims to be an extremely to easy to apply 9H hardness screen protector that will protect your iPhone 12. Let’s test that to find out. Here’s what you get in the box:

Inside the box you get two screen protectors, a squeegee and a pack of screen cleaning wipes, microfibre cloth, dust removal tape, and instructions. The cool thing about this screen protector is that it is built into the tray which is exactly sized for your iPhone. Which means that installation should be pretty straightforward. At it is…. For the most part:

  • First you need to remove your old screen protector if you have one and use one of the screen cleaning wipes to clean the screen. Then use the dust removal tape to remove any dust that’s left on the screen.
  • Next is to put the installation tray on the screen after removing the backing tape on the screen protector.
  • Then you need to slide your finger up and down the channel in the middle of the screen protector to get rid of as many bubbles as possible. Wait 30 seconds then pull the tab off.
  • Next you remove the installation tray.
  • Then remove the front tape and use the squeegee to get rid of any remaining bubbles. In my case there were a few.

Once you do that, you can declare victory and have a beer. Although my installation wasn’t 100% perfect.

If you look closely at the bottom quarter of the screen, you will see the faintest bubble there. It doesn’t affect the clarity of the screen at all as I tested it with a variety of backgrounds with nothing negative noted. So I would rate the installation process to be almost perfect in my case as other than that, the screen protector was perfectly centered.

One other thing that you should note is that this screen protector is not an edge to edge screen protector. That’s because it’s designed to be used with cases as an edge to edge screen protector may pop off if you use a case with it. In my case my daily driver is this Spigen Tough Armor case and because it is from the same company, it works very well as that case does not interfere with it. The last thing that I note is that thus far, this screen protector seems to resist smudges and fingerprints, is easy to clean, and interacting with it doesn’t feel any different. All of which is a good thing. Now I didn’t test scratching it and seeing if it survives an impact. That’s because I would argue most of these screen protectors advertise 9H hardness as this one does and they tend to scratch with a 6 or 7 pick on the MOHS scale which is pretty tough. So any testing in this regard in my opinion is kind of irrelevant as you will get a decent amount of protection out of it as long as you don’t abuse it as long as you don’t buy something that’s too low on the food chain. Which this one is not.

The Spigen EZ FIT GLAS.tR SLIM Screen Protector For The iPhone 12/12 Pro goes for $34.99 USD. It’s relatively easy to install, gives you great clarity, and should give you the protection that you need for the screen of your new iPhone 12.

UPDATE: The bubble that was present after installation has disappeared. Thus I would make the install of this screen protector perfect.

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