Editor’s note: This article was first published in April 2014; the cases it describes are for the iPhone 5/5s, and their prices and features are as stated then. Most of these models are probably discontinued.
Continuing our series of cool product ideas, this time we look at the boom in accessories for our closest friend, the smartphone, which you can dress in the most varied cases. And we are not talking about woolly covers to stop your iPhone catching a cold, or colourful cases to give it a springtime look, but about cases that pack in all kinds of useful features.
1. The tough-guy case
Whether you are going to do an extreme sport or you are a soldier in the middle of a war… relax, your iPhone will be safe. The company Lunatik, in its “Extreme” series, sells this kind of case, which protects your iPhone from any accident. You can throw your smartphone hard against the ground and nothing will happen to it. The company claims it dropped the phone from a height of 25 metres and it came out intact. It also uses fully resistant, touch-sensitive glass. Without a doubt, this is the case for people who live dangerously. It sells for about 140 dollars.
2. The case that doubles your storage and battery life
The company Mophie sells these cases, which add 16 or 32 GB of storage space to your smartphone. Users can share or save their files without using up mobile data. The case also provides an extra battery for those moments when we have drained ours through use and abuse of the phone. This case costs around 150 dollars.
3. The anti-rapist, anti-mugger case
This case has a story behind it. Its inventor was looking for self-defence items for his daughter and realised that pepper spray usually sits in a handbag, and there isn’t always time to get it out. On the other hand, since these days we tend to spend a lot of time with our phone in our hand, this case (Spraytect) has the pepper spray built in, so if we feel threatened, all we have to do is press the mechanism. I think the price is around 45 dollars.
See also: The 10 biggest internet advances we will see in 2015
4. The beach case
Here we have a case that can hold a key, some money or protection for romantic emergencies. In fact, the slogan used to sell this case was: “Why risk your iPhone and your health when our case can protect you both?” A daring campaign which, I suppose, would put parents off giving this case to their teenage daughters.
5. Not a case, but original
This one is for the more nostalgic among us, because it imitates those old alarm clocks and comes with a space designed to hold the iPhone. That way, by day we have a smartphone, and at night it passes for an alarm clock.
Yes, there is business in cases too, and it rewards creativity and usefulness, not just decoration.
Further reading
- 5 highly innovative ideas
- 7 Instagram business ideas that users love
- The world’s most unusual funerals and cremations
Featured image: Evan Sims, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
.jpeg){kind=link}