Tuesday, November 30, 2010

What Was Once Old is Now New Again

Unlike many other manufacturers of cases for mobiles...at Nutshell we pride ourselves in being responsive to our customers' wishes. That's why we recently created a new product designed to accommodate extra large device configurations.

It no secret that our competitors manufacture very good cases; they have to or they would not be long in business. But their products are primarily aimed at the mainstream; cases that fit the phones for which they are designed and not the phones plus the accessories that follow as sure as night follows day.

Our belt cases and holsters span a wide range of sizes and fits so that we are able to offer sizes that will accommodate those 'larger than average' accessories that inevitably appear on the market soon after the launch of a major selling phone.

Take the iPhone. A wondrous device that almost overnight single-handedly changed the way people use their mobile telecommunications. The first iPhone had a curving back, which made it slightly less than a slim device. Nice to hold but it required a case that gripped it 'just so'. The release of the iPhone 4 changed all that. In its wisdom Apple changed the design and, while keeping the exact same height and width, made the phone slimmer. Suddenly the case that held the iPhone, no longer held the iPhone, meaning that manufacturers like Nutshell had to scramble to design yet another product that provided a 'glove-like' fit.

No big deal, you might think, but actually it is a rather complicated task to redesign a product to accommodate yet another phone format.

But even more interesting, in our eyes, is the growth of larger than normal accessories that provide added protection to many of today's leading mobile cellphones. Suddenly, unless they can deliver products that work, many of our competitors find themselves unable to satisfy their customers' demands.

Luckily, for us, that does not happen.Often.

Because we have been in the business of providing cases and holsters for phones and PDA devices for ever ten years, we have grown with our market and developed a considerable number of differing sized cases over the years. And today the larger formats of yesteryear are back in style. That slimline phone that offers the Internet, gaming and face-to-face video grows quite larger with the addition of an accessory case.

Our earlier cases are back in fashion once again. Drawing on our early developments we have cases that fit these newer device configurations. We are a serious contender in a market where customers' demand no less than the best of fits; that the cases they buy actually fit the products for which they buy them.

And in a market where time equals lost opportunities and lost sales, this means we offer that all important 'point of difference'.

But meeting and exceeding customer expectations can be a tricky thing. For several years we have been offering a horizontal belt case that will hold an iPhone or similar sized device. Unlike our mainstream products, which are designed to sit vertically on the user's hip, these cases are a response to customer requests for leather belt cases that fit length-wise on the belt line. Obviously we responded and our snug fitting horizontal iPhone case was the result. And customers love it.

In fact they love it so much that they have been asking us for a larger horizontal belt case to hold larger than average form factors, like that iPhone with an OtterBox case, or a Seidio extended life battery. It took us a while, but we have finally released a product that we believe should be like our standard larger belt cases, and over time embed itself into the mainstream of cellphone users accoutrements. Well, those that prefer a horizontal Nutshell over the time proven upright Nutshell.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Kiwi music: The Alibis

I am truly stunned by just how much you can do with today's technology.

Apart from obviously toting the device in a Nutshell, my little iPhone 4 had opened a door to creativity that was previously the domain of technicians and videographers.

This little video was put together in a couple of hours...after being recorded late one night at a local club.

While some may argue that an iPhone is tainted by its association with Apple, the platform has given developers of previously niche market products a readily accessible portal into the mobile space.

You better believe that no matter which phone you select, regardless of the OS, this technology is really going to change the way we do things.