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The dumbest iPhone accessories you should avoid buying

Posted February 29, 2012 8:00am by Brad Spirrison Tags: iPhone Accessories, iPhone Cases, Battery Charger, novelty

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While the iPhone is arguably the smartest cell phone you can buy, it has inspired some of the dumbest accessories imaginable. From cases made out of pretend pastries (and real diamonds!), to camera lenses that make your iPhone considerably less mobile, to devices that try to convert wind into added battery power, there is no shortage of accessories that are long on price and short on function.

Here we present the five lamest iPhone accessories that you can certainly live without. Buyer beware!

Green Sweet Pastry Case - $33

Just because iPhones and cupcakes (and other handheld pastries) are among the trendiest things to purchase over the last few years doesn’t mean that the two should be combined in any way, shape or form. This isn’t chocolate and peanut butter we’re talking about here, but rather a handheld personal computer and a pseudo-confection. From the pastel design to the questionable ability to remain intact in a purse (much less a pocket), there are so many sour things we can say about the Green Sweet Pastry Case Decoden Case. The seller’s name, So Totally Lame, says it all. However, if the pastry case suits your taste, you can check additional products from the seller including the Pink Sweet Cake Case, the Deluxe “Whipped Cream Case, and of course the Floral Pink Rhinestones edition. If you own an iPhone and can’t get enough of cupcakes, we recommend you download the 99-cent Cupcakes! recipe app. Hold the sprinkles, please.

Diamond iPhone Case - Valued at $20,000

While you might be stuck with buyer’s remorse after ordering the pastry case, at least you didn’t shell out twenty grand for it! New York-based jeweler James Allen is the latest company to market a diamond-encrusted iPhone case. The case, which was part of a Valentine’s Day promotional giveaway, includes 808 diamonds totaling 5 carats. The hand-crafted titanium case also includes 43 rubies that weigh about 0.37 carats. Appropriately, James Allen gave away this case with an iPhone 4S. Why protect an Apple product that isn’t top of the line, right? Further, as the iPhone 4S has the Siri Voice Assistant inside it, whoever won it can ask Siri how to disassemble a diamond case and sell the diamonds for cash. The diamond case is not the only iDevice accessory that will run you $20,000. For that amount, you can also pick up the i-Con bed frame and headboard that includes two iPad docking stations and a 250 watt amplifier. Bam!

Brick Shell Cover Case  - $30

The eighties are a full generation behind us, and we now know that greed is not always good. Neither is paying $30 for a retro style Brick Shell Cover phone made famous by Michael Douglas’ Gordon Gekko character in the film Wall Street. Now, my family was fortunate enough to have one of the original Brick Shell phones around the time they came out in 1987. It was not only a technological marvel, but a source of immense pride and attention from our neighbors. Scroll forward to today, however. Once you get beyond the initial chuckle and nostalgic acknowledgements from friends and lookers-on, you are left with a seven ounce case that can’t fit in your pocket. If you are a slave to the eighties but looking for a slightly more practical iPhone accessory option, there is an iPhone 4 and 4S case that resembles the old school Nintendo video game controller. Sold!

iSteady Shot Camera Stabilizer - $129.99

iSteady Shot Camera Stabilizer - $129.99With 8 megapixels and a dual-core A5 chip, the iPhone 4S can go lens to lens with most of the finest consumer-oriented cameras available. And while we see iPhones working their way into professional photography use, if you are going to make a living capturing still and moving images, we do recommend you invest in an actual camera. So, rather than spending $130 on the iSteady Shot Camera Stabilizer, save up for a dedicated camera that won’t be taking inbound calls while you’re in the studio or on location. The whimsy of iPhones and top-tier smartphone cameras is that you can take professional-like pictures of everyday settings and then share with others through apps like Instagram. The stabilizer is an unnecessary intrusion, and not something you can easily carry around with you. Hold steady, but also hold out for something else.

The iFan Wind-Powered Battery Charger - Price N.A.

While we will give this one an “A” for ambition, the thought of using the wind-powered iFan to charge our batteries gives us the chills. Dutch designer Tjeerd Veenhoven (cue the windmill jokes) came up with the iFan concept a few years back. To our knowledge, the device – which takes about six hours to charge an iPhone – has yet to become commercially available. Veehnoven now is apparently tinkering with ways to harness the iFan onto bicycles, giving campers and cyclists another source of juice. Alternative energy holds great promise in the years and decades to come to fuel vehicles, heat our homes and power electric grids. But for the time being and foreseeable future, we recommend using Apple’s perfectly effective power charger to do the trick (if not blow you away).

emyxlee

Photo_on_5-4-12_at_9

This is a ridiculously offensive review. So what if you want to personalize your iphone? It isn't any different than setting your wallpaper to something that interests you. If you want to put pastries or diamonds on your phone case DO IT. It's your phone. This article is "dumb" if you ask me.

It may not but your cup of tea, but that doesn't make your opinion any more valid.

Do you own a Sototallylame pastry case? Yeah, I didn't think so. It fits in my pocket just fine and is beautifully crafted by the sweetest seller.

Reply to comment Posted May 06, 2012

Duckie_Mo3

Missing

Hey, I'm not sure what you're trying to do, by insulting an individual who works very hard for her craft. I do not personally own one of her beautiful individually hand-decorated cases, but I have seen a great deal of reviews from people ecstatic to own such a piece. So Totally Lame posts these reviews on her tumblr along with photos of her work. I have personally worked with deco(what is used to decorate the cases) before and I can attest to how much time and care it takes for each movement, along with the durability of the finished product. However, thanks to you So Totally Lame may have gotten a bit of publicity, albeit it was given in a negative way. So Totally Lame is not some major corporation trying to make a dime off of people who have more money than they know what to do with. So Totally Lame is an artist and this is her livelihood. I appreciate her work, and I encourage others to take a look at those links.

Reply to comment Posted May 06, 2012

bernadetteleigh

Missing

Just so we're clear: Read and watch
http://cadney.tumblr.com/post/52513584081/plasmakitten-signal-boost-this-is-a-serious
&
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7maAiH_o8Y

Let's not insult artists, but don't stick up for a criminal.

Reply to comment Posted June 09, 2013

tofu

Missing

Heyy,
Just so we're clear, just because something isn't to your taste doesn't mean it's dumb or bad, and it certainly doesn't mean that you should call it such things.
The owner of STL is pretty upset that you painted her products in such a light. She puts a lot of time and effort into each case, and doesn't deserve your unasked-for criticism.
Also, her cases are perfectly able to keep intact, so what are you even talking about there? You'd know that if you bothered to do a bit of research, instead of just stealing her image and deciding you know everything about her products. Do you want to be sued for defamation, or what?
To top it all off, you've just succeeded in making a teenage girl feel like shit, so I hope you're happy.

Reply to comment Posted May 06, 2012

Linburg

Missing

Way to go. You made a teenage girl cry. It's one thing to say something isn't to your taste. And another to completely insult someone. Not just So Totally Lame as a seller, as anybody who owns one especially when you don't know anything about the product. Not only that, this review was completely unprofessional. Who cares what someone does with their money. It's their money. I will never trust this website again if they have insulting people writing articles for them.

Reply to comment Posted May 06, 2012

ThothHermes

Missing

I cannot avoid the conclusion that Brad Spirrison must be a self-opioniated pratt of the worst order. I'm sorry, but you've really got my dander up. So what if people want to decorate their iPhone cases with whatever moves them. Talk about crushing individuality and spontaneity! Let's kill Imagination and Creativity in favour bland boring conformity! I am familiar with So Totally Lame's work, and while it may border on the bizarre, it is also colourful and brilliant! What a miserable kill-joy you are. Do you ever have any fun in your life or is it all Bible and Bank-Balance? I agree with Linburg about not trusting this website if it allows such unprofessional reviews.

Reply to comment Posted May 07, 2012
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