Leverage i5: Pre-order page now available!

Tooling has started on our Leverage for the iPhone 5, and we’ve put up a pre-order page with a special offer on it.

Pre-order here.

Our slim, minimalist case now has the option to add utility backplates.  Our first one is a credit card holder. Just swap out the normal flat backplate for the card holder backplate to carry up to 3 credit cards with your iPhone 5.

For the first 2,000 orders, we are including a matching backplate free of charge. It will run for $14.95 normally.

And in video form:

We are trying a new pre-order page that only charges your credit card when your order is about to be shipped (late January).  This option took us a little longer than anticipated to develop.  Apologies for the delay.

If you’re interested in our product development process, we’ve got some posts a little further down, or just check out the Behind the Scenes posts.

Leverage iPhone5 Progress

Below are some some quick photos we took of the prototype Leverage case for the iPhone 5.

Since the photos show a prototype, you’ll see that the latch doesn’t have it’s final finish and ports and buttons may be slightly different in the final production version.

The most visible difference with the iPhone 5 version are the new the integrated volume buttons (we made sure they provide positive tactile feedback).  Other than that, we’ve tried to keep the design much like the original.

We are working as fast as we can to make production units available. A pre-order page will be available once we have a more concrete release date.  As usual, announcements on preorder availability will be posted on our Facebook page and email newsletter.

Case with backplate

Side by side comparison of the Leverage i5 prototype case next to the Leverage for iPhone 4/4S, bumper style (no backplates).

Leverage i5 version has integrated volume buttons in the case.

Our distinct lever and latch system has been translated to the iPhone 5 form factor.

Prototype Leverage frame and backplate for the iPhone 5.

The iPhone 5 case

With the announcement of the iPhone 5 on Wednesday, we now have the official dimensions to begin engineering the new cases.  We will have a better idea on when our iPhone 5 cases will be ready once we begin tooling.

In the meantime, please follow us on Facebook or subscribe to our mailing list for new product announcements.

Personalized cases now available!

Our Leverage cases are now available on Coveroo.

You can choose a case printed with graphics ranging from your favorite professional and collegiate sports teams to animal and fashion prints. Or upload your own image for complete customization.

The Hardware Innovation Workshop

The videos of the speakers at the Hardware Innovation Workshop have been posted recently.  I thought I’d also post a some photos of the two day event for those who are thinking about going to the next one.

Held at the historic PARC headquarters, the Hardware Innovation Workshop was a series of talks set up by the publishers of Make Magazine. The attendees ranged from representatives from large established companies to folks in the DIY community.

Some really cool projects were showcased, I found out about some accelerator programs aimed at hardware startups (Bolt, PCH Accelerator), and was quite surprised by all the cool things Autodesk has to help individuals get stuff made. However, the best part of the Workshop was the people I met.  The momentum behind hardware startups is building and everyone in attendance was truly excited to be pushing and helping each other forward in developing physical products.  This was really one of the best conferences I’ve attended in a long time.

There were Great Speakers:

Massimo Banzi, Co-Founder of Arduino and Dale Dougherty of O’Reilly Media

Great Food:

Great Schwag:

Great stuff given away at the Hardware Innovation Workshop.

The tickets to the workshop also included two tickets to the Maker Faire in San Mateo.

Cellscope demo at Maker Faire

Some more photos of this excellent event in the gallery below, and a link to the Hardware Innovation Workshop videos.

Discussing open source hardware

Cable that allows you to connect to your iPhone without needing to register for the Made for iPod program. This will be great for prototyping if we decide to go into developing some appcessories.

TinkerCad is a web based software that allows you to create 3D models. It’s incredibly smooth and easy to use.

Massimo Banzi, Co-Founder of Arduino and Dale Dougherty of O’Reilly Media

Crowdsourced cars

An elephant made from laser cut cardboard pieces with the help of 123DMake Software

Injection molds for a head lamp made at the Techshop in San Francisco

Cellscope demo at Maker Faire

Great stuff given away at the Hardware Innovation Workshop.

Goodies from the Hardware Innovation Workshop

at MakerFaire

Using your iPhone case as a business card

QR codes are great when they contain vCard information.  We love it when they are printed on business cards because you can just bust out the QR reader app on your iPhone and save the contact automatically.  It eliminates the need to key in each name, address and phone number in manually.

But what happens when you run out of business cards for the day, or just neglected to carry some around with you?  Drew Moxon sent us his solution: A QR code printed on a sticker placed on the back of his Leverage back plate. He emailed his motivations for using his phone a business card:

As a designer, I love making business cards, but hate bringing them with me.  The QR code helps brand myself as a mobile specialist in games, ux, media and web.  It was only fitting.

Seems like a pretty good idea to us.

Customizing the iPhone

We love it when we get emails detailing how our customers are customizing their iPhones and making it their own.  The other day, a customer named Thad had posted on our Facebook Page showing how he had used the Trunket wood veneer with our Leverage case.

What we like about this mod is that it incorporates the packaging and repurposes it into part of a back plate.  By attaching the wood skin to the backing made by the packaging, one can quickly swap out back plates without having to worry about carefully aligning the self adhesive backing to the phone.

Below are some of Thad’s instructions and photographs:

Wind storms

Los Angeles has experienced a huge windstorm Wednesday night . Over 300,000 homes are powerless.  We were also affected and power has been down almost two days now. Any orders that were made Wednesday and after can’t out till the power is back up. We’ll begin shipping again once power is restored.

Update (5 Dec 2011):  We have resumed shipping orders!

Cyber Monday

Happening right now for one day only!

Enter the coupon code “CyberMonday” for 20% off your order (excluding shipping)

Order Update

Hey Guys,

First off, we just wanted to thank everyone who wrote to us – we have been getting great feedback from different users. We are writing to you because there are a couple of things we would like to address and bring to your attention.

For all Customers who have ordered

We take great pride in our product and pay close attention to all support e-mails and messages that come through Facebook. We’ve looked at your comments and thought long and hard about how we can give our customers the best product we can.

ANTENNA SCUFFING

Customers who have already received their case (black or white)

We will send each existing customer a clear die-stamped protective film that seamlessly covers the top antenna band of your iPhone to prevent any scuffing or additional scuffing and a one-time 50% off coupon for any future products. The film is similar to existing films in the market and once applied onto the phone, it’s almost invisible. If you are unsatisfied with this solution, you can return your case for a full refund.

Customers who have ordered but not yet received their case (black or white)   

All orders that have not shipped yet will also include the protective clear film to prevent scuffing. Once again, if you are unsatisfied with our product you can return it for a full refund.

WHITE CASE

Regarding the discoloration and peeling on the white Leverage, a small portion of the white cases are having these issues. But to ensure that we are sending out high-quality products to each and every one of you, we are holding off production of additional units until we find a better solution. We may change the finish from soft touch to high-gloss or matte and will have a poll on Facebook to see which one you prefer. If you’ve ordered the white case, please look for the heading below that applies to your situation.

Customers who have received the white case

For those who have already received the white case and are not having any problems with it…Enjoy. For those who received it and are not satisfied, we can send you a replacement black unit of your choice or we can provide you with a full refund.

Customers who have ordered but not received the white case

For those who have ordered but have not received your shipping confirmation, you can request for your order to be canceled or request for an order change to black by contacting customer support. Or you can keep your existing order if you would still like to have the white. Please be sure to include your order #.

If you have additional questions or comments, please e-mail us at support@graftconcepts.com. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks.