Slickwraps and Spigen

Slickwraps worked with Justin Maller to bring some of his really cool art work to their skins. As a result, Slickwraps partnered with Spigen to make some really nicely designed cases. Slickwraps was kind enough to send me one of their HELMETICA SERIES SPIGEN CASES for the iPhone 6 and it looks great while providing adequate protection to my device.

Spigen makes fantastic cases that add a significant amount of grip to a slippery device, you pair that with a really great looking matte print then you have a winner in my opinion. The one Slickwraps sent me was the Midnight Warrior and the ultra high definition print does a great job fitting in with the design of the phone in a minimal way.

Now that the design has been addressed, I want to talk about practicality of this case. The design of Spigen case provides a significant amount of air cushioning around the frame of the phone that will protect against light drops. It sits snuggly on the iPhone 6 adding raised bezels that add 'lay-flat' protection to the camera bump and screen, meaning the screen and camera are raised from surface contact when you put your device on a moderately flat surface.

All the ports are easily accessible even when using headphones even if they are not the OEM Apple Earpods. Along with that, the buttons are very responsive and provide a satisfying click feeling when the volume rocker/power button are/is pressed; with the iPhone the mute toggle switch is accessible as well.

In the end, if you're a minimalist, but enjoy a bit of flavor and require a decent amount of protection the Slickwraps/Spigen case may be the right fit for you. Now if you're a fiction character fanatic (e.g. Game of Thrones, Marvel, or DC) then this case is a no-brainer. Feel free to check out the devices they support and the case designs they provide.

FYI they're currently running a 'Back-To-School' special with a discount code, enter the code "SCHOOL" at checkout to take advantage of 42-percent off your order.

Alcatel IDOL 4S - In Pictures

I'll be the first to say the IDOL 4S isn't the best camera on the market, especially amongst the flagship phones like what Samsung and Apple bring to the table. It does get the job done with a couple caveats. For one, lighting has to be decent because the image falls to pieces pretty quickly in low light. However, that's a pretty common theme across most smartphone cameras due to the tiny sensor sizes. The second stipulation is that you have be able to set up your shot and have time to take your picture. The IDOL 4S camera is not the fastest and you will have trouble shooting fast moving subjects; even with burst shots you'll maybe get one or two usable shots from a burst of 10-15. Everything else about the camera is pretty good. See for yourself:

To me the IDOL performs really well with the right lighting and subject staging. I'm really impressed by the smartphone overall and for its price it's really hard to beat. If your interested in seeing more, check out my first impressions video.

Anker PowerCore - The Only Power Bank You'll Ever Need

Anker was kind enough to send me out some samples of their Quick Charge 3.0 power banks and I must say I'm extremely impressed. The build quality and performance of the 10,000 mAh and 20,000 mAh PowerCore battery banks have definitely impressed me. Not only to they charge your devices quick, they recharge very fast as well - definitely making the PowerCore my battery bank of choice. Whether I'm shooting video or just out and about with my family, these things get the job done perfectly.

They're very reasonably priced and work well within my workflow. Thanks to Anker for sending these out to me for review!

CleanMyMac 3 + Giveaway

Looking for ways to keep your Mac running like new? Well MacPaw makes an awesome little application that helps you do just that! Check the video out below to see some of the features CleanMyMac has:

If you're interesting in picking up a license shopping through these links help the channel out immensely without costing you anything. Just choose which operating system you're on and go from there:

With that, MacPaw partnered with me to bring three (3) lucky winners an opportunity to win themselves a pack of CleanMyMac 3 or CleanMyPC (A $60 VALUE!):

Thank you all for the support! Without you, opportunities like this one would not be possible!

LG 31MU97 - The best 4K monitor money can buy!

The LG 31MU97 is by far one of my favorite pieces of gear. I was a big fan of the ultrawide format for quite some time, but since I've gone to shooting 95 percent of all my video on YouTube in UHD (3840X2160), the 31MU97 was a welcomed upgrade. It's allowed me to preview and edit my content at its native resolution and that has been big for me. See my full review!

As mentioned in the video review the 31MU97 doesn't come without its quirks. I'm willing to bet these issues are due to the competitive pricing of the monitor. With that in mind, I'm okay with making that sacrifice because I'm saving anywhere between $200-400 when considering similarly spec'd monitors. Both Amazon and B&H come pretty close to one another in pricing. If you're interested looking into the 31MU97 by LG, check the links below.

$899.99
LG Electronics
Buy on Amazon
 
Looks beautiful, doesn't it?

Looks beautiful, doesn't it?

If you have any thoughts or questions, feel free to drop them in the comment section below.