Speck 4G Case - Just arrived

[airshark]

So I just got my Speck 4G case from UPS today. Here's what I think about it:

It's going back as soon as possible.

- The case does not properly fit my 40GB 4G iPod. It is stretched and deformed.

- The material feels like I'm holding a gummy bear that's been in my pocket.

- The "flap" on the bottom does not completely close.

I got this case because I thought the price was good and that it would be nice to still be able to use the cradle. I've tried every which way to pull and squueze the material to fit better...but it still looks like crap.

I've just ordered an arctic iSkin and I plan on returning this one today.

[ayn]

the flap closes a lot better if you move the dock connector insert into the dock connector. i liked my speck 3g case.

[airshark]

Picture of the case from the front.

[airshark]

Case from the back.

[airshark]

Originally posted by ayn
the flap closes a lot better if you move the dock connector insert into the dock connector. i liked my speck 3g case.

The pictures I took are with the notch in the connector.

[Sugarstealer]

thats bloody terrible, how the hell can a company sell that and expect to get away with it? looks like they cobbled it together in a hurry to get ahead of the market on 4G cases.

i had a speck 3G and wasn't very impressed with it at all.

I ordered the 4G Radtech yesterday, hopefully should have it by the end of next week

[ayn]

you are sure you got the 40GB version of the skin right? that looks really really bad.

[Mina]

That looks like it should fit a 20gb 4g. Are you sure its the 40gb size?

Mina.

[SouthPaw]

Mine suppose to come tommarrow. If the fit is that bad it doesn't even get unpacked i will just returned for refund!!!

http://www.speckproducts.com/4Gskins/singleindex.htm
Elastomer material allows for one size to fit all NEW 4G iPods (20 & 40GB).

[airshark]

Yup...it's one-size fits all on their site. Absolutley horrible. I already called and they said I can drop it back off at their office for a refund (I work around Palo Alto, CA anyhow)

The thing looks so incredibly stretched out it's ridiculous. I'm actually pretty peeved that I even have to eat the shipping on this one.

If anyone has a 40GB 4G and theirs fits...I'd like to see pictures. Or at least try the one you get, it doesn't change their return policy if you open the package. I dunno....

Either:

1- They released a horrible product

2- I got a "dud" somehow

3- My iPod mysteriously got fat

[airshark]

I spoke with Speck via email and they assured me that the cases should fit much better than that. Not only did they offer to refund all of my money, but they also invited me to stop by their shop tomorrow so that we could talk and I could see how it is supposed to fit on a 40GB. On top of all of that, I could not believe that they also offered to exchange my case for a "proper" one for no charge!

I thought that this kind of customer service had gone completely extinct. Absolutley amazing customer service. I hope everyone else gets good ones the first go-round.

[airshark]

Okay, so.....after a few emails back and forth with Amy from Speck, she invited me to visit their office in Palo Alto.

I had a chance to sit down with Amy and show her in person the case that I had recieved. The click wheel hole was definatley deformed and the rear part of the flap was sticking out. Amy refers to this as "iPod plumbers butt." I thought that was pretty funny.

She gladly gave me a new case and I must say, this one fits MUCH MUCH better than my first. It also feels slightly different to me somehow...less gummy. She also showed me a few other cases...all of which fit as they were supposed to.

Now, I must say that the level of customer service that I recieved from Speck was absolutley amazing. Refunding my money and giving me a case to thank me for my time coming in is so much more than any reasonable human being should or would expect from a company. I would recommend buying from Speck any day of the week. I'll post a few pictures of my new case here...

Amy- I wanted to thank you personally in public for our visit today. It was a pleasure meeting you. You are definatley an asset worth keeping around at your company. You made me feel very welcome and comfortable during my visit today and I appreciate that. You all look like you're having a great time over there (even if the outside of your building looks like it's abandoned :-) . Please let your engineer and other employees know of my appreciation.

[airshark]

New case Back View

[airshark]

New case close-up- The gap is MUCH smaller

[iDec]

It's still bad, too bad Lajo's cases are just coming out - you could have gotten one!

[Blaine23]

Seriously, I'm not a big Speck fan... I'm not a big fan of rubber iPod sleeves in general, but I have to admit I'm really impressed with your story regarding their customer service.

There's not alot of companies that would go to that much trouble to see one guy happy with the case he'd already paid for.

All in all, it's pretty impressive stuff and I hope other companies pay attention and learn something.

[kwik]

just order a Speck skin for my 4G 40G iPod.

But after reading about the Evo iSkin and how horrible their customer service is I was left with no other choice

Hopefully I don't get hit with one of the bad batches.

[davidwb]

I also got a defective Speck case and I'm not terribly impressed with the customer service. Amy answered my email in less than 30 minutes but her solution is for me to send the defective case back at my expense and then they will replace it.

Maybe I'm too critical but their case is defective and I have to send it back at my cost and wait yet another week or more for a replacement? I think they should be sending me a new case immediately and paying for the return. We'll see what happens next.

[jlo mein]

airshark, did the customer service people help you put the case on a certain way? Maybe these "defective" cases people are finding are perhaps just improper application? Or did they just stick it on the same way you did?

I bought the 3 pack of skins so both myself and my sister could have one each and a spare. We both have 20gig 4G's, so hopefully we won't experience the sizing/stretching problems you experienced with the larger 40gig.

[airshark]

Originally posted by jlo mein
airshark, did the customer service people help you put the case on a certain way? Maybe these "defective" cases people are finding are perhaps just improper application? Or did they just stick it on the same way you did?

They didn't put it on any special way. One tip they did mention was that it was best to pull it on using the sides and back. Pulling it by the hinge "flap" or the front may cause it to tear because there is less material there. Also, it would be much more likely to distort if you keep pulling it on and off by the front.

Also, on the 40GB model, it may take a day or two for the case to fully stretch and fit. I thought that was crazy until I left it on for a day...it fits pretty well now. I recommended to Amy that they post something about how the case may need to stretch a bit on the 40GB 4G model, but I've yet to see anything on Speckproducts.com about that. Also, nothing is mentioned about the recommended way to insert and remove your iPod.

It sucks that other people are having problems with their cases. I saw Amy cut my new case right out of a retail package, so no chance that they gave me anything special or pre-tested.

Does anyone have any pics of their "malformed" cases? I would be interested in seeing them as I'm sure others would be as well.

[davidwb]

I've had this case for 24 hours now and it hasn't stretched to conform to my 40 gig iPod so I don't think that is the issue. The hole for the click wheel is stretched out as is the hole for the LCD. The bottom puckers out just as shown in the pictures from AirShark. I took it off thinking maybe I'd just applied it wrong but even when I was careful to pull down from the sides the fit was the same. I think the problem may well be trying to stuff a 40 gig pod into a case that isn't big enough for it.

One other note: the hole on top which allows access to the plug and switch are way too big. I suspect it is to accommodate the iTrip but the lip along the back should be a little larger.

I received a UPS return label from Speck so I'll probably send it back Monday when I return to work - I'm on an extended Labor Day vacation at the moment. I think I'm going to request a refund. The more I look at this case the less happy I am.

[jlo mein]

Right now i'm really amazed with Fedex haha (and Speck's fast order processing!)...

I ordered my skin 3 pack late tuesday/early wednesday, it started shipping Fedex Express to Canada yeserday (wednesday), and TODAY (thursday) at noon the Fedex guy is already at my house. For $10 shipping i didn't think i would get such fast service. That was basically a day and a half to reach my door.

Just took me about 15 minutes to cut through that frustrating plastic packaging. After i Brasso my ipod for another half hour i'll put the Speck skin on.

NOTE: I must admit, the pink skin is really really really great looking. I'm probably using the white, and my sister wants the blue, but the pink is this great light bubble gum color. If I were metrosexually instyle i would totally use it.:D

EDIT: White speck skin pics added

http://www.sfu.ca/~jtlow/speckcase/IMGP0339.jpg

http://www.sfu.ca/~jtlow/speckcase/IMGP0340.jpg

http://www.sfu.ca/~jtlow/speckcase/IMGP0342.jpg

http://www.sfu.ca/~jtlow/speckcase/IMGP0343.jpg

[jlmodell]

i ordered my speck skin last friday, i'm waiting on it, hopefully today it will arrive today.

those pics are awesome jlo mein, i hope mine fits that well!

[PrettyRiddle]

not that impressed with my new 4G speck skin. I love the pink colour but it doesn't fir that well either (especially the flap at the back as in the top pix of this post). Can't be bothered returning though...

PR xx

[jlo mein]

i really dont know why ppl's skins aren't fitting well, unless this problem is specific to 30gb 4G ipods.

I changed my skin to the blue one and gave my sister the clear/white one and they both fit each of our ipods perfectly. I could not be happier with this skin (plus touching the weird rubber/plastic just feels great lol).

The most important part to make sure the bottom flap is fitted well is to make sure the little plug that goes into the docking port goes in all the way. Try holding the ipod in skin upside down, with the screen side facing you. Use both your thumbs in a rolling/smoothing motion upwards to try and get the flap (and the plug) moving towards the back. Maybe this will help.

I'm still trying to figure out if iSkin Evo2 hard plastic screen covers will fit with the speck skin, because they are selling them separately soon, and it would add great screen protection to the Speck skin.

[ender78]

Cases fit my 4G like a glove

[ender78]

Front

[airshark]

ENDER78 - Is that a 20 or 40GB iPod in those pictures?

[ender78]

20GB

[hengky]

2 satisfied customer who both own 20GB version.... no guessing which best fit size this skin is designed for....

Me... almost gone for it until I saw the Evo2.

[PrettyRiddle]

yeah i reckon speck need to do away with their "one size fits all" blurb - i just don't think the skin was made for my 40 Gb.

PR xx

[PrettyRiddle]

yeah i reckon speck need to do away with their "one size fits all" blurb - i just don't think the skin was made for my 40 Gb.

PR xx

[SouthPaw]

Once you put them on a 40gig you ruin them

[kwik]

received my speck about 1 1/2 weeks ago for my 4G 40G iPod. it fit snug but I had the same problem as others with bottom panel that flips out for the docking station not fitting snug like it shows on their website.

ALSO

purchased iTalk today and I couldn't receive a proper connection with the speck cover installed. So what's the point in using this cover now. I wanted to leave it on my desk, record some memos and not worry about someone knocking it to the floor. (still waiting to hear back from speck)