Our phones have already become smart, but do we need our phone cases to become smarter as well? i-Blades thinks we should and they unveiled during CES 2015 the world’s first “smart” smartphone case as they believe what holds your device can actually be turned into something that will personalize it even more. Using the “blades” technology (patented and patent-pending), the case can be turned into not just a battery extender, but a storage, software, and hardware extender as well.
According to CEO Jorge Fernandes, customizing a smartphone’s functionality and adding features to it was possible without actually having to build a brand new smartphone. That’s where the blades technology and modular platform comes in. There is a Base Blade that gives you the basic functionality of being a case and a battery extender and it attaches to your smartphone using the micro USB and then has an outward facing connector so that you can still use it for other functions like charging or connecting to external items.
Then the fun really starts with the other Blades you can attach to the Base Blade. The Memory Blade can provide added external memory of up to 1TB for your smartphone, solving your storage problems if you have a lot of pictures, videos and music. The Sports Blade meanwhile can be added so you can track your fitness activities like running and sports, hunting, fishing, and even pets management. You can even use it as a remote control for drones. The Medical Blade is for health monitoring, like diabetes and heartbeat.
They will also be providing a platform for developers to create add-on blades to the base or to create new customized blades. They also plan to partner with other case makers as well as OEMs to offer their technology to create more products and expand options for their consumers. They plan to ship sample cases to partners by April or May, ramp up by August or September and then make it available to the market by December. No pricing details yet but initial estimates say that the Base Blade or extended battery might be at $20 while a 1TB Memory Blade can cost as much as $1,000.
SOURCE: i-Blades
How about a case that fits well to more than one phone models? Especially now that you are making a case so much more expensive by adding the smart tag to it…
Sounds great. Another options could include:
– built in torch/flashlight (so you don’t need to switch on the phone, unlock it press an app icon and THEN turn on a light).
– splitter/two micro usb ports, to enable usb mode/charging AND hdmi out.
– built on hardware keyboard/ gamepad. I
I’m interested!