DAmacreviews: Aeris Rail

With an attempt to combine style and protection, many iPhone users resort to an Aluminum bumper as a case. Many people do not like the screws and hassle that most of these metal bumpers bring to the table, yet they still cannot deny the way they look. In the special case of the Aeris Rail, the screws are completely taken out of the picture. The company spent a long time working on the design and finally got it, the perfect mix between style and ease of use. Outside of the advantage of not having screws, the company has also come up with a system along with their product but more on that later.

The Screw-less design of the Aeris Rail does set it apart, but first, lets talk about its other features. The case is designed very well with a nice home button, and openings for the headphone jack, the 30-pin connector/speakers, and the volume buttons/switch. The home button is CNC-machines aluminum and feels flawless. The headphone jack is pretty far away from the phone. This causes for some headphones not to work, but not all. The only pair of headphones I have tested is the Beats Tour, the L-shaped side will not work. But rest assured that many jacks will work as long as you are conscious of the size of the jack when purchasing a new pair. The distance from the case to the phone is not terribly far and any regular person can press the volume buttons without any problem. Finally, the 30-pin connector can handle the iPhone cord but not much thinker of a charger head.

The Rail provides enough protection to fend off any fall. Protection is no question very good. The biggest question that everyone wants answered is about signal. For those who do not know, aluminum is a conductor metal. When dealing with signal, if aluminum interferes with the signal chip, the phone will lose signal. While this case is aluminum, the signal interference, is minimal because of the plastic barrier. The plastic piece is used as a buffer for signal, and for the screw-less design. So exactly how little does the signal hurt, for those who understand the number terminology, at my house is -92 with no case on (roughly 2-3 bars). With the Rail case on I receive -96 (still 2-3 bars). While yes, this is a decrease; it is much less than the other cases that I have recently seen. The signal hit has never really affected me and I think most of the users for this case would agree. One other question that is often received is about taking the case on and off. There really is no difficulty at all. Once you put it on once and take it off, you will understand the feel for how it works. You simply have to snap the plastic piece on, and then slide the top of the phone, face down into the aluminum bumper. Then you put the plastic piece halfway into the bumper and finally snap it in. The steps are extremely simple and easy to pick up on.

Every case out there has to deal with the questions I just answered: protection, accessibility, signal loss, etc. But what else does this case have to offer? What separates this case from the other? Aeris would call it “The System.” To simply explain the “system” that they are referring to, the case’s ridges (or design) are utilized as a track for accessories. What kind of accessories do you ask? A visor, a fullback, a kickstand, a bike mount, and my personal favorite, a battery pack. All of these accessories will be sold separately and have not even been released yet. To briefly explain a few of the accessories, the visor slides on to be a front screen protector. The fullback is basically a super strong back plate. The kickstand can stand the phone horizontal and vertical. The bike mount will be able to do the same as the stand just on a bicycle. Finally, the battery pack, which just slides on and makes the back larger. All of these accessories will complete the entire “system” of the rail.

After talking to the two owners/designers of Aeris, they both were friendly and understanding of anything I had to say. The Aeris Rail retails for roughly $100 on their website. For someone looking for a cheaper version, the “Rail +” is the process of manufacturing and is made of ballistic grade polycarbonate. If you are one of the people who do not care about the aluminum or cannot handle the minimal dip of signal, the kickstarter page is right here for you to back. The Rail + may be purchased for $40 in the future on their website. The kickstarter page only has 23 days so hurry and go back their company! Both cases can be purchased in an array of colors. Aeris’ iPhone system has revolutionized the idea of a case and should be successful for many days to come.