"Impact absorbent" is hardly a new claim in mobile accessories, but Tech21 believes its products are a cut above the rest. This week at CTIA Wireless 2012, the company has been demoing the impressive resilience of its device cases, which are lined with a special impact fabric called D30. The company says this material is different from others because it "absorbs impact at the molecular level." In fact, the team is so confident in D30's protective attributes that they even had UK Country Manager Jon Rogers cover his hands in the orange goo and smash his hand with a metal blade. How did he fare? Check out our video below for a hands-on look at the power of the material.
Tech21 even calls out its competition, advertising that in a 1.5-meter drop test, its basic Impact Band (essentially their version of an iPhone bumper) fares 71% better than Apple's own bumper, 48% better than the Otterbox Commuter, 43% better than the Speck Case and 25% better than the Otterbox Defender. It's a bold claim, but it's certainly enough to generate interest in the product line.
If you're wondering why we haven't heard of this company and its licensed wonder material in the past, it's because Tech21 had previously been in an OEM agreement with T-Mobile for the past year. They provided the technology in all of T-Mobile's branded cases and had to keep quiet about it, but now, the exclusivity agreement is up -- and the UK-based company is planning to make a splash in the North American market. Today at their hotel suite in New Orleans, they showed off not only smartphone cases but a collection of sleek and classic-looking sleeves, jackets and portfolios for tablets and laptops.
We were told that Tech21's e-commerce site would be live by next week, and entrance into other retail sites would follow shortly. But if you're much too impatient to wait for those links, you can mosey right over to Tech21's official website to learn more about their products.
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