Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Sunday, September 15, 2013

The Apple iPhone 5s Camera and The BulletTrain SAFE Wallet


The Apple iPhone 5s is 100% Compatible 
with The BulletTrain SAFE Wallet for iPhone 5!!!

One of the top questions I have been getting since before the introduction of the all-new Apple iPhone 5s, is wether or not our BulletTrain SAFE Wallet for iPhone 5 would work with and fit the iPhone 5s, and if it did not, how long would it take for us to get to market with a dedicated iPhone 5s BulletTrain SAFE Wallet?

The great news, is from Apple's detailed schematics, the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s are identical in height, width and thickness. The only really difference it that the iPhone 5s ads a second flash, and that has an effect on the "KeepOut Zone" that is surrounded by the camera ring. 

We have completed our detailed analysis of the Official Apple iPhone 5s Dimensional Drawing Schematics and concluded that the camera ring on our iPhone 5 BulletTrain SAFE Wallet not only meets, but exceeds Apples published minimum requirements for the camera flash "KeepOut Zone", which means the BulletTrain SAFE Wallet for iPhone 5 will fit and work flawlessly with the iPhone 5s!!!

Photo above shows iPhone 5s in a BulletTrain SAFE Wallet for iPhone 5/5s Model

The first Official Apple iPhone schematic below is of the iPhone 5, followed by the iPhone 5s, and iPhone 5c schematics. 

Official Apple iPhone 5 Dimensional Drawing Schematic Pictured Above


Official Apple iPhone 5s Dimensional Drawing Schematic Pictured Above


We plan to make a BulletTrain SAFE Wallet for the iPhone 5c after we complete and deliver the iPhone 4/4s version, which we plan to launch soon on Kickstarter.

Official Apple iPhone 5C Dimensional Drawing Schematic Pictured Above


Below, is an Official Apple iPhone 5s Camera video, which highlights many of the innovative new camera features Apple has incorporated into the iPhone 5s.




Wednesday, September 11, 2013

BulletTrain SAFE Wallet Stealth Secret Stash Stowaway Compartment Verbatim 32GB Tuff-'N'-Tiny USB Drive


BulletTrain SAFE Wallet
Stealth Secret Stash Stowaway Compartment
Verbatim 32GB Tuff-'N'-Tiny USB Drive

I originally designed the BulletTrain SAFE Wallet's Secret Stash to be able to hide away a cash bill, and in the photo below, we see $100 Bill with the addition of a Verbatim 32GB USB 2.0 SSD Drive, and yes, and as you can see, there is even room for a micro SIM card, for when you are traveling internationally. 

Customers stowaway all kinds of interesting items in their BulletTrain SAFE Wallet Secret Stash Compartment. You can even store 2 bills, folded-up origami style in it if you wish to. I actually cary the 32GB Verbatim USB Drive in mine, but unlike the photo below, I keep it and the SOM card behind the $100 Bill, so that when I remove my iPhone, the USB Drive and Sim card won't fall out easily. In other words, I keep the USB drive and SIM Card held in place behind the $100 Bill.


Verbatim 32GB Tuff 'N' Tiny USB Drive Pictured Above in Series 2 BulletTrain SAFE Wallet Secret Stash

The Verbatim Tuff-'N'-Tiny USB Drive is not only really, really small, but also extremely rugged, and water-resistant. It comes with a Lifetime Warranty, and works with Macs and PCs. It is as thin as a penny, and of course it can be password protected.


I bought the Verbatim 32GB USB Drive on Amazon for under $27, and they also offer them in 16GB, 8GB and 4GB. The Verbatim Tuff 'N' Tiny is eligible for 2 day shipping using Amazon Prime.



Saturday, September 7, 2013

Sneak Preview of the Series 2 BulletTrain SAFE Wallet


...Sneak Preview...

Series 2
BulletTrain SAFE Wallet
Polar White with BeadBlast

Our shipper made a mistake and sent out some production prototypes to our customers of the upcoming Series 2 BulletTrain SAFE Wallet, so customers have been asking me about it, and I thought I would share some photos with you. 

The Series 2 BulletTrain SAFE Wallet, is very similar in many ways to the Series 1, but it lacks any Soft Touch Paint. Instead it has a BeadBlast finish on the back and the door is color coordinated with the body, so with the Polar White one below the whole thing is white with the exception of the black buttons and bumper.


I designed the whole Series 2 BulletTrain SAFE Wallet with a matte finish so it won't get scratched very easily, and will look good for a long time.


The two photos below shows a Series 1 Polar White BulletTrain SAFE Wallet  on the left side, next to the Series 2 Arctic White BulletTrain SAFE Wallet. The internal codename for the White Series 1 one at BulletTrain is "The Storm Trooper" and the Series 2 is named "The Panda."


When will the Series 2 be available? Hopefully pretty soon, like in the next several weeks. Will it come in other colors? Yes. I will initially be offered in 6 beautiful colors. Will we offer a pink one for the ladies? Yes ;-)





How The BulletTrain SAFE Wallet Silent/Ring Switch Works


How The BulletTrain SAFE Wallet Silent/Ring Switch Works

The entire first production of BulletTrain SAFE Wallets has been shipped out, with many very happy customers. Some customers have been confused by how the Silent/Switch functions on the BulletTrain SAFE Wallet, which can be confusing. The intent of this article is to help anybody who is confused with this issue to easily overcome it.

Step 1: is to install your iPhone 5 into your BulletTrain SAFE Wallet.

It does NOT matter which position the Ring/Silent Switch is in on the iPhone 5 when you install it. It will automatically properly seat itself in step 2.

Install your iPhone by laying it flat on top of the BulletTrain SAFE Wallet with the wallet door closed, then press down on each of the four iPhone 5 corners, one at a time, until all four iPhone 5 corners are installed in the BulletTrain SAFE Wallet.



Step 2: After you install your iPhone 5 in your BulletTrain SAFE Wallet, the side profile should look like it does in the photo of the iPhone on the left side, pictured above.  The Ring/Silent Switch will appear as if it is in the muted position, but it is NOT.

In order to properly activate the Ring/Silent Switch you MUST grab it between your left index fingernail and left thumbnail, then pull up on the Ring/Silent Switch, toward the iPhone front glass, untill you feel it grab and engage the iPhone Ring/Silent Switch. 

At first this may feel akward, but you will easily get used to it, and it will become second nature. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WHEN YOU PULL BACK ON THE RING/SILENT SWITCH THE FIRST TIME AFTER YOU HAVE REINSTALLED YOUR IPHONE THAT YOU PULL IT BACK TOWARD THE IPHONE GLASS SCREEN REALLY HARD. TRY DOING IT 10 TIMES HARDER THAN YOU THINk YOU WILL NEED TO, AND IT WILL WORK.

Don't worry about being too aggressive with this. Pulling back aggressively to engage the Ring/Silent Switch cannot harm your iPhone in any way.

Once you have followed the instructions above, every time you move the Ring/Silent Switch back and forth it will work properly, until you remove your iPhone 5 from your BulletTrain SAFE Wallet. Every time you reinstall your iPhone 5 in your BulletTrain SAFE Wallet, you must follow these instructions again. Don't worry, if it seem complicated, it will become second nature before you know it ;-)

Once you have the Ring/Silent Switch properly engaged, when it is  down in the silent position, it will look like it is not all the way down, kind of like it should be able to slide down further, but it cannot slide down any further. In other words, it may look to be in between muted and un-muted, but it is NOT–IT IS IN THE MUTED POSITION. This is a design defect, we plan to fix in the future. In other words, when it is in the down position, it should appear like you slid it all the way down.

The installation video below shows hot install your iPhone into your SAFE Wallet.



If after reading this article, you still have a challenge, please call BulletTrain at (415) 440-1400, and we will assist you.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Why I Over-Engineered The Bottom Of The BulletTrain SAFE Wallet For Durability...


Why I Over-Engineered The Bottom Of The
BulletTrain SAFE Wallet For Durability


Some customers have asked the question of whether or not, at the bottom of the BulletTrain SAFE Wallet, where the headphone jack and Lightning cable slide in, if the hole is big enough to accommodate the standard White Apple Headset with a 3.5MM jack, as well as the standard White Apple USB to Lighting cable that both come standard with every iPhone 5? The answer is yes!!!


The photo above shows the BulletTrain SAFE Wallet with the standard Apple Lightning cable and Headphones in front of a BulletTrain SAFE Wallet for iPhone 5/5s. The photo below shows the same standard Apple made cables plugged into the BulletTrain SAFE Wallet for iPhone 5/5s.



I designed the BulletTrain SAFE Wallet headphone jack and Lightning openings to perfectly accommodate the standard Apple Headphone and Lightning cable as seen in the photo above. 

I did not make the openings any larger for several important reasons. First, and foremost, I wanted to preserve and maintain as much structural integrity as possible, so that if you drop your BulletTrain SAFE Wallet, it will be as sturdy and protective as possible. Secondly, in order for the BulletTrain SAFE Wallet to work properly, the hollow-core wallet door needs to stay square, and won't work properly if the case were to easily flex. 

Thirdly, almost all third-party Lightning adapters are not Apple Certified with the "Made for iPhone" certification on their retail package. There have been numerous reports that these counterfeit Lightning adapters can cause adverse effects, like instability of current causing battery failure, or even worse, destroying and bricking an iPhone so it is beyond economical repair. This is included in Apple's troubleshooting procedures for power and charging related issues for the iPhone 5 family. Also, it has been widely reported, that imitation Lighting cables have an EXTREMELY high  failure rate, which leaves the end-user with no warranty recourse.

The BulletTrain SAFE Wallet is the only hard-shelled case made that is unibody, and seamless. This makes it much easier to install and remove your iPhone 5/5s due to the increased structural integrity the SAFE offers. This makes installing and removing your iPhone very easy and fast, and unlike many other case which flex, it does not feel like you need to use pliers to remove your iPhone.


The iPhone 5 is really skinny, so it does not leave much room for mass, when you have large openings located at the bottom. Many iPhone cases have oversized openings at the bottom, but if you drop them the wrong way, they will easily crack, and as the designer of the the BulletTrain SAFE Wallet I wanted to do everything I could to reinforce bottom.

The photo below is of a competitors product, which I will not mention by name, but they attempted to create an oversized opening on their iPhone 4 case to accommodate larger aftermarket 30 pin connectors, and this is the result. Once again, I want to reiterate this in NOT a BulletTrain product, and it perfectly illustrates why I chose to reinforce the bottom of the BulletTrain SAFE Wallet, instead of weakening it, to accommodate aftermarket jacks and cables.



3.5 MM Headphone Adapter Solutions

We are working on developing our own 3.5MM Adapter that will allow you to use ANY aftertermarket headset with the BulletTrain SAFE Wallet, but for now there are many aftermarket solutions that will help you overcome this challenge. The 3.5MM Male to 3.5MM female adapter pictured below is made by iLuv and it is called the Connect and Control, Remote Control Adapter. 


The iLuv Connect and Control, Remote Control Adapter pictured above and below works with iPad and iPod, and iPhones and not only allows you to use Headphones with a 3.5MM headphone jack, but also features a set of buttons that include Volume Up, Volume Down, Play/Pause, and can Skip Tracks backward or forward. It also allows you to press and hold the center button to hear the title of the song, as well as the name of the artist. It even allows you to switch playlists! 

I have tested the iLuv and it works perfectly with the BulletTrain SAFE Wallet, and it only costs $7 on Amazon, and it also qualifies for free 2 day Amazon Prime Shipping. It also comes in black and white. Click here to view the iLuv adapter on Amazon.



I have not had a chance to test the Belkin Headphone Adapter seen below, but I think it should also work with the BulletTrain SAFE Wallet.




This Belkin adapter is also available on Amazon for $17 with free Amazon Free Shipping. As I mentioned, I have not had a chance to test it, but when I do, I will confirm it works.

A Kickstarer supporter discovered this 3.5MM Stereo Headphone Adapter Extension which he said fits and works with the BulletTrain SAFE Wallet and only costs $4, and can be purchased through iGearUSA.

BulletTrain SAFE Wallet Compatible Headphones
These Headphones Do NOT Require An Adapter

Below is a list of all headphones we know of that fit and work with the BulletTrain SAFE Wallet, and do NOT require an adapter. This list is compiled from our own examination as well as from customers who have written in to help us improve this list.

• Apple Standard White Earbuds
• Any Wireless Bluetooth Headphones
• Beats Headphones by Dr. Dre
• Sennheiser MX980
• Skull Headphones
• Sony MDR-10RNC
• Yurbuds




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