@SwapMeet:
Well, that's not what I meant, exactly. Holsters and belt clips can conceivably look good.

It's just a matter of designing them to look good, and not be clunky hack jobs like the the one pictures in this article. Which is to say, every holster I've yet seen is an ugly piece of crap.

Seriously, if they could just make it out of a single piece of ballistic nylon or rubberized polyurethane (for example) and keep the form rather minimal, with no visible seams on any protruding electronic or mechanical component, then it could look good, provided it doesn't jut out 4 inches from your hip.

As for fanny packs, though... *shudder.* I thought they went extinct around the early 90s. Don't tell me retro fashion is making its millionth comeback.

DisposableInterloper

@Curves: I saw a tricorder holster once. Scared the bejebus out of me.

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!

@Curves: Absolutely. Oh Curves, I never knew we were so different! I wouldn't waste my time with any woman who wasn't scared off by a holster (or pocket protector, etc)!

(Please note, this is not about "looks." It is about an awareness of socialization and social interaction, perhaps, but not necessarily the self-confidence to put effort into onesself, as well as a enjoyment in the distinction between what is and isn't aesthetically pleasing.)

*firmly entrenched in the style/fashion has its own non-offensive value camp*

92BuickLeSabre

Yes, some of you are. I have been shot down b/c a girl thought my blue cc pumas were ugly. Not that I cared cuz she was obviously a dink...

bpapa9013

Any woman who is scared off by a holster (or pocket protector, etc) wasnt worth the time you were going to waste getting to know her anyway.
(Are we really that shallow?)

Curves

@SwapMeet: That gets me hot thinking about it.

oo0EveryoneElseWasDoingIt0oo

@92BuickLeSabre:
No, but there's probably porn of lip biting on the internet somewhere. Rule #34.

SwapMeet

Nice phone diaper, I see it feeds your baby at the same time...

Another great example of the new design ethic:
Function follows fugly...

bpapa9013

@DisposableInterloper:
I'm having a running argument with my best friend about when holsters and belt clips became a fashion faux-pas. I'm pro-belt clip/holster, but friend is adamantly against it. Yah, you could argue that it's as stylish as a fanny pack. Maybe it's because I watched too many westerns and cop movies as a kid and think anything that hangs off a belt is cool.

SwapMeet

Why not just wear a power generator on your belt, it's about the same size.

Priest

@SwapMeet: And did you like it?

92BuickLeSabre

@92BuickLeSabre: @Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!: Dammit, you guys made me bite my lip on my breakfast.

SwapMeet

I don't think squeezing a 3G iPhone in that case is the best idea since a lot of people are reporting cracks.

11hawkinst

Well, "slick" and "holster" aren't mutually exclusive. It's just that people making holsters for gadgets typically don't have the slightest inkling of good taste in consumer electronics and fashion.

DisposableInterloper

I love how the picture uses an iPod Touch when the case is clearly meant for the iPhone (which is longer/taller, allowing it to ACTUALLY fit into the case :P)

Jon!

I should feel troubled that this reminds me of bondage footage. But I don't, and that troubles me.

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!

Looks to me like the screen is completely unprotected...which is a real no-no on something that you wear on the hip and constantly expose to the evils of the real world.

Chromeo

I'm pretty sure wearing this is 21st Century Code for "I'm into BDSM."

92BuickLeSabre

Sporrans!
Screw those gay Fupacks !
Sporrans are the ancient and honourable Scottish pouches for rations worn in the front at crotch level. Those who choose to wear wrap-around skirts have the added benefit of protecting their manly decency.
Perfect for iPhone or iPod Touch, crafted from tough-as-leather leather and covered in bristling but smooth as 40 year old Glen Fiddich boar's hair... she will be unable to keep from stroking it!

ANoel

To save battery, you should be able to seamlessly switch wifi hotspots. When walking around, the iPhone auto-connects to networks w/o security, but then continues to look for other networks until another one has a better signal and then makes the switch while still connected to the old one. Im having trouble finding flaws with this, besides the constant searching for networks.

mferrari

Wouldn't the constant charging also slowly kill your battery's capacity?

phoomp

@johnrhoward: I bought a case when I bought my phone last September. I used it for about a day. The iPhone slides into the pocket so easy, you don't even notice it's there, and it has no moving parts, so you don't get lint balls and whatnot in any hinges or sliding keyboards.

If one was keeping it in a purse or a bag all the time where it was constantly being rustled against other objects, a case would be good, but my left pocket is reserved for the iPhone, and I've had zero problems/damage.

GeekyNerdGuy

slick and pocketable?? Why would anyone spend that kind of money on something, then just stick it in their pocket where it's almost sure to get damaged? I carried my latest phone in my pocket for about 15 minutes from the time I bought it until I was able to get to the store to buy a case, and it felt wrong the whole time.

johnrhoward

@Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!: I like to call those Fupacks -- as they rest on the Fupa.

GeekyNerdGuy

Belt clip/holster - NEVER. Even one is 2 away from the nerd utility belt.

scaught

@DisposableInterloper: There are a very few people that can pull off a holster. Mostly I think they're former frat super yuppies that can pull of the total-corporate look of perfectly creased slacks even when they're at Starbucks on a Saturday.

For everyone else, it looks dorky.

And if you're looking for a holster to match your Tevas, go ahead because all hope was lost a long time ago.

/Actually like Tevas. Had to give them up.

GeekyNerdGuy

@DisposableInterloper: The fanny pack never actually went away. They can still be found nestled under belt line-spilling rolls draped in brightly colored striped polo shirts above odd-fitting cargo pants, probably holding several versions of the subway map, and a cheap cricket cell phone.

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!

Well one reason it might not work for 3G iPhones is that (apparently) Apple have disabled the 12v pins on the dock connector. Supposedly the new phones only charge through the USB cable.

The Register has an article about it up.

DancingJester

I wear a small camera bag on my hip off my belt, wherein I keep my Treo and iPod nano and perhaps a few small papers. If such a small thing is keeping women from finding me attractive, then they are not worth my time. I am not going to change who I am to fit someone else's conception of what a "real man" should be. I am a gadget addict, I love new toys and I appreciate finding efficient ways of toting them around. This holster doesn't look like one of those ways, but from a functional standpoint, not from a "I am not choosing him because that holster means his DNA is unfit for passing on to a next generation" standpoint.

One of the gym teachers (a single woman a couple of years older than I am) ribs me on occasion on my use of a gadget bag to tote my laptop and OQO around in school. I told her that it's the way I handle the storage and transportation of the tools I use in my classroom and I really don't care what she thinks about it. Then again, I have never pandered much to peer pressure, because, from an early age, I got the impression that many of my peers where sheeple idiots and I didn't need to emulate their stupidity.

gadjitfreek

@phoomp: No. Battery memory is much of a problem in the new lithium ion stuff.

GeekyNerdGuy

@DisposableInterloper: the fanny pack hasnt come to terms with extinction, it evolved. and might i add that this new incarnation certainly has its place in my back pack repetiour
[www.thenorthface.com]

im_back

@Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!:
Nyuuurgh, GHAAAAA! Horrifying mental image!

@GeekyNerdGuy:
Well, you know how brands like Timbuk2 make messenger bags with enduring style? Why aren't there comparable holster-makers?

I have in mind something thin that envelops the device, keeps it hidden so as to not look completely geeky, holds the device so that the longest side is parallel to your hip while keeping it flat against your hip/butt, and allows the phone to be drawn quickly from the front.

All the iPhone holsters I've seen thus far are either glorified clips that show the world that you're wide open for mugging, awkwardly strapped leather pouches that buldge out really far, or really big extra-geeky leg packs that have a crotch belt, and each and every one is painfully ugly compared to the sleek beauty of the iPhone.

DisposableInterloper

@Gann: Nope, it's for the speaker. the touch is sitting on the strap that would secure the other side of the phone with a hole for the button.

Gann

@Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!: They do look like little leather naughty-pants for your iPhone.

I'm also pretty sure they have it in upside-down. I think that little hole in the 'crotch' of the leather is to let you fondle its button.

Gann

@phoomp: Let me look into that ...

I think all batteries do, but I seriously doubt you're going to get through the charge cycles of an iPhone battery before you upgrade.

GeekyNerdGuy

@GeekyNerdGuy:
But, don't lithium ion batteries have a finite number of charge cycles before their capacity starts to decrease?

phoomp

@DisposableInterloper: "I have in mind something thin that envelops the device, keeps it hidden so as to not look completely geeky, holds the device so that the longest side is parallel to your hip while keeping it flat against your hip/butt, and allows the phone to be drawn quickly from the front."

Congratulations! You've just invented the pocket.

frigg

"but I don't see any reason why you couldn't squeeze a 3G in"

I do. If they say it only works with 1st gen, then it probably won't charge the 3G. I went on a road trip last weekend and discovered to my shock and dismay that both of my 12-volt chargers would not charge the iPhone 3G. I get a message on screen telling me that "charging is not supported with this accessory."

Both chargers (one is a Transpod charger/FM transmitter) were originally bought for my 3rd gen iPod, but I had used both with my 1st gen iPhone without issue, so the 3G's rejection of them was a surprise.

zeku

While you probably could squeeze a 3G into there, it won't charge. Most car chargers or other attachments like that that previously worked in the 'regular' iPhone don't work on the 3G. People at the Apple store will tell you differently, but when I was looking for a new car charger with the iPhone 3G logo on it at the Apple store, many other customers were there with me returning accessories that they bought for the iPhone 3G that failed to charge it. I had the same trouble with my car charger.

miakeru

@frigg:
Tell me what pocket is pants-independent (preferably attached to a belt like a holster) and meets my specifications, and I'll buy it in an instant. As far as I know, there are none.

Let's see:
1. Keeps the device such that the long side is parallel to the hip.
Only big, baggy cargo pants can really fit the bill, and I have a bagginess threshold.
2. Envelops the device.
Skin-tight pants kinda-sorta fit the bill, but I likewise have a tightness threshold.
3. Holds the device flat against the hip/butt transition area.
Hmm, can't really think of anything but a lopsided fanny pack.
4. Allows the device to be drawn quickly from the front (as in, your anatomical anterior, if that makes it clearer).
Well, I could sew a cargo pocket shut and slash the front side of it open, but then I risk losing my precious gadget.

Seriously, there's no need for snark. If you want to call that a pocket, then everything from holsters to bags can be called pockets.

@im_back:
That's worn for pragmatic reasons, though. Hunters and hikers can be seen carrying bags like those as well. Nevertheless, I would not expect to see any person with any shred of taste (most fashion-unaware people included) wearing a fanny pack as a fashion statement, or in place of a purse/backpack/messenger in their day-to-day activities.

DisposableInterloper

@GeekyNerdGuy:
From what I've read, a typical lithium-ion battery has about 300-500 charge cycles before it's capacity starts to drop. If you're plugging the iPhone into a power source multiple times a day, I'd say you could easily get through 300-500 cycles in less than a year.
[www.batteryuniversity.com]

phoomp