The Dodo Case is a hand-made hardcover book style case that is made to resemble a Moleskine classic hardcover sketchbook. They’ve copied the Moleskine down to a tee. And if you’re a Moleskine user, you’ll probably appreciate the Dodo Case’s attention to detail. Since we use Moleskine (or sometimes knock-off) sketch books, we were lured in by the Dodo Case design. After perusing the image gallery and videos, we decided to take the plunge into Dodo world. Word of warning, it did take 4-6 weeks to get our case. Good things come to those who wait.

The case’s interior is red and has proven to have very sturdy construction.

As you can see the Dodo iPad case looks identical to the classic Moleskine sketchbook. This is a bonus if you fit the Stuff White People Like mold.

One of the greatest features is the bamboo hard frame to protect from corner damage. Each of the four corners has a durable foam pad that secures the iPad in place. It holds the iPad much better than we thought it would. If you’re concerned about it staying in place, Dodo recommends some extra Velcro as a security measure on the back of the iPad. We decided to deface our iPad with Velcro, because we do have kids handling it.

Close up of the attention to detail. Cut-outs for the volume and orientation lock buttons. All necessary ports and buttons have the proper access.

You can charge your iPad with the case fully closed and elastic band in place, no speaker obstruction either.

Every attempt to be a look alike was made, down to the blind deboss of the logo. Sometimes it feels like such a rip-off of the Moleskine, but then again, I wish I had the idea… they’ve sold well over 10,000 units at $60 a pop! (I will pat myself on the back, because we ordered ours when the price was $49.95, rather than the current $59.95)

Now onto the challenger. You’re looking at a Uline Kraft Stay Flat™ envelope here (item # S-2356), with custom iPad artist rendering by Reddoor. This is a one-of-a-kind iPad case, and because of its uniqueness, we can’t ascribe a value to it. Although, Uline does sell them for $0.40 (if purchased in bulk).

I felt like it was only fair to give some detail shots to the Uline Stay Flat™ here. The black masking tape was an after-market add-on to reinforce the adhesive that came loose due to the amount of use.

The Uline Kraft Stay Flat™ iPad case was inconspicuous and almost necessitated something that said “Do not throw away.”

Well here’s our final review. Each case had its merits, but we did have had a clear winner rise to the top. Final breakdown for each of our judgment criteria shown below (the winning case is noted after the criteria):

// Price: Uline Kraft Stay Flat™ iPad case
// Durability: Dodo Case
// Aesthetics: Dodo Case
// Uniqueness: Uline Kraft Stay Flat™ iPad case// Functionality: Dodo Case
// Looks like a book: Dodo Case
// Can be confused for an inexpensive envelope: Uline Kraft Stay Flat™ iPad case (could be argued as a security feature)

***Over all winner: Dodo Case***

Just because we love the Dodo Case, it doesn’t mean we won’t produce signed and numbered Uline Kraft Stay Flat™ iPad cases for $59.95. Email us if you want one.

As we learn more we will keep everyone posted here on the blog (we don’t want keep filling up your inbox). Thanks for your continued patience.

If you are reading this and saying, “what’s RED?,” then you should know! RED is template-based branding service geared specifically for photographers who are most likely 0-3 years in the business and need their visual communication pieces to be as good as their photography.

Does that sound like you? Then sign up for our mailing list where we will keep you in the loop and offer tips and discounts when we launch.

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Back in February we had a post called Why No Flash? It contained some thoughts on why flash programming on mobile devices will never work. It focused on the element of touch and interactivity that flash requires. Well, the other day I was perusing Apple’s site to gawk at the iPad and I saw this little button in the lower left-hand corner. Pretty interesting read. It’s basically Apple’s (Steve Jobs) take on the future of flash. You can read the whole article here. Or continue reading below, where the article is included in it’s entirety.

THOUGHTS ON FLASH

Apple has a long relationship with Adobe. In fact, we met Adobe’s founders when they were in their proverbial garage. Apple was their first big customer, adopting their Postscript language for our new Laserwriter printer. Apple invested in Adobe and owned around 20% of the company for many years. The two companies worked closely together to pioneer desktop publishing and there were many good times. Since that golden era, the companies have grown apart. Apple went through its near death experience, and Adobe was drawn to the corporate market with their Acrobat products. Today the two companies still work together to serve their joint creative customers – Mac users buy around half of Adobe’s Creative Suite products – but beyond that there are few joint interests.

I wanted to jot down some of our thoughts on Adobe’s Flash products so that customers and critics may better understand why we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. Adobe has characterized our decision as being primarily business driven – they say we want to protect our App Store – but in reality it is based on technology issues. Adobe claims that we are a closed system, and that Flash is open, but in fact the opposite is true. Let me explain.

First, there’s “Open”.

Adobe’s Flash products are 100% proprietary. They are only available from Adobe, and Adobe has sole authority as to their future enhancement, pricing, etc. While Adobe’s Flash products are widely available, this does not mean they are open, since they are controlled entirely by Adobe and available only from Adobe. By almost any definition, Flash is a closed system.

Apple has many proprietary products too. Though the operating system for the iPhone, iPod and iPad is proprietary, we strongly believe that all standards pertaining to the web should be open. Rather than use Flash, Apple has adopted HTML5, CSS and JavaScript – all open standards. Apple’s mobile devices all ship with high performance, low power implementations of these open standards. HTML5, the new web standard that has been adopted by Apple, Google and many others, lets web developers create advanced graphics, typography, animations and transitions without relying on third party browser plug-ins (like Flash). HTML5 is completely open and controlled by a standards committee, of which Apple is a member.

Apple even creates open standards for the web. For example, Apple began with a small open source project and created WebKit, a complete open-source HTML5 rendering engine that is the heart of the Safari web browser used in all our products. WebKit has been widely adopted. Google uses it for Android’s browser, Palm uses it, Nokia uses it, and RIM (Blackberry) has announced they will use it too. Almost every smartphone web browser other than Microsoft’s uses WebKit. By making its WebKit technology open, Apple has set the standard for mobile web browsers.

Second, there’s the “full web”.

Adobe has repeatedly said that Apple mobile devices cannot access “the full web” because 75% of video on the web is in Flash. What they don’t say is that almost all this video is also available in a more modern format, H.264, and viewable on iPhones, iPods and iPads. YouTube, with an estimated 40% of the web’s video, shines in an app bundled on all Apple mobile devices, with the iPad offering perhaps the best YouTube discovery and viewing experience ever. Add to this video from Vimeo, Netflix, Facebook, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, ESPN, NPR, Time, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, People, National Geographic, and many, many others. iPhone, iPod and iPad users aren’t missing much video.

Another Adobe claim is that Apple devices cannot play Flash games. This is true. Fortunately, there are over 50,000 games and entertainment titles on the App Store, and many of them are free. There are more games and entertainment titles available for iPhone, iPod and iPad than for any other platform in the world.

Third, there’s reliability, security and performance.

Symantec recently highlighted Flash for having one of the worst security records in 2009. We also know first hand that Flash is the number one reason Macs crash. We have been working with Adobe to fix these problems, but they have persisted for several years now. We don’t want to reduce the reliability and security of our iPhones, iPods and iPads by adding Flash.

In addition, Flash has not performed well on mobile devices. We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it. Adobe publicly said that Flash would ship on a smartphone in early 2009, then the second half of 2009, then the first half of 2010, and now they say the second half of 2010. We think it will eventually ship, but we’re glad we didn’t hold our breath. Who knows how it will perform?

Fourth, there’s battery life.

To achieve long battery life when playing video, mobile devices must decode the video in hardware; decoding it in software uses too much power. Many of the chips used in modern mobile devices contain a decoder called H.264 – an industry standard that is used in every Blu-ray DVD player and has been adopted by Apple, Google (YouTube), Vimeo, Netflix and many other companies.

Although Flash has recently added support for H.264, the video on almost all Flash websites currently requires an older generation decoder that is not implemented in mobile chips and must be run in software. The difference is striking: on an iPhone, for example, H.264 videos play for up to 10 hours, while videos decoded in software play for less than 5 hours before the battery is fully drained.

When websites re-encode their videos using H.264, they can offer them without using Flash at all. They play perfectly in browsers like Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome without any plugins whatsoever, and look great on iPhones, iPods and iPads.

Fifth, there’s Touch.

Flash was designed for PCs using mice, not for touch screens using fingers. For example, many Flash websites rely on “rollovers”, which pop up menus or other elements when the mouse arrow hovers over a specific spot. Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch interface doesn’t use a mouse, and there is no concept of a rollover. Most Flash websites will need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices. If developers need to rewrite their Flash websites, why not use modern technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript?

Even if iPhones, iPods and iPads ran Flash, it would not solve the problem that most Flash websites need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices.

Sixth, the most important reason.

Besides the fact that Flash is closed and proprietary, has major technical drawbacks, and doesn’t support touch based devices, there is an even more important reason we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. We have discussed the downsides of using Flash to play video and interactive content from websites, but Adobe also wants developers to adopt Flash to create apps that run on our mobile devices.

We know from painful experience that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform. If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features. We cannot be at the mercy of a third party deciding if and when they will make our enhancements available to our developers.

This becomes even worse if the third party is supplying a cross platform development tool. The third party may not adopt enhancements from one platform unless they are available on all of their supported platforms. Hence developers only have access to the lowest common denominator set of features. Again, we cannot accept an outcome where developers are blocked from using our innovations and enhancements because they are not available on our competitor’s platforms.

Flash is a cross platform development tool. It is not Adobe’s goal to help developers write the best iPhone, iPod and iPad apps. It is their goal to help developers write cross platform apps. And Adobe has been painfully slow to adopt enhancements to Apple’s platforms. For example, although Mac OS X has been shipping for almost 10 years now, Adobe just adopted it fully (Cocoa) two weeks ago when they shipped CS5. Adobe was the last major third party developer to fully adopt Mac OS X.

Our motivation is simple – we want to provide the most advanced and innovative platform to our developers, and we want them to stand directly on the shoulders of this platform and create the best apps the world has ever seen. We want to continually enhance the platform so developers can create even more amazing, powerful, fun and useful applications. Everyone wins – we sell more devices because we have the best apps, developers reach a wider and wider audience and customer base, and users are continually delighted by the best and broadest selection of apps on any platform.

Conclusions.

Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.

The avalanche of media outlets offering their content for Apple’s mobile devices demonstrates that Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content. And the 200,000 apps on Apple’s App Store proves that Flash isn’t necessary for tens of thousands of developers to create graphically rich applications, including games.

New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.

Steve Jobs
April, 2010

This video review from Engadget gives you a good idea of what it looks like to ride the U3-X.

This demonstration video from Honda is a bit more, well weird. For a company making such revolutionary technology, you’d think they could have made a less cheesy promo video? However, you do get to see the rolling stool in action.

I couldn’t resist sharing some of the highly awkward press photos with you all. I think these two ladies are working together in an abandoned modern office building, or they may be the last two people on earth? At least they have a U3-X.

You can carry heavy boxes. I’m also assuming carrying things on the U3-X will lead to the even funnier bloopers video montage. Fingers crossed.

You can also browse a fine art gallery.

“Hi, I like your khakis.”
“I like yours too.”

“Like totally…omg”

If you’re a fan of the old school Nintendo video games, then you’re in luck. Today is Super Mario Day on the Reddoor Design blog! Maybe I’m late to the game, but where has the Super Mario resurrection been all my life? Let the time-wasting begin…

You can play Mario in the window below. Click the “controls” icon at the bottom of the page to begin use. L & R arrows control Mario and Space Bar is jump. For those Mario experts, the comma is fast run. Turning the sound way up really takes me back… Here’s to rescuing the princess!

Via 72dpi.

I don’t know what these little design gems are going for, but if you happen to be in Hong Kong April 12-15, 2010 maybe you can let me know? The Desk Phone Dock seems to be premiering at the Electronics & Components China Sourcing Fair.

Read more about the Desk Phone Dock. Via the Cool Hunter.

Speaking of Becker… he was gracious enough to help Tim and I the other day when we were in a tight spot. We were were on a deadline for submitting head shots for an article we were being featured in, and Becker showed up, camera in hand, and delivered. We replaced our own head shots on ReddoorLA.com with some of Becker’s shots, take a peek, and visit the “Who Are We?” link. New photos sure make you feel like a million bucks, don’t they? Thanks again Becker!

The full page magazine version:

Tim’s new web head shot. Looking good.

My fresh photo.

If you haven’t heard already, a couple of Reddoor Branding Alumni: Becker and Jessica, along with several other photo super-stars (Dane Sanders, David Jay, Jasmine Star, Jerry Ghionis, and Jeremy Cowart) are headlining the ESCALATE conference in Newport Beach, CA on May 17 & 18. If you’re in SoCal, or anywhere near you ought to get your bee-hind to Newport! Get all the details HERE.

RedbyReddoor.com is live. Visit it, to see learn more about Red, and sign-up to know precisely when our products are available for purchase.

///  If you don’t know what Flash is, here’s a quick definition:

“Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform that is popular for adding animation and interactivity to web pages. Flash is commonly used to create animation, advertisements, and various web page Flash components, to integrate video into web pages, and more recently, to develop rich Internet applications.” Wikipedia

///  Here is an excerpt from an article written by Morgan Adams, an interactive content developer, on why the iPhone, iPod Touch or forthcoming iPad will never have flash (like we know it today).

“I’m biased. I’m a full-time Flash developer and I’d love to get paid to make Flash sites for the iPad. I want that to make sense—but it doesn’t. Flash on the iPad will not (and should not) happen—and the main reason, as I see it, is one that never gets talked about:

Current Flash sites could never be made work well on any touchscreen device, and this cannot be solved by Apple, Adobe, or magical new hardware.

That’s not because of slow mobile performance, battery drain or crashes. It’s because of the hover or mouseover problem.

Many (if not most) current Flash games, menus, and even video players require a visible mouse pointer. They are coded to rely on the difference between hovering over something (mouseover) vs. actually clicking. This distinction is not rare. It’s pervasive, fundamental to interactive design, and vital to the basic use of Flash content. New Flash content designed just for touchscreens can be done, but people want existing Flash sites to work. All of them—not just some here and there—and in a usable manner. That’s impossible no matter what.

In addition, some Flash sites rely on right-clicks (such as for security settings), and many rely on a physical keyboard. Especially games, which are the main kind of content people want from Flash. (I’d say video, except video can easily be done without Flash, and sites are increasingly doing so. Much of the video missing from your favorite Flash site is probably easily found on YouTube anyway.)

So it’s not just that Apple has refused to support Flash. It cannot, logically, be done. A finger is not a mouse, and Flash sites are designed to require a mouse pointer (and keyboard) in fundamental ways. Someday that may change, and every Flash site could be redesigned with touch-friendly Flash. But that doesn’t make Flash sites work now.

Even if slow performance, battery drain and crashes weren’t problems with Flash (and they truly are), nothing can give users of any touchscreen, from any company, an acceptable experience with today’s Flash sites.

The thing so many complainers want is simply an impossibility.

By the way, imagine my embarrassment as a Flash developer when my own animated site wouldn’t work on the newfangled iPhone! So I sat down and made new animations using WebKit’s CSS animation abilities. Now desktop users still see Flash at adamsi.com, but iPhone users see animations too. It can be done.”

If you want to read the article in it’s entirety, you can do so on Roughly Drafted magazine by clicking HERE.

1. The Thirst Relief Mentor auction is open for bidding. Tim Holmes, co-owner of Reddoor, is graciously offering his advice, counsel, and review of all things branding in a 90 minute mentor session at the WPPI conference in Las Vegas in March. Bid now.

Thirst Relief Auction Site

//BIO
Tim has 13 years of experience in the professional design world and has a very in-depth understanding of wedding photography culture, trends and communication needs. Tim realizes that his client’s only have one chance to make an impression that lasts, so his work is all about communicating clearly, effectively and beautifully. A shortlist of his Reddoor’s clients in the photo industry include Becker, Jessica Claire, Shootsac, the [ b ] school, Davina, Chris Humphreys Photographers, Mary Jane Photography, Emily Griffith and Unique Images Photography.

//MENTOR SESSION
During a 90min session at WPPI we will take a critical look at the current state at your branding. You’ll send me all your communication pieces a week before the session so I can complete a thorough review. Together we will make an action plan on how to take your brand to next level. This will give you additional confidence to compete in a highly skilled service industry.

Bid on Tim here.

2. Last week we had a newsletter go out to the folks on our “insiders” mailing list requesting three volunteers to be early adopters for our new project: Red by Reddoor Creative. Submissions were closed yesterday evening. We’ll announce the winners in the next day or so. Thanks for all of those who submitted their brands for consideration.

If you’re not part of the mailing list, but want the inside scoop sign up now by clicking here.