I received an email pitch from Sergio Troiani about his Kickstarter campaign for a new iPhone case. A new case? After I’d seen thousands of different cases at CES less than a month ago? I was intrigued, and our subsequent discussion about what he was doing turned into this Q&A. Keep in mind when you’re reading that he’s a 19yo sophomore in college…
Q: What’s KLOQE and why is it interesting?
KLOQE is the only all-alumimnum iPhone case on the market that mimics the look and design of the iPhone without interfering with cell phone reception.
Q: An interesting claim. Do you have lab tests with prototypes to demonstrate?
As far as the the reception goes, I have not had it laboratory tested but i have done plenty testing on my own with various techniques that basically converts your typical “bars” into a numeric value and allows me to see any changes.
Q: The KLOQE has some nice aesthetics. What’s your design philosophy?
I was inspired to design KLOQE because I loved the elegance of the iPhone itself and didn’t want to mask it with a bulky case. All the metal cases on the market at that point interfered with service, so I built my own and KLOQE was born. The design matches that of the iPhone perfectly, but KLOQE comes in black, white, grey and champagne so that backers can match their phone or choose another subtle color that’s slightly different.
Q: It’s a Kickstarter campaign. Cool. I love Kickstarter. But it’s almost $100. For an iPhone case. Why is it so expensive?
Kloqe isn’t your typical plastic or rubber case. It’s an all-aluminum exoskeleton that conforms to the iPhone’s design and looks. It is CNC machined from a solid block of aircraft-grade aluminum, and then undergoes 9 additional steps that transforms it into a truly superior case for your iPhone. The amount of time and precision that goes into every case is unmatched by anything on the market today.
If you look at what is currently on the market, you will find brands such as otter box, life proof, incase, etc. These cases range from $40 to $100 yet they are made entirely from plastic or rubber. This not only gives you a bulky case that feels cheap, but it completely masks the beauty of the iPhone that people love so much. And this was the main goal behind Kloqe. I wanted to make a case that not only protected your phone, but one that also mimicked the look and feel of the phone itself.
Q: Definitely an interesting addition to the iPhone case world. What’s your background, Sergio, that you decided to embark on this project?
I’m just a 19-year-old sophomore in college who had a problem and decided to fix it. It just so happened that there are many others that felt the same way about their cases.
Want to check it out and potentially back KLOQE? Here’s the Kickstarter link: http://bit.ly/KLOQEks