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Review: Beach Buoy

beach4.jpg
By Robert Kaneko
It’s spring! At least, it’s spring in the northern hemisphere. If, like me, you live in the Pacific Northwest, you may have despaired of spring ever arriving. However, as I type this, it’s sunny and 65°, so there is hope. With spring in mind, it’s time to start thinking about outdoor activities. However, many of our beloved gadgets don’t really like our outdoor activities. Sand, dirt and water seem to be particular problems. That’s where the Beach Buoy comes in.
beach1.jpg
The Beach Buoy is a product available from Proporta. It is essentially a very rugged, very nice looking ziplock bag with a cord so you can wear it around your neck. It is rated to keep your iPhone, iPod Touch, or other expensive electronic gadget safe from water at depths of up to 5 meters/16 feet. The top of the Beach Buoy contains two double ziplocks.
The idea is, you place your device inside the Beach Buoy, seal both ziplocks, and then fold the ziplocks over, securing the folds with a Velcro flap.
The result is a very watertight (and sand-proof) container.
beach2.jpg
Click the jump for the full review…


beach4.jpg
By Robert Kaneko
It’s spring! At least, it’s spring in the northern hemisphere. If, like me, you live in the Pacific Northwest, you may have despaired of spring ever arriving. However, as I type this, it’s sunny and 65°, so there is hope. With spring in mind, it’s time to start thinking about outdoor activities. However, many of our beloved gadgets don’t really like our outdoor activities. Sand, dirt and water seem to be particular problems. That’s where the Beach Buoy comes in.
beach1.jpg
The Beach Buoy is a product available from Proporta. It is essentially a very rugged, very nice looking ziplock bag with a cord so you can wear it around your neck. It is rated to keep your iPhone, iPod Touch, or other expensive electronic gadget safe from water at depths of up to 5 meters/16 feet. The top of the Beach Buoy contains two double ziplocks.
The idea is, you place your device inside the Beach Buoy, seal both ziplocks, and then fold the ziplocks over, securing the folds with a Velcro flap.
The result is a very watertight (and sand-proof) container.
beach2.jpg
Sound through the Beach Buoy is excellent. It is pretty much indistinguishable from using your device in the open. Yes, you can hear with it underwater. It has that muffled tone that all sound has underwater, but you can hear what’s being said. Talking underwater is a different matter.
The Beach Buoy actually makes it possible to use your camera underwater. The controls are a little awkward if your device places the camera button on the side. iPhone users should be good to go with the on-screen camera controls on the front.
beach3.jpg
The Beach Buoy is a great outdoor companion for the iPhone or iPod Touch. All of the touchscreen functions work perfectly through the plastic. The Beach Buoy also works with slider or candy bar style phones, though the slider functions aren’t ideal. I used the Beach Buoy with a Nokia N95 and it can be awkward to maneuver the slider inside the plastic. It works, but it’s far from perfect. You could always leave the slider open, but I don’t like to do that. The side controls, like the camera button mentioned above, can also be a little difficult to use. The Beach Buoy is not a good choice if you have a flip phone. Proporta has another product for users of flip phones called the Aquapac.
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If you like to spend time outdoors, the Beach Buoy is a great product to keep your mobile devices safe from the elements. Whether hiking, geocaching, or swimming, the Beach Buoy gives you easy access to your gadgets while protecting them from harm.
The Beach Buoy retails for £7.95 (US$11.63) and is available now.

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