Product Name: Berryware Custom BlackBerry Housing for
8300, 8310, 8320, 8330 Curve
Coming soon for
BlackBerry Bold!
Website: Berryware
Price: $69.99 + shipping.
FIRST 50 PinStack Members who order and enter coupon code PINSTACK
at checkout will receive $20.00 off of their order total!!
Reviewer: Lavagirl
In the Box: Painted front bezel, antenna cover, and battery cover. Extras also included:
rubberized sides, screen, base housing, silver keypad, tool kit AND Berryware velvet
bag! ~ which is super cool
Available colors:
Blush Pink Metallic
Prowler Purple Metallic
Blizzard White Solid
Azure Blue Metallic
Galactic Black
What is Berryware about? The idea evolved many years ago after Berryware's founder - Aaron had read a blog from a guy who had painted his BlackBerry at his local body shop to match his Ferrari. The result was a really sweet looking berry, but the price tag was a whopping $200! Aaron knew he could develop a product that was better in quality, in a wide range of colors and at an affordable price. He started with a simple blog to guage interest from the community, however with very little resources or time to back it up, the blog sat on the sidelines collecting feedback for many years until the resources and opportunity was finally available to launch Berryware.
What paint process is used? The process used to paint the housings is similar to the UV painting system originally developed to paint small plastic parts for BMW's. This method solved the issue of providing a consistently thin coating, using metallic paint and a clear coat. The result of this is a professionally finished coating that is OEM quality, highly durable, does not interfere with the keypad, and most importantly looks great! Interesting fact ~ the Prowler color is based on the
Plymouth Prowler; a limited edition roadster that was produced in the late 90's that was a far out design for the times. The body styling was unique and so was the deep purple color, so people still identify with it.
Upcoming Product Lines to Expect: Big changes planned for 2009 based on suggestions from the community, and Berryware always welcomes more suggestions!
Coming soon ~ custom housing for the Bold and more colors for the Curve series. Check the
Berryware site for updates.
Initial Review: I had tried a couple other "custom" painted cases that were similarly priced, but despite the cases looking pretty good, I couldn't get past the paint smell and the peeling or chipping that occurred; ultimately leading to disappointment.
I searched around and had seen a post here on the forums about this product and took a look at the site.
The quality looked good from what I could see and it was more affordable than some of the other excellent custom painting companys so I went for it and ordered one.
The order confirmation response was fast, despite it being a small operation. Aaron himself got right back to me.
My order shipped out within a few days and being in Hawaii ~ always paying the price for shipping and suffering the long wait times ~ it wasn't too long of a wait. The housing arrived within about 1 1/2 weeks, just before Christmas!
I was immediately impressed with the packaging. Shipped in a black box within the shipping box, with the contents mentioned above neatly wrapped within in bubble wrap and each individual part also packaged in it's own plastic zip bag.
The red Berryware pouch really stands out and I love it! You can use that to put your berry in or on like I do
The housing itself that I ordered - "Prowler Purple Metallic" is simply beautiful. It's a deep, dark metallic purple color. The paint job is just like the OEM quality housing. No paint smell, it's a fine yet quality layer of paint that beckoned to me like a shiny new car that just got a slick paint job and was just waiting for me to take it for a spin.
I used the conveniently included housing removal tools and immediately said bye bye to my red crimson 8310 housing. The tools and the included torque 5 and 6 screwdrivers made the job a snap! They also generously include an extra silver keyboard, but I used my existing black 8310 keyboard and that really looks good with it. I did not change my side rails, so I've got an extra new set of those now if I need them.
For those of you who have never attempted a housing removal you may want to check out the following
YouTube Video:
8300 Curve Screen Removal/Take Apart
Once installed and my screen was cleaned with everything reassembled my baby was looking sweet!! Sporting a purple wallpaper background - Lava style - and thanks to pdxmatts the Bold In Bloom theme which matches this housing perfectly.
I immediately slapped on a BSE (
Best Skins Ever) to protect that beatiful paint job.
2 Weeks In: Been sporting this case for 2 weeks now and it is still shiny and as beautiful as ever. No scratches (also thanks to BSE) or paint chips. This is a really high quality painted housing that I would highly recommend. It's very pleasing to the eye as far as the color ~ I'm hoping they will come out with more colors soon. I'd love to take advantage of that PinStacker's discount! Housing quality is excellent.
I've had many people take a second look as I'm berrying away with this custom BB.
Paint/Housing Quality: (Out of 10) 9
Ease of Installation: (Dependent on experience level - Tools provided make this much easier) 9 experienced
Value for Price: 9
Customer Service: 8
Repeat Purchase? Yes
Total Rating: 95%
Check it out Stackers... I think ya'll will be pleased if you want to treat yourself to an affordable, good looking and quality housing to give your berry a new look.
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Originally Posted by azstar
