July 16, 2007 11:14 pm

Cut and paste version of story Photos Windham, N.H.: Steve Wang , president of Contour Design, holds an iPhone in a clear case that his company makes. The Windham company, which specializes in ergonomic design, has cornered the market on the see-through cases for iPods and iPhones.  Thursday, July 12, 2007 Mike Dean/Eagle-Tribune

iSee: Company protects Apple products

“They’re very much a ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ type of product, very fashion-oriented. But they get our name out there.”

By Zac Cummings
CNHI News Service

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — The release of Apple’s new iPhone recently unleashed another wave of Apple-mania across the country. Now a Windham, N.H., company is quietly developing ways to keep all those Apple toys safe and sound.
Contour Design creates, among other things, protective cases for Apple devices, specifically iPods and the iPhone. Contour Design was one of only a few vendors allowed to sell their iPhone cases alongside the new device when it was released on June 29.
Steve Wang, founder and president, started his company in 1995 to make ergonomic mice for computers. He saw a need for more comfortable computer appliances, especially for people who work with computers all day and are at risk for carpal tunnel syndrome, the Andover resident said.
“Ergonomics are our primary business,” he said. The company designed a mouse in 1995 that comes in varying sizes. The basic design hasn’t changed in 12 years, Wang said, criticizing companies that remodel their mice every few years.
“How can the mouse get more comfortable?” he said. “The human hand doesn’t change.”
But other things have changed, including how people listen to music. The advent of the iPod in 2003 presented Contour Design with an unexplored market that quickly became popular and even fashionable.
“They [Apple] want a real good vendor to design a case for their iPod,” Wang said. “So they asked us.”
Wang and his team of 20 employees have designed cases for every generation of iPod.
The cases come in two models. The first is called Showcase, a part-rubber, part-polycarbonate case that is designed to keep iPods safe but visible at the same time.
“Apple is very much about look,” Wang said. “People like to show off their MP3s.”
The Showcase, which typically sells for about $35, has received great reviews from serious critics.
Independent Web sites iLounge.com and iProng.com gave the Showcase an A-minus and four and a half stars out of five, respectively. However, iLounge.com did criticize the lack of protection for the click wheel, and said “even a fingernail can slightly mar gloss on the case.”
Contour Design recently developed the iSee, a 100 percent polycarbonate case that is clear. The iSee sells for $20 to $30, depending on the iPod model. It is also the only case the company makes for the iPhone.
“Contour Design still owns the price-to-performance equation for now with its 4G iSee, and the overall hard plastic category with the Showcase,” iLounge.com said.
Designing the case for the iPhone was not easy, Wang said. Despite his company’s long working relationship with Apple, Contour Design didn’t hear about the iPhone until Apple’s official announcement in January.
Apple only gave Contour Design the basic dimensions of the iPhone, so the company had to guess what the rest of the device would look like and design a case around it. They only had six months.
The final product for the iPhone has been well received so far, earning a B-plus from iLounge.com.
Wang said his company is considering making leather cases in the near future.
Regardless of how many accolades his cases have won, Wang said the cases were not the company’s primary products.
“We don’t make much money off of them,” he admitted. “They’re very much a ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ type of product, very fashion-oriented. But they get our name out there.”

Zac Cummings writes for The Eagle-Tribune of North Andover, Mass.