Don't be disappointed by lack of Stealth Bomber
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I was lucky enough to get my hands on a QA failed Stealth Bomber - one of the black PVD rings with black inlays rather than the original with CF inlays - and thought I should share some thoughts after having been using it for a week or so now.
First off, no-one could argue it isn't 'stealthy'. The black inlays are all but invisible against the black plating, and no-one could tell it isn't just a solid black ring. Only on very close inspection do you see that the ring has some difference across its surface, and if you're in poor light then you'll never see the difference.
And that's really the problem.
Not only do you have the problem of identifying which side is "public" and which is "private" (both inlays are same size, but as you can barely see them anyway even a size difference probably wouldn't help here), you have the additional problem of trying to making sure that the inlay sits square to your finger/phone. If you're a fiddler and rotate your ring, or it is slightly large and rotates on its own, then you're going to have to look hard to make sure that the inlay is correctly aligned when you try and read it.
Getting this alignment right in bright daylight is one thing, trying to do it at night or in anything but a perfectly lit environment is very hit and miss. If you then have the added issues of a phone that isn't a perfect reader under the best of circumstances you will be having lots of frustration.
So I wanted to get this out there because I'm seeing lots of sadness for the (temporary) death of the Stealth Bomber, but in reality I think it is a case of form over function: it looks great but isn't really a practical ring for every day unlock usage. Rejoice that you can now have a more practical ring where (a) the inlays can be different and (b) the inlays don't perfectly match the ring body.
I'm also glad that my original silverCF+silverCF ring was switched (ordered at a time I believed the inlays were different sizes) because just the problem of 'which side is which?' is a big enough problem in its own right!
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I can only agree with this. I received a all black ring with my transparent-black replacement and I used it for a few days but I got very frustrated and changed to the transparent one.
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Yea the stealth is without doubt the most tricky ring to use. It takes the most amount of practice and familiarity with the nuances of the ring. That was always the intention of the ring though, hence the name..
Not everyone wants it to be obvious they are wearing a ring that could potentially store a secret pass code......... Discretion was always the intention with the stealth bomber..
Imho for daily normal use where security is not the primary concern the other rings are awesome, my particular fave being the TBT (Signature).
It's fair to say we didn't explain this well and a lot of people misunderstood our intention with the stealth bomber, all we really said was: "£80,000 - Create option of stealth bomber black ring (all black) <-- ACHIEVED!" and that's what you got..
After KS we dropped the SB'er as we decided the ease of usage for a larger audience (than a technical/security audience) was a requirement.. So the SB'ers are probably going to be some sort of collectors item in the future as they were pretty much KS only! We haven't forgotten about our brothers in the security industry though, their treats will come ;)
Cheers for letting me share this, I guess I never really explained this whole thing very well in the past!
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Cheers for letting me share this, I guess I never really explained this whole thing very well in the past!
You're welcome :)
I appreciate not everyone is wanting their ring for unlock usage, and so for those other uses where you have more time for adjusting/reading I can definitely see the use of a SB. As I say, for me, it wasn't great for every-day unlock usage.Not everyone wants it to be obvious they are wearing a ring that could potentially store a secret pass code......... Discretion was always the intention with the stealth bomber..
Yeah I'd want some kind of discretion with unlock usage too, just in case my phone was stolen I wouldn't want it obvious that to unlock it they'd then need to mug me (I've put some suggestions about more customisation for the unlock screen in the suggestion thread, basically to make the picture of a ring optional so it can be removed).
I think ideally I'd have one side stealth (matching the ring colour) and the other more obvious. Then I'd be able to tell which side was which, and have the advantage of a non-obvious inlay.We haven't forgotten about our brothers in the security industry though, their treats will come ;)
Looking forward to the future designs involving some kind of weave inlay.
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So yeah. Got my stealthbomber ring 2 weeks ago and have off and on trying just to get it to unlock my phone and not have had ONE single success. For starters it seems my phone (Galaxy S4) only reads ONE of the inlays. Secondly, the unlock app constantly says: “Error, Invalid Key” so when I go to Manage Keys and try to add/reset it says “Read Error”. So I think it’s safe to say I have a 100% dud. Guess I’ll return mine then. Thank you for the write up!
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@randumb returning it is one option, but you got a stealth bomber and those aren't being made any more - you're not going to get another one! I'd suggest testing it on a different phone to make sure that it's not just yours that's having the issue. Otherwise you're returning it and getting a titanium one in exchange!
I've had rings pass through my hands that worked better on one side than the other for various reasons but which have still worked on both sides once the method was down pat.
Just out of curiousity, did you receive a thin banded Classic ring or a wide banded Alpha ring? -
@Lokki It doesn't work on my wife's S3 either, and I'm not due for an upgrade until next year so I'm suck with this S4 for a while. If it doesn't work on my phone, but works on others it's still useless to me. I've accepted the fact that I'll lose out on a cool, unique ring in exchange for the common titanium one. It's the classic, not the alpha.
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Ah, that's a real shame @randumb, a real huge shame. Are you going to request an Alpha or just an exchange/return? Because I believe one of the options is to get a discounted second ring without relinquishing the one you already have. Unless you want to change to an Alpha, I'm not sure there but you might be required to return that one. Ask support anyway, it can't hurt to check all your options.
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Tbh we sent out so few stealth bombers they will probably become collectors items in the future so just keep it somewhere safe and in the future you should own a piece of history. That's my thought on it..
