I recently bought a Rumor Touch cell phone to replace my old Samsung Ace, which had stopped working. I chose the Rumor Touch because it was the only one available from Sprint that met my basic “wants” in a phone – it featured a touch screen (something I had been wanting for a while), it had a slide-out keyboard (for easy texting back and forth with my son), and it wouldn’t incur the additional data surcharge fee that Sprint established as of February 1, 2011. established. (Sprint now charges a data surcharge on all Smart phones and Android phones.)

I wanted to make sure my new cell phone was well protected – especially that sweet new touch screen – so I went shopping  on Sprint’s website to see what kind of cases that had available for the Rumor touch. I was disappointed to discover that all Sprint had was a generic fake leather pouch. I had wanted something snazzy looking, as well as protective, and a generic case just wasn’t what I had in mind.

If you’ve just purchased a new android or iphone, you’ll have tons of cell phone cases and other accessories to choose from–and lots of them at excellent prices on Amazon.com. But alas, when I checked on Amazon for a Rumor Touch cell phone case, I was largely out of luck. Again, all that I could find were some generic cell phone cases, a bulky Body Glove phone cover, and some non-name brand snap-on covers with mediocre to low customer ratings.

At this point, I gave up on finding what I wanted. I didn’t want to pay a lot of money for a cell phone case that I didn’t like–so I decided to look for an alternative.

For a days after receiving my Rumor Touch, I would slip it into a nice, thick sock before putting it into my purse. Not very glamorous, I admit–but it helped to protect my touchscreen. Then, I came up with something better.

My method was twofold. First I bought a Gear Monkey soft pouch with a Velcro closure. This would be the first layer of protection, which would protect the screen and body of the cell phone from scratches. But since the Gear Monkey pouch was too soft to provide much protection if the phone was dropped, I got a secondary outer case – one originally made for the Nintendo dSi.

Because I bought both the Gear Monkey and dSi cases on sale, and because of the particular styles I chose, I only paid about 12.99 for my cell phone protection–compare this to the $30-$40 you’d pay for many name brand cell phone cases out there. And I suspect that my Rumor Touch will be quite a bit better protected than if I had bought one of the more cheaply made, snap-on cell phone covers made specifically for my phone.

And my DS case has plenty of extra room–room that a standard cell phone case would never have–that I can use to hold a stylus and a cleaning cloth for my Rumor Touch.

The Nindo Way:

When looking for accessories for your phone or other electronics, remember that there are alternatives to buying the exact accessories that were made for it. (With some notable exceptions.) Generic accessories are often available. But beyond that, see if you can devise your own accessories when you can’t find any on the market that suit you.

And if you have kids, coming up with your own accessories can be a great opportunity to make memories — and a chance to spend quality time with your kids. Have your kids brainstorm ideas for the accessories you need. (Giving them a few examples of what you mean might be helpful.) You can walk with your kids around the house, jotting down ideas as you look at what materials you already have to work with. Another idea is to let your kids browse the Amazon website for ideas. Allowing your kids to share the creative experience with you is good not only for making memories– it will help your little ones to use their imaginations. And, they might just give you some ideas that you wouldn’t have thought of on your own. (Working together can be cool that way. 🙂 )

Web Links you may like:

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