I like the idea, but my primary objective would be to make it as thin as possible. Still, it's a good idea, perhaps something Bruuce can take up?
Sure, we can explore different textures/materials. The hard plastic we've been using is 0.04" (1mm) thick and the vinyl film is 0.01" so it's still pretty thin. I could play around with a plastic sheet of 0.5mm thickness if people want, but at that dimension the case will loose some of its rigidity.
My company has the ability to build these shells on an individual basis, so customization has been the driving force from the beginning. I hadn't planned to share this info yet, but our idea is to contact several graphic design artists and use their designs (printed on vinyl film) so people have options on the look of their case. Technically, we could allow people to send in their own designs and put whatever they wanted on the back. So there's my spoiler for the day.
(Theledman, just incase you didn't see it, I sent you a PM with my email address, lets use that for direct communication instead to better track everything.)