Oh, right. Case impressions!
"Installing" The Case
So this bothered me right off the bat. The case itself is somewhat flexible, but not THAT flexible. You are supposed to slide in the first half of the phone, then press down the other half in. I gotta admit I was deathly afraid this would scratch the sides. I've done it three times now and I
still get nervous every time.
I just want to reiterate: my phone has not suffered any scratches from this, BUT I get the feeling it could happen way too easily if you are not careful.
Screen protectors: nothing really out of the ordinary here. If you've applied a screen protector before then you already know how it goes. Now, I gotta say I'm disappointed the back protector only covers the aluminium, leaving the glass exposed. Oh well.
Connector protectors: These are rubbish, they simply refuse to stay on so I won't bother with them. You gotta attach them to the headphone jack and the lightning connector, so if you gotta use both connectors at the same time you have no choice but to take them off.
They include two of them with the case. I guess they assume they will break pretty quickly or you'll end up losing them.
Weight
The case is very light. It will add virtually zero weight to your phone. This could be a good or a bad thing depending of what you want from a case. If you want something light and unobtrusive, then this case will be perfect for you.
Texture
The case is glossy and thus very slippery. If you feel the iPhone 5 is already too slippery then this will make it worse.
Buttons And Case Openings
Many people have been asking about this, so here it goes: The buttons on this thing are a mixed bag.
The 'volume up' button feels great. It makes that satisfying clicking sound everyone loves (or at least I do). 'Volume down' on the other hand does not make a clicking sound and sometimes I can't even tell if it's working unless there's an on-screen sound indicator
The wake/sleep buttons is the worst part in my opinion. You have to press harder in order to make it work. The easiest way to get it to work all the time is to hold the phone with both hands and then push. Not fun.
Someone in another review mentioned something about sensitivity. In my experience the case does not make the buttons more sensitive as in, you won't be waking your phone or increasing the volume by mistake.
The case openings align very well to your phone.
Durability
I wanted my phone protected from scratches and whatnot, so this is the reason why I got this case. Will it protect your phone from a fall? I don't know, and I don't plan to take one for the team and find out
That said I get the feeling that, were my phone to hit the floor by accident, the case would just pop right out.
Oh, by the way. The case won't protect your screen from scratches. It doesn't protect the front of your phone at all as you can see below (thus the screen protectors):
All in all, I would give this case a
6 or 7 out of 10. Get if you want to actually see your phone while protecting it from scratches. Avoid if you are clumsy and tend to drop your phone often.
