While I haven't visited the MacRumors forums in well over a year, I still feel as if though it's necessary to share some of my reviews on the forums, so, here is my first iPhone 5 case review. Enjoy.
There have been many case companies jumping on the opportunity to produce and manufacturer cases for the next generation iPhone, mainly to gain notoriety and so theyll be one of the first to actually have a case released and ready to ship. Recently, I picked up a case for my new iPhone called the Grip Candy Sheer, a TPU case made by the people over at Belkin. While the name may sound weird and even a bit feminine, its far from being weird and girly looking at all. Actually, the Grip Candy Sheer has one of the coolest looking and most sleek design schemes that Ive ever seen, and thats what were going to be taking a look at today.
Design Scheme
The Belkin Grip Candy Sheer is one of those cases that immediately catches the eye, and in fact, I got a lot of glances from people as I walked out of Best Buy with my case fully installed on my iPhone 5. And, its really not that hard to see why this case poses a serious eye candy threat (I mean that in the best way possible), as the Belkin Candy Grip Sheer is not only beautiful in the design scheme, but also combines a fun and rather unique color blend. While the Candy Grip Sheer comes in a variety of different colors, I have the lime and steel colored version, which kind of reminds me of a jolly rancher-esque theme. Additionally, the matte feel of the TPU that encases the iPhone 5 not only feels great in the hand, but is decently grippy, despite looking like a slippery matte material.
About that matte material, it has a few tricks up its sleeve. Since its made of TPU, the Candy Grip Sheer is a very easy case to install and remove, as its a lot easier to pull and stretch than a hard plastic case. Additionally, I feel like hard plastic cases sometimes dont hug the phone as tight as TPU cases do, which begs the question of wether or not theres unwanted dust or debris sitting under the side and the back of the iPhone, and we all know how vulnerable and slick the iPhone 5s near mirror finish is around the bezel and all. As a nice compliment to the aesthetic appeal of the Grip Candy Sheer, the backside of the case is slightly transparent, and shows off the metal and glass back of the iPhone 5. While its a lot harder to see through the black iPhone 5, its very clear through the white iPhone 5, and you can easily differentiate between the metal and the glass. Oh, and did I mention it looks really cool?
Openings & Ports
So, whats it like around the perimeter, what can I do with the case? Like all cases, the Belkin Candy Grip Sheer has its fair share of openings and cutouts for the new button implementations on the iPhone 5. Starting at the top, we have a matter covering for the sleep/wake button thats both very tactile and very responsive. Every time you turn your iPhone 5 on or off, youll have no trouble feeling (and hearing, more so) the sleep/wake button, and I find that to be a very important thing when it comes to usability, because nobody wants to have the terrible feeling of mushy or unresponsive buttons within a case.
Going to the left side of the case, the Candy Grip Sheer has an opening for the ringer switch and the volume buttons. The ringer switch, despite being an incredibly small cutout, isnt actually too hard to actually get to. Even beefier hands should be able to activate and deactivate the ringer switch with ease, as the case isnt so recessed that its impossible to access anything. Additionally, like the sleep/wake button, the volume buttons are very tactile to the touch and are very responsive. Like the sleep/wake button, the volume buttons are equally important when it comes to responsiveness, so you are able to hear wether or not the volume is being decreased or increased.
Moving on down to the bottom of the case we find the Lightning port, the speaker, the microphone, and the headphone port. Maybe its just me, but it seemed like Apple crammed a lot down into the bottom of the phone, being that there is a lot of viable room for something like the headphone port to be placed at the top (like it used to be on all other previous generations of the iPhone). Nevertheless, the Candy Grip Sheer does have cutouts for every single port and opening on the bottom. First, the headphone port is wide open and you shouldnt have any problem with larger sized jacks, as long as theyre not as big as something like a finger.
As we slide to the right we come upon the speaker grille, which is cutout and connected to the headphone port, so theres absolutely no interference there whatsoever. Next up is the lightning port, one of my favorite new implementations on the iPhone 5. The Candy Grip Sheer has a perfectly square cutout along the bottom that easily fits the standard Apple Lightning connector, and even leaves a few millimeters of space for any third party connectors you may have (although I dont recall there being a lot of third party lightning connectors available as of late). Lastly, we have the speaker grille positioned on the far right hand side of the phone, which is perfectly cut out just like the rest of the ports and features no disturbances in the sound quality in any sense of the term.
Lastly, we have one opening left on the back of the phone to take a brief look at, and thats the camera cutout. The Belkin Grip Candy Sheer leaves a very wide girth and plenty of room for both the camera, the microphone, and the LED flash. I was able to test the flash out in low light and wash out appeared to be nonexistent (the black ring around the camera edge port may also be another factor in spaying the flash coloration). Additionally, some people may not like the aesthetically odd look of the camera cutout, as it reveals a large portion of the metal frame. Even though I dont mind this at all (I actually think that it looks rather cool), a lot of people like to nitpick this sort of thing.
Protection & Usage
So, Ive already covered how well the Candy Grip Sheer feels in the hand, but how does it do on drop protection and overall support? The Candy Grip Sheer, despite being a rather slim TPU case (especially around the edges), seems like it would fare well with the average drop or two. Even though I wont be testing out the drop protection of this case any time soon, its easy to see why this case could be a decently protective case for the iPhone 5. TPU has always known to be a tough and very shock absorbing material, and the Candy Grip Sheer is no different. Additionally, the TPU hugs very nicely to the perimeter of the case, and covers every single crack and crevice on the device. Its not like a snap on the back cover, where the front and the bottom of the iPhone 5 are exposed to the environment.
Final Thoughts
The Belkin Grip Candy Sheer for the iPhone 5 is an excellent case that not only looks cool, but has a great user experience and even offers some decent drop protection. If you just recently got an iPhone 5 and are looking for a nice case to keep your phone protected but also catch the wanders eye, I can definitely recommend the Belkin Grip Candy Sheer. The case is available on Belkins website for $24.99 or you can snag it for $4 off at Amazon for the very cheap price of a measly twenty dollar bill.
Belkin Grip Candy Sheer @Belkin
Belkin Grip Candy Sheer @Amazon
There have been many case companies jumping on the opportunity to produce and manufacturer cases for the next generation iPhone, mainly to gain notoriety and so theyll be one of the first to actually have a case released and ready to ship. Recently, I picked up a case for my new iPhone called the Grip Candy Sheer, a TPU case made by the people over at Belkin. While the name may sound weird and even a bit feminine, its far from being weird and girly looking at all. Actually, the Grip Candy Sheer has one of the coolest looking and most sleek design schemes that Ive ever seen, and thats what were going to be taking a look at today.
Design Scheme
The Belkin Grip Candy Sheer is one of those cases that immediately catches the eye, and in fact, I got a lot of glances from people as I walked out of Best Buy with my case fully installed on my iPhone 5. And, its really not that hard to see why this case poses a serious eye candy threat (I mean that in the best way possible), as the Belkin Candy Grip Sheer is not only beautiful in the design scheme, but also combines a fun and rather unique color blend. While the Candy Grip Sheer comes in a variety of different colors, I have the lime and steel colored version, which kind of reminds me of a jolly rancher-esque theme. Additionally, the matte feel of the TPU that encases the iPhone 5 not only feels great in the hand, but is decently grippy, despite looking like a slippery matte material.
About that matte material, it has a few tricks up its sleeve. Since its made of TPU, the Candy Grip Sheer is a very easy case to install and remove, as its a lot easier to pull and stretch than a hard plastic case. Additionally, I feel like hard plastic cases sometimes dont hug the phone as tight as TPU cases do, which begs the question of wether or not theres unwanted dust or debris sitting under the side and the back of the iPhone, and we all know how vulnerable and slick the iPhone 5s near mirror finish is around the bezel and all. As a nice compliment to the aesthetic appeal of the Grip Candy Sheer, the backside of the case is slightly transparent, and shows off the metal and glass back of the iPhone 5. While its a lot harder to see through the black iPhone 5, its very clear through the white iPhone 5, and you can easily differentiate between the metal and the glass. Oh, and did I mention it looks really cool?
Openings & Ports
So, whats it like around the perimeter, what can I do with the case? Like all cases, the Belkin Candy Grip Sheer has its fair share of openings and cutouts for the new button implementations on the iPhone 5. Starting at the top, we have a matter covering for the sleep/wake button thats both very tactile and very responsive. Every time you turn your iPhone 5 on or off, youll have no trouble feeling (and hearing, more so) the sleep/wake button, and I find that to be a very important thing when it comes to usability, because nobody wants to have the terrible feeling of mushy or unresponsive buttons within a case.
Going to the left side of the case, the Candy Grip Sheer has an opening for the ringer switch and the volume buttons. The ringer switch, despite being an incredibly small cutout, isnt actually too hard to actually get to. Even beefier hands should be able to activate and deactivate the ringer switch with ease, as the case isnt so recessed that its impossible to access anything. Additionally, like the sleep/wake button, the volume buttons are very tactile to the touch and are very responsive. Like the sleep/wake button, the volume buttons are equally important when it comes to responsiveness, so you are able to hear wether or not the volume is being decreased or increased.
Moving on down to the bottom of the case we find the Lightning port, the speaker, the microphone, and the headphone port. Maybe its just me, but it seemed like Apple crammed a lot down into the bottom of the phone, being that there is a lot of viable room for something like the headphone port to be placed at the top (like it used to be on all other previous generations of the iPhone). Nevertheless, the Candy Grip Sheer does have cutouts for every single port and opening on the bottom. First, the headphone port is wide open and you shouldnt have any problem with larger sized jacks, as long as theyre not as big as something like a finger.
As we slide to the right we come upon the speaker grille, which is cutout and connected to the headphone port, so theres absolutely no interference there whatsoever. Next up is the lightning port, one of my favorite new implementations on the iPhone 5. The Candy Grip Sheer has a perfectly square cutout along the bottom that easily fits the standard Apple Lightning connector, and even leaves a few millimeters of space for any third party connectors you may have (although I dont recall there being a lot of third party lightning connectors available as of late). Lastly, we have the speaker grille positioned on the far right hand side of the phone, which is perfectly cut out just like the rest of the ports and features no disturbances in the sound quality in any sense of the term.
Lastly, we have one opening left on the back of the phone to take a brief look at, and thats the camera cutout. The Belkin Grip Candy Sheer leaves a very wide girth and plenty of room for both the camera, the microphone, and the LED flash. I was able to test the flash out in low light and wash out appeared to be nonexistent (the black ring around the camera edge port may also be another factor in spaying the flash coloration). Additionally, some people may not like the aesthetically odd look of the camera cutout, as it reveals a large portion of the metal frame. Even though I dont mind this at all (I actually think that it looks rather cool), a lot of people like to nitpick this sort of thing.
Protection & Usage
So, Ive already covered how well the Candy Grip Sheer feels in the hand, but how does it do on drop protection and overall support? The Candy Grip Sheer, despite being a rather slim TPU case (especially around the edges), seems like it would fare well with the average drop or two. Even though I wont be testing out the drop protection of this case any time soon, its easy to see why this case could be a decently protective case for the iPhone 5. TPU has always known to be a tough and very shock absorbing material, and the Candy Grip Sheer is no different. Additionally, the TPU hugs very nicely to the perimeter of the case, and covers every single crack and crevice on the device. Its not like a snap on the back cover, where the front and the bottom of the iPhone 5 are exposed to the environment.
Final Thoughts
The Belkin Grip Candy Sheer for the iPhone 5 is an excellent case that not only looks cool, but has a great user experience and even offers some decent drop protection. If you just recently got an iPhone 5 and are looking for a nice case to keep your phone protected but also catch the wanders eye, I can definitely recommend the Belkin Grip Candy Sheer. The case is available on Belkins website for $24.99 or you can snag it for $4 off at Amazon for the very cheap price of a measly twenty dollar bill.
Belkin Grip Candy Sheer @Belkin
Belkin Grip Candy Sheer @Amazon
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