Here I am with another review of a Shutterfly iPhone case. This case was for me, and I have a iPhone 5c. I started at the
Custom iPhone Cases page.
From there, I selected my 5c phone model and Slim Case with Liner. For the scientist I went with the Slim Case only option, but I wanted more protection for my phone, and I also wanted to see for myself how it was different. With those choices, only a Glossy finish is available.
I chose the
Gallery of Four iPhone Case.
You actually have several customization options for this case. It wasn't until I was customizing my 3rd phone case that I truly understood all the options available.
In the Options Tab you can change your Phone model and whether you want a liner or just the slim case. I believe that if you purchase the Case with Liner, you must use the liner. The case will not fit without the liner.
Note: there is a text box available in addition to the photos. You can leave this blank if you don't want text. You will get a warning that you can ignore when the case is added to your cart.
In the Backgrounds Tab you can change the background color of the design. In this case, that means you can change the color of the lines between the photos. In the screen shot I changed the background to red.
In the Layouts Tab you can actually choose different numbers and orientations of photos.
I stayed with the 4 photo option and a white background color. Here are front and back views.
Here is a picture of the liner. It reminded me of silicone bake ware, but not as soft to the touch. As far as I can tell, Shutterfly only offers a dark liner. I would actually call it a very dark gray, not true black. I had to slip the liner on my phone first, and then add the slim case as a second step.
Here are the slim case, the liner, and the phone all side by side.
The side with the volume buttons and the opening for the camera. The volume buttons are covered by the liner, but there are little bumps for your fingers to feel.
The bottom with the power connector.
The top with the power button. Like the volume buttons, it is covered by the liner and has a raised edge for your finger to feel.
I was quite happy with my phone case. I have dropped it at least once on my kitchen tile floor, and there was no damage. I couldn't even see any mark.
When my son saw my phone case, he wanted one too. He selected the same design as me. When his arrived, I was a little disappointed that the picture of me at the top was kind of cut off - my face fell too high on contoured edge of the case. I thought I had place the photo carefully, so I investigated further.
With our two phones placed side by side, I saw that the design is shifted upwards on his phone, no doubt contributing to that top photo moving up into the bend of the case.
So then I went back into my Shutterfly Projects to compare to the preview images in their online ordering system.
It actually looks like the white lines in my phone were shifted DOWN compared to the preview image. Miller's white lines are closer to the preview, but the image seems enlarged or something, causing my face to be higher.
But overall the Preview image matches the end product fairly well. It is that top photo that seems most sensitive to the alignment issues, so I suggest using a photo there that has a bit more of a wide angle view and won't be hurt by vertical shift.
There was one more thing I wanted to say. I pre-read some of the reviews before I ordered the 5c case. One of the reviews complained that, although the phone case was beautiful, the Glossy finish was very slippery, causing the customer to drop her phone more often. I was intrigued by that review as it suggested the case was causing more harm than good. Here is my take on it: Yes, the Glossy case is somewhat slippery, but I don't think it is any
more slippery than the plastic case of the 5c itself. For me it was a non issue because I was used to holding the phone, with its slippery surface, already. But for someone who is used to a phone or a case that has a more grippy surface, the Glossy might indeed feel very slippery.
Well, those are all the phone cases I plan to purchase for a while. I think they are really fun. Even sorting through your photos to pick your favorites is fun, although it can be hard to narrow it down.
Thanks for stopping by!