Zazzle iPhone 5 Case Review - Case Cafe

Zazzle iPhone 5 Case Review

Zazzle iPhone 5 Case Review

If there’s one question that comes up time and time again when it comes to phone cases, it’s ‘Are Zazzle cases any good?’. It seems a lot of people are intrigued by the nearly-unlimited designs and photos that you can decorate your iPhone with, but they don’t want to order something that looks amazing on the website but looks terrible by the time they get it in the mail. And for people interested in Zazzle’s cases, I would say that, when it comes to Zazzle’s printing process, it is high-quality and vivid. As for the cases themselves, it depends which one you order.

In the above photo we have the ‘vintage camera case’ as it appears on all four available iPhone 5 cases: ‘Barely There’, ‘Vibe’, ‘Case Savvy’, and ‘Skinit’. All these cases use Zazzle’s patented printing process, which embeds the colors into the case itself (like a tattoo). Aside from visual differences, there are also important differences in size and impact protection.

After we review each Zazzle phone case, we’ll give you some tips on how to make sure you get the highest quality case possible. With custom made cases there’s always going to be potential for problems, but these tips will help you mitigate these potential pitfalls.

Price Comparison: What the ‘Vintage Camera’ case costs with each case:

1. Case-Mate’s Barely There Case

zazzle barely there iphone 5 case review- case
This case comes from Case-Mate, a major smartphone and tablet case maker. As you can guess from the case’s name, the Barely There case is slim, light and designed to make you forget that it’s even there. The slim case offers only the littlest impact protection, however. The front also doesn’t rise above the screen, meaning when you place your iPhone face down (or drop it), the screen itself is completely unprotected. The case itself has cutouts for all the major ports, like the headphone jack and lightning port. The volume buttons are still easily reached, thanks to the incredibly thin case. A big benefit is that this case doesn’t get scratched easily, and the material makes it easy to slip in and out of your pocket. This is the case you want to get if you want a custom case but don’t want to add any size or bulk to your phone.

2. Vibe iPhone 5 Case

zazzle vibe iphone 5 case review - case

This one is almost identical in size and shape to the Barely There case, except for two major advantages. The first is that it offers much more impact protection that the Barely There case. And secondly it features a unique speaker amplification system built into the case. Most cases will (unfortunately) cover the iPhone’s speaker, and as a result they muffle any sounds that the iPhone’s speaker makes. This case has a cool way of not only allowing the sound to pass through, but bounces it around and amplifies it. Now, the difference in sound volume is noticeable, but not substantial (it won’t replace your Bose Bluetooth speaker system anytime soon), but it can make the difference playing music on the beach, or using your speakerphone in a noisy environment.

3. Skinit iPhone 5 Case

Skinit Zazzle iPhone 5 case review
The impact protection provided by the Vibe case pales in comparison to the rugged Skinit case. For Zazzle customers that want more rugged protection, they now have the option of getting a ‘Skinit’ case. Skinit is a double layered rugged case, with a hard plastic outer shell and a softer shock absorbing TPU layer that surrounds your phone an protects it. As you can see from the photos above, Skinit adds only a little more size to your phone when compared with the Barely There and Vibe cases. As you can see there’s a large cutout on the back for the camera, so make sure when you’re getting a custom photo that it can fit around that area.

4. Case Savvy iPhone 5 Case

zazzle case savvy iphone 5 case review - case
The new savvy case was first introduced by Zazzle as an eventual replacement for Case-Mate’s cases. The replacement plans were put on hold by Zazzle, and now there are four options for your iPhone case. The Savvy is about as slim as the Barely There case, but offers more solid impact protection.
One of the big benefits of the Savvy case is that you can choose between ‘glossy’ and ‘matte’ texture, depending on what’s best for your particular design. Matte textured cases will last longer because scratches tend not to show up as easily on matte-textured surfaces.

Which Zazzle Case is Best?

Bottom Line: if you’re mostly concerned with impact protection, the Skinit case is your best bet for a durable, hardy case that will take its bumps and still look pretty.
If you want some protection, but also want your case to be slim and stylish, then go with the Vibe case. In a battle of the two ‘slim’ cases, Case Savvy felt much more durable and protective of your phone. We would recommend the Case Savvy over the ‘Barely There’ case.

Click here to browse iPhone 5 cases on Zazzle

zazzle iphone 5 case review

Tips to Make Sure Your Zazzle Case Comes Out Right:

  1. If you’re using your own photo or picture, make sure the image you use is large.
    The biggest mistake people make is choosing an image or photo that is too small. Photos pulled right from Facebook tend to be tiny. Zazzle has a warning system built in, where they tell you if the image you’re using is too small. But you can’t always rely on that system. Remember: bigger is better.
  2. Make sure the pictures/photos you use are as high resolution as possible – Zazzle recommends at least 200ppi for your images. You can right-click on your photo and select ‘properties’. There you can see the resolution of your photos. As for total size, try to use photos that are at least 1600×800 pixels (the higher the better).
  3. If buying a design or illustration, check the seller’s rating.
    Most of the larger stores on Zazzle have ratings where you can see the reputation of the seller. A good way to make sure you’re getting a high quality design is to browse through the ‘popular’ cases. Obviously the most popular ones will be high quality.
  4. Go with what’s popular – Zazzle has a ‘most popular’ section with the bestselling designs for each category. Choosing one of these cases is a safe way of ensuring that the case will be high quality.


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