Sup Duders!
I'm a bit of fiend for buying and trying as many accessories as I can for the phones that I use and while I've been a bit slow with the Nexus 5 (I've previously owned iPhones so accessory options are more plentiful) but I thought now I've tried a few different cases and screen protectors I'd let you guys know my thoughts about them. Let's go!
Cases
Spigen Neo Hybrid the first case I bought for my nexus 5. I have the silver option. This case looks and feels really nice. It does add some pretty substantial bulk to the phone, however it has a nice lip on the front for a lay on the table option and the tpu feels very high quality and like it would absorb drops pretty well.
The back of the case did catch some scrapes and scratches pretty easily, diminishing its aesthetic appeal, however the case remains nice and trippy feeling.
The buttons work excellently, very responsive. Overall, it's a nice case if you don't mind a bit of extra bulk on the phone, but I ended up moving on from it to the next case on my list.
Spigen Slim Armor a friend of mine at work had this case before me and after seeing and touching it in the flesh I really liked it so I ordered one (black and gold, looks well classy). I know some people have had issues with the buttons on this case but mine are extremely responsive.
The case is fairly bulky, bulkier in fact than the neo hybrid, however, the shape of the case means it fits quite nicely in the hand. The two piece tpu and hard plastic design feels like it would provide good drop protection and has a nice lip, similar to the neo hybrid, for laying the phone face down on a table.
The hard plastic back is less susceptible to scratches than the neo hybrids tpu back. This case was on my phone for a fair while until I decided I wanted to try something thinner (the bulk got to me eventually).
Enter the
Spigen Ultra Fit. When looking for a thinner case my two previous happy experiences with Spigen lead me to buy the Ultra Fit in gold. This case I very slim adding very minimal bulk to the phone. The hard plastic seems like it should provide some drop protection and it does have enough of a lip to lay the phone face down. Another nice thing about this case is that it is thick enough to recess the camera slightly, making it easier to lay the phone on its back also.
The cut outs are extremely precise, I especially like that the camera and flash have their own cut outs.
This is the case I am currently using. I feel it offers enough protection for the phone without compromising the form factor of the phone.
Ringke Slim recently I bought a new case for my wife's nexus 5 and I wanted to compare the Ringke Slim to the Spigen Ultra Fit that I have been using so I ordered her one in mint green (awesome colour, goes great with the black N5!).
The Ringke feels a little slimmer than the Spigen whilst maintaining a decent lip on the front and keeping the camera recessed. The shape of the case seems to follow the original shape of the phone more than the Spigen and even the feel of the case in hand is a bit nicer (in my opinion) than the Spigen.
The cut outs are very precise for the power and volume buttons, however the camera and flash share one cut out (not a big deal).
I'm thinking I'm going to order one of these for myself
Screen Protectors
After the screen protector I bought and had put on at the shops (mall) got scratched pretty quickly I ordered the
Invisible Defender screen protectors hoping they would be a bit tougher. The screen protector was really easy to install and felt pretty nice on the phone (not as nice as the straight screen but it was ok). Unfortunately, it got scratches really quickly too so I decided to try another option.
Nillkin H+ tempered glass screen protector. While not as easy to install as I thought it would be (I couldn't get it quite perfect and a couple of tiny dust specs snuck under during my adjustments) this screen protector feels really nice on the phone. It's thicker than I thought it would be but that's not an issue.
I haven't had it on the phone long so I can't speak to how scratch resistant it is or isn't yet but it feels and looks very nice on the phone so far.
BONUS!!1!
Wireless Charger
One of the first accessories I ordered for my N5 was this
wireless charger. I wanted to try out a wireless charger, but didn't want to pay out the big bucks for a genuine one. This charger works really well, you do have to get the phone on the right spot but it's not too tricky. It came with two usb cables, both of which I think are power only (tried to use them to connect to the laptop, but no dice) and combined with an old Samsung galaxy tab charger I had laying around it charges the phone pretty quickly.
Alright, there you have it guys, my thoughts on all the accessories I've tried with my Nexus 5
hopefully it helps anyone looking for a new case or screen protector or wireless charger
)
