One of the better Yuletide traditions is the venerable holiday Advent Calendar, in which each day of December leading up to Christmas is marked off on a special calendar by opening its corresponding door to find a small gift, toy or chocolate squirreled away inside.
This year, we here at Cult of Mac decided we wanted to give our readers their very own Apple-themed advent calendar, filled with the year’s best apps, gadgets, stories and other curios. So each day in December, we’re going to lovingly peel back the door on the Cult of Mac 2012 Advent Calendar to reveal another delicious morsel, something really special that came out this year that we think every one of you should enjoy.
Day 19 is here, and along with it, one of our favorite iPhone cases: the Speck PixelSkin HD.
When I’m not reviewing another case, I use the Speck PixelSkin HD — which I reviewed back in October — on my iPhone 5. It costs $30, and it’s the best TPU case I’ve found so far for Apple’s latest smartphone. Let me tell you why.
Not only is it slim, meaning it doesn’t add too much bulk to your sleek and sexy iPhone, but the PixelSkin HD it’s also very light. It’s available in a variety of colors, so you’re sure to find a look you love, and its matte finish stays nice and clean — it won’t attract fingerprints, and you can wipe any dirt off with a wet cloth.
Like a lot of Speck products, this one boasts exceptional build quality. It fits the iPhone 5 like a glove, providing impact protection to the back and sides of the device, as well as protection to the sleep/wake button, volume keys, and speakers. Its material is nice and flexible, so it’s easy to apply and remove, and the buttons aren’t too firm to push.
The PixelSkin HD’s “pixelated” design increases your grip on your iPhone, so you’re less likely to drop it while you’re on a call, or when pulling the iPhone out of your pocket. I’ve found that the iPhone 5 is so thin and light that without a case, it’s easy to let it slip out of your hands.
Again, the PixelSkin HD is the best TPU case I’ve found for my iPhone 5 so far. It’s not the cheapest, but I’d sooner pay a little more for Speck’s build quality than have a cheaper case that doesn’t fit snuggly and falls apart after a few months.
