Mobile Network Comparison

Last week we looked at the best accessories for the new iPhone 5C but don’t worry, we weren’t neglecting Apple’s flagship, the iPhone 5S. As many of the accessories for the 5C can also be used on by 5S, we thought we would take a slightly different tack and concentrate just on protective cases.

Even though the build quality of all iPhones is excellent, many all of you will know from experience that they are not indestructible. After you spent hundreds of pounds on the latest and greatest mobile technology, it only makes to spend little bit more to make sure you keep it protected at all times.

Today we round up the best five cases on the market for the five best whether you want a sleek and stylish model that can pop in your pocket or the toughest case available for active lifestyles in all weather conditions.

1. Case Mate Tough Xtreme

Was £39.99 Now only £17.99

The Case Mate Tough Xtreme is a military grade case which offers the best protection for your treasured iPhone. It is specifically intended for people with very active lifestyles and will keep your phone safe from harm the matter what you’re doing.

It looks great on the phone and includes a snap on screen protector to save your Gorilla Glass display from scratches. There is a choice of colours and, despite its hardiness, it is especially designed to keep the overall form factor slim and not too bulky.

This is certainly one of the highest quality cases available and offers really practical protection and even the most jarring of bumps and scrapes.

 

2. OtterBox Commuter

Was £29.99 Now only £11.99

The OtterBox Commuter is a flip case for the back of the iPhone 5S. It includes an impact-absorbing rubber layer which protects the phone from sharp impacts should you drop it on a hard surface. As it only attaches to the back of the phone, you have full access to all the functions and using the phone and making calls is simple when using it. It also has generous cut-outs on the back to accommodate the camera and flash.

A nice touch about the OtterBox Commuter is that it offers silicon covers that keep dust and other débris out of the various plugs and ports on the iPhone 5S. It also includes a screen protector to prevent damage to the screen.

The only flaw is that, as it is open in design, there is no protection against water damage although this does mean that it is rather more sleek than some cases. And if you use the silicon port protectors, this can prevent water getting inside the phone to damage it.

The case looks great and, despite not being very chunky-looking, it’s very practical and provides effective protection of the phone. OtterBox are well-known for making quality cases and this is no different. It’s a small price to pay for preventing your iPhone 5S from getting scratched or damaged.

 

3. SPIGEN Ultra Flip Case

Only £24.99

The SPIGEN Ultra Flip Case is a beautiful piece of kit. It’s a sleek and stylish flip cover for the iPhone 5S and looks gorgeous on the outside and even better with its lovely microfibre Chamude lining. The case fits absolutely perfectly for the new iPhone five arrests.

The build quality is high and, although it isn’t the most rugged case in the world, it will certainly offer ample protection from slips and drops. The price is a little dear compared to other compatible cases, but if you want the good looks that come with this flip covers, you’ll find it’s money well spent.

 

4. Griffin Survivor + Catalyst

Was £59.99 Now only £38.73

Even though it is heavily discounted, the Griffin Survivor + Catalyst is by far the most expensive of the cases that made it to our top five. However, Griffin is effectively giving you two cases for your money and this level of protection is completely unprecedented and unmatched elsewhere.

The case is advertised as being waterproof to 3m of pressure and is especially designed for people who are involved in watersports but still need to keep their phone with them. The special gasketed design not only keeps out water but other things that can damage your phone as well such as dust, sand and grease.

Of course, as with any worthwhile phone case, it also offers impact protection and should protect your iPhone from even the highest of accidental drops with its shock absorbing bumpers. We found that the case really looks the part with its bulky protective polycarbonate frame. But despite its protective powers, you can still use all the features on your phone.

This is a great case that works exactly as advertised. If you lead a rough-and-tumble life or are often out on the water or on the ski slopes, it is an excellent choice that provides all the protection you could need.

 

5. Snugg iPhone 5S Leather Case

Was £35.98 Now only £17.99

The Snugg Leather Case is a sleek looking pouch perfect for any professional to keep their phone safe whether at work or on the weekends. It comes with a practical slots to hold onto your oyster card, credit cards or even to popping some business cards bring going to meetings.

The case looks great no matter which colour you choose and holds the phone perfectly. You might even say it is a “snug” fit. While the protection cannot match some of the sturdy cases, the build quality is excellent and it comes the lifetime guarantee.

We especially liked the elasticated strap and magnetic tip which makes it easy for your phone out when in a hurry. This case has a classy look at has now been reduced to have a much lower price tag than you would you expect – a great buy.

 

Great news – virtual network Giffgaff have just announced they are increase their goodybag allowances. So now you get even better value on their rolling deals.

The £15 goodybag has been bumped up from 400 minutes to 500 minutes. And amazingly, the £20 goodybag has leapt up by 800 minutes to a whopping total of 2,000 minutes every month. Even ignoring the unlimited texts and data, that works out at just 1p/minute! Seems hard to do better than that…

To take advantage of this offer and start using the new goodybags, click the banner below.

As usual, we’re offering all our readers a sign-up bonus of £5 free credit when they order a new Giffgaff SIM through our link. So that means you can get a free SIM card and once you activate it and get your £5 bonus, you’ll have a total of £15. That’s enough to buy a goodybag giving you 500 UK minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited internet!

These new allowances mean that you’re getting an unparalleled amount for your money if you go for Giffgaff’s goodybags. Not bad and just in time for Christmas 🙂 For the full run-down of their current offering, see below:

Giffgaff runs on the O₂ network with exactly the same signal and speeds. And switching is really easy – you can even keep your mobile number.

We’ve also seen some great deals on Giffgaff SIMs on eBay. In fact, for less than £7 it seems you can buy a pre-activated SIM with £15 credit already on it ready to use. Unlike other SIMs being sold on eBay, it’s claimed that this credit is active and ready to use and there are no limitations or restrictions on what you spend the credit on. So once you buy the SIM, you don’t have to pay a penny to start using it.

What do you think of these new monthly bundles? Are there any better offers currently available? And if you have Giffgaff, which goodybag do you use?

It’s been a few months since Apple’s release of its new mobile phones, the flagship iPhone 5S and the “budget” option, the iPhone 5C. It’s fair to say that the sales figures have been very impressive – within just days of the launch in September, Apple had shifted almost ten million iPhones making it a new sales record for the Cupertino company.

However, industry analysts have not failed to notice that Apple did not reveal the split in sales between the two devices. And, in actual fact, it turns out that there’s a fairly significant difference. The actual disparity is far bigger than most people were previously predicting.

We’ve seen the latest report from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech which suggests that the more expensive iPhone 5S is outselling the 5C by a threefold factor. Kantar Worldpanel is a well-established market research company that has been headquartered in London since 1997. Their latest research report looked at data from UK sales up until the end of October.

Following the initial announcement announcement of the phone, the lacklustre specs of the 5C combined with the relatively high price led many to predict it would suffer from poor sales. However, almost no one expected the discrepancy to be quite so significant.

It is tempting to see the relatively poor sales of the iPhone 5C to be a failure. After all, Apple has been dogged by reports that have been artificially-constricting the supply of the 5S in order to try and shift more units of the less desirable 5C. Factually, it is certainly the case that the 5S has been barely able to keep up with demand. And it has also been reported that Apple’s Chinese factories are shifting production away from the 5C to produce five best handsets at a faster rate.

However, despite having a much higher price then almost any other handset on the market, evidence does suggest that the iPhone 5C is making some inroads into its target market of poorer households, especially in richer Western nations. Twice the proportion of iPhone 5C owners have lower incomes when compared to owners of the iPhone 5S.

Most encouraging for Apple is the fact that the 5C is drawing customers away from their big rivals; Samsung in particular. While the vast majority of iPhone 5S owners were already Apple converts and had upgraded from a previous iteration of the iOS smartphone, the iPhone 5C seems to be winning over new customers with about 50% of the buyers coming from competing brands. Certainly its lower price point has a huge part to play in that.

One mustn’t be too hasty to declare the 5C success, though. Arguably the cost is out of reach of the majority of consumers and, despite an aggressive marketing campaign, only older and cheaper models of the iPhone have any chance of making substantial inroads into emerging markets around the world.

Indeed, Apple’s market share overall is still in decline. So while the iPhone is shifting boxes at a frenetic pace, Android and Windows Phone are taking ever-increasing bites out of Apple’s share of the smartphone market. In fact, the latest figures show that Google’s Android is by far the most popular mobile platform in Britain largely due to the widescale availability of lower-priced handsets running the operating system.

With the entrance of cut-price Chinese manufacturers such as Lenovo, Zopo and Star into European markets, we predict that this trend will only continue into 2014. It’s likely that android we running on more and more people’s phones over the coming few years especially if Apple refuses to be competitive in the lower income price ranges.

Smartphones are now truly mass-market devices – almost every new mobile phone sold nowadays in Britain is a touchscreen smartphone. Already, Android is on more than seven out of every ten mobile phones in Europe and dominates more than half the market in the UK. Meanwhile, Apple’s lingering behind but less than 30% of the market and BlackBerry has been almost entirely squeezed out with less than 3% according to the latest figures and this year.

So, what you make of these figures and the report that the iPhone 5S is outselling the iPhone 5C by three to one? Does this latest new surprise you at all or is it what you’ve come to expect from the latest iPhone launch? And how do you see the battle between Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS continuing over the course of next year? Please let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.