When Apple showed the iPhone 5 off to the world earlier this year we did not fall in love with the design at first, but it wasn’t until we saw the device close up that we could truly appreciate the slick design — although there wasn’t the huge design change from the 4S like there had been in the past with previous versions. We loved the slighter taller design and also how much lighter it was, but this did make it feel more like a toy than a quality device that Apple have built their reputation on.

The biggest issue that people have is how the back is not as sturdy as that of the glass finish on the iPhone 4 and 4S, which means that people have had to use a case to further protect their iPhone 5. However, most of the cases we have seen does take away from the beauty of the device, but it’s a price that some people have to take in order to protect their iPhone 5, especially because Apple’s latest smartphone is said to scratch easy — although mine has been fine.

There is a huge choice of cases available but we are looking for ones that still make the phone look thin, but also adds a little weight and strength as well. Thankfully this iPhone 5 case looks to be the one that could achieve both those things, so we’re glad that My Trendy Phone sent us one of these cases to review.

The packaging for the Cygnett UrbanShield Aluminium Case is well presented and is easy to get into without the need to destroy any of the packaging, and once you have the case in your hand you know that it is far better than some of those hard plastic cases that are currently on the market.

The first thing that you will notice is the trendy brushed aluminium design, which helps to keep the quality look of the iPhone 5, and because it is a slim-fit case it does not add too much to the thickness of the design. However, we we did notice as soon as we slipped the iPhone 5 into the case how it made it feel more like the iPhone 4S. What we mean by this is how the back has that nice sturdy and solid feel once again, instead of that lighter and cheaper feel.

Like all cases the UrbanShield allows easy access to the Lighting port, the volume buttons and also the mute switch. Some of the thicker cases make it hard to get to the lock button, but because this is a slim-fit case that button is easy to access. We just can’t get over how much nicer the iPhone 5 feels in the hand with this new case, but as with most cases for the iPhone 5 we had some trouble trying to remove it — which made me worry about scratching the phone.

As we said above this is the brushed aluminium black version but Cygnett does offer a carbon-fiber version as well, but we have to say that this is the better of the two — well that’s my personal opinion. We have to warn you that this case is not going to protect your iPhone 5 from a huge drop, but it will be good enough to protect against minor accidents and to also stop the sides and the rear of your phone from scratching.

You can buy the iPhone 5 Cygnett UrbanShield Aluminium Case in Black from My Trendy Phone for £23.80 in the UK and comes complete with a screen protector and micro-fibre cleaning cloth, you may want to find you perfect iPhone 5 cover there as well, you never know what they might have.

Conclusion
There’s no denying how much the UrbanShield improves the feel of the iPhone 5 while not adding too much to the bulk of the smartphone, but there is no getting away from the fact that it can be tricky to get off if you feel the need to keep removing the case in your line of work. However, this is one of the best cases we have had the chance to review so far ad one of the best iPhone 5 accessories by a mile for quality, let’s hope we get to try out a few others soon so we have a decent comparison.

Other Photos of the iPhone 5 Cygnett UrbanShield Aluminium Case in Black