I cannot believe the irony of this. My iPhone 4 has been on the fritz all summer. Dropped calls. Weird, high-pitched, pulsing static. Frozen screens. Frequent, but unpredictable, muteness. Difficulty multitasking and general bugging out. Sooooo annoying. But I knew sticking with my lemony iPhone 4 was worthwhile. I was holding out for an iPhone 5. I knew I could make it through September, and last week I gleefully listened to an NPR report announcing the announcement that happened today.
The iPhone 5 was FINALLY (almost!) here! After the official unveiling today, I got busy rounding up my picks for iPhone 5 pre-order cases, and whilst sitting on the edge or the tub, absentmindedly supervising a potty break (ok, I was fantasizing about a 4-inch display, ultra-fast wireless, and indeed, just finishing a conversation more than five minutes in length), my sweet Boy Wonder #2 dropped said nearly-fried iPhone (accidentally) into the toilet, while watching his very favorite YouTube clip, "I Have to Go Potty." Dropped. The phone. Into the toilet. My precious!
I could see through the water that the screen had gone black. I fished it out and quickly wiped it with an antibacterial hand wipe. I'm a germaphobe. Then I threw it in a big bag of rice. And still, hours and hours later, it's non-responsive. I took it out just to look at it a few minutes ago and some kind of green goo oozed out. I think it's done.
All this, nine loooong days before the September 21st release of Apple's iPhone 5. Nine days without texting. Nine days without on-demand, anywhere-at-all email access. Nine days without spur of the moment video and snapshots of my sweet babes. Without my calendar. My iPhone Kindle. Leo's potty videos. Basically, my [electronic] life. Gah!
I don't know if I'll make it those nine long days, but here are my picks for some of the best iPhone 5 case pre-orders currently on the market. None of them will save your phone from a dip in the potty, but at least they'll keep it safe from bumps, scratches and shattered (retina!) displays.
Above, Case-Mate's customizable iPhone 5 case in Ain't No Mom Jeans print : )
Nordstrom and Case-Mate have the monopoly on fab new iPhone case designs. Nordstrom has exclusive Kate Spade and Case-Mate cases available for pre-order. The Kate Spade designs are drool-worthy, but they're expected to ship in early December, just in time for the holidays, so you'll have to wait. The adorable, preppy print and monogrammed Case-Mate Nordstrom exclusive pre-orders will ship in early October, so you'll only be on high alert with your new iPhone for a few weeks (assuming you camp out like I plan to).
I love the adorable, preppy prints of the Nordstrom exclusive Case-Mate iPhone cases. The "M" on this one has me one click away from checkout.
case-mate.com
Again with the crazy-cute prints and preppy monogramming. Love the pink/orange color combo.
This soft, floral & faces design is so feminine and lovely.
hardcandycases.com
Polka dots. You know I love them. What can I say?
There's something just so 80's-fabulous, Robert Palmer-Simply-Irresistible (in a good way) about this case.
Do crosswords? Or just aspire to? Perfecto!
This eye print by New York illustrator and artist Deanne Cheuk is almost an animal print. Like dalmatian or something. Kooky. Never seen anything like this.
This glossy, semi-translucent tortoiseshell hard case feels really fresh after a dog's age with my tired J.Crew matte leopard print case,
For someone who calls even squirt guns "squirters" or "water shooters," just to avoid the word "gun," I find this pink camo print oddly appealing. And PLEASE, click through on the Realtree Camo Print cases link at the bottom of the Otterbox site. It is sooooo worth the click. Is there some sort of young, sexy woman NRA thing going on that I haven't heard about yet? It is so kitschy and I just don't even know what. It makes me wonder just what kind of protecting Otterbox has in mind, and what exactly do they think is next?
Again, bulky iPhone cases aren't my thing, but this is a great, non-militia alternative to an Otterbox. And the ice blue/raspberry color combo? Yummy.
grovemade.com
Think I'm going to make it nine long days without a smart phone, Mamas? Could be an interesting experiment. . .Wish me luck.
– M.
You can do this, M!! You can!! I’ll call you every day to– no, wait. Ok, I’ll text a message of support– oh. Yeah, that won’t work either. Email? Maybe? The old-fashioned kind you check in the morning? WOW
You might be screwed.
( I know I would be. I can’t drive more than two blocks out here without turning to my directions app.)
While it’s not exactly cute, the new Armor series from Otterbox is due out soon and is made for the adventurous. You know, white water rafters, divers, and toilet prone moms. Drop it, submerge it for up to ten minutes, and it’s still good to go. Worth a mention, for sure! http://www.otterbox.com/armor-series/armor-series,default,pg.html?gclid=CK2gzYbTsrICFUdvTAodyhYAQQ
Wait, let me get this straight… you list out all of the problems you had with your phone, and you are just going to go ahead and buy another phone from the same company? So far I’ve trusted your product recommendations, but that doesn’t seem logical to me.
I hear ya', Melissa, but I feel I need to take just a little responsibility for the behavior of my phone. Given that it's a tiny computer, which I leave running 24/7, have dropped countless times, have left in 100+ degree heat more than once, splashed with juice and allow a two- and four-year-old to play with, I think it's pretty remarkable it's made it this far.
while not gorgeous, we have the lifeproof case, which is waterproof. I don’t want to worry about a toilet+phone mishap… http://www.lifeproof.com/
It made me so sad to pass up the gorgeous cases out there, there are so many super cute ones. But the safety of my phone was absolutely worth it.
rsc – Hmmmmm…I see that the lifeproof cases some in pink, turquoise and other fun colors. Not too shabby….and OMG! You can get – I KID YOU NOT – an inflatable piece so your iPhone floats!! LOLOLOLOL
But seriously – I need that one.
My friend just had the same thing happen to her iPhone. She put in the freezer first, then the bag of rice and it worked! Not exactly sure on the physics of how the freezer helps but it might be worth a try.
Though I love being in touch with my friends all day, I sometimes give myself a tech break so I can focus a bit more at the tasks at hand, namely raising my kids (and perhaps a bit of housework) and to also show my kids that we don’t need to be watching something all the time to pass time. Call me crazy but it is nice to come home to my computer sometimes and find unopened delicious emails to read (ie denim sales, lol) Don’t get me wrong, I am still an instant gratification kind of person but it really isn’t too bad to be without tech sometimes. Just pretend we are living in the 80’s again (with matching denim trends of course!) You can do it M, think of it as a detox before the 5 is released!
Am I the only person a little flabbergasted that you can’t buy a case to put on that brand new phone? M, I don’t know if being on high alert will be enough to keep it safe from baby mouths, toilets, etc. for that couple of weeks. I’m nervous already!
I just want to say that I dropped my old iphone in our chickens’ water a few weeks ago, and it looked to be dead for about 24 hours, then ALIVE again. That’s why I’ve nicknamed it Frankenstein. The only thing that didn’t recover for a week was the speaker phone. I just ordered my iphone 5!
I don’t know what’s more fun–new phone or new case!
I’ve been pinning my faves (some of which you picked, too) to a Pinterest board: http://pinterest.com/closetcoach/geek-love/
Will totally have to add some of these as well.
So enough gushing trust me I am capable of way more when it comes to you guys but I’ve got a bit of a fashion dilemma. My little monkey girl monkey mind you is turning two in a few weeks.