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This is my favorite Pixel 5 case, and it only costs $10
It's navy, it's grippy, it's the absolute perfect thickness
Being clumsy and handling expensive smartphones is not a good combination for me. That's why, for the past decade or so, all of my phones have gone into cases from the moment I took them out of the box. Looking for new case designs is a bit of a side hobby for me, so when I bought my Pixel 5, I followed a hunch and got the navy Gesma TPU case. That hunch paid off big time. I really love it.So why am I qualified to talk to you about this, you might wonder? Over the last years, I have bought, tried, liked, or dismissed hundreds of TPU cases for my phones. (I love the material for its flexibility and shock absorption.) I have wasted days, nay weeks, checking eBay for new case designs, colors, and brands. I know the cheap and midrange $2-15 case market like the back of my hand. Brands you might have heard of like Spigen, Ringke, Cruzerlite, Caseology, others you might not be familiar with, like IMAK, X-Level, Diztronic, Gviewinn, Tudia, Nillkin, Goospery, Nekeda, plus the generic cases you find under hundreds of names on Amazon and eBay.I've reached a point where I can see a case in a product image and immediately intuit how it'd feel in my hand. That's how much I'm confident in my experience with this product category. And that's why when I saw the Gesma case, it immediately reminded me of a navy Diztronic case I'd had several years ago on one of my LG phones and that I loved. So I bought it, and I haven't taken it off my phone since I got it, nearly six months ago.
One of my favorite smartphone cases are made by Cruzerlite. The unique Androidified and Bugdroid Circuit patterns are funky, nerdy, and cool at the same time, while also showing off my passion for Android. It also helps that the cases come in multiple colors and are made from sturdy TPU that withstands numerous falls. If my Instagram memory serves me well, I've had a Cruzerlite for my LG G2, two for my LG G3, one for my Nexus 5X (I had a similar fascination with shoes), and more — not counting the Cruzerlite cases I bought for friends and relatives.But over the past year or so, it's been near impossible to find a Cruzerlite case for modern devices and I'll be honest in saying I never thought to look into the reason. I assumed the company had closed up shop, but it turns out there was a heartbreaking reason behind that. Cruzerlite's founder, Joel Michael, was in a fatal car accident in 2017 and his small family-run business had stopped its operations. But today brings us a ray of hope as Renee, his wife and behind-the-scenes partner, announced that Cruzerlite will be back in business soon.In a Facebook post, Renee related the story of Cruzerlite's beginnings, her late husband's passion, the work the entire family went through to get the company going, the hiatus after Joel's death, and her decision to resurrect Cruzerlite in memory of Joel and to continue his legacy.Words fail to express how sorry I am for Renee's loss, but I'm also very happy to see her finding the strength to move forward and forge a future for her family while honoring Joel's memory.Currently, Cruzerlite is selling generic cases on Amazon for some new devices like the Galaxy S9 and Pixel 2, as well as its unique designs for older devices like the LG G6, Moto G5 Plus, and original Pixel. Renee promises the brand's signature Bugdroid Circuit case will come back with the upcoming Galaxy S10, and we hope that many more flagships and midrangers will follow suit. I for one can't wait to get my hands on a new Cruzerlite case for whatever smartphone I buy next, and this time, the cute Bugdroid will have more meaning each time I look at it.Source: Facebook