STM Arvo Case for iPhone 5
Overview
Pros:
- lightweight, very sturdy, flush fitting kickstand, some colours look niceCons:
- some strange colour combinations, exposed top and bottom, won't stand vertically.A sturdy case, with a bit of extra flush mounted usability. Great if you use your iPhone as a media device a lot!
STM Arvo in black and white
The STM Arvo is another of STM’s forays into the increasingly crowded iPhone 5 case market. Like its sibling, the Opera, the Arvo features a tyre like pattern that is apparently inspired by the Sydney Opera House. I still don’t get it. Interestingly, in the Arvo, the pattern is actually hidden away for the most part as STM have chosen to put it on the inside of the case.
Also like the Opera, the STM Arvo is made from TPU, which gives a nice semi-soft touch feel with a nice elasticity. Unlike the Opera, the Arvo has added an additional layer of polycarbonate on the back and sides to make a much more rigid and solid feeling case. This presumably should provide the Arvo equipped iPhone with a bit more protection from any bumps and drops. Weight increase is minimal, although the thickness has increased slightly. Confusingly, STM have then decided to leave the top and bottom of the Arvo exposed, exposing the phone to top and bottom impact related damage. The cutouts for the ports and buttons are nicely recessed, and a thin lip added to give a bit of protection for the front screen.
The trump card of the Arvo is the flush fitting, integrated kick stand at the back. Simply pull it out and enjoy handsfree entertainment. Unfortunately, the stand only seems to be stable when the iPhone is in landscape mode, and doesn’t seem to be very stable vertically. To be honest, I don’t watch a lot of movies or videos on my iPhone, but if I did, I’d imagine most of the time I would want a widescreen picture so this may be a moot point.
Kick stand goodness
The STM Arvo is priced at around $40 and is available in a range of contrasting colours including white, grey, black, pink and blue. We’re huge fans of the solid, lightweight construction, and the flush kick stand is a great extra for those that consume a lot of media on their phone. If STM could add a little bit of protection around the exposed top and bottom.
*Big thanks to STM for providing the STM Arvo for review.
