Outside is a flexible silicone rubber shield that fits only around the back and sides, very tightly, kind of like a wet suit, and covers the sides of the hard plastic "clamshell."

The iPhone 4 version did a great job of that, because the hard plastic case "locked" the thin, touchscreen cover into place.

Now if they had of made the case just like previous models the plastic up the top by the camera and down the bottom by the home button to this case it would have been a winner as the case is not only more attractive but also a little slimmer and sleeker

Removed clear plastic protecter and put on a stick on shield

It seems to be made out of the same cheap plastic as take-out food comes in, and the speaker and home-key holes look likely to let dirt and water in, as others have mentioned.

This version is thin hard plastic.

After deciphering the horrible instructions (1) and removing the crummy plastic screen shield (2), what's left is a very nice inner plastic case and outer silicone rubber shield.(1

The screen protector cover was made of very flimsy cheap plastic and I have not even have it a month yet and had to replace the screen protector

It's glued around its perimeter into a groove in the hard plastic case.

I understand why they went without the top and bottom hard plastic that covers the "forehead" and "chin"

The case is way to hard to open and the top latch on the inner plastic case is just a thin piece of hard plastic that will most likely be broken in a months time.

If you want to remove the crummy clear plastic, proceed to (2).

Usually, I punch out the clear plastic and use an adhesive screen protector; that solves that problem

The instructions could have been better as I almost broke the plastic

The cheap plastic screen cover is scratched badly in a very short time, and my phone does not get heavy use, I actually change the case when I’m not working because it is to bulky

The plastic and rubber protect the phone well.

The plastic screen protective piece is made much thinner then the one I had on my iPhone

There's no hard plastic around the home button or the camera, the plastic screen cover is flimsy and easily creases during install, the power button does not line up properly to push the actual button underneath, and a new latching mechanism makes if impossible to take apart without a screwdriver

Inside is a hard plastic case that opens in clamshell fashion.

The protective plastic on the case, which is not removable, or adjustable, leaves a giant air bubble over the phone's screen

First you have to peel the "wet suit" by prying with your fingernails at the crack where the outer silicone rubber shield meets the hard plastic inner shell.

The one complaint I have is that since there are holes in the clear plastic for the home button, speaker, and camera, fine dust can get under the plastic and cloud the screen.

The only negative thing I can say is that the plastic that goes over the screen makes it hard to select the icons you are trying to select.

Of course the hard plastic of the case broke

Usually, I punch out the clear plastic and use an adhesive screen protector; that solves that problem

If you want to remove the crummy clear plastic, proceed to (2).

Cheap plastic

The last small complaint I have about the Defender is in regards to the soft plastic outer shell

Even though both cases are drop tested, I do feel like the Otterbox would protects your phone a bit better in case of drops because it has two protected layer versus just a hard plastic case

Design defects and wrong plastic.

The plastic they used for the screen is cheap

However, I had to replace it in under a year because one corner of the rubber began to spontaneously stretch and slip off of the hard plastic under-frame

The plastic anti scratch screen of the case is a little bowed over the screen, not touching it in the middle

Debris constantly get under clear plastic screen which is more of a nuisance than anything.

They have changed their case and now you get a cheap, flimsy plastic shield that doesn't even fit snug to cover your screen and attach to the back

As other reviewers have mentioned, the clear plastic screen protector is rather crummy.

As previous reviews stated, this Otterbox's screen protector is not attached to the hard plastic case in two spots.

Specifically, the inner hard case has been shaved back and left more of the the thin clear plastic exposed on the face as compared to the iPhone 5 version.

The screen cover is a thin flimsy piece of clear plastic and when I want to touch the screen on my phone I have to press harder than normal to get the plastic to bend and touch the screen first.

When I got this one for my 5c, there were a few things that were not in it:-no cover on bottom push button-no clear plastic cover for camera lens and flash-since front screen protector is open at top and bottom, dust and dirt will get

The plastic piece that covers the screen is not sealed to the phone by the more rigid plastic housing like it is in all the other Defenders.

Also, it is fairly over-engineered with three different layers and the inner one being a two-piece front/back hard plastic that clips together before the rubber outer seal goes on.

In addition, the extra large gap around the front camera/speaker as well as around the home button on the front face of the device let in dust and dirt.

I see annoying you a

The one major criticism I have of it is the screen protector is near to worthless as it provides very little resistance to dust accumulation and may serve as a annoyance for many users when keying on the phone

That being said, it is still one of the best ways to protect a

I bought this case for my clumsy father with his new expensive iPhone C, and I am deeply disappointed with the fitment of the protective screen on this case

I bought this as the iphone 5 C (cheaper than the bells and whistles 5) is rounded so not all cases fit it

the otter box defender seems to work well to protect my 5-c from getting banged up, but the problem is with the plastic screen cover which allows small particles debrea to enter between it and phone screen,which looks ugly and may scratch screen.