iKit.com Leather iPad Folio Case Review
02/06/10 21:45 Filed in: iPad
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Following the long awaited arrival of the iPad to UK shores, and receiving mine a day early, I was desperately awaiting the arrival of the ikit.com leather folio I had ordered on the same day I ordered my iPad (10th may)
The case finally arrived yesterday but I was out so had to pop to the post office to collect this morning.
I have to say I was very apprehensive about this case because I had only seen computer generated mockups of the case on the iKit web site (this has since been updated) and on the Flickr feed. These mockups had impressed me so much that I decided to go for it, and also because £39 for a real leather folio case seemed quite reasonable.
From my point of view it just makes sense, the iPad is a device for consuming information, reading books and periodicals etc, and for note taking, and well, you normally put a pad in a folio case, right?
First thing that struck me when I picked up the parcel was the words "sample case" written on the front. This should be a product that’s ready to ship, samples are usually given out for free, aren't they?
Opening the package reveals the case itself, a cleaning cloth, a screen protector, and a card to aid with the application of the protector. These are some very welcome accessories.
Now, the design of the actual case does vary somewhat from the reference design that was originally on the website, the device isn't as fully covered as it is on the reference design, the corners of the iPad are a little exposed, but no more that on other cases of similar style.
The iPad isn't a perfect fit, however. The top and bottom of the bezel fold up. There has been a bit of noise on the net about the iPad sliding out when in the typing configuration, but I personally have not experienced this so far, in fact for typing, the case works rather well, in fact I typed this review on it.
The build quality is ok, the stitching looks good generally, the interior is very nice, but it does pick up bits easily so care is required to ensure that it hasn't picked anything up that will scratch. Using a sticky lint roller brings the interior up a treat.
The case adds quite a bit of bulk to the iPad, but I don't feel it adds much weight, so I'm not too concerned about that.
Outside doesn't look as classy as the reference designs would have you believe, the metal strip looks poorly finished with some quite sharp edges, it didn't have the clear protective cover on that you normally see on a new product, and it was slightly scratched out of the box.
The closing mechanism is through magnets, I believe, but these aren't very strong and the case can pop open easily, unless you ensure you have closed it properly first. Even then picking the case up without holding the front flap can cause it to fall open.
The little flap can get in the way, but this I can forgive considering the role it plays in enabling a typing configuration. I don't like the way the case closes, I personally feel it would have been better to close the large front over first, and then fold the small flap over the top, and have the metal strip on that, not the other way round, as is the case. This means that the front doesn't lie perfectly flat on top of the iPad.
The front cover can be folded right round and proves rather useful as a grippy surface, allowing you to position the iPad and case on your knee without fear of it sliding off.
How do I feel about this case? Well, to be honest, when I first opened the box I kinda hated it, but after 8 hours of use, it’s actually starting to grow on me. It’s far from perfect, and not worth the 3 week wait, but the stitching is good the interior finish is good, and it does work well in a typing configuration.
The issues are: its not a perfect fit, I'd like to see the bezel flat all the way round. The closing mechanism doesn't work very well, and the quality of the metal strip is rather low. Perhaps some sort of flap on the inside to stop the device sliding out, a la the Apple case?
Sort this out and this case could be a winner.
View more images here
Following the long awaited arrival of the iPad to UK shores, and receiving mine a day early, I was desperately awaiting the arrival of the ikit.com leather folio I had ordered on the same day I ordered my iPad (10th may)
The case finally arrived yesterday but I was out so had to pop to the post office to collect this morning.
I have to say I was very apprehensive about this case because I had only seen computer generated mockups of the case on the iKit web site (this has since been updated) and on the Flickr feed. These mockups had impressed me so much that I decided to go for it, and also because £39 for a real leather folio case seemed quite reasonable.
Why a folio case?
From my point of view it just makes sense, the iPad is a device for consuming information, reading books and periodicals etc, and for note taking, and well, you normally put a pad in a folio case, right?
The Case
First thing that struck me when I picked up the parcel was the words "sample case" written on the front. This should be a product that’s ready to ship, samples are usually given out for free, aren't they?
Opening the package reveals the case itself, a cleaning cloth, a screen protector, and a card to aid with the application of the protector. These are some very welcome accessories.
Now, the design of the actual case does vary somewhat from the reference design that was originally on the website, the device isn't as fully covered as it is on the reference design, the corners of the iPad are a little exposed, but no more that on other cases of similar style.
The build quality is ok, the stitching looks good generally, the interior is very nice, but it does pick up bits easily so care is required to ensure that it hasn't picked anything up that will scratch. Using a sticky lint roller brings the interior up a treat.
The case adds quite a bit of bulk to the iPad, but I don't feel it adds much weight, so I'm not too concerned about that.
The closing mechanism is through magnets, I believe, but these aren't very strong and the case can pop open easily, unless you ensure you have closed it properly first. Even then picking the case up without holding the front flap can cause it to fall open.
The little flap can get in the way, but this I can forgive considering the role it plays in enabling a typing configuration. I don't like the way the case closes, I personally feel it would have been better to close the large front over first, and then fold the small flap over the top, and have the metal strip on that, not the other way round, as is the case. This means that the front doesn't lie perfectly flat on top of the iPad.
The front cover can be folded right round and proves rather useful as a grippy surface, allowing you to position the iPad and case on your knee without fear of it sliding off.
Conclusion
The issues are: its not a perfect fit, I'd like to see the bezel flat all the way round. The closing mechanism doesn't work very well, and the quality of the metal strip is rather low. Perhaps some sort of flap on the inside to stop the device sliding out, a la the Apple case?
Sort this out and this case could be a winner.
View more images here