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MacAlly Bookstand for iPad: Short Review and *PICS*

T

tigerstorm

macrumors newbie
Apr 24, 2010
9
0
Can you glue it back?

magicandmystery said:
I take my iPad a lot of places—it's become an integral part of my activities. With that being said, that's why I got the case. It's not babied per se, but I certainly treat it well. In terms of use, I quite frequently tuck the leather strap in to use the keyboard angle, or the upright angle ('specially in bed). I also use it flat. QUOTE
]

Wow, these really opened my eyes! May I guess pic six.jpg is the core of the problem? I have mostly left the case on all the time, and hadn't stained the hinge area much, looks like the piece of fabric that's glued to the back plastic is really short, but I still don't see how much of repeat force would split it off within only 2 weeks. If macally doesn't do anything even if you call, I would try some superglue;) but it could get messy, sorry man! Good luck with your replacement! And you must have never realized how much of a rough beast you are!:D
Click to expand...
 
Godzirra!

Godzirra!

macrumors regular
Apr 26, 2010
140
0
Pacific Ocean, Japan
Don't buy from iunitek. Lady from customer service was horrible, so i canceled the order. 2 days later, I have a lot of fraudulent charges. Go through ebay or elsewhere
 
I

igoggsy

macrumors newbie
Feb 12, 2008
9
0
shot in the dark, but are there any canadians here that have been able to get one shipped to canada? I have checked the amazon marketplace and ecost and they have them in stock, but no one seems to ship to canada.
 
w4rmk

w4rmk

macrumors 6502
Feb 13, 2006
285
84
I had one of these cases for a few days and sold it pretty quick, didn't like it at all for the following reasons:

- The bend in the middle of the screen cover is flimsy, it flips and flops too easily, unlike the Apple case which stays reasonable flat.
- As previously described the flap leaves a gap along the right edge when closed.
- Didn't like the color.
- The plastic holding tabs in the corner don't hold that well.
 
E

ecitizen

macrumors newbie
Apr 22, 2010
8
0
For sale

I have a new Macally bookstand case that I don't need since I bought two cases. Email me at ecitizen at gmail dot com if interested.
 
HelloMikee

HelloMikee

macrumors 6502a
Jun 16, 2009
984
477
San Diego
sracer said:
That's what happened to me. I ordered mine on 4/27 because they claimed that it was in stock. Was notified that it was actually out of stock and that they will have more on 4/29 and ship out on 5/5. 5/5 came and went... no product shipped and a fraudulent charge for $2400 against my credit card.
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Great, Amex was compromised. WTF. Seriously pissed off. First lousy service, now dealing with getting a new card. Wack a$$ company.
 
sracer

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,286
13,019
where hip is spoken
Skystar said:
Glad I got mine from eBay! That is just ridiculous!
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I should've known that they were shady when their website claimed that the bookstand was "in stock" even though in actuality it was out of stock for nearly a month. This is 2010 for crying out loud... even high school kids can create a website with accurate inventory tracking.
 
HelloMikee

HelloMikee

macrumors 6502a
Jun 16, 2009
984
477
San Diego
sracer said:
I should've known that they were shady when their website claimed that the bookstand was "in stock" even though in actuality it was out of stock for nearly a month. This is 2010 for crying out loud... even high school kids can create a website with accurate inventory tracking.
Click to expand...

Well, you'd think the official site of the company that actually makes the product would be legit. Or at least that's what I thought.

Then I deal with customer service for over a week trying to get answers as to when it was shipping. Which ended in finally canceling the order and fraudulent charges.
 
D

DunnMaui

macrumors member
Apr 15, 2010
75
0
Maui, Hawaii
I bought my case from Amazon after sending back the Apple case and the Incase Convertible Bookstand. The Macally case is far superior and if there are " wear" issues I would be happy to purchase another when I need too ;)
 
furtive

furtive

macrumors newbie
May 13, 2010
16
44
Banff, AB
Ordered from UniStorage, shipping to Canada

shot in the dark, but are there any canadians here that have been able to get one shipped to canada? I have checked the amazon marketplace and ecost and they have them in stock, but no one seems to ship to canada.
Click to expand...

I ordered mine from UniStorage this morning (May 13), said they are in stock and ships next day. The cheapest shipping option still came up to a painful $37, but I live in the middle of nowhere (Banff) so it's cheaper than driving to the city.

Here's the page on the UniStorage site: http://www.unistorage.com/unistorage/index.cfm?fuseaction=shop.dspSpecs&part=4575543
 
M

Martayjay

macrumors newbie
May 8, 2010
11
0
FRAUDULENT CHARGES from MACALLY SITE!!

Thanks to all of you for warning me about fraudulent charges from the MacAlly website.

I ordered a Bookstand via iUnitek and then (too late) discovered this thread with the credit card warnings. So... I've been monitoring my account online every day since then. Well, sure enough, today I found a suspect charge from the PlayStation Store. Since I don't own a PS, it's fairly clear there is fraud going on. I immediately called my bank, cancelled the charge and shut down the credit card. F**k those scammers!

It's truly amazing that Macally / iUnitek can allow this to happen.
I was really hot to get a Bookstand but after this, F**k Macally, too!

I'll now wait for the XGear Folio.
Looks like a better-quality product, anyway.
 
furtive

furtive

macrumors newbie
May 13, 2010
16
44
Banff, AB
igoggsy said:
shot in the dark, but are there any canadians here that have been able to get one shipped to canada? I have checked the amazon marketplace and ecost and they have them in stock, but no one seems to ship to canada.
Click to expand...

I got mine from UniStorage/FedEx today, ordered Thursday morning and received Monday morning, using the cheapest shipping method possible, no duty or delays at the border.

The case is light, thin, simple, clean, with a faint plastic smell emenating from the "leather" strap (I'll let it breath by a window for a while). The back cover is solid and curved to match my yet to arrive iPad, while the front cover is soft, almost too soft but not enough to be a problem. The stitching seems good, although material on backplate is glued on. Something nobody else seems to have mentioned is that the microfibre suede is different on the outside than on the inside, with the inside part being a bit softer/longer without being shaggy.

The strap (it feels like leather but it's not real leather, seems to be the part that smells the most like plastic) is wide but thin, and doesn't really get in the way the way some people have complained. In fact it's thinner than the one I had on a case for my Palm III 12 years ago! When the main flap is folded over on itself the strap bends towards the table, not up and over the screen, so while it does protrude it isn't in the way. You could fold it under but there's no real need. I'm happy to note the book lays flat when open.

Overall I'd say this case is a nice way to accentuate your iPad and reduce it's exposure to contact with other elements. I figure it could hold together for six months to two years depending on how you use it. That being said, I don't think this case is worth more than $25, and should have been priced as such.
 
I

igoggsy

macrumors newbie
Feb 12, 2008
9
0
furtive said:
I got mine from UniStorage/FedEx today, ordered Thursday morning and received Monday morning, using the cheapest shipping method possible, no duty or delays at the border.

The case is light, thin, simple, clean, with a faint plastic smell emenating from the "leather" strap (I'll let it breath by a window for a while). The back cover is solid and curved to match my yet to arrive iPad, while the front cover is soft, almost too soft but not enough to be a problem. The stitching seems good, although material on backplate is glued on. Something nobody else seems to have mentioned is that the microfibre suede is different on the outside than on the inside, with the inside part being a bit softer/longer without being shaggy.

The strap (it feels like leather but it's not real leather, seems to be the part that smells the most like plastic) is wide but thin, and doesn't really get in the way the way some people have complained. In fact it's thinner than the one I had on a case for my Palm III 12 years ago! When the main flap is folded over on itself the strap bends towards the table, not up and over the screen, so while it does protrude it isn't in the way. You could fold it under but there's no real need. I'm happy to note the book lays flat when open.

Overall I'd say this case is a nice way to accentuate your iPad and reduce it's exposure to contact with other elements. I figure it could hold together for six months to two years depending on how you use it. That being said, I don't think this case is worth more than $25, and should have been priced as such.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the help! Ordered one on the weekend. I am only using it in the house so hopefully will hold up for a longer than 6 months!
 
S

screensaver400

macrumors 6502a
Jan 28, 2005
858
46
Received my shipment notice from Amazon--I preordered there a while back. I'll post my impressions when it arrives.
 
S

screensaver400

macrumors 6502a
Jan 28, 2005
858
46
SchneiderMan said:
Macally's iPad products need a lot more work done.. What's all the hype about?
Click to expand...

For me, there aren't any better alternatives in terms of the design itself (ie, the concept, not the visual design).

What I really want is the Apple case, implemented better. Nearly all of the folio cases are unnecessarily thick because they just use one flat piece of leather for the back. A far better solution is a molded material. This maintains the iPad's thinness as much as possible

Only a few cases do this: SGP Vintage Leather, Macally Bookstand, Xgear Folio, Noreve Tradition, and Vaja Agenda.

The Noreve and Xgear are ugly, the Vaja is expensive, and the SGP doesn't function as a stand. That leaves the Bookstand.
 
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