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iPad Any iPad Air cases that rotate?

J

jpiszcz

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 28, 2010
422
79
Tried Belkin FreeStyle Cover for iPad Air (it slips out of the grooves very easily)

Tried the Targus Versavu as it was awesome on my iPad 3- picked up the Air model and the first row of speaker holes are 3/4 blocked and the power connector is not easily accessible.

Has anyone found a good one that rotates horizontally and vertically?
 
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They don't rotate but there are Origami-style cases that work in both landscape and portrait.
Moshi, Roocase, Cygnett..... There are a few different manufacturers.
 
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jpiszcz said:
Tried Belkin FreeStyle Cover for iPad Air (it slips out of the grooves very easily)

Tried the Targus Versavu as it was awesome on my iPad 3- picked up the Air model and the first row of speaker holes are 3/4 blocked and the power connector is not easily accessible.

Has anyone found a good one that rotates horizontally and vertically?
Click to expand...

Where did you try the Belkin FreeStyle Cover? It hasn't been released yet.

The Ridge from Devicewear looks similar, but the FreeStyle looks a little sleeker. The groves look the same on both.
 
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jpiszcz said:
Bestbuy had them.
Click to expand...

None had them by me yesterday but showing in-stock today. Thanks!

If anyone has The Ridge by Devicewear and tried the FreeStyle, do you find jpiszcz's groove slippage issue the same on both cases?
 
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I picked up the Belkin but have not tried. I sure hope is does not slip easily.

There is a kickstarted for a case similar to the Belkin Freestyle. It wont ship till 2014.
 
ZipZap said:
I picked up the Belkin but have not tried. I sure hope is does not slip easily.

There is a kickstarted for a case similar to the Belkin Freestyle. It wont ship till 2014.
Click to expand...

Let us know what you think of the Belkin. Thanks.
 
Looking forward to your Belkin Freestyle impressions. I really hope the viewing angles are stable enough for bed/lap use. Because it seems to be one of the most versatile folio cases out there (rotate and detach while still being not too heavy or thick).
 
So I installed the Belkin and here is my quick feedback:

Negatives:

1. No lock/unlock magnets (on a $60 case?!?!?!?). I plan to call Belkin tomorrow to confirm (and chew them out). No excuse for not including this feature. Its not documented anywhere (website or box).

2. The back case is made of a material that shows grease and fingerprints. Again, what is Belkin thinking?!?!?

3. No install materials or anything other than the case in a box.

Positives:

The detach feature is great, the weight of the back piece is minimal but could be lighter. As a stand its stable in vertical or horizontal positions.

Conclusion:

I will probably take it back to Best Buy as I refuse to spend $60 for a case that has NO magnets.
 
ZipZap said:
So I installed the Belkin and here is my quick feedback:

Negatives:

1. No lock/unlock magnets (on a $60 case?!?!?!?). I plan to call Belkin tomorrow to confirm (and chew them out). No excuse for not including this feature. Its not documented anywhere (website or box).

2. The back case is made of a material that shows grease and fingerprints. Again, what is Belkin thinking?!?!?

3. No install materials or anything other than the case in a box.

Positives:

The detach feature is great, the weight of the back piece is minimal but could be lighter. As a stand its stable in vertical or horizontal positions.

Conclusion:

I will probably take it back to Best Buy as I refuse to spend $60 for a case that has NO magnets.
Click to expand...

No magnets? What? Didn't even think of that possibility...

As a stand, is it stable enough to use in the lap or just on a table?

Could you take a picture with the iPad installed? I'm interested in how the back cover fits and how much of the sides it covers (chamfer?). All the photos on Belkin's site seem to be renders, preproduction or use a dummy iPad.
 
ZipZap said:
I will probably take it back to Best Buy as I refuse to spend $60 for a case that has NO magnets.
Click to expand...

Does it have NO magnets or do the magnets just not work?
Pretty sure Apple changed the location/polarity of the magnets with the Air and some case makers didn't account for this.
 
I ordered the Origami Case by Roo Case (which I'm sure is an OEM of some other case) from Amazon. They haven't come in yet but I'm excited to check it out! It has a portrait, landscape, different angled landscape and keyboard mode... They look good from the pictures... we'll see how they look when I get them though... I got it at the preorder price of 1 cent with 4.95 shipping. They're from 2.93 to 5 bucks each now with 4.95 shipping.
 
ZipZap said:
So I installed the Belkin and here is my quick feedback:

Negatives:

1. No lock/unlock magnets (on a $60 case?!?!?!?). I plan to call Belkin tomorrow to confirm (and chew them out). No excuse for not including this feature. Its not documented anywhere (website or box).

2. The back case is made of a material that shows grease and fingerprints. Again, what is Belkin thinking?!?!?

3. No install materials or anything other than the case in a box.

Positives:

The detach feature is great, the weight of the back piece is minimal but could be lighter. As a stand its stable in vertical or horizontal positions.

Conclusion:

I will probably take it back to Best Buy as I refuse to spend $60 for a case that has NO magnets.
Click to expand...

Not sure what magnets you mean, I did saw some cases made with velcro have similar features---attach on and off like a magnet, it's convenient and inexpensive, if you need to hold the tablet for show or a long time, it's not a bad choice.
Case Holder with Hand strap for iPad Air
 
I just found an awesome case and the magnets work too:

Devicewear Detour: iPad Air Case Rotating Vegan Leather Case/Stand with Dual
On/Off Switches - Black (DET-IPA-BLK)

I'm happy with this case, the speaker holes are not blocked, it comes with magnets (the Versa* does not) and its held in place well.
 
jpiszcz said:
I just found an awesome case and the magnets work too:

Devicewear Detour: iPad Air Case Rotating Vegan Leather Case/Stand with Dual
On/Off Switches - Black (DET-IPA-BLK)

I'm happy with this case, the speaker holes are not blocked, it comes with magnets (the Versa* does not) and its held in place well.
Click to expand...

You cannot detach the back from the case. That was the advantage of the Belkin

----------
Marline said:
Not sure what magnets you mean, I did saw some cases made with velcro have similar features---attach on and off like a magnet, it's convenient and inexpensive, if you need to hold the tablet for show or a long time, it's not a bad choice.
Case Holder with Hand strap for iPad Air
Click to expand...

Seriously?
 
> You cannot detach the back from the case. That was the advantage of the Belkin

Agree, but I was not looking for that, I wanted a stable platform.
The Versa Vu and the case I just mentioned have a 'hard' cover that does not bend or wobble, will post some pics shortly.
 
jpiszcz said:
> You cannot detach the back from the case. That was the advantage of the Belkin

Agree, but I was not looking for that, I wanted a stable platform.
The Versa Vu and the case I just mentioned have a 'hard' cover that does not bend or wobble, will post some pics shortly.
Click to expand...

Thats an assumption. The Belkin seems stable to me.

----------

FOLLOWUP -

I just got off the phone with Belkin.

They know the Freestyle does not activate the wake/sleep feature when opened. They had the cases made on the gamble that the magnets would remain in the same place on the ipad air.

They did not, and Belkin decided to ship them out anyway to see how many might stay sold.

Scummy.

Belkin indicated that in early December a corrected case would be available.

They suggested I return it and wait as they would not provide a swap out in December.

Spread the word.
 
Pros: has everything I want (almost) ++ Bonus has wake/sleep magnets, the speaker holes are not blocked and lightning port is easily accessible

Cons: the rotation is a little "tight" compared to the Versa Vu but that is a minor nitpick - it also only has 2 notches whereas the Versa Vu has 3.

Summary: Like most of us, I searched through a few hundred cases to find one I would like, I found it, BTW the magnets work in this case! I bought one of the Versa Vu's for the iPad 3 (great case) but (at least when they first came out they did not have magnets) the air did not have them either, in addition, the Air model has other problems which is why I returned it.
 

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I found this very simple case from Poetic, listed at only $0.01 at the moment (plus shipping of course)! It has the swivel back for both orientation, and looks very minimalistic.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EX9J9L0
 
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musicjunky said:
I found this very simple case from Poetic, listed at only $0.01 at the moment (plus shipping of course)! It has the swivel back for both orientation, and looks very minimalistic.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EX9J9L0
Click to expand...


That looks pretty cool.
Way better than the ones with the big goofy exposed hole in the back.
 
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