iPhone Wallet from SF Bags

[chibamac]

Needing an all in one solution, I just pre ordered the Iphone wallet case from Waterfield. I like the idea of having everything I need in only one pocket. I tried the Bookbook but found I didn't like handeling the phone with the wallet folded out and that it didn't have enough card space for what I use. Hopefully this one suits my lifestyle.

http://www.sfbags.com/products/iphone-cases/wallet-iphone.php

Shipping should happen this week and I plan on doing a review here when it gets here. Has anyone else pre ordered this?

Chiba

 

[njgeek]

No, but it's rather sexy and I'd be tempted if it weren't for the Graft bumper I have coming in.

 

[chibamac]

No, but it's rather sexy and I'd be tempted if it weren't for the Graft bumper I have coming in.

Not sure how big the bumper you ordered is but on Waterfield's webpage it says "The iPhone Wallet fits the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 with or without the Bumper, and the iPhone 3GS."

I'm hopeful that it will fit my 4s with the Speck pixelskin installed.

 

[AlvinNguyen]

It's ugly :/ sorry - the only good one is the bookbook by twelve south - even then that one is bulky but it's the only one I think you should even consider. This think looks like a cheap coin holder - and this is coming from someone who loves their products (had a bag for my iPad).

 

[chibamac]

It's ugly :/ sorry - the only good one is the cookbook by twelve south - even then that one is bulky but it's the only one I think you should even consider. This think looks like a cheap coin holder - and this is coming from someone who loves their products (had a bag for my iPad).

The "Cookbook" as you call it looked nice but didn't serve my purposes at all. It's ackwerd and cumbersome to have the other half of the wallet dangling and rubbing against my wrists as I try to interact with the iPhone. I need a wallet that can story my phone. There are a few benefits I can see in favour of waterfield's product.

1: it has more room for cards, money, and receipts
2: I can easily lift out my 4s when I need to use the phone or camera by it's self.
3: It should be compatible with a case so when I do take the phone out, it's still protected.

Function over form. The iPhone Wallet may not be a Fancy, unique conversation piece but if it works and allows me have one bulge in one pocket as opposed to a bulge in both then I'll be happy. Besides, it looks looks like a normal wallet only with a screen. My wallet is the last place I want to have attention drawn..

I won't know for sure until I receive shipment but hopefully this will work.

 

[njgeek]

By the way, I have two Waterfield bags for my MacBook Air, their build quality is phenomenal.

 

[jmacnash]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

I have one on the way as well. I can't quite wrap my head around its "pocket ability" without having it in my hands.

They make great stuff and I am looking forward to trying it out.

 

[SchneiderMan]

The CookBook lol

 

[chibamac]

By the way, I have two Waterfield bags for my MacBook Air, their build quality is phenomenal.

Me 2 and I agree!

 

[AlvinNguyen]

ehhh my bad - iPhone typo - but you got what I meant.

You can call it function over form all you like but I bet Steve would differ You need function AND form - not give one up for the other's sake. But again, it's an opinion and everyone is different. You can use whatever you want for whatever reason - but if it's ugly at least I told you before someone else did

 

[chibamac]

ehhh my bad - iPhone typo - but you got what I meant.

You can call it function over form all you like but I bet Steve would differ You need function AND form - not give one up for the other's sake. But again, it's an opinion and everyone is different. You can use whatever you want for whatever reason - but if it's ugly at least I told you before someone else did

This was foolish.

 

[diacritic]

I like it. I'll give it a shot. Often I throw my iphone into one pocket and my wallet into another and then my keys with my wallet. But often I inadvertently put my keys in with my iphone. This will help avoid that dilemma. Wallet/iphone one pocket and keys in the other! Thanks. Though I do hope I can get at least 5-6 cards in there....

 

[diacritic]

Update: just got an email saying that the wallet is shipped due to production being ahead of schedule.

 

[chibamac]

I like it. I'll give it a shot. Often I throw my iphone into one pocket and my wallet into another and then my keys with my wallet. But often I inadvertently put my keys in with my iphone. This will help avoid that dilemma. Wallet/iphone one pocket and keys in the other! Thanks. Though I do hope I can get at least 5-6 cards in there....

I have done this also and luckily only scratched the screen protector. The Waterfield rep that I was in touch with said you can easily get that amount of cards in the slots. When did you place your order?

Chiba

 

[diacritic]

I have done this also and luckily only scratched the screen protector. The Waterfield rep that I was in touch with said you can easily get that amount of cards in the slots. When did you place your order?

Chiba

I ordered the brown just after midnight and then received this email this morning:

Good news! Our production team is much quicker than we anticipated. I just want to let you know that your order (#14xxxx) will ship fresh from our San Francisco factory on 24-Oct-2011 via First Class Mail.

I'll have a review up once I get but it may take a week or more given my location in the northeast.
Thanks for hanging in there. I hope we meet your expectations.

If there's anything else I can do for you, just let me know.

Best regards,
Gary

At first your post about this did not interest me, but since I spend half the year in a big parka with huge pockets something like this will solve some of my problems. I've dropped my 3GS many times trying to juggle wallet/cell phone/keys and a baby.

Big plus: made in the USA

 

[AlvinNguyen]

This was foolish.

so I'm foolish because my opinion defines this wallet as ugly? :roll eyes: people say that about android os and phones all the time. So if they agree with you it's ok but they disagree and it's foolish?

Let's but it this way, if you enjoy this wallet and think it's amazing, then you would not care if anyone says it's ugly because you truly confidence in this design.

 

[chibamac]

so I'm foolish because my opinion defines this wallet as ugly? :roll eyes: people say that about android os and phones all the time. So if they agree with you it's ok but they disagree and it's foolish?

Let's but it this way, if you enjoy this wallet and think it's amazing, then you would not care if anyone says it's ugly because you truly confidence in this design.

No. It was just a foolish post.
First you assume that I’m giving up form for function. I’m not as I have no problem with the way this wallet looks. As far as the pictures I have seen, I like it. Simple, black and leather.
Then you bring Steve Jobs on to your side saying that his opinion would differ. A bit of a stretch to resurrect the co founder of apple and have him agree with you, no?
Then you redundantly re affirmed your opinion only more childishly this time.

Everything you said there was foolish. Don’t like the way it looks? Okay cool, I got that the first time around but nothing you said there was constructive to the thread.

Move on.

 

[Fry-man22]

Since people are just handing you opinions anyway - I will say that I like the looks of this less than most other Waterfield products. I think it's the zipper that I wish was different. The bookbook does look better in my opinion.

That said - I've used Waterfield sleeves for the last 7 years. I've purchased 4 of them and only got new sleeves when I got new laptops, each sleeve is still servicing the laptop it was purchased for, even the one that skidded across I-40 with my Dell 9300 in it when I had a wreck. I had to replace the HDD but PC and screen were AOK. They have all been outstanding from a quality standpoint. They have great customer service and their stuff is cool in a way that something from Best buy can never achieve.

If the looks of this wallet appeal to someone they should check it out because $40 for a leather phone case AND wallet that's made in the USA is a pretty dang good purchase.

 

[diacritic]

I received my wallet today and I must say that I am quite pleased with its workmanship and quality of leather. I think that it looks better in real life than it does in the photos. I bought the brown and it's a richer, darker brown than indicated in the photos.

I was able to fit in six credit cards and several bills with no problems.

The window is nice and thick (and we'll see how it resists scratches), but of course don't expect to be able to do any precise swipe motions through the window. You will need to take your phone out for that. Also, the home button is not accessible (as you would imagine from the product photos).

Two (for me, minor) concerns:

--The iphone is not always perfectly aligned in the window but it's not like the phone is moving around in there (see pictures). Obviously, this is no concern for me since I bought it for function not for form.

--The phone will come in contact with the zipper when you're taking it in or out of the wallet. I have a slim case (a power support air jacket) and a screen protector so for me this is no concern.

The size of it is a bit longer that your typical bi-fold wallet but no wider or thicker. Of course, I can no longer carry as many cards or cash as I could before but I suppose I will have to carry less **** with me or go with Benjamins for cash.

The zipper seems strong and the leather smells nice.

I took some photos to give a better idea of the product (my battery was low so no flash, which is why they are a bit dark, but no flash shows truer colors). The first three give you a sense of the size of the wallet and views from different angles:

 

[daiig]

how is the sound quality when answering the phone while in the wallet? both the caller and receiver able to hear? any proximity switch issues?

i would think no home button would make it difficult to use, guess you could turn on assistive touch but still the issue of turning screen on once locked.

 

[AlvinNguyen]

No. It was just a foolish post.
First you assume that I’m giving up form for function. I’m not as I have no problem with the way this wallet looks. As far as the pictures I have seen, I like it. Simple, black and leather.
Then you bring Steve Jobs on to your side saying that his opinion would differ. A bit of a stretch to resurrect the co founder of apple and have him agree with you, no?
Then you redundantly re affirmed your opinion only more childishly this time.

Everything you said there was foolish. Don’t like the way it looks? Okay cool, I got that the first time around but nothing you said there was constructive to the thread.

Move on.

Haha really? Did I not say it was an opinion? And no, it's still ugly - you want a coin holder looking wallet to hold your $650-$850 iphone? Fine, but I still stood by my opinion and if I see someone use it in person, I still not have problem looking at it in disgust.

Did you even read Steve's biography? If you did you would know the connection. But since you're probly just making assumptions, I'll let you ignorance slide

Oh and I'm not trolling - I like SF bags and I have one for my iPad. Not every company makes amazing products with every release. I like how this forum raises the troll flag every time someone don't like a product. It's call an opinion - that's why there are millions of cases. Again, if you love this so much, why care what someone's opinion is?

 

[chibamac]

I received my wallet today and I must say that I am quite pleased with its workmanship and quality of leather. I think that it looks better in real life than it does in the photos. I bought the brown and it's a richer, darker brown than indicated in the photos.

I was able to fit in six credit cards and several bills with no problems.

The window is nice and thick (and we'll see how it resists scratches), but of course don't expect to be able to do any precise swipe motions through the window. You will need to take your phone out for that. Also, the home button is not accessible (as you would imagine from the product photos).

Two (for me, minor) concerns:

--The iphone is not always perfectly aligned in the window but it's not like the phone is moving around in there (see pictures). Obviously, this is no concern for me since I bought it for function not for form.

--The phone will come in contact with the zipper when you're taking it in or out of the wallet. I have a slim case (a power support air jacket) and a screen protector so for me this is no concern.

The size of it is a bit longer that your typical bi-fold wallet but no wider or thicker. Of course, I can no longer carry as many cards or cash as I could before but I suppose I will have to carry less **** with me or go with Benjamins for cash.

The zipper seems strong and the leather smells nice.

I took some photos to give a better idea of the product (my battery was low so no flash, which is why they are a bit dark, but no flash shows truer colours). The first three give you a sense of the size of the wallet and views from different angles:

Thanks so much for posting, diacritic!

It does seem smaller than the images on their webpage. Looks like you have 6 cards in there and plenty of room for bills! I still haven't received shipment confermation on mine. Perhaps this is because I ordered the black one and I'm further along in the queue.

The Way the window is off concerns me, especially if you have to push harder to touch that side of the screen. Is it more difficult to use the touch screen in the wallet? Do you think my bulkier Speck pixelskin configuration will be able to fit?

Chiba

 

[diacritic]

Thanks so much for posting, diacritic!

It does seem smaller than the images on their webpage. Looks like you have 6 cards in there and plenty of room for bills! I still haven't received shipment confermation on mine. Perhaps this is because I ordered the black one and I'm further along in the queue.

The Way the window is off concerns me, especially if you have to push harder to touch that side of the screen. Is it more difficult to use the touch screen in the wallet? Do you think my bulkier Speck pixelskin configuration will be able to fit?

Chiba

I'm not too sure about the pixelskin. I think it will fit, especially since my iphone with a slim case has room to spare on all sides. A thicker case like the pixelskin may not have the same problems of being centered in the window. The wallet is compact yet I can easily fit a few more cards in there.

To clarify, the home button is difficult to press but swiping/tapping the screen is very easy. Multi-gesture is more difficult. Sound quality is not bad but the proximity sensor is obscured so that may pose problems during calls or when trying to hang up.

 

[chibamac]

I'm not too sure about the pixelskin. I think it will fit, especially since my iphone with a slim case has room to spare on all sides. A thicker case like the pixelskin may not have the same problems of being centered in the window. The wallet is compact yet I can easily fit a few more cards in there.

To clarify, the home button is difficult to press but swiping/tapping the screen is very easy. Multi-gesture is more difficult. Sound quality is not bad but the proximity sensor is obscured so that may pose problems during calls or when trying to hang up.

Thanks for the clarification. I hope my phone fits properly. Any problems using speakerphone while it's zipped in there? I never use the iphone to my ear so that's an important one. When I'm driving it connects to my car BT but otherwise I use speaker and the iphone ear buds. Do you think you would be able to rotate the phone on the other side (so the screen still faces out) and have the earbud wire run out of the wallet with it almost zipped up? (hope that made sense)

Chibatastic

 

[diacritic]

Thanks for the clarification. I hope my phone fits properly. Any problems using speakerphone while it's zipped in there? I never use the iphone to my ear so that's an important one. When I'm driving it connects to my car BT but otherwise I use speaker and the iphone ear buds. Do you think you would be able to rotate the phone on the other side (so the screen still faces out) and have the earbud wire run out of the wallet with it almost zipped up? (hope that made sense)

Chibatastic

The only problem with speaker phone will be complications that arise due to the closed-off proximity sensor.

I don't think it will work that well with the earbud wire. With the wire in it won't close at all since the bottom of the phone will stick out and when flipped the other way (with the top of the phone near to the zipper opening), the wallet will only zip up 3/4 of the way on the narrow end of the wallet (and of course not at all on the long end).

The good thing about this wallet is that I only need to carry one thing (plus my keys); checking email is also easy (though it means having to push the home button through the leather part of the wallet); for calling, it needs to come out of the wallet.

True, it may not look as nice as the bookbook, but the phone is easier to take out when it is needed.