I have been searching for a wallet style case for my iPhone for awhile now. I've wanted the BookBook, but I have a few features that are a must for me, and the BookBook falls short. I'm my many hours of searching, I came across the islim, and decided to give this a try.
For my needs, I wanted a wallet case to carry the many cards I have, and the full use of my phone, with the ability to plug it into my automobile charging cradle. Since I would handle the phone so much out of the wallet, I wanted to be able to keep it in my Switcheasy Vulcan TPU case for added protection.
That's when I found the islim wallet case. I paid for this case, and it was not sent as a review piece.
I ordered this directly from islimphonewallet.com for $44.99 plus shipping. It arrived in only a few days, so their shipping is very fast. It arrived in a manilla envelope, with a hand written return address and mailing address. Inside the envelope, was a plain black box, just large enough for the wallet to fit inside. The box was crushed, but since this is only a leather wallet, it didn't harm the product at all.
The wallet itself was wrapped in a white onion skin style paper to protect the surface further. The case smells of real quality leather. To the touch, the leather is very soft, and again, quality. You can feel there is a slight padding on the outside to help protect the phone and the wallets contents.
When open, the left side of the wallet has 4 credit card slots, and 2 pockets for currency, paper, or more cards. On the right side, there are 2 more slots for credit cards, or a drivers license as the front window is a window. Behind those slots is where the iPhone slides in. The phone pocket opens with a slight accordion fold, to accommodate difference sizes, or different phones.
I am able to fit the iPhone 4S into the pocket, while wearing the TPU case, and it just fits, pretty well. The accordion fold is completely open, and it's about as wide as the wallet can go. In the card slots I have (on the rights side with the phone) A drivers license, State ID, FOID card, Starbucks card, Auto insurance, Medical insurance, Auto warrantee card and an HID gate key, about the thickness of 2 credit cards.
On the left side I have 2 debit cards, one credit card, and a PayPal card. The 2 pockets below have some folded currency, about 5 to 8 bills in each pocket.
All together, this makes for a bulky wallet, but I think for me, the trade off, not having to cary a wallet and a phone is worth it. To be fair, I never carry my wallet or phone in my pants pocket. It's always in an inside pocket on a leather vest, so the bulk is less cumbersome for me. I don't think I would be comfortable with this in a pants pocket, it's just too much. For those of you, who don't need to carry so many cards, this will be slimmer.
The leather is very soft. It's so soft, I worry about how well this will hold up to the daily wear and tear. With the extra case on the iPhone, the leather inside the accordion fold is much thinner, and I can see it wearing out quickly. I may be completely wrong, so I'll update this over time.
For now, I'm going to try this solution for awhile. I'm quite impressed with the material quality, and stitching. This Wallet seems very well made. I love the real leather smell and feel, and I was able to put every card I needed inside the wallet. The only cons, the leather may be too soft, and rip or wear out easily (time will tell) and this is very bulky when fully loaded.
With all that said, I recommend the islim Wallet Case if your looking for this style, with your iPhone easily removable while using a second case.
http://metalheadreview.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/islim-wallet-case-for-iphone/
For my needs, I wanted a wallet case to carry the many cards I have, and the full use of my phone, with the ability to plug it into my automobile charging cradle. Since I would handle the phone so much out of the wallet, I wanted to be able to keep it in my Switcheasy Vulcan TPU case for added protection.
That's when I found the islim wallet case. I paid for this case, and it was not sent as a review piece.
I ordered this directly from islimphonewallet.com for $44.99 plus shipping. It arrived in only a few days, so their shipping is very fast. It arrived in a manilla envelope, with a hand written return address and mailing address. Inside the envelope, was a plain black box, just large enough for the wallet to fit inside. The box was crushed, but since this is only a leather wallet, it didn't harm the product at all.
The wallet itself was wrapped in a white onion skin style paper to protect the surface further. The case smells of real quality leather. To the touch, the leather is very soft, and again, quality. You can feel there is a slight padding on the outside to help protect the phone and the wallets contents.
When open, the left side of the wallet has 4 credit card slots, and 2 pockets for currency, paper, or more cards. On the right side, there are 2 more slots for credit cards, or a drivers license as the front window is a window. Behind those slots is where the iPhone slides in. The phone pocket opens with a slight accordion fold, to accommodate difference sizes, or different phones.
I am able to fit the iPhone 4S into the pocket, while wearing the TPU case, and it just fits, pretty well. The accordion fold is completely open, and it's about as wide as the wallet can go. In the card slots I have (on the rights side with the phone) A drivers license, State ID, FOID card, Starbucks card, Auto insurance, Medical insurance, Auto warrantee card and an HID gate key, about the thickness of 2 credit cards.
On the left side I have 2 debit cards, one credit card, and a PayPal card. The 2 pockets below have some folded currency, about 5 to 8 bills in each pocket.
All together, this makes for a bulky wallet, but I think for me, the trade off, not having to cary a wallet and a phone is worth it. To be fair, I never carry my wallet or phone in my pants pocket. It's always in an inside pocket on a leather vest, so the bulk is less cumbersome for me. I don't think I would be comfortable with this in a pants pocket, it's just too much. For those of you, who don't need to carry so many cards, this will be slimmer.
The leather is very soft. It's so soft, I worry about how well this will hold up to the daily wear and tear. With the extra case on the iPhone, the leather inside the accordion fold is much thinner, and I can see it wearing out quickly. I may be completely wrong, so I'll update this over time.
For now, I'm going to try this solution for awhile. I'm quite impressed with the material quality, and stitching. This Wallet seems very well made. I love the real leather smell and feel, and I was able to put every card I needed inside the wallet. The only cons, the leather may be too soft, and rip or wear out easily (time will tell) and this is very bulky when fully loaded.
With all that said, I recommend the islim Wallet Case if your looking for this style, with your iPhone easily removable while using a second case.
http://metalheadreview.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/islim-wallet-case-for-iphone/
