Ok guys, I know I promised a review a few days ago but it took some time ..and here it is! -
Portenzo -
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: An Honest Review
...But not in that order. I'm actually going to do it in reverse. So this is my review of Portenzo.
The company as a whole, customer service, my personal experience, and of course finally - the case.
Summary at the bottom for those who aren't interested in the full review.
I hope you enjoy it. It's pretty interesting!
The Ugly:
Company -
- It took 50 days to receive my case. This also translates into a little over 7 weeks.
(When I ordered, not only did the website say 3-4 weeks, but Darin himself confirmed in a
private email to me that I would have the case in my hands in no longer than 4 weeks.)
- I STILL would not have my case if I hadn't threatened legal action. That's right, you heard me. I had to threaten Portenzo that I would file a claim with my credit card company and contact my lawyer if they didn't get their you-know-what's working on my case.
- Relating to the last comment, I checked with them Wednesday, June 1st on the status of my case. In the morning, they told me it still wasn't even in production yet. They hadn't even begun working on it. After threatening legal action for essentially taking my money without even building my product (fraud)... they mysteriously changed their minds a couple hours later, and told me my case actually WAS in production.. and it would ship out the same day, or the next day.
(This tells me... these cases do NOT take 50+ days to make.... very ugly.)
Case -
- There is absolutely nothing ugly about the case itself. It's very well made. I noticed some posting with wood-problems and other things, so maybe I got a good one - but it's
very nice.
The Bad:
Company -
- Portenzo waited EXACTLY one month, and then charged my credit card for the case. Obviously if you read above, charging me did not translate into shipment of my case, or even the building of it. They only have a certain window of time without having to ask customers again to verify, which we all know and it's somewhat understandable, but essentially they are taking people's money without even building their cases for a very, very long time, which was confirmed to me in an email. This could be very, very bad if something happened to the company.. and they already spent YOUR money on supplies.
- While emails were always replied to extremely quickly, some of them were automated responses which essentially told me nothing I really needed to know.
- Portenzo refused to give any sort of percentage off, coupon, discount, or other such compensation for the double-length wait time I and many others have had/have to endure.
Case -
- My case came with the new secret power button thingy. The bad thing about this, is it didn't work at all when I first put the iPad in the case. It
does work now, but you have to have the iPad in the case JUST RIGHT. Even then, I have to press down on the iPad pretty damn hard for it to work.. harder than I'm comfortable with.
- The headphone port might be too little for some people. Personally I use Audio Technica ATH-M50's and the headphone jack just
barely fits. This might be an issue for some people.
- The binding is stiff, but I could see where over a period of time it would become looser if you don't "baby" it. Good thing I "baby" my stuff.
- The case adds a lot more weight to the iPad than I imagined, especially after reading people saying it's so light. It's light, but not /that/ light. Personally this isn't a problem for me, but it definitely makes it feel heavier... similar to a thin hardback book.
- The camera hole doesn't line up perfectly center. For some people this might be a problem, it doesn't affect the camera in any way, and isn't a problem for me personally, but I know how anal some people can be.
- The only other thing worth mentioning is I wish I would have gotten the magna-grip AND the strap because the top /does/ shift slightly. I'm hoping over time it doesn't get any looser. Otherwise this case doesn't exactly have many flaws and the ones it has aren't very big issues.
- The case stands in landscape mode perfectly fine most of the time - on very slick surfaces it will need the strap to stand up.
- During my first "shake" test, the iPad fell out. It would seem you need to get the iPad in the case "just right". Once you do, it ain't going anywhere.
The Good:
Company -
- Portenzo always responded to my email's in a very timely manner. Even more so than any big company I think I've ever dealt with. I think the longest waiting period I had for an email was 1 and a half days, and usually they responded same-day or even within a few hours. So the customer service in this regard was superb. If only they kept their promises they made, in those emails...
Case -
- The case is extremely well made. It fits together perfectly. The corners are perfect, the wood is unbelievably smooth and darker than the pics on the website (which is a good thing, it looks very classy this way.) The faux morocco leather feels very soft and nice to handle, but also feels like it would be pretty durable.
- The interior came perfect, the lining is very nice, and I wasn't missing any foam or anything.
- The soundport works very well. It's similar to cupping your hand around it, but you no longer have to do that - and personally I thought it sounded better than cupping the hand. Most likely due to the materials and wood, and a specific shape... rather than your soft hand. But it works well and that is what counts. Honestly it's probably one of the most important features to me. I can't see myself with a case that didn't have this.
- The camera hole is very well made. Not completely even but not a deal breaker for me. Smooth, unobtrusive. Personally I forgot I even had it, it was so unnoticeable. The strap covers it very well. Not completely, but very well.
- The spine is stiff and holds the case up very well whether it's in "typing" mode or even portrait mode. However, it is not stiff enough you can't fold it back. Very smooth.
- The case has a great typing angle (albeit I wish it was slightly higher), stands in portrait mode wonderfully and sturdy, and it stands very well in landscape mode as well (especially when using the strap)
- The strap actually keeps the case closed securely, which I was personally a little concerned about - but it works great.
- After you get the iPad in the case "just right" or it "settles in".. it ain't going anywhere, not even with profuse shaking.
- The on/off on open/close works just as it should. Very very handy.
Summary:
Company -
Portenzo is a good company who falls short on their customer service and promises because their cases are SO good that they are extremely swamped. You can expect them to email you back in a prompt manner, but it won't mean much in the end. Be prepared to wait 2 months or longer to get one of these cases. Aside from the false promises and long wait times solely caused by the extreme number of orders they have gotten side-swiped by, the company lives up to everything you'd expect out of it. They just need to hire more workers and make less promises.
Case -
The case is a work of art. Nothing else can compare. The wood is extremely smooth and beautiful, I'd even say it seems pretty durable and hard. It's darker than the photo's, but that only makes it look classier. The morocco faux leather is great, smooth but seems like it will offer good protection. The sound port is brilliant and I probably won't order another case without one. The spine is stiff but smooth, hard to explain. It supports it well but doesn't feel tough to maneuver at all.
Overall -
Overall the case is brilliant and my experience with Portenzo was so-so. The emailing and communication was for the most part, superb, but the false promises and waiting time was frankly asinine. It's understandable. But asinine. If Portenzo would simply promise less and deliver more (i.e. promise 8-9 weeks, deliver in 6 or 7), that would make their company unbeatable. Do not get me wrong; their cases
in the "moleskine/notebook" category, are, unbeatable. It just depends if you want to wait 2+ months to get one.
And now.... PICTURES! Which don't do the case justice, as everyone says - but it's true. You gotta see it in person. The color of the wood is pretty accurate in these pics, though.
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If anyone has any questions, or wants more pictures just ask! Hope you enjoyed my review!
