Some Warnings !!
I'm not really active on this forum but was compelled to write after i got my case. I was looking for a good ipad 2 case, and after checking out the belkin slim folio (sub par), official cover (annoying to use and no back protection), the marware folio (nice but not in stock), i stumbled across this, and despite my reservations with the canvas material, after seeing all the videos, and reading some reviews, i thought this case is the one.
So far, the only thing impressive and not disappointing about this case is the shipping. ordered wednesday afternoon to canada, arrived friday morning.
Apart from that, I'm not sure if all the reviewers i saw videos of and read reviews online off were somehow paid by switcheasy (had to be a hefty sum so i'm sure thats not the issue), or somehow got some special handcrafted cases, because i can't find similarities between those raving reviews about this being the perfect case, and what i got.
I got the black one, so to start the whole thing off, the minute i got the thing out of the package, it just looked and felt cheap, in addition to the smell of the cheap plastic still stuck in my nostrils. The back hard plastic case is possibly the cheapest plastic the manufacturers could get their hands on. I've had some experience with plastic manufacturing and the qualities, and trust me this thing is BAD. Then, I had hoped that the case edged had somehow been lined with some rubber'ish coating or something (just the very thin edges that clamp onto the ipad), so the ipad won't scratch when getting it in or out. Part of the appeal of the case to me was ability to use the case when needed, and to remove the ipad when i wanted, but so far its a pain getting it removed. I'm sure to some thats great since it means your ipad is securely fastened.
Then comes the actual canvas material. Again, ridiculously cheap looking and feeling. i would have preferred some kind of cloth to this. I'm sure to some this is great since the cover is sturdy, but personally i don't care if my cover gets ruined, thats what its for, as long as my ipad is safe, and the cover looks nice.
Then comes the clasp. Yet another disappointment. Maybe i'm used to the easy of opening and closing my official ipad cover for ipad 1, but i'm not sure why the clasp is necessary, or necessary to be so tight. I use my ipad dozens of times a day for quick thirty second lookups and for longer at other times, and its taking me quite a bit jsut to open and close the cover every time. Since the clasp is so tight, closing it is also not easy, you gotta wrestle with it to close it, and just normally closing the lid makes the clasp hit the ipad screen. And same with opening. the only way ive found to open it quickest (still takes 5-10 seconds) is to pivot on the scren one part of cover and remove the clasp, but im afraid that will damage the screen, exactly what the cover is supposed to protect. I have tried to bend the clasp a bit to loosen it, lets see how it works. I'd prefer a completed loose clasp to the jaws of death that come with the case.
Then some other disappointments, which are just shortcomings on how i think they can improve this or how i expected the case to be.
Since there is a bit of a cutout for the camera, i'm sure the same could have been done for the canvas covering part of speaker grill. I dont know if the sound is muffled or not, but would have been good if they had made a cutout in the canvas for the speaker.
Another thing, and this was certainly my misunderstanding of the case, but i was under the impression that when you opened the top cover and flipped it open, there was a cutout in the top cover so even folder back fully an doing facetime the rear camera was usable. But thats not so as the cover fully flipped open conceals the camera. This was probably one of the biggest appeals of this cover to me, opening the lid, holding it totally held back, and being able to facetime with rear camera.
The pictures on the website are also definitely misleading. The pictures show it as some fine piece of craftsmanship, its all smooth and glossy and pretty looking, but in reality very far from it.
I'm sure this is one of the better cases as reviews have pointed out, and this thread is testament to this as i've read nothing but good things, maybe my expectations were just really high, but even taking that all into account i do thing the overall quality of the case is below standard. I've seen hand made cases out there for $60-70, and i was ore than willing to pay the price of the switcheasy if it was a good case, i ordered it within 30 minutes of finding it, watching videos, and reading reviews, but suddenly considering the quality, the 65$ (with shipping) i paid for this seems excessive. It seems of that 50$ list price, about 2-3$ is the actual material, another couble of $ for labour, the largest component by far seems like the expedited fedex, atleast 20-25$ to send this fast, and the rest is profit. I thought the apple case was a ripoff but by comparison its certainly better value.
Also, I'm afraid that after I buy it, it will go on sale. Also, I really want it to go to Amazon so I can buy a stylus along with it to get free shipping on the stylus! (I'm not an Amazon Prime member, and I already used my free trial)
