I hate mine. The wake magnets work maybe 5% of the time. The "prop" angle slowly slides until it's at it's lowest point. The magnetic closure flys open if you breathe on it. And of course the smell is nauseating.
This case goes down as the most overhyped product I've purchased in recent memory. People were (and are) swooning over it. I just don't get it.
It's going back ASAP. Smart cover and BSE on the back. I'm done with cases.
I definitely feel you on the overhyped factor – and maybe I'll go from having fallen out of love to out right disliking – but for now I still think this case is kind of nice.
I definitely feel the exterior cover material is a little cheap feeling – I would've much preferred if it was literally a tightknit canvas material. That's the one thing that really bothers me about this case – the feel in your hand of the outside just feels cheap. I would gladly pay another $10, $15, or maybe even $20 for a nice leather exterior.
And I will agree that the stand mechanism is definitely wonky.. In looking back at their iPad 2 canvas case it's a disappointing step backwards. It certainly looks "cooler" but for me, in my experience, the rubber stoppers just don't do an effective job at keeping the case grip in a standing position very well. I would have much preferred the indentations from the earlier model. It might have left you with less possible standing positions but I'd rather have three that work rather than 20 that only kind of sort of work and one that does.
The one thing that I really, really, really like about this case – and have yet to see executed well on any other case (and I did a lot of research) is the super protection provided by very well executed snap in plastic cradle that the iPad sits in. Especially when you put in the provided dock and audio jack covers the whole thing just feels and looks super smartly designed and protects everything except for the surface of the actual iPad. It's much cleaner looking at effective than any of the strange solutions in other cases like a leather frame that sits around the bezel or little plastic grips in the corners or anything like that. All of those solutions just look kind of silly and cheap compared to how cleanly the canvas case sits and snaps around the iPad.
Now my particular case has magnets that work perfectly for both auto on/off functionality and keeping the lid nice and closed. I would certainly be disappointed and bummed out if the magnets did not work effectively for both of their intended functions.
And while I do agree that there was a lot of hype with the release of this case and a lot of justifiable disappointment about issues – some of which will hopefully be resolved (magnets, smell) and others which are likely to not be (stand mechanism, exterior material feel) – I wouldn't exaggerate the disappointment so much that for readers of this thread: if you look at this case, and think it's likely to be perfect for you, don't be scared away and pass on it just because of some of the negative comments. I do feel bad because I feel like I contributed to the hype – and I was disappointed – but putting my "reasonable person hat" on and thinking that overall there's no such thing as the perfect case – everyone has their own priorities, expectations and things they're willing to live with. For me, at least, I feel like I was expecting the PERFECT case and just ended up with a really good one.
Finally, criticisms of the case aside, I've been ordering things off the Internet for over 10 years and I have never (never ever) ordered anything and been happier with the speed and generosity of the response from a customer service department as I have been with SwitchEasy. If you think you might like this case I would STRONGLY recommend you order it directly from SwitchEasy rather than a third-party vendor. Not only will they nearly instantly offer to give you your money back if you're not 100% satisfied but they will aggressively work to quickly resolve each and every issue you might have with the case whether it be something not working or you just changed your mind with something like the color.
(Sorry if I sound like some sort of "shill" for the company – I promise I'm not. I just feel bad because I was part of the hype machine and then jumped on the the un-hype machine due to my disappointment about what I now think were unrealistic expectations. I know it's not a cheap case and it's totally appropriate to expect something great but, on the other hand, I've never been more impressed with any customer service department in my life - and to me it really helped to compensate for some of my disappointment.)
Good luck to all on their quest for the perfect case!