Hello! There aren't many 8.9 case reviews around here, so I will throw my hat into the ring.
(click for big)
First impressions, this thing is just a (very small) tad too thick, due to the extra padding needed to make room for the notches for the stand functions. Not much of a minus, but it does make it harder to get my tablet into the back pocket of my bag. Though I will say it is very well constructed.
Horizontally, it is very easy to hold with one or two hands. I prefer to fold the front flap over itself instead of letting the flap hang there.
What this thing is made for is for using on desks, whether typing on it or watching movies. It only has two notches for the stand, unlike the 10.1 version, but you can still put it against the latch that keeps it closed for another angle, and even put it over that for a more obtuse angle.
One con, however, is holding it one-handed portrait. When folded back, the front flap doesn't sit flush against the back, as seen below. This makes it good for another angle to view on a desk, however, not so much if you hold it with your left hand on the spine of the case. Holding it like so, it feels like it is going to slip out of your hand. You can either turn the device around and keep your index finger between the flap and the back of the case, or hold it with your right hand. Or, if you don't really use your left thumb, hold the case open while using the Tab. This is pretty much the only flaw of the case. Though holding the tab two-handed to type, this issue doesn't present itself at all.
All in all, a good case if you don't use portrait that often, or are left handed. I'd say worth the current price of $25 on Amazon, but not the $50 "list price."
8.9 version on Amazon
10.1 version
Thanks for this review. I am using the Tab mostly in portrait so because of your review I think I might be better off with another case. Your photos were really helpful
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I just posted this review on Amazon, but figured you guys might like it too. Hope it helps you make your choice. I think this one will work for me until I make the final decision whether to keep my xoom or not.
Here's a link to the Amazon listing: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QKLPUY/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_img
There's also a red one, but no amazon prime: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004US57G0?tag=5336653508-20
First: this is a cheap case. If you want an expensive case, don't look in the $15 range. You will need to spend at least 3 times that to get a "nice" case.
Now that we have that over with, I just got this case yesterday and I'm happy with it. not "5 stars" happy, but it works. Here's what I think you want to know:
1) It is not made of quality material, but I think it will hold up for a bit. I wouldn't expect it to last if given to a child or left in a backpack.
2) It will not protect the sides or corners of your xoom. They're exposed, and the bottom corners may stick out just a hair. Not a problem if you're like me and very careful with your electronics.
3) The case does not stand upright, and doesn't hold iself up for typing very well. You can mess with it to get it up at a bit of an angle for typing, but it's weak material and just slumps down after a while. I assume this will get worse as the material breaks-in.
4) The cutouts are poorly done. You can see that they're done seperately (one for the speaker, the other for the camera-speaker-power button) and they don't line up with each other. Also, because the xoom isn't held perfectly into the case, they don't always line up perfectly with the case (but this will be a problem with everything but a very tight case). The worst part is that the power button is partially covered by the case. Whoever the genius was that decided to put the power button there is really at fault, but this case makes it more difficult. I plan to find an exacto knife and open it up a bit to make the button accessible.
5) Two things are incorrect in the description: there is no "built-in pockets for documents" and it didn't come with a wristband. Fine by me; I don't think pockets would get used, and I don't really get the gimmick of a plastic bracelet...
6) The latch is only semi-usable (it's a pain to get it into the slot, and doesn't really hold it closed anyways) and it covers the ports when it's used. Really, just setting it off to the side would have solved this problem, or make it wider with a hole in the bottom to allow cabling. The strap is the biggest design flaw... Very irritating, but not fatal.
OK, so I've been very critical, but I gave it 4 stars. Why? Well, it's $15, it serves its purpose (to allow me to put my expensive electronic thing in my bag and take it away), and I don't think it's going to break any time soon (though I may try to modify the strap to be, well, useable...). Like I said at the beginning; if you want a nice case, spend the money for one. If you want a cheap case so you can safely take this thing outside: here you go.
***UPDATE: Nothing above is incorrect, except that as it's aged, the bottom corner straps have sagged and now it's a bit off. I'm getting the Acase (to keep the corners protected). 2 stars now.
OK, two updates from my original post:
1) I used an exacto knife to make the power button more accessible. It works much better now--in fact better than without the case since the hole guides your finger to the power button--but it looks like crap. The case is velvety fabric over cardboard, so cutting into is exposed the cardboard. Oh well, I said it's a cheap case, and it's a small flaw, so I'll live.
2) The case DOES actually stand up on a table. It's not perfect, and falls over if the cat knocks it, but it does stand up. I was wrong in my first post: as the material wore in it became easier.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006OM79K2/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details
i got two of these (one for me one for the lady) I just wanted to give my opinion on the official case from vzw
Ordered from the above link, received them in a week for 1/3 the price of vzw, The sturdiness of the case itself was surprising, Upon putting it on it adds significant weight to the phone (lte model) it slides right on without an issue, doesnt add much girth to the phone though which i like, and holding the phone up to my ear with the added weight feels more comfortable.
the holster itself is great, phone slides right in clicks out with slight force, Covers a full wide belt and stays sturdy, holster rotates 180 deg to add to comfort on wearing.
the kickstand, Coming from the HTC thunderbolt, I learned to love the kickstand feature, although on the Tbolt; the location of the charging ports were counter productive, on the SGN they are right where they should be, The kickstand takes a little force to get out, and the plastic clips seem like they could break, but so far they have stayed in tact, it provides a good viewing angle when in landscape and stands basically straight up when in portrait.
overall i would give it an 8/10
good:
sturdy
can take a drop and absorb impact well
holster rotates and clicks into place
kickstand is a great feature although at times can be difficult to get out
Bad:
weight can be an issue with some people as mentioned
the case itself will inter fear with any landscape mounts
Retail cost is 29.99$ (order of amazon)
I hope this helps someone make a choice
Didn't see a review for this case up here yet, so thought I'd make one.
I saw this case on Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008E9T442/ref=pe_217191_31005151_dp_1) and it had mostly good reviews, so went ahead and ordered one, paying £7.95 + shipping
What I like -
Extra bulk/weight (or lack thereof) - Looking at the images of the case on Amazon I had suspicions that this would add a lot of bulk and weight to the phone, especially looking at the 'raised' sections on the inside front cover, used for when the cover is in 'stand' mode. Surprisingly, it does not really. Even though it covers your phone back and front, it does not feel bulky like some other cases do, and the raised sections on the inside front cover actually act as an extra bit of cushioning for the screen, giving a bit more protection from drops. The phone still fits nicely in my pocket and I can hardly tell the difference with or without the cover.
The Fit - The cover fits very nicely on my S3. The corner clips hold the phone snugly, but not so tightly that it is difficult to get the phone out of the cover if you want to.
The 'Feel' - The cover has a nice feel to it. It feels as if it's soft leather though it isn't (as far as I can tell), and it sits nicely in the hand. The way the case is slightly bigger than the phone adds 'protruding edges' that your fingers grip nicely on, and that means that you are less likely to let the phone slip from your hand.
Design / logos - The design of the case (imho) is quite nice and not at all flashy. I think Poetic have gone for a more 'functional' look than anything else. There is a Poetic logo on hte front of the case, but you hardly even notice it. One thing I was also concerned about when I first ordered was that the 'stand/hinge' on the back of the case would add an uneven 'lump' to the shape of the case. It does not. At all. Poetic did a great job of designing this case.
Integrated Stand - I bought myself one of these covers for my Nexus 7 and I really like the integrated stand. It's really handy when I put my tablet on charge in landscape and watch videos, read, browse web etc. The only issue I have with that case is that the 'corner clips' that you have to undo when you open the stand will probably wear over time. With the Poetic HardBack case, this is not a problem, as you do not have to unclip the corners holding the phone when you open the stand. When in stand mode, the case holds the phone at a great angle for you to use the phone for videos, reading, music etc. Obviously (like with any other stand / dock for landscape mode) you will not have access to the volume buttons when the case is open in stand mode.
Operation - Opening and closing is simple enough, though can be a little fiddly when trying to do it one handed.
Compatiblity - It fits the phone perfectly and has spaces in all the right places allowing access to camers, flash, speaker, microphone, headphone jack, volume, power etc.
Build Quality - It looks like a well made case, with clean, even stitching and no edges protruding where they shouldn't. Backed by a three year manufacturer's warranty, I will most likely get a new phone before I need to buy a new cover.
What I don't like - Nothing
Please look on the Amazon link above for pictures of the case.
After I bought that BUKcase and reviewed that I wanted something which let me access the volume keys easier, so I decided to go with Caseable. This will be my third purchase from them.
If you haven't heard of Caseable, they make custom cases with either images provided by the customer or a selection of artwork from their site. This particular case was made with some of my photography. This is the typical tablet case they offer, a folio style cover with elastic straps to hold the device in place and keep the case closed. It's reasonably functional too, on either side of the case there are thin rubber strips. These act as 'feet' to keep the tablet secure when it is propped up as a stand, and it works surprisingly well (Though when you initially open the package, the rubber 'tyre' smell is pretty potent)
This case costs £39.90, though caseable offer a 15% student discount which I used. Postage is free for orders above £30.
As I said, the images on the front and back can be customised. The quality of the printed images is very good. With my Caseable orders, I use high-resolution photos and the result is fantastic. The material on which it is printed on is also very nice, it's a kind of soft almost-neoprene like material. It has a certain 'sponginess' to it, I imagine to cushion it against falls. As well as the graphics on the front and back, there is a choice of inside colour, white or black. This case is handmade for you in either Berlin or Brooklyn, depending on where you live.
The elastic straps don't block any of the ports, but the upper-right one does cover the power button. It loses a little of its tactility but is still perfectly usable. The volume rocker is also perfectly accessible, which is a massive plus coming from the BUKcase. The speakers are also not blocked, so the sound is not muffled. However, there is no cutout for the camera at all, not much of a problem for me to be honest.
There is a small pocket inside the case for cards and documents, which isn't really all that useful for storing stuff, but it does have another use which I'll come onto later. The main gripe I have about this case, it doesn't have SmartCover functionality. This is strange because the Caseable iPad cases have this, but none of the others don't.
Conclusion, there's no way around it, this is a unique case, the rubber strips for the stand are a nice little touch. Although the main reason I bought this is to have a way to show off my photography, and for that purpose it's great. Although it's still a functional and protective case, it seems a bit basic (And maybe overpriced?) without Smartcover functionality.
Remember that pocket I mentioned? Not useful for storing documents or cards, but It can store a magnet pretty well. I butchered an old Kobo SleepCover I had lying around and extracted the two magnets. I slipped one in that little pocket, and voila, it's a Smartcover! The pocket is pretty tight so I can't imagine the magnet would slide around too much in there, but if it does I might put some light adhesive on it to keep it in place.
hello everyone. i saw the video review of this same case a while back and i found it just a little lacking, so i figured id fill in some details with my own photo review.
First of all, delivery came out of england instead of the usual china or hong kong or whatever, so it was comparatively short (and in royal packaging none the less :victory: )
opening the plastic packaging unveils a fairly nice, faux leather wallet case. it doesn't feel overly cheap to the touch, but you can definitely tell that it isn't real leather.
on the outside, it has Sonivo printed in the lower right hand side and closes with a magnetic flap that does not sit flush with the case. it sticks up from the surface a bit and from what i found, tended to get caught up in my pocket.
the back is plain, with just a cutout for the camera and flash. i have not noticed any distortion in my photos with this case, which was one of the complaints for a few of the other wallet cases out there.
on the inside of the cover, there are two extremely thin credit card holders. i could barely fit one card in each at the same time and they were very hard to pull out, but i suspect that they will break in after a while. there are also two sim card slots on the very front which i can not see a use for unless you are travelling with the phone. behind everything and facing the spine of the case is a pouch for cash. it is an odd shape because of the phone and is still very thin, so i had a hard time fitting any US dollar bills inside of it. because of the weird shape, you have to fold the bills width-wise and either way you slide them in makes them stick out the side. i could also fit only two bills inside the case with my cards before i had trouble closing the case properly. this isn't a deal breaker for me because i usually use my debit card anyway, and nfc payments are getting more popular as well.
on the other side is what i think is a tpu snap cover which is only attached on one side, which allows the whole things to bend into a rudimentary stand. the case fits snugly and allows access to all of the buttons, speakers and the sim tray. no problems here.
nfc and qi charging also work with this case, but i will get to that later. it also has a hall effect sensor, which allows it to turn the screen of the phone on and off. very cool and very useful.
now my main complaints about this case are as follows.
-when the case is folded into its "stand mode," the phone sits at an odd angle, which may make it uncomfortable to see. i wont be using this much anyway, but you might.
-the magnet on the flap is VERY weak. it holds the case closed well, but when it is folded backwards for when you take a call or something, it will not hold itself closed. this does get a little annoying for me, but oh well.
-The flap does not sit flush with the case when it is closed, so it may get hung up on things. this i can understand though, because making it sit flush would make the case much thicker than it already is, which isnt bad for a wallet.
-the small capacity
-the site advertises a white, version, but when i ordered that, they delivered a black one. i dont know if both cases are the same or what, but it doesnt make a difference to me. the black case gives a nice contrast to the white phone.
-finally, qi charging may be problematic for you. this case creates a pretty large space between the qi charger and the phone, which may slow down charging. it may also block the magnets in some of the charging pads that hold the phone in place. most importantly is the odor though. as many of you know, qi charging warms the phone slightly, and with it the case. because of the synthetic leather and the tpu case and whatever the hell they put in it, heating creates a terrible, sweet, plasticy, resinous scent that lingers around the case. if you are using it indoors shortly after charging, you will be able to smell it at texting distance.
overall, even with my many complaints, this is still a very nice case and fits my needs quite well. i do wish it was a little bigger, and that scent can get pretty annoying, but this is probably one of the best wallet cases currently out for the nexus 5. it has a premium feel and is not very expensive.