I recently got the iPad 2 16 GB wifi only. The least expensive iPad tablet.
I recalled that when the first iPad came out there was a bamboo moleskine-like case touted. I filed it in the back of my mind to come back to. Reading a Wired article about funding startups, I came across a reference to saving an old fashioned bookbinding company by pointing them in the direction of making iPad cases. The product was dodoCASE. I ordered one and then started reading the reviews in detail – I often manage to do that. I read enough to find the good points and then after ordering read further and discover all the bad points. A consistent pattern.
DodoCASE had some flaws according to later reviews – the bamboo cracked, the corner pads came loose, there was a 1/8" (or 1/4" depending on the review) gap between the front cover and the tray until the case "wore in". The cut-outs exposed too much of the ipad. Many flaws.
All pointed to the Portenza case as a better alternate at about the same price point, and to a GermanMade case at almost twice the already high $70.00 cost. I ordered the Portenza as a backup plan. The DodoCASE order was already made. I figured they would both (Portenza and DodoCASE ship in three to five weeks, as they are handmade and that was the timing reported in some of the reviews.
The DodoCASE was shipped that same day and showed up in two days.
I read on the site that the bamboo trap had been redesigned. I received the new design. Whatever flaws there were, they are completely remedied.
- There is no gap between the front cover and the tray. The fit is perfect.
- The cutouts are minimized and there is a bamboo button for the shutoff.
- The magnet in the front cover turns the ipad 2 on and off effectively and consistently.
- The rubber corers are outstanding and barely clip over the edge, holding securely and perfectly.
- Construction is flawless.
The case is NOT flawed, and any flaws reported seem to have been fully addressed. Portenza has not yet shipped.