Marware Eco-Vue iPad Case Review
Written by Simon Barker on January 24, 2011 · Filed under Review, Tech
As soon as I bought my Apple iPad, I knew straight away from looking at its cool looking metal finish and from experience of owning an iPod that I’d definitely be needing to get a case for it otherwise it would be getting scratched and taking impacts all over the place. I’ve now ended up coming to the conclusion that the Marware Eco-Vue iPad Case is my preferred option and here’s why…
I initially tried a slimline silicone case, however it wasn’t quite what I was looking for in terms of protection and aesthetics, instead I moved to a more robust iPad leather flip case, this was definitely an improvement and meant I was more confident in carrying it around, however it was a little limited in how you could position the case in use.
Whereas with this particular leather-style iPad case from Marware, I’ve found that not only does it provide good protection for carrying around your Apple tablet, but it also offers several nice design features that make it much more functional than most other iPad cases out there including the official Apple case – at least to me anyway!
- Eco-Leather – well I won’t claim to be any expert when it comes to leather, but the pretend leather style finish looks good to me, almost like an old-style leather-bound journal.
- Open access to all the iPad ports and buttons – since the case has cut-out sections, you still have full access to and functionality to all of your iPad, so you don’t need to worry about removing it to charge or change volume etc.
- Folio front cover allows iPad to stand in landscape view – good for watching video or having it stood on your desk as a secondary display for checking your Twitter stream or watching Formula 1 practice sessions…or something more useful entirely!
- Elastic closure strap pulls round over the front cover and ensures that the case is securely closed, in a very journal-style design.
- Hand strap allows for secure grip while holding with one hand – this is particularly useful if you’re going to be using your iPad in a clipboard-style fashion, although personally I’ve not used it for that myself – instead I find it’s a good place to store a cleaning cloth for when the screen gets a bit too messy with finger marks.
- Low-angle typing stand folds away when not in use – this for me is what makes this Marware iPad case stand out from the crowd – this folding stand give you a better angle for typing with on both a desk or on your lap like I did at a recent Think Visibility conference.
However, in addition to that standard use, I found that the folding typing stand is also sturdy enough to hang the iPad onto surfaces, in particular the display panel of my exercise bike…I’ve found that 45 minutes exercising goes much quicker when you’ve got internet access right in front of you for sorting emails, Twitter, web browsing or watching video such as the BBC iPlayer.
I’ve found one slight downside – the slide-in strap that holds the iPad in the case does just that, it only slides into place. In most general use this should be fine, but obviously you therefore need to be conscious of which way up you’re holding the case to ensure that it isn’t upside down so that there’s no chance the iPad could drop out of the case. This could easily be improved in future case model revisions by adding a bit of Velcro to the slide-in strap/inside of the case – hopefully they’ll consider this for future cases.
Overall, I think the Marware Eco-Vue iPad Case is the best case that I’ve seen and it certainly lived up to and exceeded my expectations in actual usage. It’s priced around £30, so it’s not the cheapest case out there, but having seen the official Apple iPad case, I think I much prefer this one and I think it’s definitely worth the money, plus it’s helped get me back into a regular exercise routine!
