Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

After much hesitation, I broke down and bought Apple’s own version of the SmartCover for the iPad Air 2. It’s not that I couldn’t find a more economical solution elsewhere from various other manufacturers, but I wanted to see what Apple may have done in the accessory department to make the perfect case for the iPad. For reference, I’m comparing some of the features of the case against the roocase Optigon case I purchased earlier. http://www.amazon.com/iPad-Air-Case-Landscape-Generation/dp/B00OKUAZYM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1415312980&sr=8-2&keywords=ipad+air+2+case I once tried the SmartCover for the iPad 2. It lasted for about a year but I never liked that the back of the tablet was left exposed and the cover itself looked pretty battered after a year. However the SmartCase I got has a leather cover which I am hoping will be more durable over time. The cover is packaged nicely, similar to SmartCovers of the past. It’s easy to open with a simple pull of a sticker tab on the back. I got the Midnight Blue cover. The feel of the leather is very rich and supple. It covers the front, back , sides and corners of the iPad when closed. In fact, nothing is left exposed except for the lightning connector port, the headphone jack and the camera on back. Everything else is covered including the volume and power buttons. The speakers and mic’s have pinholes that are lined up almost perfectly. The alignment of the holes is just short of perfection but nothing that would at all impair functionality of the camera, microphones or speakers. The button covers are integrated into the leather and are fairly easy to press. You can still easily feel where they are and the tactile click you get when pressing the button comes through. The inside of the case has a suede felt lining which I assume is also real leather rather than the synthetic micro fiber you find in other cases. There is even a tiny stamp on the inside that says “Natural Leather.” The felt covers every bit of the inside surface of the case except, interestingly, the area where the antennas go for the Cellular versions of the iPad. I wonder if suede interferes with radio reception for some reason? There is no suede-less spot in the center of the case where the Apple logo would sit and where the Wifi antenna usually is. The Smart features, including the magnetic closure, stand feature and sleep & wake feature all work as expected. The case is extremely light. The back shell almost feels like it’s made from egg crate material it’s so thin and light. If you want your iPad to be covered but feel like there’s nothing added to it, this is definitely the case. One thing I don’t like, however, and I admit this is very subjective, is the crease along the binding edge of the case that causes it to stick out when the case is closed. I understand that this was probably an aesthetic choice and that it probably has some benefit in that regard. However, I can’t help but feel that the crease will end up being the weak point over time that will eventually, after being crushed in a bag so many times, be the first part of the case to go. Comparing the case to the Optigon case, it’s obvious that roocase wanted to take what Apple did and try to put their own twist on it, hoping to make a better case. Did they succeed? As with most accessories, I think it’s totally subjective. The Apple case is obviously a bit lighter. That seems to make sense since the Optigon seem much beefier in every way. The back , corners and cover just feel a lot thicker on the Optigon. The funny thing is, when I lay them flat side to side, the Optigon isn’t really thicker at all. Not sure how they achieved that. But it does add to the weight of the Optigon case. The Optigon also has full cutouts as opposed to pinholes. They are more precisely aligned but it also leaves a larger margin of error and doesn’t leave everything completely covered the way the Apple case does. The one reason I like larger cut outs is because you have less issues with third party headphones and lightning cables not fitting through the holes in the case. Other than that, the Apple case looks better but I imagine I’ll have issues with some of my accessories with larger connectors. One thing that I noticed on the Optigon case that I found interesting is that the back panel is actually bowed. I thought it was just an illusion of the patterns on the back of the case but looking carefully and laying the empty case on a flat surface I can see that it is actually bowed. What I discovered however, is that this makes the back of the case springy which I now realize is a feature designed to allow the case to absorb impact in case you drop the iPad. Pretty cool. The Apple case just has a thin flat back, but again, super light but probably not as protective. Still, very nice looking. Speaking about the back cover, the Optigon is not fully lined on the inside the way the Apple case is with suede. The back cover of the Optigon is a soft, rubbery surface. It holds the iPad in place more effectively, but it’s also a little harder to get the iPad out of the case. I suppose it’s made this way so the iPad is less prone to popping out of the case when dropped. The front cover of the Optigon has a smooth polyurethane finish on the outside like the smart cover I used to have, but the inside has a soft rubbery dimpled finish. The insides texture is much nicer than the one I remember from the smartcover. It’s kind of like the bottom of a pair of skate or deck shoes only with a much tighter pattern. And unlike the suede lining on the SmartCase, looks like it would be easier to clean and less prone to staining. The covre looks really nice in the lighter blue finish I got. Feels nice too but not really the luxury feel you get from leather. But the nice part is that the magnetic closure with the sleep & wake feature seem to work fine. So do I keep the Apple SmartCover? It does look and feel very nice. Seems to function very well. Has the Apple logo on back. But for $80? The Optigon case lists for only $30 and I got it for even less on Amazon. Even if I were to keep the Apple Case, I still think I’d want to use the Optigon when I went outside with the iPad. It offers the iPad more protection from drops and for $80, I’m not even sure I would want my Apple SmartCover to get scratched.