Review: Excellent Padded Leather "Rotational" Case With Automatic Wake/Sleep Feature
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 21, 2012
This MARWARE REVOLVE CASE for the 8.9" Kindle Fire HD has a hard interior frame that grips the tablet securely--once you click the tablet in, it won't be falling out again by accident!  (But if you need to remove the tablet from the case, it comes out fairly easily.)The genuine leather cover is smooth (with some visible but attractive grain) and is lightly padded.  A narrow elastic band holds the cover closed as needed.  This case should provide good protection if your tablet is carried in a bag or tote with other items, is lightly jolted, or is dropped for only a few inches.  (I don't think that anything will protect a large tablet from damage if it is truly dropped.)The case has a built-in stand that solidly supports the 8.9" Kindle Fire at three different viewing angles, in either portrait (vertical) or landscape (horizontal) orientation.  An interior frame rotates to change the orientation, but it takes two hands and a bit of effort to change from landscape to portrait, or back.  (The same is true of other "rotational" tablet cases that I've looked at.)A tab on the interior frame fits solidly into one of the three deep slots in the cover to  change the viewing angle.  The frame holds the viewing angle firmly without easily allowing the tablet to fall flat.  However, the viewing angles are rather steep, so that only the third slot provides a comfortable viewing angle for me in either portrait or landscape orientation.  (I mostly use my tablet on a tabletop, with a stylus, so need a fairly shallow viewing angle.)An automatic wake/sleep feature turns the big tablet on or off when you open or close the cover.  (When the tablet turns on, you must swipe the "unlock" ribbon, or the tablet will turn off again.)  This wake/sleep feature works with both landscape orientations (with the camera on the left or on the right), which is important if you frequently rotate the tablet from portrait to landscape and back.The wide elastic band inside the front cover had me baffled--until I read the product description to find it what it is for.  However, this "hand strap" does in fact work very well for holding your weighty tablet in portrait position for reading if you don't have a flat surface available for the stand.Overall, this is an excellent high-quality case.  It's expensive, but if you want the rotational feature and/or a padded leather cover (both features add some bulk), it's a good choice.  Another very nice, less expensive case that I like a little better because it has a wider selection of shallower viewing angles, is theMarware Vibe Standing Case for Kindle Fire HD 8.9", Black.