Review: Heavy and a few shortcomings but otherwise okay
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 2, 2014
The origami notion was a clever idea and it's fun to play with and show off but I'm not totally sold on it. The case is a heavier than I expected, since it has a magnet to keep the case closed, magnets to lock in the origami mode when the case is open and you're using it as a stand, and magnets to hold the underside of the tablet to the case. It made me a little nervous that the tablet didn't snap into the case, as is typical of most cases but, so far, the magnets are holding the case securely in place and I've not seen any sign of slippage or any chance that it will fall out of the case.Naturally, the case supports automatically turning the tablet on when you open the case and off when you close it. Some users have reported problems with the cover folded all the way back that the tablet gets fooled by the magnets and it thinks the case is closed so it shuts down. Personally, I haven't seen this.In origami mode, the case can prop up the tablet either in landscape mode or in portrait mode. The one thing missing is that with the older generation cases, you could prop the tablet up at various angles in landscape mode. With the origami case, there's only one angle, although that angle appears to have been reasonably well-chosen. In portrait mode, I found that the tablet was just a hair lopsided. That doesn't bother me, particularly, since I never use the stand in portrait mode.When the cover is folded all the way back for one-handed reading, there are two problems:1. The folded-back cover buckles at the origami lines and it's a bit annoying, since it feels like it's slipping a bit and I found myself adjusting my grip frequently.2. The edge of the case isn't as smooth as the prior generation cases were. It's not really sharp and you're not going to cut yourself but it's just not that comfortable.Overall, I give the case 3 stars. It's heavy enough and there are enough quirks with the case that I can't wholeheartedly recommend it.