[Nexus 7 Accessories] arrjaytea:
Caseable Nexus 7 Case Review

Ordered: 7/24

Received: 8/2

Previous Cases Owned:

Blurex Ultra Slim Folio [Smart Cover]

Belkin Folio Cover for Kindle Fire [No Smart Cover]

Images:

The Good:

- Made Entirely from Recycled Materials

- Totally customizable

- Holds case firmly

- Elastic Strap holds firm

- Internal pocket for storage

- Buttons mostly accessible

The Bad:

- Made Entirely from Recycled Materials

- Adds a surprising bit of bulk (far less than the Blurex, but more than the Belkin)

- The Design Process vs. final product (more on that in a bit)

- Not a smart cover

The Unknown:

- Durability

Review:

I love the XDA forums around the time of a device launch. Yeah, you get an influx of short term users and forum complaints, but the place overall reflects the unadulterated joy of geek-fanboy-ism in a primarily positive way. Moreso than most of the internet.

As we all watched accessories roll in, I decided this would be the "pricier" case I decided to take the plunge on in hopes it would be my "final" case. I am an obsessive customizer/tinkerer, so it was a pretty easy decision. I decided on a pretty simple design that I thought would compliment my overall device theme (at least for the time being).

This is largely where my biggest complaint comes in, which I think is demonstrated by the screenshot below:

It is important to note that I chose to have the order altered to incorporate the black strap (as opposed to the white), however the overall base color is simply not similar. I didn't agonize over the design, and used stock background as opposed to a provided image file, so I definitely did not take full advantage of the customization - but still feel the colors don't match up particularly well.

That said, the print is high quality (especially given that all the imagery I provided had a fair degree of transparency to it, I wasn't sure it would turn out the greatest), the sturdy feeling recycled neoprene has a nice worn texture to it, and in general I still think it is an incredibly attractive case.

The fill seems to be some sort of either recycled cardboard, pressboard, or plastic. It does flex easily, but doesn't feel bent easily (if that makes sense). Overall, this is an area where only time will tell, but I'd say I'm leaning on the optimistic side. It certainly does not feel as though it's about to fall apart, and the stitching on the neoprene is absolutely top of the line. Incredibly well done.

The lack of smart cover functionality is a bit disappointing, however, I had no expectation it would have one when I ordered it. There was no mention of it on the site, anywhere, and I did not choose to clarify. I had purchased the Blurex smart case immediately on ordering my N7, and when I ordered this case decided if necessary, I would do a bit of surgery with an exacto knife to extract the magnet. I will update this thread with my success to this end, but it is certainly encouraging to have the pocket sewn inside already, as I'm fairly certain it will be simple to stitch the magnet into this case.

tl;dr aka Final Thoughts:

At $40, this was not necessarily a cheap case, but in my opinion very reasonably priced. Turnaround time was definitely satisfactory, and my interactions with their customer service department were very prompt and courteous. It holds very comfortably in the hand.

While it would be foolish to estimate how it will wear over time, I feel like it's going to hold up just fine for my use.