I bought the Noreve leather case for the Tablet Z about a month ago, due to the lack of availability of the official Sony case. I did a small review of it on a Dutch forum before, and I will post the English version of it here (click on the pictures to enlarge):
I have ordered the Noreve Sony Xperia Tablet Z leather case on the 8th of July. It's shipped the next day, and in less than 24 hours, my case has traveled from Marseille to the Netherlands. After opening the DHL shipping bag, you directly get the feeling that you have a quality product in your hands.
After opening the box, the dustbag appears. The case is in here to protect it during travel or storage against damage.
Once you remove the case from the dustbag, the smell of leather dominates instantly. On the front side of the case, the Noreve logo can be seen. Under the piece of leather, a soft material has been applied. This gives the front side a nice soft touch. Unfortunatly, there's no magnet in the case, so the screen does not turn on/off automatically.
On the rear side, the text "NOREVE SAINT-TROPEZ" can be seen. The soft material is not applied on the rear side. Instead, a hard material is used to improve the ruggedness of the case. There's an opening for the camera.
In the inside of the case, a layer of leather with the Noreve pattern is applied. The edge of the case does not cover the screen borders, so the screen can still be easily used in the corners.
You can tilt the case in 4 different angles for use on table.
Of course the case can also be used "flat".
Everything can be reached at the sides, however the power button has become a little harder to press. The dock connector can also be reached. Unfortunately, I can't test if this case is compatible with the dock, because I don't own it. But you can fold the rear side of the case backwards, so I'm pretty sure it can be used with the dock.
Unfortunately, the USB port cannot be reached when the case is closed. This is also the case with the Micro SD/SIM slot. But this should not be a big problem because they don't need to be changed constantly.
The case closes with a handy clip. Because of this, you can always be assured the screen is protected during transport.
This case costs €84,99 on Noreve's website. With the coupon code "mobigeeks" (without quotes) this becomes €76,49 including shipping, just a little cheaper then the official Sony case in my country. Adding up that the inside of this case is also made of leather, unlike the official case, the production costs should be little higher then of the official case. This makes this case a little better "value for money". A quite important con is that the USB port cannot be reached when the case is closed. If you're looking for a case for the Xperia Tablet Z and you want it delivered fast and price is not a problem, or you're looking for a high quality genuine leather case for the Xperia Tablet Z, I highly recommend this one.
Did you like my little review? A simple click on the "Thanks" button would be appreciated. For the Dutch speaking readers, here's a link to the Dutch version: http://gathering.tweakers.net/forum/list_message/40540897#40540897
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Hi all
I haven't found any topic about this case, so here it is:
I recently bought a Tuff-Luv Executive leather pouch for my HTC HD.
http://www.amazon.fr/Tuff-Luv-Execu...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1235746989&sr=8-1
It is quite good, the phone fits very well in it (the camera hole is a bit too low but it is ok anyway). the phone can still be easily to removed from the case.
And it is one of the few leather cases for that phone, that has a hatch that opens to the lower part of the phone (sorry, can't find the words in English, you can see picture) so this is appreciable.
everything is easy to access: stylus, usb port even when the case is closed , volume control, audio jack. Plus it is less expensive than Noreve and Proporta cases (probably not the same durability, but this I can only tell after a while, as it seems to carry on well for now)
So I would gladly recommend it. Anyone else has this case ?
Hope it works out for you. Looks like a pretty well made case.
I'm still trying a few different cases for my HD.
First was the PDA Air book style but it didn't take too long for me to get concerned the two plastic arms that holds the unit in the case are not that secure. The unit can slide and as it is also a belt clip case last thing I wanted was my new shiny HD sliding out and bouncing on the pavement. :-(
Currently have a two piece case of eBay described as "black rubber". Really more of a plastic than rubber and it will do for the short term as only a few dollars.
Today I ordered a Krusell Orbit case. Has the removable flap which covers the screen. I am hoping that with the main section of the case still on the unit it will still fit in the cradle I have. (My cradle has a bit of space around the unit which I hope will accommodate the case)
Your case look good too but the flap attached to the rest of the case at the base so wouldn't allow the unit to sit in the cradle.
So today I'll be ordering a leather flip case for my X10.
It seems like it's down to the
"Noreve Traditional A Leather Case"
and
"Leather Case for Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 - Book Type (Snap Button)(Black/Crocodile Pattern)"
Any recommendation as to which of these are better?
I haven't heard much about the PDairs in regards to X10's but browsing through this forum for other phones it seems like PDair has some mixed reviews.
And just by looking at it, I'm not entirely sure it'll secure the phone too well.
Spaghetti leather straps appear to hold it in place.
Sort of a G string for my X10. Possibly not what i'm looking for.
The noreve on the other hand appears to grip the phone very well. But it's a few extra dollars and i'm sure shipping will be pretty high considering I have to order from the UK. (I'm located in the USA)
I'm not sure if this matters enough to affect your recommendation but
I don't care about the belt clip quality as I will strictly use this as a case in my pocket. Not on a belt.
Bulk is not a problem. I just need maximum protection with a hard flap that will insure my screen won't get broken.
Accessibility is a plus since i'd prefer to never take it out of the case.
and having a hole for the camera is a plus.
I guess both of these cases somewhat match my needs but i'm not sure which is better nor if there is an even better choice out there.
Good people of XDA! Help me decide which case to get!
you'd better check on http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_tr...case+for+xperia+X10&_sacat=See-All-Categories (fairly cheap prices and free shipping)
I have a Norève (received as a gift) about a year ago and love it.
I need a robust case which includes a screen cover; all of my previous smartphones were retired because of broken screens.
The Norève is solid and grips the phone well. My X10 has survived my usual level of phone abuse with no nicks or scratches. There is an included belt clip, a metal one is available as an option.
There is a large variety of leather choices (mine is smooth and light blue). Each case is made-to-order in France, which sucks if you're in a rush but results in something that fits the phone perfectly.
I'm very happy with my Norève and will buy cases for future phones from then too. Slow to produce and deliver but worth the wait, IMO; no complaints at all.
Sent from my X10i using XDA App
This is a review for
VERTEKS (TM) Asus Eee Pad Transformer PRIME TF201 10.1-Inch Android Tablet Wi-Fi Multi Angle View Leather Folio Case Cover (Black)
PICTURES
The case shipped out of Anaheim, California. As this not is shipped from Amazon at the moment.
I received it in 1 day (shipped via USPS) and the packaging was nicely done, not cheap.
The case some with a 100% satisfaction guarantee card, which is a nice touch. It came with a foam insert to keep case integrity during shipping.
Upon removing from the packaging, the case has a nice leathery smell. The leather is very nice, and has a slight rubbery texture. It is more sturdy than a soft case, but less than a hard case.
It has openings for control of the TFP on top, left right when the case cover it closed. Sadly, the USB plugin is not available when the case is closed (i just charge with the cover tucked back). It also has holes front/back camera, light sensor and the little charging arrow at the bottom of the device
The case is designed to have stand-up support (as seen in the amazon pictures) It is really nice, and uses velcro to stay in place. I played with my TFP considerably with it standing upright and it was very stable.
The inside is coated with a nice, soft, fabric, perfect for encasing the fragile TFP back.
All-in-all, i found this to be a PERFECT case, just what i needed.
Wrap Up
Pros:
Durable leather exterior
Soft, plush interior
Access to top,right,left buttons and slots
Front and back camera/light sensor holes
Stand-up support
Front and back cover
Full access to device touch screen
Cons:
No charging access while screen is fully closed
Feel free to ask any more questions or request any more pictures!
I am very happy to hear this mine just shipped Friday so I should have it soon and I got it for $9.99!
Does it have a closing flap (that is to be wrapped around to the back of the tablet) from the side, where you insert TFP into the case? Do you get what I mean? and where the Velcro exactly is?
Yes and in the form of two 1.25" wide strips that border the charging port giving about a cm of birth on each side of it. It is one solid of piece of leather.
All in all this is a great case the only "flaw" would be that you cant charge it when its closed. But if it was designed the opposite way the web cam and camera operation would be upside down.
If you really wanted to you could cut a notch in the spine area and give it a run on a sewing machine for strength. Then problem would be solved.
I've dropped it a couple times and it was very protective.
Hi all,
Here is my review of the Sikai leather/plastic case, as sold by Amazon. For comparison, I have had my Prime in the Poetic cover since I got it. It was okay, but didn't have a charging slot in the spine so it had to be open to be plugged in - plus the nearly-flat angle was nearly-useless because the cover kept slipping out of the tab you tucked it into. I had ordered the GreatShield folio case, but returned it because I didn't like the way the case gripped the tablet, plus I didn't like that to close the cover I had to put pressure on the screen to slide the clip past the edge.
Onto my review...
As mentioned in other reviews, it is a strange mix of black leatherette and dark brown plastic. The plastic back plate is great - the Prime snaps in and seems to be held quite securely. Similar to many iPad covers, it just wraps over the edge - enough to hold, but out-of-the-way enough to really reveal the sleek Prime look. The main portion of the back plate is the black leatherette material, with only the outer edge showing the brown plastic. It has all of the necessary cutouts - including (apparently) the ability to have the dock attached and still close the cover. That is because the "hinge" pieces that connect the cover to the back plate are elastic. I don't have a dock, so I can't comment much on that.
The leather-ish cover looks to be two pieces glued/sewn together, with two bends in the midde - allowing it to be folded up in a triangle shape. Both angles I tried seem to be reasonably stable while typing. About the two layers of the cover...they might have been able to get away with only one, giving it a sleeker appearance, but they had to account for the strap that slips over the sides to hold the cover against the screen. The strap is fine, and gives it an upscale look, but I would have preferred a more unobtrusive solution with magnets or something similar. Overall, the case is skinny enough - just about the same thickness as my Poetic case. That is actually a bit of a downer since I expected this to be thinner since the Poetic case has that layer around the bezel with the magnets in the corners.
There are a few tiny fit-and-finish things that I didn't expect to see in a $30 case. The leather part of the back plate doesn't always make a perfect fit with the plastic border. I'm really nitpicking here, but when this costs three times as much as my Poetic case, I was expecting Ferrarri-quality stuff. I know - it still only $30 so I won't beat them up (much) for it.
Overall, I really like the Sikai. It has a superior look to the Poetic - that one hid all of the nice features of the Prime underneath the protective layers of the front/back/cover. When all that is exposed is the center part of the screen, it almost doesn't matter anymore what Asus designed it to look like. The Sikai shows the Prime's lines and curves much better than the other cases I have seen. The plastic seems tough enough to not break or wear any time soon, so as long as the leatherette holds up, I say this is the best case available for the Prime under $30...
By the way, when ordering from Amazon, it ships from Hong Kong. I placed the order on June 18th, and got a confirmation within 24 hours that it had shipped. However, the confirmation email said my ETA was JULY 31st! Needless to say, I was very happy when it arrived today instead...
I figured there were already better pictures available than my crappy phone can provide, but I can take some close-ups of specific features if requested.
Thanks!
swordsman74 said:
It has all of the necessary cutouts - including (apparently) the ability to have the dock attached and still close the cover. That is because the "hinge" pieces that connect the cover to the back plate are elastic. I don't have a dock, so I can't comment much on that.
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Click to collapse
The dock works great with this case!
yeah I've had this case for a few weeks and its very functional. I really like how it doesn't cover the bezel on the prime like the sikai fiber case and you get multiple angles that actually work
My only complaints are that its a bit on the heavy side and because its designed to be put into the dock with the case on, the steepest angle isn't quite as steep as other cases because the flap slides out making the "hinge" not at the fold but an inch out
oh and the case is kind of ugly haha
** I will post some pictures later today - I'm at work currently **
The Nillkin Fresh case came about 2-3 days ago and I was quite excited. But that was short lived. The case is a faux-leather flip cover case with a thin plastic shell on that clips to the phone. It looks decent enough, but I have some problems with mine (possibly QC problems):
The case though didn't completely fit!! Along the right side (near the SD/SIM) it is a bit warped - not bad or noticeable unless your looking right at it and for it.
The case is held closed by a magnet, but the magnet on the flip cover is quite small which then requires it to be precisely over the other pole or it does nothing. Not a big deal, but I wish this was thought out better.
Additionally, one of the main features of the case is (link below) how the case being used as a stand. The flip cover is a tri-fold design which should act as a stand but I haven't had much luck with it. The inside of the seemingly leather flip cover is a soft touch, almost suede, material that is quite slippery. This plus the fact that the case seems to be needing to be broken in makes for the "stand" feature unusable... it falls right over currently. (I have tried multiple configurations).
Over all, I bought the case on eBay for $9.99 with no shipping cost (ships from china - companies home country) and it took about 15 days to get here (in the US). Not bad, but I am already looking for a replacement that will make my device feel premium again rather then cheap.
Would I recommend this case? Yes, but only as a temporary case until more come out - like the official Sony cases or a case from Incipio (link below).
** Complete side note: I had a Nillkin case for my old Nexus 4 which only lasted a few short months because the leather started to peel away from the flip cover! I knew this would be a temporary case when I bought it, so keep that in mind!
http://www.nillkin.com/english/proshow.asp?mid=2&sid=0&tid=0&cid=1&scid=13&id=3526&page=1
http://www.incipio.com/cases/smartphone-cases/sony-smartphones/sony-xperia-z-ultra-cases.html
I was fortunate to get to try that case out and many others (being in hk and china) - and I posted about this case. It's unfortunate you didn't read my post and what case eventually went with in the big Z ultra case thread.
This case is definitely not recommended if you want one to work well with desk stand, and want to use the trifold ipad style cover as a stand.
The snap-in style plastic mounts doesn't make it easy to pop in and out of to use the desk stand, and the plastic mounts are shiny thus looks and feels cheap.
Finally, the cover doesn't even come close to the quality and feel of the ipad cover, even the vinyl kind. The material is stiff and plasticky and most importantly doesn't fold together to function as a working stand at all. It will unfold/collapse and fall over.
In addition, there's an issue with the the magnet. With the magnet closed, there is a gap between the last third of the tri-fold cover and the phone's screen. This gap exists because the case (mold or design) is not the right fit - the wider flap makes it essentially unable to align with the opposing magnet. If you try to push the flap down to get rid of the gap, you inadvertently push/slide the magnet off and the cover comes loose. In practice, the magnet will never be engaged because you'll always push the cover down somehow (pocket, bag, stacking something on top).
The only Nillkin I recommend is the http://www.nillkin.com/english/proshow.asp?mid=2&sid=0&tid=0&cid=1&scid=13&id=3516&page=1 shield case. I ended up buying the black one for scenarios where I don't want a flip cover. The fit is good, texture is good (good grippy backside), and it doesn't look too cheap (no shiny plastic). It's decent protection for rougher than usual situations. There are sections where there's a thin piece of plastic on the edge of the phone (like over the usb flap) where it feels weak, cheap and easily breakable. Besides that only issue, I like this case as a back-up.
For a flip cover case that works well with a desk stand, actually stands up, and feels decent quality - I recommend Kaso and Krussell. I went with Kaso as a cheaper alternative for now.
So I guess it's not just me... which is kind of a bummer, but I have already found a replacement. Now if only October 22 was here (my Birthday) I could get a new case!
Thanks for the replay, some good thoughts there!
toonhead85
Funny how the 2 Nillkin cases the OP talks about are the exact 2 I bought online.
I bought the white Fresh, and Yellow leather.
Anyway, after having used both, now I know that flip covers, despite the protection it gives, tend to get in the way of general use. Answering calls involve one extra hassle step.
Taking pictures, you have to roll the flip cover up into the triangle as if you are going to use it as a stand and hold it in your left hand, because simply flipping it and folding it over will obstruct the camera.
Nothing wrong with the build quality...I am sure it is better than most cheapos out there. All the useful ports are left uncovered (one of the reasons why I chose Nillkin...there is actual thought process that has gone into the design). If you want to use the magnetic charging port, not many other manufacturers apart from Nillkin make them uncovered.
The yellow I chose is less vibrant in colour (than what it seemed on screen), and does not go so well with the white ZU I have, so that got retired until the day I get SBH-52 and leave my phone in the bag.
For the Nillkin Fresh, I got in white, and am very happy with it, and currently in use.
It has a nice tight fit, seems to be made of good tough plastic, and the texture on the back helps with general grip.
I did make one modification to it, because even though the magnetic charging port is left open by design, it was impossible to get a good connection while the pone was still in the case. So I cut off the thin strip that runs along the screen side of the mag port. Filed it down with nail clipper file, and now it is perfect. It has not lost structural rigidity.
The number of times that i thought that I had closed the USB port properly, but was still slightly open (thus not making it fully waterproof) has prompted me to get the magnetic charging cable. I knew it was something I wanted while I was out choosing the case, so for those who are still looking for cases, I won't say go Nillkin, but make sure you go for one that has the magnetic charging port uncovered.
Whether you buy DK-30 is a different debate. Some like it, but some find it expensive for what it is. There are not many covers out there tat allow you to dock with it on.
But the USB magnetic charging cable is something I believe every ZU owner should have. For that reason get a cover with the port uncovered.
jewelkobayashi said:
I did make one modification to it, because even though the magnetic charging port is left open by design, it was impossible to get a good connection while the pone was still in the case. So I cut off the thin strip that runs along the screen side of the mag port. Filed it down with nail clipper file, and now it is perfect. It has not lost structural rigidity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can we please get pictures of this modification? Keen to replicate. Otherwise attractive looking case, be a shame to waste.
liqn7 said:
Can we please get pictures of this modification? Keen to replicate. Otherwise attractive looking case, be a shame to waste.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here u go
jewelkobayashi said:
Nothing wrong with the build quality...
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Click to collapse
I came back to post a quick update about the case I got and this caught my eye... actually the build quality is the reason as well!!
The case is broken ><. On the top left hand side (near the charging port) the case has snapped. A piece is broken clean off and only after about 2 weeks. I know the case was $10, but I also had build quality issues with a Nexus 4 case, so I am going to say the quality is rather low.
With this new information, I am going to say stay away from this case. The long import time (from HK to US), and poor quality aren't worth it. Spend the few extra bucks and get a quality case you will have for more than a few weeks.
Just my 2 cents though...
toonhead85