X-Doria Dash Folio Leather, Sleeve Stand: review and giveaway
The flood of sleeves, cases and accessories for the new iPad continues unabated, and we recently received two new products from X-Doria. The Dash Folio Leather (US$49.99) and Sleeve Stand ($29.99) can protect your iPad and give it a way to stand up on its own as well.
Dash Folio Leather
The Dash Folio Leather takes the time-honored folio case design, adds the flap design of Apple's original iPad case, and ties it up in a nice leather package. There's nothing too exciting about the design that hasn't already been done before by a thousand other manufacturers; the cover includes the requisite magnets to turn your device on and off, there are card slots and a space for papers in the cover, and you can shoot photos with the back-facing camera through a hole.
The leather comes in black, tan, and white, and is smartly stitched; the case is lined with a felt material that's a bit different from the usual microfiber. If there's anything that is out of the ordinary with the Dash Folio Leather, it's that the leather bezel that surrounds the iPad to hold it into the case is much better made than many that I've seen.
Pros
Well constructed
On/off magnets in the cover
Cons
Really nothing new to see here. Move along
Sleeve Stand
While the Dash Folio Leather is rather pedestrian, albeit well-made, the Sleeve Stand is definitely innovative. The idea is deceptively simple: take a zippered iPad sleeve made out of a nylon material, add some nice padding to it to keep your iPad riding comfortably, and then add a pair of stiff plastic flaps to hold onto your iPad while you open the case wide.
You get all of the protection of an iPad sleeve and the convenience of an iPad stand, all in one inexpensive product. Like the Ford Model T, the Sleeve Stand comes only in black -- but the interior can be gray, light green, or pink.
I like the interior padding of the Sleeve Stand. It's like bubble wrap, except more permanent since you can't actually pop the bubbles to annoy your spouse or roommate. Although I obviously didn't give it a try, I think the padding would stand up to a pretty good drop or bump.
Pros
A lot of good padding on the inside
The design is unique and useful
Two zipper pulls make it easy to open the sleeve and grab your iPad
Very good protection for the money
Cons
Exterior colors other than black would be nice
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Giveaway
To keep TUAW Labs from imploding into a black hole from the density of review of equipment we receive, we give away all of the items reviewed to our readers. It's your chance to get your hands on some protection for your iPad 2 or new iPad. Here are the rules for the giveaway:
Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button.
The entry must be made before June 18, 2012 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time.
You may enter only once.
Two winners will be selected. One will receive an X-Doria Dash Folio Leather valued at $49.99, while the other will receive an X-Doria Sleeve Stand valued at $29.99.
