Not surprisingly, the release of the third-generation iPad was followed by quite a few case re-releases, including many that are exceptionally similar to those we’ve previously covered. A majority of the updated cases are folios, designs that start with either a hard shell or soft frame to hold the tablet, with a flip-over cover attached to the frame. Most of these folios have a lot in common with one another, and range in price from $40 to a little over $60, with one notable outlier. In order to give you a sense of what’s out there now, we’re publishing brief reviews of over a dozen of these folios today.
iLuv’s iCC843 OrigamiFolio for the new iPad has us scratching our heads a bit.
Ringing up at a shockingly high $90, it feels like an evolution of Apple’s original $39 iPad Case, with the same folio-style set up and an extremely thin plastic coating on its body. The material is so thin that the back literally sits flat when there’s no iPad inside. There are holes around the edge for the ports and buttons; some are cleanly cut, while others are a bit rougher. We found the imprecise shape allows the tablet to slide around a little bit inside its frame.
iLuv’s design tweak is in the lid: instead of tucking the front cover into the back to form a stand, this one relies on an origami-like cover we first saw on Pong Research Corporation’s Case and Cover for iPad 2, although with fewer folding options.
That case was also eye-poppingly expensive, but featured a more impressive shell-style back and also replicated the Smart Cover’s vertical folds. It’s not clear what the plastic pill-shaped bulge on the back of iLuv’s case is for, as the stand doesn’t quite reach it and doesn’t need it to stay put.
Add to the list of problems the fact that the magnets in OrigamiFolio’s front cover are supposed to automatically lock and unlock the new iPad, but those in our review unit didn’t work properly. If we fussed around with it, we could hear the familiar click after a number of attempts, but it’s fair to say the feature doesn’t work as it’s supposed to. The only real benefit we can see someone finding in this case is its thinness, however, OrigamiFolio feels cheap and compromised in protection, two major strikes against such a high-priced case.
