Although it’s described on Tuff-Luv’s website as “leather,” Manhattan Case for iPad mini (£25/~$38) is actually a faux leather folio, not the first time the company has deliberately interchanged the terms. Available in three color combinations, it’s a pretty standard folio, although there are a few odd features that ended up being strikes against the case.
Manhattan Case looks like any number of other leather and folio leather folios: there’s a raised holder for the iPad on the inside of the back cover, extending over the tablet’s bezel but leaving all four corners exposed, as well as each port and button. The tablet doesn’t quite stay where it’s supposed to, meaning the microphone sometimes gets covered until it’s pushed back in place.
Inside the other side are six credit card pockets, plus magnets that are meant to lock and unlock the iPad mini. They work if you move the lid to an unnatural resting position, but generally don’t do what they’re supposed to do under normal use.
The left edge of the back cover is held down with magnets, but can be lifted to turn Manhattan Case into a stand. It can be positioned in two different angles for viewing, resting against the loops that hold the strap in place.
While the packaging shows the strap being removed, and pushed in from the other direction, this doesn’t actually do anything to help the stand configuration.
If everything worked properly, Manhattan Case could be classified as good, but unremarkable. Small issues mostly having to do with the way it fits take away from the appeal, though, the most striking of which is the improperly functioning sleep/wake mechanism. You simply can’t rely on it work properly, and one consequence can be battery drain.
