Noreve iPad Tradition Leather iPad Case
Just as expected, Noreve have given the iPad their special treatment and delivered yet another beautifully made case in a ridiculously broad variety of leather styles and colours to suit any and all tastes and a reasonable range of budgets.
The Tradition Leather case for iPad is a worthy contribution to the growing numbers of cases available for the iPad. It’s not embossed with a chinese dragon, or available in any bold or interesting patterns but, rather, Noreve have kept it clean, simple and, as a result, very befitting an Apple product.
At the low end of the price range, a simple but impressive array of 12 matte leather colours are available. From basic black and white, to more daring and bold bright red, pink and purple. In the mid range, three very classy leathers are available; ebony, ivory and chestnut. At the top end are some stunning vintage looking leathers in brown, grey, blue and red and, in my opinion, slightly garish gloss black, gold and platinum. All this adds up to an impressive array of 22 styles/colours, a pretty good selection for a case that tops out at 75 euros, or about £63, which is cheap for a designer iPad case! For comparison, the lovely Piel Frama case is £90.
The Noreve iPad case sports features that we’ve come to know and love (or possibly hate) from many of the more traditionally styled leather cases for the iPad. The typical hinged cover allows you to fold it back over itself and achieve a comfortable typing angle. And there is, of course, a stand.
Where Noreve have done it differently, however, is in producing a nice and simple stand which, whilst not adjustable, is held in place by a simple ribbon when open, and clamps shut close to the case thanks to some elegantly counter-sunk poppers. It’s clean, simple and robust.
The downside is a lack of the ability to stand your iPad in portrait mode… something I’m not entirely convinced is a very common demand of iPad cases, but is certainly a nice-to-have. Also, the flap feels a bit lost behind the iPad when it’s stoop upright, and takes up a fair bit of desk real estate. Finally, the volume and rotation lock are on the bottom edge of the iPad when it’s stood upright.. whoops! This is fair, enough, however, as it’s not difficult to lift the iPad to access these controls, and volume controls can commonly be found in media playing apps which, after all, bound to be the sort of thing most used when an iPad is stood in landscape mode.
The Noreve Tradition iPad case has a plethora of internal pockets which will fit whatever it is that people who still use paper put into pockets, and will also hold a credit card or four quite comfortably. I’m a little paranoid about putting anything of the sort next to my iPad screen, however, and have handwriting so illegible it’s often mistaken for an ancient and forgotten language. So, suffice to say, I’m not impressed by, or the sort to use pockets in an iPad case.
What I am impressed by, however, is the way the iPad fits into Noreve’s case. Leather cases such as those by Piel Frama, and Tuff Luv have bezel covering leather edge that doesn’t do the aesthetics of the iPad many favours. Noreve have what is presumably a leather covered metal (it’s ridiculously strong) grip that covers both edges of the iPad, plus the bottom (or left) corners and edge. This means the iPad gets good edge and corner protection, at least on two out of four corners, and is left with a beautiful, unblemished and uninterrupted glass front… stylish!
Where this particular holding mechanism doesn’t do the iPad many favours, however, is around the docking port. Noreve have cut-away an area for the dock connector and speaker, and it fits a charging cable just fine. But it isn’t quite cut away enough to fit the iPad Camera Connection Kit. If you’re a frequent user of said kit, this case is definitely not for you. Sorry.
Overall, it’s a good solid case, with sharp, good looks. It’s ever so slightly flawed in its design, but not enough for it to be a problem. The price is pretty great, even at the top end, and the colour/style selection is brilliant… although I’ve yet to get my hands on a Dark Vintage case from Noreve, which I’m convinced will be my favourite of the bunch. Get more info, and see the range of colours/styles at Noreve.com
