Review – Elan Passport Folio iPad Case

Elan Passport Folio iPad Case
Company: Griffin Technology
Price: $50
http://www.griffintechnology.com/

The Griffin Elan Passport Folio is a high quality, attractive, and practical case that cradles the iPad in a padded environment and makes it convenient to carry and to use. The iPad is secured and protected by combining four open, flexible tabs, one at each corner of the iPad, with a sponge-like pad sized to match the iPad’s rectangular dimensions and its thickness) under the iPad that presses it upward against the tabs and should protect the rear from scratches.

The exterior is an attractive grainy artificial leather that looks and feels genuine, with gray stitching around the border. The interior is soft grey microsuede that should help protect the iPad’s screen from scratches. The case opens and closes like a book, and the cover is secured in closed position by means of a tab matching the exterior and interior materials that slips through a small sleeve on the outside of the cover. The inside of the cover has four credit card sized horizontal pockets and one letter sized vertical pocket for people who still actually use paper.

The tab system leaves the sides of the iPad open, permitting access to most of its switches and openings; the Sleep switch and Landscape Lock switch are covered by one tab, but they can be activated easily by pressing on the tab.

One should expect the Elan Passport Folio to hold up well over the years. If, however, problems arise, they could result from loosening or tearing of one or more of the corner tabs or the cover-securing tab or sleeve. Those possible problems could have been avoided by Griffin’s substituting a full sleeve with appropriate holes for access to the switches and openings to hold the iPad, plus a magnetic latch to lock the external tab in place to keep the cover closed.

Finally, in contrast to a few competing cases, the Elan Passport Folio won’t support the iPad at an angle for ease of use on a desk or table, and it won’t support it as a digital photo frame. That may be important to some, but not all, users.

MyMac Review Rating: 8 out of 10

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