My case arrived!!!
So my case arrived today from Amazon, and I promised you all a review, so here goes:
1) Delivery & packaging
The case came via USPS - not UPS or FedEx. Ordered: Sunday, March 25th, 2012; delivered: Wednesday, March 28th, 2012. Came from San Diego, CA to Orlando, FL in 3 days. Not bad. The case was packed in a bubble-padded shipping envelope. A bit cheap considering I paid $4.99 in shipping & handling, but whatever.
Inside the bubble wrap was the case in it's manufacturer's packaging. Nice pack - obviously meant for hanging on a peg in a retail location. It's attractive and well-protected inside, and the package was not difficult at all to open. There is a fingernail tab in the top-right corner of the front face that lets you just lift off the front cover. No chance of scratching your case with scissors or a knife - a nice touch, I thought.
The reason I mentioned the nice packaging is that inside the outer packaging, the case is resting inside ANOTHER plastic tray (this one without a face), providing an extra layer of cushioning and protection from crushing. It's obvious that whoever thought up the packaging design took care to remember the leather case inside...
2) Aesthetics and General Fit/Finish
This is a NICE case! The edges have all been finished and are not ragged like some other cases I've seen. Everything is glued instead of stitched, so we'll see how well that holds up over the long-term, but so far, so good - nothing is loose or peeling. There is a small company logo on the front in the bottom-left corner and another one (with a tagline) on the back in the bottom-center. Both are small and non-obtrusive.
3) SPECIFIC Fit and Finish
My 1st surprise was to find out that the cover MAGNETICALLY sticks to the case to close - a pleasant surprise! The 2nd surprise was to find a wallet-like card pouch on the inside with 2 slots for credit cards. Um, this was NOT in the pictures on the website and MAY be a problem when I install my SPIGEN SGP GLAS t. Premium Tempered Glass Series Screen Protector which arrives tomorrow. I will report back on this when it's installed.
The 3rd surprise was that there were no cutouts on the sides for power and volume up/down. I think I actually like this, as the leather is marked with the button positions and is soft enough that you can get the buttons to do what you want without *mashing* the leather. The top is wide open so you can slip the phone in the case, and the bottom has cutouts for the S-Pen, Mic, and USB port.
Top opening:
Bottom:
Right Side (Power):
Left Side (Volume):
Inside Flap:
As you can see from the last picture, there's a full-size hole for the earpiece and front-facing camera. The rear of the case also has cut-outs for the camera/flash and speaker. both are proportional and not overly large.
4) Summary
So, do I think it was worth $50 (by the time shipping was involved)? Yes. I think this is very much so a world of 'you get what you pay for', and I think this case is a well crafted, quality leather product. I'd expect to pay this much or more for a leather wallet, so I have no qualms about the price of this cover. The only trepidation I have is the credit card holder inside the front flap. I will never put any cards in it, and I would prefer the case not to have it (as was depicted in the images on their website), but it's not a deal breaker. The leather itself is smooth (non-grain) and evenly dyed, with no visible imperfections (barbed wire scars, dimples, etc.). It is genuine leather, not faux leather or any other synthetic fabric. Overall it does add appx. half-again the thickness of the phone, but it's not unmanageable.
Overall rating: 8/10 - ********_ _ - 2 Stars off for the credit card thing inside the front flap and not being shipped in a cardboard box for a bit more protection.
