Piel Frama iPad case

I can echo your positive review. I've had Piel Frama cases for iPods, a Kindle and an iTouch and each has been top notch: high quality, attractive, iron-like leathers; precise, tailored fit; beautiful, thoughtful packaging. As soon as I can talk myself into an iPad, I will very likely get a Piel Frama case for it.

agree. Piel Frama cases are superb. i have one for iPad and another for Kindle - both are well made.

I concur with the comments posted here about Piel Frama cases. I chose the new iPad Cinema Case, which arrived today: it's a nearly flawless design, half folio-style book case, half landscape-oriented stand for movies or typing. It's a bit like the Incase Convertible Book Jacket, but with about half the bulk and an infinitely higher build quality.

The only downsides are:

1. The case uses magnets for closure, so compass readings may suffer;
2. At $139, it's expensive -- but still only about half the price of the similarly-designed Vaja case.

I own the Marware Eco-Vu case for my iPad. It feels good, and provides excellent protection but adds a bit more bulk and weight than I would prefer. It more than doubles the thickness of the iPad. Does the Piel Frama Cinema case add as much thickness? I don't think I need as much protection as the Marware case offers.

The padded cover adds some bulk, but not as much as the Incase or Marware cases. It feels positively slim to me when I pick it up. For me, though, what finally tipped the scales was the exceptional quality of the Piel Frama materials and workmanship.

No doubt the Vaja Agenda 2 would be better still, but there's a limit to how much I'm willing to shell out without the opportunity to feel it with my own hands first. 🙂

Eric, thanks for the input on the size of the case. I have decided to get a Piel Frama case but can't decide on the plain Folio style case or the Cinema case. The only thing that concerns me about the folio case is it's stability when the cover is folded back and it is standing in landscape mode. It is obvious that the Cinema case was designed for this specific mode of operation. Had you researched this before deciding on the Cinema case?

Yup, I had: since my iPad sits in landscape mode much of the day with a Bluetooth keyboard in front of it (kind of like a mini-laptop), I refused to buy a case that would only function that way if it were carefully propped up. I wanted something designed specifically to stand up that way, but that also felt exactly like a book when held in the hand.

To be honest, if I felt I could justify the price, I'd go with a Vaja. 🙂 But as I said above, there's a limit.

Unfortunately Case.com is out of my preferred color Cinema case and think it will be at least 2 weeks before they come in. I've had no trouble with the stability of my current Marware folio case in the landscape mode so I decided to go with the standard folio from Piel Frama in my choice of color.
I've read in other fora about the poor customer service of Vaja. Some people have been waiting for more than a month beyond the initial estimated ship date. In addition, their emails to Vaja have gone unanswered. I sent them an email last week indicating that I had trouble with their web site when trying to order a product. I'm still waiting for an answer. Not good.
Thank you for your assistance.

For what it's worth:

Cases.com has just received a shipment of black, Piel Frama Cinema iPad cases. If you order before 10/31, they're 20% off - ca. $105 for an outstanding case.