Portenzo iPad 2 Notebook Case

Finally, after more than one and a half months of wait, I received my Portenzo Notebook Case for iPad 2. I ordered black Morocco cover, red interior, with the back camera hole, both magnetic grip closure and the elastic strap, and custom embossing. That raises the price from the standard $60 to $85 and add another $13 shipping to Canada bring the total very close to $100. At the launch of iPad 2, Portenzo got such overwhelming amount of orders that they ran out of Morocco material and production was delay for a long time. So what typically takes 2-3 weeks ended up taking 6 weeks to receive.

Here’s what comes out of the package. The yellow “Hand Made In the USA” tag, which has the craftsman’s initial as well as check marks on the options purchased all hand written, provided a nice touch. The Morocco cover material feels pretty durable. Despite the Morocco name, these covers are not leather covers, not even bounded leather. But then neither is Moleskine notebook that it resembles so much of.

Comes with an instruction for how to put the iPad in and take it out.

A better look at the inside of the case. The red cloth material is vibrant, just the way I want it. I ordered it with the camera hole because regardless if you order the case with camera hole or not, the camera hole is cut in the frame. Those do not want a camera hole, they simply don’t make the hole in the cover and put a solid piece of foam where the camera hole is in the frame. Because of that, I modified my order later to have the camera hole included.

Portenzo brags about their hand sanded American maple wood frame on their web site. And in deed the wood frame is beautifully made. Sanded down smoothly with very nice rounded corners. Just click into the next three photos too check out the details. It does speak of qualify all around.

With the iPad fitted in there. Since the frame grabs the iPad through the four tiny rubber stubs at the corner, you can have thin protective films on the back of the iPad and still use this case for as long as the protective file doesn’t cover the corner area. I have a GelaSkins film applied to my iPad and it worked perfectly.

Unlike DODOcase, Portenzo case closes to a perfect flat fit.

This is what it looks like with the lid closed. It really resembles a HUGE Moleskine notebook. You can also see the custom embossing here. In this case I have it embossed with a bunch of numbers and letters, but you can emboss it with your name or your company’s name, etc. It’s a $15 option when ordering the Portenzo case.

At the back, the elastic strap covers the camera hole. Making it less visible. The case weights 282g and it’s a little less than 20mm thick. Yes it adds a bit of bulkiness to the iPad, but we are talking about protection and style whenever we talk about a case, so I think it did pretty well in those areas.

All in all, this is probably one of the best notebook like case for iPad 2 that’s currently on the market. The other competitors are: DODOcase, Treegloo Case, and Pad & Quill’s Octavo Case.

P.S. In case you are wonder why is my iPad in the Portenzo case has colours showing, that’s because I have a custom printed GelaSkins applied on the back. As an Anime lover, my back cover is Izumi Konata from Lucky Star.