Poetic Slimline case for Asus Google Nexus 7 review

My search for a Nexus 7 case continues.  I’ve been down the cheap path, and then looked at the premium option, but what lies in that middle ground ? Poetic is a company makes cases for heaps of devices, and they were good enough to send me a Slimline case , one of about 10 different cases that they make for the Nexus 7. How does it stack up ? Read on.

Outside

The Slimline consists of a hard back and a flexible cover.  Both back and front are covered in a faux PU leather.  Funnily enough when I first got it, a colleague and I had a quick sniff and  the case actually smelt like leather. I had to contact Poetic to verify what the case was actually made of.  The case is available in 8 different colours so you can mix and match 🙂

Inside

The inside is covered in a micro-suede lining to protect both the front and back of your Nexus 7, and there’s a big open slot to allow for  speaker output.  On the right-hand side, you can see the 3 magnets that keep the case closed. The unit also has a hidden magnet in the cover lining that activates the smart on/off functionality. The case itself is 126g (4.44oz).

Locked in

The tablet slots in and is held firmly in place  via “rails” on the right hand side and on the top and bottom corners on the left hand side.  There’s no chance of the tablet accidently falling out of the case once it’s locked in. If you do want to remove your tablet, it’s quite easy to do as well.

Cutouts

You can see that the silver bezel is not completely covered; that’s not a bad thing, just an observation.  Cutouts are available on the bottom for the micro-USB and the headphone jack. The cutout for the USB doesn’t look like it’s that big, but I haven’t found a cable that doesn’t plug in yet.

The power and volume rocker switches are slightly recessed, but easy to access.  One thing to note is that there’s a cutout for the top microphone but not the side microphone.  I don’t use the microphone function much, so I can’t tell you if not having the cutout for the side microphone actually makes too much difference.

In the hand

With the cover held back, there’s no issue using this case one-handed in either portrait or landscape mode.

Stand

The cover changes into a stand and gives you two positions for viewing or using.  Once folded properly, the stand is quite stable, and even typing in the more upright mode doesn’t cause an issue.  When you first get the case, the front cover is a bit rigid; however, it loosens up as you use it. One thing to note in the flatter mode is that the on/off and volume rockers are on the bottom right and corner, and you have to lift the tablet up at the front to access them.   When using as a stand, the inner micro-suede is exposed to the surface you’re using the tablet on.  If used on a messy or gritty surface, this may result in the screen cover getting dirty or picking up potential screen-damaging grit. Something to watch out for.

Conclusion

The Faux leather looks nice, and the case is good, sturdy, and protective.  That being said, the cutouts and ports aren’t covered in any way when the case is closed, so the tablet is vulnerable to foreign matter insurgence when you’re carrying it around or it’s thrown in your gadget bag. I haven’t had the chance to test out it’s dropability rating yet (touch wood), but I suspect it would protect the Nexus fairly well. If however you’re like me and require protection more when it’s thrown into your gadget bag with all your other “toys”, this is a good option. I really like the Poetic case, and it’s become my everyday case.

If I look at the three cases I’ve tried so far, there are good and bad points to all three. My ideal case would be handmade leather like the Noreve, have the 5 fold cover like the eBay case (which made a slightly sturdier and more stable stand and protected the on/off/volume switches when closed ), and have the sturdiness of the Poetic Slimline.   Any manufacturers out there listening ? 🙂