[Note: I’ve also posted a four-months-later update to this case review here]
You know, with all of the hype surrounding Vaja leather goods I half expected a choir of angels or some dry ice mist upon opening the the ivolution GT I was sent for review. That being said, I think this is a company that really deserves all the hype that surrounds it. Besides being made of gorgeous leather, the ivolution GT really is just an incredible case for the iPhone. Then again, at $100, it really had better be!
Hit the jump for the full review and more pics!
Unboxing
I don’t always talk about the “unboxing experience”, and I haven’t included a video because I won’t open a box any differently than many other sites already have. The box isn’t terribly extravagant, although it does feature the Vaja name and logo all over it (so you don’t forget who you bought it from :P). Under two layers of packaging you’ll find a few printouts of other Vaja products and, of course, the case itself.
An Experience
There are already so many amazing choices for the iPhone, but Vaja definitely feels like something more. It definitely has a lot to do with marketing – the presentation on their website is just plain impressive. I straddle the line between the corn dog connoisseur and an uppity-nosed elitist saying this, but ordering an ivolution GT is definitely about ordering an experience.
The case didn’t quite take three weeks to reach me, but it was close. This is because it was hand made with the two colours I specified on the Vaja website – and they did an absolute bang up job. If you’re feeling particularly ostentatious you can even customize the case with text or a graphic along the back, which will come literally etched into the case. Sena, another one of my favourite case makers, also hand crafts their leather cases, but I think Vaja does a more effective job of advertising the fact — and it works. The Vaja website, while not iPhone specific, really makes you excited about the coloured cow skin that is eventually going to hug your white or black phone.
The Actual Experience
But that was all just about the ordering process: the case itself is even better. The particular kind of leather featured on my ivolution GT is soft and smooth, but with the a gorgeous grain that really stands out upon closer inspection. The leather feels thin on the sides, but is much thicker along the back – almost providing a little cushion. From the classy silver Vaja logo on the top-right of the flap to the accents along the areas where the leather wraps around the plastic inner frame, the attention to detail here is downright delicious.
The quality really stands out as well: in the month or so that I’ve used the case, the leather has yet to show any noticeable marks. There are some scuff marks on the racing stripes, but that’s because I accidentally cleaned that area a little too vigorously. The only other flaw in the case is a loose flap along the inner lining at the bottom of the case – but nobody knows it’s there unless I take the phone up and try to peel it up.
I didn’t exactly go wild on my colour choices (black with white racing stripes), but they’re gorgeous nonetheless. The only downside to the leather is that the white (or any brighter colour) can get a little dirty, even from just sitting in my jeans pocket. The Vaja website says a good cleaning once a week will do the trick, but it seems to me like the white stripes will need a little more attention than that.
The Fit
The ivolution GT is a really, really snug case. Not so snug that it’s scary and scratchy, but secure enough that I couldn’t take the iPhone out of it without first wrapping a cloth around the sides to help me grip the case. The iPhone slides in from the top and is held in place by the sides. You can dangle the case upside down with the flap open and the phone won’t even budge. It’s a great fit. The lid is fantastic as well, with a leather-bound clip sealing the flap in place atop the iPhone’s screen. It took me a little time to get used to flipping the case open, but after a couple of days it was second nature.
Accessibility and Protection
What first struck me about the ivolution GT was the downward facing flap (you thought I was going to say dog, didn’t you?). Most other flip cases have a flap that folds over the top of the iPhone, but this usually means you have to worry about how to angle your earphones and how to take pictures without them being macro shots of your case’s flap. With the ivolution GT, I can operate the iPhone almost as if it were naked. The leather sides stop just short of the screen, so there isn’t any effect on typing in portrait mode. The buttons and speakers are exposed and accessible at all times, so limited access to the charging port is the only concession.
There are two ways to use the case: let the flap hang low (let it wobble to and fro) and pretend the iPhone is naked, or fold the flap at least part way behind the device. In the case of landscape usage, you’re likely going to have to do the latter – but it’s not too bad. The flap folds almost flat against the back, and gaming, typing, and surfing are all quite bearable in this mode. It’s not ideal, but it’s the price you have to pay for having a racing striped leather flap on your case.
Conclusion
Given the $100 price tag to wrap a $200 phone in leather, the product is launched into the ostentatious zone where it also becomes a hallmark and a status symbol. Vajas prices are nothing to scoff at, but they’re the kind that you’re happy to pay if you believe in the quality. The actual physical design is really quite unique – and I like to think of it a bit like an interesting dress in what it chooses to reveal (I wonder what that says about me). You can’t see any of the screen with the flap closed, but just enough of the iPhone’s chrome bezel are visible through the cracks to let you know there’s something awesome and shiny under the black and white leather exterior.
Let’s end the review like this. You won’t be buying an ivolution GT purely for protection, because that likely wasn’t Vaja’s foremost concern in the creation of this case. However, if you worship your iPhone like a little plastic idol, then the ivolution GT is one of the most fantastic and beautiful altars that you can lay it on. There are plenty of other great cases out there, but the ivolution GT is probably one of the sexiest little numbers out there because of how it preserves most of the functionality of a naked iPhone, while still dressing it up in a premium layer of leather.
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You can order your own ivolution GT from the Vaja website for a minimum 100 USD depending on how you customize it. I can’t provide a direct link since the site is Flash-based. If the racing stripes aren’t your thing, there are plenty of other variations on the ivolution form factor on the website, and you can almost always play around with the colour scheme.
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TAGS: leather case, vaja
