The iMojito is an iPhone pouch with three extra slots for important cards or cash — you know, the things you’re probably used to keeping in a wallet. It’s a product that makes a lot of sense, and I opted to take a look at one because I thought that using one for a little while might open me up to another way of carrying my gear around. I’m always on the look-out for ways to keep things to a minimum on my person, and carrying my iPhone and cards in the same pocket just makes a lot of sense — effectively halving the items I’d need to find before I step outside.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe it’s just me, or maybe it’s the iMojito’s design, but I just never really felt like I knew what I wanted to do with this pleather wallet/pouch combo.
Eggs, meet basket
The Malcolm Fontier website, makers of the iMojito, shows a picture of cash being loaded in the front of the wallet and says it can fit up to six cards. I tried putting five cards into the pouch and actually found it a pretty tight fit, requiring me to take the front cards out to access the ones in the back (a less than ideal solution). For my uses, I was only ever comfortable taking two cards at a time, and I avoided the third pocket (the one closest to the iPhone) because it was always too hard to use when the iPhone was in the pouch.
Paranoia!
One minor (and admittedly paranoid) concern that arose during my days with the iMojito was the amount of privacy protection it offered. If I placed a card in the front-most pocket, a good half of the numbers on my debit card were showing. I could easily have turned the whole card around, but that’s something I never really do with my wallets, and it also just doesn’t look as good.
iPhone pouch?
The largest section of the iMojito protects about 80% of the device, leaving the top section of the phone exposed. I thought I’d get used to this design after a while, but it still looks a bit awkward to me — almost as though Malcolm Fontier had run out of material towards the end of the design process. Leaving the top open does keep the ringer switch accessible at all times, but it’s still a strange design choice. The iPhone is visible, but it’s a peculiar amount of the device to leave out, and it’s way too little phone to grip. A better way to extract the device is to use the hole along the bottom of the pouch, through which you can push the iPhone upwards and out of the iMojito (or charge it while it’s inside).
There’s a soft lining along the inside of the pouch to keep the device safe when you insert it and a blue elastic chin strap sits atop the iMojito to keep the iPhone in place. However, the fit is tight enough that you can actually shake the whole package — iPhone, cards, and all — upside down and have none of them fall out. Instead of a chin strap, I’d have hoped for a pull strap similar to the ones on the GorillaTube or Sena Corsa pouch. iMojito owners don’t need help keeping the phone in place.
Not as simple as I thought
The main issue I have with the iMojito is the fact that it’s an open pouch. Every time I took the pouch out to answer a phone call, my instinct was to put the pouch down on a nearby table or just keep it in my hand for easy access. But with my credit or debit card numbers partially exposed, I always ended up putting the iMojito back in my pocket, meaning I had to take it out again after the call just to put the iPhone back. Instead of being a very elegant and convenient little solution, using the iMojito turned into a constant shuffle of objects in and out of pouches and pockets, and I went back to my normal use of an iPhone case and a separate wallet within a few a days.
Conclusion
I start off my reviews by simply using a product for a few days and trying to see how it will naturally fit into my everyday life. The iMojito might have been easier to use if it were more of a wallet, with easily accessible slots for cards and cash, or more of a case, with full-body protection and perhaps another way to fish the iPhone out. As this case/wallet combo stands, it never felt quite natural in either role, and it was much easier for me to just carry a wallet and iPhone separately rather than use the iMojito.
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The iMojito is on sale for $35 on Malcolm Fontier’s website.
The iMojito was provided by Malcolm Fontier for review on Just Another iPhone Blog. For further information regarding our site’s review policies, please see the “About” page.
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TAGS: iphone case, wallet
