When you’ve got a case that also functions as a stand without featuring any fragile moving parts, you’re looking at the Nest Case scenario (tee hee).
I recently received two versions of the Nest Case (3GS, iPod Touch 2G) for review and put them both through a battery of tests (I used them like I’d use any case) and have a couple of things to report.
The Nest Case is a lot like the slider cases you’ve seen before. It’s made of two distinct parts (a large top piece and a smaller bottom that functions as a cap), but at first glance, you might think the that someone had dropped it and taken a significant chunk out of the middle section. But that’s where you’d be wrong.
If birds, twigs, and tweeting are what it takes to make a real nest, it’s these angled gaps around the middle of the case that make it a nest (read: stand) for your iOS device. The design took a while for me to get used to, but it grew on me after a few days, and the gaps that make up the “nest” aren’t jagged enough to be sharp or uncomfortable.
It’s a Case!
The idea is that you’ll use the Nest Case just like any other slider case: it slips nicely into the pocket, adds just a little bit of bulk to the device, and should also protect it in case of a fall. However, once you position yourself at a desk or some other suitably horizontal object, you’re going to want to place your device on the table, and it has always been a bit of a pain to look straight down at the screen.
It’s a Nest!
This is the point at which the Nest Case, in a sort of low-budget Transformers style, morphs from case to nest. All you have to do is whip (or simply take) the bottom off, remove the tender iOS center, and place it in one of the two grooves along the top portion of the case (see the images above if this is terribly confusing).
Well, that’s the idea, anyway.
In reality, you’re probably only going to want to use the lower groove, as the top one (angled at 55 degrees) just feels like far too precarious a position to put your device in. The bottom groove, in comparison, keeps the device at a cool 70 degrees, which is just right for portrait or landscape use. The whole case stays pretty stable, and you can even replace the bottom portion while the iOS device is nested, just to make sure you don’t lose it.
Nesty Surprises
The concept behind the Nest Case is pretty sound, but the execution isn’t. The case feels sturdy, and the felt stickers that come with the iPhone version (the iPod Touch has them pre-applied) keep the fit secure, but I’m not pleased with how everything lines up. The bottom piece doesn’t quite align with the top on my iPhone (it’s a bit better on the iPod Touch version), and both versions impeded access to the sleep/wake button.
The Nest Case isn’t all that expensive at $25 for either version, but even for that price, I expect a case to fit almost perfectly, and neither case that I received quite fit the bill. I realize that I may have just had a bad sample sent to me, but the fact that neither case was quite right suggests to me that there’s an underlying problem on the manufacturing side.
That said, the fit of the case should be a relatively easy thing to fix, so I’m guessing we may see a Nest Case V2 with a better fit soon enough. However, until that time comes, I’d hesitate to recommend the Nest Case to prospective buyers, and would recommend looking elsewhere for iPhone or iPod Touch sliders.
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The two Nest Cases were provided by NestCases.com 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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