As soon as I placed my order for the iPad, I realized the hunt had begun to find the perfect case for it. I had seen a lot of what the major brands had to offer, and although I initially settled on a few different choices from the usual selection of Apple case makers, I wasn’t entirely pleased, until I found the SGP Argos. In all fairness I owe it to my wonderful boyfriend, who occasionally contributes to this blog, for the find. He found in 5 minutes, what I was unable to locate for weeks.
I had a set of criteria for what I wanted in a case. I knew it had to be a folio style, opening like a book. I knew I wanted a case that was hard like a shell for support and protection, as opposed to a completely cloth case which would lack a rigid form and offer less protection to the precious screen. Finally, I knew I wanted a case with a holster style seat for the iPad- something I would pop the iPad into that would not cover any portion of the screen itself but still hold it steady in place. Many of the cases I found initially had one or two of these elements but none that I could find had all three, with the exception of one case manufacturer. My old favorite, Vaja, made a case that was exactly what I was looking for, however, I simply could not swallow the $280 price tag. It’s just like me to have expensive taste, but this was one luxury case I would not indulge in.
So, in walks the SGP Argos. It’s a folio, its a hard shell wrapped in leather, and it has a holster seat. On top of all that, it has a unique inscription on the inner flap from the fabled Emerald Tablet of Hermes, as well as some stylized patterned inscriptions on the seat itself, and it is handmade- all for under $70. I fell in love, and I have been using the case since day 1 with the iPad and I have no complaints. The iPad stays firmly in place, the dual hard shell/padded exterior is tough (and I mean tough!) I’m not afraid of anything dropping on it and breaking the screen, I am not afraid of my dog walking on it and scratching up the leather (he did walk on it and the leather was unaffected– FYI, this is only a 10 lb dog we are talking about), and I am not afraid of dropping my iPad and everything bursting out into a million little pieces. I have complete confidence in this case protecting the device so long as the top cover is closed.
Now, how does the top cover close, you might be wondering? It has a lip that curls around the side of the iPad (similar to the way the Vaja cases close, if you are more familiar with those) and it is a nice tight fit. I actually have to give it a good push to open it up, and although it touches directly to the iPad’s exterior, the padding of the leather prevents the lip from scratching the aluminum. So, you see, as I said before, I am not worried about damaging the iPad while it is in this case and the cover is closed- it really is like a slim little tank! So, I will be posting some pictures of the case for your enjoyment and I should be making a video review for it within a few days so you can get a better idea of that way it works and the texture. Let me know if you have the case and your thoughts, or if you have any questions about it! Enjoy!
Thanks for the great information on this case. One more question..Does the cover flap fold over to form a stand and/or fold right back to leave just the ipad screen?
Yes it does. Although it sometimes has a hard time standing on its own. If I stand it on my bed for instance, it will stay put because its a softer surface and the case is grounded better, however, on my desk, it tends to slide unless I put an object behind it to keep the flap from moving. Thanks for the comment!
Thanks for the review; it is the first I have watch on this particular case. Would you please comment on whether the case makes for a good typing case. That is, does the top cover fold around back to form a nice, stable angle for typing in landscape mode. I’m afraid it doesn’t based on your video, but I want to be certain.
Although the flap does flip back behind the iPad and sit flat, it does not create any angle for typing. For me this hasn’t been a problem, as I am used to typing on the flat angle of my Macbook Pro. If i want an angle for whatever reason, I usually just create one myself by placing an object under the iPad to tilt the screen or by crossing my legs while sitting with the iPad on my lap.