In Operation: Origami Folio with Built-In Stand

Both the new iPad and the iPad 2 fit very snugly into the lightweight sleeve and the soft, suede-like, material, with a sewn border (the border frames the display nicely with no overlap onto the screen), feels pleasantly different from the usual array of plastic sleeves and cases.

Cut-outs allow for the cameras, speaker, buttons, and other connections although interestingly the home button does not have a cut-out – instead the material is thinner at this point. Once you get your head round it – it works quite well. A material flap tucks behind the iPad, and into the sleeve, to keep the tablet in place and in practice this idea works well.

A magnet within the cover activates the wake function on the iPad in a similar way to the official iPad case however it isn’t strong enough to keep the cover closed.

Handily, the inner surface of the cover utilises micro-fibre which should help keep the screen free of some smudging when the cover is closed.

As the Origami name implies the Folio uses a novel folding mechanism to turn the cover into a stand for the iPad to lean against.

Operation of the folding mechanism is pretty straightforward – just lie the Folio flat in the open position and push a finger of each hand against the seam either side of the cover and the cover makes a satisfying pop as it becomes a transformer changing from cover to stand. Once popped into position just fold the cover behind the iPad and you are good to go.

The micro-fibre surface helps keep the Folio in place and, during the review, we found there was very little sliding around on a desk surface.

Once the cover is folded into stand mode there are two angles available (based on the same fold) – a 20 degree angle and flip the Folio through 180 degrees and the angle becomes a 70 degree angle – both are quite usable with the 20 degree being more suited to typing and the 70 degree more suited to viewing. However, both angles are designed for the landscape position.

In terms of protection the sleeve offers a little protection against bumps but the Folio is not designed as a protective case so dropping an iPad from a height might not be a good idea – I certainly have no intention of testing it with mine!