I recently received a Labato Leather Stand/Cover for iPhone 5 for review. As you can see from the image, it’s a folio-style case, which I love for tablets and am not as crazy about for phones. However, I really liked the stand idea and wanted to give it a try.
Let’s start with the basics. Unlike many inexpensive case options that call themselves leather, this one really is. Both smell and feel confirm it. This isn’t a PU leather product. I don’t know if it’s actually lamb skin like the Amazon entry says (my nose can’t distinguish between cow and lamb), but it’s definitely leather. It feels good in the hand.
The phone fits securely in the case, and it provides adequate protection in case of a short fall.
The stand feature works as advertised, as you can see in my photo.
If you like using your phone as a video device and want a stand, this one works just fine. It’s propped securely, and I wasn’t worried about it slipping in mid-movie.
I don’t (yet) own an iPhone 5, but my husband does, and I gave it to him to use for a day. Apparently he’s no more a fan of folio-style cases than I am. His biggest gripe was the placement of the cutouts on the front of the case.
Because there’s no cutout for the Home button, you have to mash it pretty firmly to turn on the iPhone. Once you’ve turned it on, you can see the time and swipe along the bottom, but what then? You can’t answer a call, read a text or do anything other than check the time, which makes us wonder why they bothered with the cut-outs at all.
He also didn’t like that the case covered the volume buttons when it was closed. There are cut-outs for them, but you have to open the case to get at them.
One last issue. Because of the shell that holds the phone so it can be propped up, the case doesn’t close all the way. There’s a significant gap when you lay it flat.
I’m going to have to put this one under the category of “I’d like to like it but I can’t.” It’s a nice case with good build quality, but the nostalgic feel of holding a tiny book isn’t enough to make it work for me. Or for my husband.
However, if you love folio-style cases and really want a cute stand for your phone, you might like it more than we did.
Amazon Link: [easyazon-link asin=”B00HSEWWZC” locale=”us”]Labato Leather Stand Case Cover for Apple iPhone 5&5S[/easyazon-link]
