iLounge

Company: Prima Cases

Website: www.Primacases.com

Model: Lateral iPhone Case

Price: $33

Compatible: iPhone

Prima Cases Premium Leather Lateral iPhone Case

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By Jeremy Horwitz

Editor-in-Chief, iLounge
Published: Monday, December 10, 2007
Category: Cases - iPhone

We've probably received more leather iPod cases in the past two months than in the past 2 years, so in an effort to cover as many as possible, we're writing only brief reviews today for all but the most interesting ones. This is our review of Prima Cases Premium Leather Lateral iPhone Case ($33).

Using the same sunglasses-case-style “hipcase” design that we’ve seen from almost a dozen other companies, the Premium Leather Lateral iPhone Case distinguishes itself positively through its use of a nicer grade of Italian leather than most of its competitors, and negatively through a looser fit that suggests the case wasn’t properly measured for the iPhone’s body size or headphone port placement. The simple enclosure features a magnetic clasp and a black velvet inner lining, matching the black leather exterior. A single-position, leather-covered belt clip is attached permanently to the case’s rear.

By contrast with the DLO HipCase, which was amongst the first to bring this design to the iPhone market, the Lateral iPhone Case offers a little additional protection on the bottom corners, but all the same concerns about practicality. Though it handles headphones acceptably once they’ve been inserted—the port hangs low relative to the opening, but putting the headphones in the iPhone doesn’t place undue stress on the connector—you can’t use any of iPhone’s other features while it’s inside, making opening and removal frequently necessary for anything but music listening or certain types of phone calls. For the price, we consider this a step below the HipCase, which places this way down the list of iPhone cases overall.