Pros: A handmade leather-and-fabric flip case, with a belt loop that doubles as a stand for watching video. Five varied style choices will appeal to various users.
Cons: Finish of seams around the iPod’s screen is rough, with the hole slightly mis-sized. Corners of iPod remain unprotected.
As an update to the company’s earlier The Versa case for 5G iPods, The Versa2 (also Versa
) adds additional iPod face and screen protection to the prior leather flip-open design. Like Versa, Versa2’s flap turns into a stand to let you watch iPod videos without holding the iPod upright; a snap system shuts the flap, and a semi-hard belt loop can be popped open to hold it up for video viewing.
Handmade in New York, the Dasblau Versa
With that said, however, there’s only one minor complaint we have with the fit and finish of the Versa
: the finishing of the seams around the screen area is slightly rough, and the hole itself is slightly too narrow and slightly too tall. Besides this issue, the case is well constructed, and the leather material is nice. There’s also a fabric lining inside that’s soft enough to prevent scratching to an iPod.
Like its predecessor, the Versa
is a flip-style case, with the hinge at the bottom of the iPod, closing with a single button-snap closure at the top, between the iPod’s headphone port and its Hold switch. Therefore, these two access areas are accessible regardless of whether the case is open or closed, scoring 2 points each.
The remaining key areas of the iPod – Click Wheel, screen, and Dock Connector port, are all accessible when the flap is opened, scoring one point each for usability. Since all areas are accessible in the case, the only reason you’ll need to remove the iPod is if you need to use the iPod with Universal Dock-compatible accessories.
One thing to note regarding the sewn-in screen protector: it’s soft, and a bit oversized for the hole, meaning there are waves as it covers the screen. This looks like it’d be a problem, but when the iPod’s bright screen is on, visibility isn’t really a big issue.
The dasblau Versa
has an integrated rigid belt loop that, when partially disconnected, can angle out from the case and anchor into the front flap to create a stand for watching video. This is a soft-case analog to the recent integrated stand feature found in Griffin’s CenterStage (iLounge rating: B), DLO’s VideoShell (iLounge rating: B-), and other hard cases.
Additionally, the Versa
is available in 5 styles: Carrottini (orange & green), Hot Rod (black & red), Mocha Sky (brown & orange), Sherlock (brown & beige), and Testtube (black & green).