Out of Print's iPad Case – Manufactured by a Real Bookbinder

Right on the heels of GeekMom Kris's review of indie company Out of Print's products, we had an invitation to be among the first to check out a sample of their eReader/tablet case!This made the rounds this past summer as an immensely popular Kickstarter campaign and the necessary funds (and then some!) were raised in just over a week.Out of Print contacted the country's oldest bookbinder about keeping alive a classic trade with a modern twist. These are authentic hand-assembled cloth-bound covers with a molded styrene plastic pop-in holder for the iPad.I had just received a new iPad for my birthday in September and was happy to be able to review this product just a couple weeks later. I had requested The Great Gatsby as my cover of choice; the classic cover brings back memories of the copies of the books we had in the 9th grade for English class required reading.
Out of Print has a mission of spreading its love of classic literature and it donates books for every product sold through the Books for Africa. As we recently discussed here, anything sold to Americans that's made in America is appealing also.This iPad case would be a great gift this holiday season. It's a fun way to dress up your iPad (or other eReader or tablet device) and keep those around you guessing.It's incredibly simple to put the iPad into the case. The molded plastic was designed by an MIT Engineer and he did a great job — it fit my device perfectly.  It snaps into place and so far has not given me any problems. There are spaces cut into the sides of the moulding to accomodate the volume controls/mute switch, power switch, charging port and headphone jack. A hole is cut into the upper left corner of the back of the cover to accomodate the camera lens (see top photo above). There is even space carved out underneath the speaker to prevent the sound from muffling. The edges of the plastic moulding have grooves cut into the sides to give the appearance of page edges.  Clever design.
This case will truly make your eReader or iPad look like a book. You could sit this down next to you and no one would know the difference! It could be sitting in the passenger seat of your car and someone wouldn't think to break in and steal your device.Despite the fantastic attention to detail in the design, and the "fun" factor in this product overall, there are some features that could use improvement or are missing. Some of these features are unique to the iPad and may not be a factor with the other models for which Out of Print will make these covers. If you're considering these cases for eReader purposes only, then you might find this list superfluous.