Tablet Insight: Leather

Cut it, sew it, dry it, bend it, rub it, smell it, feel it—leather is a sensuous material. Everyone from cowboys to catwalk models celebrate the seemingly limitless uses of leather. Always simple and striking, the material is now being crafted to leather tablet cases in a number of ways.

The Urban Cowboy’s Saddle

Living in a city and constantly being exposed by the rugged advertisements of Wild West men on horses seems a bit outdated these days. Yet, the woods and ‘living off the fat of the land’ are old concepts and thus with the 21st century urban cowboy should come a 21st century tablet saddle. Let leather lead the way!

Let’s take two designers who have put out useful and interesting leather envelope cases. BoHobo tablet cases use the rich, dark brown leather color to its fullest advantage in their envelope. While I’m not a fan of the cut out “iPad” on the front, the case looks and feels stunning. You can almost smell vintage leather aroma.



A slightly different take on the leather envelope style is the The Beta Version’s award winning Pixelfolk red-leather case for e-readers. This handmade case is, for me, what getting a leather case is all about. The detailed hole punched patterns are not something you could do with many other materials (well, plastic of course but we are already surrounded by enough plastic in our daily life). The Pixelfolk is funky, homey, colorful and hand-stitched. Grab this while it is hot!

Faux Leather

If you are not a fan of leather—let’s say because of ethical reasons—there are always the fake leather options. Personally, I can’t recommend these as I’ve never owned one for long enough to see if they stand the test of time. Faux leather is considerably cheaper than the real thing and generally can pass for leather if seen from a distance.
Plenty of case makers out there feature faux leather models, like Props Pivot’s iPad 2 case. It does the job by looking like leather and having a nice price—very cheap in fact. However, by investing in faux leather, you won’t see your purchase go as far as with a real leather case.

Exotic Leathers

Don’t forget that leather is not just tanned cow or pig hide. If you want anything from eel-skin leather to shark to rattlesnake, it’s out there. Check out the “Exotic Leather” Tablet Insight from earlier this year.

In The End

At the end of the day, leather may divide people more than it brings them together. Some love it as a status symbol of the fashion world, others love it in more utilitarian manners for its long-lasting nature. Aesthetically, leather is like denim jeans: it goes with just about everything. Also, have I forgot to mention that many leathers are water-resistant? There are plenty of reasons and ways to love all the variants of leather, whether that be classic, exotic or even faux.

Tablet Insight is a weekly column by Thomas Andersen that focuses on the innovative tablet uses and considers what is the most compatible and necessary tablet case.