Verdict
Pros
- Stunning design
- Exceptionally well made
- Protective and secure leather casing
Cons
- No camera hole
- No access to volume controls when closed
- Slightly bulky
Key Specifications
- Review Price: £54.95
- Carries cards and cash
- Disguises phone
- Secure padding and fastenings
The Book Book beautifully manages the fine balance between form and function with a simple design based on a small notebook. Picture a weathered yet robust travel journal, a Moleskine with a speaking part in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Steve Irwin meets Steve Jobs, and you’re halfway to conjuring up the image. Our photographer summed it up when he said it had a certain “ecclesiastical beauty”.
It comes with pockets on the inside to hold cards and a small amount of cash, but you wouldn’t want to add to the bulk of what is essentially an iPhone case.
On the downside, because the physical controls on the iPhone are on the left, and because the Book Book opens, well, like a book, it means you have to open the case to turn up the volume, as the buttons sit alongside the spine. Also, the designers figured putting a camera hole in the back of the case would ruin the uniform leather affect, so you have to slide the phone up partially to take a picture.
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If you can live with that, it’s a great case. The sturdy but soft stitched leather has a robust charm that rarely rubs shoulders with technology, and the phone sits snugly within the crafted compartment when the case is open. The Book Book folds back comfortably when you are speaking on the phone and snaps back closed with no coaxing to lay flat again.
At more than £50, it’s not cheap, but we feel that’s relected in the beauty of the product.
Trusted Score
Score in detail
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Usability 7
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Features 7
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Value 7
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Build Quality 10
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Design 10
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
