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Sena Zipbook Leather iPad Folio Review
It seems that no company has managed to create the perfect iPad case that does it all: protect well, look stylish, functional in its design, won’t break the bank, and smells nice out of the package. Some cases manage to hit 2 maybe 3 of those points, but very rarely can they achieve all in one. Sena was nice enough to send us a review sample of their black leather Zipbook. Read on to see if they’ve managed to design the ultimate iPad case, or if they came up short like so many others that came before…
First A Little History
Sena was formed in 1999 with an aim to provide better built premium leather cases and covers for a wide array of mobile devices. Brothers and Owners Ramsey and Fevzi Oten were displeased with cases that not only added bulk, but also hindered usage. Their main product line-up consists of four styles: the Classic Flip-Down, the MagnetFlipper, the LeatherSkin, and the Pouch. They’ve now brought their “leather engineering expertise” to the Apple iPad offering a staggering 7 styles to choose from. We were lucky enough to get our hands on their hugely popular Zipbook which is a zippered leather folio hiding a neat surprise.
Impressions Of The Sena Zipbook Case for iPad
The packaging is minimalist in its design with a few bullet points on the back in various languages and a sexy silhouette of the the case on the front. I was pleased to find that upon opening it that the case smelled like stained leather and not some industrial chemical like a few other cases have. The case has a nice modern professional design with only a tiny “Sena” logo in the corner, which goes well with Apple’s slim and sleek industrial styling. The zipper runs around 3 of the sides and the hinge is thoughtfully reinforced with a leather strip. There are 2 zippers, both with a small leather flag for easy grip, and works as expected.
The Sena Zipbook for the iPad opens 
up to reveal a lovely tan interior with a tasteful emboss stating that it’s crafted from premium full grained leather. Both the front flap and the back flap are padded which relieves all my scratch related fears. The padding also should provide a bit of shock and fall protection should the iPad be dropped; something that we here at iPad Accessories look for in a case. A side pouch and credit card slots are missing which is something that is found is nearly every other leather folio offering. Honestly, I don’t miss them as I always carry my wallet anyways. Plus, it really carries over the clean and minimalist styling of the outside into the inside and really shows off Sena’s choice in leather.
The iPad is held in place by four corner straps. The bottom two are some sort of stretchy material with a single stitch down each side. The top two are black leather with cut-outs thoughtfully provided for access to the power button, the screen lock slider, the headphone jack, and the microphone hole. The screen lock slider hole doesn’t exactly match up, but Sena would have had either make the leather straps larger and risk blocking some of the screen, or compromise the integrity of the straps, in order to make it work. Both solutions that are less them optimal. Still, the screen lock is usable and it’s not something that most people access all the time unlike the headphone jack and power button. The iPad’s dock is clear so charging and docking is possible while the iPad is still in the case. All in all, the two and two design of the corner straps keep the iPad firmly in place unlike the standard four stretchy strap solutions of other cases.
An iPad Case That “Stands” Out
At this point we’ve got a nice looking, high quality, well thought out iPad case by Sena but there are a lot of other companies that have the same. So where does this case pull ahead and “stand” out? On the back of the case is an integrated kick stand made from the same black leather of the case. A button snap holds it shut and a thin ribbon holds it at a nice viewing angle when open. The stand is landscape (Mmmm… hotdog) only but that’s a minor niggle since that’s the way most serious iPad use happens. It’s also great for movies and picture slideshows.
The Sena Zipbook iPad case is as close to perfection as any company has come thus far. All in all we’ve got an iPad case that separates itself from the pack in nearly all aspects; high quality leather, nice professional styling, functional design, an integrated stand, and it even smells nice! The Zipbook comes in black, brown, and red, and is getting great reviews from users. It certainly is a little more expensive than other iPad protection solutions, but the extra money really is worth it in this “case.” Check it out for yourself, you will not be disappointed. The Sena Zipbook is as close to the perfect iPad case as we have seen yet!
One Response to “Sena Zipbook Leather iPad Folio Review”
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I tried several cases and absolutely love the Sena Zipbook. It’s so easy to remove iPad from this case and it is very well made. Worth every penny.