For Father’s Day this year I was treated with an iPad Mini with Retina display. White with 32 gigs of storage. Why 32 gigs? It’s pretty much the same price as the 16 gig iPad Air I bought for my wife on Mother’s day.

This meant I was in the market for a new case.

I have a BookBook cover for my iPhone but I was unhappy with the build quality. After a couple of months of use, the colour on the outside quickly wore away. Though the case has mostly survived the year and a bit that I have owned it. I originally wanted that type of case as it came with a side wallet. I find it great for storing business cards (either mine or someone else’s) or other bits of papers or things i pick up throughout my day. Despite being a pretty early adopter of the iDevices as PDAs I still have a habit of scribbling things down on random scraps of paper.

I heard about the cases for Pad and Quill a while ago and thought about checking them out. They definitely had the style of case I was interested in, but they were pricey (and rightly so). After checking out Amazon for similarly stled cases i decided that:

A) There are quite a few cases out there that are only synthetic leather even when you use genuine leather as a search term.

B) My balking at the price was mainly my own cheapness as comparable cases were mostly similar in price. At least as far as the iPad mini is concerned. I still find Pad and Quill’s iPhone and iPad Air cases a bit too pricey.

So I decided on the Graduate series as there were a few personalizing options in terms of colour I was interested in and I didn’t need all the fancy folding options for media watching as I am still fond of the giant screen in my living room. And until now, I typed all my blog posts on my phone, so a much larger virtual keyboard is more than enough for me. So no need for a bluetooth keyboard or more fancy folding options for me! And of course, the price was right for cheap little old me!

I entered in all my info online and was pleasantly surprised when my order arrived just a few short days later. And to top it off, I didn’t have to deal with any hidden extra fees couriers like FedEx like to extort Canadians when packages cross borders. When pacakages need to go through customs, the couriers will charge a fee to act as an agent on your behalf. This can sometimes be as much or more than the package is actually worth! There are ways around it, but it is still a hassle.

The case itself came neatly wrapped with a wax seal. Very nice touch! And the case itself is beautiful! Just like an old fashioned book. A nice slate grey material with red accents for the outside, and a nice deep red interior. and birch inlay that holds the iPad perfectly, though the opening for the power switch is a bit off. I imagine that may be due to the fact this case is good for the iPad Mini with Retina display and the previous model that came without? The button is still visible though so not all is lost.

So far I am loving the case. and it is meeting my needs. The write up on the website had this to say about the Graduate:

It just feels … well, right. Of course, the Graduate iPad mini case is not a time machine, but once you feel the bindery cover, you can’t help but reminisce about the old university library stacks. How you’ll use the Graduate is up to you – hold it, fold it or prop it.

I never went to university, but I did grow up spending many hours pooring over my set of encyclopedias (rememer those?) and I’d say the feel is as good, if not better than those cherished old books.

My only concern is the elastic that keeps the faux book closed might one day break. I know Pad and Quill offers a repair service, but I’d rather not have to go to such lengths and I am hoping to be able to use this case for a long, long time. I dont like being on the technology rat race so I don’t always have the latest greatest. I hopefully won’t need a new iPad for at least a few years, and as long as there isn’t a drastic form change, hopefully, future iPads will be able to fit this case with maybe a few shims to help stay in place.

All in all, a great case for a good price. Enjoy. [Pad and Quill Handmade Graduate Edition hard case for iPad mini Blue/Slate]