Twelve South BookBook Black iPhone 4S Wallet Case Review
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Twelve South's BookBook is amongst one of the best, and our all-time favorite leather wallet case for the iPhone. The little inconspicuous vintage book look alike, money phone carrier of a case just got a new all-black look. We had a few nitpicks when we last reviewed the BookBook wallet case, but we also really wanted to see a black version. Our wish was granted. Twelve South sent us over its new Classic Black BookBook for the iPhone to have a good look at. What has changed, what's been improved - find out right after the jump!
Twelve South's BookBook looks amazing in black. The leather is equally as amazing as it was before, however less scruffy and vintagy as it is in brown the first time you take it out of the box. With that being said, the black leather does indeed distress as easily for that wonderful unique stylish vintage look the BookBook is known for. The quality of leather is really up there with the best, it smells and feels just incredible.
If you haven't read our comprehensive review of the original vintage brown BookBook wallet case, do so now. If you're asking what has changed or what has been improved this time around, sadly other than another leather color to freshen things up, the BookBook wallet case is exactly the same as it was since we last reviewed it, and will cost you $60. That may disappoint a few, but will make many others happy to finally be able to use a vintage leather wallet case that doesn't look as if it were used by the Amish.
We are happy that the BookBook is finally available in black. Together with golden embossed markings, subtle pin stripes and red spine accents, the BookBook never looked so good. The brown BookBook did lack some contrasting colors, whereas the black takes care of that with the mixture of black, red and gold.
We really hoped for a camera hole this time around, but unfortunately Twelve South only refreshed its BookBook wallet case instead of redesigning it to meet an otherwise high consumer demand. You'll still need to pull on the red tab and slide your iPhone half way up from within the case in order to take a photo or video. On a daily basis, this isn't a very convenient and quick method of capturing photos using your iPhone.
On the inside, the BookBook sees a matching black leather interior with soft black microfiber lining. The same three card capacity following along too. On the left side are two credit card slots and one slot for an ID or a driver's licence with a clear plastic window and a convenient thumb cutout to help you slide it out. And underneath your cards is one large pocket good for keeping a few Benjamins.
That edge-to-edge leather frame which holds the iPhone in place has proven itself to be not only clean looking and unobtrusive when using the touchscreen, but it also managed to protect my iPhone from cracking itself on the pavement when I accidentally dropped the iPhone landing screen side down. So know that whether your iPhone accidentally drops when the BookBook is closed or opened, your iPhone is in safe book keeping. That is one big advantage the BookBook has over a lot of other wallet cases which use a built-in hard shell case that doesn't overlap the iPhone's screen to protect it in the event of a drop when opened.
What also hasn't changed is the bulk. There's no avoiding it. Granted the BookBook for the iPhone has much to offer at the cost of additional bulk, like obviously leaving your wallet at home for starters. But what if you end up losing your iPhone? Then you'd be losing both your wallet and your phone at the same time which is pretty terrible to say the least. Well, Twelve South makes a good point in that you could then use Find My iPhone in helping you locate your wallet and your iPhone at the same time should you end up losing them.
While Twelve South hasn't made any new improvements to the BookBook wallet case, our initial thoughts haven't change for the worse nor for the better. We'd still recommend it knowing full well of all of its drawbacks to anyone looking for a fine, one-of-a-kind leather wallet case that really stands out as if it swallowed Viagra.
