When Apple first debuted the Smart Cover, we knew we’d see third-party copy cats, but who knew that the first one to be available for order would be so beautiful: Minot’s wooden iPad 2 cover.
Made from a thin sheet of cherry wood incised with grooves, Minot’s wooden cover rolls instead of folds. Like the official Smart Cover, it can prop up your iPad 2 for movie watching or for typing. Since it doesn’t fold, though, Minot’s wooden cover doesn’t look quite as good as the Smart Cover for reading as the Smart Cover can be folded into an excellent one-handed reading grip.
Other than that, this looks gorgeous, especially for the price: €50, or almost the exact same price as the leather smart cover in the United States.
Much as I love the looks of Minot’s cover, though, I’d wait on some reviews: Apple did some cool things to make sure that the magnets on the Smart Cover aligned perfectly, juggling magnetic polarity so there’s almost no way to attach a Smart Cover incorrectly. I’m concerned the third-party accessory makers will ignore this attention to detail, and since Minot’s the first out of the gate, they’ll have to prove that their cover is equal to Apple’s before I lay out my €50 for one.
[via Gadget Lab]
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
25 responses to “Minot’s Cherrywood Smart Cover for iPad 2 Is Gorgeous”
And what’s the best of it? It’s Dutch!
this looks so cool^^I’d buy this rather than the apple case … but only if the magnets really work
This is better than the Smart Cover, it doesn’t get dirty, it’s better quality, and it doesn’t leave smudges on your screen. Yay for Miniot Cherrywood!
The ones by Apple have such childish colors offerings and the color I do like are in leather (i avoid animal products).
This one I think is much classier. The darker wood in the pic is better then the one in the video IMO.
Cupertino, start your photocopiers.
“Attention to detail.” You got the company spelt wrong through the whole article.
Is this legit? They made sales on their eBay site, then closed their account
Their eBay store was temporary I believe until they were ready to accept orders via their website, which is working now. So they took down the eBay store. Through their website you can now upload your own image for custom engraving.
John, I have to be honest. My husband ordered the cover because it looked cool. But that coolness wears off, when the fallacy of protection and false assurance kicks in. Protection is limited to cosmetic scuffs and annoying fingerprints. But not drops. Not sure that the cover is any better, much less smarter. I ordered the cover, and to be quite candid; I am not impressed. It does not offer much in protection. I was skeptical about the cover to begin with. Nevertheless, if your looking to protect your investment with a simple cover, we run the risk of inflicting some damage from a simple accident. I had to reassess my needs after a near fatal drop with the cover. I ordered a few days ago a leather Mivizu iPad 2 case called the Sense, and I also ordered an Otterbox hardshell. Best, the Mivizu folio is affordable priced at $26.99 against apple’s not smart price of $69.99 http://www.amazon.com/Mivizu-S…
Anyways, for real protection look elsewhere.
Please do not buy this is a con, they will never supply
Haha, check the review done by SoldierKnowsBest on youtube… it looks good sure, but that’s about it. It sucks as a stand because the magnets are so weak
I have one of these covers I found on Etsy.com, works like Apple cover but cover folds inward so the surface that touches the screen stays clean.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/DFaub…
Just got mine yesterday. I sent the one from apple back the day i got it. The colors were hideous but it seems like the magnets were much stronger than on the Miniot. Took like 5 months from the time i ordered it. But i knew it would take a long time. And yes i agree that it does not offer much in the way of protection. And, although it was pretty cool that they integrated it as a stand, it is not much useful for that purpose because the angle is like 89 degree from perpendicular. Except possibly on your nightstand or a high bar table.
But I love the way it looks and it does protect the screen. Besides, its not like i will be carrying this thing around in my pocket. Not a thing wrong with having a travel case along with this screen pad in my opinion.All said, my biggest complaint is the weak magnets.