Next up in our quest for the perfect Nexus 7 case is the Supcase Slim Fit Leather Case, which has garnered a bit of an Amazon following for its affordable price. It's also available in nine colors -- pink, black, green, red, white, deep blue, deep pink, purple and sapphire blue.
And after even just a few minutes, we can confidently say this one's worth taking a look at.
Read on for some more thoughts.
The Supcase slim-fit case is a simple enough product. Housing the Nexus 7 folio-style, the tablet is secured from the front around all four edges, and it's locked in via a Velcro attachment on the left edge that connects to the back panel of the case. This thing ain't going anywhere. And note the hole on the Velcro attachment -- that's to allow the pinhole mic to continue to function. (There's another pinhole mic on the back of the Nexus 7, but it's left exposed by the case and doesn't need a cutout.)
Closed, the Supcase looks and feels like a decent enough case. The leather's obvious not of the highest quality, but we're not afraid to show it in public either. There's a deep crease in the front panel for the stand function, and the Supcase logo is inprinted in the lower-right corner.
The spine of the case has a bit of a curve to it. It's not completely rounded, but neither is it completely straight.
Around back you'll find holes to allow sound out of the Nexus 7's rear speaker, and a little tab that's used to stand the tablet in either horizontal or vertical orientation. Bend the front flap around the back and tuck it into that tab, and you've got a stable way to watch videos at a low or high level.
Open the case, and you'll find that your Nexus 7 has turned itself on -- that's the result of a magnet hidden in the front flap interacting with the tablet. There's another hole for the front-facing camera, and one on the bottom edge so you can charge the Nexus 7 without having to remove the case first.
The power and volume buttons are accessible, but they're also a little hard to get to. That's not the case's fault, though; the buttons are angled toward the back of the device and aren't easy to get to in any case we've tested, save for ASUS's official case.
Pros
- Leather is of good-enough quality.
- Easy to insert and remove the tablet.
- No fear of the tablet falling out.
- Cutouts are where they should be, so you can use the camera, buttons and microphones
- Hidden magnet wakes the tablet when case is opened.
Cons
- The tablet is not as slim as the name implies. We measured it at about 0.82 inches thick, and not the 0.5 inches thick that Amazon lists.
- Pulling down the notification shade can be difficult because of the leather along the top edge.
The bottom line
This isn't a bad case at all. It's $15, available in a number of colors, and fits the Nexus 7 nicely. The leather and stitching are good, and your tablet should be well protected.
The Supcase slim-fit leather case for the Nexus 7 is available from Amazon (new) for $14.99
.
