It has been a good few months since the Nexus 7 came out and as is always the way, the official accessories take forever to be available.
Right, before I start ranting about the lack of pogo pin compatible accessories I’ll get on with the review.
The travel case appeared on the Google Play Store the same night that the Nexus 7 did, you just couldn’t order the case. Around about this time a few images were circulating that showed a variety of different colours for the travel case, at the time I thought that one of these cases would be ideal. Jump forward a few months and the travel cases are still not available in the Google Play Store and a whole host of third parties are creating cases like there is no tomorrow.
Then one day I spotted a thread over at Modaco that mentioned that the travel cases were available on the Asus UK accessory store. I got drawn in by the pretty colours and before I knew it I had ordered a travel case and an ever so slightly annoying case for my Transformer Prime.
Design
The back part of the travel cover is made of a firm TPU material and the front part is made of the same material just a little flimsier. The two parts form a book type case, both parts have a similar effect to the original back plate of the Nexus 7. A pock marked effect, I like it.
The back part bears the Nexus branding which is nice and also has cutouts for the speaker, headphone socket and usb port. The power button and volume rocker though are covered up with a slightly thinner TPU material, it makes the buttons feel less tactile. Some people may say “it protects your buttons” or something like that, for me it’s a turn off. You’re never sure whether you have pressed the button or not. I think I’ll dig out a Stanley knife and fix this one.
In use
The case fits very snugly around the Nexus 7 and it really does feel like a continuation of the Nexus, the idea to use the same dotted texture on the case is a great one. As the front cover is hinged with a flimsier material, opening and closing the cover isn’t hard. It’s a shame that the case didn’t have some way off keeping it closed, if you actually are going to use it as a “travel case” I would suggest taking an elastic band to keep the case closed. The problem being that if you place it lovingly into a rucksack you have a 50% chance (approx) that the case will fall open. A chance I’m not happy with.
Conclusion
Bar a few overly critical things like button covers and a front cover that won’t stay shut, I would say the travel case is good. As it cost £14.99 plus delivery I think that for the money you could easily get a cheaper looking but more functional case. ALthough I’m happy with mine as the look and feel is as premium as the Nexus 7 itself.
I bought mine from the Asus UK accessory store (details here). But some high street retailers have been stocking them as well.
I did not see any mention of the magnetic wake /sleep feature of the Nexus 7. Does this cover not have that option?
Hi Derek
No mention of it as it doesn’t not have it. Shame for an official cover.