I gave myself a Xmas present: a new case for my reMarkable 2. The original one handled some disgraces pretty well but it was not cool anymore to walk around with such a destroyed one. I found a nice one in Amazon and I am pretty happy with the result. Here I intend to do a quick review about it.
The requirements
I was very satisfied with the original cover, it was the magnetic grey Folio. With this experience and also having bought other covers for tablets, my requirements went as follows:
- Magnetic attachment, like the original one. I was not sure to be able to find one with the same system in the aftermarket scene, and for sure I did not want a plastic socket where you fit the device in, like the tablets or most phones.
- Cover foldable to the back, like the original one. It is very useful to not to deal with the cover when you only want to write and the table is full with other stuff. The simplest solution that the original had was to fold the cover to the back of the device, like turning a page in a traditional notebook, was simply working.
- Dark-ish color, as the lighter color from the original gets very dirty pretty fast, and it's not cool to walk around the office with such an ugly device.
- Below 50e. The original is listed for 69e! Are we crazy? ~70e for a piece of plastic? I find 50e also quite expensive, but I understand that it's a hipster device, but price should stay in shape.
Nice to have
- Pencil holder. The original one leaves space in the side to have the pencil magnetically attached and it's nice over the table, but when you move around the office or you have the device in your bag, the pencil often falls. I could live with the original magnetic system but any extra pocket to secure it would be nice.
No need
- Exposee position, like the one for watching a movie from a tablet. I could se a pair of use cases, but in 2 years I never had the need to place it in a position like this.
The choice: OLAIKE Case for Remarkable 2
So you go to Amazon DE (the one where I live) and when searching for a cover for reMarkable 2 some appear. With the requirements above, I ended up doing a reduced selection that brought me to this one:
... cool short name, isn't it? These are the things for the SEO in Amazon, but that's another topic.
Inside the product you can choose some variants, that it's just a matter of how they classify the products, because it's clear that in this case all "variants" are in fact different products. The variant I relate here is the BB-RE2 magnet. Specifically this one, it has:
☑️ Magnetic attachment, like the original
☑️ Cover foldable to the back, like the original
☑️ Dark color
☑️ Below 50e
❌ Pencil holder, like the original
❌ Exposee position
The discarded candidates
- OLAIKE Book Folio Case for Remarkable 2 Paper Tablet 10.3 Inch 2020 Release, Smart Cover Made of Premium Fabric with Pen Case, Sturdy Folding Stand Design (Not for Remarkable 1), Grey and Orange, because I like the colors, the fact that it has a specific holder for the pencil and that it's quite cheap, but I really don't want the socket-style attachment and I don't need the exposee position.
- OLAIKE Case for Remarkable 2 Paper Tablet 10.3 Inch 2020 Released, Book Folio Design with Built-in Magnets, Premium Fabric Smart Cover, Only for Remarkable 2 Paper Tablet, Not for Remarkable 1, which is a really nice candidate, really really close to the original cover I have. It was just discarded because if I have to buy a new one, this time I'd go for one in a darker color, even I like this one very much.
- OLAIKE Case for Remarkable 2 Paper Tablet 10.3 Inch 2020 Released, Premium PU Leather Smart Cover with Bulit-in Magnet, Book Folio Design with Pen Holder, Only for Remarkable 2 Paper Tablet. I liked the magnetic attachment and the color, and it has a non-magnetic holder for the pencil that I found nice, but the cover feels way too wide to try to cover the pencil space and I guess it would make it not that comfortable to use.
- VOVIPO Book Folio Leather Case with Hand Strap and Pen Case for Remarkable 2 10.3 2020 Released Digital Paper. This one was a quite different concept: nor a magnetic attachment nor a plastic case, you fit the device inside the soft leather-like (I doubt it is real leather), having a very nice appearance. It folds the cover to the back, has a pencil holder and once closed it has a very nice look with a securing elastic band. Comes with an extra band to fit your hand in when working without a table, that can be useful but I'm not seeing myself using it. The price is also cheap, and it was a candidate that I'd like to have in my hands to try it.
Receiving it
It took some time to arrive and here we have it. First things first, the product comes branded as Ayotu. What is this? I come back to what I ordered and it says Olaike. Did a quick search in internet and seems like that either they are the same brand, either the latter sells the former. Whatever it is, the product received is the same as the bought one apparently so I won't complain.
I really feel it behaving like the original: magnetic attachment, the pencil holds in the side and the case does not "expulse" it, the cover folds to the back and it has a nice smooth haptic "back leather" alike. I am satisfied at this point with the choice, like almost everybody when getting something new, but I don't discard updating the article after some time of use. I want to know how does it handle a cup of coffee above, or how does it protect the device falling to the floor, which is actually the goal of the case, isn't it?