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rmastbro

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 14, 2009
93
1
I just received my KAVAJ Berlin case today and let me tell you this case is AMAZING !!!. It fits my iPad Air 2 like a glove and all the cutouts are dead on accurate.

I especially love the attention to detail for the sleep and volume buttons (see images). The cognac (brown) version is really a rich shade of brown and leather seems to be of high quality, very thin (but protective), does not add very much bulk to the already thin Air 2 and smells great !

All the corners of the iPad are protected and the iPad is secured with a velcro flap on the inside of the cover. It is well worth the $50 (15% discount if pre-order now). code MPR5F3R2

http://kavaj.com/ipad-air-2-case-berlin-cognac/

If you want a folio style leather case then this is a winner !!
 

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rgarjr

macrumors 604
Apr 2, 2009
6,820
1,050
Southern California
Looks nice. Here's mine
 

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mrgossett

macrumors 6502
Mar 18, 2008
432
31
I had this case for my previous iPad Mini Retina.

Pros: Nice look and feel from the leather (and smell till it goes away); Relatively thin and light compared to some other cases; The cover stays closed magnetically.

Cons (In my opinion): Covers up parts of the bezel, which I don't like; The landscape viewing position never worked at all on mine. I had to prop it up from behind; Low impact protection- There's only a very thin layer of leather between the iPad back and foreign objects; Shows wear- My case was looking pretty rough and scratched up after several months of use.

The sleep/wake function did work on mine, so that's definitely an issue if that doesn't work on the Air 2 version.
 

travis333

macrumors member
Dec 29, 2013
34
9
I was just about to order one and now it's backordered. Ugh
I had the brown on the air1 which I loved, but I was thinking about changing it up with the black. Anyone have any opinions about black vs brown?
 

Lukewarmwinner

macrumors 6502
Oct 12, 2012
338
4
Mine works but I need to push the front cover towards the right for it to activate. Don't know if maybe it's because the leather needs to break in.

The iPad Airs have 2 magnetic sensors that need to be triggered.

Hopefully its because of the new leather and it'll adjust over time. That function is pretty neat to have

----------

I was just about to order one and now it's backordered. Ugh
I had the brown on the air1 which I loved, but I was thinking about changing it up with the black. Anyone have any opinions about black vs brown?

Yeah, they sold out pretty quick. I just ordered one from the german Amazon, which still have them in stock :)

Btw - I got it in black since all my other stuff is in black leather. The brown one does look nice though. Black leather wears nicely on the other hand.
 

travis333

macrumors member
Dec 29, 2013
34
9
Hopefully its because of the new leather and it'll adjust over time. That function is pretty neat to have

----------



Yeah, they sold out pretty quick. I just ordered one from the german Amazon, which still have them in stock :)

Btw - I got it in black since all my other stuff is in black leather. The brown one does look nice though. Black leather wears nicely on the other hand.

Thanks. How was the shipping cost and time through amazon.de?
 

GDF

macrumors 65816
Jun 7, 2010
1,376
1,359
Looks really nice. Is this case much thicker or add additional weight than the Apple's Smart Case? Thanks!
 

travis333

macrumors member
Dec 29, 2013
34
9
I had it for the air, and I'm pretty sure is was thinner and lighter than the smart case. The fold mechanism works way better too. It stays in one place instead of collapsing like the smart case would frequently do. Perfect for lounging on the couch.
IMO, it's way better than the smart case and cheaper too. A bargain at $50.
 

cliegal

macrumors member
Aug 11, 2010
77
12
I just got the case, apparently the last one, and I'm returning it. Sleep/wake doesn't work at all, not with any amount of fiddling around or moving the cover. The leather does not smell or feel like any leather item I've known and the back is as thin as a couple of sheets of paper and was even wrinkled! It was very disappointing as the case looked good in photos.

The deal breaker was the sleep/wake not working and I have two other perfectly good cases where it does work.
 

rgarjr

macrumors 604
Apr 2, 2009
6,820
1,050
Southern California
Black is now in stock. Just grabbed one ��

That was quick. Black ones are nice too.

I just got the case, apparently the last one, and I'm returning it. Sleep/wake doesn't work at all, not with any amount of fiddling around or moving the cover. The leather does not smell or feel like any leather item I've known and the back is as thin as a couple of sheets of paper and was even wrinkled! It was very disappointing as the case looked good in photos.

The deal breaker was the sleep/wake not working and I have two other perfectly good cases where it does work.

Can u post some photos of yours.

The sleep/wake function on mine is also hard to trigger. I'm thinking it's just the leather is a bit stiff. Anyhow that feature is paramount that functions correctly.
 
Last edited:

Jimpilot

macrumors 68000
Sep 11, 2014
1,532
1,257
No
Black

Ordered the black one on the 7th. It shipped Monday night from Kavaj so hopefully it wil arrive soon.

I like the looks of it but I am worried I won't like it because I've always used a hard case.

Love to hear from others as they get theirs
 

travis333

macrumors member
Dec 29, 2013
34
9
The sleep/wake never worked flawlessly on my air1 with kavaj so I disabled it. Mainly because I didn't want it turning on in a bag from moving around. Not a big deal for me, but I understand how it might annoy others.
 

cliegal

macrumors member
Aug 11, 2010
77
12
That was quick. Black ones are nice too.



Can u post some photos of yours.

The sleep/wake function on mine is also hard to trigger. I'm thinking it's just the leather is a bit stiff. Anyhow that feature is paramount that functions correctly.

Sorry, mine is packed up and sealed waiting for UPS to pick it up. Could be mine was just a fluke. The construction and materials were just sub-par.
 

drcharlie

macrumors member
Nov 11, 2014
37
29
Ordered black, received brown.

Oops.

I ordered the black Berlin case for the Air 2. It was delivered today...my wife sent a photo and the one they sent is brown. Packing slip and order form on Amazon say "black". In pictures, I like the looks of the brown. I ordered black since it is less flashy and maybe a little more (boring) business-like. I don't know how much the color matters to me. I guess I will have to look it it in real life. I think judging the quality of stitching/seams will determine if I send it back.

I read on Kavaj's website there are ways to break in the leather to get the stand to work right and to fully insert the iPad so the auto on/off switch functions properly. If their recommended tricks don't work, I suppose I would return it also.

I have to say that the pictures of the cases in brown and black look nice. We shall see.
 

Jimpilot

macrumors 68000
Sep 11, 2014
1,532
1,257
No
Oops.

I ordered the black Berlin case for the Air 2. It was delivered today...my wife sent a photo and the one they sent is brown. Packing slip and order form on Amazon say "black". In pictures, I like the looks of the brown. I ordered black since it is less flashy and maybe a little more (boring) business-like. I don't know how much the color matters to me. I guess I will have to look it it in real life. I think judging the quality of stitching/seams will determine if I send it back.

I read on Kavaj's website there are ways to break in the leather to get the stand to work right and to fully insert the iPad so the auto on/off switch functions properly. If their recommended tricks don't work, I suppose I would return it also.

I have to say that the pictures of the cases in brown and black look nice. We shall see.

It seems a whole lot of folks who ordered black got brown. I have one arriving tomorrow, hope it's not brown.

Has anyone called them on it to send it back and get the black they ordered?
 

drcharlie

macrumors member
Nov 11, 2014
37
29
It seems a whole lot of folks who ordered black got brown. I have one arriving tomorrow, hope it's not brown.

Has anyone called them on it to send it back and get the black they ordered?

I sent them a message on Amazon telling them they shipped the wrong color. I asked them if this mistake happens frequently and how they normally rectify it.

Now that I have gotten home and have seen the case, I have to say it is very nice. Even though I ordered the black one, the brown one is very nice looking. To avoid a problem with the power button being stuck, I pushed the leather out at that spot. To ensure the auto power on/off works when the case is opened/closed, I slid the iPad in and pushed it semi hard before securing the Velcro. To make sure the stand works in landscape, I folded hard the leather at the position where the flap meets the iPad part. Doing those three things, it works as intended with respect to auto on/off, power switch, and landscape stand.

As has been pointed out above, the leather on the back is thin and not padded, so if you expect to drop your iPad on a hard surface you will need a bulkier case.

Personally, I like the Berlin case. I hope the seams are quality and it is durable over time.
 

drcharlie

macrumors member
Nov 11, 2014
37
29
It seems a whole lot of folks who ordered black got brown. I have one arriving tomorrow, hope it's not brown.

Has anyone called them on it to send it back and get the black they ordered?

Kavaj quickly replied to my email. I have confirmed their explanation. They had the proper barcode on the package saying the case I received is Cognac (brown). Amazon stuck their own bar code sticker over the Kavaj sticker and Amazon's sticker said Black. This may explain why shipment of a wrong color may have happened to more than one person.

Kavaj asked me to email them back photos of the top sticker and sticker underneath so they could verify Amazon's error and hopefully rectify it.

They said they didn't want to burden me with returning the item to them because it was not my fault. They were very nice and apologetic about it. I didn't ask for a return, but they refunded my money and said I could keep or throw away the brown one and reorder a black one. All I can say is "wow". That is top notch customer service and I will buy their products in the future.

The case seems to be of top notch quality too.

If you want to buy a minimal leather folio case for an iPad Air 2, I can recommend the Berlin by Kavaj.
 

Cal MR

macrumors newbie
Sep 26, 2014
19
4
Kavaj quickly replied to my email. I have confirmed their explanation. They had the proper barcode on the package saying the case I received is Cognac (brown). Amazon stuck their own bar code sticker over the Kavaj sticker and Amazon's sticker said Black. This may explain why shipment of a wrong color may have happened to more than one person.

Kavaj asked me to email them back photos of the top sticker and sticker underneath so they could verify Amazon's error and hopefully rectify it.

They said they didn't want to burden me with returning the item to them because it was not my fault. They were very nice and apologetic about it. I didn't ask for a return, but they refunded my money and said I could keep or throw away the brown one and reorder a black one. All I can say is "wow". That is top notch customer service and I will buy their products in the future.

The case seems to be of top notch quality too.

If you want to buy a minimal leather folio case for an iPad Air 2, I can recommend the Berlin by Kavaj.

I have purchased several Kavaj cases over the last few years, and after each purchase I have received a follow up phone call from Kavaj a month or so later to see if I am satisfied with the case. Definitely top notch customer service.

My Berlin cognac for the Air 2 is working flawlessly.
 
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