Why the DODOcase sucks
By The Prodigal Fool, published on 24 January 2011
When we reviewed the iPad back in June one of the key points we made was that “the right case is pivotal.” You need it for protection and you need it if you’re going to get any typing done. We’ve used the DODOcase pretty much since day one and here’s why we think it sucks.
It’s badly made
Watch the video below and you’ll see that the good folk at DODOcase like to boast about saving the book-binding business in San Francisco and how their products are assembled by hand using traditional techniques. That’s lovely. The only problem is that, from our experience, the quality is not consistent. Our first DODOcase was delivered with a fracture in the bamboo frame. It didn’t seem to affect our use of it so we didn’t bother to return it. But a few weeks later all the rubber tabs that are simply glued on to pad the corners of the frame started to peel off. We were forced to buy some super-glue and reapply them ourselves. Our second case (the first made the ultimate sacrifice in its role of iPad protector) has one corner of its frame that has not been properly secured. The result is that the iPad is loose at that corner. Oh how we sometime long for the precision and consistent quality that comes from those child-labour sweatshops in Shenzhen…
It’s sometimes awkward to use
Unfortunately, the very things that make the DODOcase good at protecting your iPad also make it awkward to use. When all you want do is hold the iPad in portrait orientation and read, the hard bamboo frame and stiff flap make the whole thing feel a little bulky in your hands. We often longed to remove the iPad and use it naked. Easy when you’re at home but when out and about that leaves you with the problem of what to do with the case. It’s not a deal breaker by any means but, having used soft portfolio-style cases, we realise how much nicer they are to hold and use in certain situations.
It’s expensive and takes an age to arrive
We have no problem at all paying for quality. But we do resent paying over the odds and waiting unnecessarily just because a company hasn’t sorted out its delivery channels properly. We paid 50 dollars for our first case and were told there was a six-week wait due to overwhelming demand. Fair enough. But we were then charged a very steep additional 25 dollars for international shipping (remember you’re talking about something very light and smaller than an A4 envelope.) Anyway, we swallowed the shipping charge and sat back to wait patiently. So, we were pleasantly surprised to get an email from DODOcase just four weeks later to say that our case had shipped. Except, it was an incredible six more weeks before it actually arrived. And when it did, we had to pay yet another charge: the UK tax man wanted another £12 and we had to go to the Post Office to collect it. The long wait? DODOcase was using standard US mail to dispatch its products. Not clever. Our second case arrived slightly faster but only because it was shipped the day we ordered it. (We assume the fact that DODOcase had put the price up by a further ten dollars may have helped to cut those waiting lists.) To be fair to the San Francisco-based company, we should point out that it has since introduced a Fedex option which will go a long way to addressing these problems. They should have done so from the off-set.
So there you have it, if you have an iPad, you’ll need a case but we think you can do much better than a DODOcase.
Then again, sometimes we think the DODOcase rocks.
Why the DODOcase sucks
When we reviewed the iPad back in June one of the key points we made was that “the right case is pivotal.” You need it for protection and you need it if you’re going to get any typing done. We’ve used the DODOcase pretty much since day one and here’s why we think it sucks. [...]
3 Responses to “Why the DODOcase sucks”
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Why the DODOcase rocks « The Prodigal Guide
25 January 2011
[...] Then again, sometimes we think the DODOcase sucks. [...]
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Agreed. Here’s my experience with the dodocase and their customer serivice
Tweets that mention Why the DODOcase sucks « The Prodigal Guide -- Topsy.com
24 January 2011
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by The Prodigal Fool, Straight-Six. Straight-Six said: RT @TheProdigalFool: New on The Prodigal Guide: Why the @DODOsays case sucks http://wp.me/pqKNo-1op [...]