[Test Review] Jolla Tablet Case by Dirk van Leersum

Wood, stone and... carbon fiber!

We received this prototype of Jolla Tablet carbon fiber casing by Dirk van Leersum, and we put it into some serious test with Jaakko Roppola and a prototype of Jolla Tablet.

We were after a simple answer: Does the case really protect Jolla Tablet, and especially the 7.85" display on it?

[Test Review] Jolla Tablet Case by Dirk

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• Case campaign page
• Video Channel in use

To write a valuable and trustworthy review on this handcrafted carbon fiber case, we took a Jolla Tablet to a Finnish forest, into conditions extreme enough to make sure if the case protects the tablet. In the evening we checked the surface of the case, did some sound checks while shooting more photos, and after that... a drop test. This case surprised us.

The case was in nice condition when it arrived from Netherlands, where it was manufactured. The prototype sent to us for testing is still missing the holes for the camera and speakers, but those will be there for the final product. This is how it looked in the beginning, before our trip to forest:

We had it laying on different surfaces including wood, ground and stones, sometimes display covered (above), sometimes the display in use (below)

We did drop it too sometimes, in purpose, to the nature. We were really careful on the drops, we just wanted the case to gather some dirt from the forest to see that the surface can handle that.

Video review, part 1 - Finnish forest

This two minute video clip includes

• Introduction to the test conditions
• Case surface after the forest day
• Audio tests, case used as a table chassis
• Teaser to part 2, upcoming drop test (last 5 secs)

After coming out from the forest, we took a few photos in different setups. We were listening to some music during this photo session (video above), and by accident we found out that the case actually improved the sound quality in a setup like this:

Below, some less improvement to the sound quality was reached in this setup, but still some. This was a very nice angle to use the tablet. A Jolla Phone case is used as another stand there, inside the carbon fiber case:

Jolla Tablet fits into the case quite perfectly. The inner surface is black velvet, making it smooth for the display. No worries on scratches when pushing the tablet into the case, as long as there's no sand in the road.

Ok, it survived the forest day. That was expected, it's carbon fiber. Ok, it had a minor improvement to the sound quality. That was a nice surprise. But now for the most important part: Does it protect the display?

Video review, part 2: Let's have a drop test!

Test Results

Looks nice. Feels good. Is super light. Holds the tablet. Has some extra value as a table chassis, improving the sound quality. And handcrafted carbon fiber, just wow! We believe that Dirk will reach his financing goal, and we don't need another test piece, because:

This seems to handle any use cases and will probably last forever. Great piece of work, already as a prototype!

• If your opinion is "Take my money!", you can finance this project here
• If your opinion is "huh, it's crowdfunded?", do note that Dirk has some experience on those already
• If you think "It's quite expensive!", it's just your wallet saying that:
• It's handcrafted carbon fiber, not any factory mass. Made in Netherlands, mostly by hand, in small batches.
• It does the job. Again, and again. Durable.
• It's Dirk who makes these. It takes a lot a coffee to bend carbon fiber!

Read more:

Updating campaign story on Indiegogo


Disclaimer: Please note that both the case and the tablet shown in this article are prototypes. Case will be improved at least with holes for the camera and loudspeakers, and Dirk is also finalizing the edges, if the goal is reached. Jolla Tablet shown is from an early production batch, having for example different USB plug and display.

Thanks to Dirk for the case prototype, Jolla for letting us use their tablet prototype during our test, and Jaakko for helping out with the review. The best results are achieved Doing It Together!



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By: Review Jolla
Published: 2015-09-23 13:38 UTC
Updated: 2015-09-23 17:27 UTC