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From the moment I first came accross the Portenzo cases I was smitten. After contacting them they were kind enough to send me 3 Portenzo iPhone cases in various styles/colours to review.

I have been using one for a few weeks now but wanted to put it through the paces of everyday use before giving a full review.

The whole experience was a pleasure including the unboxing (videos below) as they come beautifully wrapped with a cool note attached which is signed by the person who made your case. Mine also had a box ticked to state they contain the wow factor. Little touches like these all contribute to the overall experience of the product and build customer rapport as you are likely to remember moments like these in the future especially when reccomending to friends or shopping for similar products.

The cases themselves are designed to look like a moleskin diary and when closed you would be hard pushed to tell the difference. Build quality feels excellent, no rough edges etc

The cases I ideal for iPad users. If you own an iPad and are looking for a stylish case to protect your iPad then I recommend the Portenzo iPad cases 100%. However there are some limitations when using with an iPhone 4 depending on if you choose the Notepad or Reporter case. The main downside to the iPhone choices are no quick rear camera access, the phone has to be removed if you want to use the camera. Not a huge deal but not ideal if you like to take a lot of photos and capture spontaneous moments. Also when using the notebook style case there is no access to the headphone jack to listen to music.

It all depends on your phone usage to how well these cases will suit you. I personally love mine and have received a lot of comments and questions mostly people love it but a few are unsure of it’s additional bulkiness on the phone. I actually find the phone to be perfectly usable whilst in the case and also love the way it doubles up as a stand when the cover is tucked behind.

I have been trialling the Notebook Portenzo case on my iPhone for around 3 weeks now and apart from removal to take the odd photo it has lived in the case since. Been chucked into my bag, and used in my pocket and taken on several long cycling journeys one covering more than 75 miles. Access to all the buttons and inputs are fine, the case doesn’t obscure the speaker or mic and I haven’t had any problems using various sized docking cables. So far there are no signs of wear or tear and it looks just as good as the day it was unwrapped.

The phone fits very snugly, a complaint I have read a lot about with the Dodo cases. I gave it a shake test (over a soft surface) and it passed with flying colours.

Build Quality: 10/10
Design: 10/10
Usability: 7/10
Durability: 9/10
Total: 36/40