Twelve South

BookBook For iPhone: A Luxury Leather Wallet Case That’s Almost Perfect

Like the rest of the BookBook range, Twelve South’s BookBook for iPhone ($60) is a luxury, handmade leather wallet case that’s designed to look like a pocket-sized vintage book. Not only will it lovingly house your iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S, but it also features three credit card pockets, and a larger pouch for notes and bills.

The BookBook is available in a dark tan brown leather, and every one is hand-distressed to ensure each one is a little bit unique. As you’d expect, the case provides access to your iPhone’s dock connector; headphone jack; mute switch; and volume, home, and sleep/wake buttons.

The Good:

The BookBook really is a beautiful case. Having already tested the stunning BookBook case for iPad, I expected a lot from its smaller sibling in terms of design, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed.

Its dark, high-quality leather adds a touch of class and sophistication to the case, and only compliments the beauty of your iPhone. As iPhone wallet cases go, this is by far the best looker.

It’s also incredibly strong. Although soft and smooth, the leather is thick and tough and really robust. It does scratch, but that only adds to the vintage look, so it’s unlikely you’ll worry too much about picking up a few scuffs.

The BookBook holds your iPhone in place with a soft leather frame that matches the rest of the case. Behind that is a smooth lining that ensures your device isn’t going to get scratched when you slide it in and out of the case.

The BookBook will hold around four to five credit cards in its front pockets quite comfortably, but if you attempt to jam more in, they can be a little difficult to get out. One of the credit card pockets is transparent, which means you can place your driver’s license or ID inside and you don’t need to take it out every time you get pulled over for speeding.

There’s also a larger pocket at the back of the case that’s great for holding bills and notes, and other cards that you can’t fit into the front pockets.

The Bad:

There aren’t a lot of downsides to the BookBook, but there are a couple that could prove to be a deal-breaker for some of you. The first is that this case does not accommodate your iPhone’s camera; you need to slide your device up and out of the case slightly every time you need to take an photo.

I found this to be a bit of a pain, especially when you want to snap pictures quickly. Because the BookBook holds your iPhone in nice and securely — especially when the case is new and the leather is tight — it’s not easy to slide it out to take a picture.

Twelve South could rectify this either by adding a cutout to the back of the case (which should be a pretty simple change) or by making it easier to slide the iPhone out of the case with a pull-tab.

My other major gripe with the BookBook is that there’s no way to keep it closed. If you drop your device, the front of the BookBook is likely to open in mid air and you’ll find your precious iPhone face down in the dirt.

Finally, I have one minor issue with this case, and that is that it’s not easy to access the mute switch on the iPhone. On my case at least, the cutout overlaps the switch a little and makes it hard to put your phone on silent.

The Verdict:

The BookBook is a terrific looking case (as I keep saying) and quite possibly the prettiest iPhone case I’ve tested. It’s build quality is fantastic and it’s well designed, with plenty of room for your credit cards and cash.

It’s biggest issue is that it doesn’t accommodate the iPhone’s camera, but this is something you get used to and it’s a small tradeoff for such a wonderful case. I would definitely recommend the BookBook to anyone who’s looking for a great wallet case for the iPhone.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Stuff We Like: BookBook iPhone Case + Wallet

Someone has finally made an iPhone case/wallet combo that's not only usable, but spacious and classy as well. If you've got limited pocket space, then this BookBook by TwelveSouth is tantalizing.

The phone goes on the right, money goes in the middle sleeve and there are two credit card slots and an ID slot on the left. You can answer the phone without taking it out by flipping the case backwards—which is slightly awkward, but not too bad—and slide it up and out for a photo. The cash slot holds a decent amount of cash, as long as they're not all just $1s, and the credit card slots can theoretically hold 2 cards per slot, but it would get pretty crammed.

This thing is great. Rather than keeping a wallet and a phone in my pants, now I can carry one thing that is about the same size as my wallet. The only problem is that I'm the kind of guy that likes to keep all his cards on him at once, so that, for example, I'll be prepared if I need to go to Blockbuster, or get my car towed, or show my dentist or doctor my insurance. But is that necessary? Can't I just leave those sometime-use cards in a stack at home and insert it into the BookBook when I need it? Do I always have to carry my business cards around in my wallet in case I run into somebody? Would an email address do? Yes, most likely. So this case has changed my use habits a bit as well.

Not only does this $60 case protect my phone and carry my essential cards and money, it cuts down my pocket bulge dramatically. Oh, and it looks like a small distressed leather book, which is classier than the plastic-build quality of other iPhone case wallets.

BookBook for iPhone from Twelve South has made me a better person: A review

Once in a while a product comes storming into my life and really leaves me changed for better or worse. BookBook for iPhone is one of those products, and I have to admit, it’s been for the better.

That sounds a bit dramatic as the opening for an iPhone case review, but stay with me and I promise I’ll make you understand. BookBook for iPhone is a combination iPhone case & wallet-stuffs organizer wrapped in the shape of a tiny aged, leather bound book.

I knew immediately, following the announcement of BookBook for iPhone, that I had to have one. I will admit, while my intrigue did border on obsessive, I was sane enough to interject, on occasion, the notion that this would end up yet another iPhone case in my end table drawer, abandoned and hardly used.

Something was different this time though.

Twelve South has released the BookBook case for Macbooks as well as the iPad, of which I was pretty critical of from the jump off. The iPhone iteration though really grabbed me and thus far isn’t showing any signs of letting go.

What’s Macgasmic? I am in love with BookBook for iPhone. It really has helped me reduce my pocket clutter, and I like the idea of keeping my phone and wallet in one case. It’s possible that I will be the only one who would actually list this in a review as a positive, but the packaging for the BookBook is beautiful. It’s very clean and sophisticated and will look great on a shelf.

The clear ID case with thumb slide is a must for any functional wallet and I’m glad they decided to include it here. Without it, I likely wouldn’t have been able to permanently replace my wallet. The craftsmanship of BookBook for iPhone is really evident. The lines are all clean and credit cards as well as the iPhone all slip in perfectly.

When typing on the iPhone with the front of the case folded back, you actually gain a good surface area which prevents that strange hunch most of us share, that you are about to drop your phone.

Twelve South really walks the line of amazing customer service. They seem to look out for their customer base and care about your experience.

Love Fest So it’s pretty obvious that I’m in love with the BookBook for iPhone. I have hated carrying my iPhone in a case since the day iPhone launched, and this is the first one I’ve tolerated for more than a day or two. The few issues I have are not deal breakers and I have been recommending this case to everyone I know and even a few in passing strangers.

I’m convinced, where can I get one? BookBook for iPhone is available directly from Twelve South’s website, along with all of their other awesome “Mac only” products for $59.99. Tell them Macgasm sent ya!