Peilframa 5th Generation iPod case
Every now and again we will be doing periodic product reviews of new gadgets, software and other items Mac related and our first installment is the Pielframa leather case for the 5th generation iPod.
Pielframa is a case company based in Spain specializing in handmade, high quality cases for PDAs, SmartPhones and Apple’s iPod. The company started years ago and continues to sell the highest quality cow, crocodile and ostrich skin cases on the market. Having used all three flavors of their cases for my iPods over the years, I was sure this would be another exceptional case but found a couple of design flaws.
The case is hand stitched and is made of high quality leather. The case has a solid back and front cover and the face shows the click wheel and your iPod’s screen very well with no plastic cover to hinder you from having great quality video playback. I like that the iPod is protected on all corners and won’t fall out of the case even if the front cover is removed. The front and back of the Pieflrama case is what I like to call “puffy leather� and feels great in your hand.
You have access to the earphone jack when the case is closed but not to the hold switch or dock connector port. The dock connector is exposed however, when you unbutton the front cover and flip it up. This case is universal for the 30 and 60 gigabyte fifth generation iPod so the 60Gb’s click wheel does not properly line up with the case and the 30Gb tends to move around a bit in this case. Pielframa has added two buttons on the back so you can tighten the front cover depending on which iPod you are using.
Finally, the belt clip on these cases has always been the same and despite this company making great cases, they have continually overlooked better high quality belt clips and only give you the generic plastic connector in the same color as your case. The clip does have a locking mechanism built in so you can turn the case vertical or horizontal while attached to your belt.
I would enjoy a variant of this case with an open face and exposed dock connector and perhaps access to the hold switch but for a classy case that does not tell everyone in the board room you have an iPod attached to your hip, it’s a great case for just that. It won’t scratch your iPod and comes in three different variations and quite a few colors. Cases from this company are hefty but the quality speaks for itself.
