Review : Griffin Technology Elan Passport Case

The Griffin Technology Elan Passport ($49.99) is an iPad case that is more a “folio” than simple “case”, and protects your beautiful device from wear and tear while adding a touch of class to it.

The screen is very nicely protected when the cover is closed and users will feel very secure knowing the thick leather cover is held in place nicely by a small wrap-around strap.  The actual iPad is held in the Elan Passport by four straps, two that are rather stretchy and two that are not. It’s extremely easy to insert and remove the iPad, something I love. Nothing annoys me more than hiding my beautiful Apple devices with bulky cases that take forever to remove. I want my devices “naked” unless I am on the go, and while the Elan Passport is a bulky case, the fact that I can remove my iPad in a second, makes me very happy.

I have read that these straps cover too many buttons, but I did not have this issue. Even in their promo shots it appears that the orientation, speaker, and maybe even sleep buttons are obscured by the case straps. Compare that to my own picture mash-up and you can see this is clearly not the case. I’m not sure how this happened, perhaps a newer model, either way this was not an issue for me.

The inside flap of the case contains spots for business cards, id, or credit/debit cards and a nice full pocket for a few sheets of paper. I can see this being used for a paper resume and your business card while on an interview. Imagine showing up with this very business looking case, and removing your resume from it, with an iPad sitting next to it. I can promise you it’d be a conversation starter, and it wouldn’t be out of place, it would be part of your essentials for the interview.

The only issues I really had with the case was the lack of multi-functionality. There isn’t a prop-up option to help with a nice keying angle (perhaps an inside loop for the closing strap to hook to), or even a way to comfortably use it to vertically position it for viewing a movie on a table.

However, if you’re looking for a very professional looking case, and don’t want your device tied to it almost permanently, then the Griffin Elan Passport wouldn’t be a bad choice, and it’s competitively priced with other cases of this nature.