Sena Magnet Flipper for iPhone 4 review

Sena has a wide range of leather cases, and one of the most popular designs is the Magnet Flipper. It is easy to understand why, as it grants a good level of protection, sophistication and ease of use. The name of the case lets you know that it has magnets keeping the front flap in place. The flipper move can easily be made rather snappy, as the flap is bottom mounted.

For protection the Magnet Flipper is well rounded. It provides a sturdy layer of leather for the back, sides and of course the front using the flap. The top corners are the only weak spots, as they are level with the front and back leather pieces. If dropped top corner down the phone will take some damage. Other than that you get more than 90% of the phone covered, and the leather can absorb light to medium fall damage.

The fit is quite tight even though there is nothing hugging the phone in place. There is some intrusion on the screen, and this becomes evident trying to use any on screen buttons next to the sides. When texting this forces me to use landscape mode. Another thing worth noting is that there is a slight difference in how the leather behaves due to processing. Smooth leather fits better, and follows the lines better than the more rigid croco leathers. I have experienced both, and I recommend going for the smooth ordinary leather option.

The flap features a credit card slot. It takes some work to get a card into it, and it is hard to get it out quickly. I also think that the slot has the slit to close to the top. This makes it even harder to get anything out, and you can’t operate it when charging the phone. As a pocket to place the odd note or business card it works quite well.

A removable belt clip accompanies the case, and it is really easy to attach it. A screw, a tool and a minute later it is fastened onto the back of the case. The belt clip is made from plastic, and it seems quite strong. It can be placed in ratcheting, or rigid mode. To extract the case, and leave the belt clip in the belt you press a button on the clip. This lets you pull the case up to answer a call. What I noticed right away is that it is much harder to extract if I leave it in the upper ratcheting mode. To quickly extract it I have to place it in rigid mode, as it gives more resistance as I press the button to extract it. Furthermore it feels more secure to have it rigidly in place.

Bouncing flash.

All functions are usable in the case apart from one, and that is using flash with the camera. Aligning the case to allow for proper camera usage is quite easy, and under normal condition there is no difference in image quality. When using flash though the light bounces off the case, making it more or less unusable. The leather around the camera is thin, and flimsy making it stick out a millimetre or two from the phone. This is why the flash bounces. I have used an orange leather case, and the image is supposed to be of my girls playing in the snow.

As leather cases go the Sena Magnet Flipper is a true workhorse. It is made from high quality leather professionally sewn together. It might not be the ideal case for gaming, but rather it is a case for everyday use. There is a also a great satisfaction to flip the flap. Having a front flap protecting the screen also makes the case highly usable with the belt clip. No worries about scratched screen when walking about. I can recommend the Sena Magnet Flipper, but take note of the flash issues before taking the images of your life. The phone is easy to extract for those occasions, as a button on top only fastens it.

The magnets in the flap are just strong enough to hold the case shut, and lets you flick it open with a thumb. Perfectly tunes for everyday flippin and flappin.