From Argentina with love; Vaja E61 case review

I refuse to let electronic equipment leave my house unless it’s being protected in some shape or form. I’ve had my Nokia (NYSE: NOK) E61 for about 2 weeks now and it hasn’t left my house. Sure I popped the SIM in every once in a while to use it, but for the most part it I relied on the built in wifi to get my gadget fix. When it came time to purchase a case I was pretty much pelted with the same company name from everyone I’ve talked to. Vaja.

Vaja is based out of Argentina, significant because this country is known for their large amount of cattle which in turn means lots of leather products. Now people have different opinions about leather, I grew up in a traditional European household so we had leather couches, leather bound chairs, in the winter time I wore leather jackets, leather boots, my briefcase is leather, and my parent’s car interior is leather. I love leather, blame my parents.

When I first opened the box I could immediately tell this case was quality. The packaging was very nice; they take care of the visual aspects very well. Included was a business card saying that only the finest leather is used and no two Vaja cases are alike.

Getting the phone in the case is like putting your boots on for the first day of winter, the same boots that have been in the closet for about 8 months. You know your foot is supposed to fit in it, but you have to jam it in there. I manually pushed the phone in the case as much as I could, put the leather flap across the top of my phone and pushed down one more time. Clasped the flap in the back, pulled off the screen protector that is on top of the case itself, and was rocking and rolling.

The case gives perfect access to the controls and QWERTY keyboard with not one button or port being blocked. The fit is perfect, very snug. Minimal bulk is added to the already thin Nokia E61. Now the phone feels solid enough as is, but when it’s in this case it feels indestructible. I like the fact that the leather actually provides grip to my fingers in the back. A tip to Nokia: you might want to play around with some rubber textures on the back of your next smart phone.

I can’t emphasize enough the quality of the leather. It’s very soft, smells like leather should, and most importantly isn’t shiny like the large amounts of fake leather products out there.

Would I buy a Vaja case for my next phone? Absolutely!

The pictures are of black (they call it Azabache) Vitelino leather. The case cost me $83 total. It was ordered on November 6th and I received it today on November 24th. While 18 days may seem like a lot of time, considering these things are built by hand and by order only I’m not complaining. Click on any of the thumbnails for full 800×600 images.