Filed under: Accessories, iPod Family
Orbino: hand stitched leather iPod cases
I have never heard of Orbino until today, and
I'm becoming perplexed as to why. They make what look like stellar hand stitched leather cases for all three of the
current model iPods, offering a choice of styles, colors and unique clip and lanyard designs. Quickly browsing through
their site, it looks like most of their cases run a respectable $39, which is a good price for a leather case (*ahem*
Apple) that actually lets you
use the iPod while it's wrapped up.Check out Orbino's offering, and if any of y'all TUAW readers have already snagged one, feel free to post your thoughts.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Booker said 2:28PM on 4-12-2006
I got one of these a few months ago and it really is the best quality case I've encountered. The 60 Gig version is a bit pricy at $65 but really worth it. It fits like a glove and you can access the dock connector without removing the case. Really sharp looking, I get compliments on it all the time.
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eugene said 3:01PM on 4-12-2006
NO NO NO... ppl are having a nightmare time with orbino. or at least they were. placed orders that didn't ship forever. bad customer service. products that ultimately disappointed.
http://forums.ilounge.com/showthread.php?s=81a8d68da89db6c5c65b4c1d7067bfe9&threadid=147679&perpage=15&pagenumber=9
it's just a not so good situation all around. which is sad bc it seems like such a good product for a great price, but it's not that good. i got one after a LOT of wrangling and sent it back (as did more than a few of my friends). and we're all still waiting for the credit to show on our bank accounts, despite knowing for certain that the returns were received.
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Chris Coleman said 3:02PM on 4-12-2006
These look OK, but I think Vaja's cases are nicer for a comparable price.
Mine's arriving today!
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kevin said 3:27PM on 4-12-2006
weird
when i click on the link to orbino within the article, it takes me to the official microsoft site
real weird
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Zach said 3:55PM on 4-12-2006
That's a shame that people seem to have bad experiences. I have a Vaja case and absolutely love it, but I think those look classier, and for a better price. Apparently not though...
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Web Design Milwaukee said 5:03PM on 4-12-2006
Yeah, why does that link redirect to Microsoft?
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Michael said 5:16PM on 4-12-2006
Hello. I'm with Orbino.
We've filled orders throughout the world, and the response so far has been enthusiastic. Which is why I was surprised to read the negative comments -- though we accept them and kindly invite the person who wrote them to contact us and we will be glad to fix any issue that he or she had with our product.
We admittedly had some glitches at the outset with meeting demand and subsequently with customer support (ours is a hand stitched premium product -- we make them one by one in our small workshop in Italy. We don't contract out to third party contractors).
As far the product itself is concerned, all our cases are made with premium Italian calfskin and leather. Our metal fixtures are also crafted by hand and finished in precious metals like palladium and 18k gold.
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Web Design Milwaukee said 5:18PM on 4-12-2006
The second link to Orbino that is.
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ayn said 6:54PM on 4-12-2006
I am one of those who was disappointed with their service and the case, and I am still waiting for a refund to my credit card. I would not recommend buying this case or anything from Orbino. Their customer service (or lack thereof) is a complete joke. I am still awaiting Michael's reply of an email I sent 2 weeks ago on the refund status of the return I made 4 weeks ago. They put in place a ticketing system so I know the email got there.
Also, for those who are interested in purchasing their cases, please try their phone number, you will get a full voicemail and it will automatically hang up the line. I disputed my charge with Amex and they couldn't contact Orbino either!
If you're looking for a high quality leather case, look no farther than Vaja. If you want a case that is reasonably priced and offer a lot of protection, get the Contour Showcase.
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Chris Coleman said 7:44PM on 4-12-2006
Well I just got my Vaja case about 45 minutes ago... it's absolutely beautiful. Sure, after shipping it cost almost 1/3 of the price of the iPod itself, but it's perfect.
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Michael said 6:09AM on 4-14-2006
I am with Orbino.
To put potential customers' minds at rest, the difficulties outlined by the customers above were isolated problems that we encountered due to a sudden and unexpectedly high volume of orders at product launch. We were regretful that our "early adopters" had to deal with growing pains along with us. We have since resolved these problems. Our toll-free phone number is now working, so feel free to call us. We respond to all emails within the day. Most products are shipping within 7-10 days.
The response to our product has been enthusiastic. Our return rate is below 5%. Furthermore, it is worth noting that we have been offering free shipping to all our customers. Therefore, those who did choose to return their product, didn't even have to pay the shipping charges to review it.
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Mike Dee said 9:32AM on 4-15-2006
I bought a leather Orbino case for $65 when they were first announced and have the same problems mentioned by others here: full voicemail box, slow email reply, and 45 day wait for the case. I actually had to reorder as the credit card processing company for Orbino expires unprocessed orders after 30 days. To their credit, they did offer free shipping, but when I finally did get the case my credit card was charged the full amount with shipping and I had to email a request they refund the shipping as promised.
As for the case itself, its eye-catching enough, but as you might expect from a hand made case, the leather cutout for the window doesn't line up exactly with the scroll wheel cutout, so either the bottom part of the screen is obscured or the scroll wheel is out of alignment. Also, I'm thankful I applied a clear face and back protector to my 30GB 5G beforehand as I discovered that the scroll wheel metal ring of the Orbino case digs into the the iPod and gouges the iPod surface as well as the scuffs the corners on the metal back. If not for the clear protector, my iPod would have been damaged as the metal ring would have removed a good chunk of the case between the scroll wheel and screen. As it stands, I count myself lucky as I'm only going to have to remove the clear protector and purchase another one. Looks like my Orbino case may end up siting in the back of my closet.
Not very happy at all with Orbino.
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Michael said 7:40AM on 4-16-2006
It is Orbino again. We are familiar with the customer who wrote in above and though justifiably upset for the long wait, his issues -- like with other early customers -- have been thoroughly resolved. I will reiterate the points mentioned above:
1) Orbino's toll-free customer support number now works. If you have any doubts, please feel free to give us a call.
2) Orbino responds to all emails within the day. When you write us an email, you are assigned a ticket number and then we respond, making referece to the ticket number. There was a period of approximately 2 weeks when this system was not working properly. All issues have now been resolved.
Now to address the specific points of the above post:
1) Scroll wheel: The scroll wheel ring *does not* dig into the face of the iPod.The case ships with a semi-rigid transparent screen protector that covers the entire face of the iPod. This cover forms a shield between the very delicate face of the iPod and the case itself.
2) Shipping time: Shipping is now immediate. When the above customer ordered, it took long because we had just launched the product and we had insufficient inventory. We have resolved this. Shipping time is now immediate, or, if a product is temporarily out of stock -- a maximum of 7-10 days.
3) Credit charges: The reason that the above customer had to resubmit his order is that we wanted to make sure that he was not billed until his product shipped. We think this is a fair approach. Our card processor automatically removes credit card info after 30 days for customer protection. That is why we asked him to resubmit his card info. This only happened with a handful of customers and will not happen with new orders.
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