Review: iLid Wallet Case For The iPhone

If you know me, you’ll know I’m an avid clubber. Shaking what my momma gave me every night to wubstep is a hobby, nay, a must for me. And when I’m hurting my ears at the club, the last thing I want to think about is carrying a wallet and having to worry about it. So wallet cases have always been something I’d try to give a chance, but up until the iPhone 5, I always found them too bulky. So once Apple decided to trim the fat, I’d figure I’d revisit the whole case-doubling-as-a-wallet idea once more.

While Norris and I were dancing through the iLounge at CES we happened across a sign at a booth that read – iLid, The World’s Thinnest iPhone Wallet. Intrigued as most boys would be in our candy shop we went up and heard what it was all about. Once the rep was done getting hit on by the Best Buy reps we decided we really wanted to know more. It ended with the gentleman giving me one of their unreleased iPhone 5 versions of the iLid. After some great success with the 4/4S version, to get some early access like would be good for everyone.

Now, I am pretty sure (without being told directly) that what I was given could possibly still be in early production phases. I know they were still receiving samples in October, so it might be safe to say that this run could have been. Either way, I got a good helping of the iLid and I can say that some things seemed early build. But without further banter, let’s get to it…

Let me start this off by saying how lovely this case is to hold in your hand. It is honestly a perfect size. The iPhone 5 is at that size where we can dress it up and it still feels so thin and light. And even though the iLid has a secret compartment on it’s back, it still remains incredibly thin. The case I was given was a solid soft-matte case that features your standard snap-on approach to the iPhone. Installation was a breeze, no issues whatsoever, but I will warn you that I had a horrible time getting this thing off. I tried for close to ten minutes on my living room floor to push my phone out. Now, those that know me would assume I was drunk, or at least drinking, I assure you I wasn’t. It was just that hard to get off. With every push and pull I felt I was going to damage the case, or the flap. Trying to push through the camera cut-out didn’t help either. But eventually I got it off and all was well.

The case offers your standard snap-on, open at the top and bottom protection. Bumps, scrapes and bruises will all be deterred when wearing the iLid. As I mentioned above, it is a treat to hold. It fit in my hand swimmingly. I was pleased to see the extra bulk (if you could really call it that) from the case didn’t add discomfort. You have your standard cut-outs for all ports and the camera. No issues with headphones or charging, everything was perfect in these areas.

The shining light of this case is the wallet, and the fact that it is incredibly thin. If it wasn’t for the fact that it says iLid on the outside of the case, people probably wouldn’t know what it actually was. The little snap piece is small enough where you really can’t tell that it is a lid. This is nice, especially when compared to a lot of the wallet-style cases that are out there, you either have to deal with an obvious flap to get to your phone, or the cards are always exposed. The lid snaps easy enough and I never found it accidentally coming open. Inside you’ll find more than just a place to store some plastic. At the top near the camera you have space to put a key, or any other small object. I have seen people online fit a SD card in that area. So if you are out clubbing and don’t want to worry about keys but still plan on locking up your house, this is the perfect slot for that key. On the inside of the lid is a small plastic money clip that will hold around 3 bills double folded. The clip is sturdy enough where I wasn’t worried my hundo bills would be falling out.

The inside of the actually case will hold up to 3 credit or loyalty cards. The cards sit right under a groove so they sit in there nicely. I used this case as my wallet for 1 week, holding my ID, my debit card and 2-3 bills. When adding that third bill I did see it slightly bulge, so I knew I found the limit. But this case conveniently and comfortably replaced my wallet for a week. Obviously this will not be the same for all you big spenders out there with 23 different credit cards like Norris, but it will for sure help lighten the load.

One other issue I came across during my week was the hinge. Although it felt sturdy during my usage, it really gave me the feeling it wouldn’t hold up for long. By the end of the week I noticed where it hinges seemed to have bent a little and after some time would either snap off or just stop working correctly. Again, this might be an early unit, but it is something I noticed.

Another added bonus is that this case can double as a kickstand for your iPhone. I wouldn’t really recommend it as it’ll give everyone easy access to the goodies it holds inside, but if you are at home it’ll probably be just fine. I did notice that it will slid out of the kickstand position with a slight bump. It doesn’t utilize anything than just opening the case slightly and standing it up. So there wasn’t anything to really hold it in place. This wasn’t an issues for me as I never go out of my way to use any kickstand type functions on my iPhone.

So if you are looking for a case to stash some of your important wallet items, but you don’t want to compromise the thin design of the iPhone, you really can’t go wrong with the iLid. It does come across cheap, but that could just be the fact that I’ve been using over9000 iPhone cases since CES. It is really comfortable to hold though, and it keeps to the slim iPhone design. You won’t find yourself carrying around some gigantic wallet case that did nothing but make your phone usage uncomfortable. Even though there was an issue here and there, I really liked the iLid. It served two needed functions for me, protected my iPhone and gave my back a rest not being on my wallet all day. The website has’t been updated yet to include the iPhone 5 version, so I can’t really speak to the price, but the 4/4S model would run you $39.95.

We’ll definitely let everyone know once the iPhone 5 model is up for grabs, but if you have an iPhone 4 or 4/S, we recommend heading on over to their website to snag one.

More: iLid