Miniot's MK2 cover for iPad offers elegant simplicity

The $91 Miniot Cover MK2 for the second- and third-generation iPad is a significant improvement over the original Miniot. This cover is solid wood (pick between six shades: Cherry, Mahogany, Walnut, Oak, Smoked Oak, or Maple) with an ultrasuede microfiber lining. The $91 price tag includes optional engraving, with either text or an image of your choosing.

Like the original Miniot, the MK2 features enough joints and magnets to behave an awful lot like an Apple Smart Cover: The joints let you fold the cover into various arrangements, and the magnets wake and sleep the iPad as you open and close the cover.

But the original Miniot lacked a hinge. It rested solely atop the screen, and there was no great position for the cover when you were using the iPad in hand. The MK2 fixes that issue; it includes a hinge that snugly grasps the corner of your iPad.

That solves pretty much all of the problems inherent to the original Miniot’s design. When you want to use your iPad in your hand, the MK2 can also fold over nearly flat and cling to itself, much like the Smart Cover does. That’s a big improvement.

Like the original Miniot cover, the MK2 clings securely to the iPad, and covers the screen perfectly. Roll it up, and the cover sticks to itself—microfiber facing out—in a tight spiral that lets you prop the cover in any of three positions.

You get about two inches of incline for typing, which works well. For movie viewing, the propped-up landscape angle is a bit steep—just ten degrees from vertical—but it works. The Smart Cover’s viewing angle is better, but the MK2’s is serviceable. And the cover is sturdy enough that you can use it to stand your iPad up in portrait orientation, too.

Even better, I find that rolling the MK2 for those viewing setups is simpler than folding up the Smart Cover. I have an alarmingly poor success rate when folding up a new Smart Cover on the first try; usually, when I attempt to fold it into a triangle to prop up my iPad, I need a couple tries to get it done. But I don’t have that issue with the MK2: Rolling it up is easier and more elegant than Apple’s approach.

I like the MK2 enough that it’s replaced the Smart Cover as my go-to iPad cover of choice. It’s a costly investment, but it’s hard to go wrong with its look, its utility, and its ease of use.

This story, "Miniot's MK2 cover for iPad offers elegant simplicity" was originally published by Macworld.