Review: Hex's Code Folio protects your iPad with sleek business style

With its stylish exterior and handy inside pockets, Hex’s $80 Code Folio case for the third- and fourth-generation iPad is a good option for business folks that travel with their iPad or take it with them to meetings. The case comes in five solid color options; pick between red, pink, gold, tan, or black.

The Code Folio sports a leather body that gives it a professional look and feel. There’s an elastic strap that keeps the cover shut when you’re not using your iPad, but it’s one of the tightest straps I’ve come across on an iPad case, making it frustrating for me to use.

The case’s inside cover comes with three card slots for business or credit cards, plus two pockets to store notepads, paper, or documents. It also has an elastic penholder—made from the same tight elastic as the outside strap—to store a stylus (or an ink pen, if you’re old-school). However, don’t bother slipping a pen or stylus in unless you want the case to close awkwardly and not lay flush over the iPad’s screen. The cover lacks a trigger for the iPad’s magnetic Sleep/Wake feature— a strange design choice, considering that many other cases on the market offer this.

A sturdy, half-inch thick plastic frame holds the iPad in place, and it does a great job: Once I snapped my iPad into the frame and heard a few satisfying clicks, the case didn’t want to let go, and it took me several minutes to get my iPad back out. The frame didn’t get in the way when I used my iPad, and protected its sides against bumps and drops, which is a major plus. All that protection did add extra weight and bulk to my iPad, making it a bit unwieldy to hold when reading in bed. The Code Folio case didn’t obstruct the iPad’s camera, nor did it get in the way of using any ports or buttons, though you can’t fit your iPad in a dock-cradle accessory with this case on.

The Code Folio gives you two ways to stand up your iPad in landscape mode, either by flipping around the cover to prop up the iPad in a tent shape, or using one of the three rows of small nubs on the inside cover to create a stand. Both configurations worked well to hold up my iPad as I watched videos both on my couch and on a tabletop.

Bottom line

Though the Hex Code Folio is a bit heavy and bulky, it makes up for it in solid performance as a case and stand. The stylish look also gives your iPad a little extra polish for your next big meeting, but I did wish it worked with the iPad’s magnetic Sleep/Wake feature.