Great for Business — the Zenlet Cache 3.0, a Genuine Leather Phone Stand with NFC
Hi, I’m Hide — tech journalist and part-time house-husband. Real leather really is different.
Zenlet, whose smart wallet I reviewed before, has released a genuine leather phone stand. There are plenty of leather-style MagSafe stands, but real leather is hard to find.
Where to buy: Zenlet Cache 3.0
For my articles, I sometimes receive products on loan or as samples from companies, within the bounds of Yahoo! News’ rules. However, if a product doesn’t meet my standards for writing about it after actually using it, or if its downsides significantly outweigh its good points, I return it and don’t write about it. I don’t receive any payment from companies.
Real leather is just better
In business settings, carrying well-worn leather goods can even build trust. When you set your phone on the table and a carefully cared-for stand is visible, it might spark a “Oh, that’s real leather” conversation.
It’s nice to have a phone accessory you can use for a long time and actually get attached to.
Simple, but surprisingly feature-packed
Inside, along with bills and receipts, there’s an anti-skimming layer that holds two RFID cards. That way, even with several cards inside, only the outermost one can be tapped.
You might even use the stand alone as a business card holder at work. Keep a few paper cards inside and normally swap cards via NFC — pretty slick. And it’s reassuring that it’s genuine leather when you use it like this.
Besides exchanging cards, it’s handy for launching specific functions with one tap. A timer, or even a series of actions like “text my wife which train I’m taking and that I’m heading home now.”
In our house, I made that action with the iPhone Shortcuts app so my wife sends it on her way home, and I use it as a guide for timing dinner. But she has to open the app first. With the Cache 3.0’s NFC, she can skip even that — just tap the chip on the way home and the ETA gets sent.
Personally, I’ve set it to the home-automation action “close all the curtains and turn off the lights.” Opening the Home app at bedtime is a bit of a hassle, and using voice commands feels wrong when the kids are asleep, so it’s been really useful.
The one letdown: its structure as a stand?
The one letdown might be its structure and sturdiness as a stand. The MagSafe is strong, so it won’t fall off, but to hold its shape as a stand, you need a card in the outermost slot.
Similar products like MOFT fold into a triangle, which keeps them stable as a stand. But then you can’t store cards or bills inside, so I think it’s just a trade-off.
Picture how you’ll use it and choose accordingly.
It comes in three colors, so it matches pretty much any style. Personally, I love how beautiful the green is. If you want to enjoy the leather aging like I mentioned earlier, go with brown.
I only recently discovered Zenlet, but their products look similar to others yet are just a bit different, which makes them fun. I’m looking forward to what they release next.
This story was originally published (in Japanese) on Yahoo! News Japan Expert.
