Goettner.net

After several failures in my hunt to find a decent, cheap case for the iPad, I believe we finally have a winner! The ZooGue Smart Case was on sale recently at buy.com, and the features seemed to align with what I was looking for: multiple horizontal viewing angles, comfortable to use in landscape (which is how I prefer to read), clean look, easy in and out, and finally, durable (read: two year old proof). The case doesn’t have the most refined of looks to it because the mechanism for holding it up at any angle you’d like is Velcro, but it’s all black, so it’s not too obnoxious. The case has a strap for use holding the iPad on the back of headrest and despite never having used it for that I both like having the option, and have found that it’s great for holding a small notepad (explanatory picture in the gallery). The case allows for access to all the ports and switches on the iPad, but if you find you need to, there’s an easy to release strap and button on one side. The stitching on the case is holding up well after a few weeks of use and although over a long period of time that the Velcro will likely start to show some signs of wear, I still think it s a good buy and would recommend this case.

Still in the hunt for a decent cheap iPad case, I decided to give a folio-style case a chance, and purchased the AcaseLeather Flip Book Jacket/folio. My biggest reason for trying a case this style is because whenever you’re sitting somewhere  you have to put the iPad down on a flat surface, you need to find something to prop up one side. So, I was in the hunt for a decent looking case that had a variety of ways to prop it up, without sacrificing the ability to use it flat. I chose the a case because it was low priced, but had a nice black leather look to it (it’s not real leather, though, despite the name). Functionally, I’ve enjoyed the case, One of the ways you can flip the end around makes a great position for typing, it’s easy to just flip the cover behind and use the iPad vertically (that’s how I’ve found I prefer to use the device as an e-reader) and there are multiple angles you can stand the iPad up when you’re demonstrating or watching something on it. Additionally, if you need to pull the iPad out, the system for holding it in place (elastic bands on the side and two corners) makes it easy to pop it in and out. Having read all that, you’d probably think I’d recommend the case, and I would with one major caveat: it is not kid-proof. Unfortunately, this is also a requirement for me and sadly, I left the iPad with my 2 year old for a few minutes, looked over, and in an attempt to remove the iPad from the case, she pulled one side of the side strap out, and it’s now broken. It seems to me that you shouldn’t have been able to do that so easily, so my guess it that the craftsmanship of the straps is shoddy (the other side is about 1/2 way off as well), and sadly, Ill be looking for yet another case.

After seeing something online that suggested that the iPad doesn’t respond all that well to drops, and then watching my 2-year old carry it around with reckless abandon, I thought it might be worth picking up a case for it. I just wanted something inexpensive, so I quickly ordered the CIMO Soft Gel case in grey. (See it here). For $15, I guess you get what you pay for. It’s a little tough to get on and off, which wouldn’t be a big deal, except that none of the holes in the case are big enough to fit the plugs that they’re supposed to take, so you have to peel the bottom off to plug in the sync cable, or take the corner off to plug in headphones. Needless to say, although it’s accomplishing the goal of preventing catastrophic failure on drop, I certainly wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.