The accessory market for Apple products is huge. The number of cases and covers alone is overwhelming. To help you sort it out, Mike added an Accessories tab (above), which lists a number of cases.
I’m not one of the lucky ones who already have the iPad 2. Mike found one yesterday at a local New Jersey reseller. Reports from Apple store employees indicate that they are still selling out as soon as they get them in. If you order from the Apple website, there is a two-iPads-per-order limit and it won’t ship for 3-4 weeks. As Tom Petty once said, The Waiting is the Hardest Part.
You can use that down time to think about cases. Here is the dilemma: the iPad is such a gorgeous device that you don’t want to hide it with a case. However you also don’t want to risk damaging that beauty if you don’t cover it. Steve Jobs acknowledged the first horn of that dilemma, but not the second, during the launch of the iPad 2. His solution is the Smart Cover – the nifty, auto-aligning, magnetized wonder that covers just the screen of the device.
But therein lies the problem. The Smart Cover is minimal, but provides no protection for the back of the device. I’m always fearful that I will scratch the aluminum back of the iPad. And what about the sides? Maybe a Zagg InvisibleShield skin, which provides military-grade scratch resistance for all sides, yet doesn’t obstruct your view of the device. The problem is that it doesn’t provide any impact resistance. I’ve seen a dented iPad – and it ain’t pretty. You see, then, how this is a true dilemma.
I could never live with myself if anything happened to my precious (soon-to-be-acquired) iPad 2. So, I think that I’ll get a case. But which one? There is no shortage of people who would like to sell you one. Check out Mike’s Accessories tab, and also have a look at some of these sites, that have some good collections of cases:
So, are you getting a case? If so, which one? Please share your thoughts in the comments. I need help.
[...] 2 (I still haven’t received it), I decided that I would probably get a case for it. (See, The Case for a Case). Since then, I’ve put more thought in to the subject, but more importantly, I’ve had [...]
[...] iPad 2 – The Case for a Case [...]
We have about 7 or so lawyers at our firm who have iPads, most being the iPad2. The most popular case is the one I use, which is a leather case from http://www.saddlebackleather.com. You can view YouTube videos on the case by doing a search for “Saddleback ipad”. The case is a bit pricey, but is solid and is a work of art in itself. If weight is an issue, it may not be the case for you as it probably weighs more than the typical iPad case.