I tested three products designed to protect your iPad in various ways.  First I tried out the Speck Shield View, which sells for $24.95.  It comes in a 2 pack, and it’s supposed to stick to your iPad screen perfectly, protecting it from scratches and smudges.  Getting it on the iPad was fairly easy.  The product comes with instructions on how to get it on smoothly.  However, once I peeled the backing to expose the protective film, a couple bubbles showed up that I couldn’t remove.  Granted, they were just two small bubbles on the edges, but bubbles are still annoying.  I give it a B for application and an A- for preventing fingerprint smudges.

The second product I checked out was also from Speck – the Fitted fabric-wrapped hard shell case.  It gets an A for design in that it comes in 5 different fabric patterns, but I found placing the iPad in the fitted case difficult.  The frame did not perfectly snap in, and it took several minutes to get it on right.  Also, if you’re like me and you keep the iPad on its docking station, this case isn’t something you can keep on your iPad as it won’t fit in the docking station with the case on.  It’s also a little pricey at $49.95.

The best iPad protective carrying case I’ve come across so far is Case-mate’s The Express iPad Vertical Nylon Flip Case.  It’s made out of black ballistic nylon and it’s got a simple, practical design.  There are embedded magnets in the front flap screen to help keep your iPad secure.  At $34.99 it’s a good investment to help protect your iPad from scratches, dirt, and occasional spills.

Related Posts

No related posts.

I think I am the last person on the planet that doesn’t have an iPhone and I have no idea what I am waiting for…Oh I know a day job:-). I asked all my iPhone friends if I could test the iSkin solo SE/ solo FX out on theirs and my friend Aziz from Cabana Networks kindly volunteered. Aziz also has an iPad so stay tuned for a review on the iPad and the accessories that I have been receiving.

The iSkin solo SE /solo FX is made from a material that looks and protects like a hard case however it feels like a soft case. The material was created to be heat and cold resistant, features shock and impact qualities, and cleans with ease (per the website). I quickly unboxed it and put it on his iPhone. Seemed easy enough and you can access all the ports which is great as some of the one’s I have seen you have to adjust the phone and case to access them. I also liked the look of the case and the brilliance of the colors. 

I then asked Aziz what he thought and he actually doesn’t use a case because unlike myself he isn’t hard on consumer goods. Plus unlike some of us women who just throw it in their purse items like this can sometimes catch while in a dude’s pockets due to the material.  This made me wonder if women use cases more then men due to the pocket factor.    

The iSkin solo SE /solo FX fits the iPhone 3G/3GS models with a pretty light weight and thin casing. It also comes with a screen protector which is something I should be using as I am constantly scratching my phone screen. The solo FX/ solo SE is made with Microban® antimicrobial protection to help with stain and odor causing bacteria on your iPhone.

The solo FX retails for $32.99 (comes in Lush, Vive, Sunset, Breeze, or Passion) and the solo FX SE from $34.99 (comes in Ice, Cosmo, or Onyx).

Related Posts

No related posts.

Last week I got an email inviting me to test run a newly redesigned hard shell See-Thru iPhone case from Speck. While I know that some folks (like my boyfriend) are iPhone purists, and can’t stand the thought of putting a case on their beautiful babies which takes away from the essence of these babies’ beauty, I support protective coverings for my iPhone wholeheartedly.

When I first got my 3G, I was a little bit like those loonies who don’t want a case in order to preserve the mouth-breathing “WOW” factor, but I didn’t want it to get all scratched up in my purse, so I got the next best thing– an iPhone sock, which worked well for what I needed but got kind of grimy and lost its elasticity after a bit, so I had to launder it (and lather rinse repeat.) Also it just wasn’t that cute, so after I dropped my iPhone once straight on the floor with no sock on it, I decided enough was enough and I got an Incase rubberized flexible shell. I paid $20 for it in the Apple store, and it was pink. The thing I loved about it immediately was its traction– you could put your phone down on a plane thats angled, like, 45 degrees, and it wouldn’t budge! In fact, I used that “feature” of the case often, as I take my phone with me to work out so I can listen to and watch podcasts from the “iPod part” of my phone as it is sitting nicely on whatever plane of exercise machine is in front of me.

What I did NOT like at all about my Incase cover was how grossly grimy it got! The dirt from my hands and purse, and basically anything I set it on, felt like it coated the case and got etched in the grooves (which were part of the design) and the pink color of it dulled slowly. Anytime I put it in a coat pocket or a jeans pocket and took it back out, the case would be covered in lint, which was super hard to rub off. It was getting kind of annoying.

The email from the Speck representative couldn’t have come at a better time for me– I was grossed out by my case and looking for something cooler. I was skeptical about this review unit being a hard case, because I think some of the hard cases on the market are kind of kitschy and DO take away from the glam that is the Jesus phone.

But when I got the case, and put it on, I loved it!

It came in blue, which I probably wouldn’t have picked out myself, but was a surprisingly attractive hue once combined with the actual black iPhone inside. It also came with a plastic sheet, which is supposed to be the protective overlay for the screen, which I applied and did not like at all. My boyfriend thought I didn’t like it because I couldn’t apply it correctly (bubbles, y’all?) but I could! The application of the sticky overlay wasn’t difficult, I just didn’t like it because once it was on my phone, it obsructed the clarity of the screen, to my view. It looked almost like (bear with me here) an infinitely fine clear grid had been overlaid on my screen, almost like a super thin cheesecloth. You could see everything ok, just like you always had, but the teeny tiny gridlike pattern of that clear overlay was distracting enough, so I peeled it right off and threw it away (its pretty much useless once you attempt to apply it once– it gets fingerprints and fibers on the sticky side, so it would be hard to reuse, unless you like fingerprints and fibers on your protective overlay.)

My phone, once encased in the hard shell, looked super cute! I’m not going to drop it on the floor just to “test” how well the protective aspect of the case works, I will just have to have faith. I like how it’s low profile, how the edges of the opening don’t cover up the iPhones silver lining (like my old pink Incase did) and I like how you can see the Apple logo on the backside of the phone.

I don’t think I will be reapplying my pink rubbery mess of an Incase case back onto my phone unless, for some reason, this Speck case cracks or breaks. I will miss the traction of the surface of the pink case though, as the hard shell of the Speck is smooth and will not, under any circumstances, remain stationary in the instance of movement or elevation. But hey, that’s what the case is for, right? To protect it from those spills that happen when there’s surprise motion and elevation? Mission accomplished, then.

The case retails for $29.95 which is pretty steep for an accessory, but its brand new, so we might see the price drop after some time, especially for the holidays? Ultimately, though, when you have a $300-400 baby nestled in your purse that you want to keep happy and healthy (at least for the length of your two year contract) $30 doesn’t seem like too much money to drop, especially after your phone makes a horrifying sound when you drop it on the floor…and it didn’t break!

[Note: While I did not and will not receive any payment for reviewing this product, it is mine to keep, courtesy of  Speck products.]

Related Posts

No related posts.