A few hours before the opening keynote of this year’s WWDC, we reported that Apple was set to unveil an all new Smart Case for iPad.We didn’t get a product demo at the keynote, but fast forward a few hours following the event and the Polyurethane Case appeared on the Apple Store. As an alternative to the Smart Cover that was unveiled with the iPad 2, which provides only screen protection, the Smart Case offers full back and front protection for $10 more than the $39 Smart Cover. It is available in six colors (without tax at Adorama), with free engraving available if ordered online. So is the Smart Case the case you need to protect your iPad? Read on for the full review (including video) below.
I’ve never been one to put cases on my gadgets, as I believe it takes away from the design that the engineers intended for (perhaps that’s why my iPhone is slightly cracked). But seeing how the iPad is fairly big, has a slick back, and is pretty darn expensive, I can understand people’s need to cover it and ease the pain if it’s dropped. So today, I bought both cases to give them a whirl, using both throughout the day for reading and dallying around in a few apps. I’m not going to review the older Smart Cover, because well it’s been around, and does what it is intended fairly well.
So, the new Case. Seeing as Apple doesn’t sell any other iPad cases besides its own offerings in its brick and mortar stores, Apple has to sell a ton of these things. I think the general public loves to have their gadgets covered and will buy one upon first buying their iPad. Putting on the Smart Case is fairly straightforward, though takes a bit of pushing. You simply just tilt the side of the iPad into the left side and shove the right side in — like most cases. It takes a little bit of pushing, but eventually snuggles in there. I have to say the Smart Cover is much easier to put on, seeing as you just line the Cover up and smack the magnet down.
On the side of the Case you’ll find open ports to control your volume rocker and your mute or portrait lock switch. On the bottom there is a speaker grill so sound is amplified. In my experience everything sounds just fine, as the Case doesn’t take away any noise like you might expect. No accessibility is taken away with this Case, which is nice.
However, upon first putting on the Case, its biggest problem already began to scream out. There is a sizable amount of empty space in between the corners of the device. The empty space causes the iPad to slightly slip around inside, which gets to be very, very annoying. It’s horrific. I’m really not sure why there is so much empty space — perhaps to make it easier to put on — though it’s very troublesome.
The second troubling point comes along as the Case is in your hands. Laying on the couch doing my normal Sunday reading, I felt the sides of the Case digging into my hands. It’s not painful by any means, but definitely does get fairly annoying and is something that I don’t experience with either the Smart Cover or naked iPad.
One area I feel like the Case does well in is overall protection. If I were to drop my iPad, I think it would survive thanks to the case — especially in the back. The back of the Case is fairly strong, along with the sides (maybe that’s why it is uncomfortable in the hands). The Smart Case offers protection that I don’t the Smart Cover can offer, however I don’t think it has as much protection as the infamous, and oh-so-strong, Otterbox.
There’s two features that the front of the Case and Cover offer, and that is the magnetic front. You can open it and the device will turn on: a much appreciated feature if you ask me. Secondly, it can double as both a folding stand and a keyboard stand for typing with Apple’s Bluetooth keyboard. When folding the magnetic cover back on the Case, I did notice that the magnet is not nearly as strong as it is on the Smart Cover. It doesn’t like to stick as much, which can be very frustrating.
Wrap-up
So, I’ve outlined the issues that the Smart Case has: the empty space that causes the iPad to slide around inside, a weak magnet, and it is uncomfortable in the hand. Like I said, there is one area where it excels, and that is the overall protection that it offers.
To wrap-up, the Smart Case doesn’t feel like an Apple product. I wouldn’t call it cheaply made, but it does feel a little incomplete and dainty in more than a few areas. If you’re especially worried about dropping your iPad, I guess the Smart Case is a good solution, but other offerings like the Otterbox might do you better. If you’re just looking to use the Smart Case on a daily basis: look elsewhere. The Smart Case is sloppy and not well constructed.
Conclusion:
Apple’s Smart Cover certainly feels like a better solution, at $14 less. Check out the full gallery below:
iPad Smart Cover
No comments:
Post a Comment