When I first purchased my iPad I used it mostly as a temporary laptop substitute, checking email, perusing online calendars and doing searches. Occasionally, I’d to play a game or look up a movie with an appropriate app. But lately, my use of the iPad has expanded greatly. I now spend a few hours a day on the device, doing things I once didn’t even do online at all: watching movies (through Netflix app), reading books (through Kindle and Apple Bookshelf) and listening to audio books (Audible.com app). What this means is that I went from being a transitory user of the device to a functional user. Where I once spending minutes a day with the iPad, I now spend hours.This additional use has made me realize that the iPad has a need for consideration of it as a physical device. It is much different than even a laptop, which you leave on a table or desk. An iPad is a personal device. It sits on your lap, or is held in your hands. This means you must deal with it as much on a tactile level as on a computing device level. It became obvious to me that I needed to get a cover for the iPad. As I started to look around at them, I found everything from book-style covers, fabric sleeves, even leather organizer styled covers.
I tried the leather, book-styled cover for a while. But in the end, the leather deteriorates quickly with too much handling from particles, oils from the hands. What I have settled on now is a great snap-on cover from a company called iFrogz (they are online here, although my 13 year old son had heard of their headphones already, before I had heard about them). To understand what I was looking for in a good cover, let me explain a bit of what you should consider . There are three things that became very important to me on my iPad cover:
- Device Protection - you only have to drop your $500 tablet once to realize that it is a profoundly quick moment from having an iPad to having a piece of aluminum with a broken screen or cracked/snapped off edge buttons. Having a protective cover for my iPad, all of a sudden, was important.
- Grip / Tactile Function - if you use a device a few minutes a day, most people will adjust themselves to handling something as seems best. But the more you use something, the more you want it to fit in your handles comfortably and securely. You won’t want it slipping out of your hand because it is too sleek, or feeling cold, clammy or greasy because of the material on the outside of the device.
- Style - All things being equal, I like things that look good and still rock in regards to function.
The cover I have is called the “Luxe Lean iPad Skin” (you can see their product description here), which is a line of covers from the iFrogz company that focuses on a snap-on design that addresses the three things I mentioned above. First, the cover itself is a hard-shell form that the packaging says is polycarbonate. Not sure what that is exactly, but the material feels like a cross between metal and rubber. It is very strong, but has a tactile feel of rubberized surface. The hard-shell protects the buttons near the top right of the iPad by having edging come right up to the buttons without covering them. If I was to accidentally bump the corner of my iPad up against our granite counter top in the kitchen (where I can often be found stealing samples of my wife’s cookies), I am happy to know the plastic buttons of the iPad won’t get crushed and snap off.
But where I really liked the iFrogz snap-on cover the best is when I am sitting on the couch reading or watching a movie. Two things are crucial to me then- first, I don’t like the metal covering of the aluminum iPad. It begins cold, but becomes warm and slick so that the device is slippery if you are holding it a long time. Second, I am a guitar player. I use the iPad often times to practice along to chord charts on my WorshipTeam.com app. If I don’t have a cover on the iPad, the slick metal finish won’t allow the iPad to stay in place, even on the couch. With the Luxe cover, the iPad will stay where I place it, either in my lap on the couch. Finally, (I’m embarrassed to say) occasionally when reading an especially long book, I sometimes (heaven forbid) fall asleep with iPad in my lap. Turns out the rubberized material of the iFrogz cover makes the iPad stay put. The iPad doesn’t drop to the floor. I know these things might sound strange, but if you haven’t used an iPad, you might not realize how the convex back of the device is built to simply slide off any surface. It is kind of a sleek look, but in reality makes handling of the device less than optimal. The bottom line is that the iFrogz cover compensates for that issue by making the surface much more grippy and place-able.
I checked out other covers from iFrogz for the iPad, and if you are needing something more “stylish” etc, maybe you want to look at those “Luxe Original”, “Silicone Wrapz” and others (you can find those here), but I liked the Luxe Lean for my purposes listed above.
happy tablet-ing folks,
Kim Gentes
Kim Gentes