Being a father and a tech geek means that your toddler will try to monopolize your gadgets. Our 2-year old loves my wife’s iPad2 and my Asus Eee Pad Transformer Android tablet. She tried to take our laptops from us, but she doesn’t quite know how to operate on those just yet, but give her some time… she’ll get there.
One of the issues we had with her playing with my wife’s iPad 2 is that she kept dropping it. The smooth aluminum backing, while beautiful to look at, is not the greatest choice for a hand-held device. With almost zero grip to it, it easily falls out of her little hands.
After hearing the iPad 2 hit the floor half a dozen times, I decided it was time to purchase a case for it. Armed with a purpose, I scoured Amazon reviews for the highest rated, cheapest iPad 2 case I can find. What I ended up finding was a leather folio case made by iPearl.
Look & Feel: The case is very sturdy and makes the delicate-feeling iPad 2 feel more durable. The “leather” is more of a synthetic material, but it does the job. It does not have the look of a higher end case, but it does not carry a higher end price tag. The interior of the case has a sort of “velvet” material. This makes me feel more comfortable about sliding the iPad 2 in there and not scratching up the back of the tablet.
Features & Concerns: The iPearl iPad 2 case fits the iPad 2 very snug within the holding area for the tablet. The credit card/business card holder is not something I would use, but I can see where it would be a nice feature for someone who uses their iPad in a business setting. The business card holder doubles as a prop-up stand. It works for viewing. It is not intuitive for typing since the stand does not snap into place. There is a hand strap on the back. This does not provide a snug fit, but for casual gaming like Angry Birds or watching a movie through Netflix, it works.
Included with the tablet is a stylus pen and microfiber cloth. The stylus pen is responsive. The microfiber cloth does a respectable job when wiping off the screen.
The cover does take advantage of Apples new smart cover technology. This was completely unexpected and absolutely welcomed.The cutouts for cameras and connectors line up just fine. This allows unobstructed access to the dock connector and headphone jack. The front-facing and rear-facing cameras are not covered up when the tablet is placed in the case appropriately. The only concern is that the case makes it difficult to access the sleep, volume and mute buttons.
Overall: For the price ($18.99 on Amazon) it is a nice option for those looking for an affordable, no frills case. For me, the stand feature is almost useless. The included stylus, while it works well, is unnecessary. The material is not high quality leather. It feels more of a synthetic material. The case is definitely not a head turner, but for casual use and for a casual look, it does the job and it does it well.
Verdict: Recommended