Electronics accessories designers have produced hundreds of iPad cases for the burgeoning iPad market. But fresh rumors of a smaller, mini iPad for early 2011 has them scrambling to keep up.
Apple’s announcement of the new iPad in January of 2011 put the electronics accessories designers on red alert. They had very little time to design and produce iPad cases that would work with the iPad, and as a result, many of them simply retro-engineered iPhone 4 cases to work with the iPad. Since that time, most iPad case designers have been playing catch-up with the iPad.
Only now are we starting to see really interesting iPad case designs.
Ever wonder if all of the iPad cases that claim to be waterproof actually live up to their claim? This YouTube reviewer put his iPad case to the test and sprayed it with a hose – with his iPad inside!
There’s nothing that poses a bigger threat to your iPad than water. Apple does its best to build sturdy, rugged gadgets that can survive drops (both the falling and water kinds) by using strong PC polycarbonate plastic housings and tight assembly. But the bottom line is this: if moisture gets inside your iPad, it’s fried.
Add to this the fact that the iPad spends a lot of its life outside, and you can start to realize how a waterproof iPad case is an attractive idea for many iPad users.
But do you ever wonder if supposedly “waterproof” products, such as iPad cases, really live up to their own claims? After all, how many people are ever really going to put their waterproof iPad case to the test and risk ruining their iPad?
Well, this crazy YouTube tech reviewer did!
Zain Sehgal, also known as “iglaswegian” on YouTube, actually took a garden hose and sprayed his Uniea Omniverse iPad case with water – while his iPad was in it!
Is he crazy? Brilliant? You decide.
Thanks for reading our article! If you’re ready to purchase some iPad accessories, rechargeable batteries, battery chargers, or any other electronics accessory, then visit the Electronics Warehouse website and use promo code EWBLOG at checkout for 10% off your entire order, plus FREE shippingAustralia wide!
New iPad case designs continue to pop up on the consumer electronics market each month. But how much influence does Apple’s own homegrown iPad case have on other companies’ designs?
Apple's own "homegrown" iPad Case
You’ve probably read all about Apple’s recent iPhone 4 snafu, and how Steve Jobs has generously given all disgruntled iPhone 4 buyers a free iPhone case. Nevermind that the free iPhone bumper probably costs about .4 cents to produce — I’m sure that a bit of silicone rubber will make the new iPhone’s shortcomings disappear in the minds of Apple disciples.
But there has already been enough written about the iPhone 4 to fill the blogosphere for years. Instead, I’m wondering what kind of ripple effect that Apple’s now-free, el cheapo iPhone 4 case will have on the rest of the new iPhone 4 cases due out for the remainder of 2010?
There’s an iPad case for everyone on the market today, but is a designer iPad case that costs almost as much as the iPad itself really necessary?
Photo courtesy of dmarge.com
Louis Vuitton, the heralded, hallowed designer handbag maker, recently made news in both the fashion and tech world with the announcement of its new iPad case. Clad in its trademark Louis Vuitton leather print, the simple leather iPad sleeve will retail for around A$ 420 ($366 USD). While Louis Vuitton isn’t liberally shipping out review samples of its designer iPad case to tech reviewers such as myself, a quick look from an expert eye reveals a complete lack of any features, protective or otherwise.
Basically, the Vuitton iPad case is just a big slab of status symbol — a case for either a spendthrift who is desperate to wallpaper themselves with as many designer brands as possible in order to impress their family, friends, and passersby, or for the desperately wealthy class who would never even consider an iPad case that didn’t have LV’s print or Chanel’s interlocking Cs emblazoned on the front.
When Steve Jobs famously said, “We don’t know how to build a sub-[USD]$500 computer that is not a piece of junk,” the tech media unanimously interpreted this to mean that Apple would never get into the netbook business. After all, what is a netbook? Essentially is a small, compact mini computer that is constructed mainly for the purposes of surfing the ‘net, checking e-mail, social networking, and light gaming. However, there is nothing innovative about the netbook design — it only exists because, more important than any of these defining features, netbooks are usually really cheap. Thus, they were developed not as product leaders in the tech market, but as price leaders; they give people an opportunity to enter the computing world on a shoestring budget.
In case you didn’t know, Nate “Blunty” Burr is one of Australia’s top tech reviewers on YouTube. He is known for his really witty yet in-depth product reviews. Since the release of the iPad, he’s been doing some great iPad Case reviews as well. Recently he reviewed the Uniea Omniverse iPad case. Check it out and see for yourself:
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Thanks for reading our article! If you’re ready to purchase a Uniea Omniverse iPad case, rechargeable batteries, battery chargers, or any other electronics accessory, then visit the Electronics Warehouse website and use promo code EWBLOG at checkout for 10% off your entire order, plus FREE shippingAustralia wide!
Artists like David Kassan are using the iPad to create master works of art, but there’s no palate, paints, or brushes in their iPad case.
The iPad continues to surprise us with how it can be used. More than anything else, Apple’s first foray into the world of tablets has provided a next-generation platform for expanding our ability to interact with mobile technology. Because the use of gestures is at the heart of the iPad, its very interface is inextricably connected to being human, making the possibilities for groundbreaking apps endless.
While many have postulated how the tablet and gesture control could improve business productivity, communication, gaming, and networking, few have overlooked the artistic possibilities of the iPad — until now.
Uniea retro-fits one of their top-selling laptop cases for iPad case duty. But does it live up to expectations?
When you start researching cases for gadgets, you quickly realize that creativity doesn’t dominate the consumer electronics accessories market. Although there are a myriad of different colors and textures to be found, most iPhone, iPod, and laptop cases utilize the same basic designs.
Moreover, when a new gadget debuts on the market, most case designers simply take an older design and retro-engineer it to fit the new dimensions. A perfect example of this are the current crop of iPad cases. When the iPad debuted, case designers had little time to prepare new case designs. So, they just borrowed their iPhone case designs and made them a little bit bigger. Simply stated, most of these cases are nothing more than overgrown iPhone 3Gs cases.
Uniea, however, started from a different place when it designed its first new iPad case. Rather than drawing from iPhone 3Gs case designs, they looked to their ever-popular Omniverse line of laptop cases, scaling down their 10.2″ netbook case to accomodate the 9.56 inch (242.8 mm) iPad.
Of all the iPad cases we have reviewed on the market, this one gives the most protection.
iPad fever has hit Australia. Pound for pound, Australia’s iPad craze has been just as strong as it was in the U.S. and Europe, with a reported 35,000 iPads selling out across Australia in the first weekend it debuted. Apple is quite hush-hush with early sales numbers of its new gizmos, but recently they reported that they have sold 3 million iPads worldwide, and expect to sell 10 million by the end of 2010.
Australia will most definitely continue to be part of that fervour.
Now that many Apple and gadget enthusiasts in Australia have snatched up their new toy, the next step is to load up on accessories. iPad apps make up the “internal” accessories for the breakthrough tablet, but as far as external accessories go, most people are searching for the perfect iPad case. Australia has benefitted in part from the delayed release of the device, since all of the major case manufactures, from Belkin and Case-logic to Griffin and iFrogz, were slow to come out with iPad case designs. However, the late May release of the iPad correlated perfectly with the releases of a new host of iPad cases from all of the major manufacturers.
If you’re looking for an iPad case that can seriously protect your iPad from drops, then memory foam is the way to go.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This is one of Newton’s laws of Physics that seems to carry over philosophically into nearly every facet of life. The consumer electronics industry is no exception. Whenever Apple exerts themselves to design and produce a new gadget, the electronics accessories market reacts with equal force. Unfortunately, while apple tends to produce exceptional, high-quality gadgets, the same cannot be said for the majority of cases that are made to protect them. Hence, the “equal and opposite reaction” in consumer electronics.
It didn’t take long for the case manufacturers to start pumping out iPad cases. The first round of iPad case designs that debuted in late April and May were mostly just reverse-engineered cases for iPhones and laptops. Thus far, most of these iPad cases, regardless of how flashy and hip they may seem, have been extremely light on offering protection.
early 2011 has them scrambling to keep up.
