My WaterField iPad Smart Case arrived today. I’m sure there are cases out there with more pockets that are thinner and much cheaper, but this one is wonderful. The stitching is very well done and the materials are of a much higher quality than I was expecting. It even came with a hand-written note. When was the last time you bought something that came with one of those?
Along with the Smart Case was a postcard that read:
WaterField bags are designed and made in San Francisco, where rent is high, labor expensive, and competition is intense. We wouldn’t go anywhere else.
Whatever your reasons, you’re doing it right. Keep up the good work, guys.
The Elusive Search for the Perfect Gadget Case
I’ve recently had a false start with Apple’s iPad Case. I cannot believe Steve Jobs greenlit this thing. The tacky/sticky case surface is a magnet for dust, dirt, and (most unfortunately) cat hair. Putting the iPad in the case and taking it back out feels akin to performing surgery. The bottom of the case in landscape mode becomes the inside of the case in portrait mode, which gets stuff on the iPad screen. And, while the case is a huge pleasure to use at an angle in landscape mode, it is ungainly and uncomfortable to use in portrait mode. I would also love a case that works with Apple’s iPad Dock and am disappointed to see Apple’s own case doesn’t work with Apple’s own dock.
That case is less of a “false start” and more of a “turd”. For some reason I thought that Apple’s own case would be functionally superior to the third-party efforts but after seeing Marc’s Apple case in real life, I was wrong. Luckily I didn’t take mine out of the box so back to the Apple Store it goes.
I’m not even sure why I bought it in the first place. I hate cases. What I want isn’t a case so much as a slip. Just something that keeps the iPad covered and clean while it’s traveling. This isn’t about protection so much as transportation and subtlety. It’s the same reason I don’t strap a bra on my car. Sure, the hood will get nicked but I’ll take the dings over making a BMW look like it’s on its way to an S&M convention.
A good slip doesn’t need to expose connectors but in a perfect world it might (gasp!) have some kind of pocket. I wasn’t cool enough to get this case but I did find an pretty great alternate.
Simple and utilitarian. It’s made by WaterField in San Francisco and should ship in the next week or so. Sure, I could have gone with a cheap neoprene sock but this has a little more character. It even has an elastic mesh on the back for a VGA cable adapter, business card or cookie.
