iLounge

First Looks

Welcome to our new, continuously-updated First Looks - a collection of previews showing brand new iPod, iPhone and iPad accessories that we’re currently in the process of testing. Here’s what’s hot right now:

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Company: Vaja

Website: www.Vajacases.com

Model: Leather Agenda

Price: $280

Compatible: iPad (2010)

Vaja Leather Agenda for Apple iPad

The price will pop your eyes, but Vaja's Leather Agenda for Apple iPad ($280) is designed in typical Vaja fashion to impress fans of luxury leather products -- and in some ways, it does. Once again, you get the choice of two colors -- one for the bulk of the exterior, the other for the interior and a matching front stripe -- plus high-end leathers that are used to form a folio-style iPad holder with a front flap. Floater leather is used for the outside, while a finer-grained leather is found on the stripe and Vaja logo-embossed inner shell, with metal accents on both sides of the case. Novel to Agenda are two types of stands that prop the iPad up for video or keyboard use, alternative designs to the similar features found in Apple's official iPad Case and the more recent Vaja variation on it, Leather Agenda 2. The custom-manufactured case comes in a large version of Vaja's new colorful sliding box, which we first spotted on the iPhone 4 Black Series case.

Company: XtremeMac

Website: www.xtrememac.com

Model: Tuffwrap

Price: $40

Compatible: iPad (2010)

XtremeMac Tuffwrap for iPad

As with XtremeMac's rubber cases for iPhones and iPods, Tuffwrap for iPad ($40) sounds simple but actually brings atypically nice design to the table. Using a firmer rubber than most of the soft cases we've tested for iPads, Tuffwrap includes both button protection and bezel protection while leaving the ports and speakers exposed -- with relatively small, Apple-sized holes. Though the case doesn't include screen protection of any sort, the back has been attractively designed with a twin-textured surface that has XtremeMac's hexagonal pattern in the center and a slightly grippy finish along the sides. It's available only in jet black.

Company: XtremeMac

Website: www.xtrememac.com

Model: Tuffshield

Price: $15-$25

Compatible: iPad (2010), iPhone 4, iPod touch 4G

XtremeMac Tuffshield for iPad, iPhone 4 + iPod touch

XtremeMac's entry into the increasingly crowded iPad protective film category is Tuffshield Anti-Glare ($25), a single piece of four-layer film -- Chinese-made -- plus a black screen cleaning cloth, with nothing else in the package. As one would expect given the anti-glare branding, the film has a matte finish after application, and uses static cling to stay on the iPad. Updated November 24, 2010: XtremeMac has added a $15 version for the iPhone 4 that includes two pieces of front film, one piece of rear film, and a cleaning cloth. Updated November 29, 2010: XtremeMac subsequently added an iPod touch 4G version with three pieces of front film and a cleaning cloth, this one badged as Tuffshield Clear Gloss, at the same $15 price.

Company: XtremeMac

Website: www.xtrememac.com

Model: Neoprene Sleeve, Nylon Sleeve

Price: $40-$50

Compatible: iPad (2010)

XtremeMac Neoprene Sleeve + Nylon Sleeve for iPad

Two of XtremeMac's new iPad cases are traditional sleeve-styled designs with the company's nice hexagonal pattern as distinctive touches. Neoprene Sleeve ($40) is a soft black case with an orange lining used for two pockets -- one iPad-sized, the other for accessories -- that are sealed with a Velcro top flap. The hexagons here are etched into the front and absent from the back and the flap. By comparison, the Nylon Sleeve ($50) has a soft furry orange lining that's hidden when the single zipper is closed, leaving the otherwise black case to sparkle with a semi-glossy hexagonal pattern. Padding on the Nylon Sleeve is considerably thicker than on the Neoprene version, but Nylon has no pocket. They're both on the expensive side relative to similar cases we've seen.