iLounge

Company: Hard Candy Cases

Website: www.Hardcandycases.com

Model: Bubble Sleeve

Price: $50

Compatible: iPad

Hard Candy Cases Bubble Sleeve for iPad

By Jeremy Horwitz

Editor-in-Chief, iLounge
Published: Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Category: Cases - iPad

It's the second iPad case we've received and the first to arrive in packaging: Hard Candy Cases' Bubble Sleeve for iPad ($50) is a ballistic nylon and soft microfiber case with bubble-shaped bumps on both sides, a grid-textured cushion for the iPad's screen inside, and double zippers to seal everything closed. Unique to HardCandy's design is a set of four rubber corner grips for the iPad that can be moved with Velcro to properly accommodate the final sizes and shapes of both the Wi-Fi only iPad and the version with Wi-Fi and 3G -- an innovation that enables HardCandy to have its case ready to ship now for the earliest iPad buyers. Three colors are available.

On May 13, 2010, iLounge published The Complete Guide to iPad Cases and Protection, a multi-page comparison of over 70 different iPad cases and film protectors, sorted by genre. The following details were added to this piece by that comparison article; please click on the link above for additional comparative discussion of similar protective options.

Unlike Sleeves, which keep an iPad inside for slip-out use, this collection of iPad cases has been designed to split open and reveal the device—generally for use while still in the case. There are such similarities between these cases that we’ve put them into groups solely for the purpose of indicating which we think are standouts, and which basically blur into each other.

Bubble Sleeve is a Middle-of-Pack Pick. The best of Hard Candy’s cases for now, Bubble Sleeve looks great inside and out, offering more protection when closed than most of the other cases here. When open, it’s an in-the-lap case only, as it doesn’t hold the iPad in place. We like it a lot, anyway.