iLounge

Company: Macally

Website: www.Macally.com

Model: Metrobpad, Metrocpad, Metrompad

Price: $30

Compatible: iPad (2010)

Macally Metrobpad, Metrocpad + Metrompad Covers for iPad

By Jeremy Horwitz

Editor-in-Chief, iLounge
Published: Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Category: Cases - iPad

Nearly identical to one another except in color and texture, Macally's Metrobpad, Metrocpad + Metrompad Protective Snap-On Covers for iPad ($30 each, formerly Metro, MetroClear + MetroChrome) are plastic shells that cover the iPad's back, grip its corners, and do nothing else -- except for the black chrome Metrompad, which can blind your adversaries with a crazy huge plate of funhouse-like reflective chrome finish. It has no nubs on the back, unlike the matte-finished black Metrobpad, and the glossy clear Metrocpad, which have four nubs to keep the iPad from rocking around when it's set on a flat surface. The face and sides of the iPad are barely impacted by the shells.

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.

These three Macally shells are almost as simple as can be except for differences in color and texture. They offer less side protection than Feather and Nude, merely gripping the iPad by its corners, and therefore are essentially just anti-scratch guards for the iPad’s back. None includes screen protection, making them a markedly weaker value for the dollar than the others, but the clear and black versions have stabilizing dimples to keep the iPad from rocking on a flat surface, and the chrome version is the only such shell of that color we’ve seen. Though it’s scratchable and quite possibly the most dangerous thing a person could attach to an iPad that’s going to be used in a car, it’s the only shell you’d want to have on a desert island, because the mirrored surface is huge enough to flag down passing planes. The black soft touch version shows fewer marks than Incipio’s same-colored Feather.