First Look: Kensington Reversible Sleeve (7”-10”)

Technically compatible with any portable device sized within the iPad’s general footprint, Kensington’s Reversible Sleeve ($10) has one major advantage over its competitors: it’s cheap. The neoprene sleeve is black outside and gray inside, reversing if you prefer a gray exterior, with just enough physical space inside to hold the iPad when it stretches outwards. Though it might be dull from a design standpoint, the price is very hard to argue with if you just need something as an interim iPad protection solution.

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.

We typically steer clear of recommending sleeves for iPods and iPhones, but iPad users may find that they make more sense. The concept is to totally envelop the iPad inside protective material, using a flap or zipper to open and release the device when it’s needed. In almost every one of these cases, the designs speak for themselves—you either like how they look, or don’t—so we’re sorting them by price and focusing our brief notes on fit and scope of protection, with bare opinions otherwise.

Does Reversible Sleeve fit? Yes. Is everything protected? Yes. The best-priced iPad case looks nicer when its gray interior is flipped out to become its exterior.