Yesterday, as I was taking a break for lunch I called the Southdale Apple store to see if by chance they received any shipments of the iPad case. I had been there the day before to see if they had any kind of case that would provide some protection for my iPad as well as give it some “grippability” when holding it in bed reading. They were out of stock on the Apple iPad case which was predictable, but they did have some Incase branded cases so I took a look at one of them. It felt more slippery than the naked iPad and didn’t seem like it provided much value for the price. Though they were out of the Apple-branded case, one of the store employees brought out a display model for me to feel and look at. I have to admit, i was surprised by how much I liked it’s feel and profile. At that point, I decided that the Apple case was the one that I wanted so I would wait patiently until they started arriving back in stores. The guy helping me suggested trying to call the area stores in the morning after 11:00 when the day’s shipping stock was put out on the floor. Yesterday as I was heading out for lunch, I thought why not give them a call and ask. I was a little shocked when the guy who took my call said “yes” they had received a small supply of the cases but no they could not hold one for me (different story than what the guy in the store told me the day before). Right there and then, I made the choice to eat my lunch in the car while driving to Southdale to try to pick one up. I was behaving as though the Southdale store had only one case left in the stock and there were 25 of us trying to be the first to get there and pick it up! When I actually arrived, there were about 20+ cases hanging up on display. Still, it felt really good to actually secure one.
After arriving home from my work that evening, I hustled to put the iPad in the case and try it out. In spite of the many negative reports I had heard about the case, I was impressed and pleased with my decision. I like the feature that allows you to prop the iPad up for viewing videos or for typing on your lap (as i am doing right now). However, I think my favorite things about the case are #1 it’s very thin profile, and #2 it’s soft and easy to grip feel. I can see some scenarios where I would rather be able to quickly unsheathe the iPad and handle it bare (the iPad, not me) but for the most part, I will be content to just keep it enclosed in my Apple iPad case.
