Cases and other distractions

Regarding iPad cases, here are some observations made during conference presentations I attended last month where iPad cases came up. The presenters were from a large school district back east that went 1 to 1.

They did not suggest any particular case as long as the corners had a heavy level of protection. Edgewise hits were rare and of their failures due to impacts, it was all corners. While the magnetic covers are sexy, they also cannot be depended upon as a handle and students would move or try to carry the iPad with the case cover only to have the iPad separate and head out on its own.

Some of the super cases like Otter Box can present syncing/charging/connectivity issues and may not dock well with others. Plus they add significant weight which can increase the drop rate and lessen the one-handed use of the iPad.

I don't use a screen protector either. All of them reduced the screen responsiveness and clarity. My iPad 1 has traveled the world and got a daily dose of salsa and grapefruit squirt for over a year. It was played with by kids, shared in classes, passed around in conferences, and never suffered in the least. It had the original iPad case (felt-like cloth). My macbook air, on the other hand is pretty beat up and I had to unbend one of the usb ports after it was dropped in security at the Amsterdam airport. There is still a pretty good ding in the side of the screen but the buffer space around the display did its job.

On battery life, I not met an original iPad that did not perform well, even after two years of hard use.

Bluetooth is an excellent method of connecting stuff (I use keyboards, speakers, and Pasco probeware, etc.) but it is somewhat temperamental and I've had to turn off my bluetooth in order to use the onscreen keyboard since the iPad wanted to talk with the BT keyboard if within range regardless of my wishes.

I've heard that low-power use USB keyboards can function with the iPad using the USB camera connection kit even if the iPad complains when you connect it.

Finally, I'd suggest trying out a half-dozen different cases in the wild and see what happens. Some designs are great on paper, but fail in practicality. And others might serve certain grades or uses better than others. My suggestion is to focus on the case over what the case can do besides protect the iPad. And some of the good protection ones are inexpensive if that's all they do.