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Hard Candy Street Skin for iPhone 4 makes for a decent everyday case
Hard Candy, the folks behind the Street Skin line of tire tread-like rubber cases for Apple's iDevices we've talked about before, also has an iPhone 4 variant. The Street Skin for iPhone 4 is made of TPU, a shock absorbing semi-flexible rubber, which encases the iPhone leaving only the screen exposed. Along the sides there are cut-outs for the volume buttons and mute switch, while the top and bottom have holes for the power button, headphones port, dock connector and the speakers. On the back, the camera and LED flash are left exposed for snapping pictures. The case is about 2.5 mm thick, making it pretty slimline for a rubber case and allowing it to fit in most non-custom docks without having to remove the case. It wraps around the front of the iPhone 4 as well, meaning that when laid flat on a table the screen is kept off the deck preventing scratches. The TPU gives the case a grippy texture, but thankfully not enough to cause severe pocket torsion, where you simply can't get the iPhone out of your pocket due to friction. The rubber itself has a distinctive crisscross tire tread pattern that makes it stand out from the usual cheap silicone-based fodder you see on eBay (check out the gallery below to see it in its full glory). The corners are pretty well protected, which should help if, heaven forbid, you manage to drop your precious glass iPhone. I wouldn't advocate that the Street Skin gives great impact protection, but with a bit of luck the TPU should provide enough energy absorption to prevent the screen cracking for low height drops. %Gallery-127973% Verdict Overall the Street Skin for iPhone 4 offers fairly good protection without adding huge amounts of bulk. Some might not like the tire tread patterning, or the rubber texture, but it's available in pink, white and black for both the CDMA and GSM variants of the iPhone 4 from US$29.95 and makes a decent everyday case.
Candy Convertible for iPad 2 combines case and stand in faux-nubuck
Folio-style cases are pretty popular for the iPad 2. They come in all sorts of designs, materials and thicknesses. Today we're going to be looking at the Candy Convertible from Hard Candy Cases. The first thing that strikes you about the Candy Convertible after you've prised it out of the packaging is just how nice it feels. Made from faux-nubuck, it feels just like the real thing, both smooth and velvety soft to the touch. It's available in red and white with a black version on the way. I got my hands on the black version of the case, which suits the style and form of the iPad 2 very well indeed. The iPad 2 slides into the case held in by a simple flap that tucks underneath the tablet holding it in place very securely. The beauty of the nubuck-style material is that it's pretty grippy, meaning such a simple mechanism can secure the iPad 2 without weight, bulk or any possibility of scratching your pristine tablet. The case frames the screen on the iPad 2 well -- a little too well in fact, covering too much of the front bezel of the screen. While the front facing camera and the majority of the Home button are easily accessible, the case's frame covers the iPad 2's ambient light sensor. Now we all know the automatic screen brightness adjustment in iOS can be frustrating at times, but to not have the option to use it was a real downer. With the sensor covered the iPad 2 assumes it's in the dark all the time, permanently keeping the screen dim. The only option is to disable automatic brightness adjustment and manually manage your screen brightness. On the iPad 2 it's not that much of a chore, with the brightness slider accessible from the multitasking bar, but all it needed was a small cut out from the top of the Candy Convertible's frame to accommodate the light sensor. Perhaps it's something that can be corrected in future shipping cases, but when questioned about this Hard Candy failed to reply. The rest of the iPad 2 is freely accessible within the case. The buttons, ports, mic, camera and speaker all have suitably sized cutouts in the side and back of the case. This does, however, expose parts of the iPad 2 even when the case is closed, leaving things like the camera especially vulnerable to damage. The screen itself, perhaps the most important part of the iPad, is well protected though with a rigid flap that covers the the screen. Unfortunately there is no clasp or strap to keep the Convertible closed when your iPad is not in use. In practice this didn't cause much of a problem in day-to-day operations, but if you were to put your iPad in a large bag, there is the possibility of the flap to opening leaving your iPad's screen exposed. Hard Candy also didn't see fit to bestow the Candy Convertible with the magnets required to automatically turn off the iPad 2's screen when you close the cover, something that meant I left the screen on by accident on many occasions having got used to the Smart Cover and many other cases that have that auto-sleep functionality built-in. The Candy Convertible is designed so the front flap also folds to support the iPad 2 in a landscape orientation, both stood up perpendicular to the table or propped up at about a 40-degree angle for easier typing. The front cover folds round the back and fits in a small flap on the back, which holds the cover in place. Unfortunately the arrangement means that the case will not stand up in portrait, but the landscape stand makes for a decent video watching experience. The inside of the front flap also has a little credit-card sized pocket, handy if you need to carry business cards or a credit card. Just don't expect to get the card out of there in a hurry because the faux-nubuck grips the card pretty hard. %Gallery-127625% Verdict The Candy Convertible is a decent all-rounder. It's well made and will last considerably longer than some of the cheaper no-name folio style cases out there. The case offers good protection while being thin enough to not add much extra bulk to the svelte frame of the iPad 2, with the tablet and case reaching about 1.4 cm thick at it's bulkiest point (dimension in the case 19.7 cm x 25.4 cm x 1.4 cm). It stands up reasonably well using the front cover as a support in landscape -- it's just a shame it won't stand up in a portrait orientation, and that Hard Candy failed to include magnets for auto-sleep and covered the ambient light sensor with the inside frame. If you can get over those drawbacks, however, then the Candy Convertible looks good, feels nice and will protect your iPad 2 reasonably well. The Candy Convertible is available for $44.95 plus shipping in red, black and white.
Hard Candy Street Skin for iPad 2 covers all corners
Hard Candy cases, known for their sex-sells approach (just take a look at their site), has brought their Street Skin line to the iPad 2. Designed as thin yet rugged cases for Apple's iDevices, the Street Skin cases are made of TPU and feature a tire-like design with a raised grip pattern across the surface. The Street Skin for the iPad 2 is no exception, covering the iPad in a semi-flexible rubber that's about 3 mm thick. The case wraps tightly around the back and sides of the iPad with a lip covering the front edge of the screen making sure that all the corners and edges are covered nicely. There are good-sized cutouts for the buttons, mic, ports, speaker and camera meaning you're not losing any functionality with the case on. What makes the Street Skin standout is the hinged front cover design. The front flap fits into the front lip of the case on the screen, ensuring the entire glass front of the iPad 2 is covered save for two small holes where the front lip of the case is shaped to allow access to the Home buttons and the ambient light sensor. When not in use the front flap is secured by two clasps at the top and bottom right corners of the cover. Once you need access to that gorgeous screen you unhook the clasps and fold the cover back around the rear of the iPad, moving the hinge all the way to the rear of the iPad and allowing the flap to be secured across the back using the same corner clasps. Once in place the flap is properly secured out the way, allowing you to get on with your business without having to worry about it. It's a simple yet very effective design. I have doubts as to how long the clasps will last as the corner straps on the front flap are pretty thin, but after a decent period of rigorous testing there doesn't seem to be any wear and tear to them. %Gallery-127557% Verdict The Street Skin for the iPad 2 is a solid case offering. It covers the important parts, leaves access where needed and covers the screen well with it's front flap that gets out of your way when the iPad is in use. The tire-like styling may not be to everyone's taste however, and I doubt the case will do much if you dropped the iPad 2 from any great height save for preventing scratches. I've also noticed that the reverse of the front flap, the bit that touches your screen, is prone to picking up dirt, dust and fingerprints and helpfully transferring them to your screen when you close the case. If kept clean with a cloth, everything is well however. If you want fairly decent protection without adding too much bulk, then the Street Skin for iPad 2 delivers for around $39.95 plus shipping. It's available in black, white and pink, with the white one we had in for testing looking a lot like the classic Storm Trooper armor.
Road Tested: Hard Candy's Bubble Sleeve for iPad
When we visited with Tim Hickman from Hard Candy at Macworld Expo, he told us how they worked to get their cases ready for production without access to actual iPads for sizing and fit. For the past few weeks, I've been using the company's Bubble Sleeve as my everyday case for my iPad. In some ways, I wish that Hard Candy had waited a bit longer to think through the case design before rushing to market. The Bubble Sleeve has a rigid outer shell covered in fabric and featuring, well, bubbles -- circular bumps that provide a firm gripping surface without causing too much friction if you slide the case into a larger bag. Unzipping the twin zipper pulls reveals a soft interior with red plastic corner braces on one side of the case; these are repositionable, via Velcro, for a tighter or looser fit for the iPad (and allowed Hard Candy some wiggle room in case the iPad didn't come out at the exact size that was expected). The other side of the case has a grid of padded squares, providing a soft surface for the iPad screen to rest on. Read on for my impressions, and see our gallery of product shots below. %Gallery-92830%
