Field Testing: Jack Spade’s simple, stylish iPad folio
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It seems like fashion brands started cranking out iPad accessories as soon as Apple’s tablet hit the market (Gucci, Burberry and Michael Kors to name just a few), but I hadn’t realized exactly how enthusiastically until I went on the hunt for something to protect my new Christmas present during my upcoming trip to the men’s runway shows in Europe.
My bride totes hers in a simple black Falabella Stella McCartney sheath with chunky chain edging ($395), and I wanted something equally as straight forward and unadorned but guy-appropriate. I’ll already be slinging a bag over my shoulder so I decided against the strappy messenger bag style (like the ‘Danny’ iPad tote from Rebecca Minkoff’s new Ben Minkoff line that Max Padilla wrote about last week).
Over the weekend, I found exactly what I was looking for in Jack Spade’s nylon canvas iPad folio ($69.95). The exterior is brown, and the interior is a blue-gray micro check pattern that looks and feels like shirting fabric.
It also has a couple of features that don’t seem like a big deal until you’ve tried to use an iPad in a variety of real-world conditions -- a 1-inch spine (like a book binding) that angles the touch-screen for easier typing (it also allows the device to be displayed upright in landscape position for hands-free viewing) and a cut out space in the back that allows it to be placed in a docking stand without removing it from the folio.
Although the cases are currently back-ordered one to two months at Apple’s online store and aren’t in stock at the Jack Spade boutique in Venice, as of Saturday they were in stock at the brick-and-mortar Apple Store at the Grove, which is where I scored mine (it was hanging next to a selection of Michael Kors cases).
If anyone’s found other cool iPad cases for guys, let us know by posting a comment. (And note that comments including hyperlinks won’t be published, so if you have a recommendation, just give us the name.)
-- Adam Tschorn