My 2-year-old niece has a fascination with my iPad. But I take the blame. I'm the one who introduced her to the magic of touch-screen devices.
Now, whenever we are together, she asks to play with my iPad, and I'm happy to oblige. But she hasn't quite figured out how to hold it in her tiny hands. We've tried placing it on a table or in her lap, but she wants to hold it like a book, and I end up hovering close by, wincing with every slip of her grip.
What I needed was a childproof case that would give me peace of mind. There are plenty of slick, sturdy iPad cases on the market, from Trident and OtterBox, for example, but they feel over-engineered with clips and plugs and screens that make it tricky to insert or remove a device. And they can be expensive, costing up to $90. They were really designed with clumsy adults in mind, and I needed one that was more child-friendly.
So I tried the SuperShell from M-Edge, a simple foam case for the iPad that costs $35.
The SuperShell cases are not sleek. Their dimpled surfaces have a latticework of ridges, and a colleague of mine said the bright pink cover I was testing resembled chewed-up bubblegum. But they are lightweight and easy to grip. And devices pop in and out with ease, which is convenient for adults who want to swap cases between home and work.
Although the cases don't add much weight, they do add bulk. And the corners are padded with extra shock-absorbing foam, which allows devices to bounce if they are dropped on the floor, something I am loath to test with the hard-shell case I normally use.
I wouldn't employ the SuperShell case for everyday use, but it's good to have as a backup for the next time my niece visits.
