Phone and pad covers generally fall into two categories: highly protective with the delicate design of an M1 Abrams tank, or chic and generally useless.
Hard Candy has split the difference with its Bubble cases for iPhones 4 and 4s, iPads and Kindle Fire tablets.
All the cases in the line have a 1960s-looking pattern of polka dot indentations. Austin Powers might feel pretty groovy carrying one.
The iPhone version is hard plastic, available in an imitation metallic chrome, gold or glossy black, or a soft textured matte red, pink, black or white case. The bottom slides off for charging. The case is priced at $35.
The $40 Kindle case comes in black and white with rubberized protective edges.
But for protectiveness, both pale compared to the $60 Bubble 360 case for the iPad, which advertises itself as “bump proof, kid proof and even latte proof.†I'd say it's more like resistant.
While it does have rubber edges, like the Kindle case, the Bubble 360 has very little padding inside, which makes me wonder how much of a bump it can really take. The screen is covered by a thin sheet of plastic, but if you splash it with a latte, don't dawdle mopping it up. The screen on my test model didn't seal all that securely.
Still, without adding much bulk, the case added more protection than the average fashion case, and it certainly looks more stylish than a tank.
