Otterbox Defender
I never had any Otterbox cases for any of my gadgets, and they do make for all varieties of devices. But whenever I hear about the Otterbox, I always thought; Bulky, Heavy, Impractical, and Expensive. If you care about your device, or just a worry wort, then you should invest in the Otterbox. But I don’t know why anyone would want to get one for their Smartphone devices such as for BlackBerry or iPhone 4. It makes the device bulky and heavy, I don’t see the practicality for it.
I got one for the iPad, and that’s because I have kids playing with it and I worry they might drop my iPad and pieces would be flying like Lego’s. So what do I think of it on the iPad, well, nothing changed, it made the iPad Bulky, Heavy, hard to just hold with one hand before your hand gets tired. Bulky enough that my sling bag would have to be retired. Impractical because it’s actually two pieces and it’s a hassle when ever I want to assemble it back to take it with me after I prop it on the stand. It takes two hands to open, if you have the covering the screen. Lastly, placing my Stylus is very important as I could do that with the Apple Case, but the Otterbox has no place for my Stylus.
Not that I was disappointed with it when it comes to being practical, I mean, not all is lost with it. I still use it whenever the kids likes to play with it, but it’s not easy to put the iPad in and out of the Otterbox. Granted that it’s safe once it’s in, but it’s by no mean it’s to be swapped in a hurry. It got three different pieces before you can place the iPad inside it. One is the rubber surrounding the plastic case, second is the rear part that detaches from the main body so you can slip in the iPad in it. Third is the little piece of plastic for docking the iPad. But once it’s in, I feel safe with the hands of kids.
The things I like about; is the door that comes off from the back of the case so I can dock it. The bad thing about the door, it’s not so easy to come off. It takes two hands and amount of strength. I like the built quality, it’s solid, got rubber grip surrounding it and the back area. It also has a window covered with plastic glass to show off the Apple Logo on the back of it. If you accidentally drop it and it hits the bumper, it would just tumble like a square basketball. If you decide to surf the Internet with it on a table and have it prop up with the stand, that’s the only that thing is good about the Otterbox. When it’s on the stand, it’s actually solid. So when you tap the keyboard screen, it would be stable, not wobbly and fall off. It also helped my neck muscle since the angle is greater than with the Apple Case. But now I use the stand with the Apple case whenever I’m not using the Otterbox. 
If the Otterbox waterproofed the iPad, it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to keep it, but in this case, it’s just not worth using it on a daily basis. You get tired of holding your iPad, and it looks like a monster iPad and some people thought it was a Netbook from Apple; YIKES!!!!
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- Otterbox Defender for iPad
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- Otterbox Defender for iPad on a Stand
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- Otterbox Defender for iPad on a Stand Rear View
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- Otterbox Defender for iPad Enclosed
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Eberhard
Eberhard, twitter @powercx, likes to write as a hobby, and he loves the media. Likes to play with gadget toys, plays with any cool Software for smartphone, PC or Mac and writes his own review. His review is unbiased and not sponsored. Even though Powercx.com has been around since '96, he didn't start blogging till '98. His Tech experience is with Cisco Systems and Wells Fargo as an avid backend web developer with JSP, PHP, ASP, CSS, and Javascript as well as a part time Web Designer on the side does not end there.
This site is about all type of gadgets that he will encounter with. From cool Software that comes with the Hardware, or any Hardware that comes with heavy interest in the community. He will be posting at least two post a week.
Got and installed the Defender this weekend. Installation wasn’t that bad, even with a broken hand in a brace/splint. Got all but a couple of air bubbles out on screen protector, unnoticeable with screen powered on. Meh, I can deal with it.
Saw other reviews dissing how hard it was to remove dock protector, but its not that bad considering you only have to charge it once every day or two. Can use the back snap on stand as a place to stow the screen cleaning cloth; nice. Prefer solidity of stand to apple case in upright position.
If your iPad stays on your bed stand or coffee table, don’t bother with this and buy an apple case for less than half the cost. But if you take your ‘pad into the real world everyday to do real work, buy it.
I end up giving it to the wife incase the kids decide to play with it, it would withstand the fall. I didn’t put on the screen protector, I should, in case something bulging on the floor decide to crack the ipad screen.