iPad 2 Accessories – How Far Will $17 Take You?

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When people look for cases and other accessories for their new gadgets, they tend to turn towards name-brand manufacturers. Me? I head straight for eBay. For years, I’ve purchased dozens upon dozens of cases and screen protectors for extremely good prices on eBay, and the quality of most of them were quite exceptional.

For less than $17, you can order a faux-leather iPad 2 case (in white), an iPad 2 screen protector, and a stylus. After about 2 weeks of using all of them, I’m ready to give you my verdict.

All 3 of the products came from the same seller in China, so they took about a week and a half to arrive. Upon opening my package, I immediately installed the screen protector.

The Screen Protector

Screen protectors for iDevices come in a variety of finishes, as well as prices. This particular eBay package included a crystal-clear iPad 2 screen shield and a microfiber cleaning cloth. The screen protector installed without a problem, and of the number of screen protectors I’ve installed, I’d say that this is the best one I’ve done (alignment and bubble wise). The protector itself will make things seem just a tad bit darker, but all of the colors are just as good as without the film installed.  So far, of the 3 pieces you get, this one’s great.

The Stylus

Unfortunately, the stylus, simply put, sucks. It’s short, and the tip is made of rubber. This might be suitable for a resistive touch screen device, but not for a capacitive multi-touch display. The particular hard-rubber tip on this stylus isn’t sensitive enough for the display to pickup basic taps (unless you push rather hard onto the screen). I also have a feeling that the tip will eventually just come off of the rest of the stylus. In fact, I ended up throwing this into the garbage. Not a loss. So far, of the 3 pieces you get, this one stinks, and the screen protector is great.

The Case

This is most likely the most important piece of the package. It’s your average folio case with some adjustments to accommodate the iPad 2’s new features. You have cutouts for the usual suspects, such as the power button, headset jack, 30-pin dock connector, switch/volume buttons, and speaker. There’s also a cutout for the top microphone, as well as the camera. The camera cutout is nice and large, and won’t get in the way of your photos.

The inside of the case has a microfiber lining to keep things nice and protected. The front cover doesn’t stay shut, though. This case features a few different viewing angles (just like the official iPad 1G case). One of the angles is great for watching movies or basic iPad operation, while the other angle is perfect for typing and more long-term use.

Quality wise, it’s alright. Most people would think that the “you get what you pay for” factor would settle in right about now, but I beg to differ. While this case is cheap, the quality is decent. I imagine this will last most people 6-10 months before starting to fall apart. With my 2 weeks of rather heavy use, it’s been holding up very well.

So, for the entire 3-piece package, everything is great except for the stylus. For less than $17, there’s no room for complaining. The screen protector is great and definitely gets the job done, while the case does the same. The white version looks great with the white iPad 2.

Check out more iPad 2 accessory deals here: https://shop.ebay.com/i.html?rt=nc&LH_BIN=1&_nkw=ipad+2+case&_dmpt=US_Tablet_Accessories&_trksid=p3286.c0.m301

For this particular deal, go here, and scroll about half way down: https://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=ipad+2+case+white+stylus&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Pros

  • Screen protector was a breeze to install, and functions perfectly
  • The case adds some protection to your phone will adding just a little bit of bulk
  • Cheap, cheap, cheap

Cons

  • The stylus is utter garbage, and that’s where I ended up putting the stylus

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