tarte tatin

I don’t know about you but the iPad has been an indispensable part of my routine for a long time now.

It’s where I read the news (and by news I mean TVLine, Vulture and BuzzFeed) while having breakfast. My magazines are there, work stuff, almost everything.

That’s why it’s really important for me to find the perfect iPad case, and here’s my criteria for the perfect case:

1. Cuteness – I can’t very well bring around my iPad in something butt-ugly, no sirree!

2. Angles – I type a lot on the iPad—notes, work letters, articles, e-mails, so it’s important that my case has a good typing angle on landscape mode. I also watch a lot of videos, so viewing angle is important too.

3. Wake/Sleep – What’s the point of having the new iPad/iPad 2 if you’re gonna get a case that doesn’t have a sleep/wake function like the Smart Cover’s?

4. Slim and light – I’ve tried cases before that put a little heft on the iPad and the thick cases normally don’t last. I start getting tired of lugging the extra weight around and I end up reverting back to the Smart Cover—but I know from painful experience that leaving the iPad’s back unprotected can result in serious dents, even from low drop distances.
   

5. 360-ness – Whenever I read magazines or my feed/Flipboard, I prefer to read in portrait mode, but most cases only allow for landscape viewing. There are some 360 degree cases which let you choose either portrait/landscape viewing, but they are extremely thick and clunky, probably because of the mechanism that allows the rotation. So, criterion number five will negate number four and vice versa, right?

Not anymore. Not with M-Edge’s Incline case. M-Edge’s cases are interchangeable, but I chose the Incline case because the pleats (doesn’t it look like a little cheerleader?) on the cover allow for so many viewing angles.

Unlike most 360-degree cases, the M-Edge Incline isn’t as thick as the usual.

The M-Edge cases remain thin because instead of a rotating mechanism, you unsnap the case from a “latch”, rotate it and then resnap it into the secure latch.

See? Thin!

The multiple viewing angles are really nice, but the snap unsnap to rotate can be a bit tedious at times.

Also, another con: no sleep/wake function!!! I wasn’t going to buy it anymore because of this glaring omission, but then NARS came to the rescue.

Yes, NARS the makeup brand, and their wonderful black paper bag.

Their wonderful, black, MAGNETIC paper bag.

All I had to do was to remove these tiny disc magnets from the paper bag (there are two in every bag), align it where the magnet would trigger the sleep/wake function and voila! Instant Smart Cover!

Secure discs with a cute sticker of choice.

My only gripe with the M-Edge incline case is the typing angle. No matter how I try to fold the flaps I still end up with a too low typing angle—almost flat—which won’t work well for typing long e-mails/articles—my neck is bent too far and my wrists are bent weird, too. I always have to insert something underneath the flap to elevate it a bit, major hassle!

Too low.

Too high.

Such a shame. I really wanted to like this, but it’s OK, because I think I found the perfect case!!