Clamcase = DOA
Well folks, I have finally received my Clamcase and I sit here hunting and pecking with my index fingers on my iPad. "Why?" you ask...
While I was nervous this was a Kaiser Soze scam (except convincing the world the Clamcase actually did exist), I finally received it yesterday (2/3).
Upon unpacking, I was skeptical as the material felt a bit cheep. I could get past this if performance didn't match feel, but I am sad to say I am utterly disappointed. I MAY VERY WELL BE THE EXCEPTION, but after charging mine for two hours (packaging says charge indicator light will turn from amber to green upon charge completion in about 90 mins) the amber light was still on.
I went out and grabbed a bite to eat for dinner and came back to find no difference. I figured if the package says full charge in 90 mins, it should be safe to give a spin after four hours. I unplugged, pushed power and ......... NOTHING. The freaking thing does not even power up. I tried to push, push and hold for one, two, three, four, five, and ten second intervals and still nothing. Grrrrrrrr! I checked out the packaging and it says that you can check the battery life by pressing a key combination and the indicator light (the ever-amber light) is supposed to blink from one to a few times. The more blinks, the more juice. I got nothing.
You can imagine my frustration. "You can $h*t in a box and slap a guarantee on it, but all you are getting is a guaranteed piece of ..."
Now for a relatively objective review of the equipment itself... As I said the material feels cheap but the iPad fits very nicely into the case. When the case is closed, it feels very sturdy and I would feel very comfortable throwing it in my bookbag and traveling or going to class. It has nice rubber feet which provide a good grip on surfaces - if it ever does work, this will be nice for typing. When you open the case, you have to use two hands holding the bottom down. No biggie. The range of motion is such that you can view as a notebook/laptop, you can fold it so that the lid (where the iPad is stored) lies flush with the keyboard (both facing the ceiling), and you can keep going until the top outer cover meets the bottom outer cover (meaning the iPad is exposed and the keyboard is exposed (as if you turned the closed configuration inside-out) and anything in between.
The range of motion is good, and the hinge mechanism is not bad. I would prefer it a little stiffer to give me a little more confidence, but it feels like the lid on a two year old Dell. A little loser than one would hope.
When use the iPad on your lap or a table, or even to open it 270+ degrees as shown here---> (*.*) /_
The keyboard is now facing the surface upon which it sits. It also has low-profile grippy footpads (which also protect the iPad from directly touching the keyboard in the closed position), but I am not crazy about this design. When you hold it as a tablet with your fingers at the back for support, you are touching keys and it doesn't quite feel right.
The keys themselves are not too bad although they have what look like iron-on stickers for the characters and commands on the keyboard.
When sitting open in the laptop position, the ipad portion is considerably heavier than the keyboard side. When you pick it up, gently supporting it from the bottom, it's a bit top heavy and somewhat unnerving. If you continue to hold as you would a laptop and create inertia toward the floor (by nothing more than walking), the monitor/iPad side will rotate downward (again, lacking in my opinion, a stiffer hinge).
Getting back to the basics, it would be nice if this $120 POS would simply turn on. I have written Clamcase Support, and will update when/if I hear back.