iPad 2's Aluminium Backing

[EugenexYew]

Just wondering, how scratch resistant is the iPad 2's backing?
Is it as susceptible as the iPod touch?
Say on a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate it's durability?
I'm thinking on whether to get a case or just sticking to the Smart Cover and maybe a transparent skin in the future.

 

[Ccrew]

My experience is that they scratch pretty easily. Not in a "you look at it crosseyed it scratches" sort of way, but enough that you have to give thought to where you put it. I gave up fretting and put a Zagg invisishield on the back.

 

[spiderman0616]

I've heard the glass is way tougher than the alluminum. I put a back protector on mine and keep it in a zip up case when it's not being used so the screen is protected too.

The back is kind of like the iPhone 4 antenna band--seems to be easily scratchable. I had to do a bunch of iPhone 4 exchanges when I first got mine, and not one of them had a cosmetically perfect antenna. The last one I got finally has been the one that worked correctly, but it still came out of the box with blemishes on the antenna. I gave up and decided that a perfectly functioning phone is way more valuable than a cosmetically perfect phone.

 

[jpetticrew]

I don't find it all that easy to scratch. It's soft as hell though. Even a one to two foot drop onto a hard surface will bend it up on the corner/side pretty bad.

 

[treyjustice]

Mine got a deep scratch on the first day idk how. I put an invisible shield on it the second day

 

[bruinsrme]

I put a shield on my first one, for protection and grip.
Now the second one is running naked but not for long it already has a scratch.

 

[spiderman0616]

You guys with the scratches are talking about the back, right? So far it looks like the glass is really durable.

 

[bufffilm]

aluminum is a pretty soft metal...don't forget its the same materal as in soda cans. it shouldn't be all that surprising that you can mark up or dent the back easily.

 

[gatearray]

It seems to have the same exterior finish as the MBP, where as the original iPad had more of a brushed aluminum look. Maybe it's just me.

Anyway, launch day iPad 2 here, no skin, no scratches. If I set it down on it's back, I make sure it's on a surface softer that aluminum, otherwise, face down on the smart cover, and so far so good.

 

[TheUndertow]

Enough that I always keep the back covered ... No scratches yet!

 

[MrMac'n'Cheese]

It seems to have the same exterior finish as the MBP, where as the original iPad had more of a brushed aluminum look. Maybe it's just me.

I find that the textures are indeed very similar.

Definitely less scratch-able than the iPod touch backings are.