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MacAlly Bookstand for iPad: Short Review and *PICS*

Crackbone said:
Anything is possible, however, I remove the iPad from the case sometimes 4-5 times a day, and I haven't seen anything even remotely resembling a scratch.
Click to expand...

I plan on doing the same thing as I use the keyboard dock and the macally case is not compatible with the docks. I hope that it is pretty easy to snap in/out throughout the day.

The other option for me is to trim the Apple case but I think I like the microfiber cover on the macally better than the Apple case.
 
I think most cases would work with the Konnet iCrado as long as the dock connector sticks up like that, it would be just like charging from the cable.

Like this:

51RJhYFHOvL.jpg
 
For those of us that have no way of feeling this thing in stores since nobody seems to have one, does the Macally case feel like the visor of a baseball cap. Is that what the inside is made of?
 
zub3qin said:
For those of us that have no way of feeling this thing in stores since nobody seems to have one, does the Macally case feel like the visor of a baseball cap. Is that what the inside is made of?
Click to expand...

The front is softer than the baseball cap visor, feels like a paper cardboard, but the back is very rigid plastic, bit of overkill IMHO. Do not bend the front cover too hard, or get it wet.

Frankly, this is a pleasant, form-fitting, functional and stylish case, but do not expect the "wonder". We are the finicky ones, not the cases. I predict that not a single ipad case will satisfy all whimsical needs of everyone here, (particularly the need to dangle the ipad with the front cover and shake it). Use ipads as they are intended to do, and keep in mind at all times that it is a piece of expensive and fragile electronic equipement. No case will ever protect the ipad from careless drops on concret floor, or violent shovels across tables lined with sand paper. Do not ever blame a case for you carelessness. It's silly to buy a beautiful thing and wrap it up with ugly material for it's lifetime, and don't cry over a small ding or dent here and there, it only adds to the character of the "thing", and we all age wonderfully, why shouldn't a device. Buttomline is that you have to try it to know if you like it, and better things will always come along (Read: ipad XG, paper thin, shatter proof, infinite battery power from body heat, can sense your sleepiness and will tuck you in bed with a lullaby), and this will not be your last ipad most likely, so dress it casually for the immediate needs you have, and have a chuckle if "accidents" happen. We all over amplily our imagined needs, soon enough we'll find ourselves settle in a set of limited habitual uses, so stop pulling your hair over a "case", just get it already!

Sorry for the rant
 
I just got mine, and while I have to say that the front is much, much softer than I hoped, it seems perfect otherwise. I'm currently using it hold my cardboard iPad 3G, and have it sitting horizontally on my desk. The angle is just right to keep it like that all the time, and since it doesn't really cover the entire iPad like the Apple case, it looks like it's just sitting there framed.

Will there be something down the road I'll like more? Probably. But I think I'm going to just cancel my Apple case and stick with this one.
 
robby818 said:
I plan on doing the same thing as I use the keyboard dock and the macally case is not compatible with the docks. I hope that it is pretty easy to snap in/out throughout the day.

The other option for me is to trim the Apple case but I think I like the microfiber cover on the macally better than the Apple case.
Click to expand...

You could buy a $5 dock extenders from deal extreme and not have to worry about it... Then you could use the keyboard in landscape or portrait.
 
tigerstorm said:
The front is softer than the baseball cap visor, feels like a paper cardboard, but the back is very rigid plastic, bit of overkill IMHO. Do not bend the front cover too hard, or get it wet.

Frankly, this is a pleasant, form-fitting, functional and stylish case, but do not expect the "wonder". We are the finicky ones, not the cases. I predict that not a single ipad case will satisfy all whimsical needs of everyone here, (particularly the need to dangle the ipad with the front cover and shake it). Use ipads as they are intended to do, and keep in mind at all times that it is a piece of expensive and fragile electronic equipement. No case will ever protect the ipad from careless drops on concret floor, or violent shovels across tables lined with sand paper. Do not ever blame a case for you carelessness. It's silly to buy a beautiful thing and wrap it up with ugly material for it's lifetime, and don't cry over a small ding or dent here and there, it only adds to the character of the "thing", and we all age wonderfully, why shouldn't a device. Buttomline is that you have to try it to know if you like it, and better things will always come along (Read: ipad XG, paper thin, shatter proof, infinite battery power from body heat, can sense your sleepiness and will tuck you in bed with a lullaby), and this will not be your last ipad most likely, so dress it casually for the immediate needs you have, and have a chuckle if "accidents" happen. We all over amplily our imagined needs, soon enough we'll find ourselves settle in a set of limited habitual uses, so stop pulling your hair over a "case", just get it already!

Sorry for the rant
Click to expand...

Great post.
I came to a realization today after reading your post and then driving to the Wendy's.

I never covered my iPhones. I didn't want to hide the beauty. And by the time the back got a little scruffy, it is time for me to get a new iPhone anyway.

Driving to the Wendy's I realized that I am driving a $55,000 car which is far more prone to dings, scratches, bumps than an iPad. I don't cover my car with all sorts of covers (and they do sell them) for the same reason.

If I am not worried about my iPhones or my car, why do I need a cover for my iPad?

I love using it naked. It will get microscratches a little on the backside. I'll live with it. Nobody notices these things anyway unless they are buying it and looking with a magnifying lens. My parents won't care (they get the iPad when I am ready for iPad 2.0). While in transit or in a bag, I'll keep it in a neoprene case. But that is it.

I am so relieved I don't have to decide on the perfect case anymore. It was killing me! Thanks for putting it in perspective.
 
zub3qin said:
Great post.
I came to a realization today after reading your post and then driving to the Wendy's.

I never covered my iPhones. I didn't want to hide the beauty. And by the time the back got a little scruffy, it is time for me to get a new iPhone anyway.

Driving to the Wendy's I realized that I am driving a $55,000 car which is far more prone to dings, scratches, bumps than an iPad. I don't cover my car with all sorts of covers (and they do sell them) for the same reason.

If I am not worried about my iPhones or my car, why do I need a cover for my iPad?

I love using it naked. It will get microscratches a little on the backside. I'll live with it. Nobody notices these things anyway unless they are buying it and looking with a magnifying lens. My parents won't care (they get the iPad when I am ready for iPad 2.0). While in transit or in a bag, I'll keep it in a neoprene case. But that is it.

I am so relieved I don't have to decide on the perfect case anymore. It was killing me! Thanks for putting it in perspective.
Click to expand...

I feel the same way. However, the Iphone is different.

The iPad is heavier, and the case gives it grip and leverage.

Also, you may notice marks on the iPad more as there's more surface area to mark up.

But the reason I use the case is for leverage when i'm reading a PDF (easier to hold for extended periods)

Also, covering a car would be very difficult, but if there was a simple button you could push and it would cover up like the Batmobile ...i'm a takin.
 
supermanx said:
But your car does have a protective cover, it's called clear coat.
Click to expand...

What? How does clear coat guard against dings, dents, and scratches?

The car thing is a great analogy. You don't see people covering up their whole car in some sort of black rubber "case" which would ruin the look of the car, so why do it to the iPad?

Having said that...I did receive my Macally Bookstand case today, though I only bought it to use when I need to be able to stand the iPad up to watch a movie or when I need to type something on the desk. I love how easy it is to remove as I will still be using it naked the majority of the time. The case is very nice though and is exactly what I was looking for...very minimalistic, its more of a stand vs an actually case as if you drop this thing, I doubt the case would do much of anything to protect the iPad.
 
HXGuy said:
What? How does clear coat guard against dings, dents, and scratches?

The car thing is a great analogy. You don't see people covering up their whole car in some sort of black rubber "case" which would ruin the look of the car, so why do it to the iPad?
Click to expand...

Actually that is the whole purpose behind clear coat. To harden and protect the finished layer of paint. Will it protect against against a door slamming into it no, but the kids rubbing dirt into it yes. I hope you put wax on your 55k car.
 
zub3qin said:
Great post.
I came to a realization today after reading your post and then driving to the Wendy's.

I never covered my iPhones. I didn't want to hide the beauty. And by the time the back got a little scruffy, it is time for me to get a new iPhone anyway.

Driving to the Wendy's I realized that I am driving a $55,000 car which is far more prone to dings, scratches, bumps than an iPad. I don't cover my car with all sorts of covers (and they do sell them) for the same reason.

If I am not worried about my iPhones or my car, why do I need a cover for my iPad?

I love using it naked. It will get microscratches a little on the backside. I'll live with it. Nobody notices these things anyway unless they are buying it and looking with a magnifying lens. My parents won't care (they get the iPad when I am ready for iPad 2.0). While in transit or in a bag, I'll keep it in a neoprene case. But that is it.

I am so relieved I don't have to decide on the perfect case anymore. It was killing me! Thanks for putting it in perspective.
Click to expand...

For me, i bought this case more for the fact that its also a stand, in portrait and landscape. I've watched my friend try to use his naked iPad while we studied and he had to lift it up off the table 90% of the time he wanted to use it (to type, or check something on the web).
 
Well? They're out of stock again. :( can anyone post in this thread if they find them in stock anywhere else?
 
supermanx said:
You could buy a $5 dock extenders from deal extreme and not have to worry about it... Then you could use the keyboard in landscape or portrait.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I came across the post this morning. Definitely an option, although I wonder if the vertical position is a better orientation. I will probably be using the browser, calendar, and address book the most.

http://www.bookofjoe.com/2010/04/ho...scape-orientation-with-the-keyboard-dock.html

Anyways, ordered two of the macally bookstands from J&R last night, hope my order ships tomorrow!
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

Wish it was black. Living in NYC, that light gray will be a mess in a few months.
 
Dealing direct with MacAlly - EPIC FAIL

The night of 4/22, I was reading this thread and finally made my iPad case decision. As most of us know, finding one proved harder than expected. Late that night (0022 the next morning), I found that the MacAlly site was claiming to have stock. I am not fond of the extra $$ usually charged when dealing directly with the manufacturer, but decided that the reviews were amazing and I really wanted the product.
That night, I got another email from MacAlly, actually from iUnitek store (assume that is the name of their retail portion?) informing me that they were out of stock and didn't expect my item to ship until mid May. As everyone else also appeared to be out of stock, I just bit my lip and hoped for the best.

Reading this thread last night, I saw that people were getting shipping units from J&R (whom I have done much business with in the past). They were MUCH less expensive than what I had paid, so I placed the order :)

This morning (MacAlly/iUnitek doesn't take calls outside normal business hours), I called to try canceling my order (they also don't seem to make this available to do via the web). After 58minutes listening to alternating ringing phones and the prompt tree recording, and talking to 1 person for ~2minutes (who couldn't help me and placed me back into the ringing hold line), I was hung up on!

I have sent an email to the addresses I could find for both MacAlly and iUnitek requesting that my order be cancelled and an email confirmation be sent no later than the end of business today.

I just hope that my experience with the product is not the same as my experience dealing - or trying to - directly with the company.....
 
got mine yesterday, awesome case. A bit expensive because of shipping but im happy. It does exactly what I need, raises it perfectly and works better than the stock apple case.

I also ordered the Luxa H4 Stand:)
 
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