Speck PixelSkin

Speck's $40 PixelSkin really is a skin for your iPad—it wraps around the entire thing, encasing your tablet in soft, cushy rubber. The case stretches all the way around the iPad's edges, so the fit is secure. The detailing is also good: Although the iPad's buttons are covered, the tactile, use-through coverings are flexible enough to allow easy button pressing, and the holes around the table's jacks and ports leave ample room for headphone plugs and dock-connector cables. The back and sides of the case sport a raised, cross-hatching pattern that's supposed to enhance your grip on your iPad, but I found that rubber to be slippery—it was too easy for the iPad to slip out of my hand. Also, the PixelSkin's thick, rubbery material stretches so far around the iPad's edges as to cover the bezel of the screen, which has the effect of making the iPad screen seem smaller. Otherwise, the PixelSkin should provide good protection to your iPad when carried inside a larger bag or pack.