Have you ever wanted to take your iPad to the bath? We haven’t, but apparently a few people have, as Japanese company Simplism has released a case aimed at protecting your precious tablet from the perils of baths, beaches, and anywhere else not designed for 10 inch touchscreen computers.
Designed specifically for the iPad and iPad 2, the Simplism Waterproof Case for iPad is exactly what it sounds like: a waterproof case for your Apple tablet.
Constructed from neoprene and a waterproof plastic with properties suitable for elasticity and resistance to grease, the case features a vinyl zipper – similar to that of a high-grade sandwich bad – and a fold over Velcro section. Put together, this combination of materials creates a case that should survive contact with the elements.
Simplism packs in three ways of holding the case up, including a carry strap, suction cups to hold it to a wall, and a wire stand to keep your tablet standing on a flat surface. Each of these is easy to attach to the case, with rings left in each of the four corners of the case.
While it may well be swarmer than what it was several months ago, we don’t think it’s quite hot enough to take it to the beach, so we headed to the trusty GadgetGuy sink for this test.
Simplism suggests packing the case with tissue paper and testing the case first to see if there are any leaks. Once we determined that it was fine, it was time to try it out.
Without an iPad volunteer, we went with a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v, one of the tablets we’re quite sure it wasn’t designed for.
Despite this, we packed in the tablet, pressed the zipper together as we forced the air out of the case, and then pushed the Velcro lips against each other and folded the fabric over, creating the seal.
Our tap was next, pouring water all over the front and back of the tablet. As this was happening, we surfed the web, playing with the touchscreen through the transparent plastic.
Guess what: it survived. In fact, it not only survived, it passed with flying colours, allowing us to surf the web safely while water dribbled on our tablet.
The only fear we had while using this didn’t come from the case itself, but instead from the suction cups. We expect that you’re supposed to use this in the bath, attaching your iPad to the wall with these. What worried us was the stability of the rings, with the hooks – used for connecting the suction cups to the case – occasionally letting go of the case itself.
Simplism says that the case is “IPX7 approved”, meaning it’s certified for protecting an iPad submerged in a metre of water for 30 minutes. We weren’t game enough to try that, but for $49.95, it seems like a perfect option for protecting your tablet when heading to the kitchen, bath, or beach.
