OTTERBOX DEFENDER SERIES Case for iPad 2/3/4 Alpenglow (Peony Pink/Gunmetal Gray)

03/2015: Can Otterbox be any better? Even though I purchased this item in January 2013, they are still sending me a replacement rubberized back cover after my dock connector tab finally broke of. I consider this above-and-beyond what I would expect, and certainly makes a $90 case a great investment. Had I opted to go with a cheap case, without such warranty support, I would have replaced it twice by now. Fantastic service, Otterbox!12/2014: Otterbox has GREAT customer service. I inquired about getting a replacement screen cover for mine (it was scratched up pretty badly) and they covered it under warranty. Awesome On the downside, the back case has a flap that protects the dock connector. It gets opened and closed every day as I charge it, and finally broke off.12/16/2013 Update: My iPad fell off a wasit-high table and seems just fine - but a corner broke off the snap on front protector/stand. A quick web chat with Otterbox reveals they have a one year warranty that will replace the part, and all I had to do was take two photos showing all the pieces (which required taking the iPad out of the Otterbox) and they are FedExing a replacment. Great customer service. I guess, like luggage damaged during flight, the device did its job protecting the iPad -- but hopefully this won't happen again. I have also had to remove the iPad from the case two more times to clean it out, as dust manages to get in between the screen protector and iPad screen. I still very much like this case.10/14/2013 Update: I still enjoy this case and use the back cover/stand all the time. But, dust and dirt has gotten in all along the top. I expect it comes in around the hole for the front facing camera. I finally had to take it apart to clean off the screen again and the inside of the screen protector. The case is certainly not sealed, but it has done a great job protecting the iPad from quite a few drops over the past few months.---I have reviewed several cases for different model iPads, but this is my first experience with a "rugged" case. I have reviewed several cases from Amazon, so you can check my other reviews to find out more about what I like or dislike when it comes to iPad cases.I have owned an original iPad for the past 2.5 years, and tried various cases for. I kept going back to the original Apple Case because I liked the simplicity and how easily it turned in to a typing stand (at a slight angle) or a video watching stand. You could even set it on its side to watch in portrait mode. Other cases just didn't have this flexibility, and I used the typing stand mode daily.Recently, I took my iPad out of its Apple case and noticed it had some rather bad blemishes on three of the corners, and a few other edge scrapes and even some bending. Apparently, the times I have accidentally dropped my iPad did do some damage. It looks like I wouldn't be able to sell this 2010 iPad for "$252 on average" (current price they are going on e-Bay). Because of this, I began looking in to rugged cases.I saw a this case and two other brands at a local store, all in the $100 price range. This case was most interesting to me because it came with a cover that could snap on and protect the screen. I often carry my iPad in a bag where it could have the screen rub up against other items, so this is important to me.Another nice feature is that, while it has a hole on the back to show off the Apple logo, it is covered with clear plastic, as is the front. Other ports have rubberized flaps that cover them up, protecting them from dust or rain drops. The only exposed ports on the iPad are the front facing camera, rear camera, microphone and speaker. There are other cases that offer "military grade" protection including being waterproof -- this case makes no such claims. Beyond liking the snap off front cover, one waterproof case actually didn't cover the screen. Instead, it locked around it with a rubberized seal leaving the glass display exposed. Waterproof, but no extra protection against scratches.Getting the iPad in to this case was a bit tricky at first. The Egyption pictograph included in the box sent me off to the OtterBox website to watch a much more informative video of how to take it apart and insert the iPad. The case has a back part, a front frame, and a rubberized shell that must be snapped together around the iPad. Getting the iPad in and out of the case is doable, but not quickly or easily -- it requires unsnapping several clip connectors and wrangling the rubber edges off the frame. Make sure your screen is clean before assembling so you don't find yourself needed to open it all back up to clean it later.The case is large and bulky and adds considerable weight to the iPad. I didn't feel like it would be as easy to carry everywhere, but I found it not that bad when I got used to it. I have not done any drop tests, but it claims to protect a six foot drop. I hope that means it won't bend up, rather than "your iPad will still work even if it gets damage."The front cover pops off and has a small stand in it that flips in to two positions. One allows you to rest the iPad in landscape mode at a nice typing angle, and the other side lets it stand more vertical in portrait mode. Very nice and just what I am used to.The dock connector and headphones are behind rubber flaps that have to be opened, so it's not as easy to plug and go, and I fear over daily use, these flaps may break off. I will update this review if this becomes an issue.The rubber over the home button makes it much harder to depress. I have now gotten used to using the multitouch gesture where you put all five fingers on the screen then close them together to return to Home. Four fingers swiping up reveals the dock controls. iPad 3/4 owners with Siri may find it harder to use since it takes so much force to press and hold the home button to activate her.Beyond my flap concerns and the bulk, this is a great case. The cover can snap on to the back and be carried that way, though doing so blocks the back camera. It would be nice if they had a hole so you could use the back camera with the cover attached.The cover also has magnets in it, so no matter which direction you orient it, it can lock/unlock the iPad like Apple's Smart Case/Cover does. Nice touch.Overall, this is an excellent case, and Amazon sells it for almost half the price of what Best Buy Mobile in a local mall had it for. With only a few minor tweaks, it would be just about perfect for me.But for now, it seems it will do the main job of protecting an iPad from accidental drop damage, and thus earn it's cost back by higher resell value when the iPad ends up on e-Bay eventually.I like.

This review is a comparison of the new Otterbox Defender vs. theGumdrop Droptech case and our experiencewith both. Hubby and I have had Gumdrop cases on our ipads since we bought them in October of 2011. We bought iPad 2's at that time but I have since upgraded to an iPad 3. He still has the 2. We loved our gumdrops for a long time but recently mine started getting saggy on the backside of the iPad and the silicone stopped laying flat on the front of both of our cases. I had already removed the screen protector when I bought the iPad 3 because it made the retina display very grainy and pixelated. Hubby kept using the screen protector on the iPad 2. I decided I was ready for something new so I researched and concluded we could give the Otterbox a try. I ordered him the black and hornet yellow version and ordered myself the gray and pink (alpenglow) version. I also ordered my son the gray and white version for his ipad mini we just bought him. Boy oh boy what a difference! The Otterbox is far superior to the Gumdrop for several reasons! First of all the level of protection is much greater. The Otterbox is smaller,lighter and easier to hold,yet,it is firm and denser and clips together much firmer. I wouldn't be scared to drop my ipad down a flight of stairs in this thing! Anyway, when my hubby took off his military green gumdrop case there was moisture all over the back of his ipad and mold growing! He had to scrub it with cleaner to get it off. The gumdrop does not have a hard shell on the back under the silicone so I guess maybe humidity can easily get trapped between the back of the iPad and the case. There was no mechanical damage to his ipad though. We believe that if we wouldn't have discovered this, it would have eroded his ipad. BAD!!! Mine had a couple of small bluish moldy looking stains inside the silicone of my pink Gumdrop case but there was no apparent trapped moisture or mold on my ipad. Neither of us has ever spilt liquids on or near our iPads or dropped them. We are very careful with them and keep them immaculate. He does take his along with him around town in his work truck a lot. We can't figure out why there was moisture other than a bad case design. Anyway, we got our Otterboxes and the built in screen proctector is great! I purchased a zagg invisi-shield prepared to cut the protector out of mine to keep the clarity of the retina display. To my surprise my ipad is still so beautiful with the built in protector so I will not need the zagg. Also, the sound is much louder and nicer as the Otterbox shoots it out to the side and the plastic port seems to magnify the sound. The gumdrop shoots it straight out the back and it is muffled sounding. Here are my two complaints about the Otterbox cases. Although the screen protectors are very responsive, I am finding I have to really pounce on the space bar, I guess since its right next to the edge of the frame, to make it work and there is a slight tapping sound in areas but not enough to matter. ...No where near as bad as a Griffin Survivor. The other frustrating and highly aggravating thing is the air bubbles under the screen protector. I watched some You Tube videos to find out how to cure this and on my case it worked like a charm on the first try... I used eyeglasses cleaner on the front of my ipad and then on the inside of the otterbox screen with a microfiber cloth...perfection! however, I tried that on hubby's and my sons with no luck at all. Ended up lightly poofing baby powder on the screen protector to get rid of the air bubbles. I even called otterbox and the baby powder is what they told me to do. I don't like having to use baby powder on the iPads. The screens look great though. You could always cut it out and use a zagg like I was prepared to do if you have problems with air bubbles. The home buttons are much tougher than I'm use to but I don't mind that. Overall great case and I am glad I decided to try them. I highly recommend giving Otterbox a try if you haven't already. Love the bright vivid colors and the hard clip on cover/stand is awesome! It is very sturdy and the sleep wake function works great.

I bought my iPad 2 in 2011 and started out with the Otterbox Defender case straight away. However, two years later I found the original Otterbox casing was cracked and coming apart and the cover that clips on top (and is used as a stand) had one of the lugs snapped off. How this happened I'll never know because I have no memory of dropping it or of any rough treatment.Anyway, I decided the time had come to replace the case and looking on Amazon I found the same case for £24.95 - a real bargain considering they cost over £40 - so I ordered one. It arrived promptly and I noticed some differences:1. There's no need any more for a stick-on screen protector. There is one built in to the new version and it works a treat. It's crystal clear and very responsive.2. The rubber surroundings on the original case have been replaced with a hard silicone which is more robust and feels better.3. The design of the new case is slightly different to the old one in that there are some design changes and it appears to be more 'slip proof' with a different type of plastic. It also appears to have two magnets built into the lid section which I assume switch the screen off when fitted. The older version did not have this.4. It's a snug fit and takes more effort to fit the lid than it did before but I think that's good.5. Finally, there is unfortunately a down-side. The lugs inside the silicone case which connect to the on/off button and the volume have given me a problem. The lugs are hard (like the silicone) and the on/off switch had to be trimmed inside with a Stanley knife because it pressed permanently on the switch and wouldn't let me switch it off. The volume ones are also so 'proud' that they turn the volume up but won't let me turn it down. Trimming the on/off lug has eased the pressure a bit and now I can do both (volume up and down) but it's too sensitive and the lightest touch changes the volume so I think I may have to employ the Stanley knife again.Overall I like the case and it's certainly more robust than its predecessor but I knocked off a star for the lug problems.

This must be the best case for protecting your iPad and I've looked at, or tried, just about all of the competition. I won't repeat all of the other positive comments about the quality of the case, other than to say that I fully agree with them. It's a very close fit and certainly needs practise to remove it but once you've got the knack it's easy.I was pleasantly surprised by the screen protector. Based on lots of comments from around the web, I'd expected to have to compromise the clarity of the retina display for the extra protection but that is definitely not the case. Perhaps they're now using a different material because mine is perfectly clear and has no noticeable effect on the display's clarity or sensitivity (and I'm very picky about screen protectors). My previous stick-on screen protector (expensive and apparently having "no effect on the display") produced a slightly grainy effect which doesn't happen with the new Otterbox. There doesn't even appear to be any "dimming" of the display mentioned by some reviewers. Don't be put off by those people saying that they've had to remove/replace the screen protector - my experience is that this is definitely not necessary.However, nothing's perfect and all this protection comes at a price. The case is quite heavy and significantly increases the weight of the iPad. If you're in the habit of just holding it out in front of you, then you'll get tired arms after about half an hour. This is offset by the excellent cover which converts into a two-position stand. Also, the home button needs a firm press but if you're looking for the best protection for your iPad, then this is it (and at the current price it's a bargain).

One thing is for certain about this case, it's not pretty! The large form factor and clunky design do nothing to show off the sleek lines of your iPad - although, thanks to a clear 'window' in the reverse of the cover, you can still see the Apple logo. Just in case you've forgotten what's underneath all the protective layers!But then, this case isn't about prettiness, it's about providing protection for an expensive gadget and peace of mind for you. And this, the Otterbox generally does very well thanks to its solid surround, integrated screen protector, rubberised edges and button/port covers. There are a few undefended areas, as the cut outs for both front and rear cameras AND the speakers lack any kind of covering, but I'm generally more concerned about damage to the front glass of my iPad and on balance decided that I preferred the look of this case to the Griffin Survivor.The solid screen cover is a little less sensitive than using the iPad screen directly, but still allows full functionality. The rubberised covering over the 'home' button is quite stiff to use - having previously owned an Otterbox for iPod Touch, I was a bit surprised by quite how hard this is - but, not intolerably so. The stand feature works well, allowing the iPad to be propped up at maybe a 30 degree angle.PROS- solidly built- integrated plastic screen protector- useful stand feature- great peace of mindCONS- adds A LOT to the bulk of the iPad- the large case may not fit on some speaker docks- it's not an attractive thing

After a lot of searching on the net and reading the various reviews and forums, and a lot of time watching drop testing on YouTube, I decided that this was the case I needed to protect my iPad.It is a heavy duty case, which adds a bit of bulk and weight to the iPad, which is fine by me, as I intend on taking it on exercise in Canada with the army. This case should do an amazing job I hope of looking after it.It's design is for the iPad 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation. And is a bit of a brute to install, however, I have no intentions of removing it for the time being so not a problem as I do not intend to change from case to case.If you are concerned about whether it is a genuine otterbox product, (I was after hearing some of the nightmare cases of rip off products), then put you mind at rest immediately. It arrived in the official packaging with the hologram on the box, no typos on the box, and the website clearly shown, I checked each piece for its mark of place of manufacture and am happy to report, that £33 for a genuine product is an offer not many could refuse, basically 50% off the normal RRP.I did however have one problem which was after I installed it, it kept trying to switch off, after about 30 seconds investigative work, it turned out that where the rubber outer covers the sleep button (top right) there appeared to be too much rubber on the inside and so the button was under constant pressure, easily rectified with a Stanley blade, saved off 1mm of the rubber, reinstalled, and no more problems, works perfectly.No problems with the polarity of the magnets in the screen cover / stand, so the sleep wake on lid fitting and removal works fine. The overall build quality is excellent and I would thoroughly recommend this case if you want a heavy duty case.There is a slight amount of oil effect appearing beneath the screen protector, however, not enough to be noticeable that it bothers me, and I am rather fussy about my gadgets.Other reviews pointed to the screen protector making the retina display pixelated and less sharp, that is true, if you hold the iPad an inch from your nose, but as a normal user it has no significant affect on the display and cause no hindrance to normal use. Even my HD films still look great.Hope this review helps put any potential customers minds at ease, and I will finish by saying if you know what your buying here, you will not be disappointed with the product.

The case is solid and feels well made! It looks great for dusty environments which is the main reason I decided on this one. It seals around 97-98% of the case including the screen, the only exposed areas are the cameras and the speaker. It's not easy to take on and off, with some vulnerable clips (not sure how long there going to last) so once it's in, it's in. The touch screen seems very responsive and doesn't seem to be effected by having a screen protector on BUT (see bad points). All the sockets are covered with a flexible rubber which seems pretty tough and fits firmly back into there hole with out popping out and catching on stuff.BAD POINTS: The screen protector is pretty poor and gives an oily fuzzy look to the screen, it seems Otterbox have not modified their design with the release of newer HD screen I pads. I watched some HD movies on my IPAD and they are watchable but if you get bugged easily by screen quality this is not for you! The next bad point it the hard screen cover which clips over the screen when your not using it. It is supposed to come with a couple of magnets glued into it, which activate your I pads sleep mode. These are not here or in the packaging, this seems to be a common problem with a lot of other amazon customers. All in all it seems pretty tough, I haven't got the balls to start throwing my IPAD around yet to test it but it does seem to be at the higher end of the protective case range. I would recommend buying this case and the price is pretty good but make sure you get your magnets.