If you’re looking for a fun iPad mini case this Christmas for kids then the iGuy from Speck is an option that features an obvious child-friendly design, although it might not be for the more heavy handed children. Today we wanted to publish some hands-on photos of the iPad mini iGuy case, which we took before wrapping this case up for my little boy. We already featured a small article about the iPad mini iGuy case this month and compared it to the ArmorBox Kido case, but after seeing this Speck case we really needed to get hands-on to see if it’s as fun as it looks.
The iGuy case we went hands-on with in this review is for the iPad mini, but it is worth pointing out that you can purchase the same case in a full-sized version for the iPad 4 and previous 10-inch generations. The photo below shows you the back of the iGuy case and clearly shows the handles that most children will hold when using the iPad mini.
Inserting Speck’s iGuy case into the iPad mini hadn’t been one of the simplest fits we’ve experienced, and it takes a certain amount of force to squash the iPad mini into the flexible foam. We’ve also heard from a couple of PR’s readers that explained the 10-inch version had been just as hard to insert, although once in everything seems pretty snug. The foam is pretty thick and the official product page states that the iGuy has been fully drop-tested, so it should take the average force most kids are likely to put out.
The photos below show the ports and button holes for the iPad mini, which while not the neatest we’ve seen certainly leave enough room to inset cables and reach buttons. You will also notice from these hands-on photos that the finish is not the best, and around the edges you’ll notice it’s not perfectly finished. This might change after a little use considering it is a foam construction.
You can see the Apple iPad mini camera in the photo below while the tablet is inserted into the iGuy case, and again this leaves enough room to use the camera as you would without the case on. Most young children will find the iPad mini more fun to hold with the iGuy case on, which could make taking photos easier while using the camera and holding the iGuy’s arms.
The problem with the iGuy arms is that heavy handed kids could break them, and as you can see in our photo below it looks like they could break easy if enough force had been used. It is true that most cases aren’t indestructible, but we also know how rough some children can be or at least when a group of children are playing, so this might be something you need to bare in-mind.
Another issue we had with the iPad mini iGuy case is reaching the home/menu button, which is not designed well and harder to reach when the case is on. You can see what we mean in the photo below. You can still press the button although it should’ve been designed with a space right where the button is situated. We also found the case didn’t stand-up too well and could fall over easy when touching the screen and not supporting it with your hand.
Do you like the iGuy case for iPad mini? In our opinion this is one of the best child-themed cases around, although the finished design leaves a little to be desired. We’ll update this article once our son has had a few weeks with the case, so we can at least give his verdict as well.
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