By Scott Kramer
Just recently I realized I’ve used my five-year-old iPad 3 maybe twice in the past year. And when I told some of my friends, they shared similar claims about no longer using their iPads.
I hardly bring mine out anymore because of three main reasons. The first is that my Samsung Note 5 phone is plenty large enough to accomplish most things I used to use my iPad for — including writing articles, reading the newspaper and watching short videos. And the phone isn’t restricted to WiFi, like my iPad. Plus it’s just always conveniently with me.
The second reason is that when I do want to watch a TV show or movie on a handheld screen in bed, I often just fold my laptop convertible into tablet mode. The screen is 15 inches — as opposed to the iPad’s 9.7-inch display. And like my phone, the laptop is often nearby.
Reason three is that to protect my iPad, I bought a really nice leather, zippered portfolio case for it about three years ago. That way, I can take it to meetings and on road trips with me, without having to worry about dropping it or having to pack a laptop with me. But because it’s inside this nice portfolio, it always seems like a production to pull the iPad out to read an e-book or watch movies in bed. I have to unzip the portfolio, re-orient the included notepad and pen compartment, set up the included velcro iPad stand and then awkwardly balance the case on my lap.
Yet when I took the iPad on a recent business trip with me, I became nostalgic for using the tablet. It’s a lot lighter than my laptop, for watching movies. And the screen is larger than my phone’s, for reading books. But it’s that portfolio I couldn’t get past.
Which is why I just got a new iPad cover from SafeSleeve. I’ve used — and written a Forbes.com column about — SafeSleeve’s iPhone wallet case before. And until my iPhone died about six months ago, I loved using the case. The premise behind it is that it significantly reduces harmful radiation risks by shielding those rays from your body. After I posted a Forbes.com column on the iPhone case in 2015, I received several letters from scientists around the globe discounting the SafeSleeve’s marketing claims. I’m not sure who is right, but you know what? I loved using the case — regardless of if it made the phone safer to use or not. It’s just a well-thought-out design.
So I have high hopes for the company’s new universal tablet and iPad-specific cases, which operate on the same anti-radiation premise. To be honest, I never gave much thought to if the iPad emitted radiation — primarily because I never hold mine up to my head like I would a phone. But if the SafeSleeve reduces electromagnetic radiation from reaching my lap by 99 percent as it promises, fantastic. If not, well then I still have a new case that secures the iPad, protects the screen well, lets me easily swivel between landscape and portrait mode, and is comfortable to hold. Best of all, I think switching to this will result in me using my iPad often again. And when I go on a work trip, I can always resort to the leather portfolio. But I have a sneaking suspicion I’ll probably just keep it in the SafeSleeve from now on.
Scott Kramer is veteran, Southern California-based writer primarily versed in golf and personal technology. Studying Computer Sciences in college, and then working as a programmer/software engineer for about a decade, triggered my passion for today’s high-end, high-tech gadgets. I can’t help myself whenever I see any kind of cool new personal technology. I feel compelled to further check it out and see what it’s all about. And even if I have no use for it personally, I’m always thinking who it might best suit. There are exciting new innovations emerging daily that are shaping the future and simplifying life. And I hope to be your eyes to that world, through the words of this column.