The CandyShell cases are the most protective cases in the world for any consumer product. The iPad CandyShell case is not an exception. Similarly to other Speck CandyShell cases, this case has a hard outer plastic shell, while the inside is protective rubber. Together, the rubber and hard plastic make this case a great protector for the iPad. Once on the iPad, the case is very sturdy and protects your iPad from all sorts of drops and bumps. I have drop tested my iPad with the Candy Shell from 1-4 feet, without any sort of damage to my iPad.

The case has comfortable rubber buttons for power and volume control. An issue I found with these buttons is that they are slightly harder to push than the iPad buttons without a case. However that is expected since the case is fully protective. There are openings for the headphone jack, orientation lock, microphone. The hard plastic is perforated for the speakers. The dock connector has a flap that snaps open and closed. Although this flap looks like a stand, it was not designed for this purpose and your iPad will most likely fall.

I have one main complaint about this case. The orientation lock opening is too small, therefore it is hard to access. I had this same issue with Speck's iPhone 3GS case with the vibrate/volume switch.

When removing the case, I found it was a little hard to get the case off and requires more time than the average case. However this can be good, because if you drop your iPad, the case will not easily come off. According to Speck's website to take the case off you must open the back flap and then work with the bottom corners by pulling them off one by one. Removing this case should not be an issue for most as many will use one case.

As for looks and size, the case looks sleek and is a decent size. You can get it in black or dark purple. It seems the case could lose a bit of width, but I am willing to sacrifice the thickness for the quality of protection. Overall, the case is a nice sleek design and feels great. This case has everything an average iPad user needs, protection, nice looks and great feel. Out of 5 stars the Speck Candy Shell for iPad deserves 4.