To protect and serve.

So. Do you protect your iPad or not? Here are some thoughts to consider:

• You're more likely to drop it than you are a laptop. We seem to hold laptops firmly when transporting. The iPad we don't. And we're more likely to be using an iPad as we walk. If a laptop falls, there's usually a plastic shell to protect the innards and screen. With the iPad there's a good chance you'll crack the glass or dent the aluminum. The iPad also is thin enough and slick enough (with the aluminum back) that it can slide out of your hands easier.


• it's heavier than an iPhone. The lighter weight of an iPhone allows it to be dropped and not seriously damaged. Were more likely to treat an iPad with the carelessness of an iPhone than we are a laptop. But the extra heft of the iPad almost guarantees damage if it falls.


• A silicone back is worth it. A screen protector is not. Even a thin silicone back offers protection from dents and scratches in a fall. Screen protectors are needed when you keep an iPhone bare in your pocket. You'll never find a pocket that big for your iPad. You'll probably carry it is a padded case intended for a laptop.

But if you're really paranoid you might go for the Otter Defender pictured above.