Cygnett iPad 2 / iPhone 4 Cases UrbanShield, WorkMate Pro, And Lavish Earth Reviews

It's not often that we cover cases for any sort of device, especially Apple products, not because they don't deserve coverage of course, but because there's just so darn many of them out there! Every once in a while there's a group that brings a combination of materials and form, though, that we just cannot resist giving a little extra time and a few words to. Today that attention belongs to Cygnett, an Australian-based company that will be launching their first wave of products in the USA this season, starting with the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2. Take a peek at brushed aluminum, polycarbonate, and leather-styled coverings for all your iDevice covering needs!

Before we begin with this iPad 2 case, I've got to quickly notify you that we've reviewed only a couple other iPad 2 specific cases before, one of them being the iFrogz iPad 2 Summit Case which I'm sure you'll find rather similar to the purple case we've got here today, the next being the HandStand2 for iPad 2 which you'll look at and instantly understand why we say it's in a class all its own, and finally the Apple-made iPad Smart Cover case shown inside our big iPad 2 main review. What Cygnett offers with its Lavish Earth iPad 2 leather-style multi-view folio case is a refined look and feel (not to mention a couple of rather unique colors: Sandstone and Purple) for an all-encompassing case that allows you to set your iPad up on its own in several positions.

Drawbacks here are the fact that you're no longer able to experience the top-class design that is the iPad 2 without a case on it. One of the main reasons the iPad 2 was released alongside the Apple-made Smart Cover is that it works without covering up the inherent loveliness in the industrial design of the iPad 2 hardware. Another drawback here is the added bulk, however small, that comes with basically any protection solution. The Lavish Earth cover makes up for this in fine craftsmanship around all the edges and unique look (purple, in this case) of the entire unit.

You can find out more information about purchasing the Lavish Earth case at Cygnett as it is released – these cases will likely be available at locations in the gallery image posted below, the same being true of the iPhone 4 products in this post as well:

Next there's the iPhone 4 brushed aluminum case by the name of UrbanShield. This rather simple looking case ads a minimal amount of clasping rubber finish casing around the rim of your iPhone 4 and a lovely "precision-machined from premium-grade brushed aluminum" backing in several colors: black, silver, bronze, or blue. All of your ports, switches, buttons, and doodads are easily accessible with the case fully on, and with each purchase you also get a screen protector and microfibre cleaning cloth. each of the cases has a black-colored rim except the blue-backed case which has a silver-colored rim. Your camera and LED flash along the back are also of course still very usable as the case has an oval-like shape opening right around them.

Similar to what I just noted about the iPad 2 case, one of your biggest concerns should be, if your a design-conscious citizen, making sure the iPhone 4 hardware shape and industrial design essence, if I may be so bold, shine through. UrbanShield appears to be doing this quite well. Check out more information on UrbanShield at Cygnett's dedicated product page and note that the same retailers listed above will likely be carrying this case as well as the Lavish Earth.

Lastly there's a case that takes the lovely industrial design of the iPhone 4 we've been speaking about and covers it all up with either a cool black and gray or a bright powerful gray and orange – thick and truly heavy-duty. This case is made up of two separate parts, a high-action set of layers of silicone plus a high-quality polycarbonate on top to protect your iPhone 4 from nearly any sort of fall or toss you're going to encounter in your day-to-day activities. Like the UrbanShield, you get a screen protector with this case and a microfibre cleaning cloth, and believe it or not, you'll still have easy access to all of your ports, controls, and connectors.

Drawbacks of course include your inability to see most of the device other than the display, again, as I've been saying, but when you get this far into actually protecting your device, you should start to be willing to give up a little aesthetic goodness. That said, this case certainly isn't bad looking, and will give your iPhone 4 a bit of unique flavor where quite often a case will dumn it down. You can get more information on the WorkMate Pro at Cygnett and check all retailers shown above for availability and pricing.

Look good to you? Let us know what you think of cases such as these!