Can the Kork Be Your iPad Protector?

Scribbled by Lethal Illness @ 3:25 PM on February 26th, 2011.

Over the past few months I’ve happened  to see some buzz about a [certain] “produkt” named Kork; an eco-friendly iPad case made entirely out of cork. Kork is made by a company named A Produkt and the lovely folks over at A Produkt sent me a Kork to use and review. I’m truly curious to see how a piece of cork engineered to fit an iPad can hold up during an extensive day with me in the studio.

Meet the Kork!

First Impressions

First impressions are usually everything and there is no exception when marketing a consumer product. You should make sure your products packaging is sexy and attractive so that I can not bare to put it down. While it isn’t the greatest packaging I’ve seen for an iPad case it isn’t ugly. The cardboard, minimal approach is smart when marketing an eco-friendly product. The packaging also has a little bit of color and iPad installation instructions which deems an instruction book unnecessary, another smart eco-friendly marketing choice. The one thing they definitely should’ve done is make it square rather then the lunch bag look. I personally can’t stand a tote look, it’s too childish.

The Kork in Official Packaging.

After opening my lunch bag tote looking package, you see the Kork. It’s a lot thicker and stronger looking than you think when wondering how you make an iPad case out of cork. The first thing that came to my mind when thinking of a cork made iPad case is those really cheap, poor quality cork boards you buy from Staples to stick on the wall. However, this is not the case with the Kork.

Style & Appearance

One thing that I unfortunately have to admit; the Kork makes the iPad look gawky and surprisingly less attractive. I think this is because cork and aluminum are completely two different elements and styles that just doesn’t compliment each other what so ever. I don’t think there is a solution to fix this problem, but it is more of an opinionated problem. I mean on paper it looks good but to me in person it definitely doesn’t. Maybe you might like the combination or maybe it’s the eco-friendly feature that will attract you to this product.

Kork placed on the iPad.

I have to say though I really like the fact the Kork isn’t a walking billboard like some other products. In fact, it doesn’t have any logos anyone else can see unless they take out your iPad and look inside. Another neat thing about the design of this product is, around the sides of the Kork are precisely cut spots that perfectly exposes and gives access to all buttons, switches, and ports.

The Kork being plugged from all sides.

Function & Usability

As far as the Kork’s function goes it is to protect the iPad’s back side. On A Produkt’s website [as well as below this paragraph] you can see videos of their team dropping and throwing around an iPad in one of their cases. I don’t know about you but throwing around a $500 tablet that has a glass front isn’t such a good idea in my book. However, I would say that throughout the entire day I wasn’t placing it as gently as possible on desktops and counters as I did when my iPad was in Apple’s case. The thick cork does well at protecting the back of the iPad and seems like it has a rubber-like shock protection if dropped or bounced down on a counter.

Durability

You have to remember this product is still a cork product. Meaning that it isn’t going to be bulletproof nor last up for years upon years. That said, even though I think the Kork’s well .. cork is a higher quality of cork it still has the disadvantages of cork. I don’t know if it was during installation or if it was going through my daily usage but it seems the top right corner seems to push in a bit. I’m kind of worried that if something happened on the first day during installation or normal usage, that it’ll really take it’s toll in a week or two.

Zoomed in faulty corner.

Other Thoughts

Another thing I’ve found out during a late night Angry Birds Seasons session was that cork doesn’t make nice for holding for a long, long period of time. After a good 15 minutes of laying back with my iPad in the air while flicking birds in varies shapes and sizes at ugly pigs; my hands started to hurt and the cork was starting to irritate me. On the other hand, during my normal day usage it was kind of refreshing to use a different material than Apple’s official case has.

The look of the Kork makes it seem like the iPad isn’t secure, but that is not the case when you turn it upside down and shake it. Although be sure not to put pressure on the corners because it will fall out, being that the corners are what’s holding it in.

Like I said above, I really want to like the Kork, honestly I do. There are a few minor set backs that leave me to believe the Kork isn’t for everyone until they improve upon those issues. I think a cases corners have to be stronger, especially when that’s what hold the iPad in. I also think that the style of Kork could use a bit of color or even a design on the back. All-in-all I’d wait until the second life-cycle of this product before you get it, so it gives them some time to work the kinks out of it. However, it still is one of the most eco-friendly iPad cases on the market and if that’s what your after this isn’t a bad product. I don’t think I would spend $68.65 on this product but if you’re conscious about the environment and willing to you can get this product at A Produkt.

Here’s something a bit different for the Kork’s rating;

HidinginSanity Rating: 3