Levenger’s Unlikely Love Affair with the iPad

At Levenger we took particular interest in the launch of Apple’s iPad. That “particular interest” is known as suspicion. We were suspicious of iPads the way sailmakers must have been suspicious of steamships.

Would this slim electronic wonder severely trim our non-electronic sails?

On iDay (April 5th), we gingerly lifted two iPads from their pristine white boxes (wasn’t the Trojan Horse white?) and began to gently poke these high-tech newborns in our low-tech product development nursery here at Levenger headquarters.

Their waif-thin glass and aluminum bodies were in marked contrast to the wood and leather and pens and paper that fill the Levenger nursery (and catalog, and website).

And—oh dear: our iPads didn’t need leather bookweights to keep them open. They didn’t need highlighters or PageNibs to mark their virtual pages. And somehow they didn’t seem completely at home on wooden bookshelves.

Didn’t our newborn iPads need something we offered?

Well, yes: they needed strollers to get around. Or rather, bags.

It’s in the (i)bag

Most any of our bags would work...

       

...but our svelte iPads opened up smaller possibilities—especially our popular Bomber Jacket Messenger, which I used to take one of our iPads on its first trip, leaving my laptop home sulking.

Knowing our customers as we do, we know that often those who are highest tech also love paper, such as our Circa notebooks, and pens. Happily, our leather Circa Zip Folios were designed to carry some slim stuff in addition to a Circa notebook or agenda. They took to the iPads like loving older sisters to a baby, slipping them right inside their folds.

     

Equally greedy to hold the new iPad babies were our Briefolios.

   

Most closely protective of all was our 10” Flak Jacket, since it was designed to provide serious protection to iPad-size netbooks, cosseting them in a rough-and-tumble world.

Soon our product developers were feeling happy, holding and protecting iPads in a wide assortment of Levenger carriers.

The next step was to try our iPads out for actual reading—and that led to a surprising discovery.

Guess what?

The surprise is not that iPads are great to read with. I’ve read on the Kindle, which is wonderful in its own way, but in my opinion, the iPad is even better because of its color, which can be easily dimmed to papery hues.

The iBook app on the iPad has the features you’d expect from a digital book (well, except for writing in the margins). It delighted us in the many ways we can turn pages, scale type bigger or smaller, highlight passages, look up words, and skip from book to book in our virtual library.

There’s just one problem: holding the iPad is not as comfortable as holding an old-fashioned paper book.

The iPad’s rigid glass and aluminum body doesn’t provide the flex of a paper book that our hands have gotten used to. While paper books accommodate our hands, the iPad makes our hands accommodate it. We found ourselves wanting to rest the iPad on something, such as a pillow or a contented cat.

Being short on cats, we picked up our popular Thai Book Rest and voila! It was perfect.

Though we designed it for paper books, the cushy mellowness of the Thai design holds the iPad at a perfect angle, holds it securely and comfortably, and provides a rest for your hands as they touch-turn pages or highlight a passage with your finger.

And the same Thai Book Rest displays the iPad beautifully on a conference table, or family-room bar, so that one or two people can see and touch its magical screen to surf the web, or turn the pages of a virtual cookbook.

Serene serendipity

I wish I could claim our designers were prescient enough to design our Thai Book Rest for the iPad and other magic tablets sure to follow. But it’s an accident. A marvelous accident, to be sure, and it makes us smile at the new iPad babies in our midst and wonder what else we can design just for them, and even their next generation.

Comments? Just click on the Comments link below with your submission. (If you’re reading this as an email, click here and you'll connect to Comments).

Comments

[Therese Goudy]

Now I want an i-Pad!!

[BOB WIENTZEN]

CANT WAIT TO HEAR HOW THIS DOES!

[Robert Ferguson]

Sounds great, but have you developed any cases for iPods?

[James Knauff III]

Enjoyed reading about your take on the iPad and your discoveries relative to how Apple's tablet computer matches up with your existing products. Actually, I went through your catologue to see what might work as well last week. By the way, this comment has been written on my iPad!

[Jeff Zeman]

What a great article; being one of the lucky pre-order receivers of the iPad, it has continued to awe and inspire. However, the one thing lacking was a travelling home for my unit. As a longtime customer of Levenger, I knew you would come up with a clever solution; well it seems it was staring me in the face the whole time...thanks!

[Cyndi]

I'm still suspicious, Levenger! And admit it - do you play with the cupcake app more than you read on it?

[Steve Leveen]

Dear Robert,

If you type "ipod" into our search box on Levenger.com, you'll find a whole selection of Levenger gear that's geared to iPods. One of my favorites--and a favorite of many of our customers--is the Pocquettes iPod/Earbud Case, which I've been using for my own iPod. Here's the link if you'd like to have a look:http://www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=Category=15-103|Level=2-3|PageID=7231

Cheers,
Steve

[Steve]

Cupcake App? Thanks, I'll give it a try.

[Karia]

Steve, i love the idea of the thai book rest, but is it heavy with the ipad on it or is the weight distribution comfortable?? i may order a thai book rest today as i was looking for the perfect ipad stand!

[Elizabeth Cottrell]

Brilliant! As a long-time student of marketing, I am in awe of the way you just took a potential threat and turned it into an asset. An iPad will definitely fit beautifully into the handsome St. Tropez tote (http://bit.ly/bPLKU1) my husband just gave me for my birthday. Now all I need is an iPad :-)

[Steve Leveen]

Dear Karia,

I find the weight distribution about perfect. With the iPad weighing 1.5 pounds and the Thai Pad (our new name for the book rest) weighing 1.25 pounds, it's a balance bordering on Zen. Why not try it--if it doesn't work for you, remember that our guarantee is 100%.

Best,
Steve

[Jennie Blomquist]

I too, love my iPad. I bought the Apple cover to protect it . It fits easily into my Levenger bag/tote/purse. What I would really like to see is a standalone carry case with handles that can be put away so that the case can become its own stand, horizontal and/or vertical, and be self supporting. I found one leather case called Tuff Luv but it had no handles and only horizontal support. The support was adjustable to different angles, which is great, but not what I want as it was lacking the other features. How about you folks design one. I'll bet it would sell like hotcakes, especially if it came in leather and a less expensive version that wasn't leather.

[Allan]

This look very cool! I have to admit I am one of those tech guys who also loves paper so your Circa Zip Folio looks like what I need. Thanks!

[Victoria Manning]

after reading the levenger approach to a new tech baby in their midst and how they hover to comfort and soothe, and how they try all sorts of outfits and transportation for it... really makes me want to be there with you. and i know you are in Florida. and it is hot there and i loathe hot weather. none the less, to be with other people who champion material creations and "make do" with what they have on hand (in the Levenger stock room). IT'S PARTY TIME. ! have fun . I know you will take this to the r&d wing... I know Jeff Bezos is also whipping up some supportive accessories for the ipad. (fearing competition for the Kindle...) as an observer of humanity... i am tickled that all the really quality companies are making room for the new ipad... preparing stock to coddle the newcomer..

vicki manning

[J. English]

I first bought the iPad as a reader, but it actually got me interested in computers, I then discovered all the techy GTD guys, Shawn Blanc, etc. and it was from one such that i was led to Levenger.
I love my pocket briefcase, almost as much as my iPad, which I love almost as much as books...
PS, one of the GTD guys has an online shop that sells Rhodia, moleskin, etc, Levenger would be perfect there, dig through Shawn Blanc's archives.

[Peter Sterpe]

IPad-friendly is kinda ... feh. Please design a case that is specifically >forhttp://www.senacases.com/apple/apple-ipad-cases/zipbook-cases/). The built-in stand is indispensable for an iPad, so they got that right, but they missed some things that Levenger would never have goofed on: somewhere for business cards, somewhere for note cards, and of course a loop for an iPad stylus or pen (or both!) Levenger would probably use stiffer internal material for the body of the case, too -- the Sena case is bowing after only a few weeks. I hope you have something on the drawing board -- delight us!

[backgammon]

This look sincerely cool! I should avow I am one of those tech chaps who moreover venerates paper so your Circa Zip Folio looks like what I need.

[Ellen Fields]

Wow! Just saw the Thai pad for the iPad! I think this would work really well for those of us who also use a wireless keyboard with their iPad from time to time. There seems to be a big enough space to put it front of the iPad. Steve, what do you think?

E

[Steve Leveen]

Dear Ellen,

We're delighted that you've discovered our Thai Pad. We've tested it out with a few different wireless keyboards, but most are a bit too big to fit well. But thanks for the thoughtful question, which I've shared with our Merchandising Team.

Cheers,
Steve

[Nurani Khatun]

I too, love my iPad. I bought the Apple cover to protect it . It fits easily into my Levenger bag/tote/purse. What I would really like to see is a standalone carry case with handles that can be put away so that the case can become its own stand, horizontal and/or vertical, and be self supporting.More various leather case for smartphone.