Treat your iPad to a little comfort, with it’s very own beanbag… Yes, you heard right, a beanbag!
It’s the last thing you would think your iPad would need, but it actually works very well as an alternative solution for browsing your pad in comfort. After all, it wasn’t so long ago that Apple released woollen socks for iPods, so the thought of an iPad beanbag isn’t so far fetched.
Created by Crashmat – an Australian company specialising in making and selling quality beanbag products of varying shapes and sizes – the Crashmat Bubble is a miniature version of the larger beanies used for human bottoms. Made from hardwearing material, it comes in a range of three colour designs; plain blue (aqua), large striped (ice cream stripe), and a thinner stripe (rainbow stripe). Using it is simply a matter of propping your iPad into it, and posing it to your required angle of view. Thanks to it’s mouldable nature, the Crashmat bubble can straddle all manner of terrains, from your own lap to a ruffled duvet.
It is this aspect of its design that makes it the best solution for using your iPad in bed, whereas more standard style cases and stands would simply fall over without the use of one hand to keep it upright. It’s particularly useful for watching movies or TV, and browsing email and the web. However, it’s less usable for applications where you need to move the device constantly, such as action games and racing games, though more casual game genres such as board games are fine.
The Crashmat Bubble is well made and stylish. I personally like the striped colour design. However, I think a more appealing set of colours aimed at the tech market would help entice buyers… Maybe a wider choice of plain colours such as black, red and blue.
I was a little disappointed to find that it doesn’t feature the same inner and outer shell design as its bigger Crashmat brothers, so you’ll need to empty it of the foam beans before washing. However, it does feature the child safe zip for you concerned parents out there, to prevent choking on said foam beans.
To be honest, when I first un-boxed the Crashmat Bubble, I really thought I would find little use for it, and that after a while it would become just another piece of clutter in my den of tech. Instead it has now become a useful home companion for my iPad, sitting at my bedside ready for use. In fact during my iPad’s downtime I often throw it onto the Bubble where it sits there happily charging.
It’s certainly not a must have, and is very niche. However, those willing to make a punt on something different, or already own and love the larger beanbags, will no doubt love this too.
Currently the Crashmat Bubble is only available on the Australian Crashmat store for 59 Australian dollars (international shipping is available).
