If the iPad had existed back in 1972, and Doug Trumbull had used it in his awesome movie Silent Running, its case would have looked just like the Don't Panic Case and Stand from Thomas Fulton. Its combination of brightly-colored felt and shaped, multi-paneled leather is straight out of the retro sci-fi world.
Fulton's case is designed to be used when you're relaxing, whether to prop it up on your lap to watch a movie or as a kind of soft a-frame to stand it on a desk. To watch a movie.
The outer felt layer bends and flops into any shape you like, and the leather panels add stiffness and control. The leather tongue which holds the case closed contains a magnet, and when wrapped around in the other direction it supports the case in "keyboard entry" orientation or upright "movie orientation." In this way it's just like Apple's Smart Cover.
But there's also a sliding metal plate in the front flap, which lets you slide and fine-tune the display angle. Thus, it's one of the only cases I've seen that sits on your knees and grips them while you sit on a floor, bed or tatami.
The Don't Panic case is currently soliciting funding on Kickstarter, where you'll need to pitch $100 to get one. Nope, its not cheap. But then again, with its corner-grabbing straps the design is likely to last down the years through several iPad iterations, however thin the tablet gets.
Don't Panic case [Kickstarter. thanks, Thomas]
