If you're using your iPad primarily for things like watching movies and playing music, you already know how lame the gadget's single speaker is. The makers of the ORA iPad case, currently raising funds on Kickstarter, hope to change this with a case that's both stylish and (supposedly) provides a stellar stereo experience.
ORA features eight tuned, front-facing speakers around the perimeter of the screen. It claims to provide up to five times the volume of the iPad's speaker alone. The case adjusts how sound is delivered depending on if the iPad is in portrait or landscape mode. It also has a 3.5mm headphone jack for when you don't want to blast audio out loud. We haven't heard it, but the guys behind it say it rocks.
"We wanted to create a product that would match the beauty of the Retina Display to the sound being played," said Eric Pite, a member of the OBJEKT design team behind the project. "We wanted to make sure that ORA wasn't just an audio accessory, so we developed ORA as a sound system that could protect and help display your iPad while watching and listening to content."
The case doesn't sap your iPad's battery life, as it's powered by an internal battery good for 10 hours of tunes. To charge it, just plug it in using Apple's 30-pin dock connector. No, it's not Lightning dock compatible. The eight-pin connector that Apple's slapped on the new iPad wasn't around when OBJECT started designing ORA. Besides, there are about eleventy-billion people using the original connector anyway.
"In the end, we thought that keeping your iPad charger seemed to be a better user experience than carrying an extra USB charger," Pite said.
ORA fits the iPad 2 and third-generation iPad, with versions for the fourth-generation iPad and iPad mini in the works. The case works with its own protective magnetic cover, available in an array of bright hues. To get one, pledge $100 or more on Kickstarter.
