There are three things we enjoy at Appletell: the iPad, Speck products and free stuff. With the help of the fine people at Speck, we’re going to combine all three to give you the chance to win your choice of iPad case from any in the Speck product line. Choose your model, choose your color/design, then just sit back and wait for your name to be called. Hurry, though…the contest ends at midnight, September 15th.

The staff at Appletell spent a good amount of time in 2009 using and writing about iPhone cases, but we know we were only able to cover a fraction of the options out there. We’re starting a new year, and CES has already seen many new iPhone case announcements. I expect there’ll be more come Macworld Expo 2010. To make sure we’re ready, we’re clearing our drawers of 2009 releases with one more roundup.

I’m extremely picky about my iPhone cases, but in an evolving way. Originally, I was all about balance between looks, protection and functionality. I still hover around that balance, but I’ve lately started the embrace the whole “less is more” ideal. Indeed, I often don’t even put my iPhone in a case. I’m tired of the bulk and the color that strip the iPhone of its identity. So, knowing that, here are a few iPhone 3G cases I’ve been using on and off for the past few months to see if any are worth full-time use.