Speck offers a wide range of ways to protect your devices. In recent months they’ve kicked things up a few notches in the style department. One of the newer cases that they’re offering is the SeeThru Satin shell for the MacBook Pro. I’ve been using one for a week now and am quite fond of it. Let’s take a look …
From Speck:
Silky-soft to the touch with the same protection as our trusted SeeThru line; introducing SeeThru Satin! Give your MacBook a smooth, semi-translucent frosted finish with a grippy edge. Allows you access to all your important plugs and drives while highlighting the unique look of your new MacBook Pro 13″ (aluminum unibody/black keyboard.)
Features:
Protects your MacBook from scrapes and scratches
Smooth yet grippy rubberized exterior texture
Allows MacBook to be open all the way
Fully vented for safe heat disbursement
Totally removable — easy to put on and take off
Built-in rubberized feet keep your notebook stable and secure
Cleaning cloth included
Access to all ports, battery check button, CD/DVD drive
Fits 13″ MacBook Pro (aluminum unibody/black keyboard)
My Thoughts:
After much debate I took my MacBook Pro to CES with me two weeks ago. I then brought it to Mexico for a week and am now finally home. With the exception of my brief scare when I left the device in my cab on the way to the airport in Las Vegas, things went as smoothly as could be. As expected, my workhorse notebook served me like a champ. It was fast, efficient and got great battery life. At the end of a long day wandering CES it was rather heavy, but I’m glad that I decided to bring it with me instead of the Fujitsu tablet PC I had considered bringing.
One of the ways I helped ensure that my MacBook Pro would make it back safely was by using a Speck HardShell. I have tried a number of different cases for my MacBook Pro and keep coming back to this particular one. I love it because it’s low profile, doesn’t have a tremendous amount of weight, and really protects the notebook. I was able to put the notebook in my backpack and carry it with me without having to worry too much. (Okay I should’ve worried more about zipping up the backpack, but that’s not the point of this.)
One of the things that always bothered me a bit, however, was that by using the shell I was covering over the beautiful aluminum finish of the current generation MacBook Pro. It seemed a shame but, then again, the positive of protecting the precious device far outweighed the negatives. While we were at CES last week, however, we spent a fair bit of time at the Speck booth. As Larry has been posting in recent days, they’ve come out with some amazing new designs for their cases, and we were fortunate enough to bring a number of them home with us. I was also fortunate enough to get one of their newer MacBook Pro cases while we were there — the MacBook Pro SeeThru Satin. It provides all of the protection that I’ve become so dependent upon but adds a nice soft feel that is a pleasure to hold. After using it for a few days now I don’t have any regrets about covering up the MacBook Pro’s aluminum.
Like the hardshell version of the case, the SeeThru Satin comes in two pieces. One snap securely to the bottom of the notebook, while the other snap securely to the top. A vent at the bottom allows heat to escape and there is no reason to remove the notebook from the case unless you want to access the bottom panel of the notebook in order to upgrade RAM etc.
While in the hard case all the ports are fully accessible and there is absolutely no loss in the usage of the notebook in any way shape or form.
Here’s how much I like it — my preference is always to use a clearer or a black case. Speck was kind enough to give me a sample of the case in red. I’m not a huge fan of brightly colored electronics cases but I liked this case enough that it’s the one I am and will be using for the foreseeable future.
Specs…
Length: 13.0 inches
Width: 9.0 inches
Height: 1.25 inches
Weight: 1 lbs. 3.0 oz.
Colors: Black, Pink, Purple, Red
The SeeThru Satin has an MSRP of $49.95 and can be ordered directly from Speck.
What I like:
Great, total protection and a nice soft feel. Doesn’t need to come off my MacBook Pro for any reason since all ports are accessible, does what it promises to do in the protection department and looks great doing it
What needs improvement:
As is the case with the other SeeThru cases, it can be difficult to get the top piece off and care should be taken when doing so was not to damage the computer.
