When you buy any gadget you are going to use frequently, you soon realise, especially with an item like the ipad which is all about the screen, that a cover or case is a must. Apple have anticipated this need with the Smart Cover, which is compatible with both the ipad 2 and it's slightly thicker brother the ipad 3 and attaches onto the ipad to protect the screen and also, cleverly, act as a stand. It's available with both a leather and polyurethane finish. When I was bought an ipad 3 a few months ago now I shelled out £35 on the cover, and chose a practical if somewhat unexciting grey in polyurethans; a range of other colours are available.

Design wise the cover has a lot of plus points. Firstly, fixing the cover onto the ipad is so simple a child could do it. The hinge has strong magnets on it which fix into place, making the cover stay in place. In everyday use the cover is unlikely to come off I've found and it's great that when you close the cover over the ipad screen it immediately powers the screen off and puts the device into sleep mode. As soon as you open the cover the ipad automatically switches on, a nice touch. It's nicely finished on the outside with its bumpy tactile finish and my particular case is wipe clean - after a few months of daily use it looks as good as it did the day I first used it when on the ipad, although I fear the edges may fray slightly over time, so far so good.

The primary function of the cover, however, is undoubtedly to protect the screen. This it does well, thanks to having an inner microfibre part that goes against the screen and being thick enough to cushion the screen without detracting from the ipad's good looks. Apple claim that the inner part "gently buffs off" fingerprints and the like - this is a little over-egging it in my opinion, maybe as my ipad gets a fair bit of use I do find that it needs cleaning fairly regularly, cover or not. Also the cover doesn't protect the metal back of the ipad - you can buy a compatible back cover but I tend to end up lying my ipad face down with the cover on, so reluctant am I to scratch any part of it. I certainly wouldn't use just the cover and carry my ipad in a bag, so you could argue that it's only half a cover in some ways.

The cover does come into its own when used as a stand. It folds back cleverly on itself (pictures on the apple website) to make a little triangular stand which leaves the ipad at exactly the right angle for viewing video. I use it as a stand to stream video (you could also use it for facetime) and, in use, the volume button on the edge of the ipad is left unhampered, again good design. The cover seems sturdy when used as a stand, it doesn't seem like the ipad is going to go anywhere, and it feels and looks like part of the device. You can also lie the ipad down and use the stand as a prop to turn it into a keyboard - this I do less often but again the idea is clever.

So overall I'm glad I bought a smart cover with my ipad, however it's not all good. When using the ipad to browse the web or to play games I find the cover a bit "flappy" when folded back behind the ipad - you can't forget that it is there in the same way as, say, my kindle cover. Also, I can't help but feel that the cover, nice design or not, is massively overpriced. Quality wise it's ok but there's no feeling that it's worth the price tag - you are paying for the apple name I feel. When all is said and done the smart cover could be a little more robustly made and cheaper, but ultimately I wouldn't want to be without it, and so on that basis I recommend it. Just.