Hasta La Gadget!

The BookBook case for the iPad, from Apple accessory makers TwelveSouth, swaddles your precious tablet in a thick slathering of dead-cow, its hand-crafted, hand-distressed covers recalling beautifully bound books of old. It zips shut to keep out the dust, and the padded inner-chamber also contains a string and a button on either side to help make a stable a-shaped stand. It’s lovely, and will probably last way longer than your iPad.

It is also thick, doubling the depth of Apple’s slim tablet to an inch. And remember, the iPad only measures an in in its thickest part, while the BookBook will be that fat everywhere. TwelveSouth’s other BookBook case, for the MacBook Pro, also adds about a half-inch to the machine inside, but that’s a smaller percentage on a thicker computer.

It is nice-looking, though, in a lottery-winner’s bookshelf kind of way, and can be propped up next to the leather-bound sets of classics that you will never read. The price for this “tasteful” case is $70, in red or black. Available now.

BookBook for iPad [TwelveSouth. thanks, Johnny C A!]

See Also:

• BookBook for MacBook Notebook
• Moleskine-Shaped, Bamboo iPad Case
• The Case: Another Beautiful Moleskine-Like iPad Case
• Moleskine-Shaped, Bamboo iPad Case

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

If the announcement of the BlackBerry Torch has you excited to replace your BlackBerry with a newer model, or to convince your company’s IT department to buy one for you, you now have some options for protective cases to go along with your new phone. AG Findings announced three new cases and holsters for the BlackBerry Torch today: the Glide Rail Technology (GRT) shell, the Endo GRT — with or without a holster –, and a premium leather pouch.

Each of the three cases is designed for different types of users: if you want a protective shell that allows you to slide the display up to access the keyboard without having to remove it, the GRT shell and the Endo GRT are perfect for you. The GRT Shell is a thick protective shell with swappable fronts. The Endo GRT can be purchased with an optional holster that allows you to clip your BlackBerry Torch to your belt. The leather pouch is a traditional holster with a leather cover flap that lets you keep your phone safe and covered when not in use.

The GRT Shell retails for $34.99, the Endo GRT retails for $29.99 but the optional holster increases the price to $34.99, and the leather pouch will cost $39.99 list. All three will be available Thursday August 12th at AT&T retail stores and online.

It’s always been said that the iPod Touch is just an iPhone without the phone. A new adapter, which adds phone functions to the iPad, proves that this isn’t quite the case.

The “Apple Peel 520″ cradle, first spied a week ago with a Sprint logo on the back, adds a cell radio and an extended battery to the Touch. And while it works, it doesn’t exactly turn your iPod into an iPhone. The adapter is made by Chinese manufacturer Yosion, and has been tested by the folks at the MIC Gadget blog.

The Yosion box is a rubber case with a cell-radio, a vibrator, mic and speaker, a dock connector to interface with the Touch and an 800mAh battery to power it (three hours talk, 120 hours standby). It’s pretty thick, and has no volume buttons so you can’t change the volume of a call, and while a 3G SIM will work for calls, you won’t get 3G internet, which kind of makes it pointless.

How do you use it? First, you need to jailbrak the iPod, and then you have to install the Yosion SMS and phone apps. It all works just like the iPhone from there, although sometimes, according to MIC Gadget, the caller ID info doesn’t show up, and missed call alerts will be blank (only marginally less useful than the iPhone’s real alerts).

It’s not all bad, though: The case only costs just $388 RMB in China, or around $57. That’s certainly cheaper than an iPhone.

Apple Peel 520 Review [MIC Gadget via Engadget]

See Also:

• Rumor: Sprint Testing Wi-Fi Case for iPod Touch
• IPod Touch
• GPS Add-On Case For iPod Touch
• Hands-On With the Dual iPod Touch GPS-Kit

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

I’m all for buying an iPad case that matches your needs and expresses your personality, but many of us work in corporate offices where a colorful sleeve or case may draw more attention to our device than we really want it to have. Thankfully XtremeMac’s new iPad cases feature clean, solid-color protection for your iPad in the form of a wrap or a sleeve.

The XtremeMac Tuffwrap is a form-fitting silicone case that stays on your iPad at all times and features a removable cover when you want to use it. The Neoprene Sleeve allows you easy access to your iPad when you want to use it, and has a pocket inside the sleeve large enough for a set of headphones, a few papers, or a charging cable. Both new cases come in slate gray, and are available now from XtremeMac for $39.99 list.