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CES: Zagg case also props up Samsung Tab

The $49 Zaggmate case can protect and prop up Samsung's tablet computer. It's due out next month.

Lance Whitney Contributing Writer
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
Lance Whitney

LAS VEGAS--Samsung Galaxy Tab owners looking to both protect and erect their tablets have a number of products to choose from.

Zagg's Zaggmate for the iPad.
The Zaggmate with a Bluetooth keyboard for the iPad. Lance Whitney/CNET

On display this week at CES 2011 is another case-and-stand combo: the upcoming $49 Zaggmate for the Tab, which joins a similar Zagg product for the Apple iPad.

The Zaggmate creates a hard shell around a tablet and unfolds into a stand to prop it up.

Zaggmate for the iPad includes a Bluetooth keyboard as an alternative to the tablet's onscreen keys. The keyboard also supports the iPhone and iPod Touch. Taking it for spin with my iPod Touch, I found the keys kind of cramped, causing a fair amount of typos. The Zagg rep told me it can take up to an hour to get used to the smaller keyboard. And I did find my typing improved as I adjusted to the size and spacing of the keys.

Zaggmate for the iPad has been available since November. The version with a keyboard sells for $99, while a keyboard-less edition costs $69. Zaggmate for the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which launched in November, is set for release next month.