Review of Speck SeeThru Hard Shell for 15″ MacBook Pro – Silver Keys

Recap

In a post last February, I decided to buy a Speck SeeThru Hard Shell to protect my Macbook Pro. I promised to follow up with a review once I’d tried it out for awhile, so here is the review.

Summary

This case is actually pretty awesome, as cases go.

Heat

I run a lot of programs on my laptop at once, and I use it all day – 8 hours at work, and a few more at night. The case hasn’t made the laptop noticeably warmer, and I haven’t had any problems with it overheating (knock wood). The 74 vents in the bottom (I actually just counted them, and I came up with 75) provide enough ventilation to keep your laptop comfortable and running smoothly.

Port Access

The holes for the ports on the sides of the laptop are aligned correctly, so you don’t risk damaging your machine when you plug in your mouse or headphones or whatever weird things you like to attach to your laptop. The holes in the front allow you to access your disk drive and open your laptop easily.

Open Angle

Although you can’t open your laptop as far as you can without the case, there is ample space in the back. You can open it up enough to view the screen comfortably, far over 90 degrees. It is easy to view the screen sitting or at a desk – no problems here.

Attaching Your Case

The case is easy to put on, and it snaps into place. I haven’t yet tried to remove it, but it seems pretty similar to a hard plastic iPod case, where you wedge a penny or a credit card between the case and the machine and carefully pry it off. Again, I haven’t tried this yet.

Case Surface

It is a little more slippery than the actual laptop, so if you’re carrying it around, just be careful not to let it slide. Likewise, if you place your laptop on a slick surface, I doubt it would slide off, but it’s slightly less secure than without the case. This is not a reason to avoid this case – just don’t be an idiot about how you handle your laptop and you should be fine.

Price

Price was pretty good – after discounts and coupon codes found online, the case cost $21.82 including shipping.

Attractiveness

If you’re into that kind of thing, there’s a decent variety of colors. I’m happy with my Aqua case, although it’s been suggested that I buy one to match my outfit each day. Which, considering I’m currently wearing maternity clothes and thus don’t have many choices about my wardrobe, is actually feasible. But unlikely.

Finally, the case stays pretty clean, seems to be sturdy (no scratches on it after a month), and is streamlined & light weight. Your covered 15″ MacBook Pro will still fit into the average laptop case, and will not attract any more cat hair (fun when it sticks to the surface) than before you put on the case.

Recommendation

All in all, I’d rate the Speck SeeThru Hard Shell as a worthwhile purchase at a good value. It accomplished what I needed, which was to protect my MacBook from dings and scratches without slowing or preventing any of its functions.