CES Coverage: Hands on with Joby’s latest iPad Accessories: the Ori and Yogi

Joby has created a niche in the tripod market by doing something truly innovative. Instead of having three fixed legs of adjustable length, the Gorilla Pods have a brilliant design that contains flexible spheres that can be bent around most surfaces. Having captured a large segment of the tripod market, Joby is moving on to the already over-crowded iPad case business.

First up in this new line of “Gorilla” cases is the Ori, which is mysteriously missing Joby’s trademark spheres. In their place are a myriad of different ways to prop an iPad up. Said to be inspired from Origami, the Ori is made from aluminum composite and can swivel the tablet between portrait and landscape. To distinguish itself from other cases, the Ori is able to uniquely raise the iPad above its own height. This case retails for a whooping $80.

Next up is the more traditional Gorilla Yogi. Probably inspired by Yogi Bear (we kid), the Yogi seems like it would get in the way more than be a useful iPad stand. You see, the Yogi is basically a traditional Gorilla Pod that can slide on and off the back of the iPad via the slot on the back of the polycarbonate case. This would be great, except for one thing: the iPad, at least in its current iteration, does not have a camera! What’s the point of a tripod to hold up your tablet? If you can somehow find a justification for buying it, the Yogi is available for $50.

Editor’s Note: Two additional bits of information here. First, the polycarbonate shell is lined with rubber bunpers that are supposed to take the impact if you drop your iPad face first. Later in the demo (not shown below), the Joby employee dropped the iPad (in the case) about six inches or so. She basically demonstrated that the bumpers reach the counter surface first and therefore protect the screen. Second, is another use-case. I use my iPad while watching TV all the time– whether in bed or on the couch. But, as you can probably guess the surface is generally uneven. One of Joby’s hopes is that with the Yogi in tow, you’ll wrap the iPad around your leg or  prop it up somewhere (damn uneven surfaces), which should make for a more comfortable experience.

Author’s note: As it only has two legs, the Yogi is technically a bipod, not a tripod.

If you see yourself dropping some pretty serious dough on these bad boys, watch our video below.

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