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Skulls and candy: Hands-on with Speck phone and tablet cases [Gift Guide 2012]

Small Silicon Valley startup spinoff Speck Products has quickly become the company making some of the world's most popular iPhone cases. Violet Blue visited Speck's new HQ and went hands-on with their new lines.
By Violet Blue, Contributor
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Speck HQ's front door

Silicon Valley company Speck Products began as a small spinoff startup. 

In the past year, Speck's team - helmed by a female CEO - has grown the startup from a small office/storefront combo, into a big space in Mountain View that I got to visit last week. 

I've watched Speck grow from a distance, the way we warily watch startups around here. Speck managed to attain a lot of success and yet retained their creative integrity and stayed dedicated to listening to their customers. That's not a typical Valley startup. 

So when I got a chance to visit Speck's new HQ in Mountain View, California, I jumped at the chance.

Click through the rest of this mini-gallery to see my experience going hands-on with Speck's new lines.

See what I liked the most from my visit to Speck HQ in this gallery: Favorite Speck cases under $40 [Gift Guide 2012].

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A funny welcome to Speck's HQ.

Outside at Speck HQ: the sign's color slowly changes.

Much of Speck's astonishing growth has happened only within the past two years. Speck's cases have proven desirable enough that that company now has partnerships with Apple and Burton.

See what I liked the most from my visit to Speck HQ in this gallery: Favorite Speck cases under $40 [Gift Guide 2012].

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3 of 10 Violet Blue/ZDNET

Presented with an array of Speck's cases

I wanted to see and touch Speck's newest gear in person, and it was worth the trip to see how the cases felt and functioned. During my visit, Speck let me investigate and test its newest iPhone, Nexus, iPad Mini, Kindle Fire cases and folios.

In this photo, you can see some of the cloth patterned Burton cases, and the new kid-proof iGuy for iPad.

See what I liked the most from my visit to Speck HQ in this gallery: Favorite Speck cases under $40 [Gift Guide 2012].

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4 of 10 Violet Blue/ZDNET

Pull it out, then snap it back in. Until you slide the stand out and feel how snappily it retracts shut, you can't really appreciate the eloquent way the SmartFlex View for iPhone 5 and 4S/4 ($34.95) employs its discreet stand. The rest of the case is rubberized with a grip, and felt pretty tough. The one pictured above is the Grape/Lavender/Peacock version.

See what I liked the most from my visit to Speck HQ in this gallery: Favorite Speck cases under $40 [Gift Guide 2012].

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5 of 10 Violet Blue/ZDNET

playing with an iPad Mini

The vegan leather turquoise iPad Mini FitFolio case felt good in hand. You can't really tell until you see it in person, but the clasp is petite and snaps the front cover in place, open or shut.

See what I liked the most from my visit to Speck HQ in this gallery: Favorite Speck cases under $40 [Gift Guide 2012].

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Mix and match: Macbook SeeThru

The snap-on SeeThru cases for Macbook Air and Pro are just what you'd expect - bur I didn't realize you could pick-a-mix top and bottom colors until one of Speck's employees showed me her Macbook's flair.

See what I liked the most from my visit to Speck HQ in this gallery: Favorite Speck cases under $40 [Gift Guide 2012].

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iPad Mini FitFolio, back

A close-up of the FitFolio's back stitching.

See what I liked the most from my visit to Speck HQ in this gallery: Favorite Speck cases under $40 [Gift Guide 2012].

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In Hong Kong with the A-Line bag

My Speck A-Line bag is still in perfect shape after I packed it with gadgets and dragged it around the world (literally) in October when I covered Hack In The Box 2012 Malaysia.

Speck's reps were excited to hear I put their bag to the test - my Air, a hard drive, two phones, a jetpack, Kindle, Mophie battery, cords, plugs, adaptors... plus all my airplane necessities. With its smartly designed compartments, the A-Line was the only bag I needed on each of my seven flights.

I found out on my visit that Speck will be discontinuing the A-Line soon.

See what I liked the most from my visit to Speck HQ in this gallery: Favorite Speck cases under $40 [Gift Guide 2012].

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9 of 10 Violet Blue/ZDNET

iPad Mini FitFolio

I liked the iPad Mini FitFolio's quadruple-angle stand. It doesn't have much else in the way of bells and whistles; it's a pared down solution.

See what I liked the most from my visit to Speck HQ in this gallery: Favorite Speck cases under $40 [Gift Guide 2012].

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10 of 10 Violet Blue/ZDNET

Outside at Speck HQ

I wanted to see and touch Speck's newest gear in person, and it was worth the trip to see how the cases felt and functioned. During my visit, Speck let me investigate and test its newest iPhone, Nexus, iPad Mini, Kindle Fire cases and folios.

In this photo, you can see some of the cloth patterned Burton cases, and the new kid-proof iGuy for iPad.

See what I liked the most from my visit to Speck HQ in this gallery: Favorite Speck cases under $40 [Gift Guide 2012].

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