I wondered about this when I played with the Touch Cover at the Microsoft Store. The plastic seemed quite stiff but I thought the iPad Smart Cover is plastic, too, so it’ll probably be OK.

The thing I didn’t thinks about is that the plastic on a Smart Cover doesn’t hide any components like on the Touch Cover and it’s also never bent completely over during normal use. You can bend segments over completely but when  you roll it up the most acute angle it forms is about 40 degrees. The magnetic metal hinge does all the real work. Also, the Smart Cover is only plastic on one side.

The Smart Cover for the iPad Mini does have a plastic hinge but, again, the plastic doesn’t hold components and seems softer and more flexible than that on the Touch Cover.

If this were Apple someone would be saying they need to be recalled. But nobody expects a quality Windows PC product so it’s cool. (I am not, at this point, advocating such a recall, just being a jerk as is my wont. Please recommend my jerk skills on LinkedIn.)

If this is an endemic problem, it’s kind of a big deal since Microsoft is so heavily pushing the Touch Cover from a use perspective and, more importantly, a design perspective. People love the “click!”, the tearing not so much.

Also, I love how many comments on the Guardian’s piece about this have been moderated.