Hated the Apple case... At first
I was underwhelmed by the Apple case, and had thought I had thrown away the money... But after a few days I have come to appreciate the case a bit more.
My Touch has always been naked, and is battle-scarred beyond belief. My Air has a neoprene sleeve for travel, but other than that no case. While I still have issues with the design, it is not really stable, it leans a bit and doesn't quite sit square, and using the controls are a pain, etc., I have come to change my opinion. Using it with the little flap-tuck thing makes the Pad MUCH easier to use and balance when it sits on your lap, also when it is on a desk it is also easier to use. I thought the case picked up a lot of crap too easily and was going to be a pain to clean, but I took a damp sponge and it wiped off perfectly.
The iPad is indeed a slippery devil, and I can see it being dropped quite easily (yikes). The case does stop a bit of that worry, as it is grippy and provides more handholds than a naked pad.
Still, my preference is probably using it at home with no case, but as soon as I hit the door it goes into the case. I do like the carbon back plate, I do find myself cringing when the metal back gets set down on a hard counter.
Michael