Bulletproof iPad cover: Latest technology turns your IPAD into armour

The Vestguard Ballistic iPad Panel is 3mm thick and weighs 142g It stops bullets fired from 9mm pistols and 357 Magnum revolvers The panel uses the same technology used in bulletproof clothes in Iraq

By Victoria Woollaston

PUBLISHED: 07:03 EST, 19 July 2013 | UPDATED: 09:01 EST, 19 July 2013

Leading politicians, celebrities and even cautious London commuters are said to be investing in bulletproof covers for their iPads.

The 3mm-thick panels sit behind a traditional tablet cover and can stop bullets from 9mm pistols as well as 357 magnum revolvers travelling faster than the speed of sound.

Made by Essex-based bulletproof experts Vestguard UK, the panels can also protect the user from bomb fragments and shrapnel.

VESTGUARD'S BALLISTIC IPAD PANEL SPECIFICATIONS

According to the company, more than 1,000 Vestguard Ballistic iPad Panels have been sold to leading politicians, VIPs, businessmen working in warzones and Londoners worried about their safety.

It uses military technology currently used for equipment and clothes worn by soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The panels have been tested and were found to protect against 9mm full metal jacket bullets travelling at 358 meters per second (m/s) and a 357 Magnum semi-jacketed round travelling at 425 m/s to National Institute of Justice Standards.

VestGuard UK's Commercial Director, Oliver Lincoln, said: 'Traditionally we sold a lot of bulletproof clipboards back in the day of pen and paper.

'We noticed we weren't really selling many of them anymore and realised it was because everyone was using iPads and tablets.

'So we thought we'd give the iPad panel a try, and interest rocketed.We've sold more than 1,000 iPad panels to customers all over the world.

'They're particularly popular with VIPs, politicians and business people working on their iPad in sensitive, dangerous environments.

'They'd use the iPad panel as a last line of defence in Libya or Iraq if they didn't want to wear body armour or a bulletproof vest for the day.

'It might only be small but it's effective and the weight you're carrying around is negligible.

'You'd be surprised how many ordinary people have been purchasing the panels, particularly Londoners.'

The panels have been designed to be small, thin and they weigh only 142g.

They also don't obstruct the iPad's camera.

Vestguard UK, based in Tiptree, Essex, also make panels for other tablets plus laptops, netbooks, briefcases, travel bags and rucksacks.

'As well as handguns, they protect against bomb fragments so if one goes off you've got an element of protection.

'We do stress that the panels are no way designed to protect your iPad though - they're to keep you safe.'

The iPad Panel costs £41.66.