Scosche reVIVE II Dual USB Car Charger for iPad and the iPad Holdr

If you are looking for accessories for the iPad that are going to enhance your car driving experience, here is a USB Charger and also a Holder for the iPad for the car. Not sure how legal it would be in all places in the world, that would be up to you to find out in your location.

Charge your iPad and have an additional USB powered device at the same time. Use your existing USB cables to charge any additional USB powered devices. 2.1 Amp USB port for charging iPad. 1 Amp USB port for charging additional devices

Of course you have to remember safety and not trying to watch a movie or do other stuff on the iPad while you are driving but there is a place for the iPad in the car. With this Scosche reVIVE II Dual USB Car Charger for iPad you will at least be able to keep the charge up on your iPad.

It looks like a handy well made device and hopefully it would longer than the last in car charger I bought. What do you use when you want to use your iOS device in the car.

Padholdr — Take the Amazing Features of the iPad with You in Your Car

Padholder iPad Holder for Automobiles Universal Fit (Black)

Do you want your entire music and video playlist, streaming internet radio, Netflix, Navigation, Internet, Email, Games, Contacts, and much much more at your fingertips wherever you go? Now you can. The Padholdr is the best solution incorporating the iPad into your car without an expensive custom installation.

Padholdr is the only way to get all of the amazing features of the iPad at use in your car.

Take all the functionality and tools of the iPad on all your travels — while staying safe — with the easily installed Padholdr.

Bring Your iPad Along for the Ride

Padholdr uses the best parts in the industry to give you a stylish but easy to use and install iPad holder. The Padholdr is made from a laser cut high gloss acrylic sheet and comes with an array of accessories depending on the application. All hardware, and instruction manuals come complete with each kit.

Padholdr is one of the must have accessories for iPad for the petrol heads out there. Useful gadget for your car, this device is the best solution in the industry for making your iPad work in your car with no custom install. When you order your Padholdr, you will have the ability to install the exact fit for your vehicle. All of our vehicle-specific mounts are meant to be installed without any visible screws showing on the dash board — you’ll be able to remove the kit with no visible signs that there was ever a Padholdr in your car!

iPad Battery Extenders

Even if it does have a battery life to die for, compared to many old fashioned laptop computers there may well be occasion when you need a bit more. We all need a bit more of something from time to time, now, don’t we? Well you might want to have a look at these beauties.

battery extender 1.png

Trent IMP 880

First we have the Trent IMP 880 8900mAh External Battery Pack. You can use with the iPhone 4 and the iPad too. It provides 50 hours of movie time with the iPhone and 20 hours of movie time for the iPad. Nice! There is a range of connectors to plug it in to your devices and it is as handy as that. Ultra reliable Lithium-Ion battery, 500% iPhone 4 Battery life, 80% 3G iPad battery life. Ultra light weight 250g, dimensions: 4.3″x2.5″x0.8″. Five times more capacity usage than without the Trent IMP 880. Not bad !

New Trent ultra-pack IMP880 8900mAh External Battery pack for iPad, iPhone 4 4G, iPhone 3G 3GS, iPod.

It will also work with things like Blackberry phones and HTC Android phones.

Kensington PowerBack Battery Case for iPad with Kickstand and Dock

Built-in 4400mAh battery provides up to 5 extra hours of power for app use, web surfing, movie watching and more
3-position steel kickstand holds your iPad hands-free in typing, portrait or landscape modes
Soft touch finish case protects your iPad from bumps and bruises
Micro USB charge and sync port lets you charge and sync without removing the PowerBack
Built-in speaker deflectors for clear, crisp sound

Kensington PowerBack Battery Case for iPad with Kickstand and Dock (Black)

Pretty sweet to have the iPad protected by a case and have the battery extended at the same time. It makes this solution pretty compelling if you have not got a case already. It also features a battery fuel gauge LED so you can tell how long you have left before you need to plug in and charge it up. when you want to remove the iPad from the PowerBack case you just hold the iPad/Powerback on the lower third, and use your thumbs to push upward….then it just slides right out.

Amazing iPad Podcast 5 featuring WrightWay Photography

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Photogene

Steve tells me that he put the pictures he has just taken right int the iPad and uses it to show to the client. He reports that he gets sales of photos directly at this point. The clients often want to have a look and see what other things the iPad can do, as most times they have not seen one before.

Photogene

Steve tells me about an app called Photogene which looks pretty good and it allows him to do some manipulation of the photos right on the iPad. A bit of a photoshop for the iPad, on the web site for Photogene I see that you can sort out the red eye in a photo as well as doing things with filters and affecting the whole of the photo.

TextNotes

I recommended Simple Note and Notational Velocity as a good way to have notes synced from the desktop computer and the iPad. Notational Velocity is a bit different in the way it works in that the title for the note is also a search field, helping you find notes or helping you see the other notes on a subject before you choose a title for the new note. I like the way it works although I often use Evernote to making text notes. Usually I choose Evernote for the longer notes and use SImple note for the short quick notes.

iPad availability in Spain and buying one

I wanted to order a 32GB wifi only model this week and I called the local premium reseller to see what models that had in stock. I don’t really need the 3G because I am nearly always with WiFi and so is my wife who will also be using the iPad. I was not too surprised to hear that there were no iPads in stock at all in the shop. Although in the Apple Store online there are iPads and the delay time for getting sent out is only 1 day.

So there was only one thing to do and to order online. I did get a email to say it would be sent out in 24 hours and that is nearly up and no sign of it being on its way to me yet. I am so impatient!

I also ordered the camera connection kit and the VGA connector because my wife will be connecting it to the projectors in the school and I want to use the USB of the camera connector to attach a microphone. We went for the 32GB because I have a 16GB iPhone and it is getting full and we expect that there will be more media put on to be used on an iPad.

No case ordered for it yet, that could be something good to get from the local Apple Premium reseller in Girona. Not sure which case to lay out the cash for

How have you found it has worked out with the GB available on your iPad. Do you run out of space quickly?

Comments or questions are welcome.

Applications to get for the iPad

I have some iPad software already in iTunes. I have Flipboard and Inkling which are iPad only applications plus about 25 universal applications. I will be buying the Keynote application of course and I may well also get the Bento iPad version.

Of course I will have Evernote on the iPad, Dropbox will be loaded up straightaway, 1Password is ready to be used there too. Textexpander and SimpleNote are universal applications and in iTunes.

iBooks is ready and waiting and for games I have Beecells. I may get flight control for the iPad or Plants vs Zombies perhaps.

Convert the iPad into a NetBook hybrid

ipadlapdock

The iPad with its touch computer interface is not like a netbook, but Lapdock have had the bright idea to convert the iPad into a netbook with using a bluetooth keyboard in a special iPad case. The bluetooth keyboard side of things is not fully worked out yet but both Lapdock and Clamcase think it would be a good idea that with a hybrid Netbook iPad, the user will get the best of both worlds. What do you think is it a good idea for you and the way you expect to work with your iPad using a bluetooth keyboard with it. Or would you be better off with a docking station iPad.

I suppose there will be some dinosaurs that think it is vital to hang on to the past and the use of the keyboard rather than embrace the way of working with an Apple tablet on which it is designed for the fingers to do the walking. It may not be enough the get the Apple Keyboard dock and just use in certain occasions. Some people may prefer to have more to carry around with them. I personally don’t think it will be necessary.

The Hybrid Tablet Lives With Clamcase.png

I suppose one of the main factors will be the weight of the wrapper that is case and stand for the iPad. If it gets to be too heavy then you might well have a MacBook Pro in your computer bag. What you will have to ask yourself is “What problem does this iPad solution solve for me? You cold see this a middle ground while we are all in the process of adapting to the new world, game changing devices.

Tell me what you think

Comments or questions are welcome.

iPad Docking Station

The iPad docking station is such a good idea because it allows iPad users to stand up the iPad in front of an iPad Keyboard and have it as a proper iPad computer workstation. You will have the joy of using a full keyboard and the Apple keyboard is such a joy to use also. You get the ability to set up in places where you would not have been able to do so before without the iPad station or iPad dock station..

iPad Docking station

Although it is great to be able to take one of these keyboard docking stations away with you, the real benefit comes when you are in the home or your workplace and you want to have the ability to type something longer than you would otherwise. You will get better accuracy and productivity with using the iPad docking station.

Bluetooth iPad docking station

Another possibility for making use of a portable keyboard is to use the Apple Bluetooth keyboard. possibly a more tidy option, although you would have to find some way to stand up the iPad. Most people will still be using the iPad without a docking station, they will have the device sitting on the lap. Not totally comfortable but workable, a good decision would be to buy a dock station iPad or an i Dock..

The iPad is going to go from strength to strength because of its capabilities and the iPad docking station is just one of the tools in the arsenal. I have the iPhone for when I am out and about also and I always thought it would be a great addition to have a keyboard that would work with the iPhone or even the iPod Touch too.

There are the standard iPad docking stations and also the iPad docking station with keyboard, but you do have to look to see that you are getting the iPad 2 dock station if it is that model of iPad you have.

Apple iPad Keyboard Dock - Apple Store (U.S.).png

iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter

Using the iPad to do business presentations seems like it could be the perfect device. Easy to put on a stand in front of you and utilising the iPad Dock Connector to iPad VGA Adapter from Apple ($29 US), which is a fairly unassuming device with the classic Apple 30 pin connector on one end of a short cable and a small white box housing a female VGA connector on the other.

Use the iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter to connect an iPad to your television, projector, or VGA display. Then see your videos and slideshows on the big screen.
The iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter connects to your iPad or iPad Dock via the dock connector and to your projector or display using the iPad to vga adapter.

The vga adapter iPad accessory, does exactly as you would expect, to do, more or less, allowing you to show pictures, slideshows, videos, movies and Keynote presentations to an external display. Most likely in this arena would be one of those screens that you use in business meeting to project on to.
You have to keep in mind that this Apple adapter only outputs images and video……not sound. If you want to watch that video with it’s accompanying soundtrack you will need to either listen to the sound from the iPad speaker, pull the audio out via the headphone jack or use a different cable.
It seems that Keynote on the iPad is not the full ticket as per the application on the Mac and it may be better to keep the presentations simple. The best thing of course in any case is to have a bit of a dry run at home before you go and make a fool of yourself in the business meeting.
What would be nice, would be to have a HDMI out from the iPad, maybe we will get that one of the days in a future incarnation of the iPad.

Any limitations?
Well it seems that not all applications will work using the connector including some movies, although that problem could be due to the DRM limitations that don’t allow those purchased movies to go through some VGA connections. YouTube videos play though it. DRM protected videos do NOT, but videos that I added myself (i.e. ripped via HandBrake and added to iTunes) play beautifully.

It also seems that it doesn’t enable mirroring and some buyers of this accessory have asked for their money back. Not being able to project the desktop, email, spreadsheet, websites, etc is a real limitation in order to use in meeting. Doesn’t Apple realise that in real meetings people project data in other ways rather than just a PowerPoint presentations. There are people looking for a vga to vga adapter, maybe it is necessary to change from male to female connections?

Belkin pleated Sleeve for the iPad

We have to start with looking after the iPad and Belkin always make good products and they have iPad sleeves and iPad 2 sleeves. Here is their Pleated sleeve type case which is available in black. The iPad slides into the case really easy and keeps your iPad safe Belkin F8N277tt Pleated Sleeve for iPad – Black

As we know the iPad has the glass on the front of it so needs to have some protection. The good thing about this case is that the pleated design expands to fit you iPad and your accessories too. So it will still be fairly compact once you have put some extras in there.

The iPad 2 sleeve is made of the wet suit material neoprene and can be kept clean with mild soap and water. It has a soft lining and a secure closure.