Having the iPad for over 2 weeks now, I have already acquired a number of case and protection solutions for my iPad. In these two videos, I discuss some of these cases and announce a giveaway for one of them (in the 2nd video) that ends Monday August 16th @ 12am! The case I am giving away is the Speck Fitted in Classic Pink and Grey Plaid along with one Speck Screen Shield, and to enter to win those, all you have to do is be subscribed to me and leave a comment in the iPad Cases Part 2 video that begins with Speck- “your comment.” Enjoy!
^Cases in this video include the SGP Argos and Targus Crave.
^This second video has the GIVEAWAY. Click on the video to follow it back to YouTube where you can subscribe and comment to enter the giveaway!
A new Apple Store has just opened 1.3 miles away from my apartment. Yay! So of course the bf and I are here. I’m so impressed with the turnout- the line goes down the block and around the corner!
I just received my weekly newsletter from Sephora, and in it was the Buxom It’s in the Bag Sweepstakes information. Basically, if you enter, you have a chance at winning one of four designer bags filled with goodies, including round trip Virgin American plane tickets and one of the bags includes an iPad! So, I thought I would share. More infomation can be found here.
As soon as I placed my order for the iPad, I realized the hunt had begun to find the perfect case for it. I had seen a lot of what the major brands had to offer, and although I initially settled on a few different choices from the usual selection of Apple case makers, I wasn’t entirely pleased, until I found the SGP Argos. In all fairness I owe it to my wonderful boyfriend, who occasionally contributes to this blog, for the find. He found in 5 minutes, what I was unable to locate for weeks.
I had a set of criteria for what I wanted in a case. I knew it had to be a folio style, opening like a book. I knew I wanted a case that was hard like a shell for support and protection, as opposed to a completely cloth case which would lack a rigid form and offer less protection to the precious screen. Finally, I knew I wanted a case with a holster style seat for the iPad- something I would pop the iPad into that would not cover any portion of the screen itself but still hold it steady in place. Many of the cases I found initially had one or two of these elements but none that I could find had all three, with the exception of one case manufacturer. My old favorite, Vaja, made a case that was exactly what I was looking for, however, I simply could not swallow the $280 price tag. It’s just like me to have expensive taste, but this was one luxury case I would not indulge in.
So, in walks the SGP Argos. It’s a folio, its a hard shell wrapped in leather, and it has a holster seat. On top of all that, it has a unique inscription on the inner flap from the fabled Emerald Tablet of Hermes, as well as some stylized patterned inscriptions on the seat itself, and it is handmade- all for under $70. I fell in love, and I have been using the case since day 1 with the iPad and I have no complaints. The iPad stays firmly in place, the dual hard shell/padded exterior is tough (and I mean tough!) I’m not afraid of anything dropping on it and breaking the screen, I am not afraid of my dog walking on it and scratching up the leather (he did walk on it and the leather was unaffected– FYI, this is only a 10 lb dog we are talking about), and I am not afraid of dropping my iPad and everything bursting out into a million little pieces. I have complete confidence in this case protecting the device so long as the top cover is closed.
Now, how does the top cover close, you might be wondering? It has a lip that curls around the side of the iPad (similar to the way the Vaja cases close, if you are more familiar with those) and it is a nice tight fit. I actually have to give it a good push to open it up, and although it touches directly to the iPad’s exterior, the padding of the leather prevents the lip from scratching the aluminum. So, you see, as I said before, I am not worried about damaging the iPad while it is in this case and the cover is closed- it really is like a slim little tank! So, I will be posting some pictures of the case for your enjoyment and I should be making a video review for it within a few days so you can get a better idea of that way it works and the texture. Let me know if you have the case and your thoughts, or if you have any questions about it! Enjoy!
1. Battery Life When Apple said the iPad could go 10 hours on a charge, they weren’t kidding. In a world were so many of our wireless devices can only go a few hours before requiring an outlet, its mind blowing to have a device that you can use heavily for a matter of days without needing to refuel its energy supply. I have surfed the web for hours, watched a movie, read ebooks and played with multiple apps, all without having to stop and recharge. Its funny because I will frequently find myself looking up at the battery indicator, sure that its time to plug in, but find I still have plenty of life left on the device.
2. 9.7 inch back-lit multitouch display=WOW The screen is the life of any device, and although we have gotten used to our small touch screens in our phones and iPod touches, there is nothing to compare to the iPads screen. It may not be high def, but it certainly seems that way. I have been keeping the screens brightness at about 33% because the screen is just so vivid and honestly, my eyes are just not used to soo much bright color. The multitouch is amazing, similar to its smaller siblings, but soo much more sensitive with the 360 degree rotation, the device is simply speedy. It makes games that much more enjoyable, browsing a breeze and reading more relaxing.
3. Virtual Keyboard Although there is a bit of a learning curve with the virtual keyboard, it truly sets the device apart from the iPhone/iPod Touch lines. Where once the virtual keyboard was an element useful only for short messages, texts, and tweets, the full size version on the iPad is a productivity tool. Although it lacks the tactile touch sensations we are all used to with a full sized computer, once you get used to the adjusted layout and begin to trust yourself and the amazing auto-correct, you will be on your way to getting things done with your iPad.
4. Portability The iPad is certainly the most portable computing device I have ever owned. It may not cover 100% of my needs and replace a laptop or desktop computer, but it does cover a good 90% of them. It certainly covers everything I use my laptop for when I am taking it out of the house. Word processing, internet browsing, organization, entertainment, and then some, all in a lightweight, slim package that fits even in my smaller purses- and thats a place my 13″ Macbook Pro could never go.
5. Apps, Apps and More Apps Its no secret that the key to your computing experience is in the applications you use, whether you be using an iPad, smartphone, laptop, or desktop computer, Mac, PC, or Linux, your device can only take you as far as your application will permit. Right now, I have 82 items in my applications folder on my Macbook Pro, of those items, I use about 10-15 of them on a regular basis. My iPad in comparison has maybe 50 applications that I have downloaded for it since I purchased the iPad, and I use most of them everyday. On top of that, there are a plethora of applications out their for the iPad that I haven’t even seen yet, and God knows how many more applications will be added to the App Store by the end of this year, let alone the rest of this month! There is no hiding the fact that the apps make the device, and when the sky is the limit to what developers will create for the iPad, the sky is the limit for what the iPad can become. To me, that feels like magic!
{Oh, and if those weren’t enough reasons… I blogged this from my iPad.}
I just read this quasi-insightful article entitled “Twitter Made Me Hate You,” which pretty much sums up the reason I never got big into Twitter: people would be annoying. More so than that fact, the article illustrates how many people use Twitter as a means of promoting and satisfying their egos, which is infinitely more annoying than just reading a constant string of thoughts, or rather thoughtlessness.
Guess I can’t complain though, as I use Twitter to republish my blog posts which is just another way of self promotion. Ugh, the cycle never ends!
So, I finally broke down and ordered an iPad last week– which means only about 2 short weeks left until the thing actually arrives 🙁 In the meantime, I am trying to assemble products to review for the iPad that I find interesting and worth the money for them. So many cases out there are overpriced or just underwhelming and I need to sort through those to find you some real deals out there to protect not only my iPad, but also yours! In this video, I review the SwitchEasy Nude, a case I consider to be a great deal for only $29 because of all the accessories that come along with it. I hope you enjoy the video and if you have any suggestions for interesting iPad cases, please let me know!
Funny story is making its way around the web today about Apple’s colossal FAIL over the iPhone 4’s antenna. I’m sure we have all seen the videos of people holding their iPhones in the “Death Grip” and watching their full 5 bars plummet down to a No Service. Well Apple has heard the complaints and has figured the solution to it: they were giving you too many bars of reception to begin with!!!
That’s right, when your iPhone says 5 bars, it actually doesn’t have that much reception! Apple’s calculations for reception display have been off this whole time. It showed too many bars when you really don’t have that much, so your spotty AT&T service seems to have just gotten worse. In an upcoming free software update they will fix the illusion of more bars and show you what you are really getting. Why is this being done? So the big drop of bars when holding the phone in the Death Grip doesn’t appear that dramatic. So now your reaction of: “5 bars to nothing holding it like this? What???” Will now, according to Apple’s dreams, will be like: “3 bars to nothing holding it like this? Oh that’s understandable…. maybe I should buy some iTunes gift cards”
Oh and in an attempt to trick you into thinking you have good reception they are making the 1, 2, and 3 bars bigger, “so they are easier to see”. Sure.
It seems now more than ever that old technologies from not too long ago are being pushed completely out of the way. One dying technology I am interested in is that of the home phone. Only 10 years ago it was the only way for personal communication with anyone instantly in the world. But then cell phones became smaller, and the internet took off, so did e-mailing, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, texting, and I guess now- FaceTime. So many forms of instant communication we are now a forever connected society always on the go. It seems like everyone over the age of 8 now has their own cell phone and multiple social networking pages they check every minute so why bother with being tied down with a home phone?
I myself do not have a phone in my house that cannot fit in my pocket. When people ask me for a number to reach me at, I never worry that I don’t have a home phone for them to reach me at because I have a cell phone with me 24/7. Why even pay X dollars more a month for a home phone from your service provider? Is there any benefit to having a cell phone and a home phone? Just the cell phone works just fine, it has everything a home phone has – it can make and receive calls and record a voicemail. Done.
So the question we have to ask – is the home phone dead seems pretty obvious. Sure it will hold out for maybe a few more decades but eventually just as the last Pinto is rolled out, the last Cassette Tape is recorded, and the last VHS is boxed, the home phone will die out soon enough.
(Unless this is the home phone of the future – in which case, that’d be awesome. Wait, Steve Jobs… did you travel Back to the Future to come up with FaceTime?)
