The thing about accessories is that half the time, you wish they weren't accessories at all. You wish they came in the box. Among the things we would have liked to have seen included with the iPad was a protective case.

Alas, it wasn't to be but you can find cases aplenty just the same, and you can read about Apple's here, and other cases later in this chapter.

Apple's entry in this category, which carries the most straightforward of names, Apple iPad Case, is the lightweight $39 soft black microfiber case. We think it's kind of classy looking, though it's nothing like the brown crocodile-skin iPad case from Orbino, which at $689 will take quite a bite out of your paycheck.

And Apple doesn't get by on looks alone. Few other iPad cases are likely to be as versatile as Apple's. You can prop up the case so that the iPad rests at about a 30-degree angle, which makes it much easier for typing on its virtual keyboard. What's more, when you fold the case horizontally or vertically, you can stand it up and turn the iPad into a digital photo frame or use it to watch movies.

We think the various virtual keyboards that pop up just as you need them on the iPad are perfectly fine for shorter typing tasks, whether it's composing e-mails or tapping out a few notes. For most longer assignments, however, we writers are more comfortable pounding away on a real-deal physical keyboard, and we suspect you feel the same way.

Fortunately a physical keyboard for the iPad is an easy addition. Apple sells two alternatives as follows, each for $69.

The Apple Wireless Keyboard

The Apple Wireless Keyboard, shown in Figure 15-1, is a way to use a top-notch aluminum physical keyboard without having to tether it to the iPad. It operates from up to 30 feet away from the iPad via Bluetooth, the wireless technology we spend time with in Chapter 13. Which begs us to ask, can you see the iPad screen from 30 feet away?

Figure 15-1. The wireless keyboard from Apple.

Courtesy of Apple

As with any Bluetooth device that the iPad makes nice with, you have to pair it to your tablet. Pairing is also discussed in Chapter 13.

The Bluetooth keyboard takes two AA batteries. It's smart about power management too; it powers itself down when you stop using it to avoid draining those batteries. It wakes up when you start typing.

It doesn't do any of the docking tricks, of course, that are possible with the iPad Keyboard Dock. On the other hand, it's very thin, so it's easier to take with you than the Apple Keyboard Dock. If you use a backpack, briefcase, messenger bag, or even a large purse, there's almost certainly room for the Apple Wireless Keyboard.

Tip

Though we haven't tested any models, the iPad ought to work fine with a non-Apple Bluetooth keyboard, as long as the keyboard supports Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology.

The iPad doesn't include a USB port or SD memory card slot, which happen to be the most popular methods for getting pictures (and videos) from a digital camera onto a computer. As you know by now, the iPad also lacks its own camera.

All the same, the iPad delivers a marvelous photo viewer. That's why if you take a lot of pictures, Apple's $29 iPad Camera Connection Kit, which we also discuss in Chapter 10, is worth considering. As a reminder, it consists of the two components shown in Figure 15-2, either of which plugs into the 30-pin connector at the bottom of the iPad. One sports a USB interface that you can use with the USB cable that came with your camera to download pix. The other is an SD Card Reader that lets you insert the memory card that stores your pictures.

Figure 15-2. You have two ways to import images using the iPad Camera Connection Kit.

We only hope that despite this helpful accessory, Apple will get around to adding USB, an SD slot — and oh yeah, a camera to a future iPad.

The iPad has a pretty big screen for what it is, a tablet computer. But that display is still not nearly as large as a living room TV or a monitor you might see in a conference room or auditorium.

Projecting what's on the iPad's 1024 × 768 screen to a larger display is the very reason behind the iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter cable that Apple is selling for $29. You can use it to connect your iPad to TVs, projectors, and VGA displays. What for? To watch videos, slideshows, and presentations on the big screen.

You may also have decent results playing movies off iPad to a TV using yet another cable that Apple sells. It's the $49 Apple Component AV Cable. The hookup is from the dock connector on the iPad to the so-called component video ports of your home theater or stereo receiver; such component connectors are red, blue, and green. As part of this setup, you also need to hook up red and white audio connectors to analog ports on the receiver.

Because of digital rights restrictions, you can't project the movies you downloaded from iTunes either.

With roughly 10 hours of battery life, a single charge can more than get you through a typical work day with your iPad. But why chance it? Having a spare charger at the office can spare you (!) from having to commute with one. The Apple iPad 10W USB Power Adapter goes for $29 and includes a lengthy 6-foot cord.

Search Amazon.com for headphones, earphones, or headsets and you'll find thousands of each are available at prices ranging from around $10 to over $1,000. Or, if you prefer to shop in a brick-and-mortar store, Target, Best Buy, and the Apple Store all have decent selections, with prices starting at less than $20.

With so many brands and models of earphones, headphones, and headsets available from so many manufacturers at so many price points, we can't possibly test even a fraction of the ones available today. That said, we've probably tested more of them than most people, and we have our favorites.

When it comes to headphones, Bob is partial to his Grado SR60i's, which are legendary for offering astonishingly accurate audio at an affordable price (around $80). He's tried headphones that cost twice, thrice, or even more times as much that he didn't think sounded nearly as good. Find out more at www.gradolabs.com.

Earphones? Headphones? Headsets?

We have referred to headphones and headsets several times and thought you might be wondering if there's a difference, and if so, what it is. When we talk about headphones or earphones, we're talking about the things you use to listen to music. A headset adds a microphone so that you can use it for voice chatting, recording voice notes, and (in the case of the iPhone or Internet VoIP services such as Skype) for phone calls. So headphones and earphones are for listening, and headsets are for both talking and listening.

Now you may be wondering whether earphones and headphones are the same. To some people they may be, but to us, headphones (shown on the left in the figure) have a band across the top (or back) of your head, and the listening apparatus is big and covers the outside of your ears. Think of the big fat things you see covering a radio disk jockey's ears. Earphones (sometimes referred to as earbuds and shown on the right in the figure), on the other hand, are smaller, fit entirely in your ear, and have no band across the top or back of your head.

Headsets can be earphone style or, less commonly, headphone style. The distinguishing factor is that headsets always include a microphone. And some headsets are designed specifically for use with Apple i-products (iPhone, iPod, iPad) and have integrated Play/Pause and volume control buttons.

One last thing: Some companies refer to their earbud products as headphones, but we think that's confusing and wrong. So in this book, headphones are those bulky, outside-the-ear things and earphones are teeny-tiny things that fit entirely in your ear canal.

Ed goes with sweet-sounding albeit pricey (about $350) Bose QuietComfort 3 acoustic noise cancelling headphones.

For earphones and earphone-style headsets, Bob likes the Klipsch Image S4 Headphones and S4i In-Ear Headset with Mic and 3-Button Remote. At around $79 and $99, respectively, they sound better than many similarly priced products and better than many more expensive offerings.

Neither of us has much experience with Bluetooth (wireless) stereo headphones and headsets, but we thought we'd at least plant the seed. The idea is that with Bluetooth stereo headphones/earphones/headsets, you can listen to music wirelessly up to 33 feet away from your iPad. If this sounds good to you, we suggest that you look for reviews of such products on the Web before you decide which one to buy. A search of Amazon.com for "stereo Bluetooth headset" brought up over 300 items, with prices starting as low as $15.

For what it's worth, Bob has a Cardo S2 Bluetooth stereo headset that he occasionally uses with his iPhone when he walks his dog. He tested it with his iPad and it worked just fine. The only problem is that the model he has is apparently discontinued. On the other hand, you can find them occasionally on the Web for around $70, and Bob says they perform well and sound better than you might expect for a wireless headset. On the other hand, his are over three years old, so you can probably find something better that costs less by now.

Logitech (www.logitech.com) makes a range of desktop speaker systems priced from under $25 to over $300. But that $300 system is the Z5500 THX-certified 505-watt 5.1 digital surround system — surely overkill for listening to music or video on your iPad, which doesn't support surround sound anyway. The point is that Logitech makes a variety of decent systems at a wide range of price points. If you're looking for something inexpensive, you can't go wrong with most Logitech powered speaker systems.

Bob is a big fan of Audioengine (www.audioengineusa.com) desktop speakers. They deliver superior audio at prices that are quite reasonable for speakers that sound this good. Audioengine 5 is the premium product priced at $349 a pair; Audioengine 2 is its smaller but still excellent-sounding sibling priced at $199 a pair. They're only available direct from the manufacturer, but the company is so confident you'll love them that it offers a free audition for their speaker systems. If you order a pair and don't love them, return them within 30 days for a full refund. Bob knows a lot of people who have ordered them, and so far no one has sent them back.

Like Bluetooth headsets, Bluetooth speakers let you listen to music up to 33 feet away from your iPad. They're great for listening by the pool or hot tub or anywhere else you might not want to take your iPad.

Bob recently reviewed the Tenqa SP-109 Stereo Bluetooth Speaker ($49.99) for the Mac Observer (www.macobserver.com) and gave it a four (out of five) star rating saying it was "easy to set up and simple to use at a reasonable price," though he did also say he thought the sound quality was just okay.

Again, neither one of us has much experience with Bluetooth (wireless) stereo speakers, but we'd be remiss if we didn't at least mention them.

Because of its much larger size compared to an iPod or iPhone, you can't just dock the iPad into a speaker system designed for the smaller devices. All is not lost if you're partial to those speakers and still want to connect the iPad. CableJive (cablejive.com) sells Dock Extender cables that let you dock your iPad from a distance; it's described as a 30-pin Male to Female Extension cable.

Versions come in black or white and two standard lengths, $25.95 for a 2-foot length and $31.95 for 6 feet. If you need an even longer cable, CableJive will let you choose a custom size of up to 14 feet, for which you'll pay up to $107.

Some people prefer not to use a case with their iPad, and that's okay, too. But if you're one of those people (or even if you're not), you might want to consider protective film for the iPad screen or even the whole device. We've tried these products on our iPhones in the past and have found them to perform as promised. If you apply them properly, they're nearly invisible and protect your iPad from scratches and scrapes without adding any bulk.

Bob has tested film products from Invisible Shield by Zagg (www.zagg.com), BodyGuardz (www.bodyguardz.com), and Best Skins Ever (www.bestskinsever.com) and says, in a nutshell, they're more similar than they are different. Invisible Shield is the most expensive and possibly the best-quality film. BodyGuardz products are roughly 25 percent cheaper than Invisible Shield and of comparable quality. Both Invisible Shield and BodyGuardz offer free lifetime replacement of their products. Best Skins Ever products are 25–55 percent less expensive than Invisible Shield or BodyGuardz, yet the product is, if not just as good, darn close to it. The difference is that Best Skins Ever has minimal packaging, and rather than including the "special liquid" you need to apply it (like Invisible Shield and BodyGuardz), Best Skins Ever includes instructions for making it yourself. And unlike the others, Best Skins Ever has no free replacement policy, though it does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. Finally, all three offer total protection (front, back, and sides) as well as separate products for the front or back.

Which one to choose? If you think you might take advantage of the lifetime replacement policy, you want either Invisible Shield or BodyGuardz. If you want a good product at the lowest price but with a 30-day money-back guarantee instead of lifetime replacement, look at Best Skins Ever.

One last thing: RadTech (www.radtech.us) offers two types of Mylar screen protectors — clear transparent and antiglare. These screen protectors are somewhat stiffer than the film products, and unlike film, they can be cleaned and reapplied multiple times with no reduction in performance. They effectively hide minor scratches, surface defects, and abrasions, and the hard Mylar surface not only resists scratches and abrasions but is also optically correct. Finally, they're reasonably priced at $19.95 for a pair of protectors of the same type.

The Griffin A-Frame ($49.99) is so unusual we just had to include it. As you can see in Figure 15-3, it's a dual-purpose desktop stand made of heavy-duty aluminum. You can open it to hold your iPad in either portrait or landscape mode for video watching, displaying pictures (a great way to exploit the Picture Frame mode, as we describe in Chapter 10), or even reading. In this upright mode, it's also the perfect companion for the Apple Wireless Keyboard (or any other Bluetooth keyboard for that matter). Or, close the legs and lay it down, and it puts your iPad at the perfect angle for using the on-screen keyboard.

Soft silicone padding keeps your iPad from getting scratched or sliding around, and the bottom lip is designed to accommodate the charging cable in portrait mode. Furthermore, it works with many third-party cases, including Griffin's flexible and hard-shell cases, among others.

Bob says, "I really, really like this thing; it's where my iPad resides pretty much anytime it's not in my backpack."

Figure 15-3. The Griffin A-Frame is a unique, dual-purpose tabletop stand for your iPad.

A 2-into-1 stereo adapter is a handy little device that lets two people plug their headphones/earphones/headsets into one iPad (or iPod or iPhone for that matter). They're quite inexpensive (under $10) and extremely useful if you are traveling with a friend by air, sea, rail, or bus. They're also great when you want to watch a movie with your BFF but don't want to risk waking the neighbors or roommates.

You really only need to know two things. The first is that ⅛-inch and 3.5mm are used interchangeably in the adapter world (even though they're not really the same).

In other words, you need a ⅛-inch or 3.5mm stereo adapter that has a single stereo plug on one end (to plug into your iPad) and two stereo jacks on the other (to accommodate two sets of headphones/earphones/headsets).