Looking for the best iPad Case? Can we recommend Case For A Cause?

The long and short of it is this, women dedicated to rescuing other women from forced prostitution and human trafficking (in Eastern Asia) are making, by hand, the most gorgeous iPad cases you’ve ever seen.

A group of North Americans are donating their time and business sense to help them get the product off the ground. Nobody in the USA is making a penny from the product.

More information about Case For A Cause project can be found here.

The iPad cases produced by these women are gorgeous. Using high quality wool felt made by hand in the spectacular Tian-Shan mountains of central Asia, each of the iPad cases was carefully hand-stitched by indigenous artisans and displays traditional Kyrgyz embroidery.

Whenever I carry my case, people ask me where I got it. When I tell them the full story, people ask me where they can order one.

We here at PaulsiPad.com ask you, simply, to buy a case. We don’t make a dime – we just believe in it that much.

Here is a video about the project:

Here’s a better look at the different cases:

Here is an awesome way to get your case for free:

People don’t want a tablet – they want an iPad. This simple little truth is the key to success in this place and the sooner it is realized, the better it is for everyone in the space of competing with Apple.

The “competition” is building tablets. They’re building computers with flat screens that run whatever OS they can get them to run between now and the launch of Windows 8 (and we know how well Microsoft has done with tablet operating systems so far).

People don’t want computers with flat screens. They want an iPad.

Why?

The apps, the infrastructure, the reputation, the stores where you can go get help, the battery life, the integration with iTunes (and Netflix and Hulu, etc.), the cool commercials, the fun cases and more.

If you look at the one tablet with a chance of competing with the iPad, it’s the Kindle Fire. Why?

Because, again, they’re not buying a tablet – they’re buying the apps and the infrastructure.

People don’t want tablets. They want to do cool things with whatever tech allows them to do cool things.

It had to be said …

You don’t typically think of using a Bluetooth headset with an iPad. When Plantronics sent us a review unit for their Plantronics Voyager Pro HD, we decided to give it a try on the iPad. We were pleasantly surprised.

Besides great sound, one of the big features of the Plantronics Voyager Pro HD is that it’s “aware” of where it is. As you can see in the video, remove the headset from your ear and the music (or Podcast, etc.) pauses. Very very cool.

Here is the entire video review for the Voyager Pro HD at YouTube if you can’t see the embedded video review below.

Obviously, the size of the iPad is very attractive. The less stuff, and the less volume of stuff, that we have to pack at any time is always a variable worth looking at.

With a decent case, you can carry your iPad pretty much anywhere for the approximate size and weight of a good paper notebook (maybe a little heavier). Remember though, you’re carrying a lot more than a notebook

What’s fascinating about the whole iPad world is that there is a whole economy of cases and keyboards made for our favorite tablet.

Theses cases and keyboards do traditionally take the Apple aesthetic and look great but there is a more important element to look at when you’re considering them. The right case and keyboard makes everything work better.

Cases

As fun as it is to grab a sexy little case that shows off your purchase, there are definite things to consider in this decision.

Obviously there is the look and feel to the case but you also want to consider how the iPad / case combo changes the iPad dynamic. Even with the most gorgeous case in the world, if it takes too long to remove the iPad from the case, you won’t be able to enjoy the iPad by herself experience that jobs and company worked so hard on.

Make sure you get a case that makes it easy to use the iPad alone. Trust me on this one.

In addition, you want to consider how your case adds to the bulk of the iPad. I’ve seen people carrying cases that make their tablets bulkier and uglier than the very notebooks our iPad was designed to eliminate. The added weight and bulk takes away from the aesthetic that made them purchase this thing in the first place.

Finally, price is worth considering. Do you really want to spend 20% of your purchase price on a case?

Just sayin …

My favorite cases are the (many) case/keyboard combos that let you use a bluetooth keyboard (discussed next) when you want to – while enjoying the solo iPad experience when that is what you desire.

Which case should you get? Grab the one that makes the most sense to you – not the one the sales person tells you is the best.

Keyboards

I know people who do quite well with the on screen keyboard. Using it not only means that you don’t have to carry an additional keyboard, but it also means that you don’t have to carry the bulk that comes with one. Whereas I type this on a bluetooth keyboard, I’ve typed plenty without one. The choice is up to you.

The beauty of bluetooth is that your iPad will work with any/all of them. A friend of mine uses (really) a keyboard that was made for his old Palm Pilot and swears by it. It’s small and compact and he didn’t need to spend a dime on it.

I’ve used 6 different keyboards to date and I suggest two things:

Go for quality. I’ve had keys pop off of the more “traditional” keyboard layouts and I’ve had batteries last for just a few hours. You can do better than that – much better.

The review sites will are worth your time in researching your best options.

As mentioned a few paragraphs previous, I do recommend you consider the iPad case / keyboard combos out there.

You can, of course, always check out PaulsiPad.com/keyboards for my latest recommendation.

I’ll admit it, the Jobs biography is like crack for me right now. So much fun. So much inspiration.

Please read it.

I thought I’d have a little fun over at the personal blog and suggest a few “surprises” in the book.

I tried to have some fun with it. Somehow I think Steve would have approved.

Battery

And, the battery life on the iPad … there is just nothing like it anywhere else and if you’ve ever had a computer die on you before the job was done, you know how important this is.

How good is the battery? You find yourself doing funny things when you buy an iPad. I noticed this on day two of my iPad journey where I took her on an obligatory trip to Starbucks when I found myself doing something funny … I stopped looking for the seat next to a plug, I looked for the comfy chair.

When your battery is good enough to not worry about what happens if you stuck without it being charged 100%, you’re on to something good.

Another story of battery life comes in a trip I took to Boston. When I got to the airport, I found my flight was delayed two hours. Instead of the traditional setup in the airport work area, I took the iPad to a pub, ordered a pint, and “worked.” Free wifi at Portland International (as well as some great beer). That was pleasant.

On the flight from Portland to Chicago, I worked the whole flight. No wifi on the one so I had to wait until landing to sync up my email. I know, first world problems.

When I landed in Chicago, I had ten minutes to make my connection (2 hour delays will do that to you). I quickly synced things up, got on the flight to Boston and worked that whole trip as well. Again no wifi to drain the battery quicker but that was pretty nice.

When I finally got to the hotel room I noticed the iPad still had 30% on it. That probably would have been enough to take me through my needs of the next day – but I put her on the charger anyway. I then took the kind of nap you can take when you got your work done on the flight.

Not having to worry about battery is huge.

What happens if you need more than a full charge of your iPad battery? Here’s the thing – you’re options are again cheaper than a laptop battery. There are several battery charging devices that you can charge ahead of time, through in your bag, and use to charge the iPad without the use of a plug.

Battery is a major reason to think about the iPad as a business device.

Ask anyone with a laptop.

Why the iPad?

Before we look at the specifics of the iPad for business, we have to get through the thinking process of “why” the iPad in the first place. There are many (although their numbers are decreasing rapidly) who consider it just a shiny toy. Let’s debunk that here, before we go any further.

Price for equipment.

I remember when a friend asked me a few questions about the iPad in the time between the announcement and release. The conversation went something like this …

“So, the iPad is less than a laptop, does the Internet, email and word processing?” He had a large family and desperately needed another machine for his teenagers to use for their schoolwork.

I replied, “Yes. Now it can’t print.” It couldn’t at the time.

To which he replied, “Well, I’m sure as heck not buying another printer … wait a minute … Facebook … it will still do that, right?”

I answered the best I could, “Well, it will run iPhone apps and the iPhone Facebook app is pretty good. I’m assuming you can go right to the Website too – but I don’t know for sure.”

He mumbled something about it being harder to play Farmville on the iPad might actually turn out to be a good thing and then asked the question that shined a great light on the topic at hand, “Why in the world would I want to buy a laptop that costs more, has a much shorter battery life, and isn’t nearly as cool?”

I told him it was a great question for which I had no answer.

I type this on a plane and across from me sits a business user with a laptop the size of dog. He’s playing solitaire on it. I assume he’ll be shutting it down very soon because of his lack of battery life.

I wonder how much money he (or his company) paid for it.

Behind me is someone running a DVD on their laptop. Actually, it might be a digital file but either way – that’s one expensive way to watch a movie. When you consider the fact that the battery probably won’t last the length of the movie, it gets even sillier.

The base iPad is fine for most everyone and is far less than a “decent” laptop. Sure, there are netbooks cheaper but I’m just gonna say it … Yeah, but they’re netbooks …

Price for software.

When my friend asked about the iPad for his kids, I forgot to mention that the word processor on the iPad was $5. A few months back I helped him find the “best deal” on the home version of Microsoft Office. It wasn’t cheap. You can imagine this one piece of news sealed the deal.

It still amazes me how cheap iPad software is. I’ve spent less on software than I have keyboards and cases and still spend a great deal of time in the free Mail, Safari and Calendar apps.

Not only that but with a our family on a single iTunes account (don’t worry, it’s allowed), I buy the software only once and both my wife and I enjoy use of the business apps. My kids aren’t that far off.

The thing to remember about iPad software is that although inexpensive, the good stuff is REALLY GOOD. I’ve spent thousands on productivity software but spend more time planning out my week on the iPad than on any desktop. The mind mapping software used to build the structure of this tome was so cheap that I initially questioned it’s power at that price.

I was wrong.

There are two reasons iPad software is so cheap – both of them are good.

The first issue is, simply, the “App Economy” is one of rock bottom prices. Anyone can underbid you price so you have to stay inexpensive to stay relevant. If you’re going to play in this playground, you have to play by the rules.

The second issue might make you feel a bit more comfortable with yourself and the value exchange of iPad software. The app economy sees 70% of all sales directly in the hands of the developer – with speed much quicker than they were ever used to being paid before. In the “other” software world of rampant piracy (still possible on the iPad, but much harder – and at these prices many say “not worth it) and antiquated distribution models, many are simply making more money in this space than they ever were. When you add to that the ease of the impulse buy in the App Store and you can sleep well knowing that your favorite developers are doing quite well, thankyouverymuch.

So with equipment and software cheap, the issue of price is a major plus for the iPad. But it isn’t the only thing the iPad has going for it.

Yeah, we know that PaulsiPad.com is all about business and the iPad – but part of business is the work/life balance. And part of that is when and where and how to let your kids access your iPad.

We’re putting together a page of iPad Sites For Kids.

Right now she’s empty – but with your suggestions and recommendations, we can build a great list of kid friendly iPad sites.

We’re looking to see what you come up with …

When iOS 5 was announced, one of the features we were most excited about was AirPlay Mirroring. With an AppleTV and an iPad 2 you could, wirelessly, mirror what you saw on the iPad screen to your HD set.

Sorry, no this doesn’t work on the iPad 1.

The implications of AirPlay mirroring for both business and entertainment are staggering. Imagine being able to present from your iPad 2 as remote while walking around during a presentation. And, of course if the iPad is so strong at streaming video, what happens when you can/do share that with the whole room?

Attached below is a video demo of iPad 2 AirPlay Mirroring. As an extra bonus you’ll see how you can use it to watch Internet TV on your Apple TV that some, simply, don’t want you to watch.

Thoughts on the whole process and implications? And, yes, it really is that simple and easy.

iCloud is not the only iPad cloud storage solution out there. One of them, Box.net, has been around much longer (their iPhone app is 3 years old) and is offering free 50 GBs of Cloud Storage for iPad users (iPad 1 users too).

You, obviously, want to take advantage of this deal.

Truth be told, I was paying customer for years of Box.net and always loved their system an integration. New players like Dropbox made things interesting but I’ve always kept a cache of documents there (and will be sending them more).

To get your free iPad cloud storage, all you need to do is download or update to the newest Box for iPhone and iPad app (version 2.4.3), and log into Box in order to get your 50 GB upgrade. In addition to the upgraded access the new app has AirPlay so you can send files direction from the App to your AppleTV or Airport Express system.

Very cool Box.net. Thanks guys!