I’m liking the look of this Speck FitFolio case for the full-sized iPad. Good enough reviews at Amazon as well. Comes in a variety of colors, but this purple pattern is eye catching.

My experiences with Belkin cases have been good thus far, so I went with another one. This time, I got a Belkin Dot cover with stand for my Dwellable iPad Mini. But now, looking on Belkin’s web site, I don’t see this case offered. I guess it’s no more. Still though, it’s more than a decent case.

The Dot cover is not too heavy but provides sufficient protection to the front and back of your iPad Mini. For awhile, I doubted the magnetic auto-wake trigger of this case, but it is there. Open the cover, and the Mini awakens. The magnetic clasp not only keeps the cover securely closed but strengthens the cover’s structure when open for viewing. I like the overall feel of the cover’s material, providing enough grippy texture.

There are two minuses with this case though small. The stand only works in landscape orientation. If you want to stand up the Mini in portait orientation, you’re going to have to lean it on something. I’ve seen other cases where the iPad can swivel in the stand, but with the low profile of this case, this feature isn’t offered. Secondly, I can’t easily adjust the volume buttons or mute switch. There’s just not enough space for my finger to fit in the recess of the case. No biggie, just humbug.

For the overall cost of the Belkin Dot case, I can’t complain with what I got.

Thanks again to Dwellable for sponsoring their contest and selecting my app review.

Starting today until the end of July, singers, crooners, and American Idol-wannabes can sing along to Jake Shimabukuro’s original creation, Slow Down, and submit their renditions. One winner will receive Apple’s latest iPad, and a fan favorite, as voted by you the people, will win $200 in gas.

For you alpha types, be one of the first five to submit your entry and get a $25 gas card just like that. For all other entrants, you’ll get a copy of Jake’s latest, Peace Love Ukulele.

To enter and to read the official rules, jam on over to http://www.myfarmershawaii.com/karaoke.

Are you ready? Warm up them pipes and sample your challenge.

Can you beat this sample? This ain’t me, I swear.

Good luck!

Was given this dojobber but don’t know what it is. It’s like a rubbery lanyard with a iPhone/iPad dock connector on the end. It can’t be a lanyard since it’s kinda short. Could be a tether of some sort for your iPhone, but I wouldn’t risk securing my iPhone (or iPad) solely by the dock. If that breaks, you might as well get a new device.

Oh, and it’s branded from Panya Bakery which doesn’t help solve the mystery. Any ideas?

From Time magazine. I love the infographic’s design and stats on how Apple’s products have a definite economic impact. The full article and infographic are behind Time’s paywall.

I got an iPad, too.

Battery life is phenomenal! Even with constant writes to the hard drive and wifi connectivity, battery performance has been great. I charge the Dell Mini 10v out of convenience, not from necessity.

Portability. Yes, the netbook form factor really entices you to use this computer just about anywhere. Small, light, and self contained, I’ve moved my 10v more often than my MacBook Pro.

The screen is too small. So Apple’s iApps want a minimal screen size to work optimally, and I understand why. Even at 1024×600 pixels, the netbook screen is much, much too small. iLife barely works due to the screen real estate, but everything else also suffers from a small display. The overall experience of web surfing, creating blog content, and viewing pictures is just not enjoyable on a 10-in screen.

Performance is pokey. But I already knew that going in and just have to be patient. Even short video clips are painfully slow to edit.

I do see how Apple’s iPad is definitely a threat to the netbook market. Although limited in the sense that an iPad is not a full desktop machine, really, neither is a netbook. Sure a netbook looks like a typical computer, but there are shortcomings in expectations. With a tablet-shaped iPad, you know things will be different so your expectations are different.

I’ll reserve final judgment on netbooks since I haven’t had the opportunity to use an iPad for a prolonged time. But I’d say I’m not convinced netbooks are the way to go.

April 30 featured the release of the 3G version of the iPad where there were lines (again) at Apple Stores.

And the Barnes & Noble Nook is also now in stock.

Once upon a time, there was a very rich, very clever man. He got up on a big stage and held up a new kind of computer. It was flat, and it didn’t have a keyboard. This very rich, very clever man then tried to convince a bunch of reporters that in five years this flat, keyboardless computer would be the most popular kind of computer in the country. Some of them even believed him.

The year was 2000. The man’s name was Bill Gates.

One of the things that makes Apple unique is that it never holds focus groups. It doesn’t ask people what they want; it tells them what they’re going to want next.

Give the articles a read even if you’re not an iPad fanboy.

The buyer of an iPad is one of two people, the first is someone who sees not just the present, but the potential of a product like the iPad… and believes in and is excited about that potential. This is also a person who can afford what amounts to a luxury item. The second is an individual who simply doesn’t need to get that much work done, and would prefer their computing experience to be easier, faster, and simpler

and this one:

Rawr

Not mine, but thanks Jason.  I gave this pic a standing ovation when I saw it!

Update: added video.

That multitasking globe is a hoot!

That would be me. Although an Apple fan boy at heart, I’m not totally convinced I need an iPad just yet. Yes, I was slow on the iPhone bandwagon, waiting for the 3G to hit the street before succumbing. And now, I can’t imagine life without my iPhone. Perhaps the iPad will have a similar arc where using it will validate its need.

But I’ll wait. Looking at my wants from a Netbook, the iPad comes very close but misses a key mark in what I’m looking for, and that’s the ability to offload digital pictures. While this might be a small gripe for what the iPad can actually do, it’s something I think is important. Looking at the iPad accessories, there is a Camera Connection Kit which adds a SD memory card reader or USB port to the iPad so you can connect a digital camera to import pictures and videos. But with the low end iPad model with 16 GB of storage, how many times can you offload pictures from your 8-GB SD card? Eight gigs of photos and videos is actually a lot but for an extended vacation trip, it’s a possibility.

Why not just get a larger capacity iPad with 64 GB of storage? And that’s why I’m waiting. You know the cost for capacity will be better in the next version. And maybe the cloud computing power of MobileMe will mature where pictures imported to the iPad are then safely synced in my MobileMe Gallery or iDisk. Or someone will cleverly figure out yet another way of fixing this need.

So I’ll pass on the iPad, for now, anyways.