SmartCover
Latest
Keepin' it real fake: the iPad Smart Cover done wrong (video)
Let's be honest, the only time you're likely to consider Apple's prices for own-brand peripherals reasonable is when someone else is paying for them. It's not unusual, therefore, for folks to look to complement their walled Apple garden with a few well selected accessories from the grey market. Such as this here Smart Cover knockoff, which saves you a whopping six bucks off the Apple price at only $33, comes with detachable (no user assistance required) hinge elements, and has a special pet-repelling odor as an added extra. Yes, it's pretty terrible and self-destructs the moment you look at it. And, naturally, it's available to watch on video right after the break.
AViiQ Smart Case for iPad 2 works with your Smart Cover
AViiQ is an accessories manufacturer that loves to do things with aluminum. TUAW reviewed the AViiQ Portable Laptop Stand last October, which is a slender folding wedge of thin aluminum that props up your laptop and takes up little or no space in your bag. Now the company is putting some of that design and manufacturing expertise to use with a new iPad 2 product. The AViiQ Smart Case for iPad 2 (US$49.99) is now available for pre-order and looks like a winner. Unlike the Yoobao Products Executive Leather folio case reviewed by TUAW's Mel Martin yesterday, the AViiQ Smart Case is meant to complement the iPad 2 and Smart Cover, not hide it. The case is made of 1.5 mm thick anodized aluminum in all the right spots to provide the ultimate in strong protection, while using other materials where necessary to keep the Smart Case transparent for wireless access. It comes in colors that precisely match Apple's Smart Covers, or you could mix up the colors for an extra impact. AViiQ offers a 30-day money back guarantee on its products, so if you don't like the case you can get a full refund. Knowing the quality build on its other products, I don't think you'll be returning the Smart Case. We'll have a full hands-on review later this month.
iPad 2 gets a magnetic cherry cover to top off its delicious hardware cake (video)
Killing time until the iPad 2 finally becomes available across Europe later today? Well, now you can stoke the flames of anticipation by taking a gander at this here wood cover made specifically for the magnet-infused new Appletablet. It comes from a single piece of cherry wood and rolls up into a stand, providing a pair of landscape positions and a sturdy base for keeping the slate vertical should you wish to gaze upon it in portrait mode. Frankly, Apple should've been the one to come up with this refinement on its Smart Covers, though at least a small company like Miniot spares us the overblown rhetoric about life-changing gear purchases. Price isn't too bad, either, with orders starting at €50 later on today. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Original iPad retrofitted to play nice with Smart Cover, magnets largely to thank (video)
Although we don't exactly know how they work, magnets are one of Earth's many fascinations and are used in many gadgets today -- perhaps most notably in Apple's new Smart Covers. As you might have already known, the iPad 2's first party screen concealer uses a bunch of magnets to make the magic happen; it snaps on and fits almost too well. By taking a few rare earth magnets and gluing them to the original slate's hip, blogger Dan Provost is able to use a Smart Cover with the iPad uno. He positioned them according to how they stuck to the hinge of the cover, which explains the lack of spacing between the four magnets. As you'll see in the video, Apple's screen protector works well with the tablet, but it lacks the auto-unlock mechanism found in the iPad 2. Care to give your original iPad a taste of modernity? Hit the more coverage link to find the main ingredient for this DIY project.
Modding the iPad 1 to work with the Smart Cover
If you saw the Smart Cover during that announcement a while back and have really wanted to use it with your iPad 1 instead of buying a whole new iPad 2, you may be in luck. One enterprising blogger named Dan Provost agreed with you, and he found that if you super glue a few rare-earth magnets to the side of the iPad 1, the Smart Cover can fit quite nicely right along it. It's a little hacky (depending on whether you mind having a few magnets super glued to a device as slick as the iPad or not), but since we know the Smart Cover is really just magnets and fabric, it should work great. Of course, if you don't want to go that route, there are cases for the iPad that will happily do what the Smart Cover does without requiring you to do any gluing. But if you want Apple's solution for the second iPad to work with your beloved first version, this might be just what you're looking for. [via MacStories]
Visualized: Smart Cover magnets can turn your Apple tablet into a FridgePad
Has the iPad 2 not proven its versatility to you yet? Well, buy one of those "don't call it a case" Smart Covers that Apple launched with it and you'll be able to turn your new dual-core slate into a bona fide FridgePad. Just add fridge.
Video: Replicate Smart Cover sleep mode with a simple magnet
If you're looking for that awesome Smart Cover functionality but don't want to spend forty bucks on a case for your new iPad, it's really simple to add a low-power magnet that will trigger the Smart Cover functionality. All you need is a small strip of flexible craft magnet, available at any local hobby shop, placed at the right position on your iPad. Although the actual trigger point is only about a half inch across, using a strip about two inches long helps guarantee the lock/unlock functionality without having to worry about making precise contact. Of course, it's up to you to add the magnet to an actual case, but that's nothing that a little mailing envelope and duct tape ingenuity can't mock up in a few minutes. You can watch a video demonstration after the break. TUAW reminds you that magnets plus electronic equipment normally do not mix. Use this how-to at your own risk.
iFixit tears down Apple's iPad 2 Smart Cover
Tech bloggers love iFixit. The website always purchases and dismantles new devices as soon as they hit the market, primarily for the benefit of people who want to repair equipment or who are curious about the innards of the latest shiny toys. Analysts use their work to determine the manufacturing cost of consumer electronics by finding out what components are being used. The site did a full teardown of the iPad 2 on Friday, and they've followed up with a dissection of the iPad 2 Smart Cover. I'm using the term "dissection" since once you've cut open a Smart Cover, there's no way to reassemble the ingeniously-designed protective device. What did iFixit find? They used pieces of magnetic viewing film to discern the location of the magnets on both the iPad 2 and the Smart Cover. The 21 magnets on the Smart Cover not only work to align the cover to the iPad 2 in the correct configuration, but they also work with a special steel plate to hold the cover into the triangular shape used to prop up the iPad. One magnet has a special job; turning off the iPad 2 when the cover is closed. The powerful array of magnets in both the iPad 2 and the Smart Cover complement each other in both shape and polarity so that it's virtually impossible to put the cover on incorrectly. The iFixit analysts noted that they had problems keeping the magnets separated after removing them from the iPad 2 and Smart Cover. The Smart Cover teardown is a fascinating look into another example of Apple's design ingenuity at work.
iPad 2 review
To say Apple's iPad 2 is an easy tablet to review is somewhat of an understatement. The device, a follow up to last year's wildly successful (and currently market-defining) iPad, is nearly identical when it comes to software, and though improved, closely related on the hardware side as well. With a 9.7-inch, 1024 x 768 display, the general size and shape of the device has remained the same, and though inside there's a new dual core A5 CPU, more memory, and a pair of new cameras, most of the iPad 2's changes are cosmetic. Still, the previous tablet soared far above most of its competitors when it came to the quality of both the hardware (if not its raw specs) and its software selection -- something Apple still stands head and shoulders over its adversaries on. So this new model, a thinner, sleeker, faster variant of the original may not be breaking lots of new ground, but it's already at the front of the pack. But is the iPad 2 worth an upgrade for those that took the plunge on the first generation? More importantly, does the device have what it takes to bring new owners into the fold? Those questions -- and more -- are all about to be answered in the full Engadget review, so read on!%Gallery-118761%
Apple iPad 2 Smart Cover vs. InCase Convertible Magazine Jacket... Fight!
By now you've seen Apple's Smart Cover, right? The mind blowing cover (don't call it a case) pretty much stole the show during yesterday's iPad 2 press event, causing children to weep at the sight of our exploded bodies. Thing is, we've seen the design before. Oh sure, Apple improved upon it significantly, but there's no mistaking its InCase Convertible Magazine Jacket heritage. See the two slug it out on video after the break in some kind of weird reverse KIRF cage match. We guess 2011 really is the year of the copycats.
iPad 2 gets a Smart Cover
We can't say we were expecting to be impressed by a case for the new iPad 2, but Apple's pulled something of a surprise out its hat with its new Smart Covers for the tablet. Available in multiple colors and in your choice of polyurethane or leather variants, the covers attach to the iPad with a self-aligning magnetic hinge and can also be folded into a triangle and used as a stand. What's more, they'll automatically wake or put your iPad to sleep when you open or close the cover, and they even pack a microfiber lining that cleans your screen each time you flip it open. As Steve Jobs explained, Apple designed the covers right alongside the iPad itself and, as he pointed out in true sound bite fashion, "it's not a case -- it's a cover." Look for the poly covers to set you back $39, while the leather ones will run $69 apiece -- video is after the break. %Gallery-118172%
Apple patents "Smart Covers" for devices
Apple has patented a new kind of cover or skin for devices like the iPhone and iPad. The "smart covers" deliver a paradigm shift for electronic device covers, according to the patent. Apple notes that traditional skins and covers only provide protection from dents and scratches. A smart device cover would add at least one electronic function to traditional skins, allowing not only protection of the device, but augmentation of the devices capabilities. Force sensors, solar grids, lighting effects, illuminated bezels, and even video conferencing are among the myriad uses the patent discusses for various smart covers. Additionally the patent discusses adding a physical keyboard and game pad smart cover to touch screen devices. As always, just because Apple patents a device doesn't mean it will ever see the light of day. One is also left to wonder about the practicality of some of the skins (like a keyboard cover) that would obstruct part of the screen. [via 9to5]
