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el-John-o

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 29, 2010
1,588
766
Missouri
Hey all,

Someone gave me a $45 Apple Store gift card. If you had $45 to spend, what would you buy in the Apple Store for your iPad? I've got a nekkid iPad, no accessories that didn't come with it, so what's worth the money folks?

-John
 

el-John-o

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 29, 2010
1,588
766
Missouri
Tough crowd tonight, 73 views and not one idea of what to buy! I'm leaning towards the Camera Connection kit, or maybe the Apple Case (even though I'll likely replace that with something like a Portenzo or something)

-John
 

Sibilance7

macrumors newbie
Dec 30, 2010
9
0
I have a similar problem - my iPad didn't arrive in the 2 days it was supposed to (I paid for 2 day shipping), so the apple rep I spoke to offered me a free accessory. I chose the camera connection kit, but now I'm not sure I'll use it a lot, so I'm thinking about exchanging it for an iPad stand. While I very much appreciate the free product from Apple, it seems like many of the good accessories are made by third parties and not always available at the apple store.
 

Higgs1

macrumors 6502
Jun 6, 2009
331
1
New York City
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Doesn't the camera kit not function properly after the 4.2 update? Think I read about issues some were now having.
 

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,598
7,768
Doesn't the camera kit not function properly after the 4.2 update? Think I read about issues some were now having.

It works fine for the purpose it was designed for, that is, transfering pictures from a camera to the iPad. But prior to 4.2, it could be used with some other USB accessories, for example a USB keyboard. Many of those accessories no longer work under 4.2.
 

Higgs1

macrumors 6502
Jun 6, 2009
331
1
New York City
It works fine for the purpose it was designed for, that is, transfering pictures from a camera to the iPad. But prior to 4.2, it could be used with some other USB accessories, for example a USB keyboard. Many of those accessories no longer work under 4.2.

ic, thanks for clearing that up :)
 

dave006

macrumors 68040
Jul 3, 2008
3,566
889
Just West of East
It works fine for the purpose it was designed for, that is, transfering pictures from a camera to the iPad. But prior to 4.2, it could be used with some other USB accessories, for example a USB keyboard. Many of those accessories no longer work under 4.2.
It also allows you to quickly transfer photos from your iPhone to your iPad without the need for iTunes to get involved. I have had no issues using either adapter with 4.2 for camera USB direct transfers or SD Card transfers.

Dave
 

el-John-o

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 29, 2010
1,588
766
Missouri
I have a similar problem - my iPad didn't arrive in the 2 days it was supposed to (I paid for 2 day shipping), so the apple rep I spoke to offered me a free accessory. I chose the camera connection kit, but now I'm not sure I'll use it a lot, so I'm thinking about exchanging it for an iPad stand. While I very much appreciate the free product from Apple, it seems like many of the good accessories are made by third parties and not always available at the apple store.

Thats actually very impressive because I can GUARANTEE you that wasnt apples fault, it was the couriers and most companies would tell you to take it up with them and get a shipping refund from them. I bought something with 2 day shipping once that took 2 weeks, company gave me the number to contact UPS for a refund, that was it. Granted, I got my money back for the shipping, but they didnt give me anything for free. Good job Apple!
 

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,598
7,768
Is there a jailbreak solution for a USB keyboard? That was part of why I wanted it lol!

Not that I'm aware of, although it's not like I've been looking out for it.

I did try attaching an USB keyboard once, back when I first got the camera connector set, but the entire arrangement is very clumsy. The camera connector is this big thing hanging off the iPad, and then you attach another cable to it, and it's *really* clumsy. A bluetooth keyboard or one of those keyboard cases is a much better solution.

But the fact is, even though I have a bluetooth keyboard, I'm finding I rarely use it. It's such a pain to look for a place to prop up the iPad so I can use it with a keyboard, and even with a keyboard, there are a lot of functions you have to do by tapping the screen. I've given in and got a MacBook Air for heavy typing on the go. I do find that I prefer the iPad for my longer translation work, but translating is a very different process from writing out your own stuff, so your mileage will vary.
 

el-John-o

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 29, 2010
1,588
766
Missouri
its called bluetooth. Check it out some time :D

Bluetooth Keyboard: $69 from Apple, more or the same elsewhere

USB Keyboard: Look in any room in my house you'll probably find two.

$69 is a lot of money for something you already have!

Also, as far as the clunky setup, I intended to use the one off of my Desktop PC. It's wireless, and I actually have two USB dongles for it, that are very small. One is attached to the desktop, the other is from the first one I had, identical model, that I ruined by spilling soda on it. The idea is I'd grab it off of my desk and throw it in my bag on my way out. IF it would work with the camera connection kit, I would, in fact, have a wireless keyboard with just a funny stick off the side of my iPad, would be excellent! (No, it's not bluetooth. I don't think it uses any common wireless format, one of those inexpensive wireless combos from logitech, $25 at target and it has been a DREAM. 2 triple A batteries last a solid 4-6 months, and it's very ergonomic and light, I would MUCH prefer to use that over the Apple Bluetooth keyboard, aside from the fact that it's cheaper!)

-John
 

Sibilance7

macrumors newbie
Dec 30, 2010
9
0
Thats actually very impressive because I can GUARANTEE you that wasnt apples fault, it was the couriers and most companies would tell you to take it up with them and get a shipping refund from them. I bought something with 2 day shipping once that took 2 weeks, company gave me the number to contact UPS for a refund, that was it. Granted, I got my money back for the shipping, but they didnt give me anything for free. Good job Apple!


Yeah, I was very impressed with Apple! I was hoping I'd get my $12 back when I called, but not counting on anything. The rep I spoke to said they'd refund me the $12 right off the bat and then offered an accessory, which was a very pleasant surprise. When I said I wanted the camera connection kit, she asked if there was anything else I wanted, so I added an extra dock to usb cord since I'm always running short on those. I keep joking that I don't know if it was her last day and she was trying to screw over Apple or what, but whatever it was, I appreciate it!
 

el-John-o

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 29, 2010
1,588
766
Missouri
Yeah, I was very impressed with Apple! I was hoping I'd get my $12 back when I called, but not counting on anything. The rep I spoke to said they'd refund me the $12 right off the bat and then offered an accessory, which was a very pleasant surprise. When I said I wanted the camera connection kit, she asked if there was anything else I wanted, so I added an extra dock to usb cord since I'm always running short on those. I keep joking that I don't know if it was her last day and she was trying to screw over Apple or what, but whatever it was, I appreciate it!

Apple has a MASSIVE markup on those accesories, I took a risk and bought a dock connector Cable ($19 from Apple IIRC) that said it was from Foxconn (from some website, used PayPal), I spent $1.30 on the cable. It looks the same, works the same, came in a plastic baggy not a cool Apple box, but you get the point. I'm almost positive it is EXACTLY the same thing (or a very accurate knockoff, knock on wood so far so good), so it's really a smart idea to use those as schmoozers when it really doesn't cost them that much, but it made you feel like you got $50 off of them!

I've always been impressed with Apples service though, they just fix it, no dilly-dallying or fighting over whose fault it is, they just fix it. Not true with HP!

Actually, with HP, I had a PC a relative had bought that they called me over because it didn't work. I fought with HP for hours they finally agreed to let me ship it to them to be fixed, they sent it back, still had my handprint in the dust on top of it, still didn't turn on (bad PSU, I tested it, but for crying out loud I'm not paying to fix it on a BRAND SPANKING NEW PC!). I called, complained again, they said they would send me a brand new PC, I didn't believe them so I put a tiny mark with a permanent marker on the bottom of the case, the "New" PC had the same mark. HP THEN informed me that "After replacing an entire PC on warranty because the customer is not satisfied with the repair workmanship, the warranty is void". I complained about it NOT being a new PC, they just told me I was lying and had just put the dot there.

So my relative spent $40 on a new PSU, and used it for a year before it crapped out again. I will never buy an HP product after that experience, in fact, when an old family friend of mine (A physician) needed to replace his 25 Hewlett-Packard PC's in his office building, I convinced him to go with Dell :) HP, think you were saving money with that service? HA!

-John
 
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