For first time iPad owners - what accessories to buy!

All I have used is the Apple case
Haven't needed anything else

All you really need is a case. And not so much for protection, but more for increased functionality.

Mad Mac Maniac said:

by increased functionality do you mean as a prop/stand?

Click to expand...

I guess they do. The new magic cover looks pretty good. Also ZooGue offer some really functional cases. Would highly recommend.

Smart thing is get the minimum of accessories. Cheap screen protection and some sort of case. IMHO an inexpensive ebay screen protector tends to work just as well as a $40 one; but skip the wet application kind with the 3M film and stick with the dry-application kind.

Then sit down and USE the thing for a few weeks before you go buy accessories.

Lots of the accessories *could* be really useful, *if* you actually need them. We all have grand ideas of all the neato cool stuff we're going to do with the new toy and the tendency is to buy a lot of stuff that just ends up sitting on the shelf. Do yourself and your wallet a favor and don't buy anything until you know for sure you'll use them enough to justify the price.

This $4 picture stand. Best iPad holder!

Agree with rdowns ^

I've got several of these inexpensive stands all around the house and they're great for sticking the iPad on, whether to let it just rest there or whether to use the wireless BT keyboard, or whatever. They fold up nicely for toting along with me, too. I much prefer to have the iPad standing up rather than lying on any surface -- just seems safer that way in terms of visibility, with less potential for accidents.

I've got the iPad case and I have really liked it this past year; at home the iPad stays naked but when it's time to go out, she's slipped into the case and away we go, and usually she's carried in the Waterfield Designs Muzetto bag. I also have a couple of other cases but really like the Apple case the best. I don't know how well I'll like the new "Smart Cover," but I guess I'll find out next week!

I have a couple of the iPad docks -- one for charging the iPad when it needs it and one that is permanently connected to the computer for syncing. I just find it better all the way around to pop the thing into and out of a dock rather than to be fiddling with plugging-and-unplugging the cable all the time.

Although I've got the keyboard dock, too, I find that when I'm planning to do a lot of typing that I tend to reach for the wireless BT keyboard more often than not, since it is more flexible in terms of positioning, etc. If I'm just going to type something fairly short I don't bother with either keyboard, just use the iPad's own, and that works quite well, really.

Camera connection kit is useful but I have to admit that I really haven't used it nearly as much as I'd anticipated that I would.

deeddawg said:

Smart thing is get the minimum of accessories.

Then sit down and USE the thing for a few weeks before you go buy accessories.

Lots of the accessories *could* be really useful, *if* you actually need them. We all have grand ideas of all the neato cool stuff we're going to do with the new toy and the tendency is to buy a lot of stuff that just ends up sitting on the shelf. Do yourself and your wallet a favor and don't buy anything until you know for sure you'll use them enough to justify the price.

Click to expand...

Take his and my word for it!
Except for the parts I excluded

The 2 most important accesories for me are :

-Apple Original Case - best case ever (like it more than the smart case)
-Camera Connection Kit - very useful especially after u jailbreak (usb stiks)

I just bought a $3 shipped ipad 1 screen protector from eBay. I always find a way to scratch a screen.

I have a 3G iphone protector on my Ip4 and even though it covers the camera - it's crystal clear. Why pay more for them to cut a hole.

Also the +1 on the camera connection kit. The HDMI out looks like a good price - although a tad expensive.

Music Lover

I love to listen to music, bluetooth headset is a great option. The idea that I am tethered to my iPad consistently does not seem safe.

http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Blue...3I9U/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1299373871&sr=8-4

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3GS: 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)

Don't get a screen protector.