I’ve already told you that the iPad needs a case, but you should know that the iPad could also use a stand. I like the Macally METROLPAD case, but it didn’t have a built-in stand as many cases do, and as I used the iPad more and more, I realized a stand would be useful.
Rather than buy one, I figured that making one would be a good idea. I took a piece of wood from the scrap pile, and using the jigsaw cut a notch into it. The one on the left is an early prototype I made before I actually got the case. Once I got the case I had to make a new one with a bigger notch. The prototype was also not that great at keeping the iPad standing, so I moved the notch up towards the front. (The one on the left could probably be turned into a toy car if I added some wheels. :)
Here it is in action. I should probably make a bunch of these and just leave them around various places in the house so I always have one handy.
Here’s the rear view. One issue with the stand is that it works fine in landscape mode, but not so much in portrait mode. (It works, but it’s sort of “precariously balanced” to say the least.) If I really want to use the stand with portrait mode, I may work on a new one that works a bit better with both orientations.
If you’ve got some scrap wood and a saw, make a stand, it’s pretty easy. Note that the stand is also backwards compatible with (many) iPods and iPhones.
(Thanks for reading this. If you’re reading it on Facebook or Google Reader or somewhere else it got syndicated to, consider visiting the original post, especially if you’d like to leave a comment.)