SHHHHH…. Don’t Tell Them But Joey and Talia Are Getting an iPad

It seems everyone wants an iPad.

Oprah loves her’s… and so do the 270 audience members who each got one last week.

Mayor Bloomberg loves his.

And the President signed yet another iPad…

Yes, the iPad is the “IT” gift this holiday season and a number of survey’s show that it tops kids’ “most wanted” list this year.

Now it was only last spring that my niece and nephew each got an iPod touch. Talia likes hers… Joey… well let’s just say Joey and his uncle share the same obsession with iOS devices.

What they don’t know… and please don’t spoil the surprise…

…is that their grandma and grandpa have decided that their house needs… and iPad. Yes, Joey and Talia are getting an iPad.

I picked a 32GB WiFi model up for them and set it up the other day. Set up was easy but I did take the extra steps to set the volume limit (I’m their uncle and want to protect their ears) and turned on the parental controls. (Yes, Joey and Talia, for the time being you will only be accessible PG content.) 🙂

The iPad is from their grandparents but Elana and I get to trick it out with some accessories. After a good bit of thought here’s what is on the way north today.,

Earphones

Apple cheaped out with the current lineup of iOS devices. The iPod touch and nano no longer ship with headphones that have a built in mic. BOOO!!!! And the iPad doesn;t ship with headphones at all. Double BOOO! So we bought each of the kids their own pair of Apple in-ear headphones.

The earphones are $29.00 each and available from Apple.com.

Sharing Hub

Since they will be sharing the iPad it only made sense to find a way that they could both plug in their headphones at the same time. At first I was going to get them a two-way splitter but then figured if I was doing that why not go all the way? This Belkin RockStar lets you plug in up to FIVE different sets of headphones at the same time. It has an MSRP of $19.95 and is available from Apple.

Camera Kit

One of the things I PREFER to do on my iPad over any and every other device is edit, crop and tweak images. When I first saw the iPad Camera Connection kits I thought it was both rediculous and a rip off. I still think it is too expensive for what you get but I am amazed at how often I use it. I suspect this is an accessory their parents are more likely to use but I wanted them to have it from the start.

It has an MSRP of $29.00 and is available form Apple.

Keyboard Dock

To all those who say “The iPad is only a media CONSUMPTION device” I say, “Go get a netbook.” Fact is, the iPad is pretty much whatever YOU want it to be. I very much expect that the kids will quickly find it quite useful for writing. I love using the onscreen keyboard when the iPad is held at the right angle for typing but nothing beats having a good ol’ Apple keyboard to use. That’s where the Keyboard dock comes in. It charges and syncs the iPad and makes text input simple. For the price it ought to include a wall charger but… it does not.

The Keyboard Dock has an MSRP of $69.00 and is available from Apple.

Stand

I thought a decent stand would come in useful for those times when they are at home and watching a video on the iPad. I reviewed the InnoPocket HexaPose Stand for the Apple iPad and thought it would be perfect for them. The stan has an MSRP of $49.99 and is available directly from the company site.

Case

Of course the kids need a case for the iPad. I had a number of review samples here at home and, after much consideration I decided that the HardCandy Candy Convertible I reviewed a few weeks ago would be a good choice. It is low profile, offers good protection and is a fun shade of red. It has an MSRP of $44.95 and is available directly from the company website.

Pen

I also reviewed the HardCandy Candy Stylus Pen. I don’t see the kids using it to write on the iPad’s screen but it will sure make drawing pictures a lot of fun. It has an MSRP of $34.95 and is available from the HardCandy website.

Car Kit

Finally, since the kids will likely use the iPad in place of their in-car DVD player on long family trips I thought an in-car mounting system would come in handy. As luck would have it I just reviewed the ViewSticks mounting system. They have an MSRP of $19.95 plus shipping and handling and are available form the company website.

There’s one last item on the way with the new iPad.

Bag

My parents are getting the iPad for the kids but something tells me they are going to have to fight their mom for it before long. Either way, if my sister wants to carry the iPad with her (for her OR the kids’ use) she needs a good bag. Judie posted on one the other day that comes from Speck and takes a different approach to netbook and iPad bagks then most.

Speck’s A-Line Bag for Netbooks up to 10″ is PERFECT for the iPad. It is stylish, well-made and designed for real-world use. It has an MSRP of $59.95 and is available directly from Speck.

Now I just need to start deciding which iPad apps to gift them. Any suggestions would be welcomed!!!