Accessories
When I bought my iPad, I also bought the Apple iPad Case, mainly because I knew I needed a case and at the time it was pretty much the only one that was available. Now we have lots of choices with new cases coming out every day. The Apple iPad Case frustrates me because you can't leave it on the iPad and put the iPad in Apple's own iPad Dock/Keyboard Dock (unless you're willing to cut the case). It's also not easy to the get the iPad in and out of the Apple case. So I immediately began looking for alternative cases. I have three cases now and the Macally BookStand is my goto iPad case when I want a thin case that's easy to get the iPad in and out of. Since I haven't found a case yet that allows docking and sleeves don't usually allow you to stand the iPad up for video watching, the Macally BookStand is a very nice compromise.
It's very easy to put the iPad into this case. You simply snap it in to the four corner holders. All of the ports and controls are exposed so there is n't much protection on three of the sides. There is a nice suede feel to the outer case and a nice leather strap that folds over. The case can be used either so it opens to the left or to the right, which makes it nice for left or right handed people. Flip the cover over and around, insert the strap and you've got a nice easel like stand. If you want to use the iPad in a Dock, just pop it out of the case in about 3 seconds. That's pretty much it! It works and it works well. I took it with me on a recent trip because I was low on space and like the Apple case this one is very thin.
You can get the Macally BookStand here for $37 ($49.99 List Price)
The original Jawbone bluetooth headset was my least favorite headset of all time. However, I can easily see the Jawbone ICON quickly becoming my favorite. They got the size and fitting right as well as the iPhone integration can't be beat!
Sound quality?
As far as sound quality goes, it's no better or no worse than any other headset I've used. It simply works, but it's not stellar. My callers tell me that I sound "OK" and I can hear them just fine.
Although I'm a fan of GPS devices in general and couldn't live without GPS navigation, I have resisted buying a car kit. I've resisted these gadgets for one reason and one reason only, I believe they are generally overpriced ($129.99). Don't get me wrong, I believe they are working great and definitely improve GPS reception for navigation apps on the iPhone, it's just that at the current price it's hard to justify a car kit that basically goes for the same price as a full blown (low end) GPS unit. With that said, I'm not opposed to reviewing one if a company is generous enough to send me one and Magellan is just that kind of company 
If a picture is worth a thousand words, what's a video worth?…
Hey, it's winter here and the average this week has been about 35°F. So needless to say I'm wearing my gloves a lot. The problem with gloves is that you usually have to take them off in order to use devices with a touch screen such as your iPhone or iPod touch. My friend Linda was showing me some gloves that she picked up that had special tips on the end of the index finger and thumb to allow you to make proper contact with a touch screen.
So needless to say I went in search for a pair of my very own. I had no luck finding any locally and didn't want to spend a lot of time fighting the crowds doing their holiday shopping. So I turned to online sources and found a pair of Tavo gloves. They arrived and I started using them immediately.
How well do they work?
They do work as advertised. I was able to use my iPhone with minimal effort with the gloves on. I was even able to tap some of the smaller icons such as the Mail trash can.
