What the iPad’s accessories cost, and what they’re apologizing for

John Brownlee ()

What the iPad’s accessories cost, and what they’re apologizing forWhat the iPad’s accessories cost, and what they’re apologizing for

In yesterday’s purgative disgorging of iPad news, it was easy to miss some of the details about Apple’s iPad accessories… and what they cost. Here’s a quick run down of four of them.

The first accessory was the iPad Keyboard Dock, priced at $69. Although it also functions as a charging and syncing dock with stereo out, though the addition physical keyboard is what is likely to make this the most popular iPad accessory: it will theoretically allow the iPad to be used like a netbook… but in some ways, it feels like an omission of defeat by Apple: “Yeah, we want you to be able to work on this thing… but we just couldn’t figure out a good software data entry solution. Sorry.”

The iPad Case, costing $39, seems like a similar admission of data entry failure: you’re just not going to get as good a look at the screen when typing on the virtual keyboard if it’s flush with a surface. The soft, rubbery case solves this problem with the addition of a triangular kickstand. This will also likely make watching movies when the iPad is on a surface in front of you a lot more pleasant.

The iPad Dock, which costs $29, is the same as the Keyboard Dock, just without the keyboard.

Finally, the last accessory is the iPad Camera Connection Kit, costing $29. In the absence of a USB port or a multi-card reader, the Camera Connection Kit will let you import photos directly from either source, through a pair of little dongles.

DON'T MISS
Logitech’s Fold-Up Keyboard Is A Bulky Transformer For Your iPad

In most of these accessories, I personally spy a trend: they’re all mostly apologies for missing functionality that people expected, rightly or wrongly, from Apple’s tablet. The keyboard’s an admission that Apple didn’t solve the software keyboard problem; the case an acknowledgment that looking at a screen when it’s flush with a table’s surface for long periods of time isn’t ideal; and the Camera Connection Kit basically apologizes for making a device that would work perfectly as a photo album without any easy native functionality to get your pictures onto the device.

What do you think? Which of these accessories are you most likely to pick up?

30 comments »

About the author

John BrownleeJohn Brownlee is news editor here at Cult of Mac, and has also written about a lot of things for a lot of different places, including Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, Gizmodo, Kotaku, Lifehacker, AMC, Geek and the Consumerist. He lives in Cambridge with his charming inamorata and a tiny budgerigar punningly christened after Nabokov's most famous pervert. You can follow him here on Twitter.

(sorry, you need Javascript to see this e-mail address)| Read more posts by .

Posted in iPad, News |

  • Harm

    What about both?

  • http://ObamaPacman.com ObamaPacman

    So far there are 6 official accessories, 4 are listed here.

    All six iPad accessories prices:
    http://obamapacman.com/2010/01/apple-ipad-accessory-prices-accessories-cost/

  • Andrew

    John,

    My thoughts align exactly with your thinking. These do address ‘shortcomings’ of the iPad. Next they will come out with a camera dongel like the old Mac Ad – Web Cam – Mac vs PC
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dJiFUZ6dHM

  • Chris

    Surely its not meant as an apology for what they’ve ‘missed out’.
    Something people don’t really seem to understand is that Apple isn’t necessarily targeting the iPad at hardcore computer users.
    It’s more for the people who want to do browsing in more comfort than you can on a laptop.
    Sure theres gonna be people who want to use it more like a netbook and for that they have the keyboard dock. But not everyone is going to need that feature.
    If they integrated the keyboard somehow, or included the USB and SD card slots, then that would have driven the price point up and out of reach of the ordinary people that they want to sell it to.
    By not giving it every feature under the sun, and providing accessories for it, you have the option to use it as a easy-to-use browser and media device, or bumping up a grade and using it to create work documents.

    Personally I prefer to have to spend a small amount on accessories when I decide I need them, rather than having them built in, pushing up the price, and never needing them.

  • 110rdr33f4

    Now the disappearance of the numerical keypad begins to be understood.

  • Craig Grannell

    My iMac doesn’t have a built-in printer. It only has one hard drive. It doesn’t have a Wi-Fi router. It doesn’t have an iPhone dock, nor an iPod dock. The fact Apple makes or sells many solutions for these things aren’t apologies, and nor are these accessories. They are simply providing a means for people to use the device in certain ways.

    Frankly, the keyboard dock is a small slice of genius. For most people, iPad will be a ‘faff about’ device, but plug it into the dock and use iWork and—BAM!—that’s most people sorted for office-oriented stuff. And Word/Excel are the kinds of apps most people use over and above apps for consuming media.

    Aside from issues relating to worldwide media availability (iBooks is, according to Apple’s own website, a US-only thing for now), the only major shortcoming I can currently see relates to printing. But if iPad can happily print to a wireless printer, that’s it: this is the new Mac.

  • nikolas

    if all these accessories are way to apologize, shouldn’t they be included in the box with the iPad?

  • Ictus75

    I don’t see anything as an “apology” for lack of features. Apple first of all had to meet a price point. To do that, they couldn’t put everything on the ipad. Also, if they did, they might as well just make it another MacBook model. Not everyone will want/need the external keyboard, or the case, or whatever accessory comes out. Not everyone wants a mouse or external keyboard & monitor for their laptop, but some do and buy them. The ipad was never meant to be the “everything for everybody” unit.

    I doubt I would get that case, I’d prefer some sort of soft sleeve, but I’d love to get the keyboard. Apple is offering CHOICES, not apologies. Later models will likely have more built in features like a camera. The iphone/ipod has evolved, so too will the ipad given time.

  • http://ObamaPacman.com ObamaPacman

    @Craig,

    Agree.

    One minor detail. The iMac does have a built in router. =)
    Under system preferences: Sharing / internet sharing.

  • http://www.metrokids.ca Conrad

    I’m going to have to side against you, JB. I think this keyboard dock is AMAZING! I like the soft keyboard on my iPhone, but for extended periods of typing I’m going to pull out my MBP. The tactile response of a keyboard cannot be underrated. Maybe in the remaining 60 days they’ll be able to get that camera in this thing.

    In any case, Apple wouldn’t apologize for missing features either:

    1) They’d have a roadmap to add those features/functionality in the future
    or
    2) Jobs would scrap it. He said he was “really happy” with this product, do these sound like the words of a man poised to apologize?

  • http://www.neuquest.net Mark Collins

    I don’t agree that the way Apple created iPad accessories as an “apology” for not designing the iPad well. By nature, all tablets are not designed primarily for desktop / laptop usage — they are designed to be held with both hands. Apple could have attached a stand on the back of the iPad to stand it in various orientations, but personally I think it would be a tacky add-on with the potential of breaking. Instead, they created a nice case which both protects the iPad and allows it to be positioned for various purposes. Also, not including all these accessories within the iPad, Apple creates opportunities for 3rd parties to prosper from solving these “problems”. I believe this was intentional to grow the ecosystem of the iPad in much the same way they have done for the iPod and iPhone.

  • GQB

    Hardly an ‘admission of failure.’
    Why saddle the iPad with a keyboard for use 1% of the time (if that.)?
    Yes, at the moment a physical keyboard is faster for entering large amounts of data. That’s not what this device is for, but allowing when occasionally it is nothing but a plus.

  • Ben

    The iPad is not a macbook pro or an iMac, an iPhone or an iPod touch. It’s a tablet. Take it for what it is and if it don’t fit your need move along…
    I don’t know if I will buy one, but this thing is a marvel of technology for sure and it’s going to get better whit time.

  • OlsonBW

    I call B***s***.

    If this is true, then you can say that a printer on regular computers is an apology for things not included.

    Pure BS.

  • Steve

    As for viewing photos onto the iPad…. MobileMe Gallery App.

  • http://cityhues.com Cityhues

    We’ll be getting an iPad as soon as they are available, but in the early stages, we won’t be acquiring any accessories until we have had a chance to use the iPad raw.

    Can’t see using the iPad to do a whole lots of typing, anyway.

  • chano

    say what!?
    oh.
    yawn.
    zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……

  • chano

    you should be out working the streets with this crap, whore.
    you think hits won this way will help CoM to succeed? duh!
    you all exist because of Apple’s umbrella, could not create your own franchise, and certainly have learned nothing from their their successful model.
    you’re pissing on your own shoes, like a 2 yo.

  • Barry

    So if they totally refused a keyboard to connect (like the iPhone) you’d be cool with that?

    You wouldn’t be like WTF Apple why can’t we use a keyboard??? Can’t you see your faith in an onscreen keyboard is ridiculous!!!!

    They can’t win.

    Oh and do you think the iPad should have a kick stand like a photo frame or something? Cos that’s be slick.It’s a fricken case!!!! What does a case apologize for in a hand held product?

    The same with USB. “Sorry guys we’ve gone and made this thing to thin, light and usable to put a USB port on. We’re really sorry about that.”

    Stop moaning about it already.

  • Matt

    The keyboard accessory doesn’t apologize for anything. If you insist on writing War & Peace on a device not intended for it then they’re willing to sell you a bone to help you out. The iPad is a tool. Writing novels isn’t its purpose. I can pound in a screw with a hammer. It’s not gonna work well but I’m pretty sure I’ll get it in.

  • Rob Bonner

    I would have liked to see a wired keyboard. Wondering if a bluetooth wireless keyboard could be used with this. Just not liking being that close to the screen.

    And, what about printing, can I print all of those cools sites?

  • http://www.google.com MavBowen

    “Yeah, we want you to be able to work on this thing… but we just couldn’t figure out a good software data entry solution. Sorry.”

    You don’t see this as a good way of solving home computer v need for a laptop?
    This means that you can have the familiarity of a desktop with the added functionality of a new device on the move.

  • http://www.iballz.info iballz

    Guys, the only iPad protection you will need is some $20 iBallz.
    work as a case and as a typing surface.
    check out the goods yo!

    http://www.iballzforipad.com

  • http://what Jesse

    I only want three things already built in that are non existent at this time. Ability for web browsing and use flash from adobe. Usb connection and sd card reader without having to buy an accessory. Its just jacking up the price indirectly.

  • Bruce Webb

    Clearly Apple aimed the entry level iPad squarely at the Amazon Kindle DX. Amazon made a bet that the iPad would come in at a price point higher enough that current Kindle users would spring for a $495 hardware upgrade to the DX rather than an iPad estimated to come in at $800 to $1000.

    As it is you spring for an extra $4 and you get a color eReader instead of 16 level grey scale PLUS mapping and gaming and —. A little customer bitching about paying for USB, SD, external keyboard, and web-cam is not a big price to pay for cutting Jeff Bezos off at the knees. It is that sub $500 base price that makes this a category killer.

    Can Amazon deliver a color DX at a competitive price point? Soon enough to make a difference? If not they just lost the entire under 30 market, kids that age (and to me they are all kids), people with young eyes are not going worry about a little screen flicker.

  • Bruce Webb

    Flash is a dead technology particularly in Apple’s eyes . Almost every time Safari on my home Mac locks up it seems related to the Adobe Flash Plugin. To the point that Apple had to prepare a canned error box suggesting aborting the load of whatever animation is embedded in the page.

    HTML5 will for web-browsing make Flash a “Flash what?” in short order. And for those dedicated to Flash enabled games, I am thinking the roughly gazillion games already optimized for the accelerometer or touch screen capabilities of the iPad will lead all but some dead-enders to come to that same endpoint.

    The history of home computing is littered with once must have movie, graphic, and audio formats. My God life without .wav files was hardly worth living. Apple has made the bet on changing industry-wide media standards over proprietory ones plenty of times, and in the end been rewarded for not being the tail being wagged by Microsoft’s big dog.

  • http://www.rainydaymagazine.com RainyDayInterns

    Before we went and picked up all those iPad-specific accessories, we thought we would look around and see what could double as a stand, case, etc…

    The surprising thing was our 4-year old Stowaway Folding keyboard for our Blackberry (which we never used) worked great!

    Here are some pics of some other things which worked:
    http://www.rainydaymagazine.com/RDM2010/Home/April/Week2/RDMHomeApr0610.htm#iPadAccessories

  • Anonymous

    I have a zagg that has a raised hinge.  Just a little nuisance…  I noticed that the other models don’t have that.  I was wondering if Logitech would be able to upgrade that for me at a lesser cost than buying a new one?  Mine is only about 1 and 1/2 months old

  • Anonymous

    I have a zagg that has a raised hinge.  Just a little nuisance…  I noticed that the other models don’t have that.  I was wondering if Logitech would be able to upgrade that for me at a lesser cost than buying a new one?  Mine is only about 1 and 1/2 months old

  • Anonymous

    I have a zagg that has a raised hinge.  Just a little nuisance…  I noticed that the other models don’t have that.  I was wondering if Logitech would be able to upgrade that for me at a lesser cost than buying a new one?  Mine is only about 1 and 1/2 months old