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Best iPad cases for every type of user

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The right case is not only protective, but functional, and even classy.
Photo: Pad&Quill

You have in your hands a brand new iPad. Now what? Sure, you can just go ahead and use it au natural. But consider: While iPads may look like hulking slabs of aluminum and glass, they are deceptively delicate. They cry out for protection.

Gauging which is the best case to safely secure your tablet is not for the faint of heart, given the myriad options out there. That’s where our iPad case roundup comes in. We’ve scoured the best reviews, including our own, and looked at buyers’ favorite cases on shopping sites like Amazon.

Then we gathered our picks into several categories, depending on how much you want to pay, what type of protection you need, and any extra functionality offered (like keyboard cases). And we’ve also put together a list of runners-up — cases that are pretty good, or even great, but just didn’t make our cut.

Cult of Mac Magazine: Apple’s best and worst of 2015, must-have apps, and more

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Happy New Year everyone!
Happy New Year everyone!
Cover Design: Stephen Smith

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. We take a look at them all from 2015 in this end-of-year issue of the delightful and informative Cult of Mac Magazine. We’ve got Apple’s best and worst wins and fails of the year, the must-have apps on Apple TV, Mac, iOS, and Apple Watch, how to keep your toughest New Year’s resolutions with your iPhone, a quick trick on adding emojis just about anywhere, and our thoughts on why 2015 was actually Apple’s most important year since 2007.

Dive in with your own copy of Cult of Mac Magazine. Below is the rundown for this week.

Happy New Year from all of us here at Cult of Mac.

Get your Mac game on with these great guides

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Mac gaming  just keeps getting better. Photo: Aspyr
Mac gaming just keeps getting better. Photo: Aspyr

If you’re looking for new games to explode onto your Mac, look no further than these three “best of” gaming guides from one of the most Mac-centric gaming voices on the web, Mac Gamer HQ.

Featuring the 10 best strategy games, the 10 best first-person shooters, and (just published!) the 10 best MMORPGs — all only for Mac gamers — these three lists are bound to point you in the right direction, letting you set your sights on some amazing Mac gaming experiences without having to buy and try them all yourself.

The 18 most GIF-able moments of 2014

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High five for the best GIFs of 2014. Photo: Deathdragon1987/
High five for the best GIFs of 2014. Photo: Deathdragon1987/Imgur

We’re nearly a week away from ringing in the new year and all the craziness that 2015 is going to bring with it, but before we go into holiday hibernation mode, we wanted to take a look back at the most GIF-worthy events of 2014.

From Ellen’s hilarious Oscar selfie, to ‘the greatest catch ever’, 2014 was filled with incredible moments that captured the Internet’s fascination thanks to the glory of the GIFs.

Without further adieu, these were our favorite GIFs of 2014:

The Best iOS Apps Of 2013 [Roundup]

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As we approach the end of 2013, it’s time to take a look back and pay some recognition to some of the finest apps that have hit the App Store over the past 12 months.

It’s not easy to build a successful iOS app anymore — with over 1 million of them in the App Store, competition has never been tougher — but some developers have proven it’s still possible to stand out among the crowd with titles that are either completely unique, or just far greater than their rivals.

We’ve picked 15 that you really shouldn’t miss.

Apple Wins Best Tablet, Mobile Phone, and Computer Brand Of The Year. Again.

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Yep! All. Three. Categories.
Yep! All. Three. Categories.

Market research firm Harris Interactive conducts a fairly extensive poll each year in the area of consumer electronic brands. This year, Apple again took the top spot in three major categories, named the best brand of tablet, computer, and mobile phone. The iPad, Mac, and iPhone scored the best across an array of specific brand markers, like brand recognition, emotional response to the brand, and purchasing consideration.

The Best New Gadgets Of Mobile World Congress [Feature]

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mwc2013bug-coaBARCELONA, MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS – This year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was pretty disappointing from a gadget-lovers point of view. Samsung was there, but didn’t announce anything new. Microsoft didn’t even have a stand, and even the once-great App Planet section is little but a business-service wasteland (albeit with the best tea, coffee and beer in the show).

Still, even a pile of crap has variations in its texture, and so we bring you the “Best” of Mobile World Congress 2013.

Our Editor’s Picks For Best Gadgets Of 2012 [Best Of 2012]

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Apple was on fire in 2012. Along with the incredible iPhone 5, we saw the first retina tablet and the pocketable iPad mini. This was also the year in which Apple let the iPod touch out to play, giving it features on a par with the iPhone 4S instead of using leftover components from Google’s leftover Nexus parts bin.

But not everything from Apple made it into our top ten. The Retina MacBook Pro, despite being an amazing machine, is still a laptop, albeit one with a hi-res screen and no DVD player. And the new iMac’s most interesting contribution to tech is the HDD/SSD Fusion Drive. Sure, it’s skinny, but who really cares about a thin desktop machine? It’s like making the world’s thinnest lawnmower.

Most of the rest of my picks reflect the fact that high-tech consumer electronics are now as utterly mainstream as the iron or the microwave oven. Sure, us nerds still love to play with the latest crap, and there will always be plenty of ill-informed consumers who are suckered into buying cheapo Android tablets, but these days gadgets generally Just Work, and the differences are in the little details.

That’s why we have fitness widgets alongside fancy portable speakers and implausibly good-for-the-price headphones.

So, should you be in the mood to read yet another end-of-year best-of list, carry on.

Our Editor’s Picks For 2012’s Best iOS Apps [Feature]

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As we near the end of 2012, Cult of Mac has taken a look back at some of the best iOS apps that have hit the App Store over the last 12 months. There have been some terrific releases this year, and we could have named a hundred that are well worth your hard-earned cash. But we’ve managed to whittle our list down to just ten titles that have really stood out for us this year. Check out our best apps roundup below.

Cult Of Mac’s Awesome 2012 Advent Calendar: Day 23 – Big JamBox

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One of the better Yuletide traditions is the venerable holiday Advent Calendar, in which each day of December leading up to Christmas is marked off on a special calendar by opening its corresponding door to find a small gift, toy or chocolate squirreled away inside.

This year, we here at Cult of Mac decided we wanted to give our readers their very own Apple-themed advent calendar, filled with the year’s best apps, gadgets, stories and other curios. So each day in December, we’re going to lovingly peel back the door on the Cult of Mac 2012 Advent Calendar to reveal another delicious morsel, something really special that came out this year that we think every one of you should enjoy.

Day 23 is here, and today, we’re talking about JamBox’s bulkier big bro: the Big JamBox.

The Best Fitness Gadgets [Best Of]

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It’s August, and you’re either on vacation, or leaving soon. The problem? You just tried to fit into last year’s swimsuit and – worse – you did it in front of the mirror. While it might be a little too late to lose that belly before you hit the beach this summer, take steps now and you’ll be a slimline hottie in time for Christmas and New Year, ready to undo all that good work in a week or two.

To help you, here’s our list of the best fitness gadgets around.

The Best Headphones [Best Of]

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The earbuds that came with your $600 iPhone are junk, and if you bought an iPad, Apple didn’t even include a pair in the box. It’s time to upgrade.

Trouble is, there are all kinds of cans out there. How do you know what set is right for you? Some people (like me) seem to have a pair for every situation. For everyone else, here’s our guide to the best.

Best Video And Movie Gadgets [Best Of]

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Things have gotten a lot more complicated than
Things have gotten a lot more complicated than "VHS or Betamax?"

It used to be that video came to our homes in one of two ways: through the TV, or through a VHS tape. Then came DVD, then came the internet, and then came mediageddon.

Now we can get anything we want, any time we like. That’s the simple part, because now we also have to decide how we want to watch it. Luckily, we have put together a list of neat video hardware that will help you convert and push your media around the home, and even outside.

Looking For A Gift For Dad? Here’s Cult Of Mac’s Father’s Day Superguide

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It’s nearly Father’s Day, the time to say thanks to the man who took you fishing, taught you to ride a bike, built a radio for you from something called a “cats’ whisker” and was standing at your side when you killed your first deer. And maybe your second.

Or he just used to sit you in front of a DVD, while he microwaved dinner for both of you. Either way it’s time to give something back. And if you’re anything like us, that “something” will be an awesome iGadget. So sit back, add this page to your Instapaper, make yourself a bottle of milk with a tot of rum in it and enjoy the Cult of Mac Bumper Father’s Day Gift Guide. You’re welcome.

The Best Cameras [Best Of]

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We know that you Cult of Mac readers are also a bunch of photo nerds, so we thought that this week’s best-of list could be about cameras. You’re iPhone might be great (and even makes it into this list) but sometimes you need something more powerful, more rugged or just plain better. Here’s our list of the best cameras out these.

The Best iPad Styluses [Best Of]

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You only need look at a child's drawing to know why you need a stylus.

“If you see a stylus they failed.” That might be everybody’s favorite Steve Jobs quote about touch screens, but the fact is the finger is terrible at both drawing and writing — just look at your kid’s scrawlings up on the refrigerator door if you don’t believe me.

If you want to make pictures and words that the rest of the world can recognize as such, you need a little help. Luckily, iPad accessory makers also ignored Jobs’ complaints and set out to fill the world with wonderful iPad pens. Here are the best you can buy.

The Best iPhone Cases & Protectors [Best Of]

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Ideally, we’d all carry our iPhones as God intended — naked. But just as our pink and delicate human bodies need protection from the elements, so does the iPhone. Sometimes all it needs is a skimpy Speedo, other times a full suit of body armor, but you can be sure there’s a case for every occasion. Here’s our roundup of the best iPhone cases out there.