Apple allowed one new iPad 2 accessory to go unmentioned during yesterday’s launch event: the official iPad 2 Dock.
Priced at just $29, the new iPad 2 Dock doesn’t really change all that much from the last model, although it’s obviously been updated a tad to accommodate the new iPad’s thinner form factor.
Like the last model, it features a regular Dock connector, so you can plug a USB cable or a 10W AC adapter into it to sync, charge or sync & charge your iPad 2 simultaneously. Additionally, there’s a 3.5mm audio out jack, allowing you to pump your iPod library to a beefier set of speakers, if need be. You can even hook up the new Apple Digital AV Adapter ad connect your iPad 2 up to a bigger display via HDMI when it’s docked.
If you want to do any of this, though, bring your own cables: like the first-gen iPad dock before it, the iPad 2 Dock is essentially an attractive lump of molded plastic, and doesn’t come with a single cable to make it work.
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
