Apple has announced their brand new gadget this January in the form of the iPad. A mix between a smarthphone and a laptop, this touch tablet offers the same functionality as a standard iPhone, but with an improved screen, which will allow for easy eBook reading and watching high definition video. And along with it, Apple is offering a wide array of iPad accessories so you can improve your iPad as you see fit.

First we have the iPad case which offers a kickstand for easy handling and internet browsing. If you want a cool apple ipad case this standard model from Apple is just the thing for you. You can also pick up a Boa Skin XS from booq if you want an iPad skin. They come in a large variety of colors so you can surely find one that you like.

The iPad dock keyboard will also go along great with the case if you position your iPad upright. You’ll be able to easily browse the internet or type documents, making the iPad a perfect choice for people who like to work on the go. It will also charge your iPad and you’ll be able to sync it to a computer through this keyboard.

We then have the Apple Wireless keyboard, which will connect to the iPad through Bluetooth technology. It has a range of up to 30 feet and only uses 2 AA batteries. It’s the best option for people who don’t like wires or docks and like things that are slick and compact and easy to carry around. You can also find hot ipad speakers in the form of the i-LUV ISP150 iPad speaker. It has a 3.5 mm jack and works with 4 AAA batteries. It also has a power switch and volume control. All of this for just 34.99$. Apple is also offering a standard dock for charging and syncing your iPad to a PC or a Mac for 29$.

If you’re eager for the iPad to launch and can’t wait to get your hands on one, you will surely want the best ipad accessories for it as well. So if you’re looking for iPad accessories, either look on the Apple Store or use google to search for exactly the sort of accessory you’re looking for, be it case, keyboard or a simple dock.

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As with any new product from Apple, once it appears on market a lot of small manufacturers are throwing out new peripherals and accessories for it. If the Apple new shiny gadget is a success, then their products will sell well also. It’s a circle no one wants to break.

The same stands for the latest thing: Apple iPad tablet, which is already available for preorder and is expected to land somewhere in April. Together with the official announcement Apple gaved some info about official accessories for iPad, consisting of wireless keyboards, keyboard docks, singular docks, cases, digital camera kits and a multitude of cables to output and connect the iPad to computers, large screen TVs and multimedia systems.

Of course not just Apple is preparing for the iPad, as other manufacturers announced accessories for iPad to complement it, like carrying cases, neoprene sleeves, hard cases, screen protectors and things like silicone skins. Once the iPad becomes wildly available I expect a multitude of new products to hit shelves, offering a variety of peripherals to complement this new type of gadget. If you can’t wait till then I have for you a list of the best ipad accessories you cand find on market today.

Of course this is my list of personal favorites. I don’t expect you to share the same taste as mine, so read carefuly and see if it fits your taste. Please let me know what you think so I can update the list of best accessories for iPad according to a much broader audience preferences.

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The iPad was unveiled last week in San Francisco as many of you know, and it is Apples response to Amazon’s Kindle and other e-readers out on the market. Steve Jobs explained how the new device will have endless possibilities for people to build their own apps and develop their own programs. Travis Boatman, who is a vice president at Electronic Arts said about the iPad that is is like holding a high definition television inches from your face, and that companies such as his own will redesign games to be faster, cooler, and bigger on the new Apple product with a ten inch screen. Others are not as sure that there will be the same flood of development that surrounded the release of the ipod touch and iphone. There is speculation that the iPad apps will be more expensive than other apps on the iphone and ipod touch which average around the $1.90 price range. Experts say that the average price of an iPad app will be around $4, which is a considerable difference seeing as that is more than double the price of an ipod touch or iphone app, and the new apps are essentially just larger versions of the apps that came before. However, book apps will fare better on the larger screen than on an iphone or ipod touch and with apples new iBookstore, some tech writers are anticipating hard times ahead for Amazon’s Kindle.

Well I feel that Apple has proven itself as one of the premier companies when it comes to innovating products and taking one idea and improving on it. They took the idea of an mp3 player and built upon that, creating the ipod, which made mp3 players a thing of the past. Continuing along that path they took the idea of a smart phone and made one of the best that has been released to this date in the iphone. I don’t see Apple releasing the iPad only to see it flop. Even if the apps are more expensive and are essentially bigger versions of the current apps on iphones and ipod touches, they will be that much better. I feel confident that Apple will rise to the challenge and make their iPad unique and create programs and apps that are tailored to the iPad exclusively. The Amazon Kindle might be on its way out when the iPad hits stores in two months.

The iPad is somewhat of a smaller laptop but with only 64 GB, it has substantially less memory to store music, movies, books, etc. It has a 10 hour battery life and is capable of browsing the internet with ease, however as far as reading on the iPad goes it might not be as easy on the eyes as Amazon’s Kindle. On another note, the iPad does not come with a conventional keyboard, although one is offered as an extra. The Kindle and other e-readers do use a form of electronic ink technology which makes reading less strenuous on the eyes that reading off of a laptop or computer screen. This seems to be one of the only ways in which the Kindle has a leg up on the iPad, seeing as navigating on the Kindle is less convenient than navigating on the iPad because the Kindle does not have a touch screen.

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Apple’s iPad was destined to stimulate a response from Amazon, and that response has been swift and effective. Beginning even before the launch of the iPad, Amazon has obviously developed a strategy designed to maintain the Kindle’s position as e-reader of choice. How will Apple respond to this kick in the teeth?

It had to happen. Apple’s foray into the eBook market with its iPad had to get a reaction from Amazon, but nobody quite expected the severity of this reaction. Amazon has responded amazingly strongly and in several different ways.

1. Kindle Apps

Prior to the iPad launch, Amazon made the announcement of the opening of an applications store, and an invitation for developers to come up with apps in the same way that they did for the iPhone and the iPad. This was an apparent attempt to offer the Kindle as a genuine competitor to the iPad.

Without some other use of the Kindle other than as a dedicated e-reader, Amazon knew that it was destined to suffer a knock-out blow from Apple. It is not easy to fight Apple’s commercial and financial resources, but it can be done given the right strategy. One tactic of that strategy is to emulate what Apple has achieved in the versatility of their products, and by developing applications for the Kindle, Amazon is doing that: and taking the first step on the road to genuine multimedia capability for the Kindle.

This might conceivably be the beginning of a larger war between the two giants, involving not only eBooks, but also music, movies and all the other miscellaneous applications that have come to be associate with the iPhone and, no doubt, the iPad.

2. DRM Drop-Out

Amazon made DRM optional for publishers. With iBooks locked by FairPlay, Amazon’s DRM opt-out means that users can port their eBooks to other e-readers. DRM is now optional for publishers, and while that is not a great advance for the majority of Kindle owners, it is for the smaller publishers who will now have more of an incentive to market the Kindle. It is one more in the eye for Apple, and another small advantage that Amazon is trying to gain over the iPad. According to the article “An Introduction to Popular E-book File Formats”, with its own Digital Rights Management structure AZW format protects the e-book publishers and authors from possible piracy and is loosely based on Mobipocket’s popular MOBI file format (Digital Book Readers).

3. Price Maintenance

Amazon took steps to protect the low prices of Kindle eBooks by maintaining a maximum price of $9.99 on all its publications. It is the only e-reader that does not allow publishers to apply higher pricing, and it responded to Macmillan’s pressure by removing all that publishers products from its virtual library. Yes, Amazon has stated that these will be reinstated, but that has yet to happen, and Macmillan meantime has been subject to insults from Amazon on public forums.

This move was likely made in response to criticism that eBooks are too expensive in relation to their production costs and overheads. By sustaining a price ceiling of $9.99, Amazons maintains a level of competitiveness that other e-readers will find it hard to match, including Apple.

4. Touchco Acquisition

Each of the above three will have an influence on the outcome of the bout between Amazon and Apple, but much more significant is Amazon’s acquisition of Touchco, the e-paper and touchscreen technology firm. This appears to be Amazon’s ace in the hole, and the acquisition must have come as shock and a blow to Apple.

Touchco had been working on a true multi-touch screen to work with e-paper that enables unlimited simultaneous touches to be detected. Combined with the Mirasol multi-color technology on e-paper, this offers Amazon the ability to create a multi-touch color tablet device that could very easily not only compete with the iPad, but also exceed its technological capability. It is definitely a big one in Apple’s eye, and the gloves are definitely off now.

The acquisition took place very secretively and quietly, and nobody had an inclination of what was going on. It is hard to believe that Apple was unaware of it, but it sure seems that way. Round 1 might have been Apple’s, but Amazon has certainly won rounds 2, 3 and 4, although knowing Apple’s resilience and resources, certainly not with knockout blows.

The Touchco technology might have been used with e-paper to develop cell phones, music players and a whole host of possible applications, but that is now lost in Amazon’s fight with Apple for the e-reader market. Sometimes it is time for corporations to focus on their core business, because this type of infighting almost invariably ends up with no winners and the public the losers.

However, what can we look for in the near future? Likely an expansion of the Kindle, or a variant, as an iPad competitor, and almost certainly the demise of the clunky E Ink and the development of a sleeker display medium. Watch this space and get ready for round 5, because Apple will certainly not take this lying down!

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