Getting Ready For The iPad

I have already begun making plans for the iPad in my house. I cleared an area where I'm going to sync and charge it.

I have also already bought a couple of accessories:

Buying cases have paid off in keeping my iPhone 3G in great condition over the last two years. So, I bought this Griffin FlexGrip case. The black looks really good. I definitely don't want the aluminum backing to get scratched.

I also found this cool Griffin A-Frame stand. It supports the iPad in portrait or landscape mode. And if I want to type, I can put it at an angle that is best for typing.

Frankly, I ordered these two items from Griffin because I got a discount on them.

Since I'm going on two trips this year, I'm going to get this Incase Travel Kit Plus. I can put all of my iPad/iPhone accessories in there.

Official Name Change!

Changing the name of this blog pretty much solidifies my choice to buy an Apple iPad Wi-Fi + 3G on April 30. I did not pre-order so I probably won't get it until 5 p.m. that day, according to Apple.

To help finance this purchase and my probable purchase of the iPhone 4, I got a Barclaycard with iTunes Rewards Visa. I took the card which gives me reward points instead of the card that gives me 0% interest for the first purchase.

I really hope getting an iPad won't be the fiasco that getting the iPhone 3G was. In the meantime, I'm downloading all the free iPad apps I can.

iPhone 3G, iPad & Me?

When I heard that Apple was coming out with a tablet computer I said, "So what? That's not for me."

When I saw Steve Jobs debut the iPad I said, "Unimpressed. I'm sure people will buy it but it's not for me."

After I got to play with the iPad I thought, "This is pretty cool. The games are better than the iPhone."

But, after seeing some really great music apps that are exclusive to the iPad like the Korg iElectribe, then I started wondering, "Wow! I could use something like this."

Now, I'm really thinking about getting one. If I do get one, I'll get the Wi-Fi + 3G version. I'm not sure how much gigabytes I need but I probably wouldn't get the 64GB version (but you know how that can change quickly).

I'm definitely not an Apple fanboy. All I have is an iPhone 3G and before that I had a 2nd generation iPod Nano. In fact, last fall I bought a sweet Asus desktop computer with an Intel i7 CPU and installed Windows 7, which I love.

But the iPad is seducing me in a way I never thought it would.

Enter To Win A FREE Trip Journal iPhone App!

It's April and that means it's springtime! That also means most Americans are making plans for the summer. And that means it's a great time to get a new app that's on the App Store called Trip Journal [iTunes link].

It's a really nice app to document everything you have done on your trip. You can include photos and mark the places you have visited. You can easily upload your photos to Facebook and export your GPS coordinates to the Google Earth format. I have found that this app is useful not only for vacations but even a weekend trip to the beach. It sells for only $.99.

But, you can get this app for FREE by entering in my first ever sweepstakes here on iPhone 3G & Me!

All you have to do is leave a comment here or send a tweet to my Twitter account saying: "I want Trip Journal!" You will be automatically entered to win a free Trip Journal app. I am giving out three (3) Trip Journal apps. Winners will be picked randomly out of a hat which I will record on video and post right here. You can enter only once and the sweepstakes runs through April 30th.

My twitter name is @jarofclay73. Good luck to everyone who enters!