iPad.

This year we spent the holiday in Turner, MT with my family.  True to form, the weather managed to dip to -30 degrees (-50 windchill)!!  We didn't really go outside much when it was that cold.  We did sit around and drink a lot of wine...fun!

For Christmas this year, I asked for an iPad.  I didn't actually think I would get one, since they had just come out, but I figured it was worth a shot.  Shockingly enough, my sweet husband got me one and had it shipped to Turner for me to open there - needless to say I was shocked and thrilled!  Ever since then I've been hunting for a cover, that fulfills a few of my requirements:

1. Covers the screen - I let my kids us my iPad to play kid games, so I needed something that would cover the screen to protect it from them
2. Auto on/off - it would be nice if the screen cover could turn it on/off
3. Keyboard.  As much as I like the onscreen keyboard on the device, the fact that I don't get any tactile input drives me crazy...I can't really type with two hands with the onscreen keyboard.  And if I'm going to use the ipad as a tool I need to be able to type
4. Easy in and out - I currently don't have any movies on my iPad, but in the foreseeable future I see the need to be able to pop the iPad out of its case and put it in some sort of car case so my little darlings can watch movies in the car.  The life right?
5. I thought it would be nice for there to be some sort of hole/area to hold a stylus - I think taking notes on the iPad could be handy in some of the meetings that I attend at work (instead of having to type)
6. Slim form as much as possible - the iPad air is lighter and slimmer than it's predecessors, why would I want to bulk up with a huge heavy case?

Shockingly enough, I have been having a TERRIBLE time finding a cover that does all this - I didn't really think it was THAT tall of an order!  To get a fully enclosed cover, you can't have a keyboard.  To get auto on/off you have to have some sort of portfolio type cover.  NO covers have a stylus holder.  Easy in/out...all dependent on cover type, but definitely not an option with a fully enclosed cover.  Lots of covers cover the back, but not the front screen.  Not a single cover had all of my requirements.   

I decided then I need to re-prioritize my list.  What did I want the most?  After thinking it over for quite some time, I decided I wanted a keyboard the most...I may find that I don't use it that much, but I'm really terrible at typing on the screen...like REALLY terrible.  #2 was automatic on/off, #3 was easy in/out. #4: something that still allows my children to play with the device

I went to the mall today because Matt told me there was new store that carried covers. They had 2 options, a Griffin Cover, and a Zagg cover.  The zagg cover was heavy and couldn't fold back out of the way for the girls to play with the iPad.  So I ended up with the Griffin.  I put my iPad in it - which was tricky (it was super tight and didn't acutally sit in there completely centered), set it up on it's kickstand, connected the keyboard, moved it slightly closer to me, and BAM.  The iPad part flipped down and banged against the desk.  Awesome.  I figured I had busted my iPad right then and there.  This kickstand on the back of it for typing mode is held by 2 ribbons to keep it from folding completely out, nothing stops it from folding back in when moved, thus the iPad flops down.  AND it was a B to get it in and out.  I decided that I wasn't satisfied and took it back to the store.

I wasn't sure what to do next, and decide to check the Apple store if they had any covers.  The actually carried one cover - a Logitech cover that has a keyboard - it wasn't quite the one I was looking for (that I had seen online), but also didn't cost as much as the one I was looking for.  I ended up with a Logitech Ultra Thin Keyboard Folio - or something like that - in the only color that they had, a sorta dark orange.  The keyboard is great.  The keybard can be folded away so that the girls can still play on the iPad, and cover causes auto off on the iPad when it shuts!  It is also easy to put the iPad in and take out and the iPad snaps right up to its typing position with magnets. 

Drawbacks:  If you forget to shut off the keyboard and fold it up for iPad only mode, the weight of the iPad will activate the buttons, which was a little tricky to figure out when I didn't realize the keyboard was still on.  Another: there's nothing to cover the screen.  I'm ok with this, since Matt has had an iPad for 2 years and had had a screen protector on it for a while, but then we decided it sucked and hasn't had one since - and his screen is still beautiful.  The same goes for my sister - she doesn't have a screen "protecter" on hers either...so at the moment, I'm not as worried about the screen especially since the cover closes like a book and will cover when I transport the iPad anywhere I go.

At the moment I'm sitting in my living room with my iPad on my lap typing this post - feeling techy and pretty excited to say the least!