It’s funny that the most interesting iPad accessories so distant have been a ones that try to squeeze Apple’s tablet into some-more traditional shapes — we’ve seen a call of rebranded Bluetooth keyboard cases which ape the netbook form cause, a series of cases that aim for the Moleskine vibe (including a little from Moleskine itself), and even an central Etch-a-Sketch case. And now we’ve got SMK-Link’s PadDock 10, an iPad mount that unapologetically turns your tablet into the little touchscreen iMac you’ve maybe regularly longed for. But is it value $99 for a rotating stand and some speakers? We only got a single to play with — read upon for our full examination.
SMK-Link PadDock 10 unboxing as well as hands-on

There’s unequivocally not much to know about a PadDock 10’s hardware — it really does look like an iMac, nonetheless a speakers in a “chin” actually glow backwards as well as down, rather than to the front. It comes with the mini-USB sync cable and a power cable with the USB block upon a other finish that’s supposed to plug into your existing iPad horse. That’s the little poor, if you ask us — a $100 stand should come with the own horse. A switch upon a side of a categorical stand selects in between charge as well as sync modes, as well as there’s the volume dial upon a side of a chin to carryout the orator volume.

Once you’ve got the iPad docked, you can stagger it 360 degrees flattering simply, with detents at the 4 cardinal positions for easy adjustment. You can also tilt a iPad, though a hinge was the small as well stiff for one-handed operation. One you’ve got a iPad where you wish it, it’s all utterly stable, nonetheless there is the small stagger whilst you’re touching the shade. The mount itself is just about the undiluted height to make use of upon a kitchen counter — if you make use of iPad recipe apps or watching a lot of SlingPlayer whilst cooking (like us) you’ll definitely want to check a PadDock 10 out. Having a iPad at this tallness additionally makes it the flattering great iTunes interface — combined with AirPlay and / or the Remote app, the PadDock 10 creates a iPad a plain whole-home audio control panel.

The speakers are surprisingly good, actually — they’re not audiophile extravagant or anything, though they’re improved than average. There’s even the smallish bass driver in further to the dual stereo drivers; you’re not going to bump a house celebration with this thing, but watching videos as well as listening to song is pretty good. It’s a little droll that they’re located in the chin and face backwards, though — they definitely look the little stupid when you rotate a iPad to portrait, they sound most appropriate when in landscape as well as angled somewhat so a sound bounces off whatever aspect the dock is sitting on. We’d essentially prefer it if the PadDock dropped a faux-iMac chin, combined the little density, as well as mounted a speakers facing down along a bottom edge — that, ironically, is where the genuine iMac has them.

Wrap-up

There have been the lot of ways to column up an iPad out there — you can spend anything from 70 cents upon a plastic commercial operation card hilt to hundreds upon a law designation. If you’re happy with the iPad’s built-in speakers and don’t thoughts stringing up a charging wire separately, we’d suggest a single of a many $30-$50 aluminum stands out there — they’ll certainly do the pursuit, as well as many of them have been quite tasteful. But if you’re looking for something with some decent speakers and you’d prefer to minimize your cable clutter, the PadDock 10 isn’t a bad approach to outlay $99 — as well as it positively looks adorable parked next to a full-size iMac.

Via Engadget