Your iPad Should Be in An Incase Magazine Jacket [GIVEAWAY ]

We've seen some interesting cases in our ongoing pursuit for perfect iPad protection, but the Incase Convertible Magazine Jacket could be a definite frontrunner. It builds on the Incase Book Jacket by trimming it substantially and adding some crucial features.

The Magazine Jacket is aesthetically similar to Apple's own iPad case, adding to the design with an elastic binding strap and three folding stand options. The problem with the original Book Jacket is that it doesn't adequately secure the iPad, leaving it free to slide around in the case.

Incase has resolved this issue with the Magazine Jacket, as the case now locks the iPad in place to prevent slippage. By comparison, the Apple case uses a small flap to keep the iPad in one spot. It seems minor, but it becomes particularly irritating to push the iPad back into place whenever you need to plug headphones in.

Its three standing options include two viewing angles and one working angle (for typing and such). Additionally, the case doesn't cover any of the the iPad ports or side buttons, so its controllable at all times. The Incase Convertible Magazine Jacket is available now for $50.

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Apple Stock Should Be $418 But iPad Just A Small Driver

Dec. 2 2010 - 10:50 am | 4,665 views | 0 recommendations | Accounts for about 7% of stock price

According to a recent survey, Apple’s iPad is expected to be a seasonal favorite during the holidays with 9% of holiday shoppers planning to buy an iPad in the next 90 days. []

Apple competes with players like Hewlett-Packard, Dell, LG Electronics (SEO:066570), Research in Motion, Samsung Electronics (SEO:005930), Toshiba (TYO:6052), and Cisco that all have or plan to launch tablets, as well as Amazon that sells the well known Kindle e-reader.

Despite the large amount of attention the iPad receives, we estimate that the iPad constitutes only 7% of Apple’s intrinsic stock value and therefore any significant jump in sales would have a limited independent impact on Apple’s stock. Further, we anticipate that declining iPad gross profit margins in coming years could pose a headwind to the iPad unit’s profitability and restrict additional upside to Apple’s intrinsic value.

Our price estimate for AAPL still remains roughly 32% above market value, at $418.

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iPad Unit Sales Could Surprise, but What is the Impact?

We estimate that Apple could sell around 12.5 million iPads for 2010, having already sold around 7.5 million iPads through the end of September 2010. According to Gartner, a market research firm, tablets market sales could triple to around 55 million by 2011, [] well ahead of our 20 million estimate.

Although holiday season sales could surprise, we still note a price sensitivity for Apple stock of less than 1% to a 10% change in 2013 iPad unit sales.

Competition Could Pressure iPad Pricing and Profit Margins

Another headwind to iPad profitability stems from declining profit margins. We estimate Apple’s average iPad price to be $640 in 2010, a notable premium compared to the Amazon’s Kindle priced at $189 and netbooks which typically cost below $400. If Apple cuts iPad prices aggressively in the future to remain competitive with other tablet/netbook/e-reader manufacturers, profit margins will be negatively affected.

We estimate Apple’s iPad profit margin will be around 30% for 2010 [] and anticipate a gradual decline in the years ahead limiting the company’s profitability from any substantial pickup in iPad sales. In another article we wrote how competitors with smaller tablets, added features and the popular multi-media player Adobe Flash – which the iPad does not support – might add competitive pressures that could weigh on margins. (See Ipad’s Challenge for Next Year.)

While we are optimistic on Apple overall, the benefit to its stock price from the iPad could be limited for the time being.

Our complete analysis for Apple’s stock is here.

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The 10 iPad Games You Should Buy For Your Kids This Holiday (AAPL)

Article:The 10 iPad Games You Should Buy For Your Kids This Hol:/g/a/2010/11/29/businessinsider-the-top-10-ipad-games-for-kids-2010-11.DTL

The iPad is one of the most requested tech items on kids' holiday gift lists this year, according to a recent survey by Nielsen.

In fact, it's the number one choice for kids ages six to 12.

If you decide to make your kids' wish come true, don't forget to load their new tablet with the apps they'll love.

Developers have taken advantage of the iPad's larger screen to update some of the best kid-friendly iPhone apps with updated graphics, controls, and levels.

And many of them are so addictive, you'll find yourself competing with your kids for some quality iPad time.

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Six iPad features laptops should copy

Sales of the Apple iPad are booming. The recipe for the tablet's success could contain some important lessons for laptop makers, says Jason Hiner.

In the second quarter of 2010, Apple sold 3.3 million iPads. In fact, it was the tablet device's first quarter on the market, yet it still outsold MacBook laptops by about 800,000 units. Sales of the two products together lifted Apple from seventh in the world notebook market to third.

At the same time, the other top five notebook vendors experienced slower sales growth, which suggests the iPad has cut into their market. Whether the iPad will be able to sustain these numbers will be one of the most interesting trends in the second half of the year.

Nevertheless, the iPad has already sold enough units to alarm laptop makers and nearly all of them are already working on competing tablets, in most cases powered by Google's Android operating system.

Laptop makers should also look at the factors behind the iPad's popularity and consider how some of those characteristics could be incorporated into notebooks.

1. Battery life
When Apple announced the iPad's technical specs and claimed 10 hours of battery life, I rolled my eyes. Published battery life numbers rarely stand up in the real world. But the iPad actually exceeded expectations. I've easily obtained 11 to 12 hours of battery life from my iPad, and others have reported the same thing.

That level of battery performance is important for professionals because it frees them from having to charge the device for an entire working day. Several business users I know say battery life was their primary reason for choosing the iPad.

2. Instant-on
You can click the iPad's power button and it is instantly ready to pull up a web page, calendar or email. Compare that experience with dragging your laptop into a conference room, waiting about 30 seconds to boot, logging in and then waiting again until the operating system is ready.

You may not want to fire up your laptop at the beginning of a meeting because you might appear inattentive or distracted. But if something comes up and you want to access information, you want it instantaneously without a break in the flow of the conversation or a delay that may make you look unprepared.

Some laptops can accomplish something similar by quickly leaving a sleep state when you open the lid, but this facility often causes problems with wireless networking and other basic functionality, and tends not to be as quick as the iPad.

3. Centralised software
The feature that made the iPad infinitely more useful and versatile is its massive choice of third-party applications. This software is available in a central repository, the Apple App Store, which also handles all updates for iPad apps.

That helpful arrangement contrasts with the complicated and confusing process of having to get software preloaded on your computer, buying it shrink-wrapped, or downloading it. Then nearly all the programs have their own...

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