Review: Wallee iPad mount (verdict: killer)
Summary: One on the killer applications for the iPad is hanging it on a wall. It sounds silly at first, but there's a lot of new ways to use tablets, and wall mounting is one of them.
One of the killer applications for a tablet computer (like the iPad) is hanging it on a wall. It sounds silly at first, but there's a lot of new ways to use tablets -- and lots more we haven't thought of yet.
Tablets represent a paradigm shift and it'll take a while for it to sink in your slate isn't your old school computer.
The other day I was thinking about how cool it would be to hang my iPad on the wall behind my desk. Rather than it sitting idle in its case for most of the day, it could be another data source, running a news app like Pulse News Reader for iPad (free, App Store) constantly updating several news sources.
What's more, I'd also love to mount it in my kitchen for following along with recipes from AllRecipes and Epicurious while I cook. It sure beats finding the recipe online, printing it and taping it to the microwave, which is what I currently do.
The list goes on.
I did some research on iPad wall mounts but most of what I found was junky looking and not very Mac-like. Then I stumbled across the Wallee iPad case and wall mount ($49.95) and it was like finding an oasis in a horrible desert of ugly wall mounts.
Above is shot of the white (more off-white, actually) Wallee mounted on my office wall running Pulse. Here's a shot of the rear of the Wallee case and the clever X mount:
Wallee is comprised of a polycarbonate, snap-on case for the iPad (which comes in 5 colors) and an ingenious wall plate with a locking "X" on it. It was a breeze to install using the video on their website. Be sure to use the right anchors for your wall type though, poor fasteners could result in your iPad falling and meeting an unfortunate demise.
All-in-all I'm thrilled with Wallee and plan on installing more of the $10 mounts all over the place. I'm probably going install a mount on my bathroom wall so that I can play tunes (Pandora, iPod) while I'm in the shower and check the weather (Weather Station) while brushing my teeth. In spring I could see installing a mount above the workbench in my garage. The possibilities are endless.
Wallee serves my needs perfectly and now my iPad gets used about 12 hours out of the day -- instead of one or less. Information overload? Maybe, but that's the way I like it.
Mine current favorite wallePad apps are:
- Pulse News Reader (free, App Store)
- Allrecipes (free, App Store)
- Epicurious (free, App Store)
- How to Cook Everything ($9.99, App Store)
- Weather Station free (free, App Store)
Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.
Talkback
If I had an iPad
RE: Review: Wallee iPad mount (verdict: killer)
Miss the point much?
Buy 4 or 5 of the $10 X-mounts (per the article - you did read it firght?) and you won't need multiple iPads. Just move one around with you.
This is a great idea, and regardless of iPad, Samsung Galaxy, or Xoom (or whatever else) I think it's a paradigm shift that is overdue and should be quite popular.
Yeah, this has NEVER been thought of before!!!
RE: Review: Wallee iPad mount (verdict: killer)
Yeah, with an extra part for the stylus.
So?
How else will you be able to write with them? You know, that one thing tablets were designed for in the first place? If you think they're still needed to manipulate the UI you are mistaken.
None of those even remotely resemble this device...
The main problem I see with the PadTab is the likelihood of accidentally breaking the tabs off as you pull your tablet off the wall.
I would posit that you should fact check before you post, but we all know that is outside the realm of possibility.
How about to mount it under a table for gaming? Of course, a 20 inch iPad
RE: Review: Wallee iPad mount (verdict: killer)
Nice, but not $50 nice.
Friends of mine kicked around the idea of making home automation consoles out of the low-end iPod Touch using mounting bracket that would cover a standard junction box, and with a power supply that fit in the junction box behind the unit. It was dismountable so that you could plug the unit into a PC/Mac for updates and such. Considering that WinCE-based control panels range from hundreds to thousands of dollar each and are not very flexible, I thought it sounded like a promising idea.
Now if you had multi-window capability on the iPad so that you could be listening to a child monitor or watching the kids play outside, you would have something my wife would demand mounted in the kitchen tomorrow :)
actually, automation touch panels come in various sizes and ranges
Pricing depends on size, function, and environmental specifications.
True, but there's room for the iPod and iPad
For $149, you don't get a hi-rez display, Wifi, 8gb memory, etc. that you do with a $229 iPod Touch. I don't have mine mounted on the wall, but I do have the apps that allow me to control my Z-Wave system, my home theater system, and get alerts from my alarm system. Today they are all separate apps, so it's not a well-integrated system yet, but the platform itself has a lot of possibilities. It will all depend on Apple, though. If they keep the iPod locked down strictly as a consumer device, then developers will probably never have the ability to do much more with the unit than just writing simple apps instead of real control systems.
I'd keep it out of the bathroom, if I were you.
RE: Review: Wallee iPad mount (verdict: killer)
No Way!
I would hope it is of quality build
Jason, would not printing out the recipie
Dang!
RE: Review: Wallee iPad mount (verdict: killer)
RE: Review: Wallee iPad mount (verdict: killer)