Skylarking

I don’t have an iPad, but I do have an old e-book reader, the eBookwise 1150 — which I’d like to replace sometime soon — which I use quite a bit when I’m eating alone or snacking. I like to do a little reading while I eat, and I’m often trying to find some combination of items I can use to prop it up at an angle so I can read comfortable. Oftentimes this results in me leaning it up against the napkin holder, while placing a small book or something else at the base to prevent it from sliding.

Maybe you’ve found yourself doing the same thing with your iPad?

Well, I was looking at the iPads and the iPad accessories over at MacMall.com, and I saw a couple of products that would work nicely for iPad owners.

One such product is the Kickstand Nylon Case by Incipio. It comes in three different colors: Light Gray (shown),  Black, and Khaki/Tan. It’s constructed from rip-stop nylon with a microsuede lining on the inside to protect your investme—, er, iPad from scuffs and scratches. It acts as a book cover, as you can see, but it also has a kickstand design that allows you to prop it up for reading or video watching. (You forgot you can watch videos on it, didn’t you?)

As it is a book cover, it also comes with a magnetic latch to keep it closed when not in use. And, lest I forget, they cost only $22.99 each. Get one now and protect that iPad.

I thought this was pretty amazing, but the new iPod Nano (5th Generation) has a video camera in it. Yep, the new nano shoots video. Now, if you’ve seen the Nano, you know that it’s just a little bit bigger than a lighter. Imagine a video camera the size of a lighter.

That’s kind of amazing. Right?

And as you can see, it’s available at MacMall.com, the Apple Superstore.

Shameless plugs aside, let’s look take a closer look at the iPod nano.

The back of the new iPod Nano has a camera lens, and next to the camera lens there’s a pinhole. A pinhole microphone, that is. So you can shoot video with sound, too.

Three years ago, I bought a 2nd Generation iPod Nano, and I still use it to this day. Back then, $199 got you 8 GB of storage space for holding about 2,000 songs. The 2nd Gen iPod Nano didn’t play video. That was a bit of downer for me at the time, but I’ve lived with it.

Here we are 3 years later and the Nano hasn’t gotten any bigger, and now it plays video, and it records video.

What’s more than that? It plays FM radio now with a built-in FM tuner, and you can even pause the radio while you’re listening to a station. Think of it as Tivo for radio in an iPod. Apple calls this Live Pause. The radio is recorded onto the iPod, so you can pause a song while you listen. While the song is paused the station is recorded to the Nano’s flash drive.

Now my 3 year old iPod Nano only held 2,000 or 8 GB worth of music (no video) and it set me back $200, but now for just $179 you can get 16 GB of storage for 4,000 songs or 16 HOURS of video.

Now, that is amazing. I’m sold.

Head over to MacMall.com, the Apple Superstore, and get your iPod Nano, now. There’s an 8GB model for $149 and the 16GB model for $179. You can also get a Free Altec lansing Portable iPod/iPhone speaker (a $39 value) with it. There’s also an option to get free engraving and a free charger. You pay for the engraving and charger now, but you get your money back from a rebate later.

Buy.com has some nice prices today for some factory reconditioned and refurbished iPods. These are items that were purchased, but the buyer either changed their mind, or found a few items missing, or brought it back to exchenge for something else. In some cases these were returned gifts. Regardless, they were check and repackaged by the Apple factory for resale.

Check them out, there are some nice savings to be had here. And please use the links here, so Buy.com know Skylarking sent you. And let me remind you, I don’t mention any items or offers that I don’t personally and professionally consider to be worthwhile. This is not a paid promotion.

Apple iPod 60GB Generation 5 Refurbished

60 GB hard drive memory; Holds up to 15,000 songs and full-color album art; Bright 2.5-inch, 320 x 240 pixel TFT display; Up to 20 hours of battery life; Holds up to 25,000 photos; Holds up to 150 hours of video; Enjoy Podcasts and audio books; Apple click wheel; Accessory-compatible dock connector; Charges and syncs via USB; Syncs contacts, calendars and to-do lists; Shuffle songs or albums; Repeat one or all; Adjust audio book reading speed; Sound check on or off; 20 equalizer presets; Backlight timer; Display contrast; Alarms on, off or silent; Sleep timer; Date and time; Display time in menu bar; Contacts sort and display by first or last names; Clicker on or off; Unit dimensions: 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.55-inches; Includes USB cable and Headphones. This item listed for $399.95 when it was new. It’s yours for only $120. Bono not included.

Apple iPod 5th Generation 30GB Refurbished

This item is factory reconditioned with a 90 day distributor warranty.2.5″ LCD; 30GB Hard Drive; Video: MPEG-4, QuickTime; Dock Connector; Composite Video Output; Mini-phone Stereo Audio Line Out; Holds up to 7,500 Songs; Holds up to 25,000 iPod-viewable photos; Video Player; Holds over 1,000 Videos based on 4 minutes; Audio Player; Audio Formats: AIFF, WAV, AAC, MP3; Includes Ear bud headphones, USB cable, and iTunes software for Mac and Windows; Charging via USB or FireWire to computer system or power adapter; 4.1″ H x 2.4″ W x 0.43″ D; Image Formats: BMP, JPEG, PSD (Mac only), PNG, TIFF, GIF; Weight: 4.8 oz;Customizable main menu; Create multiple On-the-Go playlists; Adjust audiobook playback speed; Clicker playback through headphones; Rate songs; Shuffle songs or albums; Repeat one or all; Sound Check on or off; 20 Equalizer settings; Backlight timer; Alarms on, off or silent; Sleep timer; Date and time; Display time in menu bar; Contacts sort and display by first or last names; Clicker on or off.

I almost overdid it on this post by including language support and charge times, but you can find all that out at Buy.com’s site if interested.

Beat Generation Podblaster – Portable Speakers for your iPod

Take out the earphones and let everyone listen to your iPod. It’s a lot easier to do with this ultra-light podblaster. This is the all vinyl PodBlaster iPod Stereo Travel Case from LifePod. It comes with a Storage pocket with room for your power charger and cables, firewire connector, FM transmitter and everything you need while traveling. The 3-watt amplifier is powered by four AA batteries (not included) or a USB connector (included!) The speakers are fully integrated, the clear window in the fron t flips open so you can control your iPod. Plus its has a compact and ultraportable design and construction.

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