This is one of those cool things that requires a second look. The first time I checked it out, I thought, “Neat. Someone put an iPad in an iBook.” But that’s not what they did. They put an iPad and a keyboard in an iBook.
This one has been floating around the intertubes for the past few days, but I think it deserves a bit of examination. This first came from Apple Noir, and they show a bit of the behind the scenes for the process. The builder in question hollowed out the iBook screen area for the iPad, but then ran a 30-pin USB cable through the hinge and into the keyboard area. Then the keyboard is connected to the iPad via a camera connection kit. That’s right, this is a USB keyboard.
First, I didn’t know there was a USB version of the Apple keyboard that didn’t have the 10-key on the end. Secondly, why not just use the Bluetooth model? Seems to me like it would’ve made the process substantially easier.
Either way, this is probably the best iPad case you can make. I don’t know too many thieves who want to buy an ancient iBook, and even if it was open, most people wouldn’t recognize it on first glance. Besides, this is just another cool way to recycle old products and make things new again.
This looks sick! If I only had an iPad….