Remember when you could turn your old Mac SE into a fish tank? Good ol’ days. While it may have been cool in the day, it was not the most efficient. With technology changing so rapidly, the computer, phone or iPad you buy today is outdated in a year. Well not completely. Let’s take a look at some cool ideas I found on the interwebs that can put your iPad 2 and above to good work.
iCash
Selling that year old tablet is always an option. Keep in mind that many iPad owners look eBay and Craigslist for quick cash – your’e not the fist. But here are a few options. Gazelle, Glyde, SellMyCellPhones.com and USell are good options. Amazon has a trade-in program that is pretty interesting. They tend to not be as competitive but they are trustworthy.
Retailer Target is also interested in taking that older iPad off your hands. The company’s Electronics Trade-In Service lets shoppers bring in new or used iPads—as well as iPhones, cell phones, iPods, and video games—and turn them in for credit on other Target purchases. The retailer says you can get up to $200 in store credit depending on the condition of your item—that could go a long way toward paying down the cost of an iPad 2, which Target will offer.
Dedicated E-Reader
If your hooked on books, via an electronic device, than maybe this is for you. Just equip that old iPad with the reading app of your choice—whether it’s the Kindle app, Apple’s iBooks, or any of the other iPad e-reading apps available for download. Take everything else off the device, e-mail settings, games, and any push notifications to make the reading environment as distraction-free as possible.
Quick hits
- Make it a recipe book in the kitchen
- Make it into a remote control
- Give it to your kids – games I mean educational purposes
- Make it your Media Center – Movies and Music center that is connected to stereo system via Bluetooth
- Make it into digital photo frame
- Hang your iPad on the Fridge and use it to browse the web, recipes, grocery list, notes to the family
Use your iPad as a home camera monitor
All you need to do is download a camera monitoring app to your old iPad and your new one (or an iPhone or iPod touch), set the old iPad in the room you want monitored, and keep it plugged in. The Presence App turns apple products into security cameras by sending a live web cam feed to the user online while they’re away.
Car iPad
This seems a little crazy but there is a company that makes a kit to mount the iPad in your car.
Another great way to give your old iPad a new life is by mounting it in your car. With an iPad embedded in your car you can have all your satnav and media needs in one device. And with Apple’s new HDMI accessory (that also works on the iPad 1) you could even switch the view to screens in the headrests. The video below shows the complete mounting of an iPad in the dashboard.
“And why are we looking for ideas for the iPad? Because there is a new one coming out soon. Let the games begin.”
The New iPad Air 3 Rumors
iPad Air 3 is arriving next month, according to the most recent rumors, and it inherits some features from the iPad Pro.
According to the tech blog 9to5Mac the latest iPad update is expected to have a rear-facing LED flash in order to take better pictures in low light. For those who want their 9.7-inch iPad Airs to rival the sound quality of the larger iPad Pro. There may be additional speaker grilles to match the Pro’s audio quality. Additionally, sources told 9to5Mac that Apple has been testing out versions that would be compatible with Apple Pencil, the stylus tool that was introduced with the iPad Pro last fall.
The other obvious upgraded feature would be the current iOS 9 operating system. An eventual iOS 9.3 upgrade is currently being beta-tested by developers. The device would also work with the iOS 10 that is down the line. The newer iOS will reportedly include Night Shift, a feature that changes the display screen light color at night for those who like to read their tablets in bed before sleep.