One of the greatest things about the iPad is that its uses seem to be ever-expanding. We’ve seen it pop up in schools as a learning tool and in restaurants as a high-tech menu, in addition to all the typical uses. Belkin has recently introduced three iPad accessories that aim to make your iPad useful in the kitchen. The line includes the Fridge Mount ($40), the Chef Stand ($40), and the Kitchen Cabinet Mount ($50). All of them look useful for various reasons, and we like the idea of having our iPad in the kitchen as a display, for entertainment purposes, or to help with cooking. The price is right, too; none of these will break the bank or even put a crack in it.
While we love the idea of having our iPad mounted to the fridge to display things like the time, weather, and a calendar, the technology behind the mount seems a little less-than-secure. The mount attached to your refrigerator door via two 3M Command Strips, which makes us a little wary. The iPad then sits in a small shelf at the bottom of the mount and is held stable by the same built-in magnets that hold your Smart Cover on. It’s unclear to us whether a good slam of the refrigerator door would equal catastrophe. The other two products don’t seem to have such potential problems. The Chef Stand includes a weighted stand for your iPad as well as a large stylus to help users navigate the device while cooking with dirty hands. The Kitchen Cabinet mount clamps easily onto any shelf or cabinet, which would be especially handy for watching a cooking tutorial, viewing a recipe, or watching news clips while you slave away making dinner. All of the three devices are available now.
