IStation Turns iPad into Apple I

There’s no doubt in my mind that the iPad is exactly what Steve Jobs wanted when he made the original Mac. Cheap, easy for anyone to pick up and use, closed to outside tinkering and completely self-contained.

So it is with some irony that M.I.C Gadget’s iStation mimics not the Mac but Apple’s very first computer, the Apple I. And by “mimic” I mean “put a screen on top of a faux wooden case.”

The iStation has a bracket up top to hold the iPad, and the whole lot works via Bluetooth. Once you have paired the keyboard and the speaker unit with the tablet, you can pretend that you are using Apple’s original DIY machine, only you’ll have color, and sound, and a whole bunch of extra media and control keys.

I’d probably opt for the white one. Not because I like plastic more than wood, but because the faux-woodgrain looks so cheap. This is especially painful as the case underneath is made from lovely plywood.

There are some other tricks, too. The USB port on the back lets you play back MP3s direct from a thumb drive, the keyboard is removable, and there’s a line in via 3.5mm jack. And that USB port should also charge the iPad.

The iStation is available right now, and will cost $86.

Spoiler: