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iPad: Ultimate kitchen Mac*

by Dave Caolo Apr 7th 2010 at 3:00PM

For years I've dreamed of an Internet appliance for the kitchen -- one that would replace the clutter on the refrigerator, offer weather updates and calendar events, help with the cooking and serve as a central hub of family news and activities. Two years ago, I described that fictional appliance here at TUAW. Today I've realized that it finally exists, and it's called iPad.

My desire for such a thing was sparked with the 3Com Audrey. With its touchscreen, wireless keyboard and Internet access (Ethernet only), you could use it to check mail, view calendar events and do some light web surfing. It was discontinued after 7 months, and never developed into what it could have been.

In playing with one (I picked it up for US$10 on Ebay), I got a picture of what I wanted its successor to be, and I described it in that post from two years ago. Today I'm amazed how successfully the iPad meets those requirements. Read on to see what I mean.


  1. "An eye-level device." In the kitchen, I'm typically standing. At 6 feet tall, I'm often bending over to look at my MacBook Pro's display, which is less than ideal. Now, I can put the iPad in its dock (or stand) and rest it on a shelf. Perfect. If only there were some sort of magnet system for getting it on the 'fridge or wall mount.
  2. "It must have a touch screen or voice activation." There's no room for a keyboard in my small kitchen, so a touch screen or voice activation is a must.
  3. "Hands-free cooking." The Epicurious app for iPad (free) is stunning and exactly what I envisioned. It features re-sizeable text that's legible from a distance, shopping list generation, beautiful photos, step-by-step instructions and full menu suggestions. Plus, it's a joy on the iPad's razor-sharp screen. With the slide of a finger (wipe your hands first, or slide the iPad inside a Ziploc baggie) you can prepare your dishes easily.
  4. "Shared calendar that receives push updates from my other devices." Yes and yes. As a MobileMe customer, my calendars, contacts, email accounts and more are synchronized across all of my Apple devices,** including the iPad. That messy collection of random notes from school, paper calendar, receipts, artwork, etc. that clutters the refrigerator...eliminated.
  5. "Email, even if it's read-only." How about a fully-functioning mail app with push notification? Done.
  6. "Weather for the day." Weather Station Pro is only $1.99 and beautiful. WeatherBug Elite is "weather on crack," according to one reviewer, and it's temporarily free.
  7. "Music." The easiest one of all, as the iPad is also an iPod, with speakers beefy enough to be heard over the kitchen tumult. Of course, you can also have public radio from anywhere or a station that knows what you like to hear with your cornflakes and juice.
As a bonus, I got the items I described as unnecessary: The "real" Internet (hush, Flash lovers), movies or television and "...a ton of apps" like photos, videos, etc.

Finally, I described "...a touch-screen machine about the size of a 15" MacBook Pro display, but a little thicker. Give it this basic functionality and wall-mounting hardware and you'd have something worth considering. Since it would lack an optical drive, hard drive (flash?) and lots of pricey software, it could be relatively inexpensive. The Audrey sold for $499US." Well done, Apple.

It took a long time, but Apple has produced the ultimate kitchen machine. Thanks, folks!

*No, it's not a "Mac." I get it.
**Sorry, Apple TV. Not you.

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HandyMac

Never saw the Audrey, but I remember that Canon made a special white version of its BJC-85 portable printer (descendant of the BJC-70, which was repackaged as the StyleWriter 2200) to match it; it was also a nice match for the early white iBook.

April 07 2010 at 8:51 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Frank

I realize it would get one sued by at least two different megacorporations, but I really want a device like this called "Audrey II".

April 07 2010 at 7:36 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
bmw

Well the Audrey did run flash. I think it was flash 3.0, but it still ran it. I was thinking of getting a Chumby to replace my Audrey. It would perform the same tasks that I use it for. But I got my Audrey for half the price of a Chumby.

April 07 2010 at 7:06 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
iBagwan

You should check out Rouxbe.com, the are a cooking school on line and they are optimized for the iPad! They have html 5 videos of their cooking lessons that are simply the best!

April 07 2010 at 4:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Fred

There's a great french "cooking slate" realeased a few months ago called Qooq : http://www.qooq.com.
I have the opportunity to play with it a little in one of our retail store (Fnac) ; very impressive and amazing ! (just a "little" bit expensive...)
Check it out.

April 07 2010 at 3:50 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Collin

Umm a wall mount DOES exist. It is simply not shipping until summer. http://modulrcase.com/accessories.php

April 07 2010 at 3:29 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Andy

Bingo, you get it, I also get it, imagine the coffee table with the ipad, no freakin magazines laying around it, and the best photo album out there... no more huddling around a laptop or worse yet a desktop looking at vacation pics... and for the social gamer, heck its more than adequate. And twitter and facebook rock on this thing.

and don't forget the calendar sharing that google calendars allows. My family calendar syncs with my families devices. Finally one calendar, which everyone can update as needed and the google app appears to be great for the iPad..

April 07 2010 at 3:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
brian

Kitchen computer? You need one of these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeywell_316

April 07 2010 at 3:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
David Emery

Or you could go sign up on Quirky.com and vote for their iPad mount.

dave

April 07 2010 at 3:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Rhett

You could get the modulR iPad wall mount/case/headrest system thing...no magnet but sounds close enough to what you are looking for.

April 07 2010 at 3:09 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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