How To: Hack the New Apple Smart Cover to Fit the Original iPad

When the iPad 2 was released earlier this month, as to be expected there was a whole lotta buzz. And for good reason—while the the newest version shares the same price tag as the old, it boasts some significant new features. In case you missed it, here's a quick overview:

• Better, Faster, Stronger. The iPad 2 has an upgraded 1GHz dual-core A5 chip for improved speed with much faster graphics processing.
• Cameras and FaceTime! Yep, the iPad 2 has a front and rear facing camera, which means you can video chat to your heart's content. Unfortunately, this application works only with other FaceTime users, but hopefully they'll open it up to anybody with a webcam in the future. After all, they need something new and exciting to offer with next year's iPad 3...
• HDMI Out. You can now rent a movie on the iPad2 and run it on your TV.
• iMovie and GarageBand. For $5 an app, you can turn the iPad2 into a mini movie or sound studio. Crossing my fingers for an Adobe Photoshop app of some kind, but with the state of Adobe and Apple's relationship, it's unlikely to happen anytime soon.
• The Best iPad Accessory Ever. Lastly…it's thinner, lighter, and….there's a new case that everyone and their grandmother are gaga over!

It's true—everyone is nuts over the new Apple Smart Cover. How is it that an accessory caused the most buzz? Because it's an elegant feat in product design. It's clever, it's neat, it's compact, it's sleek...check it out:

If you're in love (like everybody else), but you don't want to toss in the old iPad for the new, don't fret. Here's a simple hack for making the new Smart Cover work with the old iPad—all you need are 4 super powerful rare earth magnets and some glue:

Dan Provost, the genius behind the hack, says:

"I purchased several different types of rare earth magnets from K&J Magnetics. I ended up using block magnets, 3/8" x 3/16" x 1/32" (found here)...

To place the magnets, I stuck them first to the magnetized hinge of the Smart Cover. I slid them around until they became locked into a position. This ended being asymmetrical, but I didn't mind. I then lined up the cover with the iPad and used masking tape to mark where the magnets should be placed. I wanted this to be a somewhat permanent solution, so I used super glue to affix the magnets to the iPad. If you are not so daring, or want to test it out to make sure you like it, just use transparent tape. Even though the super glue keeps the magnets secure and in place, they are actually pretty easy to remove by just 'chipping' them off with a flathead screwdriver and a very light tap of the hammer."

SOURCE  The Russians Used a Pencil