Touch an iPad – $1 Only

Source : http://www.makeuseof.com/tech-fun/touch-an-ipad-1-only/

Scrabble for the iPad

Scrabble for the iPad: stir in some iPhones and it's the best $1,000 you ever spent on a board game

You can't deny, it's pretty metaphysically silly to be playing a board game your parents bought at a yard sale for $2 on a $500+ iPad, in conjunction with two or more $200+ iPhones. Mix in service plans, accessories, the price of the app ($10), and the bribes you'll have to pay your friends to join in on something so embarrassing, and you're really pushing the limits of common sense with Scrabble for the iPad. But we will say this: it is pretty cool. We just paired up a couple iPhones (running the free Tile Rack app) and joined in with the iPad over Bluetooth or WiFi (the app makes it unclear as to which particular wireless tech is doing the honors at the moment, but both work) and in moments we were swiping tiles up to the iPad with the best of them.

Surprisingly, it makes a game of scrabble go much faster, since the computer does all those difficult maths for you, but the experience isn't without its shortcomings. If you exit the Scrabble app to the home screen, or accidentally brush the "Menu" button on the iPad app, your game is completely gone. There isn't even a helpful warning like "are you sure you want to end this game you just invested an hour of your life into without even saving or something?" There not even an option to save a game and resume at later date. The app is more forgiving if you drop a connection with your iPhone, or lock the screen on the iPad for a moment, but we'd really appreciate it if EA rounded off some of these rough edges before we chuck the iPad across the room in a Scrabble-induced rage. Check out video playthrough after the break.

Source : http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/04/scrabble-for-the-ipad-stir-in-some-iphones-and-its-the-best-1/

7 Things That Surprised Me About Apple’s New iPad

7 Things That Surprised Me About Apple’s New iPad

Here’s what happened: I had ordered an iPad Wi-fi + 3G which means I would be waiting until the end of the month until I got my iPad, but I really wanted to see one in person, so Saturday afternoon my son and I went to the local Best Buy store and played with one for 45 minutes. We were just blown away, so I told the guy at Best Buy “I’ll take one” (I got totally carried away, especially since I already had one ordered).

He asked his supervisor how many they had left. He looked at me and said “Zero. We’ve been sold out for hours.” We asked if they could call around to the other Best Buys in the area. All sold out. Then I found out our IT guy had already bought two for us for testing purposes, so I snagged one for the weekend. Whoo-baby it is sweet! Anyway, here are the seven things that surprised me most:

(1) It’s better than I thought
I was expecting it to be pretty cool. I remember seeing ads and reading about the original iPhone, and I thought it looked cool, too. But once I actually held one in my hand, everything changed. Same thing here. Whatever your impressions of the iPad are, they will change once you actually hold one in your hands. It’s a beautifully designed piece of technology.

(2) It’s heavier than I thought
I knew it was a few ounces heavier than the Kindle, but it feels twice as heavy. Sturdy and well built for sure, but definitely heavier, and certainly heavier than I thought (seeing as it’s so thin).

(3) It’s faster than I thought
I’m really stunned at how fast things happen on the iPad. Photos appear instantly. You scroll through hundreds of photos in an instant. Apps launch fast. Everything just feels really, really fast. I know I’m not the first person to point this out—everybody’s saying the same thing, but I didn’t realize it would be as fast as it is.

(4) The screen is much better than I thought
I knew the screen would be good, but the screen is way over the top crisp, bright and sharp. In fact, I don’t know what they’d have to do to improve the screen itself. I’ve never seen a device this size with a screen like this. Heck, I rarely see a device of any size with a screen like this. Everything looks great on it.

(5) It Makes You Hate Your Old iPhone-sized Apps
To really experience and fall in love with an iPad, you have to use Apps redesigned for the iPad. They’re brilliant. So far, the developers seem to have not merely just up-sized their existing apps—they’ve upgraded them big time. It’s like they’ve broken free from what must have been a very limiting experience (design-wise) creating apps for the iPhone and iPod touch, and now they’re like, “OK, now we can really do what we’ve always wanted to do!” Unfortunately, this makes you kind of hate your old iPhone apps (which get copied over to your iPad when you sync it with your computer), and honestly, I can barely stand to run them. They’re pixelated and almost “old fashioned” looking once you see what can be done at full iPad size and redesign.

(6) The Screen Seems Much Bigger Than It Is
The screen size is so perfect, that it actually seems to be much larger than it really is. It feels like there’s space galore, instead of it being at a premium. Movies look great, and feel big. Maybe it’s because the whole thing is just one big screen, but everything feels nice and big—-bigger than the screen actually is in reality.

(7) Books and Magazine are Much Better Than I Thought
Apple’s free iBooks App is just plain amazing. Way better than I thought it would be. It makes you want to read books on it. Engadget.com said it better than I could, when yesterday they wrote:

“It’s the first e-book reading experience we’ve seen that seems to truly understand the visceral, sensual enjoyment of holding an actual volume in your hand.”

The iBooks App is simply brilliant for reading novels, business books, reference books, etc.. The selection is somewhat slim at present, but like the iTunes Store, it’s going to explode with lots of titles very soon (including a bunch of my own).

Also, Amazon’s Kindle App for the iPad is amazingly good, too (in fact, since it’s in color, my Kindle format books look much better on Kindle for the iPad, than they do on an actual Kindle reader (which displays the photos in black and white), so good job Amazon—your iPad App rocks (which in my opinion, was a very smart business move for Amazon). That’s my book shown in the Kindle Reader for iPad above.

The Bottomline
When people say, “Oh, it’s just a big iPod touch,” they’d be right if all they did was run their old iPod touch Apps at 2X the size, but it’s the redesigned and new iPad Apps (like the iBook App, the Marvel Comics App, and the ABC TV App, among others) that make it an entirely different experience.

I was met with a room full of skeptics during an Easter get-together at my house yesterday—-a room full of “Oh, it’s just a big iPod touch, right?” But everybody left saying, “I have got to have one!” That doesn’t come from running iPod touch apps at twice their size.

It blew everybody away. They all already have iPhones or iPod touches, so they were expecting “more of the same,” but man did they all fall in love once they saw what it could do. I couldn’t get it out of their hands to show the next person how it worked. It has an impact that you can’t get from an article, or an Apple TV ad, or a video on their Website. You have to hold one and try it yourself. Once you do, you’ll hear what I heard half a dozen times or more yesterday. “This is way better than I thought.” I totally agree.

Source : http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/2010/archives/9498

Apple iPad's iBooks vs Amazon's Kindle

Apple iPad's iBooks vs Amazon's Kindle

Apple's iPad is launched, and among its many functions, one that analysts are looking at right now is its e-reading capability. In fact, some analysts and critics are wondering if Amazon's Kindle will be under threat once Cupertino's new tablet device launches. It's true that Amazon has a few problems to contend with that may be related to pressure from the iPad's coming iBooks application. Amazon just caved to the demands of major book publishers regarding Amazon e-book pricing, and some analysts believe the online retailer needs to cut the price of its Kindle e-ink devices to compete with the iPad.

ePub vs. Kindle Format

A big deal is being made about how Apple has chosen to go with the "open" ePub format versus Kindle's proprietary format. But the fact is this doesn't really matter at all. Proponents of ePub usually like it because of the principle of data portability. That is, if you buy an ePub book you should be able to use it on any device you choose, instead of being locked down to a proprietary format like the Kindle.

The problem is, you can lock down ePub format just as easily as the Kindle format with digital rights management, and that's exactly what Apple has done. So books purchased from either the Kindle Store or the iBookstore are going to be locked down.

Source : http://www.pcworld.com/article/193242/apple_ipads_ibooks_vs_amazons_kindle.html

Information 03 - Overview

If you are looking for more information about the Apple iPad, known by many as the Apple Tablet, you’ve come to the right place. You can find links to defining features about the iPad, hands on information and impressions, images of the Apple iPad and detailed specifications for the Apple Tablet.

Apple iPad Basic Info:

2 Versions: WiFi Only and WiFi+3G

Wifi Only – Ships in 60 days

• 16GB – $499
• 32 GB – $599
• 64 GB- $699

Wifi and 3G – $130 added feature – Ships in 90 days

• 16GB – $629
• 32 GB – $729
• 64 GB – $829

3G Apple iPad Data Pricing – No Contract Required:

• 250 MB for $14.99
• Unlimited for $29.99

Apple iPad Software details:

Along with the iPad apple announced some new software applications and information that, for now are unique to the iPad.

Important items to note include:

• The introduction of the iBooks bookstore from Apple
• All iPhone apps will be compatible with the iPad (but without a camera some won’t be the same)
• The iPad runs a modified iPhone operating system (but still has no multitasking)
• Apple has the iWork software suit for productivity (which includes Pages, Keynote, and Numbers) as iPad applications (and will cost $10 a pop)
• Not just a big iPhone
• The Apple iPad has no Flash support

For the full details please read our Apple iPad Software Overview

Apple iPad Hands on and First Impressions:

Many reviewers were able to use the iPad for a short time after it was unveiled; not long enough for a full review but certainly good for first impressions and hands on observations.

We have compiled the top 10 iPad Hands On accounts to help you understand how the iPad feels and performs including.

• What it’s like to type on the iPad
• Gaming on the iPad
• Watching a Movie on the iPad
• How heavy is the iPad
• Is the iPad fast?
• How is it to read a book on the iPad
• Where the iPad fits in your home
• and much more!

For all the details read our Definitive Apple iPad Hands On and First Impressions Roundup

Apple iPad accessories:

Like all Apple products the Apple iPad has accessories, and will likely have an incredible amount of third party accessories by the time it arrives on the market in a few months.

For now the official Apple iPad accessories and prices are as follows:

• Apple iPad Keyboard dock – $69
• Apple iPad case – $39.
• Apple iPad camera connector – $29
• Apple iPad Dock Connector to VGA – $29.

Why would you need an iPad camera connector?

Apple iPad Podcast:

For more insight on the Apple iPad and how the experts at Notebooks.com and GottaBeMobile.com feel about the device listen to the Gotta Be Mobile podcast: A Special Look at the iPad.

Contributions to this post by were made by Rajesh and Josh.

The iPad Has No Flash???

The iPad Has No Flash???

Steve Jobs just unveiled the iPad and Engadget posted this picture live from the event in San Francisco. The image shows a big fat missing Flash object on the home page of the NY Times. Jobs said “You can browse the web with it. It’s the best web experience you’ve ever had.”

I strongly disagree and think that browsing the web without Flash is far from the best web experience. If you’re an iPhone user you’re well aware of the limitations you face when trying to load sites that run flash.

It’s bad enough that the iPad doesn’t run flash, but why the heck would Jobs demo the “feature” on stage?

Source : http://www.gottabemobile.com/2010/01/27/the-ipad-has-no-flash

iPad not just running the iPhone OS on a big screen

iPad not just running the iPhone OS on a big screen

If you placed your bets on the iPad just being a big iPhone, you definitely lost money. As seen in the shot of its email operation (via Engadget), you can pull down an email list that looks like what’s on your iPhone, but it’s down a column, not spread across the screen. The iTunes layout is definitely more Mac than iPhone; it’s called iTunes, not iPod.

iPadiTunesTo me, its visual appearance is more like they’re running the iPhone OS within another version of OS X, though since it’s all grown from Darwin, it’s really just another flavor of the OS.