Jun 05

Every penny counts

By Ivan Rants 2 Comments »

This morning I awoke to my brain telling me, “You have a headache from working all night.”. But, I pushed ahead since I need to finish configuring my home computer. Not sure why exactly, but, last night I decided to load a fresh install of Windows 7 on my computer, with all the respective applications, data, settings, external devices, etc.

The install of Windows 7 itself only took 17 minutes. But, the Windows 7 updates, along with loading the two profiles [The Mrs' and mine], well, 12 hours later, and am still at it.

During this process, I had to install iTunes, and thus configure it for my iPhone & iPad. Oh, and I had to do the same for The Mrs. Of course, in true Apple marketing style, once you log into it, you’re presented with the App Store, enticing you to buy this song, that video, and even install this app.

Me being the gadget person I am, I perused the store for a moment to see what was on offer.

Read on…

Continue reading »

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Apr 15

No flash on iPad

By Ivan Rants 16 Comments »

 

You being the gadget geek that you are, you took a road trip to your local Apple Store, you ordered online, you won one, you bribed someone to get one, either way, you have an iPad (1st or 2nd generation). And after using it for a while, you probably use it for a lot of things. I totally understand that most people don’t necessarily use their iPad for everything. Now, having said that, most of us don’t particularly want to carry more than one gadget at time, if we can help it, right?

Keep reading after the break for a real-life example of how the iPad is limited without Flash!

Continue reading »

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Apr 11

Do you use your iPad enough?

By Ivan Editorial, Rants 9 Comments »

I’m a bit curious about this. I have an iPad 2, a laptop (tiny one, HP 2510p), and a desktop (home office). But, I’m not sure I’m using my iPad enough to warrant even having one, thus the curiosity of other people with an iPad, 1 or 2, 3G or just plain ole Wi-Fi.

Last year, the Mrs. bought me an iPad 16GB, Wi-Fi model. I used it often while sitting on the sofa, browsing forums, replying to emails, general surfing of the web, and the like. Another main use for it was to read books, via the Amazon Kindle app.

Oddly enough, I felt that the sheer brightness of the iPad – despite how low I had the brightness set to – I just couldn’t keep on reading from it. It made me feel sleepy, quickly, and thus I wouldn’t read as much, or as long. I checked online, and it was nice to see that I wasn’t the only one experiencing this issue. I was beginning to feel weird for a moment.

I used to think I didn’t use my iPad 1 as much because it was only a Wi-Fi model, and thus had no ‘continuous connection’ once I left my house. Because of this, I typically left my iPad at home. Yes, I know I can watch movies, play games, listen to music, etc., without being connected to the ‘net, but what if I wanted to check or create email, or quickly research something online? I’d have to pull out my iPhone. So, hence, what was the point of me carrying my Wi-Fi iPad 1 with me?

I don’t recall the date that Apple & AT&T allowed us to pre-order the iPad 2. But, whenever that was, I did so, making sure to order the 3G model, thus giving me more ‘scope of use’, if you like. Albeit, I detest having to pay AT&T any more money. Seriously, with the Mrs. and I both using iPhone 4′s, and I even have a BlackBerry, too, all with unlimited data, AT&T gets a lot of money from us a month. Yep, true gadget nut here.

But, yet, here I am, again, leaving my iPad 2 at home. Why is that? Weird.

Hence I’m really curious with myself, and others for that matter, do I even need an iPad? From home to work, I have my iPhone – and sometimes even my BlackBerry BOLD 9700, too. Once I get to the office, I have my desktop; and the same thing in reverse, from work to home.

So, err, when exactly would I use my iPad 1 or 2, 3G or Wi-Fi? When do you use yours?

 

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Nov 04

Rant: To magazine publishers on iPad – you just don’t get it (yet)!

By scott Apps, Rants 3 Comments »

Hey, boys and girls — it’s almost Friday! But since it’s only Thursday, it’s a GREAT time for a rant. One of the things that excite me most about iPad is the ability to gain access to things I might not normally have easy access to. I am loving the fact that I have immediate access to the world of publishing. The obvious example of this is, of course, iBooks, Kindle, Nook and all the other eBook offerings. Being able to buy comic books digitally is crazy exciting and as many have said, the iPad might just be responsible for reviving or even saving the dwindling comic book industry.

Maybe even more exciting is being able to gain access to your favorite magazines on the iPad. Not only individually, but in the form of subscriptions. Having magazines on the iPad is not progressing as fast as I would like, but bit by bit, we’re seeing more and more publishers taking advantage of the format. However, there is a dark side to enjoying magazines and other content on the iPad. Keep reading after the break to really immerse yourself in my ranting and gnashing of teeth!

Continue reading »

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Oct 18

Rant: Blogging on my iPad is a pain

By Brian Editorial, Rants 3 Comments »

When I first bought my iPad several months ago, I also bought an Apple Bluetooth keyboard and was extremely optimistic that I would be posting to this blog from my iPad on a daily basis. I use WordPress for Naked iPad,  so naturally I tried out the WordPress app — epic pain in the nethers. I found BlogPress to be slightly more usable and I use it on occassion to this day, but it’s still a poorly-devised tool for blogging from the iPad. I will only use my iPad and the BlogPress app if I have a very brief, single-page post with one picture and no font customization or links.

One of my friends and fellow blogging colleagues over at Just Another iPad Blog expressed my same frustration quite well in his post about the seeming inexplicability of no solid blogging apps being available for the iPad or iPhone. After a couple years of App Store presence, over 280,000 iOS apps and over 35,000 iPad apps later, there is STILL not a good blogging app that makes it easy to post multiple pictures, format text, create workable links, and so forth.

I would pay good money for a well-designed, fully-functioning blogging app for the iPad so that I wouldn’t have to use my desktop or laptop as my main go-to blogging device. I want a good blogging app for my iPad — any developers up to the challenge?

[Just Another iPad Blog, photo courtesy of Gizmodo]

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Aug 26

Its, It’s and It is…

By Ivan Rants 4 Comments »

Being British, I guess one would expect me to be pretty good at reading and writing English, right? Ha, yeah, right…

As you know the English language in itself has a 101 exceptions. Example: i before e, except after c; and all that. Considering I left school so many moons ago, I can’t believe that I can actually still remember that one major exception. Yet I can barely remember what I did\said, yesterday. I bet it’s because I can still hear Sister Consuelo barking it at me, at the top of her voice… *I think I just shook in my shoes*

Anyway by now you’re wondering what on earth this has to do with an iPad, right? Let me tell you: Who at Apple (I know, probably Steve Jobs) decided that anytime I type “its”, that I really wanted to have it type, “it’s”? Well anyone? Does Apple not like the English language, and the exceptions that come with it? Hmm, or do they believe we as humans should use “it’s” more often?

I mean honestly, look at it in that screenshot. How often do we spend time having to correct, autocorrect? Funny that, isn’t it?

Share with us the words that Apple force on you, that you just can’t stand…

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Aug 24

Paying twice for an iPhone/iPad app…

By Ivan Apps, Rants 3 Comments »

…wait a minute, didn’t I already buy that app? Oh, it was for my iPhone.

Typically, I don’t make a fuss about paying for applications, software, devices, and gadgets in general. I don’t because of various things. Mainly, I like to play with and test applications. To me, you really can’t speak about an app, and it’s good\bad features, until you’ve at least tried it once.

So, with that said, I hate to say, I get a little annoyed when I have to pay for an app that I already have I mean, own for the iPhone. Yes, I know the developer went out of their way to create the specs specifically for the iPad, but…

Tell us what you think – how do you feel about buying an app twice?

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Jul 16

Steve Jobs speaks: iPhone 4 antenna and reception issues

By Brian News, Rants 1 Comment »

After enduring mounting criticsm and even the insult of a pass by Consumer Reports over iPhone 4 antenna and reception issues, Apple held a brief press conference today, featuring Steve Jobs himself, complete with a somewhat candid Q&A at the end. All of this over the external antenna band design of the new iPhone 4 and the loss of signal by touching the antenna band in the lower left corner of the phone, otherwise known as the “death grip.”

Apple responded with some humor, humility, explanation, and education. Yes, the iPhone 4 is not perfect. Yes, signal reception can be impacted by where the phone is held when naked (without case). Yes, Apple is not perfect and they want to improve. It’s important to note that Apple came prepared with some important statistics in their defense: 

  • All smartphones have reception “weak spots” and they listed several popular phones of today that exhibit similar behaviors
  • Apple has received calls of complaint/concern from only .55% of iPhone owners — that’s half of one percent
  • AT&T return rates for the iPhone 4 have been only one-third as compared to returns of the 3GS
  • Dropped calls on the iPhone 4 are comparable to the 3GS — even though it’s supposed to be a better phone with better reception, etc. 

Apple’s response? They are sorry, this is a problem that all smartphones have, they want to solve it first by likely bending the laws of physics, and they will offer free bumpers or case equivalents through Sept. 30th and you can still return your iPhone 4 for no restocking fee within the first 30 days of purchase.

Given that our mantra on this site is to cut through the BS and tell it how we see it, let me just say that I’m glad Apple is addressing this and, quite frankly, I think it’s a non-issue. The iPhone 4 is not perfect, it does have a beautiful design, and cell phone reception — high requency radio waves in general — are part of the dark arts and often seem to exhibit behaviors more resembling quantum physics. I’ve always slapped a case on my iPhones anyway, the iPhone 4 being no exception, so I personally have not experienced any reception problems based on how I hold my phone. Based on the relative few complaints and returns, I’d say this is much ado about nothing.

So, with that said, if you own an iPhone 4, continue to enjoy a great product design, a gorgeous “retina” display, better camera, faster speed, better battery, all of those fantastic apps from the App Store, and your HD video. Enjoy your iPhone and try not to worry about an occasional dropped call — after all, every cell phone experiences dropped calls and….  gasp! …. some of those dropped calls may have happened because of how you were holding your OLD cell phone!

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Jun 15

My iPhone 4 pre-order successful on AT&T

By Brian News, Rants 3 Comments »

Lo and behold, after numerous attempts to pre-order my iPhone 4 using Apple’s site, AT&T’s site, and even the new Apple Store iPhone app, I was finally successful in completing my iPhone 4 pre-order at 4:25 p.m. MST. All I can say is, “whew!”. Actually, there is more that I can say. I can say that it does pay to be patient — those who are unable to pre-order today do not need to fret because the June 24th delivery date is guaranteed for anyone pre-ordering up until June 22nd. Still, it’s nice to have it done.

I can also say that, given this is primarily an iPad site, it’s very fitting that I placed my pre-order for the much-hyped and vaunted iPhone 4 using my iPad. I can also say that I still stand by what I said in the previous post that both Apple and AT&T have a lot of work to do in the realm of customer satisfaction. Just because you create, sell and distribute the most amazing smartphone on the planet doesn’t mean that  both your new AND loyal customers aren’t going to want to shake their fists at the sky and cry to the Smartphone Gods for vengeance upon your heads (ahem — Apple and AT&T) for providing such a painful pre-ordering experience.

With that little rant out of the way, I’m looking forward to the arrival of my shiny new iPhone 4. I love my 3GS, but it will soon be flaunted on eBay to sell to the highest bidder to finance my little technological soirée. Soon my iPad 3G will be in good company with the latest and greatest iPhone that Apple has to offer. Are you going to pre-order the iPhone 4? Have you successfully done so already? Why or why not?

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Jun 15

iPhone 4 pre-orders crash Apple and AT&T

By Brian News, Rants 1 Comment »

There is some unavoidable irony in that both AT&T and Apple are unable to handle the internet traffic caused by the deluge of iPhone 4 pre-orders pouring in today. Particularly on the AT&T side, the current impossibility of placing an iPhone 4 pre-order (at least, that’s been my experience all morning) is analogous to their network groaning and straining under the weight of millions of iPhone users wanting to use their 3G data plans and wanting their 3G NOW. It seems both companies, Apple and AT&T, are willing to endure their sites crashing under the spike of internet traffic today rather than invest in more bandwidth.

Given the popularity of the iPhone 4 and the certain growth in numbers of subscribers on AT&T’s network, what will this mean for the data-hungry masses toting their shiny new iPhone 4, 3GS, and 3G phones, not to mention the growing number of iPad 3G users? The “magical” iPad and the phone that “changes everything” — “again” — will definitely need upgraded and expanded infrastructure behind them or the magic may not seem so magical when iPhone and iPad 3G users are dealing with slow or gridlocked 3G service. Are you listening, AT&T? Apple, maybe you should lean on your exclusivity partner to make sure they are holding up their end of the bargain in this “magical” experience?

By the way, I’m still unable to place my pre-order so I can have my iPhone 4 delivered on June 24th. Has anyone else had better luck with either Apple or AT&T?

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