Jan 22

With the iPad 2 being released just several months ago, get ready for the iPad 3 to launch by Apple in as early as March of this year. What will the iPad 3 offer? The most anticipated feature of the iPad 3 is expected to be a retina display like the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S have to offer. A retina display on the iPad 3 would double the resolution and offer a substantially-improved viewing experience when reading text books in iBooks 2, for instance.

I’m enjoying my iPad 2 very much and can’t really justify an upgrade to an iPad 3 so soon, but I have to admit that the prospect of having a retina display on my iPad is extremely tempting. That feature alone may be enough to prompt me to take the leap to the newest iPad. One thing is for sure — the next iPad tablets will just get better and better, especially with competitors trying to compete with Apple and take a bite out of the tablet pie and increase marketshare. Is the iPad 3 enticing you?

 

 

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Dec 20

It’s that time of year — well, yes, it’s almost Christmas, but it’s that OTHER time of year… the time of year when it’s cold, snowy (depending on where you live), and germs run rampant as adults and kids alike have the sniffles. Personally, I’ve dealt with at least two colds and a bout of the flu. It seems like just when I was getting over one contagion, another would come along and smack me upside the head. This, of course, got me thinking very carefully about how to better protect myself from germs and further illness. In addition to doorknobs, restrooms, computer keyboards, etc., there’s the obvious culprit that most of us use frequently in our daily lives — our touch iOS devices!

I use my iPhone 4 constantly and my iPad 2 almost constantly, with plenty of tapping and swiping. I have protective screen covers on both, but the fingerprints and smudges are clear evidence of the constant touching those devices receive on a daily basis. How many germs are we transferring from other places and people onto the touch screens of our iOS devices each day? If you’re like me, you handle your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch without a second thought about the possibility that your touch screen is a Petri dish full of nasty critters.

What’s the solution for reducing the germs on our touch devices? There are numerous cleaning products out there marketed directly at touch device owners, and I won’t go into a discussion on the many products out there, but if we all simply apply a little common sense, we can greatly reduce the germs and risk of infection and illness. We should all wash our hands often with soap and water, use hand sanitizer when available, avoid touching our faces with our hands, and it’s a good idea to *carefully* clean and disinfect our iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone touch screens on a regular and frequent basis. You might simply apply some disinfectant to a microfiber cloth and carefully wipe away the smudges, fingerprints and germs from your iOS devices.

Speak up if you have additional ideas on keeping your iOS devices clean and germ-free!

 

 

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Oct 25

If you have updated to iOS 5 on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, or if you’ve picked up a shiny new iPhone 4S, then congratulations. There is no doubt that iOS 5 brings lots of goodies to the functionality of all iOS devices. If you’re one of the jailbreaking community, maybe you held off on the iOS 5 update? Currently, with the exception of the iPhone 4S, iOS devices running iOS 5 can be jailbroken with a tethered solution, but those wanting the additional flexibility of an untethered jailbreak, the wait continues.
What is the difference between a tethered and untethered jailbreak? To put it in the simplest terms, it’s the difference of having to connect your iOS device to your computer each time your device reboots, whether it’s an intentional reboot or an accidental one (i.e., your device crashes or freezes and required a reboot). With a tethered jailbreak, you risk having a dead device while away from your computer in the event of a reboot, with the only way of restoring functionality by plugging in to your computer to jailbreak again. The highly-anticipated untethered solution requires no plugging in — you can reboot your iOS device into a jailbroken state.
Why am I holding off on iOS 5 for an untethered jailbreak? It’s definitely a personal decision, but I will settle for no less than an untethered jailbreak and iOS 5, with all of its extra features, does not give me everything I require and enjoy on my iPhone 4 and iPad 2. Namely, I use a few jailbreak apps that I consider invaluable for my iOS devices — MyWi for creating a mobile “WiFi” hotspot, My3G to dupe my device into thinking it’s on a WiFi network for purposes of downloading apps and using FaceTime on a 3G network, and LockInfo for giving me a quick look at all the necessary information from my unlock screen. To keep informed about the status of the iOS 5 untethered jailbreak, check back here or check out the Dev-Team Blog.
Oct 12

Finally! We have all waited these many long months (for some features, even years) for iOS 5 to go public, and now the time has come. If you’re the proud owner of an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you can now upgrade to iOS 5 and enjoy over 200 new features for your iOS device. There are step-by-step posts aplenty across the width and breadth of the internet, but to keep it uber-simple, just remember to first back up your device in iTunes first, then check for updates in iTunes and iOS 5 should be available for downloading and updating. Also, be sure you have the most recent iTunes update.

What does iOS 5 bring to the table? It’s an epic update — iCloud integration, iMessage, Notification Center, Reminders, Twitter integration, AirPlay Mirroring, and much, much more. Plug in your iOS device, dig in and enjoy!

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Oct 03

A few weeks ago we [The Mrs and I] bought an AT&T iPad 2, a white one at that, with WIFI and 3G. As light weight as the device is, I didn’t want to add too much more weight to it. So during our purchase process, we decided to buy a Smart Cover, too. A grey one; to me it would suit the white iPad 2 better.

I did a bit of research with various websites, and the likes, and decided to get a skin for the back. But, of course the question now was, which company, and which skin to get.

Well, GelaSkins seems to be one of the leaders in the ‘skinning’ business, and we decided to get a customer wallpaper skin. The cost of a skin is $29.95, plus $7.95 for 5-7 day UPS shipping. Bear in mind this cost is for the skin for the front of the iPad 2, and the back.

…read on

Continue reading »

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Sep 29

Amazon seems poised to take some serious bites out of Apple’s iPad tablet dominance with the recent announcement of the Kindle Fire for $199 and new pricing on their entry-level Kindle for a meager $79. Additionally, they are serving up a new Kindle Touch and Kindle Touch 3G for $99 and $149, respectively. Amazon is boasting the latest and greatest eInk display for easy reading and free 3G on the Touch 3G model. Also, notice that the physical keyboards have disappeared from all models.
The Kindle Fire is an intriguing model with its color display and the offering of movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, apps, games, web browsing and more — all bundled up in a small, svelte tablet at a barn-burning $199. It appears that Amazon is sacrificing profit margin on the hardware to gamble on big profits on software and services. Just check out Amazon’s letter to their customers on the front page of their website and it seems clear they are putting Apple’s iPad in their crosshairs. The question is — can Amazon compete with the iPad with their new line of cheaper, new-and-improved Kindles?
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Sep 03

Just like the touchy-feely, heartwarming Apple commercials touting the way that people can connect through video calls on their iPad 2 and iPhone 4 devices, I had my own experience tonight that was just like Apple’s advertising campaign. If you are unfamiliar with FaceTime, it is Apple’s video call application for their iMac, MacBook, iPad 2 and iPhone 4 devices that allow people to enjoy video and audio chat with each other over a WiFi connection. I used it tonight on my iPad 2 to bring my family closer for my son’s birthday.
My daughter just left for college and, although she’s a few hundred miles away, she joined us in singing “Happy  Birthday” to my son and watched him blow out the candles on his birthday cake, thanks to FaceTime on my iPad 2 and her MacBook Pro. Cozied up to her desk in her apartment while we gathered around the kitchen table, we used FaceTime to practically erase those hundreds of miles of separation and bring us closer for a family event. The only thing she really missed was a slice of cake.
This may seem a small thing to some, but for us, it was priceless. If I had any reservations before about buying my iPad 2 to replace my iPad 1, those reservations were completely erased tonight when we were brought together again as a family thanks to this amazing technology. Have you used your iPad 2 and FaceTime to bring you closer to the ones you love?
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Aug 29

Finding just the right case for my iPad 2 has been a challenge since I’m very particular about what I want and need. I don’t want to add any bulk when carrying it around with me and price is important, so I’m happy to report that I think I’ve narrowed my search and I’ll be ordering my new iPad 2 case right away. I’ll let you know what I end up with and how it works for me. In the meantime, I need a way to protect my iPad 2 that goes beyond just protecting the screen. I rummaged through my inventory of cases for my original iPad and, although there is a difference in slimness between the two iPads, I was pleasantly surprised that the original Apple iPad case for the iPad 1 will do a pretty good job in a pinch.
Still available in the Apple Store for $39.00, you can pick one up there or possibly find better deals for them on Amazon.com or eBay. Or, if you’re lucky like me, you’ve upgraded from the iPad 1 and you still have your original iPad case lying around and you can put it into service for protecting your iPad 2. Keep in mind that the fit isn’t perfect — due to the thinner iPad 2 and the curvature of the iPad 2′s perimeter, the iPad 2 will have a little bit of slippage inside the case (but not much) and the buttons are not easily seen through the cutouts, but are still fairly easy to access and the case is thin enough that you can feel the buttons and press them easily. Also, there is no camera hole on the back of the case, but as I said, the case is an excellent solution in a pinch to cover and protect your iPad 2 until you get a new case.
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Aug 15

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I just picked up a keyboard folio for my iPad 2 from a Simply Mac store, a local chain of retail stores that sells Apple products. I had just recently given the ZAGGfolio a whirl and I really like the typing experience, but unfortunately there is an issue with the clasp holding the case shut and it won’t be for another week or so until ZAGG offers the new and improved unit. Also, I gave the iPad 2 folio with keyboard from Belkin a try and, although it has the best keyboard I’ve tried so far, the case itself is not my favorite. Note to Belkin: you’d have a real winner on your hands if you dispensed with the crappy gray synthetic material and splurge on some real leather!

This keyboard case from Simply Mac is fairly decent but the keyboard is a little more cramped and I’m struggling with the small “shift” key on the right-hand side. Given that it’s placed on the far outside of the keyboard and is the same size as one of the regular letter keys, it’s pretty much impossible to reach it by touch with my right pinky finger while typing. So far, both the Belkin and ZAGGfolio keyboards have been much easier to hit that right “shift” key accurately.

I’ll try to get a more complete review of the Simply Mac keyboard up soon and hopefully I’ll get a chance to revisit the ZAGGfolio keyboard case once the company fixes the clasp and ships the revised version. Also, if anyone can suggest the best iPad blogging app out there, I’ll be much obliged. I’m using WordPress for this post and, sadly, it STILL doesn’t appear to support links.

Aug 11

I caved in yesterday and picked up an iPad 2 with the help of some gift money and a parting of the ways from my trusty and reliable iPad 1. I finally took the plunge because I realized that trying to anticipate the release of a new product and continually waiting for the “next best thing” is just simply maddening. Therefore, I’m the proud owner of a new iPad 2 and ZAGGfolio keyboard case, a lethal combination for extreme portability for those who wish to write on-the-go. This is a good combination for a writer but, truth be told, it’s good for anyone that wants the convenience of a physical keyboard for writing notes, sending email, and more.
This quick post should also serve as a warning. I’ve been quite pleased with the products ZAGG offers for both the iPad and iPhone. They do a nice job of protecting your device with as little intrusion as possible. In the past I’ve ordered the Power Support HD Anti-Glare Film for my iPad 1, but since I was just leaving the Apple Store with my shiny new iPad 2 and I have an OCD about scratches, dings, fingerprints, and other imperfections that may afflict my iPad 2, I hurried over to the InvisibleShield store just up the stairs from where I stood to get protection for my iPad 2. ZAGG has an anti-glare screen protector for the iPad 2, and since they would install it, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I figured, “hey, one anti-glare film should be just as good as another, right?”  WRONG.
After I charged up my iPad 2 and started setting it up in iTunes, I noticed something alarming. Likely due to the material or manufacturing process for ZAGG’s HD Anti-Glare Film, the viewing experience of the screen was absolutely terrible. For some reason, the screen cover seems to pick up and reflect lighting in such a way that the would-be crisp and colorful iPad 2 display looked pixelated, a little blurry for small text, and caused my eyes to strain. The screen protector simply had to go.
I took my iPad 2 back to ZAGG this morning to get a crystal-clear screen protector installed, and I was very pleased that they did so without charging me additional funds (installation fee excluded, of course). Now, I’m in iPad 2 bliss and the screen is brilliant. On a whim, I picked up a 2-film packet of anti-glare screen protectors from the university book store. If all else fails, I can install one of them. Or, if I’m dissatisfied with the film set I bought, I can order the iPad 2 screen film from Power Support.
Regarding screen protectors, what do YOU use for your iPad and iPhone?
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