"The lack of an official, native version of the Twitter client for the iPad has been a puzzling omission, but now the big blue bird has set things right, having pushed their native iPad app to iTunes."
I've been waiting for this for a while (along with an official Facebook app for iPad, which has yet to make an appearance). I didn't get a lot of time to play with it this morning, but so far, I like it. The interface is a little quirky, and takes some getting used to, but it really is a great twitter app. If you're as much of a twitter fan as I am, you'll probably want to give this a try. The official Twitter app for iPad is free.
"As expected, Apple refreshed its iPod lineup Wednesday, unveiling redesigned versions of its iPod touch, iPod nano, and iPod shuffle music players. But the company didn't stop there, using its annual fall music event to also announce an update to its iTunes software and an overhaul of its Apple TV set-top box."
Lots of new and improved products from Apple announced today. Almost everything available today, with the exception of the new $99 smaller Apple TV, shipping in about four weeks. Some additional welcomed news: iOS 4.1 will be available shortly and will include bug fixes and GameCenter; iOS 4.2 will be available in November, and will bring the iPad feature-set equivalence with the iPhone, and will also introduce iPad printing. Details can be found here [ link ].
"About a week ago, we reported that iPads ordered online shipped within 3 days. Today, Fortune noticed that iPad online orders are finally shipping within 24 hours, the shortest lead time since the launch of the tablet, about 5 months ago."
Excellent news! iPad supply seems to have caught up with demand, after five months. Funny (or maybe more ironic?) that now I'm seeing sites complaining about Apple 'only offering' the free shipping option (no for-fee expedited overnight delivery, for example). In my experience, Apple's shipping is already pretty fast, and since most products seem to come from China, why mess with something that already is working well? If you're in that much of a hurry, go to an Apple Store or a reseller!
"CNET is reporting that Microsoft's Hotmail will finally gain support for... Microsoft's Exchange ActiveSync protocol. Sure, even Google's had that for a while now, but better embarrassingly late than embarrassingly never, right?"
It's about time, and yes, better late than never! I've been a Hotmail user since the very beginning, but I've been forwarding my Hotmail to my MobileMe mail for so long now that I've almost forgotten that it costs $20 per year for Microsoft Live Hotmail Plus (to enable forwarding). I get so much spam every week (around 100 items per day) in Hotmail that I may keep things as they are, let the filtering and junk stay on the server, and not be sent to my iPad and iPhone. Availability is rumored to be 30 August 2010. What do you think? Will this be useful for you?
"It has now been 100 days since my iPad 3G arrived. (And exactly four months since I first used an iPad in early April, and posted my thoughts about it.)"
And for the most part, Business Insider's Dan Frommer really likes his iPad. There are some things that annoy him, such as web sites that aren't designed for devices such as the iPad, but it has become his favorite computer. Speaking of annoyances, does it annoy anyone else about the Business Insider site that you have to click through each page? It really annoys me, but the article is worth the read to get his perspective on the iPad in my opinion.
"Steve Jobs certainly wouldn't agree, but I know a few of you grumps out there were disappointed when the iPad turned out to more of a big iPhone than a convertible tablet with a built-in keyboard. Even if you're not one of those people, serious typing on the iPad pretty much requires lugging a Bluetooth-pairable physical keyboard around with you."
It doesn't look bulky like I thought it might, so had the price been less than $90.00 USD, I might be interested in something like this. I don't have a problem with the iPad keyboard per se, but it's handy to have a bit larger one if you do a lot of typing, and very handy to have it inside the case when you need it. I suppose there is a price for convenience, but I'm not quite willing to pay it...yet.
"Over a quarter of mobile employees plan to purchase or receive an iPad in the next 6 months, according to a new survey."
Gotta love it when the press reports on blanket statements like this, based on an iPass survey of a whopping "over 1,100" mobile enterprise employees from North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Out of how many hundred million? In a related statement tucked-away in the small print, Citrix stated that "80% of its business users have plans to purchase and use an iPad for business." This to me is a more telling statement, despite not mentioning how many users were queried. So what is this all really saying? The iPad is getting a serious look inside enterprises and by remote workers. Please Microsoft, may we have a version of MS Office for iPad!?
"I have already seen the iPad used in home automation -- Savant is using an iPad app to hook up to some of their home automation systems, using Apple's tablet to control the TV, a whole entertainment system, or even do some remote control of house lights or HVAC, or even monitor cameras remotely with a video feed."
At roughly $500.00 USD, this is a bit steep, but it sure does look nice doesn't it? You can also get one for the iPod Touch if you prefer, although I'm not sure how much that one will cost.
"Codality has updated Simplenote, its note-taking and -sharing service for iPhone, iPad, and desktop computers, with nearly two dozen new features and fixes spread between its mobile app and its Web version."
It's a free universal app in iTune, so it is worth testing out, and you can sign up for a free account at their site to sync all of your notes between your iPhone and your iPad. It does actually work quite well for note taking, and if I did more of it I'd probably use this instead of my Notes app that came on the iPhone, but that works well enough for me that I don't need to switch. However, it does have some merit to be able to go online and see my notes and modify them from any computer. My problem is I get into an "App Overload" situations, so I get rid of everything except for those apps that I really use. I love a clean screen, and that is what I'm going through now. I'm in simplicity versus Simplenote mode.
"Do you sometimes struggle trying to find the perfect iPad position when on the couch or sitting in your favorite chair? Elite Home Theater Seating has a solution for you - the iPad Chair!"
It's a must have for the iPad owner don't you think? At $2,500.00 USD, I think I will pass.
"One new attempt to do so is "Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy," an iPad version of the well-received children's book that brings to it what the publisher, iStoryTime, says is a first: an iPad book complete with sign language for deaf children."
The New York Times found this book app extremely buggy, but I'm glad to see that books with sign language are starting to appear in the store for children (and hopefully adults too) who are deaf and can read sign. Given the bugs that the Times notes, it might be worth waiting for an update before you purchase this app. It costs $3.
"Just in time for the "Back to School Season", Apple has reduced the amount of time it takes for an iPad to ship."
As you can see above, the ship time is between three and five days, however for the iPhone 4 the wait is still about three weeks out. Perhaps this is a sign that the iPhone 4 shipping dates will also lessen?
"Originally shown on Griffin's web site as the Stylus for iPad ($20), the package actually reads "Stylus" and now references the "iPad + iPhone + iPod touch," suggesting that this miniature pen-sized tool might appeal to all Apple touchscreen device users."
I might have to give this one a try, as I'm interested in doing more with my iPad such as taking notes, etc. There are several in the iTunes store that allow you to take written notes, such as Ghostwriter Notes [affiliate link] for $2.99 USD, iNotes for iPad [affiliate link] for $3.99 USD, PadNotes [affiliate link] for $0.99 USD or even SketchPad HD [affiliate link] for $0.99 USD that doubles as a sketch pad, complete with color palette. If you want something a little fancier, WritePad for iPad [affiliate link] for $9.99 USD has handwriting recognition as well as DropBox and Wi-Fi syncing capabilities. I'm sure there are many more as well, so the options are out there, and this stylus appears to be just the accessory that will work with them.
"If your iPad needs another to claim a permanent place on your coffee table, the new TV Guide for iPad app is now ready to help with your channel surfing needs. This free app provides official TV Guide listings and entertainment news, as well as customizable features and settings."
This is a great idea and even though I don't watch a lot of TV, it's a great app to have around when you want it. It allows you to customize the interface to support just your favorite channels and your favorite shows. The app is free, so it's definitely worth downloading.
"Great news for iDevice-owning Yahoo! Mail users: the popular email service has now added support for HTML5. This means users can now fully interact with the site on their iPhones and iPads."
It's great to see HTML5 being supported more and more. The future looks bright for those of us using any variant of mobile safari or any other browser that works with HTML5. I still have a Yahoo Mail account, though I use it almost entirely as an IM account. Still, it's nice to know that if I have to check my Yahoo mail, I can do it with ease on my iPad or iPhone.
"HBO Go is a service which allows paid HBO subscribers to access HBO original TV shows, movies, and sports on their computers all in HD."
In about six months, you will be able to watch the same service on your iPad or iPhone/iPod Touch, or at least that is the plan from HBO. The big problem is that it is only available via Comcast or Verizon FIOS, so if you are a Dish Network subscriber like me, it appears you are out of luck. Too bad too, as I was looking forward to this.
"Sticking a couple big ones up Adobe's way, Vimeo's embeddable Universal Player allows for playback of Vimeo videos on iPads and other non-Flash-supporting devices, using HTML5-but also detects other supported video formats, playing in Flash or native too."
I'm not really surprised by this. It's just a matter of time until all video providers of any reasonable size and popularity will move to HTML 5. While the iPad and the iPhone are significant reasons for this push, they are certainly not the only reasons. Being able to play videos without the need for a plug-in makes for a simpler user experience, and simpler is almost always better. I don't really see this as an attack on Adobe. It's just a natural evolution of the internet, pushed along by some of the big players, including Apple.
"Well, that didn't take too long. After a rather horrible debut Friday Adobe has fixed Photoshop Express so it can now open in the landscape mode."
We reported this new version on Thursday last week, but apparently it had a few bugs, namely that it wouldn't work too well or at all in landscape mode. Kudos to Adobe for getting this fix out as quick as they did.
