Tag Archives: ipad

What an iPad Mini, or Air, could weigh »

August 16th, 2012

MG Seigler compares the weights of some leading e-readers, phones, and tablets to visualize where the iPad Mini, or Air, may stack up:

As you can see, this new iPad would be closest to the Kindle with a keyboard in weight. It would weigh noticeably less than a Nexus 7. It would weigh less than half of what all of the current iPads weigh. And it would weigh just a third of what a Surface running Windows Pro will weigh.

Yesterday I held a Nexus 7 (thanks Jeff) for the first time. It is incredibly light. Remember, I’m used to lugging around an iPad 2. The iPad 2 is downright heavy when compared to the Nexus 7. Jeff was walking around with the Nexus 7 in his back pants pocket! I’ll admit it, I was jealous.

If the iPad Mini, or Air, or whatever Cook & Co. call it, weighs in anywhere near these estimates, and costs anywhere near $200, and has the features of the existing iPads, it is going to be a smash hit. Even bigger than the iPad is now.

 

(This isn’t to say I’ll be getting one. I do not know if I need the ~8″ form-factor. I use my iPad every single day and while it would be nice to have a smaller, easier to handle, iPad I can’t see springing for one out the gate. I’d probably weight until I retire my current iPad 2 and pick up the second-generation iPad Air (I’ll stick with this, though I doubt Apple will) at that time.)

A new Facebook for iOS coming next month »

June 27th, 2012

Remember when Facebook’s iOS application was used during an Apple keynote to show how great an app could be built by third parties? In fact, when Apple only allowed mobile web applications on the iPhone and when they began allowing native applications Facebook was used as a shining example for both ways of building an app for iOS.

Fast-forward to today where 21,000 out of 38,000 app reviews for Facebook for iOS are one star due to how slow the application has become.

Nick Bilton:

Thankfully that’s all going to change next month. According to two Facebook engineers who asked not be named because they are not authorized to speak about unreleased products, Facebook has completely rebuilt its iOS application to optimize for one thing: speed.

Thank goodness. Finally.

Adam Curry on rebooting Podcasting »

June 27th, 2012

Adam Curry, arguably one of the two people that invented Podcasting (of course, I’m referring to Dave Winer although there were others), has some thoughts on Apple’s new Podcasting app and how he feels they’ve left the door to discovery wide open and how Podcasting could be rebooted.

Considering that a podcast is no different from a blog with a different payload, this is not the way we have learned to discover content.

Although Podcasting has been around awhile I think it is just getting started. And, I also think Podcasting will continue to be at the forefront of the disruption of mass media and be one of the primary ways audio and video is distributed on the Internet for years to come.

Is Surface Microsoft’s next chapter? »

June 20th, 2012

Yesterday I wrote:

I think Microsoft should focus and invest in making this their flagship product…

Joshua Topolsky of The Verge on Microsoft’s “shift” with the Surface:

That’s a big shift, and it’s an important one. The announcement of the Surface shows that Microsoft is ready to make a break with its history — a history of hardware partnerships which relied on companies like Dell, HP, or Acer to actually bring its products to market.

I’m really hopeful that Surface is a true competitor to the iPad. Competition is good for everyone – especially the consumer. The 45-minute keynote – although very distilled and way, way too over-rehearsed – really did give you a good demonstration that Surface could actually be quite good. Quite valuable. And extremely versatile. Yes, perhaps even more versatile than the iPad.

And, yes, Microsoft could be going solely after the Enterprise market – the business class – with Surface. Though in the keynote Ballmer did repeat, a few times, that people like “to consume”, “to play”, with devices like this.

But, as my friend Om Malik reminded me on Instagram, we haven’t yet used the Surface. No one really has. Microsoft has come out and made a magnificient demonstration of a product that they have no idea how much to charge for, have little idea of when it will be available, and will not allow anyone to touch. I, forever being an optimist, have to keep something in perspective – This is Microsoft. This is Microsoft. This is Microsoft.

Microsoft Surface »

June 19th, 2012

Microsoft Surface, a name that was reserved for Microsoft’s table-sized device not that long ago, is now a tablet device that runs Windows 8 and comes with an ultra-thin keyboard.

Actual judgements about the hardware aside (since, unsurprisingly, these aren’t yet on the market) this looks like the best work to come out of Microsoft since the Xbox 360. This isn’t me grading on a curve either. I’m not giving them extra points for finally making something that looks like it could be good. I’m saying that this device actually looks like it could be a great, viable, product line and could bring Microsoft up-to-speed on many many fronts.

I think Microsoft should focus and invest in making this their flagship product and, instead of saying that they aren’t trying to compete with the iPad and just trying to set a good example for OEMs, say that they are trying to compete with the iPad. I think this is an excellent iPad alternative. It is so much different it could actually be great. By learning how to make this product great with excellent builds of Windows 8 that do not eat battery life, Windows Live products (email, cloud syncing) that work flawlessly, and – dare I say it – an easy to use App Store they could be well on their way to being a major part of this post-PC era rather than a relic of the PC era.

Side note: The intro video is pretty good. Unlike other ads from Microsoft it focuses on exactly what it should – the device. I do wish they turned the device on earlier than the last few seconds and showed a little interaction. Remember the first iPhone and iPad commercials showed, in detail, how people used their fingers to work the device. This is a whole new device for Microsoft and the ads could educate people how they’ll be used.

Instapaper 4.1

March 16th, 2012

Instapaper 4.1 just hit the shelves. Here’s Marco Arment with what’s new:

The biggest two changes are the six awesome new reading fonts and the distraction-free, full-screen reading interface.

I just updated Instapaper for my iPad and iPhone. For free. Marco puts a lot of thought and care into this application and it only costs a few dollars. If you’d like to mark things to read later I suggest grabbing Instapaper.

Side note: I’m hoping to integrate the brand-new-not-even-finished-yet Nilai with Instapaper in a future update. I do not foresee Nilai supporting any other read later services.

My iPad 3 event predictions

February 28th, 2012

Looking at Apple’s invitation to March 7th’s iPad 3 event may give away exactly what is on the agenda. This wouldn’t be the first time Apple has dropped not-so-subtle hints in their invitations.

Here is the short list of things I think Apple is hinting at with their invitation.

Retina Display. If you’ve ever used an iPad or iPad 2 you will immediately notice the resolution on the iPad in the invitation as being much better than the current models. So, while I think this was a given, they certainly confirmed it for me.

Maps update. I think the Maps app will get updated signifigantly. Not only do I believe that Apple will drop Google Maps as their API-of-choice to power the application I think, as a result of Apple’s acquisition of C3 Technologies, the application will come with even more 3D-powered features.

iWork update. iWork on the iPad is incredibly powerful and, I’d guess, popular. A nice update to these applications would be welcomed.

No more home button? This one is simply conjecture but the invitation, if the iPad is in portrait, shows no home button on the iPad. I think the iPhone, iPad, iPod having a home button is incredibly useful and I can’t imagine life without it – but the home button has also been one of the main components of these devices to end up giving users trouble. So perhaps Apple has found an even better way. We’ll see.

I think the iPad 3 will have a better camera (ala the iPhone 4S), faster processor, more storage (iBooks are coming in at Gigabytes a piece), and perhaps more RAM.

Here is an off-the-wall prediction: colors. The iPad comes in white and black fronts. I think if Apple is really going to go after the school market they might consider giving people color choices. I realize that Apple’s own iPad Smart Covers come in a variety of colors but I think the iPad may come in more than the current choices too.

Better OS X updates in Mountain Lion

February 22nd, 2012

Since the Mac App Store debut I’ve been disappointed with the way Apple had three unique ways to update the OS, the applications on my Mac, and the applications on my iPhone and iPad.

I’m very much looking forward to Mountain Lion’s consolidation of two of these. Serenity Caldwell for Macworld reports:

Software Update, possibly the slowest Apple program on your Mac, is saying goodbye in Mountain Lion. Instead, the App Store will be handling any system patches, along with updates for your Mac App Store programs. And as a bonus, Notification Center will alert you in the background when updates are available, saving you five minutes of staring at the “Checking for new software” window.

This is great. I hope Notification Center also notifies me of updates that are available in iTunes too; iPhone and iPad applications, Podcasts, episodes of my TV shows, etc.

/via John “Have you seen my iPod nano?” Gruber.

What I use an Apple TV for

December 13th, 2011

I saw this link that John Gruber posted about a recent report on the habits of Apple TV owners and, at the end of it, he mentions how some of his Twitter followers use the Apple TV. He says:

“And lots of DF readers on Twitter are telling me they use Apple TV just for AirPlay and Netflix streaming.”

That is exactly what I use the Apple TV for. I do not buy or rent TV shows or movies from the iTunes store. Ever. Although the Apple TV integrates with the iTunes Store, Home sharing (for sharing files from a computer), the NBA and MLB (and others), Vimeo, YouTube, Flickr, etc. etc. the two features I use on my Apple TV are Netflix with Airplay.

I use Airplay to put videos I find via my iPad on the TV. I do this a lot. (Thanks Devour) Even if the source of these videos is from YouTube, Vimeo, Viddler, and other outlets – the integration with any of those platforms goes unused by me since I simply use Airplay. I suppose if I didn’t own an iPad my use of Airplay wouldn’t be nearly as significant. It is just so easy. I’ll also, on occasion, use Airplay to play some music via my Apple TV (this replaced my Airport Express’ purpose) and very, very rarely put some vacation photos on-screen.

Another note about Airplay; if you, like me (and obviously Jason Kottke), sometimes acquire a few TV shows you couldn’t get otherwise by grabbing them via Bittorrent you may be interested in Erica Sadun’s Airflick. Airflick is an application that lets you stream video, audio, or photos from your Mac to your Apple TV. Very handy application.

But all-in-all my Apple TV might as well just be a Netflix box. I’ve used Netflix on the computer, on an Xbox 360, on iPad and iPhone and on Apple TV. By far the very best Netflix application exists on the Apple TV. It is easy to use, looks great, and works nearly every single time without hiccup. I don’t know if I’d even be subscribed to Netflix if I didn’t own an Apple TV.