Sunday, April 4, 2010
Easter Daylight Time
Well, it's Easter Sunday once again; the day we commemorate Jesus Christ rising from grave three days after he was crucified. A wonderful thing at the peak of Christian beliefs that should be held almost, if not as highly as Christmas, but Americans tend to habituate. Like every year, I will be spending today with family and all will hopefully go according to tradition. If I do not make it back alive, take this as my official statement that I want a Jedi's funeral.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
iPad: Launch Day Review (because everyone else is doing it)
Now that the cat has finally been let out of the bag, all of us common Joes can put our two cents in. I've had my hands on one of Apple's new iPads, and it is something else, I tell you what. It is indeed a very large iTouch with some 3G capabilities thrown in, or an iPhone without the phone radio. I have been very skeptical about the whole Apple tablet stuff since the beginning. Usually, Apple decides that it is the best and just makes something that is already on the market shinier, but the iPad does not disappoint.
Divine Design
Even at first glance, one is already impressed with the iPad. It crystal-clear display catches you in an instance. The reflective glass is just enough to make any gadget nerd go, "ooh, shiny!" The shiny is what Apple understands that no one else seems to get. Aesthetics is what the company is best at. Even with the first personal Macs, they could be spotted from across the room with their brightly-colored shells. Since then, Apple has taken the more classy approach and made everything sleek and simple in the design process. The basic shape is that of an iPhone with a cool metallic back with a black Apple logo dead center. The home button is, of course, present on the front of the device at the bottom of a beautiful crystalline glass screen. Now, the screen is supposed to have a fingerprint-resistant coating, but it will catch fingerprints. The good news is that it is really only visible if the light catches it just right. The accelerometer is very sensitive and features an orientation-lock on the side of the device. Like anything, if it does not register your turn right away, just give it a little shake. Just a little one.
In your interface
Right away, Apple does it again with a simple and easy to understand UI. Everything about it is so natural. Since it is basically running a beefed-up iPhone OS, most people are familiar with the basics of functionality (slide to unlock, pinch to zoom, etc). The home screen is still intact with the apps screens scrolling across and the fave apps at the bottom with the faves maxing out at about 6. Multitouch is definitely integrated allowing both thumbs/hands to get the job done, whatever it may be. The keyboard is what shook me the most. I have never been able to fully adjust to an on-screen keyboard. And then there was Apple. All they have to do is make something bigger and even more simplified, and the world goes crazy. The keyboard may not be the best for those who actually know how to type, but I, like most new-age geeks, hunt and peck, but quickly. The keyboard is sensitive enough to make typing quickly a simple task. I typed up an email at about the same speed as my usual PC, if not faster. I would recommend using the keyboard in landscape mode to those of you with un-ladylike hands, but even in portrait orientation, I found the keyboard still quite easy to use.
Applecations
I haven't played with many of the new apps, but what I have used has impressed me. I could easily see myself playing Plants vs Zombies HD for hours on this pad. The games are just what you could want, but mainly for casual games. Don't expect this to replace your XBOX or PlayStation like Jobs thinks it will. I would consider taking this instead of a PSP or DS though.
The iPod app sets up like iTunes and is simple enough to navigate with one or two hands. You can browse categories with your left thumb while your right browses through the selected portion of your library.
The mail client is simple enough, but the GMail web app is what really fit my Google-based needs more. It is set up in a similar fashion as the on-board client, but it has a few more GMail-based things such as your labels and stars in an html5 format.
Photos run about as if they were on an iPhone.They can be viewed in landscape or portrait; you can pinch to zoom in and out of categories and bring up your favorite photo of your dog wearing a top hat, and be sure to set that as your home screen background.
Viewing movies is definitely one of the drawing cards of this device. It is a beautiful HD display with a simple interface like that of any other Apple device. I can sit on the couch and watch all of "UP" without a second thought. The speakers are much better than one would expect. I didn't even need the headphones to have the quality sound. If you have ultra-sensitive hearing, I would still pull out the trusty, white earbuds. If you are sitting on the couch watching "UP," I recommend you flip the handy switch on the side of the device to lock it in landscape mode without worry of Transformers being even harder to follow.
Safari is left intact as well, but we see a much crisper display on the iPad as opposed to the iPhone. If you must watch video in the browser (the YouTube app is available), all of the html5 versions of sites such as YouTube work fine, and even live streaming from netcasts such as TWiT, work with only a few skips here and there, but no Strong Bad emails, kids. Download the podcast.
The introduction of iBooks is the reason people are calling this device the Kindle Killer, but I don't see it. Sure, the iPad has a lot of great features that the Kindle is lacking, but Amazon's reader reigns supreme in book specialization. The iBooks app is cool and features a nifty little page-turning animation, but that is about it. I even had trouble turning the pages because it seemed a bit unresponsive, which I'm sure will be corrected in future bugfix, but I don't see how this can replace the Kindle. The iPad cannot make the simple notations that a Kindle can with ease, and the LED display of an iPad is not harsh, but it is a bit moreso than that on a Kindle. If you wish to only carry your iPad somewhere, you can still download the Kindle app and all of your purchases will be available, but I would hang on to Amazon's little gem.
All of the iPhone apps that we know and love are still available and ready for use on the iPad. The only difference being that if you want to run the apps fullscreen, the display will just double the pixels. It's a basic zoom. If you want it to be sharper, you can leave it at a smaller display about the size of the iPhone's, but the zoom is not as terrible as some make it out to be.
Do I need one?
I'm a Google fandroid, so playing with this was a bit hard for me, but no one can really argue that Apple has ever really made a terrible product. You may be into the Nexus One, but the iPhone is nothing to shake a stick at either. The iPad is no different. This week, Cory Doctorow wrote a piece on boingboing about the reasons he was not going to get one and why no one else should, but I don't believe that his qualms were with the product, but the company itself. Yes, Apple locks you in, and some people hate that, but others like the feeling of being protected under the Apple umbrella. I am convinced that most people could use this product on a regular basis without issue. It all really depends on your needs in tablet computer. If all of this appeals to you without exception (we all want a webcam), then the iPad may be for you!
Divine Design
Even at first glance, one is already impressed with the iPad. It crystal-clear display catches you in an instance. The reflective glass is just enough to make any gadget nerd go, "ooh, shiny!" The shiny is what Apple understands that no one else seems to get. Aesthetics is what the company is best at. Even with the first personal Macs, they could be spotted from across the room with their brightly-colored shells. Since then, Apple has taken the more classy approach and made everything sleek and simple in the design process. The basic shape is that of an iPhone with a cool metallic back with a black Apple logo dead center. The home button is, of course, present on the front of the device at the bottom of a beautiful crystalline glass screen. Now, the screen is supposed to have a fingerprint-resistant coating, but it will catch fingerprints. The good news is that it is really only visible if the light catches it just right. The accelerometer is very sensitive and features an orientation-lock on the side of the device. Like anything, if it does not register your turn right away, just give it a little shake. Just a little one.
In your interface
Right away, Apple does it again with a simple and easy to understand UI. Everything about it is so natural. Since it is basically running a beefed-up iPhone OS, most people are familiar with the basics of functionality (slide to unlock, pinch to zoom, etc). The home screen is still intact with the apps screens scrolling across and the fave apps at the bottom with the faves maxing out at about 6. Multitouch is definitely integrated allowing both thumbs/hands to get the job done, whatever it may be. The keyboard is what shook me the most. I have never been able to fully adjust to an on-screen keyboard. And then there was Apple. All they have to do is make something bigger and even more simplified, and the world goes crazy. The keyboard may not be the best for those who actually know how to type, but I, like most new-age geeks, hunt and peck, but quickly. The keyboard is sensitive enough to make typing quickly a simple task. I typed up an email at about the same speed as my usual PC, if not faster. I would recommend using the keyboard in landscape mode to those of you with un-ladylike hands, but even in portrait orientation, I found the keyboard still quite easy to use.
Applecations
I haven't played with many of the new apps, but what I have used has impressed me. I could easily see myself playing Plants vs Zombies HD for hours on this pad. The games are just what you could want, but mainly for casual games. Don't expect this to replace your XBOX or PlayStation like Jobs thinks it will. I would consider taking this instead of a PSP or DS though.
The iPod app sets up like iTunes and is simple enough to navigate with one or two hands. You can browse categories with your left thumb while your right browses through the selected portion of your library.
The mail client is simple enough, but the GMail web app is what really fit my Google-based needs more. It is set up in a similar fashion as the on-board client, but it has a few more GMail-based things such as your labels and stars in an html5 format.
Photos run about as if they were on an iPhone.They can be viewed in landscape or portrait; you can pinch to zoom in and out of categories and bring up your favorite photo of your dog wearing a top hat, and be sure to set that as your home screen background.
Viewing movies is definitely one of the drawing cards of this device. It is a beautiful HD display with a simple interface like that of any other Apple device. I can sit on the couch and watch all of "UP" without a second thought. The speakers are much better than one would expect. I didn't even need the headphones to have the quality sound. If you have ultra-sensitive hearing, I would still pull out the trusty, white earbuds. If you are sitting on the couch watching "UP," I recommend you flip the handy switch on the side of the device to lock it in landscape mode without worry of Transformers being even harder to follow.
Safari is left intact as well, but we see a much crisper display on the iPad as opposed to the iPhone. If you must watch video in the browser (the YouTube app is available), all of the html5 versions of sites such as YouTube work fine, and even live streaming from netcasts such as TWiT, work with only a few skips here and there, but no Strong Bad emails, kids. Download the podcast.
The introduction of iBooks is the reason people are calling this device the Kindle Killer, but I don't see it. Sure, the iPad has a lot of great features that the Kindle is lacking, but Amazon's reader reigns supreme in book specialization. The iBooks app is cool and features a nifty little page-turning animation, but that is about it. I even had trouble turning the pages because it seemed a bit unresponsive, which I'm sure will be corrected in future bugfix, but I don't see how this can replace the Kindle. The iPad cannot make the simple notations that a Kindle can with ease, and the LED display of an iPad is not harsh, but it is a bit moreso than that on a Kindle. If you wish to only carry your iPad somewhere, you can still download the Kindle app and all of your purchases will be available, but I would hang on to Amazon's little gem.
All of the iPhone apps that we know and love are still available and ready for use on the iPad. The only difference being that if you want to run the apps fullscreen, the display will just double the pixels. It's a basic zoom. If you want it to be sharper, you can leave it at a smaller display about the size of the iPhone's, but the zoom is not as terrible as some make it out to be.
Do I need one?
I'm a Google fandroid, so playing with this was a bit hard for me, but no one can really argue that Apple has ever really made a terrible product. You may be into the Nexus One, but the iPhone is nothing to shake a stick at either. The iPad is no different. This week, Cory Doctorow wrote a piece on boingboing about the reasons he was not going to get one and why no one else should, but I don't believe that his qualms were with the product, but the company itself. Yes, Apple locks you in, and some people hate that, but others like the feeling of being protected under the Apple umbrella. I am convinced that most people could use this product on a regular basis without issue. It all really depends on your needs in tablet computer. If all of this appeals to you without exception (we all want a webcam), then the iPad may be for you!
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