Tag Archives: iPad

What OS X Mountain Lion Needs to be Killer

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Yesterday, I posted a glowing review of OS X Mountain Lion. I was able to do so because Mountain Lion is a solid OS, and Apple’s strategy of merging the features of iOS and OS X is creating a solid ecosystem. But there are improvements Apple could make to OS X, and features of iOS that could be brought over to the Mac. I thought I would outline my suggestions to bring OS X to the next level.

One of the oldest apps on OS X is iTunes. iTunes is a great media organization app, but it is outdated. Apple has not updated iTunes since 2010, and it is beginning to show its age. iTunes needs a new layout and an easier way to organize and access all the content it contains. Currently iTunes houses the App Store, iTunes Store iBooks Store, music library, books, audiobooks, ringtones, movies, TV shows, radio stations, Podcasts, and iTunes University.

There is so much in iTunes, that it may be time for Apple to take another one of its iOS strategies to the Mac. Apple has been breaking up iTunes in iOS and has introduced separate apps for Videos, Podcasts, and iTunes University. These apps are not preinstalled on the phone but are are available in the App Store. Perhaps Apple should consider breaking up iTunes on the Mac as well. Individual apps could easily be distributed through the Mac App Store. Apple’s media event in the fall has traditionally included an iTunes refresh, and I am hoping for a major update from Apple.

A few years ago, Apple began ported some of its Mac applications to iOS. One of the first was iLife. iMovie, iPhoto, and Garage Band are all available on iOS and Mac OS X, but the layout of these apps on iOS, specifically the editing features on iMovie and iPhone, is more user friendly than on the Mac. I really expected iLife ’11 to match the iOS apps more closely, but instead Apple only rolled out a minor update.

My issues with iLife also extend to iWork. While iWork on iOS is similar to iWork on OS X, there are some differences in layout that would be beneficial to Mac users. Unlike iLife, Apple has not updated iWork for Mac since 2009. There have been minor updates, but iWork remains largely unchanged. Hopefully in the coming weeks, Apple will announce major changes iWork and iLife to make the OS X apps feel more iOS like in operation and function.

Apple has spent the last five years working to improve iOS and adding innovative and competative features. Some of the features, like iLife and iWork, were Mac apps ported to iOS, but there are two iOS apps that I would like to see developed for the Mac. The first is iBooks. Amazon’s Kindle app for Mac is a great option for those who like to read on the Mac, but it is strange that Apple has not made its own iBooks app and store available to Mac users. The iBooks store is available through iTunes, but purchases are only viewable through iOS. The other iOS app I would like to see brought to the Mac is Newsstand. Reading a newspaper or magazine on my Mac would be great. Like iBooks, it is possible to download Newsstand apps on the Mac, but they must be viewed on iOS. These two apps alone would really make the Mac more competitive and would be beneficial to the developers in both stores. Both apps could take advantage of iCloud and sync bookmarks and downloads between a user’s devices. I think Apple is really missing out on something big with iBooks and Newsstand.

There is one more app that I would love to see ported to the Mac. iOS 6 will feature Apple’s new maps application, and I think it deserves a place on the Mac. Garmin has an app that allows users to plan a trip on their Mac or PC and sync the data to their GPS. Apple could use iCloud here as well. A Mac owner could plan their trip on their computer then have iCloud automatically sync the trip data to their iPhone via iCloud. Of all the suggestions, this is the furthers from happening at this point because Apple’s Maps are still in beta, but this would be a great feature and a great selling point for the OS X – iOS ecosystem.

When Apple began blurring the lines of iOS and OS X, I was skeptical. Having used iOS 5, OS X, and iCloud for the last year, I believe that Apple is heading in the right direction. But Apple needs to stop taking incremental steps. Apple has clearly committed itself to this transition, and they need to step it up the transition. For the last several years, Apple has outgrown the market in the Mac segment. With these simple improvements, Apple could have an unbeatable ecosystem for years to come.

The Whole Earth Blog in 2011

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2011 was a busy year for me and for this blog. The Whole Earth Blog began 2011 with a different name and changed names twice before finding one that fit. This year was better than I could have ever imagined for this blog. I started the year with barely 200 visitors a month and ended the year with well over 2,000 per month! I credit this to the expansion of the topics discussed within the blog.

The stats for the year (Views per Month)

I posted on a wide variety of topics from my continuing education, auto news, tech reviews, the retirement of the Space Shuttle program, the Joplin tornado, the SS United States, and tributes to Steve Jobs and Harry Morgan. The popularity of the blog has been on the rise and I am very proud of the variety of posts that I am able to come up with. I thought, to celebrate the end of 2011, I would share the top ten posts of the year. And they are:

10. SS United States: A Ship in Distress

9. The Apple iPad 2 Review

8. Joplin, Missouri Tornado News and Updates

7. Welcome Pottermore

6. Pottermore (Beta): A Full Review

5. Own a Pair of Marty McFly’s Shoes

4. Is the First Generation iPad a Classic?

3. The Legacy of Steve Jobs

2. Who is Laurene Powell Jobs?

1. Graduate School and the iPad

I want to thank everyone for reading in 2011 and am looking forward to 2012 as I complete my college career and enter the “real world.”

iPhone 4S Review

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It turns out we did not get our fabled iPhone 5, but we did get a new device from Apple last week, the iPhone 4S.  As usual, I received my device on day one and am prepared to review it.

Design

The iPhone 4 had an impressive design with glass and on the front and back and a stainless steel band holding everything in, and the iPhone 4S maintains that design.  The 3.5 inch retina display remains as well.  Again, those hoping for the iPhone 5 might be disappointed, but the 4S looks great, especially in white.

Hardware

What is new with the 4S is the internals.  Apple’s dual core A5 chip (from the iPad 2) is paired with 512MB of RAM.  Apple claims the A5 will improve performance by up to 2X for daily tasks and up to 7X for graphic rich games.  The iPhone 4S is quicker at launch apps, loading apps, and just about everything else.

Another major change internally is the antenna.  There was a lot of controversy surrounding the iPhone 4’s antenna.  So much that Apple provided free cases to iPhone 4 customers experiencing a drop in network connectivity.  Apple has supposedly fixed this issue by allowing the phone to switch seamlessly between two antennas built into the phone.  So far, tests have indicted this system has worked.

Camera 

Apple is very proud of the fact that the iPhone 4 is the most popular camera on Flickr and they have upgraded the camera for the 4S. The sensor is increased from 5MP to 8MP, but the real story is in the CMOS sensor from Sony.  The backlit sensor allows in more light making the images crisper in low-light situations.  In addition, Apple has added an additional lens into the design allowing for more accurate color depiction.  All these features, along with the new  f/2.4 aperture (improved from the old phone’s f/2.8) make for a great camera.

In addition, the camera now takes 1080p video and, paired with iOS 5, includes many new built in photo editing options.

iOS 5

The latest release of iOS improves greatly on what Apple has already created, and addresses many of the concerns put forth by those in the tech world.  The creation of Notification Center is certainly one of the greatest features in iOS 5.  Notification Center is similar to that on an Android device and makes it easy to keep track of everything you missed.

Other features such as: iMessage, Newsstand, Reminders, Twitter integration, and mail improvement are just a few of the over 200 new features in iOS 5.  Perhaps one of the greatest new features is the fact that Apple has made their devices truly wireless.  It is not longer necessary to sync your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad to iTunes for backups and updates.  Syncing can be done over WiFi and the OS is now updated over-the-air via delta updates.

Overall, iOS 5 is a very solid OS.  There were some download issues when it was released last week (my iPhone 4 was bricked for a few hours), but that was largely due to the amount of traffic on Apple’s servers.  It has been reported that 1/3 of all iOS devices are now running iOS 5.  It hasn’t even been out a week yet!

iCloud

A major new feature of iOS 5 and Mac OS X Lion is iCloud.  iCloud allows the user to wirelessly sync photos, calendars, contacts, bookmarks, documents, books, mail, and iTunes between all your Apple devices without the need to sync.  It is all done automatically and it works very well.  For example, I downloaded an iBook yesterday to my iPad, it automatically downloaded it to iTunes and to my iPhone.  I also added an appointment to my calendar on my iPhone and it automatically added it to my calendars on my iPad and MacBook Pro.  As Steve Jobs said in June, it just works.

All these features are also accessible from iCloud.com if you are not on an iCloud enabled device.  Users can also signup for a free .me email address if they choose.  Perhaps the most amazing part of iCloud is the price, FREE.  iCloud is free to all iOS 5 and Mac OS X Lion users.  I believe this is going to start a trend in the tech world as cloud services become more and more popular.

Siri 

Perhaps the greatest, and most fun, feature of the iPhone 4S is Siri.  I am sure you have seen all the articles about Siri’s attitude and snappy remarks, but she really is helpful.  She can send email and texts, set reminders and appointments, make phone calls, play music, search the web, and just about anything else you might need.  She does so, as she says, humbly.  Siri is remarkably smooth for a beta and there are few times that she misunderstands.

Yes, Siri is fun to ask off the wall questions, but she is very useful and I think will only get better with time. I believe that Apple will eventually share Siri’s APIs with developers and we will see voice integration with 3rd party apps and that will truly make Siri the master of everything.

Impressions 

I have to admit that at first I was a little disappointed by the announcement of the iPhone 4S on October 4, but after using it for a few days, you begin to realize that Apple still has the complete package.  Having used Android phones, most recently the Samsung Galaxy S II, there appears to be an inherent cheapness to the feeling of the chassis of many phones.  The iPhone 4S, like the iPhone 4, feels very strong and durable, despite being made from glass.  The other issue with many phones is the disconnect between the hardware and software, but with Apple, both are made by the same people to ensure they work together seamlessly.  The iPhone 4S is a strong smartphone with great overall features, but other devices, such as the Motorola Droid RAZR, are thinner and have larger displays.  Apple is on par with the current market, after all, Apple did sell 4 million over the weekend, but a major redesign in 2012 will be required if they do not want to fall behind the crowd.

The Problem with Apple’s Newsstand

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Apple’s iOS 5 is full of great new features (features I will review in full detail in my review of the iPhone 4S) and one of my favorite was supposed to be Newsstand.  I say “supposed to be” because there is one major flaw in Newsstand.  It is not the fact that it is nearly impossible to put Newsstand into a folder, but it is the price of subscription to some of the publications.  The idea of selling media digitally is to cut down on the costs of printing and postage.  One would think, therefore, that digital editions of magazines and newspapers would be cheaper than their paper counterparts, and some are.  For example, The New York Times can be delivered to your iPad for $20 per month.  That is a $10 savings per month over home delivery costs.  Autoweek’s digital subscription only costs $4.99 for a year subscription, half off a print subscription.  National Geographic charges $19.99 for the Newsstand subscription, the same as print.  Charing the same amount is fine, but some magazines have really gotten it backwards.  Motor Trend is a great example of a poorly conceived pricing structure.  If I subscribed to Motor Trend by mail, I only pay $10.  However, if I want to get it digitally on my iPad it is $19.99.  WHY???  The iPad edition is more interactive and includes videos, yes, but I can get the same videos from their website for FREE. Why should I pay more for a magazine that it not generating the costs of printing and postage?  Motor Trend is not the only magazine doing this, here are a few other examples:

-Popular Mechanics: $12 by mail, $19.99 on iPad

-Esquire: $8 by mail, $19.99 on iPad

-Golf Magazine: $10 by mail, $19.99 on iPad

-Reader’s Digest: $10 by mail, $14.99 on iPad

-Vanity Fair: $19.99 by mail, $19.99 on iPad

-The New Yorker: $59.99 by mail, $59.99 on iPad

Publishers need to realize that in order for a digital distribution system to work, they are going to need an aggressive pricing strategy.  Charging twice as much for digital over print is ridiculous.  I understand that this is new to many publishers and they are working on pricing, design, etc, but I feel that over time prices will come down.  I do not mind paying for content, but I do mind being screwed.

*I have emailed Motor Trend with my concern and will update this post if they reply, but I doubt they will.

The Legacy of Steve Jobs

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Since the funeral for Steve Jobs was held on Friday, I decided that I would publish my final post on his legacy today.

After Steve resigned as Apple’s CEO in August, everyone began writing stories about Steve’s legacy as though he were dead.  Now that he is, I have read repeats of what was said then.  Instead of simply reposting my take on Steve’s legacy, I decided to write a fresh perspective, one that encompasses his entire life, and not just his career at Apple.

Steve was born in 1956 to two college students who ultimately decided to put him up for adoption.  Steve was adopted by a family in the San Francisco area and attended high school in Cupertino.  As a kid he enjoyed technology and even had an internship at Hewlett Packard as a teen (while Steve was CEO of Apple, the company purchased part of the HP campus and intends to build its new campus at that location).

After graduating high school, Steve attended a few college classes before dropping out to devote his time to Apple.  The story of Apple is often told due to its romanticism.  A company started by two friends in a garage, but what we often over look is the two men themselves.  Steve and Steve Wozniak (Woz) complemented each other.  Woz was a technological genius and could build anything.  Steve had the vision of what could be and pushed Woz to build it.  The Apple I was a useless machine by todays standards, but it was the world first computer that did not encompass an entire room.  The Apple II brought computing to the home.

After the success of the Apple II, Steve and Woz separated within the company.  Woz remained with the Apple II group and Steve move on and worked with the group that would eventually launch the Macintosh.  The Macintosh used a completely new form of software, Graphical User Interface (GUI), that Apple at acquired (the nice way of putting it) from Xerox.  GUI required a new device be created to control the computer and the mouse was born.  The Macintosh encompassed what Steve strove to achieve with all products, function and design.  The design of the Macintosh was an all in one computer that allowed for simple functionality and portability.  When Steve introduced the talking Macintosh in 1984, computing was changed yet again.  It was GUI that paved the way for IBM and Microsoft to talk Apple on in the personal computer market.

Shortly after the introduction of Macintosh, Steve was gone.  He was fired by the man he chose to be CEO.  The Board of Directors proved to be more loyal to the CEO than the founder.  Woz had left Apple a year before Steve to return to college.  He became a teacher, and has not worked for Apple since.

Steve found himself without a job and without a future.  He had a load of cash, but he felt the need to create, and create he did.  He spent most of his fortune to business ventures.  First, he created a software company called NeXT.  NeXT was a new spin on GUI and he set out to attack Microsoft and Apple.  He was openly critical of Apple’s decisions throughout this period.  The second venture was the purchase of Pixar from George Lucas.  Lucas felt he could do nothing with the company and sold it to Steve.  There he met John Lasseter and other computer graphical designers who had a vision for a movie.  By 1995, the first film was ready and Toy Story was released.  It was the first movie to be fully computer animated.  The movie was a huge success, and Steve was back on top.  NeXT, however, was failing to compete with Microsoft and Apple was slowly dying, having gone through a string of unsuccessful CEOs.

In 1997, Steve found himself back at the company he started when Apple bought NeXT.  Steve was immediately named interim CEO and he immediately asked the entire Board of Directors to resign.  He replaced them with top technology firm founders and CEOs (such as Eric Schmidt from Google).  The second thing Steve did was killing most of Apple’s product line.  He felt that Apple was building too much and consumers were overwhelmed with the selection of “professional” and “consumer” products.  It was his vision to build a machine that both, and in 1998, Steve unveiled the iMac.  The iMac was an all-in-one, built for both consumers and professionals.  It was also designed to look appealing.  It came in a variety of colors and looked great on a desk.

The iMac began a string of hit products for Apple with Steve at the helm.  In 2000, Apple began to seed Mac OS X with his NeXT technology under the hood.  In 2001, Steve and Apple changed the music world with iTunes and the iPod.  Not only could you listen to music, but also you could buy it, download it, and own it.  That was a fairly new concept for the music industry and, as Steve explained in 2003, it was not easy to convince them to take part.  However, as Napster and other programs that were deemed illegal became popular, the record labels gave in.

In 2004, Steve was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  A form, which he said, was treatable with surgery.  In a commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005, Steve talked openly about his diagnosis and how close to death he had become.  Steve’s speech has been shown countless times over the past several days.  In 2006, Steve and Disney came to an agreement and they bought Pixar for $7.6 billion, making Steve chairman of Disney’s Board of Directors and making him the largest shareholder of Disney stock.

After several years of innovation with the iPod and Mac, Apple released the iPhone in 2007.  The iPhone changed the way carriers and phone manufacturers related to each other in the United States.  Before the iPhone, you could only purchase games from the carrier, but the App Store allowed developers to distribute their applications to the consumers in a safe, secure way.  The iPhone paved the way for the iPad release in 2010.  The iPad is, by far, the tablet leader around the world, and most analysts agree that will not change anytime soon.  Steve shared at his appearance at D8 in 2010, that the iPad was designed first by Apple, but he felt the phone should come first.  The market was not yet ready for a tablet. It was this extraordinary vision that made Steve successful.

Steve’s last appearance on stage came in June 2011 and the introduction of iCloud.  Although it has yet to be fully released (but it will be this Wednesday), legions of Apple fans and users are awaiting its arrival to simplify the way their devices communicate with one another.

Steve’s legacy should not be the Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, or even the iPad, because they will change along with technology.  His legacy most likely will not be his ability to understand the market the public unlike any other.  Instead, the legacy of Steve Jobs was his ability to rebound.  He rebounded after being fired by Apple in the mid-1980s, he rebounded when he became CEO of the failing Apple, and he rebounding following his first battle with cancer in 2004.  Nothing could keep Steve down.  The media has assumed that Steve died of cancer, but that has yet to be confirmed.  Many have suggested that he has been fighting this latest round of cancer for over two years, and if that is the case, even though it ultimately won, he put up one hell of a fight and refused to allow it to take him away from his work.  Steve’s devotion to Apple and his success of taking a company months from bankruptcy and making it the largest technology company on the planet is what has earned him the honor of being Fortune’s CEO of the decade (2000-2010).  His mind for business and technolog, as an innovator on the scale of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison (Steve holds over 300 patents) are his legacy.

Steve Jobs Presentations

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Steve and his wife after his presentation at WWDC 2011, his last.

One of Steve’s greatest talents was his presentation style.  His iconic St. Croix Mock Turtleneck, Levi 501 jeans, and New Balance 991 shoes graced the stage at 1 Infinite Loop many times.  He will be remembered on stage holding the devices we most wanted.  Here is a video collection of Steve introducing some of Apple’s most popular devices.

1984: The Macintosh

1997: Steve Jobs Return to Apple

1998: The iMac

2001: iTunes

2001: iPod

2007: iPhone

2010: iPad

2011: iCloud

One More Thing….

Steve was famous for ending his presentation with this phrase and introdicing yet another new product or a suprise feature.  Here is a collection of those “One More Things”:

Steve Jobs: The iCEO

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In the wake of the resignation of Steve Jobs, the Internet community is acting as though they are at a funeral.  Steve Jobs is not dead. He merely resigned as CEO of Apple and has been voted Chairman of the Board of Directors.  I certainly understand why there is an outpouring of grief considering the circumstances surrounding his resignation and medical leave, but lets save the obituaries for when they are necessary.  Instead, we should celebrate what Steve Jobs was able to accomplish as CEO of Apple.

Steve returned to Apple in 1997 when the company purchased his tech firm NExT.  He had been absent from Apple since 1985 and the company was failing.  Steve was named interim CEO and convinced the Board of Directors to resign.  This allowed Steve to build a new Board.

Steve announced his return at MacWorld in 1997

Apple’s major issue in 1997 was that it offered too many product lines (computers, printers, cameras, etc.) and Steve decided it should trim them down.  In fact, at the time, Apple offered nine different variations of its computers.  After employees were unable to explain the differences between the models, it was clear they should be eliminated.  He quickly sent the Macintosh team back to the drawing board to create a new computer, one that could be used by professionals and novices alike.

Before Steve was able to accomplish this, however, there was one major obstacle standing in his way…cash.  Apple did not have any.  He was forced to look for partners, and in a move that surprised and angered many in the Apple community, he turned to Microsoft.  Bill Gates invested in Apple and they created a temporary partnership that would allow them to share specific patents.  In return, Microsoft bought Apple stock with the stipulation they would not sell it for two years.  This gave Apple the cash it needed to create the products that would shape my generation.

Steve and the iMac

Apple struck first in 1998 with the introduction of the iMac.  The all in one desktop device gave Apple the boost it needed, in capital and in stock value.  Apple was quiet for a few years, but in 2000, Steve was no longer considered the “interim” CEO of Apple.

The iPod

In 2001, Apple unveiled its newest device, one that would change how the world listens to music, the iPod.  At first, the iPod is simply a device for loading your CDs too, but Apple vision went much further and in 2003 they released the iTunes music store.  For the first time, the consumer could buy ONE song instead of an entire album.  This also allowed independent artists to distribute their music directly to the public.

In August 2004, Steve was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that is deemed to be operable.  He recovered from surgery and returned to work in September of the same year.  In his 2005 Stanford Commencement address, Steve briefly talked about his diagnosis and how the doctor had originally given him three months to live, before performing a biopsy.

The first iPhone

Apple’s innovation hit a new high when Steve unveiled the iPhone in 2007.  The phone was the first to have content that was not controlled by the cell phone carrier.  Apple took the iPhone to the next level when they unveiled the App Store.  This gave developers a place to distribute their applications to the owners of iPhones.

In 2009, Steve’s health made headlines again when he announced he would be taking medical leave in January.  When he returned to work in July, he revealed he had undergone a liver transplant earlier that year.  Steve’s return was greatly welcomed, but since this event, Steve has never looked as strong.

Unveiling the iPad

In January 2010, Steve was on stage yet again to unveil another Apple device, the iPad.  The iPad continues to dominate the tablet market almost two years later.

In January 2011, Steve announced that he was once again taking an indefinite medial leave to focus on his health.  Despite being on medical leave, Steve was present for the iPad 2 event in January and WWDC in June.  Many saw this as a sign that Steve’s health was improving that his medical leave would soon end.  Yesterday’s announcement of Steve’s resignation as CEO came as a surprise as many, and has left the Apple community concerned over his health.

Steve at WWDC in June 2011

Over the past fourteen years, Steve has led Apple from the brink of bankruptcy to being the most valuable tech company in the world.  There are critics of Apple’s strategies and, at times, bullying of it competitors, but there is no denying that Apple would not be what it has become if it were not for Steve Jobs.

Is the First Generation iPad a Classic?

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With the release of iPad 2, many are wondering place in history the first generation iPad holds.  Is the iPad a classic device already?  There has been much said about how the iPad was the best selling product release in the history of the tech world, but what does that really mean?  Apple is has a long line of successes beginning with the Apple 2 in the late 1970s, the Macintosh, iPod, iPhone and finally the iPad.  These devices have changed the industry in their own way, but does the iPad belong in the same category of these other game-changing devices?

iPad 1

Lets begin by looking at sales.  Steve Jobs announced the Apple sold 15 million iPads in 2010 (including 300,000 on day 1!).  This sounds like a staggering number, but he also announced that Apple had also sold its 100 millionth iPhone in the month of February 2011.  Two devices that defined categories, two different milestones.  It is difficult to understand what this means unless we break down the numbers further.  The iPad went on sale April 2, 2010 and sold 15 million by the end of December.  That is a total of 274 days.  By doing simple math, we discover that Apple sold 54,744 iPads per day, 2,2801 per hour, and 38 per minute.  The iPhone went on sale July 29, 2007 and by the end of February 2011 had been on sale for 1,617 days.  That means that Apple has sold, on average, 61,842 iPhones per day, 2,576 per hour, and 42 per minute.  Four more per minute than the iPad.

There are other numbers that make one question the importance of the iPad.  The App Store has been a success for Apple on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad and Jobs was sure to announce that the App Store had approximately 65,000 apps for the iPad as of the beginning of March 2011.  The App Store, however, has over 350,000 total apps which means that only 19% of the apps on the App Store are optimized for the iPad.  Not nearly as impressive as you thought, is it?

Steve Jobs debuted iPad 1 January 27, 2010

The iPad has delivered some very impressive numbers since its launch, however.  Selling 15 million units of a new device does seem to be a record.  Those 15 million units generated $9.5 billion in revenue for Apple, a sizable portion of their revenue.  Users have also downloaded over 100 million iBooks since its launch last April.  That equates to approximately 253 downloads per second.  Apple did not release the number of apps downloaded during that same period, but I assume it would eclipse the number of iBooks.  The iPad currently holds approximately 90% of the tablet market share.  This is because there are still few competitors out there, but they are coming.  Blackberry, WebOS, Windows (yet to be named), Android (too many to list), they are all creating tablets to rival the iPad.

So is iPad 1 a classic?  It would seem that many people have chosen to keep their original iPad as opposed to upgrading to iPad 2.  A survey conducted on launch day of iPad 2 found that 70% of those buying an iPad 2 were buying their first iPad.  Does that mean Apple will increase its consumer base by 70%?  Probably not, but it does show that many people waiting for the iPad 2.  That is one thing with technology.  There is always a group of users that skip the first generation of products.  The iPad 2 is an improvement over iPad 1, but there is a sizable crowd that will keep their iPad 1 for another year and wait for iPad 3.

iPad 2

The simple answer to the question as to whether iPad 1 is a classis is yes.   A classic device changes things and the iPad certainly has.  The iPad can do everything the iPhone can do and it can do everything a MacBook can do, but the revolution is in how it does it.  The touch interface changed the smart phone market in 2008 and the iPad changed the computer market in 2010.  At the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2011, there were over 40 tablets demoed, all destined to challenge the iPad.  At CES 2010, there were a few, but they never made it to production.  January 27, 2010 changed the tablet market forever.  When Steve Jobs held the iPad on stage in San Francisco, it was clear something had changed.  The first iPad went virtually unchallenged in 2010, but there are a wide variety of challengers lined up for 2011.  iPad was released to nationwide sellouts and a massive number of online orders, but will iPad 2 live up to its predecessor, the “Classic iPad”?  We will have to wait and see.

The Apple iPad 2 Review

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After waiting in line at Best Buy yesterday to receive one of the 15 iPad 2s, I can honestly say Apple has not disappointed.  After Steve Jobs unveiled the new iPad last week, many wondered what made this iPad different from the first generation model.  The answer is all in the hardware.

HARDWARE

The iPad 2 had many new hardware features that make it far superior to the previous model.  The most obvious is the body itself.  The iPad 2 is only .34 inches thin and it feels completely different in the hand.  The new flat back makes it feel like a thin book or, more appropriately, like a magazine.  The aluminum back and glass screen make the iPad rigid and it feels incredibly durable.

iPad 2 next to the original iPad

The addition of two cameras also sets the iPad 2 apart from its predecessor.  The front-facing camera is VGA only and is meant for making Facetime video calls.  The rear-facing camera is 720p HD video camera, but when taking pictures, the rear camera is less than 1 megapixel.  The images are okay, but not the greatest quality.  The iPad, however, is too large to be an effective camera.  I have the iPhone 4, which has a 5-megapixel camera with flash.  This serves the purpose when I am on the go.  The cameras do well a video camera and that is their primary purpose.

The other major change to the iPad 2 is on the inside.  Apple’s A5 chip is a 1 GHz dual core processor that has dramatically increased speed of day-to-day operation.  The processor makes iPad 2 nearly twice as fast as the original and nine times faster with graphics.  iBooks (Free) is noticeably quicker.  Games that are heavy on the GPU are noticeably faster and more detailed.  The other major change is the iPad 2 has 512 MB of RAM instead of the previous generations 256 MB.  This allows the iPad to keep more open webpages in its memory as well as operate apps better in the background.  Also added under the hood is a gyroscope that give better control when playing games.

Unchanged on the iPad 2 is the screen.  The 9.7 inch display is unchanged, but still just as rich in detail.  The bezel surrounding the screen remains the same size but now comes in black or white.  Overall, the hardware of the new iPad 2 is what gives it its competitive edge.

SOFTWARE

The iPad 2 came preloaded with Apple’s new iOS 4.3 release.  This came with such improvements as quicker Safari browser, Air Time updates, and the option to use the switch on the side of the iPad for mute or rotate lock functionalities.

iMovie for iPad

There are a few additions to iOS 4.3 that are only found on the iPad 2, however.  The Facetime app is like the one on the iPod Touch and works very well.  There is a camera app like on the iPod and iPhone, but the big story is Photo Booth.  If you have a Mac, you know what Photo Booth is capable of.  It takes funny pictures of you and your friends for you to post all over your Facebook wall, but Photo Booth does more than that.  It shows off the incredible speed of the new A5 processor.

Drums on Garage Band

There are a few other apps Apple has created to take advantage of the iPad 2’s cameras and speed.  The first is iMovie ($4.99).  This is currently available for the iPhone and is a capable app.  It allows you to edit movies you have made with your iPad.  The other app is Garage Band ($4.99).  On the Mac, Garage Band only works with physical instruments, but with the iPad the instruments are virtual.  Whether you play the piano, guitar, or drums, Garage Band has you covered.  They also have “Smart Instruments” for those of us who are not musically inclined.  In addition to instruments, Garage Band allows the user to mix tracks and use the iPad as an amp for several instruments.

Photo Booth

OVERALL

Smart Cover and the iPad 2

iPad 2 is a very solid device and one that I will use every day.  Like the original iPad, the iPad 2 has a wide variety of accessories including Smart Covers ($39 – $69) which use magnets to attach to the iPad and easily lock and unlock the iPad by just closing or opening the cover.  I purchased a grey Smart Cover and it works very well and does not add a lot of bulk to the design.  What is truly amazing is that with the smaller size, new hardware, and added speed, the iPad 2 retains the original iPad’s 10-hour battery life and price point.  I purchased the 32GB black Wi-Fi iPad 2.  Of course, everyone wonders what Apple has in store for the next iPad, as well as this summer’s iOS 5 update, but for now, I have no problem waiting with the iPad 2.

Graduate School and the iPad

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I have owned an iPad since last April, but never really used it to its fullest potential on campus.  Last semester, I took a picture of all the books and articles I read through out the semester.  The fact of the matter was I downloaded all the articles from BlackBoard and recycled them at the end of the semester since I had saved a digital copy on my computer.  This made me realize that I really needed to use the iPad for more than just email, web, and entertainment.  There had to be an app that would allow me to create a folder system for my classes, and there was.  I found the app GoodReader for $2.99.  I figured it would be worth it for an app that worked on the iPad and iPhone (since I have both).  I purchased the app last fall and began to work with it.  I decided it was the best candidate for this semester.

Steve Jobs Unveils the iPad, January 27, 2010

A week before classes began, I created a folder system within GoodReader which broke down the course by week.  This would allow me to download the PDF files from BlackBoard directly to GoodReader on the iPad and place it in the proper folder.  It may sound complicated, but it makes things much easier than keeping track of a paper version of the article.  After all, printing the articles seemed like a waste of paper when I could just as easily read them on the iPad.

When the semester began, I downloaded the readings for week two for my courses and placed them within the proper folders.  I always have my iPad with me on campus, and so now when I have a free moment, I can read articles for class while on campus.  With the paper versions, I would have to bring them with me if I wanted to do that, and there is no guarantee free time will present itself.

After working with the iPad for almost a year, and experimenting with reading PDF files on it for three weeks, I can honestly say it makes my life easier.  I could have just as easily purchased a laptop (or kept my MacBook), but the iPad is much thinner and a pound lighter than the lightest MacBook Air.  The touch interface also make the reading of articles easier as I can easily adjust the zoom using a pinching motion.  As a student, the iPad does everything I want it to do and more.

Screen shot of GoodReader’s Folder System

Apple’s Steve Jobs described the iPad last year as “magical.”  But he was not far off.  There is something more intimate about the iPad over a laptop or even a desktop.  I find that I am using the iPad more than my iPhone!  I may be a little biased, but the iPad is truly a multi-talented product that has changed the way we think about computing.  That was evident at this years Consumer Electronics Show.  Over 40 new tablets were demoed and will be released by the end of this year.  The iPad is making my grad school experience a little easier, and I look forward to using it for years to come!

Next weekend, I will begin reviewing my classes by looking at HIST 696.  Until then…

-Eric

(P.S.  I wanted to take a little space to express my sincere wishes that Steve Jobs get well soon so that he may return to Apple from his Medical Leave of Absence.)