Even though I initially had a hard time swallowing its price tag, I bought an iPad a few weeks ago. I bought the cheapest version (16gb WiFi-only, $500) for two reasons: I don't plan on storing large amounts of video and music on it, and since I have an iPhone there's no way I'm paying for a 3G plan twice. For the first week I struggled to find a place for it in my gadget library - when would I use this iPad and not my iPhone or computer? - but once I finally worked out the iPad's strengths (and weaknesses), it's become an essential part of my day. Here are five reasons you should want the iPad, and five reasons why you might want to pass on it.
Look, I'm a patient guy. When you tell me that something I like is coming out I will patiently wait without turning into some forum troll crying about release dates. But some of these iPhone apps need to come out soon or I'm going to burn a kindergaden to the ground.
Netfilx and Gamecenter for iPhone were announced alongside the iPhone 4 months ago. Where the hell are they? Almost half of the features I was excited about for iPhone 4 are still not on my device! Can we get those sometime soon? JUST GIVE ME THE RELEASE DATE!... Also: Hulu. Give me my Hulu Plus Pass already, you butt horns.
Next up: Games. One of the awesome new improvements of iOS 4 is that you can use the iTunes music library on your phone in games and apps. The very next day that this feature was discovered Elite Beat Agents and Audiosurf should have been announced. People, LISTEN. These games need to come to iPhone. They are perfect for the device. The fact that they're not available, or even announced yet.... again, the kindergarten.
I come to you today with two suggestions. First, make it a point to regularly check the website Appshopper.com. They are constantly announcing apps for the iPhone and iPad that are on sale, and if you are looking to get some goods on the cheap, that's your spot. There is always something that has been temporarily made $.99, or better yet - free. Put that in your faves and click it.
My next suggestion is to download that app "Appzilla." If you can get past the stupid name, you'll find one mega-app that contains all those little ones that you wanted to try, but didn't want to spend money on, like Battery Life, Dice Roll, Coin Flip, Fake Call and Text (my current faves), and a ton more. It's not free, but at only a buck and a continually upgrading library, your ROI will only improve. Definitely check it out.
Check out Google's homepage today. That's one of the more awesome things that I've ever seen. The fact that it's actually playable (after you let it sit for a few seconds) makes it even greater.
A lot of people didn't think it would happen (including myself), but Apple has approved the Opera Mini browser for the iPhone. I can't wait to try it out; as much as I like the iPhone's native Safari browser, I can't help but feel that it could be improved upon. The Opera Mini app, once live, will be available for free.
Our very own Easy Mode contributor Giang stayed with us over this past week, and his ridiculously awesome photography skillz (demonstrated here) inspired me to finally take the plunge and get one of those digital camera things that have detachable lenses (DSLRs to the rest of the world). If you're curious about doing the same, here is my story.
I just finished following Engadget's iPhone OS 4.0 Event Liveblog, and here are the most significant features they announced:
1. Multitasking - basically, you double-click on the homescreen to bring up all the apps that are open at once. Since apps can run in the background, this means you can get Skype calls even when the app isn't open, or listen to Pandora while doing something else. This is pretty cool.
2. Folders - this will allow you to put multiple apps into one folder, and it will name it for you based on the apps you add into the folder (or you can name it yourself). This now allows you to put over 2,000 apps on your iPhone at once. I used this on my old unlocked iPhone a little bit, but to be honest, I would forget what apps I had in folders and ended up neglecting them. We'll see how this works out.
3. Enhanced Mail - unified inbox (good for me, since I have four accounts that I regularly check), organize email by thread. Sounds good to me.
4. Game center - Apple's own social gaming network. Basically, Xbox Live for the iPhone. This is huge, because it basically will lay waste to current networks like OpenFeint and the Plus+ network. It's going to have a friends list, matchmaking, leaderboards, and achievements.
5. They mentioned a couple other items offhand, like bluetooth keyboard support (YES!), spell checker, customizable homescreen wallpaper, 5x digital zoom, manual focus for videos, and the ability to create playlists.
The new OS will be out this Summer on 3GS. The 3G will have most of the features, but not all of them (they specifically said multitasking will not be on the 3G). It also is coming to the iPad this Fall, which is good news considering how much processing power the iPad has. Overall, most of what I was hoping for is coming to the iPhone soon, and I'm excited.
Apple is having a press event tomorrow morning, during which they are going to announce the new features for iPhone's 4.0 firmware. There is plenty of speculation afoot in these final hours, and rather than rewrite them all (you have fingers, you can find them yourself) or speculate on what features I think are going to be announced, I'm going to list the features that I personally would like to see.
1. Multitasking. Everyone seems to be banking on this idea, and I'll jump on it. I like it how if I double-click my home button, it opens up a menu that lets me play the last song I was listening to. If they can integrate a more robust way of doing this, or allow me to switch between apps without having to go back to the homescreen, I'd be happy.
2. Bluetooth keyboard support. I could be writing this post on my iPhone right now. If I had a keyboard to use with my iPhone, I would definitely be on my computer less.
3. Wireless LAN support. Let my iPhone connect to my home iTunes network, and stream music from my iMac to my iPhone. I know that there are apps out that that let you do this (Simpify Media, etc) but I think Apple would do a better job with it. Also, let me sync my iPhone without having to actually plug it in.
4. The ability to remove the "Stocks" and "Compass" apps from my iPhone.
It's 1 AM and I can't stop playing this game. It's like Mirror's Edge meets Forza Motorsport. Jet Car Stunts is so painfuly simple, addictively fast-paced and easy to play that I want to go wake up my roomates to get them into it. Plus it has Open Feint integration so I can whup on everyone, achievement-wise.
If you've ever seen Track Mania then you can clearly imagine this game. You drive a Jet/Formula 1 vehicle miles above the earth on floating tracks. Don't worry! It looks harder to control than it is. And so what about the child-friendly button layout!
Look. It's awesome, okay. Just go try it out and come back and let me know if it wasn't the most fun you've had on your iPhone in about a year.
Russ and I took a casual romantic stroll down to the local Apple Store and had some good hands on with the iPad. We took it through its paces, testing out most of the native apps plus some Rock Band time thrown in there as well. All in all, we came out impressed with the hardware but were ultimately restricted by the scope of the software and its indulgent pricing. Does it have a place in our family of electronics? Yes, but to a limited extent.
Watching television, surfing the web on your couch or organising your schedule all feels great on the device. Problem is, mobile OS X 3.x's deficiencies are only exacerbated on the juiced-uped device. The large screen feels strikingly barren, and the fast internals are woefully under-utilised. Only time will tell if developers leverage the unique qualities of the iPad to set it apart from being the iPod Touch XL. For now, the iPad can be relegated to luxury item status, with early adopters clearly putting their faith in the new in-between category. For the rest of us, we have this.
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Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account!