I’ve written this article a few times over the years and it’s interesting to fire out that the laptop bag has actually got lighter over the last few years.
This is mainly due to the main hardware component getting lighter and more portable over the last few years to the point where I don’t carry a laptop any more I have no need for one thanks to the Apple iPad however Tablets in general have really changed how we travel and what we take with us.
The iPad is a consumption device, a phrase which bugs the heck out of me as there are a huge number of innovative and great content creation apps on this platform and 123D Catch is my favourite this week. Brought to us by Autodesk the Autocad people this is a great app idea and it’s free.
Why I won’t buy a Retina Macbook Pro just yet…
With Apple announcing the new High Definition screen Retina Macbook Pro and being the Fanboy I am…
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WIth the release of the iPad 3 i’d suggest that Apple released the iPad they wanted to rel…
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The internet is awash with posts for the pro’s and con’s of Jailbreaking your IOS device, and …
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I like the Jailbroken iPad it allows me to do what i want unlocked from Apples commercially sensible but geeky annoying decisions. Apple strike me as a sensible company in so far as the iDevice range does what it’s supposed to do but now what they can do. However I like to get a bit more out of the devices i buy.. Why not buy an Android Tablet? Simple I can’t find one with 3G built in which fits my needs..
I’m off on holiday in November to Thailand, and don’t want to be taking my Laptop with me, why bother when I have an iPad and camera connection kit..
However no doubt we will be on boats, on beaches and i was looking for something to protect my iPad and keep the water out. There are not many items which do both, so i plumped for a rugged case AND a waterproof case..
The case i ended up getting was by Otterbox - http://www.otterbox.com/
This is a hardcore case, it adds substantial weight to the iPad, more than doubles it, however its going to protect you against substantial knocks and bumps while travelling, and yes, its as hardcore as it looks.
Its basically a plastic chassis, which splits in half, and is mad out of solid plastic, nothing flimsy here.. Once the chassis is connected, you add a neoprene wet suit like skin over the top of the plastic case.. which covers the buttons on the iPad, which are still more than usable.
There is also a lid for the case which when not being used covers the screen on the iPad or when you are using the screen clips on the back of the case.
However this lid adds another dimension to this well thought out product. Because as well as being a lid, it is also a handy rest for the ipad, useful and perfectly suited for air travel.
There is another really nice touch, because on the back of the case there is a well positioned hole to show that all important Apple Logo.
Now this is not a case for those looking for something lightweight easy and demure. This is just as it says a rugged case adding wight and girth (love that word) to the device.
Its also worth noting that this is NOT waterproof at all, and doesn’t claim to be. However there are plenty of waterpoof cases out there.
The one complaint i guess i have with this is a simple one, there was no dammed Otter in the box..
I was in a conversation at work with someone who’s opinion i respect, and he’s read that the Tablet has plateaued in sales..
Well to be honest i’m not surprised.
for 10 years Bill Gates/Microsot tried to make Tablet computers, and failed, 2 years ago Apple brought us the tablet called the iPad.
And then?
Well, nothing really, ok, a slew of under powered Android tablets which the bean counters got hold of and stripped out the grunt, and put out at an overpriced sales point.
Then, HP took the 3rd option, mis marketed, dropped the ball and pulled out of WebOS.
So really there hasn’t been a tablet market has there. just a market leader, so comfortable in their product with limited or no competition, so no need to innovate for now… and a string of also rans..
To make an iPad competitor there is however a simple formula
$100 + WebOS..
As HP have just found the perfect Tablet pricepoint, they now have one of the fastest selling tablets out there, and set a price point, sub $200. And this is good news, especially if your name is Amazon..
The Tablet market doesn’t exist to plateau just yet, however i believe it will in 18 months it will. Not to replace the Laptop, however it will to act as a secondary device, then we can see the 2nd wave. Learning from the mistakes of the past
TumbleOn is a good-looking new Tumblr streaming image viewer app for the iPad. The developers feel that images are the best part of Tumblr and their app focuses on optimizing Tumblr image viewing on the iPad.
The Milwaukee County Zoo likely just made Steve Jobs’ Christmas card list.According to a report from Kotaku, Orangutans at the Milwaukee County Zoo enjoy using apps, playing games, and watching video on the iPad almost as much as we do!
Although inspired by an April Fool’s joke, the iPad Enrichment Program at the zoo actually provides Orangutans with use of an iPad, which the orangutans use not only to learn, but for entertainment as well.
Scott Engel, who started the program, spends 20 minutes three to four days a week working with two orangutans (MJ and Mahal), who he allows to use his device – although he doesn’t leave them alone with it (for obvious reasons).
Personally, while I think this story is extremely amazing, I’ll not soon be letting any orangutans use my iPad 2, especially considering that a male orangutan could easily snap the device in half in mere moments.
So the 2nd Over the air update just went through OK on my iOS5 iPad.. This is a great sign.. not had to re leoad loads of Apps, or attach to an Apple Mac to get the update. The whole icloud backup and system is interesting as well.. More app less webapp..
Its been a long time in the coming, however Boxee have recently released thier iPad app, and its an interesting one at that.
Its no secret that the start of the cable cutting revolution has already started, with more of us using portable media to watch what we want when we want to its no surprise that companies like boxee are getting in on the act of distributing portable media.
The app itself offers media from two sources, your social media stream, including evidently the ability to share media on Tumblr. and your personal media collection.
The sharing of media from your local collection requires a Mac or PC which is on, and on the same Wifi segment as you are on, as with many such apps, it sits on the “server” and you pint it to the locations your media is stored, which could be a networks hare, and acts as a conduit between these locations and your iPad.
The quality is ok, however i have to say i prefer AirVideo as it seems to adapt to the network its being used on beter. Also Airvideo allows you access to your media from outside your network. Boxess doesn’t yet.
When it comes to the social media streams, there are still some which require Flash to play, however most of the media i was provided from my streams was in a format the iPad could handle.
Where Boxee is leaps ahead of any of its competition i feel is in the Look and Feel department, it is a slick, well thought out app. The interface is highly intuative and well thought out.
I like the app, i feel it has a long way to go to become the ultimate cord cutter app, links into your existing boxee plugins would be a great start. However links to the desktop features like watch it later are a good inclusion in this first release.
I’m almost there for cutting the cable myself and am using boxee a lot, I have it on my Mac, and would have it on my TV if the company would adopt the far better underpinnings of XBMC 10.1 for better screen resolution and picture quality.
Read the Ars Technica Review for more.
The new Boxee for iPad application lets users stream video stored on their PC to their tablet, or—assuming they also have the Boxee Box hardware—from an iPad to their television. But the application works independently of external hardware, integrating with Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr to let users also view videos posted by their friends. The app includes a bookmarking feature as well, to save videos for later viewing
Just done an ios5 OTA Update, worked better for me than the previous iPad/Itunes ones.. Backed myself up to iCloud and then started the update, done in less than 6 minutes.. Well done Apple..
Prices of consumer tablets are now falling as device makers try to pull buyers away from Apple’s iPad, which is priced starting at $499. Some tablets under $300 may sacrifice features, but are good for basic activities like web browsing, video playback and casual gaming
These tablets run older versions of Android, but are powerful enough for Internet access and video playback. They have Wi-Fi capabilities and fast ARM processors, and actually go a step beyond the iPad with Flash capabilities and USB ports. However, the inexpensive tablets may not rate high on overall quality, as experienced by blogger Lorrie Jollimore with a 7-inch tablet purchased from China. Reliability is always in question, so top-line tablets such as the iPad and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab should remain a primary choice, especially for those who use tablets much of their home or business activities.
