Monthly Archives: April 2010

pre-orders for 3G-enabled iPads getting them soon

29/04/2010 by admin · Leave a comment

import an iPad from the USA to the UK.png

iPad customers in the US will be getting the 3G version of the tablet computer from Apple, in their sweaty little mitts, as it is scheduled to arrive on April 30th. Some people will be hitting the refresh button on the Fedex web site to see where the parcel is, containing their 3G Apple iPad. They ship directly from China usually but there are reports that they could already be in the US awaiting shipment.

The people that have not pre ordered will be standing inline to get a bit of the buzz at an Apple Store or possibly a Best Buy or other Apple reseller. International customers are still being left out in the cold and it is no consolation that the delay to the rest of the world is delayed because of the runaway success in the US.

That last statement is complete spin and it would be more correct to say that Apple got the numbers wrong with the manufacturing or that they had problems with the process or the ability to ramp up production if the iPad proved as popular as everyone expected. Apple must think that we in the rest of the world just got off the last banana boat if they expect us to swallow that load of cobblers.

The delivery date for the rest of the world is still end of May with pre orders possible from May 10th. There will be a few more that can’t wait that long and will go through the BundleBox route

Posted in iPad News.

Don McAllister shows us his iPad

29/04/2010 by admin · Leave a comment

Don shows some of the features of the iPad after having one for a few days. The reflections off the iPad are a bit annoying but apart from that it is good to see some of what an iPad can do. It must have been the 1st iPad in the UK and Don did the the iPad review for the Liverpool Echo. Getting an iPad in Europe is still impossible from Apple but people are finding other ways to have the iPad in Europe. This is the DonMcAllister Screencastsonline iPad.


Posted in iPad.

Camera in Next iPad

26/04/2010 by admin · Leave a comment

import an iPad from the USA to the UK.png

The first gen iPad is still wet behind the ears and there is loads of chat about a Camera in next iPad. Will there be front-facing iSight camera a camera iPad 2, because of the talk of moderators, chat rooms, encrypted video conferences in the iPhone OS4.0 that developers are working with now? There is more fun to be had with making up rumours  about ipad 2 cameras or at the very least speculating about what iPad cameras might come to pass.

There is an ambient light sensor in the present iPad and some think that, that is where Apple will stuff in the front-facing iSight ipad 2 camera in the second generation. In the last interview from Amazing iPad David was telling me that he reckons the iPad needs a camera for some of the things that you would think you could do with the device.

I think it is still a bit of a mystery why there should be a video camera put in the iPod Nano and not in the iPod Touch. Seems that it is probably only a matter of time before the iPod gets a Camera. Another possibility, is the already proven concept by third-party app developers, would be an official Apple webcam accessory. being able to wirelessly add a camera to the iPad which could easily be attached directly to the device. There are apps that already make this possible including Camera-A and Camera for iPad, which link up your iPhone camera for use on the iPad via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. A pretty cool idea really.

One of the things that point to there being a camera in the next model would be that 9to5Mac are reporting that Apple Are advertising a job that could be a definite indication of Apple intentions regarding shooting still images and video from the iPad. I still think there should have been a camera iPad 1, but I suppose there has to be room to upgrade and grow.

The Media Systems team is looking for a software quality engineer with a strong technical background to test still, video and audio capture and playback frameworks. Build on your QA experience and knowledge of digital camera technology (still and video) to develop and maintain testing frameworks for both capture and playback pipelines…Experience with tuning of and image pipeline, including, but not limited to AWB, Colour Correction, AutoExposure, FrameRate adjustments is a plus.

So now all we have to do is to gossip about whether we believe it will be a forward or rear facing camera or one of each in the second generation iPad. What do you think is most likely for a camera iPad version 2? Did Apple mess up by not having an iPad 1 camera?

Comments or questions are welcome.

* (denotes required field)
Posted in iPad.

iPad HDMI adapter

26/04/2010 by admin · 3 Comments

Connecting up your iPad VGA to HD 1080p HDMI can be done with an special Upscaling Adapter, this is if you want to output your iPad to 1080p HDMI displays such as HDTV, projectors, and computer monitors? There is an after market accessory that can upscale VGA outputs to even above-HD resolution of 1920×1200. It can even merge the device sound into HDMI.

iPad VGA to HD 1080p HDMI Upscaling Adapter | Obama Pacman-1.png

The Atlona VGA to HDMI Scaler/Converter is a plug and play box that takes VGA signals from devices such as Apple’s iPad tablet, combines with audio, and outputs a HDMI signal.

The adapter detects native resolution of the display and scales the source output to match it. The VGA to HDMI converter is powered by an USB port. You should be able to use one of Apple’s wall power adapters for iPod, iPhone, and iPad, which has a usb port, for power.

There are alternative ways to get HDTV Connectivity such as Apple iPad, Component / Composite Output cables

Besides VGA output at native resolution of 1024×768, which is the standard resolution of projectors, Apple’s iPad tablet can also connect to HDTV at 576p and 480p with Apple Component AV Cable; 576i and 480i with Apple Composite AV Cable. I expect there will be numerous ways of connecting our iPads to various devices and peripherals, it is early days yet for the HDMI adapters.

Next thing to look at is the iPad 2 HDMI adapter. The iPad hdmi’ adapter is an easy iPad adapter to get your hands on. I think there is a specific iPad 2 adapter to connect up with HDMI.

Apple Component AV Cable – iPhone / iPod audio / video / data cable with power adapter – component video / audio / USB – Apple Dock connector – 4 pin USB Type A, RCA (M)

Apple Composite AV Cable (MB129LL/B)

Posted in iPad Peripherals.

Amazing iPad Podcast 2

26/04/2010 by admin · Leave a comment

I Confess I_m a Geek!.png

Mossad have to buy their own iPads now that they are not confiscating them any more. They will also have to buy their own iPad dock connector european

David in Maidenhead near London UK has an iPad and used Bundlebox to get himself an iPad. Bundle box were swamped in the first few days but he managed to get one using his own credit card. Only took a few days to get the iPad in his hands. £128 for shipping, insurance and duty. There was a bit of sales tax that bumped it up a little. I don’t like the way they don’t advertise the prices with out taxes over in the US.

David got a 32Gb model and is very happy with the tablet computer from Apple so far. Very excited to do the unboxing and left work just a little early to get using it. He has a silicone case that he had ready for it as soon as it arrived. he tells me that it is an incredibly useful tool and carries it nearly everywhere.

David has a MiFi to use with the iPad and is paying £5 a month for up to 500MB a month. I was pleased that he gave me the information about how to get a MiFi from Three in the UK and unlock it with some software called DC Unlocker. He says it will cost me €15 to unlock the MiFi. I have already asked my mom to bring one to me in SPain when she visits next month.

The weight and size of the iPad seems just right in use and has been putting on applications. He did have to have a US iTunes account to be able to activate the device. Activating the device is pain really which tells us that you are best to have another computer to be able to use it with. You also have to have an iTunes account in the US to be able to download some of the applications until the iPad is released internationally.

iPhone applications on the iPad is not nice and look horrible. Much better to get a proper iPad application. Some applications though do come as universal apps which is one package that know which it is going onto and sets up right for the bigger screen when it needs to.

David says that reading books on the iPad is a pleasant experience and has read a whole book using the iPad already and prefers the book reading on the iPad compared to the Sony E Reader he also has.

A very useful tool would be the dock connector to hdmi so that you could connect the iPad to a TV

Posted in iPad Apps, Podcast.

Amazing iPad Podcast Episode 1 Talking to Dennis Freitas

25/04/2010 by admin · Leave a comment

51F990C9-4A0A-4B9D-AB84-AD3E4B370968.jpgDennis was one of the first people to get his hands on an iPad and I talk to him about what he is doing with the iPad device from Cupertino. Dennis tells me which at the bet iPad apps, he is a fireman so can easily see how the iPad could be use in business. iPad for firemen, hospitals, doctors and health care workers.

He told me that having an iPad would be so useful for being able to input data once and send to colleagues so that there would be less duplication of information. iPad for improved productivity and efficiency.

Posted in iPad Apps, Podcast, productivity, Social.

Maps on the iPad

25/04/2010 by admin · Leave a comment

Another Great use of an iPad. I like doing this sort of thing with my iPhone but having larger maps has to be better. It is not possible to do this with the wifi version too you have to have the Assisted GPS (Wi-Fi + 3G model). So there is another good reason to hold out for the model with the 3G.

Posted in iPad Apps.

iPad Essential Apps – Evernote

25/04/2010 by admin · 5 Comments

Evernote.png

iPad Essential Apps – Evernote

Evernote is brilliant on the Mac, the iPhone and now it is an essential app for the iPad. Evernote makes it easy to remember things big and small from your notable life using your computer, phone, and the web. It easy to get started with a free account. You do need to get an account because the best thing with Evernote is that it syncs your noes to the cloud. I often use Evernote to write my notes for the podcasts and then go to my studio open up the Mac Book and have the note right there without me having to do anything else. Evernote also have Skitch as an iPad app now too.

The Amazing iPad

Evernote can help you remember whatever you put into it, it is the memory you never knew you had. Type a text note. Clip a web page. Snap a photo. Grab a screenshot. Evernote will keep it all safe. I often select text in a web page while I am on the iMac, hit the put in Evernote button on the safari tool bar and I am done. I know I won’t lose it as it will be in the Evernote iPad app, one of those essential iPad apps. You can use Evernote as part of your GTD iPad options.

Evernote-for-iPhone-and-iPad.pngEvernote is one of those apps for the iPad that is an iPad Universal application. You get it for your iPhone and you also have the iPad version. A new feature to the iPad version. You’ll now see a set of small arrows in the upper left corner of the note. Click them to toggle between the split-screen view and a new full-screen note view. This is great when reading a long note, viewing a big picture or scrolling through a PDF and works in both portrait and landscape modes.

I like the way I can use Evernote to take different types of note. You have voice notes as well as the snapshot or getting something off the camera roll (on the iPhone – There will be a camera in the iPad eventually.) and of course the text notes. You can choose to display only thumbnails or a detailed view. Then there is a scroll bar on the right that lets you get quickly to all of your notes. The notebooks are displayed as stacks of notes, you tap on them to explore the content of a notebook. I must say it looks pretty sweet on the iPad. You can even view your notes in a map view, you would expect that in one of the iPad essential apps.

What Makes Evernote One of the iPad Essential Apps

You can save your searches. Creating a new note is easy and you can put in text at the same time as you are recording an audio note. That is very useful when you are in a meeting for example. The developers must think about these things when making iPad apps.

Try this with Evernote on your iPad.

Try the new map display in the “Places” tab. The thumbnails will automatically update to show only those that relate to what you’re seeing on the map. So, as you scroll and zoom the map, it’s easier than ever to find exactly the note your looking for.

Using Evernote on the iPad

Scroll through all your notes in the “All notes” screen. Try the “View options” in the upper righthand corner to toggle between thumbnail and detail display and to change how your notes are grouped. If you have a lot of notes, try using the quick-scroll bar on the right side of the screen to quickly jump from group to group. The tick marks on this bar show you how many notes you have in each group, so it’s easy to jump to the “busy” parts of your life with just one tap!

Evernote Remembers your Place – iPad Essential Apps

The new Evernote for iPad is so fast that we were finally able to implement another frequent request: when you quit and relaunch the app, it starts exactly where you left it. If you were viewing a particular note or search result and quit to run another app, your note will be right back on the screen when you restart Evernote. If you don’t care about what you were last looking at and just want to make a new note quickly, the “New note” button is always in the lower left side.

There are plans to add many more features to Evernote, some that you can already do on your Mac or even on a Windows computer and then some! Like drawing a quick sketch will be possible. It is impressive to make  iPad apps so good to make iPad app essential list.
The Amazing iPad

Posted in productivity.

Grey importing of the iPad

21/04/2010 by admin · Leave a comment

How to import an iPad from the USA to the UK.png

It can be done and many are importing an iPad into the UK from the US due to the delays announced by Apple of the iPad. It isn’t illegal because after all it is possible to bring back whatever when you go on holiday. I suppose you might be unlucky with having to declare some items when coming back in and pay duty on them, but you can do it.

Don McAllister brought back two iPads from New York on his last trip to the States. Well done Don. Some people are using companies set up specifically to offer this service, you can send them the money and they buy the iPad for you seeing as your credit card will probably hold you up because the billing address has to be what is on the card.

So if you are prepared to pay a it over the top and you are an impatient sort then you can get an iPad sooner rather than later. Apple are not making it easy though, despite some saying that they take a neutral stance on the matter. After all a sale is a sale.

So here is how to do it. The best way would be if you have a friend or a relative living ing the States, you send them the money, they order the iPad and get it sent to their address before they re package it and send it on. They might try marking it as a gift, or they might say that they are sending something that you left behind when you were there, so that you might sidestep the import duties. Customs people are all total bastards though and will probably not let you get away with that though. The taxes could be about £65 and I have no idea what it will cost to get the packet sent by UPS or similar.

import an iPad from the USA to the UK.png

Are you sure you want to do this? It will be so much cheaper and less hassle to be patient waiting like everyone else outside of the US. Funny I thought you would say that…. I want one and I want one now !!!! OK keep your hair on.

You will not be able to order from other places like Amazon and get them to send direct to you. Amazon will be looking for a US address too. You could buy one from EBay though that would work, but expect to pay a premium. Some enterprising people have bought iPads soley to sell on through the auction site

There is a company called BundleBox which is a good service to become acquainted with, because not only does it offer a complete US redirect service (including taking care of tax and import charges), but the company will even buy a device for you if you’re having difficulty paying for it on your credit card. That will cost you over £100 on top of the price of the iPad from Apple

So how serious are you about getting an iPad

Posted in iPad News.

Must have an iPad or is it a I Want an iPad

21/04/2010 by admin · Leave a comment

Yesterday while checking out Twitter – as you do when you are a geek, I saw that, someone I know that has declared himself to the world as being in debt to an unbelievable level and is bankrupt, has bought himself an iPad. Not only that – the person is living in the UK and to get the iPad he had to buy from the USA and pay the extra costs of getting it shipped plus the extra duty on top of that. Crazy or what? I suppose when you owe that much money a bit more on top won’t make a big difference.

It just goes to show the level of commitment (he should be committed) that Apple fan boys will go to to get their fix of the shiny Apple toys. I am sure there are a few other people out there that would be prepared to sell the granny to be able to get their hands on the newest computer from Cupertino. Even some borderline cases of need an iPad will be arranging thought inside the head to justify the purchase of the top of the range model

Posted in iPad News.
12next →