Apps for the iPad: How to tune into the SoundCloud
SoundCloud’s desktop big brother is a social network for up-and-coming musicians: a place where they can upload new tracks, whether they’re rough sketches or immaculately produced masterpieces, to share with industry contacts or with the world at large. For music fanatics, it offers the chance to explore an almost endless choice of new music.
The app version puts the iPhone’s perfectly respectable mic at your service: while it’s too basic to create Full-blown tracks, it could be useful for grabbing quick sound samples, jotting down ideas to share with your band, or capturing voice memos. If you’re just addicted to surfing SoundCloud’s huge ranks of musicians, it puts that power in your pocket too.
VITAL INFO
Device: iPad/iPhone/ iPod Touch
Difficulty: Intermediate
Time Required: 10 minutes
What you need
iOS 3 or higher
SoundCloud app (Free from the App Store)
A SoundCloud account
Step-by-Step Guide
Start The Search
Enter the name of an artist to start exploring, or choose a genre: SoundCloud is particularly good for dance music.
Portrait of the Artist
Pick a tune from an artist’s profile page to get listening – if you like what you hear, you can follow them in the top right corner.
All in the Music
Scroll through the tune by tapping on the soundwave graphic or save the track as a favourite by clicking the heart icon.
Show Some Love
If a track has really caught your fancy, click the icon on the far right of the control bar to send it to Facebook or Twitter.
Inside Story
Click the ‘info’ symbol to see how popular the track is with other SoundCloud listeners and for details such as track listings.
Have your Say
Tilt the screen on its side while attack is playing to show where other listeners have commented, and add your own thoughts.
App for iPad: Kindle Books on your device
Amazon’s ebook reading gadget, the Kindle, was the most popular purchase from Amazon over the Christmas 2010 shopping season. Safe to say, ebooks are starting to catch on. The gadget lets you take an entire library with you and there are more and more books available for it everyday – 750,000 at last count.
But if you don’t have a Kindle – or you left yours at home-you can still read and buy Kindle books on your mobile device, PC or Mac with Amazon’s free Kindle app for ipad. With as many features as iBooks, cheaper prices and the ability to sync across devices wirelessly, the Kindle app for ipad may be the ebook reader for you. Here’s how it works on the iOS.
VITAL INFO
Device: iPad/iPhone/ iPod Touch
Difficulty: beginners
Time Required: 10 minutes
What you need
Kindle app for ipad (free from App Store)
iOS3.0 or later
An Amazon account
Internet access
Step-by-Step Guide
Log in
First link the app to your Amazon account. You can link up to four devices, including a Kindle and your computer.
Free Books
You’ll get some free books when you log in – any Kindle books you’ve already bought will be in ‘Archived Items’.
The Kindle Store
Click on Kindle Store to look for new books. When you buy the book, select your mobile device to have it download automatically. You can also have Amazon send you the first few pages of any book you’re looking to buy. This is really useful if you’re not totally sure if you would enjoy the author’s style.
Reading Pleasure
Tap on any book on the main screen to read it. The AA button lets you change how the book is displayed. At night you could use a larger font to make it easier on the eyes.
Jump Around
The ‘Bookmark’ button lets you jump to any point in the book, including to bookmarks you’ve created with the ‘+’ button. This is great when you’re studying and need to refer back to passages – in effect you can create your very own list of content.
Manage Your Books
Click on ‘Edit’ to delete any books you don’t want or to save space- Redownload them From ‘Archived Items’.
The Kindle app for ipad is great if you haven’t got the device or love your ipad so much that it goes everywhere with you anywhere. I do have to say though that the Kindle is much easier on the eyes than the iPad – still, as a free app it is a great addition to your apps library!
How Some Great iPad Apps Can Work As Effective Business Tools
From its inception, the iPad and its great iPad apps has been touted as a media consumer’s appliance. It is largely known for its flawless image rendering, video playback and vast storage space. Nonetheless, the iPad’s purpose does not begin and end on entertainment and leisure alone. It is also purposeful for business-savvy users who would like to experience Apple’s newest addition to its roster of technologically advanced products.
Apple is not entirely detached from Microsoft-based productivity programs; as a matter of fact, the iPad has built-in support for Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and 2007. The manufacturer understands the proliferation of Microsoft’s Business Email service and would not let their users be left behind in business if they choose to go with an iPad.
The Microsoft Exchange support will enable push email service and will be made available to the user’s calendar events and contacts’ information stored on their Microsoft profile. It is also possible to manage specific calendar details, search global address lists and inbox messages through this enhanced software feature and great iPad apps.
Security is of utmost importance on an iPad; at the owner’s preference, multiple complex passwords can be assigned to ensure that confidential information remain inaccessible to unauthorized persons. Data exchanged over-the-air or through the Internet can be encrypted to ensure security. Additionally, corporate communication over-the-air is highly protected by a certificate-based authentication process via Exchange and VPN. Even an unfortunate event such as loss or theft of the iPad will not leave important data vulnerable because information on it can be securely deleted through a remote command.
Specialized great iPad apps such as business metrics tracker, proposal reviewer, travel organizer, and flight tracker have been developed with the iPad’s business users in mind. Much like the enterprise edition of the BlackBerry RIM, Apple also hosts the iPhone Developer Enterprise Program. The difference of the iPhone Developer Enterprise from the Blackberry RIM is that the Apple-supported initiative will enable businesses to create their own specialized apps. Their very own apps will be shared to their employees and will be deemed proprietary by the client company.
Moreover, iPad profiles can be easily configured for businesses. Companies can set up their own profiles, complete with details such as VPN, e-mail, wireless network, and password and share it with colleagues on the iPad through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or the Internet.
Most importantly, iPad supports iWork, Apple’s office productivity suite of apps that enables the user to create and browse documents, spreadsheets and presentations. These apps have been redesigned to complement the iPad’s multi-touch system.
Keynote slides can be presented, created, and enhanced through the touchscreen device. iWork’s mobile versions of Numbers and Pages can also be managed by tapping elements on the multi-touch screen. These documents can be shared in different ways; for instance, a VGA adapter can be used to connect the iPad to a projector to allow larger displays for a roomful of audience. Microsoft documents can also be imported into the device through these great iPad apps. Presentations, spreadsheets and text documents can be shared on a wider scale by uploading to iWork.com where the public can view these files.
How iPad Wifi and 3G Keeps You Connected, Wherever You Are
Thanks to the major marketing boost that the iPad received from parent company Apple, we now have the impression that it is the best device to experience the Web, watch online streaming video, and connect with friends via social networking services, using the iPad Wifi and 3G.
The opinion is backed with good reason and real results because the iPad is filled to the brim with Internet-savvy features and services. Despite the initial skepticism expressed by most industry pundits when the computing device was unveiled at a press conference in San Francisco, positive reviews by tech experts who had the privilege of testing the first few commercially available iPads—from Walt Mossberg to the guys at Engadget—had to admit that, indeed, Steve Jobs has unleashed a worthy competitor to netbooks.
It is equipped with built-in, high-speed 802.11a/b/g/n iPad Wi-Fi, which makes downloading files and streaming videos fast and easy. You can forget about buffering, which takes up so much time that it lengthens a four-minute video into eight minutes of waiting. Although some connections may tend to slow down—particularly when there is heavy gateway traffic or when too many subscribers are using the network—it is not going to affect your iPad browsing experience, thanks to its combination of a beefed-up Safari app (which is Apple’s answer to Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer), and the latest Wi-Fi standard.
Browsing most of the online content that you’ll be accessing on an iPad is mainly handled by a specially designed mobile version of Apple’s proprietary web browser called Safari, an app that, according to Apple engineers, is the fastest browser among its league. Considering its reputation as the fastest app to render mobile webpages and the degree of advanced iPad Wi-Fi technologies that are built into the gadget, it can be predicted that browsing the Web for information on the device will take your breath away at lightning speed.
These days, Wi-Fi hotspots are easy to come by; one does not need to remain in highly metropolitan areas to stay online because even rural towns and suburban communities have Internet access. However, that is not to say that we are entirely wirelessly connected. Some Internet connections can be accessed through 3G technology. Fortunately, the iPad does not only operate on Wi-Fi but on 3G as well. That means you are not solely tied up to Wi-Fi and feel completely powerless when a hotspot is not available because 3G, via your mobile telecommunications provider, will keep you connected.
Depending on your location, most major network providers have 3G service contracted by Apple. For instance, AT&T has monthly Internet plans that allow you to swiftly switch from a Wi-Fi network to a 3G connection seamlessly. All the processes can be completed online on your very own iPad, so there is absolutely no need to go to an AT&T store or contact their customer support to purchase the plan.
When you have used up all your surfing minutes, an interactive push notification will pop up to tell you about your impending state and will provide you with two options: switch to the latest Wi-Fi standard with a frequency emanating within your vicinity or upgrade to the next data plan. Data usage and plan information can be monitored and managed on the iPad itself because that, too, has its own app taking advantage of the iPad Wifi and 3G.
iPad Apps: Discover New Music with Last.fm
Last.fm on the webipad apps is one of those simple and addictive ipad apps: sign up, plug in the name of a band or singer you like, and it points you to ‘radio statio ns’ made up of tracks by similar artists, which you can stream for free. If you tell it when you like or dislike a track it will learn your preferences and change its recommendations accordingly.
The mobile app works the same way, but Last.fm started charging for use of the service in February 2011. You now have to pay $5 per month to stream tracks on your iOS device. A shame, but still cheaper than a pint per month. The ipad apps streams tracks rapidly and the app uses very little battery power over Wifi, although it will eat into your battery over 3G.
VITAL INFO
Device: iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch
Difficulty: Intermediate
Time Required: 10 minutes
What you need
iOS 3 or higher
Last.fm ipad apps (free from the App Store)
Last.fm mobile subscription $5 per month, in-app purchase)
Step-by-Step Guide
Ready to go
If you already use Last.fm elsewhere, sign in here. Otherwise create an account by tapping ‘Sign up’and following the instructions.
Radio Free
You get a free trail before you have to pay your $5 per month, so hit ‘Start Trial’. The ipad apps will let you know when your free period is up.
Begin the Hunt
Hit ‘Radio’ at the bottom. Here you can search for an artist on which to base a stream, or check out various personalized mixes.
Now Playing
Tell Last.fm whether you like or dislike each track by clicking the heart and ‘no entry’ icons at the bottom of the main player screen.
About the Artist
Intrigued? Tap the ‘info’ icon at the bottom of the main screen to find out about the artist you’re listening to.
Give me More
The shopping basket icon at the bottom of the artist info page jumps you straight to the iTunes Store to buy the track.
One Of The Best Apps For The iPad: iBooks
Probably one of the more popular features of the iPad—aside from its multi-orientation interface—is its accessibility to hundreds of thousands of apps. These programs have been specifically designed to run on the iPad; there is zero possibility to find it anywhere else, except on the iPhone and iPod Touch. The applications cater to a wide range of categories, including entertainment, business, games, education, and sports. Practically anything you can think of has been prepared for by Apple engineers and third-party developers. Whatever your need, there’s an app for that.
One useful application offered on the iPad is an e-book reader called iBooks. The size of the iPad screen is ideal for reading; there is no squinting necessary to view text displayed on this device. Most of the technical aspects relating to the readability of the material can be adjusted such as its brightness, text size, typeface, and background. The background lighting can be dimmed according to the user’s preference and this is especially useful for reading at night since nocturnal reading becomes unbearable when the screen is too bright.
Moreover, text size and font styles can be altered to suit the user’s needs. For some odd reason, we all have quirky preferences when it comes to font styles. There are people who just simply could not stand neither Times New Roman nor Arial; sometimes, they find it easy to read huge blocks of text displayed in Helvetica or Palatino Linotype. Text adjustment is definitely good news for those who like to read lengthy novels.
Another wonderful feature of the iBooks app is its capability to render superb graphics. iPad’s crisp screen and high-speed memory allows images to appear as you read it without waiting for the image to complete. It makes graphic novels and illustrated books better appreciated.
Incidentally, Marvel Comics has its own e-book reader app on the iPad, which means the Marvel experience is easily accessible via a simple download! The images can be enlarged or minimized by simply pinching on the multi-touch screen. It is also easier to navigate and browse the pages of Marvel’s comic books by tapping the thumbnails.
In line with further reading, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times have also created an app exclusively for the iPad. While it is not exactly a great replacement for a physical broadsheet newspaper, it provides as easy, “tap-worthy” access to news as you need it.
These applications are available on the not-so-subtly named marketplace App Store, which can be accessed on a specialized app on the iPad. iBooks is already included in the device once you purchase it, while the Marvel Comics app can be purchased on the App Store or through Amazon. Currently, Amazon still holds the record of offering more and better titles more than any other e-book seller. The user has the option to preview the books or comics before buying and as a lucky iPad owner, you can also order Marvel Comics in print to add to your collection.
Should I Buy An iPad?
You know you want an iPad. That’s probably the coolest thing you can have for the next few months. You’ve dreamed of going around with it since it was announced early this year. You have probably even considered waiting in line for the release of the first batch of iPad in stores. But you didn’t. So what’s keeping you from getting one? The question is: should I buy an iPad?
Your Choices
There are six iPad variations available. The Wi-Fi models with 16 gigs, 32 gigs and 64 gigs capacity and the Wi-Fi +3G models of the same capacities. Price varies from $499 to $829. Somewhere in that price range is the perfect iPad for you.
But how do you decide which is the perfect choice?
Consider how much capacity you actually need. If you love resource-hungry apps, you should probably get yourself the one that boasts the largest capacity. If you typically download small apps, you should probably stick with the one with basic specs. Single purpose utilities and solutions shouldn’t be your problem. These typically are not voracious memory eaters. What you need to worry about are video and audio files. If you love loading your devices with lots of music and videos, consider a model that has a bigger storage room.
At the end of the day though, you still have to consider how much you are willing to dole out for a multifunctioning device. You will spend at least $699 on a 64 GB Wi-Fi iPad and at least $829 for a 64 GB Wi-Fi + 3G model. Another consideration is the fact that it takes A LOT of apps to use up all your iPad’s memory so unless there really is a need to buy the one with the largest capacity, and for that matter, the highest tag price, you should probably consider the models hovering between the basic and high end variants.
Is 3G that important?
For 3G support, you should be ready to spend $130 dollars extra on your iPad. This is on top of the price of the model you choose. This comes in very handy when you are frequently out of range of hotspots.
The good thing with iPad’s 3G support is that it does not bind you to any long-term contracts. You can choose from AT&T’s offer of $14.99 for a maximum of 250MB data transfer per month which you can repurchase whenever you choose or $29.00 for unlimited data transfer. Not a bad deal. Not at all. On top of this, you also get to access AT&T’s hotspots whenever you want.
But still, is 3G that necessary? Depending on how much weight you put on wide-area network coverage. Among the top considerations for getting 3G service for your device is the preparation for the possibility of needing to connect online when you’re nowhere near a range of access point. This is especially crucial if you live your life online, 24/7.
So should I buy an iPad?
Still uncertain about which model you should choose? Follow the rule of thumb in buying devices – buy the highest model that your wallet can afford – you won’t outgrow it as quickly as you would, going for the cheapest model!
The New iPad, What Does It Look Like?
Design-wise, there really isn’t much to comment on the new iPad. There’s just the 9.7 inch, 1024 x 768 multi-touch LED backlit display that takes much of the bulk of the iPad’s surface. But quite frankly, that is what most people love about Apple’s products. Minimalist, sleek, yet very functional. But we’ll go to that later. Let’s first take a look at the iPad, from its exterior.
Unboxing the iPad
It is a beauty to behold, undoubtedly. Although un-boxing the device is the least marvelous thing about the beast, few people can say that much thought was not given to how the device is packaged. Since it’s an Apple product, you can’t doubt the fact that countless hours were spent over how the device would look when packed. And people are not disappointed for Apple’s thoughtfulness.
The packaging is superb. It matches the general appeal of the device. For starters, the box of the iPad has a touch of MacBook Air in it. If you loved MacBook Air or other MacBook products, you will surely fall for the box of the new iPad. It’s so nice, you can hang it on a frame and display it in your living room.
Moving on, inside the box is the new iPad itself, a thin information packet, which you would probably not use at all because even 2-year-old kids can understand the simplicity of the device, a wall power charger, and the famous USB 30-pin dock connector. If you have opened any Apple devices before, you are at home with these things.
How iPad’s Size and Weight Measure Up
The closest comparison you can get is Amazon’s Kindle DX. Not identical, but nearly there. iPad measures 9.56 inches in height, 7.47 inches in width and .05 inch in thickness. It weighs 1.5 pounds for the WiFi model, 1.6 for the WiFi plus 3G model. In comparison, Kindle DX stands at 10.4 inches, is 7.2 inches wide, .38 inch thick, and weighs at 1.2 pounds.
For a device that does more than the Kindle DX does – if it alone is the point of comparison, the thickness of the iPad is forgivable, acceptable in fact. If the size and function of the iPad were to be used as parameters for judging whether or not iPad is better than Kindle DX, it is not a stretch to say that it is a killer. With its thoughtful eBook reading applications and the diverse selection of eBooks available for use with the new iPad, many say Kindle will soon be replaced with iPad.
Despite its revolutionary thickness, many people still seem to complain about the .5 inch thickness of iPad. Sure, it may feel awkward and may prove more difficult to handle in one hand for a few hours than Kindle DX, but considering how and what the device does, this is nothing more than nitpicking.
The Verdict
Well, it’s obvious. There is no other device in the market that has what iPad has. That does what the new iPad does. The glossy glass face alone is a winner. And we haven’t even talked about the functions of the device.
iPad – An iPod Touch Phone On Steroids?
The iPad. Well, it definitely is on a league of its own. There simply is no other device like it. It is revolutionary and is perceived to herald a new technology for personal computing. Just like its smaller twins – the iPhone and iPod Touch phone.
It took nearly ten years for an idea like this to come to fruition. Even the name has been debated on for years. Prior to Steve Jobs’ launching of the iPad, big fans of its smaller predecessors have come up with the names The Slate, Apple Tablet, and a couple of other guesses, only to be presented with a name that sounds like a Chinese parody of the iPod. And more disappointments soon came the way of iPad.
Among the most notable is that the thing is only a larger version of the iPod touch, as many argue. Many disappointed ex-iPad enthusiasts even went so far as create images of Steve Jobs presenting the Ipad, only in the picture the device looks like 4 iPod Touch phones taped together.
Maybe it’s the hype created for the device – it seems so hyped that no other device in recent memory can compare to the publicity it has received – or maybe it’s because people have expected so much. For one, they expected to have a device that performs way better than the one they already have – the iPod Touch. But then again, when a device carries an updated software of its predecessor with a few alterations here and there, it would be hard not to compare the two. But really, is there anything to compare aside from what has been already said? Also, is the iPad really just a larger version of the iPod Touch?
Hardly.
The user interface, itself, while for the most parts resemble those already available in iPod Touch has some additions that you can love, know and gripe about, just as you did with iPod Touch phone. For one, there is a small handful of new tools like Pop-overs or modals, tap-and-hold, split screens, toolbar drop-downs, cover flow, contextual menus and that famous virtual keyboard. All these user interface additions allow you to do more and go further with your iPad. That simply can’t be done with its smaller, older twin.
To top these off, the iPad, although not necessarily made as a real personal computer, is packed with applications like Keynote and Numbers that can let you do work on the go. There’s a lot more to like to this beast. It allows you access to engaging Apple-made applications and third-party applications, for example, many of which are applications that iPod Touch enthusiasts have come to love.
Still, iPad has some shortcomings that many people are justified to complain about. Huge shortcomings. For starters, iPad does not allow multitasking, although it allows multitasking for Apple’s applications. If you’re used to doing 5 things at the same time on your computer, you’re out of luck with this device, buddy. You can’t Twitter and open your email simultaneously. You can’t also hold a conversation over an IM app and run Facebook apps simultaneously. For some users who are used to doing things this way, iPad is a big disappoint. However, for the majority of users, this isn’t much a big deal. This is probably why Apple did not take long to ignore the problem.
See, while many people are disappointed with the close comparison of iPad and iPhone, it is still clear that the former is a revolutionary device that is not comparable to anything available in the market. And what’s even clearer is that the iPad is not a bigger version of the iPod Touch phone.
iPad App: Keep Your Data Secret With Stash Pro
Everyone’s got secrets. Whether you’re a journalist with an important scoop, an office worker with important company documents, or an international spy, there are just some things you don’t want others to see. So what’s the best way to file all your work without anybody else being able to snoop? Do you want to be able to have others check out which sites you visited on the web? And wouldn’t it be great to hide whatever you’re doing the minute you feel somebody looking over your shoulder?
That’s where Stash Pro comes in. This app allows you to store images, videos aid other documents secretly. It comes with a built-in document viewer that works with videos, PDFs, Office documents and more, and has a slideshow viewer to look through multiple photos.
There’s even a secure browser for surfing the web without Safari . And for the truly secure, there’s both a public and a private library, so everything will look perfectly normal to anyone who doesn’t have the secret code.
VITAL INFO
Device: iPad/iPhone/ iPod Touch
Difficulty: Intermediate
Time Required: 10 minutes
What you need
StashPro app ($3.99 From the App Store)
Some media files you want to keep secure iOS 4.0 or later
Step-by-step Guide
Import with iTunes
You can import files into Stash Pro using iTunes’s file sharing Function or directly from your photo library.
Watch Your Media Files
You can view any of your files individually or in a slideshow, race them and add keywords, using Stash Pro’s built-in viewer.
Setup Albums
You can file everything into albums in Stash Pro manually, or use criteria to set up smart albums for automatic filing.
Browse The Web
Stash Pro has a built-in web browser with its own history and bookmarks. You can import any file you see into Stash Pro.
Boss Mode
Enable boss mode in settings so that a shake of your iPhone hides everything with a full screen map. Shake again to return.
Two Libraries
Setup two PINs to have a public and a private library – one to fool others and one that only you can access.
All in all, a solid piece of software that helps you organise your stash and does it in such a way that your documents will be as secure as they can ever be!