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Posts tagged with "iPad"

Steve Ballmer On “Various Tablets”→

Steve Ballmer On “Various Tablets”

From Ars Technica’s interview with Steve Ballmer:

I won’t give you an answer, because it will all depend on what you want, and we’re going to have various things coming at various times coming over the next months and years, and some things, I think you will see things that you will fall [in love with]—I know I’m seeing things that I’ll fall in love with, and I know there will be more things that I desire.

Here’s the difference between Apple and Microsoft. Apple knows what you want, or at least leads you to think you want what they’re offering. It’s a rather simple strategy. Microsoft, or the current Microsoft in the Ballmer-era, is going to have “various things” coming at “various times”. The HP Slate demand provides a good example.

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Wired iPad App Stable at 32,000 Copies Sold Per Issue

I’m no big fan of the official Wired app for iPad, mainly because I can’t stand all these similar magazine applications based on the same engine that doesn’t let you select and copy text and basically doesn’t let you get information out of the app. Sharing options are limited, scrolling feels weird sometimes – or at least not native – and, overall, they all feel the same. I recognize that the Wired iPad app, though, is one of the most successful magazine apps in the App Store.

As The Next Web reports, the app is now selling 32,000 copies per issues on average:

Wired’s iPad sales figures have remained almost secret since launch, only coming to light at certain times of the year. Last month we reported that the Wired app sold 31,000 and 28,000 copies in July and August respectively, a significant dip since launch. Wired isn’t worried though, sales have progressively increased as iPad penetration grows, meaning that the Wired iPad app has levelled off to a figure of about 32,000 per issue, around 39% of print sales.

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gDocuments: Open and Create Google Docs On Your iPhone and iPad

The Imagam developers are the guys behind iFiles, one of my favorite apps for iPhone and iPad I use on a daily basis to create and move files between my iOS devices, the internet and my computer. In case you haven’t tried it yet, you can find out more about iFiles here. gDocuments is a new universal app by Imagam that allows you to check on your Google Docs, but unlike many other Google Docs client currently available in the App Store this one comes with write capabilities, a neat interface and the feature set you’d expect from the folks who created iFiles. Read more

RIM Posts BlackBerry Playbook and iPad Comparison Video

RIM believes in its upcoming Playbook tablet as a feasible alternative to Apple’s iPad. With the new video comparison they posted on their official Youtube channel, it looks like RIM is betting a lot on the web surfing capabilities of the device.

The video shows that the Playbook is faster at loading web pages than the iPad, although the selection of websites is limited and a test is focused on loading a website that feature “rich Flash content”. The iPad can’t load that, and the Playbook seems pretty fast at rendering it, but the video doesn’t show how scrolling speed is affected by Flash. The Playbook’s browser looks fast anyway, scoring a 100/100 on Acid3 test and loading a Javascript / HTML5 Canvas based webpage faster than the iPad. It looks fluid.

Check out the video below. Read more

StreamToMe Streams Music and Video From Your Computer To iOS

With all the talk about iTunes’ “exciting announcement” and the possibilities of a cloud-based iTunes streaming and storage solution, I decided to take a step back to cover one of my favorite apps for iPhone and iPad, an app that allows you to stream audio and video from any computer to any iOS device.

The app is called StreamToMe, and unlike the popular Air Video it can stream music just fine, whether it’s organized in your iTunes library or stored somewhere else on your computer. I keep mine in Dropbox and it works just fine. Not to mention video, which works flawlessly with StreamToMe. So let’s see what you have to do to get things up and running. Read more

Apple Brings Ping To The iPad

Earlier today, ahead of iOS 4.2 launch, Apple updated the backend of the iTunes app for iPad to include support for Ping. Once you’ve authorized Ping in iTunes 10 on the Mac, you can access your stream through a Ping tab at the bottom of iTunes app. Just like the desktop version, Ping for iPad integrates with Twitter and automatically tweets every time you like or post something on Ping.

You can like and post songs available in the iTunes Store (sadly, there’s no way to integrate Ping with the native iPod app), check on your profile and see your activity. There’s also a concert-specific section that shows local concerts, bands on tour and links to purchase tickets on ticketmaster.

Ping integration in iTunes for iPad suggests iOS 4.2 is really around the corner now, as we reported when Apple released the second GM build of iOS 4.2 for iPad last night.

Check out more screenshots below. [Thanks, Tim] Read more

OmniFocus for iPad Updated for iOS 4.2 Multitasking

OmniFocus, my GTD app of choice on OS X and iOS, is now compatible with multitasking on the iPad. Although iOS 4.2 isn’t officially out and it looks like it won’t be at least until sometime next week, users running the latest iOS 4.2 GM can enjoy fast app switching, background sync and local notifications in OmniFocus for iPad.

The latest 1.2 update, released a few minutes ago in iTunes, adds a bunch of new features and lots of improvements, too. The changelog is really huge, so I suggest you go check it out below. Notable new features include the possibility to receive local notifications without the need of a sync server, seven new languages, a revamped editing panel and more geolocation functionalities.

Seriously, great update. The one users already on iOS 4.2 have been waiting for. Go get it. Then read why we love OmniFocus. Read more

MacStories Weekly Game: Robokill

This week’s featured game is the latest effort by Wandake, Robokill. See, Robokill on the surface may look a lot like other games available in the App Store such as Minigore or Age of Zombies. You control this robot, with a bird’s eye view, and you have to face enemies coming from all sides of the screen. Unlike Minigore, though, Robokill provides a greater attention to details in level design and enemy attack patterns.

For instance, Robokill’s droids are smart, while Minigore’s monsters just care about running against you. Enemies in Robokill shoot, cover, attack, back up. That’s not bad a simple action game for iPad. Plus, once you clear levels in the game your character will evolve and become able to equip new weapons and shields. With more than 450 levels and 13 missions, that’s quite an inventory to build. You can also collect cash and hidden loot to purchase upgrades through a virtual store – which is always welcome. I like this RPG-like side of Robokill, something the aforementioned similar games surely don’t provide. Not like in Robokill. Read more

New Gorillaz Album Recorded On An iPad

Damon Albarn, Blur’s singer and frontman of Gorillaz, announced the follow-up to Plastic Beach (3rd studio album of Gorillaz) has been recorded entirely on an iPad. He’s aiming at a holiday season release. In an interview with UK music magazine NME, he said:

I’ve made it on an iPad – I hope I’ll be making the first record on an iPad. I fell in love with my iPad as soon as I got it, so I’ve made a completely different kind of record.

I wonder how many music apps were necessary to get the album recording done on the tablet. Perhaps they needed to deploy their own app? We look forward to whatever Mr. Albarn has in store.