Today in iOS Podcast - The Unofficial iOS, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch News and iPhone Apps Podcast

If you have listened to the Today in iOS podcast long enough you know that I have a love / hate relationship with stats. As in I love them when they prove my point and hate then when they don't.

Well Google just gave some stats I kind of think I love. Way back in August Google said Android phones were being activated at a clip of 200,000 per day. And that was the last time they talked about those numbers - that is until Monday December 6th when Google said they are now up to 214,000 activations per day.

During that time Apple went from 230,000 activations of iOS devices per day on September 1st to 270,000 average activations per day in Mid October. Which is a nice growth vs Android phones which actually have seen lower per day activation numbers since August. But Rob Going from 200,000 to 214,000 is an increase you say. Ah but least we forget that the Samsung Galaxy tab which is in that 214,000 per day number and they represent approx. 17,000 activations per day. So for Android phones since August there is actually about a 3,000 per day decrease. See why I can love stats.

And if you take these number further. On an average day there are 56,000 more iOS devices activated then there are Android devices. But since everyone likes to talk about quarterly numbers - this quarter based on those number Apple will increase its lead of iOS over Android OS by over 5 Million units. That is a lot more potential iOS customers for App developers vs Android.

Category:breaking news -- posted at: 2:45am EDT

Comments[2]

Mon, 6 December 2010

Tii - iTem 0155 - Saving a Life, There is an App for that.

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

Nexaira 3G/4G Router Supports iPhone Tethering Without Jailbreak | Cult of Mac

iBye Can Now Backup AppStore and Cydia App Data

The 10 Printers that Work with Apple iOS 4.2 AirPrint | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

Teaching your Apple TV to use a 3rd party remote - TUAW

Apple ‘to launch iOS 4.3 in December’ - Telegraph

Apple Beefs Up Legal Team - Bloomberg

[How To] Unlock iPhone 3G / 3GS On iOS 4.2.1 With UltraSn0w 1.2 |

Replacement metal back for iPhone4

Richard Branson's Project iPad Magazine Goes Live

Win! for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store

Verizon sucks at Photoshop: confuses the Droid X for an iPhone -- Engadget

iPad Launches in 11 More Countries in Asia and Europe - Mac Rumors

Nokia Siemens says iOS 4.2 reduces iPhone network congestion | Electronista

Libox for iPad Makes Accessing Your Music and Videos a Snap

The New Android Spokesman In Japan Is... Darth Vader?

Steve Jobs: AirPlay Coming To Safari And Third Party Apps In 2011 :: App Advice

iPhone Users Reporting Problems With Microsoft Exchange 2003 After Upgrading To iOS 4.2.1 – iPhone Hacks

Warning: ultrasn0w May Break GPS on Baseband 6.15.00 | JailbreakNews

iPhone App Saves Teen: iPhone app and quick-action from coaches credited to saving teen's life - ktla.com

UK Carriers Launch Subsidized iPad - Mac Rumors

iOS 4.2 emits less USB power on iPad | 9 to 5 Mac

RadioShack offering $50 off iPhone 4 - Los Angeles Times

Bloomingdales gives away iPads with $1500 purchases

Back Up Blobs From Your Device With iSHSHit - iDygest

Apps Mentioned in this Episode:

Tii App

GPS Notifier

US States Quiz - iPhone

US States Quiz - iPad

Tosh Point 0

iSHSHit - Cydia

Direct download: tii_0155.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 1:29am EDT

Comments[0]

Sun, 28 November 2010

Tii - iTem 0154 - iOS 4.2.1 Finally

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

iOs 4_2 walk through

iOS 4.2 improves iPhone 3G performance

Stay tuned: Big announcement from Apple Tuesday - USATODAY.com

http://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/Apple+iPad/news.asp?c=25149

Daring Fireball: Regarding Ashok Kumar's Track Record on Apple

Our Android tablet experiment has failed miserably | ZDNet

White iPhone 4 - WhiteiPhone4Now.com

Post Tech - Google Voice available on iPhone after being blocked, FCC questions

Google Voice for iPhone on the iTunes App Store

RIM Attacks Apple -- Video Showing PlayBook Browser Is Faster Than iPad's

Hulu Plus Lowered To $7.99, iPhone, iPad App Now iOS 4.2 Ready | The APPera

Apple’s iAd Coming to Europe in December

Steve Wozniak: Android's "More Features" Will Beat iPhone Eventually

Woz - Google Translate

Apple Destroyed Products | Fubiz™

Damn You Auto Correct! - Funny iPhone Fails and Autocorrect Horror Stories

iPhone beats RIM, others in satisfaction survey | Apple - CNET News

Non-iPhone buyer's remorse - Fortune Tech

SportSchedule - Add Sports Game Schedules to Your Calendar

iPad now on sale at Sam's Club

YouTube - iPhone 4 Beveled metal back cover

Serviced iPhone 4 Handsets Get Torx Screws : App Advice

Tony Parker’s iPhone 4 leads Eva Longoria to cheating | Zacquisha

AFP: Apple's iPad to go on sale in S.Korea on Nov. 30

Turn Your iPhone 4 or iPad Into a Mobile TV Set - Softpedia

Jailbreak 4.2.1 iOS iPhone 4, 3GS, 3G with Redsn0w | Redmond Pie

MacDailyNews - Apple releases iOS 4.2; 'Find My iPhone now free

Apple’s iOS 4.2 Available Today for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch

Find My iPhone for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store

iPad tops Netflix, Sony 3D for Oprah's 'Favorite Things' | Electronista

How to Enable Find My iPhone for Free on Pre-2010 Devices

iPhone 4.2 how-to: Setting custom SMS alert tones

Apple - iPad - How to set up Find My iPad

judge issues temporary restraining order against FilmOn - LA Times

AirPrint Hacktivator « Netputing

Developers discover hack to enable shared printers for AirPrint

Mac News: 'The Daily' - No, You Can Not Wrap a Dead Fish in It

Apps Mentioned in this Episode:

Tii App

CropforFree

Juxtaposer

AppyNewz

US States Quiz

GPS Notifier

Google Voice

SportSchedule

Direct download: tii_0154.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:55pm EDT

Comments[0]

Sat, 27 November 2010

Ask Tii

If you have a question about your iOS device or an iOS App or anything else related to the iOS universe - put it in the comments below and we will answer with a new post.

Category:vip_ask_tii -- posted at: 1:00am EDT

Comments[1]

Tue, 23 November 2010

iOS 4.2.1 - It is now available

It looks like third time is a charm - As in third golden master. Or I guess first - really as both iOS 4.2 GM's were bypassed for iOS 4.2.1 - so for the public there is no iOS 4.2. Just a jump to iOS 4.2.1. We have mentioned some of the new features in the past - but a quick summary of the new features are:

1. AirPrint - Which allows direct Printing to an ePrint Printer, or to any printer connected to your Mac - while you Mac is turned on. Update - Per printing to any Printer connected to a mac that was true in the beta version of Mac OS 10.6.5 - but was removed for the GM version.

2. AirPlay - Which allows streaming of audio or video from your iOS device to your Apple TV.

3. Improved Bluetooth control - allowing for AVRCP control. You know skip tracks, volume control, and more from your bluetooth headset.

4. Find my iOS device - for free. You can easily set up your iOS device for the find my device feature and if your device gets lost - you can locate it on a map, send a message to it, lock it down or even remote wipe it - all for free - no more need for a paid mobileme account.

NOTE: If your iPhone is Unlocked and/or your iOS device is Jailbroken - you should not update to iOS 4.2.1 at this time. Please wait for more info on this to come shortly (hopefully).

If you are on an iPad - you get all the features from iOS 4.0 and 4.1 as well. So for iPad owners it is a major plus plus update. For iPad owners you also get - folders, multitasking, GameCenter, Unified Mailbox, iAds, and a bunch of smaller features.

If you have an iPhone 3G - iOS 4.2.1 brings one key new feature - Usability - as in you can use your iPhone 3G again. If you updated your iPhone 3G to iOS 4.0 or iOS 4.1 - you may have noticed a little bug where in your iPhone 3G slowed to 1/4 impulse power. Well now it looks like your iPhone 3G is back up to full impulse power. Granted not at warp speed like the iPhone 4 - but back to what you were used to in iOS 3.x

In Apples announcement for iOS 4.2.1 they said the following:

"The Find My iPhone (or iPad or iPod touch) feature is now free to use without a MobileMe℠ subscription and helps you locate your missing device.* The Find My iPhone app is a free download on the App Store℠ and lets users easily locate a missing device on a map and have it display a message or play a sound. Users can even remotely lock or wipe data from a lost device to protect privacy."

I set this up for my iPhone 4 and it was quick to set up and easy to use and I did not have to pay for mobile me for this. So I do find it interesting that Apple made one of the most compelling reasons for getting mobileme - a free option. I wonder if this means in the near future all of mobileme features will be free to iOS owners. I hope so.

According to Apple you can use Find My iPhone for free with your iPhone 4, iPad, or 4th generation iPod touch that has iOS 4.2 installed. Or you can use Find My iPhone with a paid MobileMe subscription. Again not sure on that paid subscription thing now. But lets say you have in addition to an iOS device from 2010 (iPhone 4, iPad or iPod touch 4th gen) that have a pre 2010 iOS device. Like the iPhone 3GS or iPhone 3G and you want to set up find my iPhone on them - are you SOL - NO no you are not. You just need to set up your 2010 iOS device first.

Life hacker has an article that goes over this. I have not had a chance to try this out on my 3GS yet - as I have not updated it to iOS 4.2.1 - as it is jailbroken and I was going to wait. But if anyone else does this with success - as the authors of the lifehacker article claim to - please let me know. But it does look like it is easy to do assuming you also happen to have a 2010 iOS device.

One other feature I did not mention that is added to iOS 4.2.1 is the ability to set specific SMS alert tones for your contacts. You are still limited to using the stock SMS tones - but that list of stock SMS tones has grown - but sadly most are still long tones - which is not the best for Text messages. Who wants a 10 sec tone when you are getting a test message every 5 secs. Just sayin. So this is not custom SMS tones - it is specific SMS tones from a predetermined list of tones that you can assign to your contacts - which is still much better than how it was before - if you are someone that is looking to set up specific tones to different people.

Feedback from many different listeners has been very positive for this update. The one issue that has been reported more than once was after the initial update - the Apps and podcasts did not get sync'd over and it required another sync to get that content brought over. So as long as you are NOT jailbreaking and / or unlocking - it does look safe to update. But you should still backup before you do the update - as always.

Category:breaking news -- posted at: 2:43am EDT

Comments[1]

Sat, 20 November 2010

TJ Maxx and the iPad

You may have heard/read about the 16 GB iPad showing up at TJ Maxx and it just costing $399 - a $100 discount.

“The rumors are TRUE! Select (unadvertised) locations/limited quant,” TJ Maxx tweeted.

Many speculated this was an Apple sanctioned event and even a way for them to sell off some excess Inventory to make way for the upcoming iPad 2. Others even said this was a major blow to Apples Image and showed they were having lower than expected sales of the iPad by doing this.

However, those who said these things appear to be wrong as it looks to be mostly a publicity stunt by TJ maxx who purchased units in bulk and then unloaded them in their stores as a way to get some buzz going. Why would TJ Maxx do this - well it probably cost them less to do this than it would have cost for all the advertising it would have taken to get this buzz. CNET estimates we are talking about 80 or so iPads spread across multiple stores mostly on the east coast and they are all sold out now. So this looks to have cost them about $10,000.

To TJ Maxx almost well done - You really should have waited until Tuesday to do it and then word would have spread on Wednesday and Thursday and that would have in turn had many people waiting on Black Friday to get into their local TJ Maxx to see if there were any iPads to be had at the low low price of $399. Ok $399 is still a lot of money - but it is much better than the $488 price at Sams Club. I would suggest you check your local Apple Store on Friday the 26th to see what they are offering for a price on the iPad - and also check the online Apple store. In the past Apple has offered some discounts on Black Friday. However it does not look like you will be getting a $399 price at TJ Maxx or Marshalls or anywhere else.

Category:vip_iPad -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

Comments[0]

Mon, 15 November 2010

Tii - iTem 0153 - There is an Android in my iPhone

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

Dragon’s Lair goes HD; Gets a special version for the iPad users

What Your Phone Says About You - TechCrunch

T-Mobile blames lack of iPhone for poor US sales

iPad 2 ads shot in New York last month - 9 to 5 Mac

Use a smart playlist in iTunes and your iPod to organize podcasts

Live Streaming of TV channles to iPhone

The Verizon iPad Commercial

Meet the CIO Who Bought 4,500 iPads - Computerworld

Stun Fone iPhone accessory: YouTube spoof or real product?

iPhone 4 Deemed Most Reliable - Mac Rumors

Install Android 2.2.1 Froyo On iPhone Using Bootlace in Cydia | Redmond Pie

Apple & The Dentsu Group Bring iAds to Japan

YouTube - TRANSFORM YOUR IPHONE INTO A STUN GUN!!!

Glassgate Hits Case Makers - Cult of Mac

Sprint unveils iPod Touch add-on - KansasCity.com

iPad developer gets a call from Steve Jobs - Seattle Times

Android users have secret iPhone urges – News - Know Your Mobile

OpeniBoot - iDroidWiki

YouTube - Android, WinPho7, iPhone4... What Grills Faster?

Apple adds another iPad GM seed - 9 to 5 Mac

You Can Use Ping On Your iPad Now

YouTube - OpeniBoot for iPad

Apps Mentioned in this Episode:

PhotoShop Mobile

PKGbackup - Cydia

Dragons Lair - HD

Direct download: tii_0153.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:24am EDT

Comments[0]

Fri, 12 November 2010

Youtube Video - What Grills Faster.

Windows Phone 7 - well one of them at least - can lay claim to winning a heads up contest with the iPhone 4 and an android phone. Actually lets get specific it was the HTC Surround Windows Phone 7 phone vs the iPhone 4 and Android G2 - and in this specific contest the Windows Phone won. All 3 phones were placed on an ezgrill and then they were barbequed. The G2 shut down first and then the iPhone 4 and finally the Widows Phone 7. I hear the folks in Redmond are already making a commercial about this. Hey a win is a win. So if you are a person that likes to leave your smart phone on a lit barbeque grill - then Windows Phone 7 is the smartphone for you. Get in Get out Get Grilled

Category:vip_iPhone -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

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Wed, 10 November 2010

Glassgate or Linkbait?

I went hard after Ryan Block for his "breaking" of the Glassgate story last month. And well then I forgot about the story just like everyone else. Part of the reason I went strong after him and the story was that he said it was an issue as big as antennagate - and well at that time no one and I mean no one was complaining about the issue - at least with antennagate there were people actually complaining. I put out a call for anyone to let me know if they had this issue - and the lack of replies was a big reason I forgot about this story. Now Cult of Mac is doing a little link baiting / reporting - still not sure which one. They are reporting all slide on cases are removed from the Apple store - which is what I thought Ryan reported back in October. Anyway the case manufacturers are claiming they are not getting reports of issues and Apple is not saying anything so right now I am not quite ready to issue an apology to Ryan. But if it turns out to be an issue I may issue a partial one. Maybe. But still the original claim that this was a big as Antennagate - nope I don't see that regardless of what the status of slide on cases is or is not at the Apple stores.

Category:vip_iPhone -- posted at: 12:00am EDT

Comments[0]

Tue, 9 November 2010

Stunfone - Looks to be the iPhone Hoax of the Month

There is a video out there for a product called Stunfone. And you can see the video at Stunfone.com Most people yours truly included think this is a hoax - a well done hoax - but a hoax none the less. They have a second video claiming it is not a hoax and on the 12th will have a live demo. but I think it is the way the first video was done that screams hoax. But still I have to give it to them for a good idea - Hoax wise that is. FYi if you did not figure it out stunfone is an attachment for your iphone that turns it into a stun gun, which they demo in their video by stun gunning three people. A buddy, a karate master they found on Craigslist, and the cheating boyfriend of a women scorned. Yeah - can't imagine why most people think this is a hoax. Jeff the guy in the MIT shirt says the following in comments to an article about this at the LA Times:

because I might like to be playful with my words, I'm invalidated from being genuine and/or sophisticated enough to have made this? Thankfully I pay it no mind because I believe it was Aristotle who said, "Haters gunna hate".

Below is the email you get if you sign up for info. Again this screams HOAX. If it is not - then it is brilliant marketing to get people talking about it. Either way they did a great job in getting people talking about it.

Stun Fone Fans,

Thank you for your interest in the Stun Fone!  Traffic to stunfone.com this week has been crazy, far beyond what we anticipated, and while we’re very excited I would like to apologize for the delay in fulfilling your order.  This e-mail will give you priority on the top of the wait list, we’re hoping more shipments will begin as early as next week.

What has been most surprising over the last week is all the bloggers, tweeters, and social media folks claiming that our product is some kind of gag or hoax.  I assure you that the Stun Fone is the real deal and—to satisfy the haters—will be doing a demonstration live via webcam on Friday, November 12^th @ 1:00 PM (PST) to prove it (zero editing).  Tune in at www.stunfone.com and check it out.

See the video invite at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN-C5dyExJU

Thanks!

Jeff

jeff@stunfone.com

www.stunfone.com

Category:vip_iPhone -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

Comments[0]

Tue, 2 November 2010

Joy of Jailbreaking

Originally Published April 2010

When I graduated college, some 20 plus years ago, I moved to Overland Park Kansas. The first weekend in town I remember going to the local mall. I was on the second floor and needed to go down to the first floor. As I approached the escalator I noticed that in between the up and down sides was a shiny unobstructed metal surface that lead all the way down to the lower level. While the mall owners did not intend to put a “slide” in between the escalator to me it was just too tempting – so I jumped on and down I went. At the bottom I was “greeted” by a security officer who then promptly walked me out of the mall and told me not to come back. Over the next year I probably was escorted out of the mall a dozen times. The owners of the mall, I was told, just wanted me to stand there and let the escalator move me to the lower level – How boring. Sadly today there are metal bumps in the middle to keep people from doing what I used to do.

When it comes to the iPhone and iPod touch you can have more fun than Apple wants you to, you just need to remove those “metal bumps” Apple put up to impede your fun. The process of removing those bumps is called “Jailbreaking”. When Apple announced the new features for iPhone OS 4 they did not list any support for the 6.12 Million original iPhones and only limited supported for the roughly 20 Million iPhone 3G phones. This means roughly half of all the iPhones in the market will not be able to take advantage of all the features in the new OS. On the iPod touch side the 1^st gen iPod touch is not listed as being supported and the 2^nd Gen iPod touch is getting only limited support. While Apple may be (probably is) hoping this helps get most users to upgrade to the latest and greatest iPhone / iPod touch, it will also likely cause many for the first time to consider jailbreaking.

This article is not going to show you how to jailbreak – rather it is going to show you why you might want to. (To learn how go to TodayiniPhone.com – http://www.todayiniphone.com - and on the left hand side at the bottom are links to tutorials on how to jailbreak.) NOTE: Do not try to jailbreak if you don't like when things go to (expletive). If you need your phone for your business and being without it for any period of time will cause you to loose your job - stop now. If you get mad at your significant other at how they fold towels or put the toilet paper on a roll - Jailbreaking is probably not for your personality. Sometimes things break and your phone will likely crash more often then if it was not jailbroken.

One of the key features of OS 4 that only iPhone 3GS and 3^rd Gen iPod touch owners will get to use is multitasking. However there is an app on the jailbreak side called – Backgrounder – that unlike Apples multitasking, allows you to place any app into the background and it keeps the whole app running. Combine this with the app – Multiflow – and you can then scroll left to right through all the apps that are active (in the background).

In OS 4 there are folders to put multiple apps into, with jailbreaking there is an app called – Categories – that lets you place apps into folders. And there is another app called – Overboard – that allows you to see all the apps on the 12 homescreens at once. Another app that is a favorite of mine is called - FiveiCon Dock – which as it sounds lets you place five app icons in your dock.

With OS 4 Apple finally announced Bluetooth keyboard support for the iPhone, with jailbreaking the app – BTstack – has been providing that feature for quite some time. Apple also said with OS 4 you could finally add / change the image behind the homescreen. This is something jailbreakers have been doing for some time with the app – Winterboard – this app allows for customization of the background image and adds in themes for other images in the iPhone interface. The app – Springlocker – allows you to lock down apps so you or someone using your phone cannot accidentally delete or even move an app, this is a feature missing from OS 4. The same with the app – Lockdown – that lets you password protect specific applications from others. With jailbreaking you can actually make your iPhone more secure then with Apples out of the box OS.

There are many other great apps that allow you to do things beyond what Apple ever intended or wanted you to be able to do. There is an app called – MyWi – that turns your iPhone into a mobile Wifi hotspot. Which is very nice for tethering your laptop or iPad to your iPhone. A great app for those that do presentations is called – ScreenSplitr – that allows you to share / mirror your iPhone screen on a TV or a computer. Another very popular app is – 3G Unrestrictor – that makes the iPhone think you are connected to the web via Wifi and not 3G, thus allowing apps that were restricted to use just on Wifi to actually work on 3G. And there are many many more great apps on the jailbreak side that add even more capabilities to your iPhone or iPod touch.

If you want you can step on to the metaphoric escalator and let Apple move you from point A to point B at their pace or you can jump in the middle of that escalator and feel the wind whip through your hair as you fly down that shiny metal surface. I know which path I am going – well except for the hair part.

Category:vip_Jailbreaking -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

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Mon, 1 November 2010

iPad Review

Originally Published April 2010.

Not since the time of Mosses has there been this much anticipation and talk about a tablet. Many would say / have said / continue to say the iPad is nothing more than a big iPod touch, and while that is true from a certain perspective those people really miss the big screen picture. When comparing the iPod Touch to the iPad, the iPod touch would only be able to fit the first two commandments and maybe part of the third on its screen. Where as, the iPad could comfortably fit all ten on the screen.

I don’t want to get into trying to tell you whom the iPad is and is not for. I think that would be a fool’s errand. For some people the iPad makes a nice media device to complement their current computer, for others it will become their main computer. I hope this review will help you decide if the iPad fits into your computing needs. For full and fair disclosure with regards to this review I want to point out I have nothing to disclose, I purchased my iPad with my own money, it was not a unit given to me by Apple.

What you get in the Box:

When you purchase your iPad, be it the 16, 32 or 64 GB version, in the box you get the following: 1. The iPad. 2. The power adapter with USB cable. That is it (well actually you get a couple of Apple stickers). I found it rather cheap strange on Apples part to ship a media device without headphones or even a cloth to clean the touch screen for that matter. Granted when you buy a laptop from Apple it does not come with headphones either, but for the iPad it is the first iPxxx product not to ship with headphones. Note: The iPhone 3GS headphones will work in the iPad including the volume control and the pause button – so getting a pair of headphones that are compatible with the iPhone 3GS is recommended.

Setting up the iPad:

Note: If you don’t plan to sync your iPad to a computer at your home, then you should go to an Apple store and let them know you plan on using the iPad as a stand-alone computer. This can be done, but it is best to have the folks at the Apple store help you set it up before you leave as you do need iTunes to get it set up. You could also use a friends / relatives computer if you ordered online.

For everyone else what you need to do when you get your iPad home is to connect it to your computer and use iTunes to activate it. If you have ever used iTunes with an iPhone, iPod or iPod touch than you are already trained on how to activate the iPad. The iPads integration with iTunes really is a key differentiator to other “competing” tablet devices that are or will be coming out. Getting the iPad set up was really very easy. It took just a few minutes, and then I started syncing the various media files, which again was very easy to do. (Note “easy” does not mean “fast” – as my 4,000 plus pictures and videos in iPhoto needed to be optimized for the iPad and that took a couple of hours.)

Adding in an email account to your iPad for a Gmail account was as simple as giving your Name, email address and password. That was it, nothing more was need for me to send and receive emails. No adding in pop account id’s and outgoing server configuration. It was both very easy and very fast to get set up for email at least with a simple Gmail account.

Benchmark Tests – 2G vs. 3GS vs. iPad:

The geek in me really wanted to know how fast the iPad is from processor speeds compared to the iPhone. I looked at the load times for three different apps and took the average load times for each app on an Original iPhone 2G, an iPhone 3GS and the iPad. The three apps were Blowfish, Crazy Hamster and Pocket Ants, all are games and each takes some time to load. Below are the results of those tests.

App:	BlowFish			Crazy Hamster			Pocket Ants
Device:	2G	3GS	iPad	2G	3GS	iPad	2G	3GS	iPad
Avg. Time: (secs)	17.7	7.0	5.1	14.9	9.7	8.3	24.9	13.9	12.3

As was already known the 3GS is considerably faster than the iPhone 2G (FYI - The iPhone 2G and 3G use the same processor). The iPad as can be seen above tested faster than the 3GS, although the gap in performance between the iPad and the 3GS is not as great as that between the 3GS and the 2G. However these tests only tell part of the story, as the feel of the iPad seems to be much smoother than the 3GS which already felt fast. It is actually difficult to describe how great the interface feels / works on the iPad without coming off as a total Apple fan boy.

How long does the battery really last?

When Apple announced the iPad in January they said it would have 10 hours of battery life playing video. Many bloggers said no way. Some even said it was impossible to get to 10 hours of video with that size screen in a unit that weighed only a pound and a half. This was the first real test I wanted to do with my iPad and what better way to test the battery life claim of 10 hours than to have a Torchwood marathon. These are TV shows downloaded from iTunes. On the iPad I turned off WiFi and Bluetooth and set the video brightness to the 50% mark and turned off Auto-brightness. I wanted it to be as close to how you would have it set when on an Airplane. The results were much better than expected. After 4 hours and 9 minutes the iPad showed 75% charge left. After 7 hours and 20 minutes the iPad was at a 50% charge. After 10 hours and 36 minutes the iPad was down to a 25% charge and the iPad finally ran out of juice after 13 hours and 24 minutes of continuous video playback. Please note if you are streaming video from Youtube over Wifi the battery life will be less – probably right in that 10 hour range Apple claimed. The test above was done with those in mind that travel on long flights and don’t have access to power outlets. For regular or even semi regular international or bi-costal travelers the iPad is in my opinion a must have device.

I was also going to do some temperature testing – but feeling the iPad after 10 hours of continuous use and I found it was barely above room temperature. A key “feature” of the iPad compared to my MacBook – no need for a fan - hence no fan noise. Plus no keyboard – so the next time I am in bed next to my wife I will be able to surf the web and tap out emails in complete silence. Trust me if you knew how cranky (And justifiable so) my wife can get at 1:30 AM after I wake her up with fan noise or keyboard noise from my Macbook, you would know right there the iPad is worth the purchase. Silence is as they say Golden.

Once the iPad was completely drained the next question was how long would it take to recharge the iPad to 100%. Using the power charger that comes with the iPad it was back to 25% charge in 52 minutes, 50% charge in 1 hour and 47 minutes, 75% charge in 2 hours and 44 minutes and 100% charge in 4 hours and 13 minutes. That means you can basically use it all day long and charge it while you sleep and then repeat. I should point out if you have it connected via USB to older Macs and most PC’s it will not charge while operating. You will see a message saying it is “Not Charging” in the upper right. This also happens when connected through most USB hubs. As they do not have enough power to charge the iPad while it is running. However once you put it to sleep it does start charging the iPad regardless of what it said when powered on – which is causing lots of confusion as people are reporting that the iPad can not be charged by PC’s, when really it is that the iPad when in use, cannot be charged by PC’s, older Macs and most USB hubs.

Some Apps are missing:

The iPad comes with some Apple created apps pre-installed. iBooks is not one of them – not yet at least – you will need to download that App (It is free) if you want access to the iBook store. There are also a few other apps missing that are on the iPhone and iPod touch. Voice Memo, Stocks, Weather and Calculator are the Apps that Apple did not include with the initial launch of the iPad. Considering how the other apps such as Photos, Youtube, Mail have been specially redesigned just for the iPad it is likely those missing apps will be introduced to the iPad in the near future.

There has a been a lot said about the iPhone OS and hence the iPad not supporting flash and that you can not get video on the iPad. While it is true that it does not support flash – the part about not being able to get video on the iPad is false. The iPad comes with a Youtube App that allows you to see most youtube videos. So if you want to see the latest viral video – no fears you can see Charlie biting his brothers finger or Marina telling you the meaning of your favorite word. For most users the lack of flash will be a non-issue, just as it is for most iPhone and iPod touch owners.

In addition to the Youtube app that comes pre-loaded there is the free App for Netflix – however it does require a roughly $10 a month Netflix account. Once you have that you can stream any of the Netflix instant play videos to your iPad. Setting up the app was as simple as putting in your Netflix username and password. After that you could start streaming videos from the instant queue / Watch now feature. I tested it out with an episode of Torchwood and it looked just as good as the episodes I purchased from iTunes. If you are a Netflix subscriber the iPad is in my opinion and from feedback from many of my listeners already a must have device.

One Paper Cut:

This is minor but still a paper cut when it comes to the interface. Apple has trained me these past 1000+ days on the iPhone that the return key is at the bottom right next to the space bar and the delete key is next to the M key right above the return key. Now with the iPad the Delete key is moved to the top right next to the P key and the return key is right below it and next to the L key. This is a paper cut as in I keep hitting the return key when I mean delete – which can get embarrassing when it sends out an IM when you had something you wanted to change. It is minor – but will require some extra grey matter to get used to – since I am still using my iPhone. This is a case where Apple should realize that it might be best to keep it consistent across the iPhone OS.

If you are on the fence on whether or not to get the 3G or Wifi only model I did a post at http://bit.ly/dtQJ5h that goes over the total cost of ownership of the iPad with 3G and AT&T and Wifi only and then going with Verizon, Sprint or Clear for a mobile hotspot.

Per my household I see the iPad serving as my Wife’s primary computer and for me as a complement to my Macbook especially late at night when I need something that is quiet but has a larger screen than my iPhone. At the beginning of this Article I talked about the Ten Commandments so in closing, it is only fitting to say if you purchase an iPad there is a good chance when you show it to your neighbors that they will break the 10^th commandment – “Thou shall not covet anything that is your neighbors”

Category:vip_iPad -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

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