Technology

iPad 2 review - first impressions.

Speed
This gadget is clearly much faster than the original iPad. I noticed improvements on software like GarageBand.

Dual Cameras
I only managed to test them after dark and they struggle in low light. I will still lug around my SLR until the iCamera is released.

FaceTime
FaceTime works perfectly - I had a face-to-face chat with my brother in Australia, no lag and clear sound. I am yet to try FaceTime to iPhone or mac.

Weight & form factor
It is much lighter than it's predecessor but has fewer curves. At present I am not sure if the corners are uncomfortable or if I have muscle memory from iPad 1. I definitely do not think iPad2 is as comfortable to hold as 1.

New Apps
- Photobooth is a great app but I have never understood it's purpose. It definitely shows of the processing power of the GPU through effortlessly processing 9 images in realtime.
- FaceTime (reviewed above) awesome.

Ratings:
Power - 5 stars
Cost - 4 stars (£40 cheaper than it's predecessor)
Ease of use - 5 stars
Appearance - 3
Overall - 5 stars as a device, 4 stars as an upgrade from iPad 1.

iPad App Review

I've been using the iPad for over a week now and I am seriously impressed. I have decided to get rid of my current laptop and replace it with a Mac Pro or Server as I don't see myself using a laptop in the future. Anyway below are my favourite Apps:

1. The Financial Times - Mobile Edition

Although Rupert Murdoch's paywall has been getting a lot of negative press, the FT is sponsored (by Hublot) so its free for now. I am most impressed with the way they have mixed old media and New media and it is an intuitive interface. 

2. Thomson Reuters - Marketboard

This is an app that was developed specifically for the iPad and its simplicity is beautiful. It opens with an overview page showing the various international markets, latest news and 'Street Events. and then there is a briefcase function which allows you to add stocks, commodities or currencies and track them numerically or graphically. My only gripe with the application is the speed when on 3G however it is very snappy on wireless. Its stability needs to be improved as it has crashed on me a couple of times ironically when adding BARC to my briefcase! An honorable mention has to go to Bloomberg for its iPad app which has the advantage of linking in with Bloomberg feeds but is not as visually stunning as Thomson's Marketboard.

3. Kindle.

This is the best universal iPad book reader there is. You can buy books from the Amazon online store and read them on this app on the iPad, iPhone and your Computer. It automatically synchs bookmarks and remembers your page and position regardless of which device you were last reading on. 

Two book reading apps that deserve an honorable mention are Stanza (also by Amazon) and iBooks by Apple. A third popular book / document reading app is called Good Reader but I have not had the opportunity to fully evaluate it yet.

4. Sky Grid

This is a classic "Time Waster" app that you can use when watching TV, waiting in a queue or just have a few minutes to kill. All it does is it aggregates trending news in categories like movies, gadgets, politics and displays feed updates in real time. 

5. Pulse

Pulse is an up and coming news reader that links in with your Google Reader app and other feeds to present syndicated news (rss) in a manner that exploits the iPad interface and speed. 

6. Wikipanion

The perfect iPad Wikipedia application.

Honorable mentions:

 

  • Marvel Comics - Comic Book Reader
  • Adobe Ideas - Sketching and noting
  • Twitteriffic (I tried Tweet Deck but uninstalled it) - Twitter

 Wish List:

 

  • Facebook for iPad - I am currently using the facebook website on the iPad but would love an app similar to the one thats on the iPhone
  • Twitter - the twitter app for iPhone is overwhelmingly the best app I have used however it does not scale well on the iPad

 

How I browse the net

Step 1 - A clean hosts file

I periocically download a hosts file from http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

 

Step 2 - Manage my DNS

I sometimes use the free Google DNS - 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

 

Step 3 - Select a browser

For everyday browsing of text such as news sites - Opera

For secure browsing of untrusted sites -Mozilla's Firefox with No Script Add-on

For my internet banking - Apple's Safari

For web design formatting and speed - Google's Chrome

 

Note: I do not use Internet Explorer