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Opinion
When the iPad first launched back in 2010 it is safe to say that I wanted, nay needed, Apple’s revolutionary new device, pronto. At the time however, as a student, such a purchase would have been wildly excessive and rather rash for what was, in essence, an unnecessary luxury. However, as I’m sure you’re aware, the iPad has since changed into a completely different device altogether, and not just physically. The changes made to iOS and the growth of the App Store have facilitated the iPad’s metamorphosis to a legitimate creative force, and, potentially, your next work device. (more…)
When I first bought my original iPad, I never thought once about getting a stylus. It didn’t really seem necessary, and why should it? Our fingers are the intended tool to use here, right? But when I bought my new iPad a few months ago, things changed. Suddenly, I felt like a stylus wasn’t just an accessory, but necessary.
Why? What changed with the new iPad versus my original? Is there really a reason why anyone needs a stylus? Maybe, maybe not. Let’s find out after the jump. (more…)
You must have played free games such as Temple Run on your iPad. One might refer to the age-old adage, “All good things come with a prize” and wonder how an awesome game like Temple Run can be free.
What if I was to tell you that these free games are likely to earn as much as paid apps, which in this case is five times more than Temple Run’s initial paid version? Enthralling, ain’t it? With the same amount of stunned disbelief, there I sat on a lazy Sunday afternoon, to find out what makes them so appealing. Join me after the jump to find out. (more…)
When it was decided that I’d become the new editor of iPad.AppStorm, I realized that I had a problem. See, I was an original iPad owner — I waited in line with the rest of the huddled masses for an iPad 3G back in 2010. But since that point, I had upgraded everyone else in the family but myself. My mother had a third-gen iPad, my dad an iPad 2, and even my toddler son partially inherited my mother’s original iPad (she calls it his, but she obviously keeps it well protected). Seemed like the whole family was ahead of me on the curve.
So I went out and made the plunge. Today, I’m the owner of a shiny and new 64 GB iPad with LTE in black. Almost immediately, my head exploded. Turns out I had been smart to wait. If you’ve been waiting to buy an iPad, you should heed my advice: go and buy one now. Let me explain why. (more…)
Ever since the iPad was launched in April two years ago, there’s been a lot of development within the music industry in response to the introduction of this immediately popular product. Along with the iPhone, new and innovative ways have been created to identify, discover and create music.
I’m going to show you some of the ways having an iPad has changed the way we find and create music. To find out exactly how far it’s changed the way we do music, it’s important to highlight the static things; the unchanged aspects of our musical lives, as it allows us to highlight the extent to which the iPad has changed things.
Let’s dive in.
Throughout history, as long as there have been market leaders there have been competitors, that’s just how it goes – Coca Cola has Pepsi, Ferrari has Lamborghini, and Apple has Microsoft and Google. With regard to the tablet market the recently announced Microsoft Surface tablets (Surface and Surface Pro) could be the first truely serious contenders from Microsoft who are looking for a slice of the extremely lucrative market practically created by Apple’s ever-dominant iPad.
So what does the new Microsoft Surface announcement mean for the iPad?
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“Sequences shortened.”
It’s a short phrase that, on the surface at least, seems pretty innoucous. Obviously you have to cut down your ad slot to fit the allotted time; nobody minds not seeing how long it takes to actually connect a phone call or wants to see Mail downloading new messages – we know it’ll take a few seconds, nobody’s calling foul on that.
The problem arises when the phrase “Sequences shortened” starts to feel like trickery, an understatement intended to make something that’s a work in progress look like a finished product; akin to advertising a beautifully produced and engineered song, and then selling people a pretty sketchy demo.
Here lies Apple’s dilemma, they desperately want to portray Siri as effortless, seamless, and emminently helpful, but it’s just not.
Sketchbook Pro. Brushes. Penultimate. Noteshelf. These are only a handful of some of the most popular apps available on the iPad today. Some may have even considered them your only worthy options for illustrating and note taking on a tablet. Chances are, if you own an iPad, you’ve heard of at least one of these names. If not, that’s fine, because today it isn’t about them.
While the aforementioned creativity apps are, in fact, excellent options for anyone looking to use the iPad as a digital note/sketchbook, a couple of apps have since crashed the party and are causing a lot of ruckus – they are Procreate and Paper by FiftyThree. What is it about these two that we love so much? Read on to find out…
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My housemate just bought a MacBook Air.
I felt two conflicting emotions on his return from the Apple Store. As he unveiled the sleek, aluminium body of his newest purchase I felt proud that he had taken my advice, but frustrated that I couldn’t take my advice.
Before I suggested the MacBook Air, he was almost completely set on buying a MacBook Pro. It took a little persuasion to convince him of the supremacy of SSDs and the effortlessly thin and light design of the Air. In reality though, he knew the Air was perfect for him, there was only one thing holding him back; the lack of an optical disk drive.
Oh, how we have adapted!
Humankind is almost unique in nature: we are one of the rare species that is adept at using tools to fashion a liveable environment around us rather than being a species that has no choice but to adapt through evolution (For example, certain moth species evolved into butterflies in order to avoid nocturnal predators such as the bat). Man, as a species, fashions an environment to suit his needs. From sea-level to the highest peaks, from the desert areas to the extreme cold of the poles, humankind has adapted his environment in order to survive.
Changing our world to suit our needs implies progress, of course: for thousands of years, humans lived in caves either scavenging or eating raw meat. Fire would have been used for warmth alone, until our ancestors discovered the delights of cooked food (no doubt by accident). Our brains developed into what they are now through the eating of cooked meat, according to most experts. This, in turn, would have led to the carving of tools, which allowed our forefathers to adapt to the extremes of nature. And then there is language, of course, adding to the mix: spoken, articulated communication allowed us to spread our ideas, helping us to become masters not only of our own destiny, but masters of all we survey.
And so it continues…
