Is The iPad Getting A Redesigned Keyboard on iOS 4.2?

Here’s a cool thing we found out in iOS 4.2 for iPad: if you disable the simple passcode in the Settings app and choose to create an alphanumeric passcode, the iPad has a redesigned keyboard in the lockscreen.

It’s…black. It looks beautiful, for sure: letters really pop in against the dark background, and they go subtle-blue when you press them. It’s also very elegant. Now, would it make sense for Apple to keep two different keyboards in iOS? One for the lockscreen, one for anything else? Maybe: after all, the numeric keypad was black and has always been exclusive to the lockscreen.

Still, we want to speculate here. I’d personally like this black keyboard in iOS, but I understand that it would be “too much” for some users. It’s particular, but looks great. I don’t know, I like it but I have my doubts. What do you think? Read more

Two Videos of iOS 4.2 Running On The iPad

Courtesy of AppAdvice and Engadget, two videos to get a quick overview of what using iOS 4 on the iPad feels like. I have it, and it’s great: apps already updated for the new APIs on the iPhone are working fine on the iPad, some of them (e.g. non-universal apps) are having some issues.

Anyway, iOS 4.2 really manages to make the iPad feel like a new device. And it’s just the first beta. Read more

Brett Kelly Thinks The Kindle Is A Better Book Reader Than The iPad→

Brett Kelly Thinks The Kindle Is A Better Book Reader Than The iPad

I know that a great many folks think that the iPad is a “Kindle killer” (ugh, always with the killing), but I can say pretty confidently that the Kindle is going to fill a void that the iPad couldn’t effectively fill: a light, small device whose single, express purpose is reading, not everything

Too bad the iPad isn’t just a book reader. That’s what Amazon still don’t get: the iPad is a great tablet which does pretty good ebook reading.

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Apple Profiles iPad in Business→

Apple Profiles iPad in Business

Hyatt Hotels is enhancing its business globally with iPad. iPad is a powerful, portable device for corporate users in Hyatt’s main offices, and the ideal platform to deliver innovative, seamless guest services at Hyatt hotels worldwide.

Interesting collection. The iPad seems to be doing pretty great in enterprise. Wasn’t it supposed to be a consumption-only device?

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Did Twitter for iPad Really Kill 3rd Party Clients?

Twitter for iPad came out two weeks ago and everyone’s still talking about it. Well, at least everyone in the Twitter / iOS-related sphere. Why? Because it breaks standards and, at the same time, creates new ones which are going to deeply affect the way we think of native applications for iPad. In a way, I think Loren Brichter managed to reinvent the whole Twitter wheel on Apple’s magical tablet, but I’ve already written a blog post about this. I’m not here to re-celebrate the innovations of Twitter for iPad. Instead, I’d like to focus on the impact that this app had (and is having) on 3rd party clients, from a casual user and geek perspective. Read more