Syncode Announces “Synotes Slate” for iPad

Syncode, the developers behind the Synotes iPhone app we reviewed a while ago here, have just announced that they have submitted “Synotes Slate” for Apple approval. If everything goes fine the application should be available for the App Store Grand Opening on April 3rd.

Synotes for iPad will offer pretty much the same features of the iPhone counterpart, obviously benefitting from the bigger screen and new interface elements of the iPad.

From the blog post:

“We felt, as many other developers have expressed, that a universal application was not for us. The new platform brings many new opportunities, and to fully utilize them with a changed user interface we have decided against a universal binary. It is important to note that the application has been written from scratch for the new platform. This means a better user experience for everyone involved.

The biggest difference between designing for the iPad compared to the iPhone is the capacious screen we had to work with. Before even thinking about how Synotes Slate would be designed, we carefully studied and analysed Apple’s standard iPad applications and their design in both function and form. Like many iPad apps, Synotes Slate uses universal iPad UI elements such as a UISplitView and Pop-Over menus to both increase productivity and provide a continuous experience between multiple applications.”

Extensive use of modal windows, popovers and split view, as you can see from the screenshots posted by the developers.I can’t wait to put my hands on this, waiting for an iPad version of Simplenote to be announced.

Spot Color: Use Mac OS X Color Picker As a Standalone App

One of the greatest thing about Cocoa technology is the system wide color picker: I can’t even remember how many times that thing came in handy while working, and that’s even people who can’t stand it. Come on, the color picker is great. And if you don’t know yet, it’s extensible: you can install plugins into your Library/ColorPickers folder and enjoy the revamped tool with additional functionalities. There are some you should definitely check it out, like the Hex Color Picker, the Developer Picker from Panic, or the one that lets you choose palettes from the Adobe Kuler community.

The only thing I can’t really stand about the picker is that you can’t use it as standalone app, as it’s closely bound to applications that have a color picking feature built in. Well, actually there’s a way to invoke the Color Picker at any time, but it requires Applescript and I’m sure many of you guys don’t wanna mess with it. Today I’m going to talk about something way simpler instead, is called Spot Color and it’s a simple app that enables you to use the Color Picker at your pleasure.

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Omnigraffle for iPad Will Be Available On Day One…at $49.99

Tyler Tschida of AppAdvice:

“OmniGraffle, one of the company’s flagship applications, has already been submitted and approved by Apple, and will be available for iPad App Store’s grand opening on April 3rd.

OmniGraffle, an app normally available for Mac OS X for $99.95, will be hitting the App Store for $49.99. That price may sound a bit high, but OmniGraffle for the iPad should offer nearly the same experience that the Mac OS X version offers, just with touch controls and a reworked interface. The feature set seems quite extensive as it offers the same automatic layouts and “Smart guides” as the desktop app, and allows PDF export along with the ability to open your creations on OmniGraffle for Mac.”

Look, I can pass along on Omnifocus for iPhone priced at $19.99 (but it’s difficult to accept) but, seriously, 50 bucks? They’d better build a hell of an app, otherwise they’ll just be another dev team who aims at making a truckload of money from the iPad, using the bigger screen as an excuse. We’ll see.

iPad Version of Wall Street Journal Will Cost $17.99 A Month

Gizmodo quotes an article from the official WSJ blog:

“WSJ has reported on itself by saying that “according to a person familiar with the matter,” their monthly iPad subscription will cost $17.99 a month.”

Furthermore, on advertising:

“The WSJ article also addresses advertising on the iPad—apparently Time magazine will debut its iPad version with adverts from Unilever, Toyota, Fidelity Investments and three other companies, with each ad said to be setting them back $200,000 for the full first eight issues. Meanwhile, Wired magazine will offer a little extra something for advertisers who buy eight pages of ads for each issue—with video and “extra features” promised.”

While $18 for a monthly subscription sounds a little bit high to me, at least it’s a start.

Spreads for iPad: A new Way to Be Informed

We all know that the iPad is gonna change the way we consume media, though we still don’t know how exactly. Sure the first step will be iBooks, with newspapers and magazines to follow with iPad specific apps and subscription services. But back to where we are now, what about RSS feeds? Yeah, those things you’re likely to use with Google Reader which should have been died 2 years ago but they’re still here. I honestly don’t see RSS completely die anytime soon, I’m more orientated towards an evolution and change and maybe - I don’t know much about it at this time -  Spreads for iPad will contribute to this change.

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