Posts tagged with "iPad"

Apollo News for iPad - It Could Have Been So Much Better

I’m just going to state this up front: visual news readers are the next (and current) big thing on the iPad. Pulse was featured in the The New York Times, then made its way to the iPhone, too. My Newspapers. The Early Edition. Blogshelf, featured in many other blogs.

But the thing that surprises me most, is that people actually keep on buying these apps. They’re willing to try something new. They’re spending their bucks every single week for the new kid on the block of visuals news readers just to, perhaps, change their habits again the next week. I have the feeling this kind of applications are what Twitter clients were for the iPhone in the early days: a goldmine. Just like people discovered that tweeting from a phone (from the iPhone, especially) could be a highly enjoyable experience (sometimes even better than on the desktop), now they’re looking for a better, new way to consume news. It’s the natural circle of things: a developer comes around and reinvents a genre.

It is a few ones’ job to fine-tune it, just look at how Loren Brichter waited to develop his Twitter client, eventually acquired by Twitter itself.

Developers are coming out with these visual news readers. Should we give them a new name? Let’s say visual feeds, because that’s what they are now. Plus some adjustments to browsing and navigation, that is.

Can Apollo News claim the throne of the best new app in this new category?

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Griffin Releases Loop - Best Stand for iPad Yet?

I still have to buy a stand for my iPad. I have a leather case, but I didn’t buy the additional keyboard - so I didn’t buy the stand either. But, a few days ago I was thinking about trying a keyboard + Simplenote setup, and a stand would be absolutely necessary for that.

I think I’ll give a try to Griffin’s latest release, Loop.

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Apple Planning to Charge for iOS 4 on iPad? Spoiler: No.

Earlier today Stuff reported that, according to their source, Apple is planning to charge for iOS 4 upgrade on iPad. This is the original report:

“The top secret plans were whispered to Stuff by an anonymous source. There are no details of how much Apple will charge for the upgrade, but we’d expect in the region of £5.

Asked how sure they were about the forthcoming iOS 4 charge, our source replied, “Definite.” And we don’t think they’re wrong.”

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TextExpander touch for iPad, Review and Giveaway

Mac users are always inherently curious about a few pieces of Mac software that always tend to make waves in functionality that they have absolutely no use for. If we look at products like Transmit 4, Launchbar 5, and especially something like TextExpander 3, the average consumer will have questions about its design and they’ll read really great things about the software. But, they’ll have absolutely no use for such software unless they’re power users or have a specific need.

TextExpander is probably the app that garners tons of attention. It’s really powerful, especially to customers who need to constantly implement snippets of text. But TextExpander touch becomes even more curious, as it’s implemented with similar functionality, sans the ability to directly apply snippets into any text based app. In effect, TextExpander touch for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad seems rather counterproductive in design. But I’ve found that while there’s an extra tap here and there, it’s incredibly useful for email, especially on the iPad. If you’ve been on the fence about TouchExpander touch, I suggest read on to find out how it may be useful in your workflow.

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Uzu for iPad, As “Played” By Non-iPad Users [Video]

Uzu is a kinetic particle visualizer powered by multi-touch technology. Sounds interesting? Actually, it doesn’t sound as good as it’s great when you’re using it. It’s one of those apps you have to try, and that’s why I decided to not write a review, but to shoot a video with my iPhone 4 - showing two friends of mine “playing” Uzu.

They never touched an iPad before, and were immediately attracted by the app. Check out the video after the break (Vimeo link), or go download the app here.

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Does The Time’s Paid Model Work?

This isn’t really Apple news per se asides from a few iPad users, but we thought it was interesting none-the-less. The Times is experimenting with their infamous paywall, a model where you’ll need to pay a subscription fee for online content. I personally don’t care for blocking access to written material, but we have some (unofficial) numbers on how successful The Times actually was. It boils down to this: 150,000 registered during the trial period during the first month of implementation. That’s not too shabby, but only 15,000 paid (of which there are 12,500 are iPad consumers). Unsurprisingly, site visits have declined by 67 percent during the time the paywall has been implemented. The Times hasn’t officially responded, though we imagine if they’re still racking in a good dime off of their few loyal customers, they certainly won’t be changing how they distribute content any time soon.

Personally I’m in favor of optional membership you’ll see on Daring Fireball, or even pay-to-comment models that the Sun Chronicle implements.

[via PaidContent.org]