Magazine Apps for the iPad: “Bloated and Unfriendly”

 

The former design director for the New York Times has written a blog post giving his thoughts on magazine apps for the iPad (something he clearly gets asked about a lot). The bottom line? He hates them. With a passion. Why? Because, Khoi Vinh says, they are “bloated [and] user-unfriendly” and because they are largely a result of a “tired pattern of mass-media brands trying vainly to establish beachheads on new platforms, without really understanding the platforms at all.”

The new app from New Yorker magazine comes in for particular derision from the designer, who says it took too long to download, cost him money even though he already subscribes to the print edition, and was a walled garden without any connection to the web — a point I made in a recent post about the new Esquire magazine app. As Vinh describes it: “I couldn’t email, blog, tweet or quote from the app, to say nothing of linking away to other sources — for magazine apps like these, the world outside is just a rumor to be denied.”

It’s unfortunate that Vinh doesn’t say much about news apps like the one his former employer has for the iPad. The designer says that news-based apps “are really a beast of a different sort, and with their own unique challenges. There is a real use case for news apps (regardless of whether or not any players are executing well in this space).” Magazines, however, are in danger of losing the battle for readers in a digital age by making their apps so closed and monolithic, Vinh argues.

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Free iPad Engraving Now Available Through Apple

One of the benefits of buying an iPod direct from Apple online is that you get to engrave a free message on the back. It helps you easily identify your device, and it works well for gifts. The iPad lacked an engraving option at launch, but it’s here now, just in time for the holidays.

Apple updated the buying options for all models of the iPad to include free laser engraving earlier today. The option automatically comes up as you go through the process of ordering your iPad, and uses the same live preview feature that’s been standard for iPod engraving.

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Books and Video Win on the iPad, and Users Are Buying

Although the iPad is still relatively new, early indications are that a majority of users are willing to pay for content on the tablet — whether it’s apps or games — and that books and video are the two most popular forms of media they choose to consume on the iPad, with magazines a close third. Those are the highlights of a Nielsen study on connected devices released today. The survey also found something that will likely pique the interest of advertisers looking to the iPad as a new opportunity: Users said they spent longer with the content they were reading, watching or listening to on the iPad vs. the iPhone (the survey didn’t compare content consumption on either device to offline behavior or content consumed on other devices).

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iPad won't be coming in a 7-inch model

Ever since Apple released their 9.7-inch iPad, rumors have been flying about a possible 7-inch model to accompany its bigger brother and compete against the wave of 7-inch Android tablets.  However, today Apple CEO Steve Jobs shot down any possibility of an iPad Nano ever hitting the market.  Speaking during the company's earnings call, Jobs said that the 7-inch size "is useless unless you include sandpaper so users can sand their fingers down to a quarter of their size."  His reasoning behind that statement?  The software just isn't a good fit for the smaller screen, and people don't want a small tablet when they've already got a smartphone that can fit in their pocket.

It's interesting that Apple doesn't plan to release a 7-inch device to help compete against the impending wave of Android tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab.  At the same time, though, it's not totally surprising.  Apple has always released the iPhone and iPod Touch with the exact same screen size, so why would that change with the iPad?

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Apple Reports Q4 Earnings, and Guess What, It is Doing Really, Really Well

Apple announced its earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year today, and in news that won't surprise those who either monitor the stock market or who own an iPod, iPhone, iPad, and Macbook (um, that would be me) revealed that the company's financial standing is strong - record-breaking strong, that is.

Apple posted a record-setting revenue of $20.34 billion and quarterly profit of $4.31 billion in the fourth quarter. In comparison, Apple posted revenue of $12.21 for the third quarter of 2010.

 

As we recently reported, the iPad is now the consumer electronic device with the fastest adoption rate ever, but iPad sales were only one part of the sales figures Apple touted today. Most notably the iPhone sales this quarter were up 91% year-over-year. Here's the breakdown for the sales of the major Apple devices this quarter: 3.89 million Macs, 14.1 million iPhones, 9.05 million iPods, and 4.19 million iPads.

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Awesome: Verizon iPad with Mi-Fi Coming October 28th

What do you get when you combine the fastest launching consumer electronic device of all time with a choice in data providers and a low-cost cloud of sharable wifi everywhere you go? A whole lot of awesome, that's what.

Verizon and Apple announced this morning that the iPad will be sold by Verizon starting Oct. 28 and the offer will include an optional Mi-Fi device - a pocket sized re-broadcaster of a cloud of Wi-Fi sharable by up to four other devices. On the lowest end the Mi-Fi will cost an extra $130 at time of purchase and come with a subscription of 1GB of data for $20 per month. Imagine the iPad parties you're going to have!

 

Getting Apple wireless devices out of the shadow of terrible AT&T coverage is something people have long waited for. Hopefully a Verizon iPad foreshadows a Verizon iPhone, but even if that somehow weren't the case this iPad news alone is a big deal.

Verizon said last week that the first half of 2011 will bring a massive 4G network and a half-dozen smartphones and tablets to its offerings. The company has also begun to take strides to overcome its un-cool image, launching scores of innovative location and network APIs for developers to build new kinds of apps on top of.

Speculation about the long-term, big picture aside, today's news means one thing: If you've got five friends with iPads, only one of them is going to need Verizon Mi-Fi and you'll all be rocking your WiFi iPads together all over town. Perhaps more likely, you'll be able to roll into a place with laptops and no Wi-Fi and say, "Never fear - I have a magic tablet, with Mi-Fi!"

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Is the iPad Apple’s Key to the Enterprise?

RIM recently announced the PlayBook, a 7-inch BlackBerry tablet clearly aimed at business professionals, but is it a case of too little, too late? Has Apple secured its entry into the enterprise market with the introduction of the iPad?

Computer World’s Jonny Evans seems to think so. In an article posted today, Evans cites his experiences at a massive international financial event in Geneva as evidence that Apple is cracking the enterprise market in a big way. iPads and iPhones were omnipresent at this event, according to Evans, despite it being exactly the type of place you’d expect a BlackBerry crowd.

Anecdotal evidence isn’t the only kind supporting the claim that Apple’s enterprise influence is growing. The iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPad led the market in enterprise activations during the period between May and September of 2010 according to research firm Good Technology. Behind them was the Motorola Droid-X, an Android-based handset.

iOS devices accounted for 56 percent of net new activations’ total. For the iPad to appear third on that list overall, when it isn’t even a smartphone, is a hugely impressive feat for Apple. It’s clear the tablet is having an impact on Apple’s business, and I maintain that its success is also resulting in a halo effect for Apple’s iPhones, too.

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iPad Claims New Honor: Fastest Selling Electronic Device Ever

Analysts at Bernstein Research (via CNBC) have bestowed an interesting honor upon Apple’s groundbreaking tablet device: fastest selling electronic device. Adoption rates for the iPad are unparalleled when it comes to non-phone devices. Consider that the DVD player, the next fastest seller, sold only 350,000 units in its first year, while the iPad sold more than 3 million in its first 80 days.

Bernstein’s guess is predicated on a sales rate of around 4.5 million units sold per quarter, which isn’t at all unreasonable given that consumer interest hasn’t shown any signs of significantly flagging since then. Even the original iPhone only sold 1 million units in its first quarter. If the iPad continues to sell at its current rate, it’ll become the fourth biggest consumer electronics category, in terms of sales, by next year.

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How-To: Enable WebDAV on Your Mac for iWork on iPad

With the latest release of iWork on iPad, sharing files across your local Wi-Fi network is now possible. Using WebDAV, files can be shared between iWork on your Mac and iWork on your iPad. All you need to do is enable WebDAV on your Mac. But how do you do that?

What is WebDAV?

WebDAV stand for “Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning protocol”, and it works over HTTP. WebDAV was designed for read/write access on web servers, which is great, because every Mac ships with a web server built-in. When you enable “Web Sharing” in your System Preferences, you’re actually running an Apache web server. The problem is that while the necessary modules that support WebDAV have been installed, WebDAV isn’t configured by default on OS X, and you need more than just administrator privileges to enable it.

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GoToMeeting for iPad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8pzgUDoK7o&feature=player_embedded

4 Ways to Attend Meetings On Your iPad

When Apple's iPad launched in April, it was marketed primarily as a consumer device for reading, playing games and viewing media. But as the tablet computer's popularity has grown, so too has its usefulness in other arenas, including business.

One of the many business needs met by the 900-app strong "Business" category in the App Store is the ability to attend online meetings. The device is particularly well-suited to attending meetings on the go, with its large screen for viewing the presentation and microphone and speakers for VoIP-based discussions.

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The iPad and the Rise of the Keyboard Case

The slow trickle that will become a flood has begun, as Keyboard cases for Apple’s iPad begin to appear here and there alongside more traditional offerings. The idea is simple: build a Bluetooth keyboard right into a case designed to protect and carry the iPad, and you’ve got yourself a total netbook replacement in a single, svelte package. It’s a watershed moment for the iPad, and for tablets in general.

The First Crop

The ClamCase was one of the first out of the gate with the concept, but they haven’t been able to make the leap to actually producing units yet. ClamCase’s creators have pegged Fall 2010 as the timeframe for actually shipping the hard-shell keyboard case, but no concrete details have emerged.

Two other more recent competitors look poised to beat them out the gate in terms of putting devices into the hands of actual consumers. The first is the Sena Keyboard Folio, a high-end leather option retailing for $149.99 ($129.99 if you pre-order), and the second is the very similar Kensington KeyFolio, which trades real leather for faux, and retails for much less at $99.99. Neither has actually come to market, but both are available for pre-order.

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Target to Sell iPads Starting October

Target will soon become the neighborhood electronics store with the addition of all six models of the Apple iPad in stores. The models will start at $499 (the same pricing as Apple’s online and brick and mortar stores) and will join the Kindle at the nation’s second-largest discount chain. The move to sell iPads is good for both Apple and Target, as the exposure to the devices will be significant given the chain’s foot traffic.

The retail giant will handle the entire iPad line, consisting of 16, 32 and 64GB versions of both the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi/ 3G models. Executives have pointed out that the tablets from Apple are elegible for Target’s 5 percent discount for store credit-card holders, making them cheaper than buying elsewhere. The appearance of the iPad and the Kindle in Target is good exposure to technology products for the average Joe who might never see them otherwise. The vast majority of the population has never seen these gadgets in person, and they’re often best appreciated when tried in the hand; gadgets can intimidate some folks by their very nature, so having them in a familiar setting may be just the ticket to get registers to ring.

 

http://jkontherun.com/2010/09/24/target-to-sell-ipads-starting-october/

An iPad App that Stays in Sync with Your TV

The days when TV viewers did nothing else while watching their favorite shows are long over. Instead, many viewers now multitask while watching TV and browse the Internet on their laptops, iPads and smartphones. Now, a new iPad app from ABC (iTunes link) wants to bridge this gap and turns the iPad into an interactive companion to the TV network's new "My Generation" series (a fake documentary) that will make its debut next week. The app uses the iPad's microphone to listen for audio cues from the TV and then displays relevant interactive content as every episode progresses.

While this is currently just an experiment focused on one show, it's not hard to image that TV networks could turn to similar apps for all of their programming.

The free My Generation Sync app will give users the ability to interact with the show by taking quizzes, for example. Viewers will also be able to access behind the scenes footage and bios of the show's characters. In addition, the app will also allow them to connect with other fans in real-time.

An App that Listens to Your TV

The app was developed on top of Nielsen's Media-Sync technology and uses the iPad's microphone to sync up with the show by listening for audio cues embedded in the show. Thanks to this, the app will also work when you are watching a time-delayed version of the show on your DVR, for example. The app will also display a limit set of information when it isn't synced with the show. For the full experience, though, users will need to use the app in parallel with the show.

Overall, this looks like a very interesting experiment. Even though it is currently limited to just one show, it will be interesting to see if other networks will launch similar apps. These apps will allow TV networks to draw viewers deeper into the show, while also getting them to focus more on ads (the networks have to make money after all). At the same time, this will also give the networks new analytics and a better idea of who their viewers are.

Will You Use these Apps?

Can you see yourself using apps like this? Do you want your iPad to stay in sync with the show you watch, or will you continue browsing the Web while watching the show instead of waiting for interactive content to show up on your iPad?

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VLC Submits iPad App to App Store

Video support on Apple's mobile devices is far from universal and that's an issue that Applidium hopes to solve with its submission of VLC, the open-source video player, to the App Store.

According to the company's release, "if everything goes well, VLC for the iPad should be available next week".

The free video player supports "nearly every video format" and when we asked Romain Goyet, co-founder of Applidium, if it supported Flash (the most obvious and controversial of missing video formats), he told us "This unfortunately I cannot answer right now (you guess why :-) )."

While he expects the player to be available in the App Store for download by September 14, it will initially only be available for the iPad, with a version for the iPhone and iPod Touch in the works. Goyet had a few other details to offer about the potential release:

As compared to the "desktop" version, the user interface will be quite a lot different, to fit the iPad. Behind the scene, the engine is the one from the "ususal" version of VLC, so it should play pretty much anything you throw at it. One small difference though : even though the iPad is a really neat device, it's nowhere as powerful as your desktop machine / laptop. So it might have a hard time decoding HD movies, but that's a hardware limitation.

According to a recent tweet, a pre-release version will be given out to a small number of users this weekend, before it hits the app store.

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Did Steve Jobs Accidentally Confirm Cameras for Next Gen iPads?

There was a flurry of activity today at the YBCA Theater in San Francisco as Apple unveiled a whole slew of new products and services to the public. With all of that information to remember, it's no surprise that Steve Jobs may have let something slip out that he perhaps wasn't intending to say. While discussing the latest version of the iOS software, Jobs said something that may hint that cameras will be coming to the iPad. So what was it that he said?

One of the tent poles of Jobs' keynote today focused on the iOS software and upgrades being made on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Next week, owners of these devices will be treated to some new features, including the ability to upload HD video over WiFi, TV show rentals, multiplayer Game Center and various bug fixes for hardware issues. But the most interesting new feature is the inclusion of high dynamic range (HDR) functionality into the iPhone's (and the new iPod Touch's) camera.

HDR photography is a practice by which three photos at varying exposures are blended together into one image. By picking the best parts of each photo, the picture becomes much richer as detail in shadows and light are more visible.  Here's an example from a photo I took and ran through an HDR app on my iPhone. It's a cool feature, but what does that have to do with the iPad getting a camera?

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iPad Magazines: The Pros & Cons

When the iPad was launched earlier this year, one of the big talking points was that the iPad might be the savior of magazines. By now many magazines are available on the iPad, either in their own standalone app or in a virtual magazine store. In this post we look at how magazines are using the iPad, what the user experience is like, and what iPad magazines still need to do to improve.

We'll analyze a standalone iPad magazine app (Wired) and a service that offers access to many different magazines (Zinio).

Note that we're focusing purely on the user experience of iPad magazines, rather than business matters like profitability or number of downloads.

Wired

Wired magazine has been the most high profile magazine to utilize the iPad's interactivity. Each new edition costs US$4.99 and is a fairly bulky download - the most recent 'Web is dead' edition was 482MB. But it is packed with interactive goodies.

The iPad version of Wired features videos, touchscreen infographics, slideshows, music and more. For example, a story about a small American town called Picher that has been "devastated" by lead and zinc mining, is accompanied by a video featuring Picher locals talking about the impact of mining on their town. It augments the story nicely and brings the reader closer to the issue.

There are some oddities to the Wired app, however. For example, you can't do the usual pinching motion to enlarge text that is present in most other iPad apps. So if the font type is too small for you to read, you're out of luck. The blog iA has a thorough critique of this and other issues. Also see our own Sarah Perez's thoughts on the sometimes confusing features of various iPad magazines.

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Turn Your Head & Swipe: Doctors Love the iPad (Infographic)

The iPad meets many of the needs doctors say that have for a lightweight mobile computer and many are very interested in the device. An infographic below, from Mobile Health News, articulates various things doctors are taking into consideration.

ComputerWorld's Matt Hamblen wrote about medical, legal and other professional use of the iPad today as well. Hamblen writes that doctors like the device's unobtrusive size and unintimidating profile in patient care, but wish that it had Bluetooth support. Easy access to electronic health records is the device's most compelling quality, something Mike Kirkwood wrote about in depth here on ReadWriteWeb before the iPad launched. (The Healthcare System: An Apple Tablet's Biggest Opportunity)

The infographic below was created in support of the latest research report from Mobile Health News, titled The iPad vs. The Tablet PCs in Healthcare. A similar recent report that may be of more general interest is PSFK's Future of Health report for UNICEF.

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Why iPad 2 Is Coming and What to Expect

 

There’s been quite a bit of buzz around the next iPad. The one we’re using now is only six months old, but some are already looking forward to the possibility of a new form factor and a new screen size. I expect Apple to release another iPad this year. Here’s why:

Competition is non-existent for iPad right now. All the other guys have tablets shipping “end of the year,” and many more of the more formidable iPad competitors will be out in 2011. Apple’s going to do what it can to get the second revision out this year only for that one liner that Steve loves, “We’re releasing the next iPad today before our competitors have even caught up with the first generation.” He’s used that line a few times, but the iPad itself will probably look very similar to the one you’re holding in your hand right now. I predict it will have the same aluminum back, the same bezel and similar weight and the battery life will be mostly unchanged. What will be new?

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Verizon to Put Live TV on the iPad

Verizon unveiled a series of new video applications today, including an upcoming iPad app that will allow FiOS subscribers to watch the same linear programming that is available on their TV screens on their tablet devices. The new app is expected to be rolled out early next year and Verizon expects to have all of its content partners on board by the time the app launches.

There will be certain limitations at the launch of the app. At first, subscribers with an iPad will only be able to watch linear programming within their own home, which allows Verizon to authenticate and make certain that the users have access to whatever content they’ve paid for. Verizon CIO Shaygan Kheradpir said in a press briefing that the iPad app takes advantage of Verizon’s architecture, which he characterized as “cloud TV.” The experience is similar to what’s available today on FiOS set-top boxes, and takes advantage of the same software that Verizon uses for its set-tops. As such, Verizon says it should already have rights to stream the content, as it’s just another screen in the home.

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