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News, Reviews, & Opinion
Buying an iPad Now Would Be a Huge Mistake
Motley Fool's Rick Aristotle Munarriz says that if you're
contemplating the purchase of an iPad, now is not the time. With the
iPad 2 coming, it's going to be worth the wait. Munarriz says he's
loving his iPad but is already suffering buyer's remorse, asking
rhetorically why anyone would buy an iPad now that's going to feel
obsolete in a few weeks?
Link: Buying an iPad Now
Would Be a Huge Mistake
How Useful Is an iPad?
The New Zealand Herald's Mark Webster reports:
"Apple lent me an iPad for seven days, here are my impressions. Like
most, I was immediately impressed with the form factor and build
quality. This is no plasticky toy - it's solid, sleek and slick, yet
also very thin. And the screen looks lovely.
"After playing around with it for a couple of hours, I decided it
was not an essential device. I don't need one. But the paradox here is
that, although everyone in my family agreed with my assessment (that's
a 17-year-old college student and another adult), the iPad was in
constant use."
Link: How Useful Is an
iPad?
How to Use the iPad to Be Super Productive
TC Geeks' Shane says:
"Do you want to be productive? Super productive? Well, I have a way
you can do it using your iPad and it involves using some apps that help
you get things done where ever (sic) you are. I'm going to show
you how you can take advantage of a few great apps and ways of working
to be super productive using your iPad....
"Here are the things that can make you productive:
- A good calendar for meetings and reminders
- A place to store files and retrieve files
- A good To Do list that can be accessed from anywhere
- Access important documents from anywhere"
Link: How to Use
the iPad to Be Super Productive: A Guide
How to Do Everything on the iPhone
Steve Thomas, who evidently is not a native English speaker, says in
a widely republished article:
"Apple iphone is greater than a digital gadget and a
'life-style-device'. A lot could be stated about the way in which that
Apple came out to dominate the wise telephone market with apple iphone.
Research within the Cellular market has proved that with regards to
making decisions about which design of smart telephone customers will
purchase; several go for the iPhone 4G 3GS at features, they are not
prepared to compromise."
Link:
How to Do Everything on the Apple iPhone
Apps & Services
Rush Limbaugh Available on the App Store
PR: Rush Limbaugh, developed by 2010 Premiere Radio Networks,
Inc., is now available from the App Store and has made Apple's Top 300
iPad/iPod applications list. The app was last released on December 20,
2010 and sells for Free.
The application developer's description of the application is:
"Exclusively from the EIB Network! Get the Rush iPhone App and enjoy
these great features:
- Transcripts: Full records of Rush's segments.
- Videos: Rush's TV appearances & landmark speeches.
- Stations: A list of local radio stations where you can tune in to
America's Anchorman all across the fruited plain.
- Contact Rush: Phone or email El Rushbo.
Rush 24/7 Members-Only features:
- The Dittocam: Peek into Rush's studio and watch him broadcast from
behind the Golden EIB Microphone.
- Show
Audio: Listen to the full show or hour-by-hour.
- Morning Update Video: Watch Rush deliver his pithy, minute-long
updates in high quality, crystal clear video.
- Rush's Broadcast When YOU Want to Hear it: If you miss Rush live,
you can listen to the entire broadcast.
- Plus: The exclusive, super-secret e-mail address! Reach out to the
Truth Detector with a few taps of your fingers.
Note: Usage of the live stream and on-demand podcast on the EDGE or
3G networks may result in additional data charges. Check with your
provider for more details.
If you're not familiar with the Apple App Store, it's the premier
way to download applications for your iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad and iPod
devices. Apple curates the best applications for your mobile device and
lists them conveniently on iTunes. The App Store is the world's largest
collection of mobile applications, provides an easy way to keep your
apps up-to-date and makes installing applications simple. There are
more than 300,000 iPhone and iPod Touch applications available on the
App Store alone and thousands more for the iPad.
Link: Rush Limbaugh
(download
link)
The Bible Goes Digital
The Episcopal Examiner's Coralie Jensen reports that with both
Barnes & Noble and Amazon claiming the biggest Christmas for
readers and ebook sales ever, it's no wonder that the e-Bible would
make an appearance too, so it's no surprise that, according to USA
Today, Christian book publisher Zondervan wanted the newest translation
of the New International Version of the Holy Bible to go digital before
going print, making it the first time any Bible translation has gone
directly to digital.
Jensen observes that the move worked, and after its release on
December 21st, the e-Bible
flew up the charts to become the top seller in the Apple Store
under Religion/Spirituality, No. 13 in all categories over Christmas,
and No. 3 on Amazon.
Jensen also notes that e-Bibles' popularity is easy to explain,
because it's so much easier to look up information on a reader than to
thumb through pages and pages in print when searching for specific
information.
She reports that e-Bibles are now 25% of Zondervan's ebook
revenue.
Link: The
Bible Goes Digital
Link:
Zondervan Holy Bible NIV eBible (available
for Amazon Kindle for $9.99, also for Nook and as an Apple
ebook)
Accordance Bible Software for iPhone and iPad
PR: Oak Tree Software announces that the much-anticipated
Accordance Bible software app for iOS is now available for download
through the iTunes app store. This free Bible study app now brings
Accordance power and an enormous library to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod
Touch.
With Accordance for iOS, you can read your favorite English Bible,
access in depth commentaries and study aids, see photos of Biblical
places, or perform sophisticated searches in Greek and Hebrew - all in
the palm of your hand!
The initial download includes the English Standard
Version, courtesy of Crossway Bibles. Strong's numbers link the English
words of the ESV to the underlying Greek and Hebrew, enabling you to do
in depth word studies. Also included are:
- the WEB translation
- Outlines of each book of the Bible
- Margin notes and cross-references
- Easton's Bible dictionary
- The Bible Lands PhotoGuide Sampler
- Greek and Hebrew dictionaries, and samples of the Greek New
Testament and Hebrew Bible.
Those who create an Accordance online account will be able to
download a free Starter collection including:
- The King James Version with Strong's numbers (KJVS)
- The King James Version Apocrypha (KJVA)
- The 1901 American Standard Version (ASV)
- French La Sainte Bible, Nouvelle Edition de Genève 1979
(NEG79)
- Italian La Sacra Bibbia, Nuova Riveduta 1994 (NR94)
- German Schlacter translation 1951 (SCHLA)
- Spanish Reina Valera 1909 (RVR09)
- Greek and Hebrew Strong's Dictionaries
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
- Nave's Topical Bible
- Maps Sampler
- Timeline Sampler
- Daily Bible Readings
- Classic Passages
- Parables & Miracles
Accordance also offers an extensive library of
materials for purchase, including everything from Christian classics to
Jewish publications to high-end reference works to the Dead Sea Scrolls
in Hebrew. Any downloadable Accordance module can also be used with the
Macintosh version of Accordance.
Capable of running your Accordance modules, as well as giving you
many of Accordance's impressive search and study functions, this
brilliant application will revolutionize your Bible study
on-the-go.
Convenience, speed and privacy are maximized; there is no need to be
on-line to use it. Once you download your modules to your mobile
device, you can search and read your modules and edit your notes
off-line. Dig into the Bible, compare multiple translations, look up
original Greek and Hebrew words, access your Bible reference library,
broaden or narrow seaches, dive into the original launguages and
benefit from the very best in Biblical scholarship and software
design.
The application adapts to both the iPhone's and
iPod touch's smaller screens, as well as the iPad's larger screen.
Other than that, the application is identical on all devices. However,
you can look forward to iPad specific advancements soon!
Accordance for the iPhone/iPad allows you to bring the elegant
interface, powerful features and remarkable capabilities of your
Accordance software with you wherever you go. Core features of
Accordance, such as simple search commands, grammatical searching, and
instant parsing can now be accessed on your mobile device. Simply
download your modules, and continue your study using Accordance's
unique searching capacity whether you are on a trip, waiting for a
lecture to begin, or simply standing in a long line. Or, look up Bible
verses and access commentaries and lexicons while in class, chatting
with friends, or in the midst of a theological discussion.
Intelligent and sophisticated, this application will astound you
with its impressive abilities and its simplicity of use. Be sure to
tell your friends about this free application, which comes with the
KJVS, Strong's Dictionaries, Easton, Outlines, and WEB before you
download anything else. It even includes a PhotoGuide Sampler which
illustrates the Bible lands with high quality images. Log in to your
account to download the rest of the free Starter 9 Collection and to
add your purchased modules.
Link: Accordance Bible
Software for iPhone/iPad (download
link)
Accessories
AirStash with WebDAV, World's First and Only USB
Flash Drive for iPad and iPhone
PR: Wearable Inc. has announced the launch of AirStash with
WebDAV. AirStash is the world's first and only USB flash drive for iPad
and iPhone, and is available for demonstration upon request at the 2011
International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The WebDAV
firmware update will be available in the first quarter of 2011 and is
free to all AirStash owners.
The
WebDAV enhancement to AirStash remedies a common iPad problem expressed
by industry reviewers and consumers alike - the lack of a USB drive.
Now, users can wirelessly save and share documents from their iPad to
AirStash instead of emailing files over the Internet to another device
in the same room. AirStash provides complete versatility with both
wireless and USB operation. Users can quickly transfer gigabytes of
files either wirelessly or via USB with the convenience, reliability,
and security of a standard USB drive.
AirStash is an easy to use pocket-sized wireless flash drive with
built-in media streamer that offers consumers expandable iPad, iPhone,
and iPod storage for movies, photos, music, ebooks, and documents.
Users can download more apps and still carry dozens of movies or
thousands of photos and wirelessly stream them to their iPhone or iPad.
The AirStash SD card slot offers unlimited storage with up to 32 GB per
SD card.
AirStash features:
- Two-Way Wireless Connectivity to iPad with WebDAV - iPad users are
able to wirelessly save documents from their tablet to the AirStash and
share the documents with others immediately using industry standard
WebDAV technology. It works with new and existing applications
including Apple's Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. With AirStash, there's
no more need to email files from one device to another in the same
room.
- Premium Media Streaming - Users can store and stream video and
audio from their pocket thanks to the compact nature of AirStash. The
premium social multimedia server gives users the freedom to enjoy
movies, TV shows, and music wherever they go. Users can even share and
play different media files on multiple devices simultaneously with the
use of one AirStash.
- New
App for Easy Photo Browsing & Importing (available January 2011) -
A new native app for iPad and iPhone users is launching later this
month, pending Apple's approval. The app, built at the request of
professional photographers, allows AirStash owners the ability to
browse and batch import photos quickly and easily. Users can browse
photos up to 35 megapixels directly from their camera's SD card without
downloading them. Photos can also be imported either at full resolution
or resized to a space-saving resolution that matches the device
display. This allows professional in-field editing and emailing with
3rd party apps.
"We created AirStash to solve the problem of portable expandable
storage for multiple mobile products, which is needed more every day
due to gigabyte size apps and larger media files that fill up the
internal storage on iPad and iPhone devices," says Matthew Klapman, CEO
of Wearable Inc. "Our goal is to become the essential accessory for all
mobile devices just as the USB flash drive is for computers. Industry
standard WebDAV storage delivered wirelessly and securely from your
pocket makes AirStash the universal USB flash drive for all smart
mobile devices."
AirStash costs $99.99 and is available to USA and Canada for direct
purchase at airstash.com. It will be available to additional
international customers in the first quarter of 2011 and through
retailers later this year.
The product measures 3.6 x 1.9 x 0.5 inches (92 x 47.8 x 12.2 mm)
and weighs just 1.5 oz (43 g).
Link: AirStash
Innovative XShot iPhone 4 Case
PR: XShot LLC, creator
of the popular XShot Camera Extenders, announces that their innovative
XShot iPhone 4 Case with detachable tripod adapter will be on display
at CES 2011 along with the rest of XShot's product line including the
popular XShot camera extenders designed to get photographers in the
picture.
Exclusively designed for the iPhone 4, the XShot iPhone case
provides full protection, versatility and functionality, and integrates
the ability to mount to any tripod, XShot camera extenders, and other
stabilizing device with ease using a detachable tripod adapter.
XShot's cofounders Michael
Daoud and John Stump will be on hand to talk about the innovative
design of the iPhone 4 Case, which was created with the goal of helping
camera users extend the capabilities of the iPhone while making it easy
to get the photographer in the picture too. With its all-in-one sleek
hard case that provides an innovative detachable tripod adapter, the
case enables iPhone 4 users to take great pictures and make HD films in
both landscape and portrait modes.
XShot LLC produces the popular XShot telescopic camera extenders and
iPhone cases for photography. The camera extenders attach to any
compact digital camera or handheld video camera (including the Flip) so
that the photographer can be part of the picture too. Depending on the
camera extender model, the XShot telescopic extenders can increase a
person's reach by up to 3 feet and close to a mere 6.5 inches. Everyday
photographers no longer have to try and stretch their arms as far as
possible to get a picture, let alone capture the full background.
The XShot camera extenders are precision-engineered devices that are
durable and compact. This digital camera accessory has become popular
with travelers, social media users, bloggers, honeymooners, outdoor
lovers, families, and digital scrapbook fans.
Link: XShot iPhone 4 Case