Category Archives: ipad

e-book, google, ipad, kindle

Google to have an e-book store

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BBC News reports on Google Editions

Google is set to launch its own online e-book store in 2010.

Google Editions books will not be tied to a specific device, unlike rival e-book company Amazon.

The Amazon Kindle is linked to books from the company’s own store and similarly with Apple’s iBookstore.

The article takes account of the scanning done by Google

To date Google has scanned over 12 million books, both in-print and out-of-print, giving it a greater selection of material than either Apple or Amazon.

This action by Google reinforces my opinion about the growth of e-books and e-book readers that I outlined in this blog post.

apple, ipad, iphone

I am not that bothered as Steve Jobs talks about Flash

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In one of those rare moments Steve has posted his thoughts on Flash to the Apple website.

I wanted to jot down some of our thoughts on Adobe’s Flash products so that customers and critics may better understand why we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads.

Steve in his thoughts extols the virtues of HTML5 as a way of creating interactive websites and for online video.

Now I am no technical expert on Flash or HTML5 and therefore can only really comment from a personal perspective about which is better for the web and devices.

So it looks as though if you want an iPhone or an iPad you are going to have to get use to not having Flash. Having said that, if Apple and Steve decide not to use Flash on the iPhone, it’s not as though there aren’t other phones available. Likewise even though we have the iPad, if you read blogs you will know that there are many other tablets and slates available.

These devices offer more functionality than the iPad with USB ports and cameras, and these devices will support Flash if that’s want you want.

However it would appear from Twitter and blogs that people don’t want any old slate that has Flash, they specifically want an iPad with Flash.

Why?

Well the reason in my opinion is that people like the iPhone and the iPad not because of the hardware, but for the user interface and the usability of the device.

Even though the iPad has no camera, no USB, no SD card reader,; that’s not the reason that Apple have sold over a million of the devices, it’s in my opinion a combination of the “image” of the device, the availability and ease of access to thousands of Apps, and in my opinion the way the user interface “just works”.

Microsoft made Windows XP Tablet PC Edition nine years ago. A wonderful concept slightly ruined by the user interface. It was very difficult to use a GUI that required a mouse and keyboard when using a pen. I am sure if Microsoft had known what we know now, then Windows XP Tablet PC Edition would have had a very different interface. Look at what Microsoft have said about their phone OS.

The new Microsoft OS for the phone is a very different affair to what we had with Windows Mobile – which again was trying to be a desktop version of Windows on a touch screen. Though lots of people liked their PDAs, compared to the user experience on the iPhone it was always something of a challenge and not something that would appeal or sell to the general public. I think that may change with Windows Phone 7.

As I am talking about Microsoft, I was disappointed to see that they have canned their Courier project which isn’t too surprising, as I thought it had potential.

I am not disappointed to see that HP have abandoned their Windows 7 based Slate.

The device was first seen as CES 2010 when it was unveiled by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and was supposed to go on sale in the middle of 2010.

It would appear that HP are not happy with using Windows 7 as the OS for their Slate.

However they HP don’t appear to be abandoning the form factor and have been looking at Android. HP’s purchase of Palm also gives them WebOS which was applauded on the Palm Pre even though it did not sell well.

I expect we will see either an WebOS Slate from HP or even an Android version! Regardless of which OS HP use, both will (according to Adobe) have Flash. So if you are looking for a tablet that has Flash you can either buy a Windows Tablet now, or wait a few months for an Android or WebOS Tablet.

So back to the iPad and the lack of Flash.

So what about Flash, how essential is that then really?

In terms of non-educational use of the web, Flash is predominantly used for video. Prior to YouTube, most people used Flash for splash screens, animation and the odd game. Today though Flash powered video is a key part of how people use the web.

Social networking sites, okay Facebook, also use Flash extensively for simple online games.

So what about educational use, as many educators have complained about the lack of Flash on the iPhone and iPods?

Well, yes there are lots of Flash based quizzes, diagrams and activities. Simple Flash games (and complicated Flash games) also have their place in education. It is these that just won’t play on the iPhone and iPad.

If these were created in-house then I also suspect that the in-house Flash developers are unlikely to have the necessary HTML5 skills to create new versions.

Most Flash games I have seen have actually been created using tools that then create Flash based quizzes using simple text input that any practitioner could utilise without needing to know Flash.

Now at this point I could argue that such activities and games can be created for the iPad (and are been by developers) however I don’t think this is an argument about whether we as educators demand Flash on a specific device.

Ten years ago, no one was using Flash for education or video. Things change and will continue to change.

At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what we think about this in our role as educators, practitioners and learning technologists. The real decision about this will be made by our learners and if we are sensible we will change how we do things in order to meet the needs of our learners. If our learners decide that they want to buy and use the iPad, then I believe as educators we should ensure that any learning content we provide should work on the iPad. I don’t see how we can dictate what devices learners should be buying. I also don’t think it is sustainable for educational institutions to be buying mobile devices for all learners just so that they can have a device that plays Flash!

If HTML5 is the future of the web, then we need to start preparing for that future and not try and fight it, as we have no chance of winning! Why, because the people we are fighting are not Apple or Adobe, they are our learners. They will make the choice, not us.

Technology changes, we need to have the culture and flexibility to accommodate those changes in order to provide the best enhanced and improved learning experience for our learners.

apple, ipad, iphone

Annoyed with Apple

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I am officially annoyed with Apple.

Why?

Yes you guessed it, a further delay on the iPad.

BBC News reports:

Apple is to delay the international release of its touchscreen tablet computer, the iPad, by one month.

It will now launch the device around the world, including the UK, at the end of May, and will begin accepting pre-orders on 10 May.

…and there I was expecting to get mine at the end of April!

As I have said before on this blog:

Part of me is sad that I didn’t go out to the states and buy an iPad, and part of me knows how sad that would be!

I have also discussed how I think I will be using the iPad too.

Since the iPad was announced and launched in the US, there have been numerous alternatives announced by other manufacturers and we also have Courier from Microsoft.

These “alternatives” have many more features than the iPad. They have cameras, front and back, built in SD card slots, USB ports, they can print, they can be tethered, they can tether, etc… etc…

So why oh why am I going to get an iPad then?

Firstly it’s not about the features its about the functionality and the user interface.

Despite many valiant attempts by other phone companies, none have come close to the way the user interface on the iPhone works. I remember getting the LG Viewty and feeling very short changed by the touch screen experience compared to the iPhone. Likewise, though I do like the Google Nexus One and it has compared to other touchscreen phones a fantastic touch screen and a very intuitive user interface, however even it does not match the iPhone interface. It is for this reason that the iPad will succeed over the alternative devices been proposed or released by other manufacturers will be the touch interface that Apple have managed to excel at on the iPhone and according to the reports from the US have likewise done with the iPad.

The Apps market, though a closed market seems to have been very successful. Though history says that open standards win over closed walled gardens (think of the internet versus AOL) proprietary closed markets do win now and again. Developers like the App Store and the ease by which consumers will purchase apps from it. The reason for this is quite simple, create one account, purchase from many developers. As a consumer I don’t want to have to create accounts everytime I want to buy an app and I certainly don’t want to do this using a mobile device if I can help it. Entering credit cards on my iPhone is something I would prefer not to do, on an iPad probably wouldn’t mind so much!

So even though this further delay in the iPad has annoyed me, I think I will still be getting one when they are eventually released in the UK!

Picture source.

ipad, iphone

iPhone Application Programming Training

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There are many interesting and useful things on iTunes U.

If you are thinking about writing an application for the new iPad or the iPhone then these resources from Stanford University on iTunes U may just fit the bill.

These are BIG files, most of the hour long videos are nearly 500MB in size and there are over twenty of them!

There are also accompany PDFs.

If I can find the time I am hoping to go through the materials and write my first iPhone App.

ipad

The iPad is here… uh no it isn’t…

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Lots of press coverage across the tubes and old media about the launch of the iPad.

Of course the launch is US only and it’s looking like the earliest we will get the iPad in the UK is the 24th April, but so far no confirmation whatsoever from any official source.

What I am hoping that when the iPad is launched in the UK, the 3G version is released at the same time as the WiFi version, so I don’t have to make that difficult choice that many in America are making right now, that of buy now or wait until the 3G version is available.

Part of me is sad that I didn’t go out to the states and buy an iPad, and part of me knows how sad that would be!

The more I see and hear about the iPad, the more I wonder if it will be the game changing device that the iPhone has been, or whether it will be another Newton or iPod HiFi (remember that). The key I believe will be how the device sells not initially to the geek audience, but down the line to non-geeks in places like John Lewis and Apple Stores on the High Street or in local shopping centres.

Having said that if the geeks don’t like it, this can rub off on the general public, look at how there was a negative reaction to the Blackberry Storm following Stephen Fry’s adverse reaction. Now according to Time, Stephen Fry quite likes the iPad (though that’s a bit of an understatement) and I respect his opinion and if he likes it, I am sure that many others will like it too.

I have discussed the iPad before, talked about it on a podcast and mentioned Tony Vincent’s thoughts on the device. In my article I did mention the following:

There are also rumours that Microsoft may be working on a version of Office for the iPad.

However according to an article on Macrumors today, Microsoft are saying…

We never say never, but we have no current plans” to develop a version of Office for the Apple iPad, Elop said.

I do understand why Microsoft may not want to make Office for the iPad, what with Courier on the horizon, however from a users’ perspective and especially users who interact with others who use Office on Windows (or Mac) to be able to move native Office files around would be very handy and useful. Yes iWork can convert and I do this a lot, but sometimes it can make sense to avoid conversion and stick to a native format.

So no I don’t have an iPad, but I do expect to get one when they eventually arrive in the UK.

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Don’t fancy the iPad, how about the WePad?

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So you don’t fancy an iPad?

What about a WePad? And despite the date this is not an April Fool.

TechCrunch reports on the WePad

The Neofonie WePad has similar form and function to the iPad, but facts are that the German Android device has a bigger multitouch screen and a faster CPU than the iPad. Also it runs Flash, has USB ports, an inbuilt card reader and expandable memory. Additionally it allows complete multitasking and has a webcam.

Sounds interesting.

However the key will be not all the added tech stuff, but does the user experience match the iPad?

ipad

iPad Nuggets

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Tony Vincent has written an excellent blog post on Apple’s forthcoming new iPad.

In anticipation of the April 3rd iPad launch in the U.S., Apple has posted Guided Tours. These videos take you through some of the features in iPad apps like Safari, Mail, iBooks, and Keynote. You’ll immediately notice that Apple is using these videos for marketing. You’ll hear phrases like: easy, magical, it doesn’t get any simpler, immersive, intimate, fun, effortless, so smart, and beautiful.

What Tony has done that is really nice is that he’s watched the tours and made some useful and interesting observations.

Show a Keynote presentation on a projector or TV using the VGA adpater (not included in the box with iPad–it costs extra). It was unclear from the video if Presenter Notes appear on iPad’s screen while the slides appear on the projector’s screen.

Read his blog post for more nuggets.

e-book, ipad, podcast

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #039: Do you like books or do you like reading?

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Do you like books or do you like reading? Are you a fan of e-Books? What about e-Book Readers? Will devices such as the iPad and Kindle change the way we feel about books and what impact will these new devices have on learning.

With James Clay and Chrissie Turkington.

This is the thirty ninth e-Learning Stuff Podcast, Do you like books or do you like reading?

Download the podcast in mp3 format: Do you like books or do you like reading?

Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes

Shownotes

ipad, keynote

You can do what with the iPad?

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Many people see the iPad as a BIG iPod touch, something that is used to view content on. Though it does have a microphone, unlike the iPhone is does not have a camera.

There is though one aspect of the iPad that Apple have announced that I think some people have missed and that will be the availability of iPad versions of the iWork applications. Apple will at the same time as they release the iPad, release iPad versions of their presentation software, Keynote, wordprocessing software, Pages and spreadsheet software, Numbers.

There are also rumours that Microsoft may be working on a version of Office for the iPad.

So what does this all mean?

Well is turns the iPad from a mainly content consumption device to a device that can allow the user to both consume and create content.

So what you may say, I have a laptop that does just that!

Well it’s pretty certain that the iPad is no laptop, even Steve Jobs in his iPad announcement says that the iPad sits between the iPhone and a laptop.

However I don’t see the iPad replacing my laptop all the time, but in some circumstances I can see it replacing it some of the time.

For example in meetings, the iPad is going to be more useful than a laptop for checking information, using Pages to make notes, etc…

Likewise in conferences (where there are in some sessions no tables), the iPad (with the long battery life) will make it easier to engage in the back channel, makes notes, check URLs, share thoughts and impressions, and all the other conference stuff that at the moment most people do with a notepad and a pencil.

For learners an iPad may be a better device to bring to lessons, with easy access to e-books (and these may be getting more engaging and interactive), internet access, web tools; the ability to also create notes using Pages, or enter notes using tools like Evernote more easily than on an iPod touch or iPhone, I can certainly see many learners preferring the lightweight feel of the iPad, over a heavier laptop. Then again they might want to buy a netbook!

I don’t use spreadsheets much so I don’t see much of a use for Numbers. However I do give a lot of presentations and having Keynote on the iPad makes a lot of sense to me.

I’ve always thought that Apple should have made a Keynote Presentation App for the iPhone; you would create your presentation on the Mac, sync to the iPhone and then on the iPhone would be a little App that allowed you to both view the App on the iPhone screen, or using the AV cable you can get, show the presentation through a projector or TV. One of the issues though with that is Apps can’t use the AV cable! I guess an Apple App could, but maybe not.

If Keynote on the iPad can use the AV Cable and hopefully then other applications will also be able to use the AV out.

Of course the Keynote App for the iPad allows you to create presentations, and I really do like using Keynote as my primary presentation tool.

Overall I think Keynote and Pages for the iPad, have turned the iPad into for me from a “maybe” purchase to a “more than likely” purchase.