iPad - News, Features, and Slideshows

Features

• Apple iOS: Why it's the most secure OS, period

  In June 2007, Apple released the iPhone, and the device quickly took off to become a major brand in the smartphone market. Yet when the iPhone shipped, security on the mobile operating system was nearly nonexistent. Missing from the initial iOS (then called iPhone OS) were many of the security features that modern-day desktop software has as a matter of course, such as data-execution protection (DEP) and address-space layout randomization (ASLR). Apple's cachet lured security researchers to test the platform, and in less than a month, a trio had released details on the first vulnerability: an exploitable flaw in the mobile Safari browser.

• Why Apple's iPad 2 will be another hit

  Apple's iPad 2, unveiled by CEO Steve Jobs in a surprise appearance Wednesday at an invitation-only media event, is thinner, lighter, faster and more full-featured, and incorporates enough changes and updates to maintain Apple's strong sales in the tablet market.

• Motorola Xoom: To buy or not to buy?

  To buy or not to buy? That's the question right now as the Motorola Xoom, Google's first Android Honeycomb tablet, gets ready to make its grand debut.

• iPad 2 and iPhone 5: What's coming?

  Kyle Wiens and his team at iFixit, a Web site that provides free repair manuals and advice forums, are some of the smartest Apple geeks around. They've taken apart countless iPhones, Macs and iPads to see what makes them tick-and, of course, to find out how to repair them.

• iPads garner favour in Australian education

  Schools and universities right around Australia had jumped headfirst into trials of Apple's hyped iPad tablet as they rush to discover exactly what the device's use will be in the educational field — sometimes with the support of their overarching education departments, and sometimes without.

• Tablets: Real and rumored

  With more than a million units sold in its first month, it's pretty clear that Apple's iPad touchscreen tablet has been a success so far.

• Nine real iPad alternatives

  Even since Apple released its "magical and revolutionary" iPad, other vendors have been scrambling to deliver products that go Apple one better.

• 8 useful apps for reading and writing on the iPad

  After two and a half months of nearly constant iPad use, I've learned a few tricks for making those experiences even better. Here's a roundup of the best tools I've found for reading and writing on the iPad.

• Developing for the iPhone OS: App Store vs. web apps

  Apple's App Store approval process has always been a bit controversial because of the level of control the company holds over what types of applications are allowed in. Initially, there were concerns that Apple rejected apps because they duplicated functionality the company already offered or was planning to build into the iPhone OS -- not because the submitted apps wouldn't run according to the company's specifications.

• Five reasons iPad should fear an Android invasion

  One of the prevailing themes at the Computex conference this week is the coming onslaught of Android-based tablets. The iPad is leading the tablet charge--selling more than two million units in less than two months since its initial launch, but some of the Android tablets could be formidable challengers to Apple's de facto tablet dominance.

• Creative applications for your new iPad

  Apple's long-awaited iPad hits Australian shelves at the end of May, and a clutch of creative apps promise to make it a must-have gadget for illustrators and digital artists.
  

• Are netbooks worth a look as PC companions?

  While the Apple iPad and other emerging tablets may ultimately shift the playing field, netbooks from the big corporate suppliers offer an interesting mobile alternative to big, bulky laptops.

• Microsoft Office is just what the iPad needs

  The iPad is "magic" and all that, but it is not without its flaws and weaknesses--many of which I expect Apple will address with the next incarnation of the tablet device. However, for those looking to use the current generation iPad as a mobile business tool, Microsoft may be the hero with Docs.com.

• 3G v. Wi-Fi: Which iPad is right for you?

  The iPad has been available for a month now in the United States, but the 3G-capable version of Apple's tablet device just launched this past Friday. Apple has reportedly sold more than one million iPads thus far--less than half the time it took the original iPhone to reach that same milestone. If you aren't one of the million plus that already has one, here are some things to consider when choosing between the Wi-Fi only or 3G-capable models.

• Five things the iPad needs to be complete

  I pre-ordered the Apple iPad, so it has been a month now--or near enough--that I have had my 32 GB WI-Fi iPad. I have had ample opportunity to try it out in different scenarios and form a reasonable opinion about both its capabilities and its inadequacies.