iPad - News, Features, and Slideshows

Features

• iPad music production apps: Music meets multitouch

  Here's some great news for all your musicmakers out there who were able to defy the world economy and come out of it with a new Apple iPad.

• The 8 best iPad apps -- so far

  Apple's iPad has been available for a short time, and you can already find apps to watch streaming movies, manage your Web passwords, use Twitter, do word processing and more.

• iPad Marketing 101: All business professionals are consumers

  The traditional war between Microsoft and Apple has always been about personal computers--more accurately operating systems--and which platform is superior. Despite the undying loyalty of Mac OS X fans, it is hard to argue with the fact that the Microsoft Windows operating system has about 18 times more market share.

• Take the iPad, ditch the notebook when you travel

  There are passionate views on both sides regarding whether or not the Apple iPad can be an effective business tool, or is merely a consumer gadget. That debate has merit while sitting in your office or the comfort of your home, but if you are planning to go on a trip soon there are a number of good reasons to take the iPad and leave the notebook behind.

• The most over-hyped tech products ever

  Rule number one of over-hype: just being talked about isn't enough. That's hype. The crux of excessive hype is disappointment, the gap between the pitch and one's reaction. Um, is that really it?

• Apple's iPad: Who wants it?

  If there ever were a divisive computer, Apple's iPad is it.

• iPad pre-orders: For idiots only

  Friday morning, the fool's parade started. Apple is taking online "pre-orders" for its iPad tablet, which is supposed to begin shipping on April 3. Buying a new kind of product sight unseen is foolish. Especially given how mysterious Apple has been on what the iPad can do and what restrictions on capabilities and media access it will place on users and content providers.
  

• Molding the iPad into a business tool

  The Apple iPad has been available for pre-order for more than 24 hours now. Initial demand seems promising, although not everyone has embraced the concept of dedicating US$500 or more to be an early adopter of a device that nobody really has all the details on just yet.

• iPad for movies? Call my chiropractor

  Apple is pitching its new iPad tablet as a multi-use consumer device, a superior alternative to clunky netbooks and laptops. Admittedly, the device does have its virtues, particularly for Web-surfing couch potatoes who'd rather not balance a clamshell-style portable PC on their laps.

• Five tips to prevent iPad eye strain

  If you believe Apple's hype about the "magic" of the device, soon millions of Americans will rely on the Apple iPad for all manner of media consumption--movies, books, TV shows, newspapers, etc. That means millions of Americans will spend even more time with their faces basked in the pale glow of a backlit screen, possibly doing damage to their vision.
  

• How developers are gearing up for the iPad

  Now it's finally March -- here comes the iPad. To prep for the big reveal, developers are scurrying to build and announce new apps and accessories for Apple's tablet computer. With so much shouting in a crowded room, it's easy to get lost in the buzz. Here are a few key aspects that may make a sizable splash.

• Five reasons why the iPad won't change higher education

  Before the iPad, publishers hadn't much incentive to produce digital textbooks on portable devices. Think about scrolling through your chemistry tome on a Kindle, making clunky annotations on a bland black-and-white screen -- it just isn't as conducive to learning as four-color images and the ability to doodle in the margins. So when software developer ScrollMotion was tapped to create iPad-friendly versions of textbooks, surely students, educators and publishers uttered a collective cheer for the future of digital education. But is the iPad going to make a difference in the world of higher education? Here are five reasons why it won't.

• A business case for the Apple iPad

  Last Wednesday, Apple introduced the long-fabled Apple tablet to the world. Much to nobody's surprise, it is a 9.7-inch touchscreen slate based on the iPhone OS. The media response has been largely negative so far, which is slightly surprising given that the tablet was more or less on par with what the rumors specified. While much of the criticism seems valid, the Apple iPad is also the most promising tablet of 2010, and in the hands of the right user, a respectable business machine.

• Apple iPad vs Kindle DX: Which is better for education?

  If the iPad doesn't succeed as a consumer electronics device--its initial target market--it may find a successful second career as an electronic textbook reader.

• Apple's iPad: What's it really for?

  If there's one thing Apple is good at, it's keeping the rest of world guessing about new products while generating more buzz than the New Orleans Saints making it to the Super Bowl for the first time. Even though the world knew Apple CEO Steve Jobs would unveil a tablet on Wednesday, the announcement created enough of a stir to take down Twitter briefly and slow Web traffic on a lot of sites.