Ingenuity at it’s best!

With all of this new real estate I’ve been finding it a little difficult to keep a grasp on which screen all of my random apps exist. Thus, I have been using the “Search” a lot more often than my iphone.

I’m not sure about you but I absolutely HATE that blank waste of space screen that appears ??before the homepage?? – How much more functional would it be if we could trigger the search function by either double tapping/holding the home button to make this search field appear on any screen? Anyway, I’ve done a quick mock up to show what my fanciful dream would look like.

PS…It would be nice if this could search the web as well. Just dreaming big here people :-/

Here’s a quick review for a pretty great iPad Case/Sleeve. This sleeve’s main focus is giving your iPad some stylish protection. Pricing may change so I did not mention it in the video but feel free to give their website a lookie.

Company: http://www.hardcandycases.com
Win This Case: http://www.squar.in

Looks like the extremely popular iPhone app Koi Pond is making it’s way to the iPad very soon. Earlier this week, The Blimp Pilots, announced that their biggest hit Koi Pond will be submitted and should be approved within the next week or so. I’ll be on the lookout.

If there are any indications that this is the realy thing it would seem you could compare the 30 pin dock connection. Apple decided to go with an overly flat dock connection on the iPad and this supposed 4G leak shares some of those traits. Take a look and tell me what you think

This is pretty tight. Built on HTML5 and some cleverness everytimezone.com has shown, in minimal form, what can be accomplished beyond a reliance on Flash. If you have an iPad check it out: http://everytimezone.com/

A few companies who are currently manufacturing accessories for the iPad have reached out to me to review their products. Next week I will be putting them through some real life scenarios and posting my opinion of each product. Before my post, please let me know if there is anything you are on the fence about buying or just really would like to observe a formal review. I’ll do my best to work some magic and test your desired products out.

Thanks – B

Being an early adopter has its ups and downs. We tend to buy unbaked, buggy, unrefined products whose companies, and future users, are relying on us to provide useful feedback as a method of insight into the next iterations. I am fully aware of the pitfalls and dangerous grounds of being an early adopter as I have been burned in the past. For anyone who pre-ordered a JooJoo, my heart goes out to you.

As of late, my last major leaps into the valleys of the early adopter world have been nothing short of amazing experiences. Why’s that? Well, my last few major purchases have all been tested, refined and spit out of the Cupertino offices in sunny California. Yes, between my first gen aluminum iMac, iPhone and MacBook Pro, my experiences have been nothing short of amazing.

Now, you may have looked at the iPhone as a leap of faith back in 2007 on that blistering hot day in June. But I saw it as an opportunity– an opportunity to go where no man had gone before. I was going to have a phone with a brain and flawless execution. Well, this time around my leap of faith was a little bit rougher. Here I was faced with not only a new product, but a product that had NEVER been in existence to human kind before.

The following questions lingered inside for months: where am I going to use this? That on-screen keyboard might be terribly sucky. How am I possibly going to give all my gadgety products all of the attention they long for each day? After all, this is supposed to do it all, with the exception of making (non voip) phone calls.

Incase you hadn’t figured it out by now, this “magical and revolutionary device” is indeed the iPad. I’m guessing the article’s title gave that away anyway though. It has been an entire week and I could not be more pleased. Over the last 168 hours, my iPad has been with me every step of the way. I could be wrong but I think my MacBook shed a tear the other day while I was comfortably browsing the web with one hand and a finger.

Emailing, surfing, consuming oh my! And the apps? Oh the apps are amazing! I feel like there is not a single feature set or functionality point that my iPad would fail at. Sure, it doesn’t have a camera or support an over-allegiance to one popular, closed content producing codec. But heck, that’s what innovation is all about…right? Apple is single handedly spurring mass interest into an exciting new way of animated coding, and I see nothing wrong with that. Some of the greatest inventions in history would have never been created had their creator stuck to the norm.

All in all, the iPad rocks! Denying the iPad’s usefulness by only comparing the number of USB ports, screen sizes, tech specs and peripheral support to other yet to be released products has absolutely no bearing or justification when this device falls within your hands. Apple has done it again and my leap of faith for their next big thing is already solidified.

Who said that the iPad and ChatRoulette weren’t compatible? This video will defy all odds. During the making of this video, I sacrificed numerous encounters of penises and signs asking me to show my boobs. I also discovered that nobody realizes who Kiefer Sutherland is unless he is stabbing terrorist and yelling at Chloe. Enjoy!

Let’s face it. The iPad is an amazingly portable device but there are just some places it should never come along for the ride. I explore a few options in this video.

If you are anything like me, for the past 7 days you have spent at least 168 hours (you do the math) with the magical thing. Well, throughout my obsessive, week-long, love affair I have discovered a few Easter Eggs, as well as, devised a few tips and tricks.

The coolest of them all was discovering that embedded mp3 audio and podcast continue to stream even while browsing other applications and web pages. Though primitive in nature, this is surely an oversight on Apples part. Please note that embedded videos will not continue to play, only audio. To turn the audio off you must either begin to play audio from another source within the iPad or return to the original browser and tap the pause icon.

The other finds and tips aren’t as nearly as exciting but rather useful. In the short video you will see new multitouch gestures specific to the iPad, how to quickly mute your device, defaulting to mobile facebook and a possible hint into the future of iPad multi tasking. Video after the break.

Try out the background audio for yourself: http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-freeagencywade-100409/dwyane-wade

Here are some apps that just might get you by if you aren’t willing to spend $19.99 for the ever so popular productivity app “Things” for the iPad. These all retail under $5.00 with most being absolutely free..me likey that.

Apps Reviewed:
Evernote
GoDocs
Memeo Connect Reader
3banana
EasyTaskPad