iPad GPS and Archos 5 GPS...

I happen to be out and about today and brought along both the iPad and the Archos 5. I had upgraded my Archos 5 to the new firmware today so, good time to test it on the road and see how much more stable it was compare to the older firmware. So far it has made a big difference with this new firmware. It is much more stable and is working very nicely so far. Since I had both with me I thought that I about the GPS. I know that the iPad doesn't really have a hardware GPS and the A5 does. So I thought I would test both with Google maps. I reall thought that the A5 would be more accurate, since it does have a hardware GPS. Maybe the firmware has something to do with this, but I was really surprized that the iPad was so much closer in locating me.






As you can see the iPad and the Archos 5 location. I will still give the Archos 5 some more testing maybe just one of those things that didn't work correctly today. I plan on giving a test Monday on the way to work or maybe this weekend.

HP Buys Palm

HP announced that it's acquiring Palm for the small price of $1.2 billion, which works out to $5.70 per share of Palm common stock. The deal is planned to close by July 31. Current Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein is "expected to remain with the company," though no mention of what duty's he would be doing at Palm. This can be intersting, now that HP has purchased Palm. This could be a sign for the new HP Compaq Airlife 100 to run Palm WebOS kit in it. This would give the Airlife 100 a good consumer product, and will be able to compete with Android, iPhone OS, and other mobile OS. Got to keep a eye on this and who knows there might already porting the Palm WebOS on the Airlife 100.

Shutter Snitch for the iPad

There is a app called Shutter Snitch that shows coming soon to the iTunes store. This will let you transfer pictures from a Eye-Fi SD card to your iPad. This is great if you like to bring your iPad along to a picture shooting. You basically have the iPad setup in a section, and let your customers view the pictures right away. Also would be nice for those times you take pictures on vacation and just don't want to bring your cable or the iPad picture kit, you can just buy the Eye-Fi SD card and the app. You will receive warnings when shutter speed, aperture, and other doesn't fit your predefined rules. With the great screen on the iPad it will be a joy to see the pictures. Link to ShutterSnitch for the iPad.

Jorno Bluetooth Keyboard Coming Soon...

 

I ran into this website that shows that it will be releasing a portable keyboard that looks like the Think Outside BT keyboard in late Spring 2010. Also the StoweAway BT keyboard is no longer made so now many iPad users are out looking for a portable solution and this might just be the ticket. I still have my Think Outside BT keyboard that I have been using for several years. Here is the link to the Jorno.

“Coming Late Spring 2010
A modern, fold-up, Bluetooth keyboard for your Android,
Windows Mobile, or HID-profile-compatible device”

Pocket size. Folds up to the size of a deck of cards*
Laptop power. Turns your mobile device into a pocketsized laptop
Full size keys. For long-form typing, word processing, blogging,
emails, note taking
Bluetooth connectivity. So you can place the keyboard anywhere
you like. Also functions with your desktop or tablet computer
Cradle. To hold your phone in either portrait or landscape
Rigid when unfolded. So you can place the keyboard in your lap.

Possible 4G iPhone... Or ?

Looks like over Endgadget got there hands on what might be the upcoming 4G iPhone. Seems that the phone was found on the floor at a San Jose bar in a 3G case. The pictures look real, but might be a prototype. Also from what it is mentioned it talks about having a front facing camera and 80GB? That sounds off if it is flash memory because it should be 64GB. Hopefully more info gets posted, as it does look like a nice design.

Here is some of the pictures

Engadget posted up.

How to Add ePub books to your iPad

 

For those that want to add your DRM free ePub books to your iPad and take them on the road to read, well it is pretty easy to do. You just have to drag over your ePub book to your iTunes library and then drag it to your iPad and it will sync the book over to your iPad and ready for on the go reading. Here is a quick video as well.

 

CradlePoint CTR350 Quick OverView

I happen to find the CradlePoint CTR350 at my local Fry's and picked it up to use with my BlackBerry Storm 2. So far I really like how I can just plug it in and can share with up to 16 computers. I won't be sharing up to 16 computers, because it will slow down everything. It also chargers the BlackBerry as well, so that way it won't drain the battery on my BB. There is a CradlePoint that has a battery for mobile use, just incase that you happen to be in a area that doesn't have power. I got this one because most of the time I am near a outlet so, the CTR350 works for me. I can still connect to my BB Storm 2 if I don't have the CTR350, either using my USB cable or BT DUN setup with all my devices. The only device that I wouldn't be able to do this is the iPad. The iPad doesn't support BT DUN setup.

One BIG iPhone or maybe not?

I have loaded Skype on my iPad and it is working good. I was able to make calls to landlines, mobile phones, and regular Skype calls to desktop Skype users and all the calls came in clear. The Skype app is not yet made specific for iPad, but the regular iPhone one worked great. When you zoom in on the Skype app, it does get a little jaggy edged because its not made specific for the iPad. But never the less it does work and you can use the mic and speaker that is built-in on the iPad to make calls to your family, friends, and others.

iPad Cases

Here is two cases I got for the iPad today. The Apple one and the Incase one. The Incase one is very nice case. It has 4 positions to put the iPad at different angles to view it. When you slide your iPad the back of the iPad is meet with the case soft padded. The openings all line up with Incase which is good, because sometimes these 3rd party cases will sometimes not align. The case is much thicker when closed compare to the Ap

ple case, so it will depend if you would like the case slim or don't mind the extra thickness. So far I like the Incase and will give it a try this week and decide whether I will keep it o

r c

hange it to the Apple one. The case

does a good job of protecting the iPad once you slide it in. The Apple one is very thin and keeps the look of the iPad pretty much thin. It hardly adds any weight to the iPad with this case. The case is like a rubber type that makes gripping the iPad very good, which can help that it will not slip off your hands.

iPad Is in the House...

I had put 2 iPad's on reservation to pick up at my local Apple store for April 3. I got the 16GB for my wife and I got the 32GB for myself. So far this thing is "Magical". This is according to Steve Jobs. There was 2 lines at the Apple store. One was for the non reserved and the other for reserved. There must of been at least 200 people in the line waiting to get their iPad. So far I have set up my email, contacts, and calendar to sync with my BlackBerry Storm 2, so that I can have everything synced up. This works great for me, because no matter which device I pick up I can always check my email or check my calendar.

This makes it easy to update any calendar items when I am using either device.

Netflix runs excellent on the iPad. The Netflix app was added just this week so I was very happy to see that it would work on the iPad. Now I can watch movies when traveling or short outings that we plan with my family. I purchased the CradlePoint CTR350 to use with my BlackBerry Storm 2, so I can have broadband on my iPad for when traveling. Everything on the iPad is very responsive and smooth when scrolling. Multi-Touch is great on the bigger screen vs the iPod Touch and iPhone. Not that the smaller screen is bad, but you have so much more room to work with applications. The Web looks great and works great on the Safari browser. So far most of all the web pages that I go and check daily are working and displaying nicely on the iPad. The sound is very good, I was afraid that by having one speaker at the bottom that the sound would not be loud enough, but it is loud enough to listen in a average noisy area. I have been downloading apps from the app store and trying them out and of course these are the free one's. I will be purchasing Pages, and Numbers to use on the iPad to be able to work with Word and Excel files when I need to do small

changes or create short documents with the on screen keyboard. I can also create long Word d

ocuments by using a BlueTooth keyboard, which then I can type away and create any length of

document. I still have my Stowaway BT keyboard which I will be pairing up to use for on the road typing. I think Apple has a winner with the iPad, not that the up coming slates don't have a chance, but I think the iPad will be what everyone will be comparing too. HP needs to advertise their up coming slate so that the general public knows about it. It always helps if they can get it out to brick and mortar stores so everyone can see and try them.

iPad Getting Netflix

 

Netflix is announcing that they will have a iPad app available for the April 3 release of the iPad. This is great news for Apple, Netflix, and all subscribers to Netflix. Now you will be able to enjoy your favorite shows or movies on the go, as long as you either have a way to connect to the internet. Many will use with MiFi, or just use Wi-Fi where they can get it. The Netflix app will be free for download. With the app you will be able to resume watching your shows or movies where ever you left off. Hulu is also going to be announcing a app that might be flash based; by the way Apple has released that the iPad is capable of play flash. So Hulu is trying to setup a subscription to be able to watch shows on the iPad, but you will have to pay as well.

 

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