Trapped in Time

I forgot my VGA adaptor before coming into the office today. However, the iPad makes a great second display, and is surpisingly smooth over wifi.

iPhone MiWi app creates a mobile wi-fi hot spot for my iPad

I grabbed the wi-fi version of the iPad last Saturday because I figured I could save some money when a hack came out that allowed 3G tethering.  Well as it turns out, the solution is already available if you own a jailbroke (3.1.2) iPhone.

I’ve created a WEP-secured wi-fi network that I simply joined (once) on my iPad, and now I have full mobile access anywhere I’m at… all for $10, rather than $130 and a change to the design of my iPad.

Sure, there are plenty of hot spot solutions out there from companies like Verizon and Clear, but those all require an additional device and a monthly charge of between $50-$60. In this case, I continue carrying my iPhone just like I always do, but I now can grab some free Internet in the car or on the train with a more productive device.

Tonight I was searching for tickets to Saturday’s Atoms For Peace (see: Thom Yorke + Flea et al) show at the Aragon, especially in light of the paperless ticket situation.

I gave the Craigslist app for the iPad a spin, and was pleasantly surprised: the user interface is beautiful and makes CL a much more enjoyable experience rather than the ugliness that meets the eyes every single time I visit the website.

This is a great example of how I believe the iPad will begin to redefine the browsing experience and fuse more logical and clean design into sites and experiences that typically were not as intuitive on a desktop.  Tomorrow’s iPhone OS 4.0 announcement looks like it may be bringing an entire web API to the table so that any site can craft a seamless and effortless mobile experience for their users.

iPad procurement at Best Buy. No line, just showed up and got a ticket for the fourth one available. They told us UPS got them another shipment this morning so they have quite a few. Of the eight of us who were there, seven chose the 32GB.

Wired Magazine’s iPad Edition Unveiled

Powered by Adobe Air (see: not the failure Flash has become), this looks like the real deal and has my mouth watering for an iPad release date. While the SI demo looks great, it falls short in many regards and is only a demo, not something currently functional.

For the first time, it becomes clear how much more engaging, powerful, and ultimately informative a tablet-based magazine experience can become.  Videos, 3D objects, a medium that does photography justice… it’s all there, and seems so fun!

Sports Illustrated Tablet Demo

If this comes to fruition, I could see myself becoming a subscriber again. But as it stands now (save a few columnists), I haven’t picked up an SI - once one of my favorite reads - in several years.

I think once the iPad is out you will see SI and ESPN provide complimentary sports media experiences. ESPN focusing more on actually taking you inside the games and the live sporting experience, and SI providing an in-depth analysis and behind the scenes look at it. But as it stands now, ESPN.com vs SI.com… well ESPN wins handily in most areas.

krankmills:

evangotlib:tomreynolds:

My pro bono marketing work. Truth in advertising.

Hard to argue with this. (and don’t lie, there are plenty of you out there that drag your laptop into the bathroom)

Meet The iPad

A photo has leaked of what the casing to the tablet likely looks like following a photo of the front of the device overnight.  The event kicks off at 1 PM EST.  Follow Engadget’s live coverage here.

Since Apple’s Newton project closed, many have wondered if and when Apple would return to the PDA/Tablet market. In many ways, the company already has. The iPhone does much more than the few Newton products - that actually made it to market - ever did. And yet, since the iPhone’s release, especially over the past twelve months, speculation has run rampant that Apple has been working on a tablet. On Wednesday the company will almost undoubtedly unveil the new product at a media event at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

I’ve been particularly interested in such a device and followed the speculation closely for a number of reasons:

1. The idea of a thin, powerful touch screen computer that can perform a variety of tasks is quite appealing, especially in light of the plethora of existing tablet devices that have come and gone over the past decade while doing little more than raising hope of what might be possible one day.
2. Since the introduction of the iPod, Apple has been ahead of the curve in numerous areas of technology and media: the iTunes music store (and iTunes itself), thin profile gadgets (MacBook Air, the unibody manufacturing process, the iPod nano, and iPhone), groundbreaking multitouch technology (iPhone, iPod touch, and magic mouse), and the proliferation of mobile computing through the iPhone, App Store, and MobileMe.
3. When Apple launches a new product such as the iPad/iSlate/tablet, they do so very carefully with the aim of redefining how consumers view an entire market. They won’t be bringing a tablet to market just to have one in the arena; rather they surely plan to create an entirely new arena that only they are currently competing in.

So what should we expect to see on Wednesday?  That still remains a mystery, but through patent filings, rumors that won’t go away, and past offerings, the picture has started to become pretty clear. Here are my general predictions based on the best evidence available:

Design and Hardware

• Unibody construction, with a very similar design to the original iPhone, though proportionately thinner
• WiFi (hopefully 802.11n), GPS, and 3G connectivity, perhaps supporting both GSM and CDMA networks
• Glass LED screen, likely not OLED due to current availability
• Dock connector ala iPod/iPhone on both vertical and horizontal sides of the tablet for easy access
• Front-Facing Camera ala Macbook and iMac (WSJ reports)
• Headphone jack
• No USB Port
• 32 and 64 GB Flash capacities
• 10 hour battery life
• Bluetooth for wireless peripherals

Software and Features

• A hybrid operating system that falls somewhere between the iPhone and OS X
• A suite of new applications for both productivity and entertainment that leverages multitouch for never before seen user interaction.
• Cloud computing that leverages the new North Carolina Data Center opening in March (probably the same time the device is available).
• Access to your home iTunes library wherever you are seems very likely, as well as MobileMe service to store your music on the cloud.
• Television streaming subscription service with both live feeds and weekly network sitcoms and dramas available - likely to include CBS, ABC, BBC, Disney and others
• Interactive eBook and Magazine reader that leverages multiple forms of content (traditional type, audio and video). Steve Jobs has said in the past, “It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore. Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.” Don’t think he doesn’t want to change that!
• A focus on interactive learning (“Apple In Talks with McGraw-Hill”)
• Flash support in Safari
• Video Conferencing
• Face and movement recognition (patent)
• Multitasking
• Support of iPhone OS 4.0 applications
• Robust multiplayer gaming within various communities - location based and world wide
• Numerous new multitouch gestures

You Should Also Expect

• One screen size, not two or more
• Two models in different capacities (perhaps 4 depending on GSM/CDMA)
• No subsidized data plans. Apple will contend they want this in the most hands possible, but in reality they don’t have anything worked out with AT&T or Verizon
• A price tag of $800-$1,000
• iPhone OS 4.0 announcement which will add in new gestures, multitasking, improvements to the home screen, integration as a secondary device to the tablet

It’s still anyone’s guess what Apple will or will not drop on us all come Wednesday, but one thing’s for certain: this device will impact computers, mobile phones, and major media - print, television, movies, and music - in a very profound and culturally transforming way.