Archive for the ‘Apple iPad’ Category
New kid-safe video app for iPad & Kindle Fire no comments
MeFeedia has launched Kids Videos, a free curated video application that brings child and family-friendly videos from around the web to the iPad and Kindle Fire tablets. 
This type of app is designed for parents who don’t feel comfortable letting their young children browse unattended at sites like YouTube where they are likely to encounter adult content.
Kids Videos enables users to browse videos, mark videos to ‘Watch Later’ and like or dislike videos. Kids Videos also automatically discovers new videos for users to watch based on recent video view-through rates. Filters can be applied to select the types of videos (e.g. animals, cartoons, education) that are accessible through the app.
Kids Videos is free at iTunes for the iPad and at the Amazon Appstore for the Kindle Fire.
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Apple brings etextbooks to iBooks on the iPad no comments
Apple yesterday announced a new version of iBooks that will support interactive textbooks on the iPad. Apple also released iBooks Author, a new app which simplifies the creation of textbooks and other graphic and multimedia rich ebooks for anyone using a Mac computer. The new ebook authoring app uses pre-designed page layout templates that enable authors to include multimedia and interactive elements in their creations.
Pearson, McGraw-Hill and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt have started making iPad versions of their high school textbooks available through the new educational section of the iBookstore.
iBooks 2 is free at iTunes and iBooks Author is free at the Mac App Store.
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PDF Reader Pro iOS app now converts to PDF, supports annotations no comments
The PDF Reader Pro app for iPhone and iPad just got an update. 
Version 2.6.2 adds the ability to convert various file formats to PDF on your iPhone or iPad. This seems to be a very rare feature when it comes to the iOS PDF viewing apps. You can purchase a dedicated file converter like Convert to PDF Pro ($5.99 at iTunes), but you will then need another app to view and annotate your converted PDF files.
The new version of PDF Reader Pro also adds a standard set of annotating abilities — highlighting, underline and strikethrough.
Other features include:
- Typed notes in a box and sticky notes.
- Freehand drawing.
- Scan from camera.
- Access files via Dropbox, Mobile ME, Google Docs and iDisk.
- WebDAV support.
- Compatible with MS Office files, images, audio and video files, HTML and Safari files.
There are a number of iOS apps for reading PDF documents. Some, like iAnnotate (see my iAnnotate review, but there have been many updates and new features added since my review) have very robust annotating capabilities. But if you need the ability to not only view and make a few notes on your PDFs, but also to be able to convert other file formats to PDF on your iDevice, PDF Reader Pro might be worth looking at. $5.99 at iTunes.
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Encyclopaedia Britannica iPad app now available no comments
Many of the encyclopedias of yore have disappeared, disrupted by Wikipedia and the Internet. But Encyclopaedia Britannica seems to have made the transition to digital successfully. For those who prefer their encyclopedia to be curated and expert-authored rather than crowd-sourced there are now a couple of new Encyclopaedia Britannica apps for the iPad.
A free version gives users free images and maps, access to 100 free articles and the first 100 words of every article. The paid version costs $1.99 per month and includes access to all 80,000 articles of the Encyclopaedia (Wikipedia has 20 million articles).
"Encyclopaedia Britannica is putting more than 250 years worth of reliable information in the palm of your hand," says Greg Barlow, Encyclopaedia Britannica’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer. "For more than two centuries, Britannica has partnered with former U.S. and international presidents, Nobel Laureates, scientists and other historical figures to provide people with the information they seek. Now that world-class information is available on a fast, mobile platform."
Now available at iTunes. Other versions for iPhone, Android and Microsoft are expected by early 2012.
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Sunshade for iPad no comments
If you really need to use your iPad outdoors in the sunlight this new Darth
Vader-esque accessory might help. The iclipse is a foldable plastic hood that shields the iPad from sunlight and bright ambient light.
The iPad is making itself increasingly useful in business, navigation and other tasks that take it outside. At first glance the iclipse might look a bit cumbersome, but it could prove to be quite a useful accessory for some users. I can also imagine the iclipse being put to some entertaining uses in a Kindle vs iPad advertisement.
The iclipse is available at iclipse.com for $35.
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New iPad backpacking app no comments
While it has no discernable relationship to ereading, a new iPad app from Trimble Outdoors and Backpacker magazine could make your iPad one piece of tech that you will be happy to pack along on your next trek through the wilderness.
Backpacker Map Maker is a new app designed to help hikers and backpackers plan their next trip to the wilds on the iPad. In addition to aerial, hybrid, street and terrain maps, the app provides access to more than 68,000 USGS topo maps stitched together and enhanced by MyTopo. The app utilizes the GPS of the iPad and includes a number of features and tools including a search function, waypoints, digital compass and the ability to save trips to a backpacker.com account.
Backpacker Map Maker is a free app at iTunes.
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M-Edge releases iPad case for kids no comments
M-Edge has a new cover for the iPad 2 that is designed to protect the tablet
from drops and rough play when in the hands of young children. The SuperShell is made of shock-absorbent foam and is easy for small fingers to grip. All controls and the rear-facing camera are accessible with the cover on.
The SuperShell is currently available in Atomic Green for $30.
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eBook Search for iPad/iPhone no comments
App developer Inkstone Software has several iOS ereading apps to its credit — MegaReader, Young Reader and QuickReader. QuickReader teaches speed reading and Young Reader is a version of QuickReader optimized for kids. Inkstone has just released a new app dubbed eBook Search that is quite interesting. 
eBook Search lets you search for, purchase and download free ebooks from several sources from within the app and will then transfer your ebooks to the installed ereading app of your choice. The app will, for example, load free ebooks you download with it into MegaReader, iBooks, the Kindle app, Nook or another ereading app that can read the format — obviously the Kindle app can’t handle ePub files — where you can begin reading it.
As you know, ereading apps from the ebooksellers (Kindle, Nook, Kobo, etc.) removed their in-app links to their ebookstores after Apple changed their rules for in-app purchases recently. This is irrelevant in this case as the app only lets you shop for free ebooks.
Out of the box eBook Search can access free ebooks from the following sources:
- Feedbooks
- Project Gutenberg
- Baen Books
- Smashwords
- Munseys
- Internet Archive
This is obviously a very convenient tool for getting public domain books, but several of the sources also have indie and contemporary titles. Baen Books specializes in Sci-Fi and Fantasy. There also appears to be the ability to add other sources, though I have not tried doing that yet.
I’ve had a few minutes to monkey around with the app and everything seems to function as advertised. You will see ads on the search pages for Inkstone’s other apps, but these don’t, of course, make their way into the books you download with the app. eBook Search is a free app at iTunes.
(via 148Apps)
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United deploys iPads, launches paperless flight deck no comments
United Continental Holdings, Inc. announced today that it is deploying 11,000
iPads to all United and Continental pilots. The iPads will be loaded with digital navigational charts, operating manuals and other materials that in paper format weigh in at around 38 pounds and amount to around 12,000 sheets of paper per pilot on average.
United estimates the move to a paperless flight deck will save 16 million sheets of paper and 326,000 gallons of jet fuel per year. Since the materials can be much more quickly accessed on the iPad than on paper, safety and pilot efficiency are also improved.
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Android takes 20% of tablet market from iPad over last 12 months no comments
ABI Research reports that Android-based media tablets have taken 20% of the media tablet market share from the iPad over the last 12 months, but no single tablet manufacturer has been able to stand out as a serious challenger to the iPad. While ABI expects media tablet sales to reach 120 million units by 2015, it cites OS fragmentation as an obstacle to faster growth.
ABI Research mobile devices group director Jeff Orr comments, “Many vendors have introduced media tablets, but none are separating themselves from the pack to pose a serious threat to Apple. In fact, most have introduced products at prices higher than similarly-configured iPads. Apple, never a company to be waiting for others, has introduced its second-generation iPad media tablet while keeping product pricing unchanged.”
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