Archive for the ‘ipad apps’ tag
TED App Launched on iPad no comments
TED has launched an iPad app which will give you access to over 750 TEDTalks videos. The videos run from three minutes to thirty minutes each.
Some of the TED app features:
- "Inspire Me" button. Touching this icon reveals an elegant watch face and the question: "How much time do you have?" Dial up a time, choose the type of talk you want (Inspiring? Funny? Jaw-dropping?) and you’ll get a playlist of talks that fits your schedule.
- "Tags" breaks down TEDTalks topics into some 250 categories, from "insects" to "robots," from "happiness" to "fish."
- "Saved Talks" allows you to download and queue up several hours of TEDTalks for viewing offline.
- "Playlist Browser" lets you browse ahead in any playlist while watching a saved talk. It’s accessible by tapping the Info button.
TED is a global series of conferences formed to disseminate Ideas Worth Spreading. The TEDTalks feature many of the world’s leading thinkers and doers. The TED app is free at iTunes.
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New York Times Launches iPad App no comments
The New York Times has released a new app for the iPad. The app will access more than 25 sections of Times content and is free for now, although that will change when The Times launches its paywall next year. To access all of the content now you will still need to register within the app or login with an existing NYTimes.com account. Available at iTunes.
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eReader & Tablet News – 9/30/2010 no comments
Infinity Publishing announced today that it has struck a deal with Sony to sell its books through Sony’s Reader Store. Infinity specializes in self-published authors and on demand publishing.
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Amazon is giving away five free Wi-Fi Kindle 3 ereaders. To enter, you just need to visit Amazon’s Kindle page on Facebook and become a fan by clicking on the “Like” button. US residents 18 years of age or older are eligible. The contest runs from September 27 through October 18, 2010.
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This Saturday, October 2, will be the 60th anniversary of Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. As part of the celebrations a social media game will be hosted. One of the prizes is an iPad:
Also this month, PEANUTS fans are celebrating the 60th anniversary of their favorite comic strip via the "Countdown to the Great Pumpkin" (www.greatpumpkincountdown.com) game. This online social media game invites Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Foursquare and YouTube users to join the Anniversary fun by completing a series of daily PEANUTS-themed "to-dos" from early September through Halloween. Players earn points for each task completed—such as sharing a PEANUTS quote with their friends or followers, or changing their profile picture to that of a PEANUTS character—and the winner will take home a special PEANUTS-loaded iPad and have a shot at an extra $25,000. Weekly winners receive prizes throughout the contest and members of the Schulz family—including Charles Schulz’s son Craig, daughter Jill, and widow, Jeannie—are playing along, offering their own PEANUTS memories and suggesting some of the daily to-dos.
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Will we be seeing ereaders and other devices with word definitions powered by Dictionary.com?
Today Dictionary.com (www.dictionary.com), the leading online and mobile dictionary, announced the launch of its API Developer Center (developer.dictionary.com), a user-friendly distribution channel for its easy to integrate open API. The Center demonstrates Dictionary.com’s commitment to shaping the evolution of online, mobile and connected devices by providing ‘information in the moment,’ enabling developers to integrate its content and features into not only digital learning and entertainment platforms, but an endless range of applications across all platforms. Additionally, the Center will offer developers opportunities for heightened visibility via a visual gallery highlighting creative uses of the API.
"People want access to word definitions in context, without navigating away from what they are doing – Dictionary.com’s vision with the API Developer Center is to make this the standard online and mobile experience," said Shravan Goli, President, Dictionary.com. "Now literally every developer of any application that utilizes words can integrate Dictionary.com’s content and features so that their users can effortlessly experience word discovery."
Use of the API will be free for non-commercial use, and Dictionary.com will offer its content and features for commercial use on a revenue-share and fee-based basis.
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Tokyo-based Seirindo Co., Ltd. will be making its manga magazines available as an iPad app. The Garo manga is available now, with Cycle Boys and Tale of Charcoal Burner coming in October. The description of these in the iTunes store is in Japanese, though the info on the app says it is English language – I didn’t buy one ($2.99) so I’m not sure.
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The GoodReader PDF handling app got a major upgrade today. Some of the new features:
- all annotations that you create or edit in GoodReader – notes, highlights, markups, and drawings – are saved in a PDF file, so you will be able to see them later on a computer or in another copy of GoodReader on your colleague’s device
- all notes, highlights, markups, and drawings created outside GoodReader, and properly stored in a PDF file, can be viewed or edited in GoodReader
- types of annotations that you can create and edit in GoodReader: comments ("sticky notes") with 7 different icons, text highlights, freehand drawings, lines, arrows, rectangles, ovals, text underlines, text deletion marks (strikeouts), text insertion marks, text replacement marks. You can freely adjust color of all of the above.
- other types of annotations that you can view in GoodReader: text boxes with callouts, polygons and polylines, squiggly underlines, cloudy shapes, rubber stamps, file attachments. All annotations that can be viewed, can also be deleted. In addition, some of them can be edited in a limited fashion (color, placement, scale).
- you can now extract files from PDF file attachments
GoodReader is $0.99 at iTunes.
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Barclays Capital analyst Douglas Anmuth is predicting that Amazon will sell 5 million Kindles this year and 11.5 million in 2012. Some of the factors contributing to high unit sales include lower pricing and availability at multiple outlets. Anmuth also thinks that Kindles are not in direct competition with tablets anymore, “A bifurcated market has clearly developed between more expensive, multi-function tablets and cheaper, dedicated eReaders.”
You can read more at ZDNet.
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Mary Lou Jepsen writes in the Pixel Qi blog that a 10-inch Pixel Qi screen that connects and is powered by a USB cable is being developed by Display Solutions AG. You could use this as a secondary screen that can be read in sunlight. It would also be possible to power the display with batteries and use a wireless USB connection. Below is a short video of the screen in sunlight.
These should be in production by the end of this year or the beginning of 2011.
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Onkyo has launched three new Windows 7 – based tablets. Two will have 10.1-inch multitouch screens while the third will have a 11.6-inch display. All come with a 32GB SSD, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Battery life doesn’t look that good (at least when compared to the iPad’s 10 hours) — ranging from 3.8 hours to 6 hours depending on the model.
Prices range from ¥49,800 ($597 USD) to ¥69,800 ($836). Onkyo expects to begin shipping in mid-October.
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VitalSource Launches Bookshelf App for iPad & iPhone 1 comment
Leading etextbook provider VitalSource has announced a free app that lets students and faculty access their full etextbook content as well as notes and annotations from their iDevices.
The VitalSource Bookshelf app is now available for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Notes and highlights made on other Bookshelf platforms are synced with the new iOS app.
Using the new VitalSource Bookshelf® iOS app, the full e-textbook, student notes and highlights are downloaded to the device, making it unnecessary to be connected to the Internet to access the full content. VitalSource Bookshelf is the only digital textbook platform providing synchronization across download, online and mobile delivery methods.
The VitalSource Bookshelf e-textbook app supports the full VitalSource library of titles, including popular higher education textbooks, study guides and classics on Apple’s popular iPad™, iPhone®, and iPod Touch® and other mobile devices.
VitalSource currently offers over 60,000 titles from top textbook publishers. The Bookshelf app is free at iTunes.
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New App Turns iDevice into Communications Board for Those with Disabilities 1 comment
AbleNet has launched SoundingBoard, an iPhone, iPod touch and iPad app to help those with disabilities communicate. The app basically turns the iDevice into a customizable communications board.
From the press release:
SoundingBoard holds many possibilities. For example, teachers can use the application to quickly create an exam to test comprehension. Older students moving into the work environment can use SoundingBoard to communicate with their new employer and work team members. Patients in a hospital or a dentist office can use SoundingBoard to communicate with their caregivers when they are temporarily unable to speak.
Additional features include:
- Hundreds of pre-loaded AbleNet symbols for nearly every common situation—choose symbols, record the associated message and create a communication board in under two minutes
- Ability to use photos from your own device library—easily customize communication boards to each unique situation
- Take a photo on the iPhone or the new iPod Touch to use with SoundingBoard immediately—adapt quickly to new situations in the classroom, workplace or community
SoundingBoard is the newest member of a long line of communication devices from AbleNet. Millions of people worldwide with a variety of medical and developmental conditions use AbleNet’s Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) products. This new device will benefit a wide range of disabilities, from children with developmental language disorders, to individuals with severe physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy, to people living with the effects of a stroke.
SoundingBoard is available from iTunes. It looks like a good tool, but is rather pricey at $49.99.
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Free International Text Messaging & Chat Service 1 comment
Texting can be problematic and expensive when you go overseas.
Well yeah, you say, that’s why you go to the other side of the planet on vacation — to stay out of touch for a while. So you will probably think that it’s rather inconsiderate of MediaFriends to launch the HeyWire service that lets those whom you have left behind text and chat internationally for free with an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC.
From the press release:
When using HeyWire to send a message to any mobile subscriber, the service connects 1.6 billion people in 114 countries through 360 mobile operators; and is scheduled to reach 193 countries, 4 billion subscribers and 850 mobile operators around the world by the end of 2010.
Bringing the world even closer together, the service also enables HeyWire users to text each other worldwide, anywhere, and supports all major languages, including character based ones, so people can communicate in their native tongue. When combining global language support with worldwide coverage, sending and receiving messages is truly an international experience made personal with HeyWire.
More than Texting – Social Networking And Multiple Screens, Too
In addition to solving the problem of high-cost international texting, HeyWire simplifies an increasingly complex world of multiple devices and multiple ways to communicate via real-time messaging (SMS, Facebook Chat, Twitter and IM) by integrating these messaging types in one service and delivering it across multiple screens. HeyWire enables a new generation of users to send and receive messages from any screen, using a real phone number as their personal identity; providing people with any type of real-time messaging anywhere, anytime.
At launch HeyWire has integrated Facebook Chat with major IM services to be added this fall. HeyWire for Android, BlackBerry and Google TV will also be available fall, 2010. Support for TV, gaming devices and ereaders will be added in 2011.
There is a disclaimer:
In the 114 supported countries not all mobile operators are connected to HeyWire and text message coverage will change as mobile operators are added. Please go to HeyWire.com to view country and mobile operator coverage list.
HeyWire is a free app at the Apple App Store.
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Inkling Digital Textbook App no comments
Inkling has launched its iPad textbook reading app.
Inkling offers interactive textbooks with social collaboration and integrated multimedia. Students are able to buy individual chapters or entire books for less than the price of the print textbook.
"Inkling uses multitouch interactivity to create engaging learning experiences," said Matt MacInnis, Founder and CEO of Inkling. "Rather than replicating a book on a screen, Inkling puts 3-D objects, video, quizzes, and even social interaction right at a student’s fingertips inside the textbook."
Students using the Inkling app can share their notes and highlights with each other and see comments from other students and professors alongside their own notes.
Inkling is a free download from iTunes.
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eReader & iPad News – 7/20/2010 1 comment
Sharp Announces eReader
At a press conference today Sharp announced two new ereaders that should be available later this year. Both are color LCD devices – one with a 5.5-inch screen and a larger model with a 10.8-inch display.
Akihabaranews reports that Sharp plans to introduce its ereaders into the US market and suggests that Sharp will be looking for a carrier to partner with. There are also a few photos there to check out.
Sharp will apparently be using a proprietary ebook format that also has multimedia capabilities. From Sharp’s press release:
Sharp Corporation has developed XMDF, a next-generation e-book format (hereinafter “Next-generation XMDF”) with advanced features that allow users to enjoy video and audio content, in addition to current features such as texts and still images. With next-generation XMDF as a core technology, Sharp will within this year provide digital platform to promote e-book distribution service and launch compatible reader devices to enter the e-book market. Various publishing houses (newspaper, magazines, catalogs), printing and agent companies in Japan and overseas market will be supporting Sharp to launch this e-book business.
Sharp’s next-generation XMDF is an advanced version of the current XMDF format. The current XMDF format has been commercialized in 2001 and is used in e-book contents including Japanese novels and manga comics. The next-generation XMDF enables easy viewing of digital contents including video and audio, and allows automatic adjustment of the layout to match and meet publishers’ needs. With this digital platform, Sharp plans to enhance users’ e-book lifestyle with more sophisticated user interface technology, and at the same time will contribute to expand the e-book market. XMDF allows users to browse the same content on multiple terminals including smart phones, PCs and TVs and also streamlines publisher’s e-book contents production.
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The Times Paywall – the Glass is Still 1/3 Full
The Financial Times is reporting that visits to The Times website have fallen by two-thirds since Rupert Murdoch decided to add a paywall to the site. While this is a large drop, it is better than the 90 percent drop in traffic that some had expected.
Murdoch’s hope is that combining subscription fees with more targeted advertising can generate more revenue.
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enTourage Systems Partners with Cengage Learning
enTourage Systems has steadily been announcing new digital textbook content that is being added for its enTourage eDGe ebook reader. Today enTourage announced an agreement with CengageLearning to add its catalog of etextbooks as well.
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FileMaker Go for iPad and iPhone
FileMaker, Inc announced today that its FileMaker Go apps for iPhone and iPad are now available. The new apps allow users to easily view, edit and search for information in FileMaker databases from their iPhone or iPad.
From the press release:
Ideal for mobile teams, FileMaker Go provides access to databases created with FileMaker Pro and hosted on FileMaker Server or FileMaker Pro. FileMaker Go can access databases residing on a Mac or PC using a local wireless network or over the Internet via Wi-Fi or 3G. All changes are instantly updated in the hosted file. FileMaker Go users can also copy databases between their desktop or laptop computers and FileMaker Go via File Sharing in iTunes, perfect for single user databases. Databases may also be downloaded by email, popular file sharing sites, or the web.
“Imagine being able to check inventory levels, update the status of a project or add a new customer contact and share it with your remote sales team – just a few of the many workgroup tasks made easy with FileMaker Go for iPhone or iPad,” said Ryan Rosenberg, vice president of marketing and services for FileMaker, Inc.
FileMaker Go for iPad is $39.99 and the iPhone version is $19.99.
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BBQ With Your iPad no comments
Next to your tongs, spatula and sauce mop your iPad could be one of your most useful BBQ tools. Weber has 
announced that its Weber’s On the Grill app is now available for the iPad.
Weber’s on the Grill has more than 250 recipes from several of the bestselling Weber’s BBQ cookbooks. The repertoire also includes 40 sauces, marinades and rubs. The app includes videos and features like being able to bookmark favorite recipes, create and share shopping lists generated from a recipe and make notes on a recipe.
Weber’s On the Grill was released for the iPhone and iPod touch almost a year ago. The iPad version has more than tripled the number of included videos to 27. Available at the iTunes Store for $4.99.
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MyPadMedia no comments
myPadMedia.com is a service primarily designed for the iPad and other iDevices, but will supposedly work on desktops as well. According to the website, if you pay a one-time fee of $49.95 you will get a lifetime membership that entitles you to download unlimited ebooks, comic books and newspapers listed in their mysterious database which they do not let you see until after you pay them.
GearDiary thinks the whole thing sounds suspect and advises Buyers to Beware, and after looking at the site and reading the myPadMedia legal page that sounds like good advice.
