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How to view Flash on your iPad and iPhone
Have you wanted to view Flash on an iPhone or iPad? Well now it is possible (well it always has been with a few workarounds). Apps are coming out that display Flash content, so rest assured, Flash does work on these devices.
One such app, iSwifter, is a browser that displays Flash content. You can try the browser for free for 10 days and it costs 4.99 to purchase. I tested it out and it works pretty well. I tested video, motion, sound, and interactions in flash and they all worked. I think anyone interested in viewing Flash on the iPad/iPhone should definitely invest in this app. It’s cheap, and it works.
iPad 3 vs iPad 1 vs Kindle Fire
Now that I have all three devices and have time to play with all of them, here are my reviews…well more or less a comparison
First lets do iPad 3 vs Kindle Fire
Cost – Kindle is $200 vs iPad which starts at $499
Functionality of Hardware – iPad takes the cake here. I can do a lot more with the iPad. For instance hardware wise it has a camera and microphone. It can also have 4G data if you have that version.
Functionality of Software – On the software side you have Apple’s app store (tons of apps) vs the amazon app store which is a limited version of Android market. I still believe Kindle isnt too far behind here for a majority of users but the apple store is better. Once Kindle gets the full Android store then I will say they are nearly the same.
Size – Kindle is much smaller than iPad. I thought I would like the size but soon realized its really not much bigger than my galaxy nexus phone. I would not want to watch a movie on this…although I would on a plane, etc. The iPad screen just feels much better due to its size but again, I wouldnt really want to watch a movie on this either. I just personally prefer the bigger size. If I were you, I would put both in your hands and see what you think.
Interface – Both have a good interface. I have no problems with either. I like both for different reasons and think both can be improved.
Web – Both connect to the web just fine. Kindle displays Flash which is awesome and iPad doesnt. This is great for me as many surf reports are in flash. However, a drawback with the Kindle is that the Facebook app actually connects to its web page so its not really an app. And one weird thing about the Kindle is that there is no email app? No idea why, its not that big of a deal but its weird that its not there. Instead I have to go through the web browser to access email. iPad has the mail app and has a facebook app.
Integration – iPad integrates well with Apple stuff and Kindle integrates well with Amazon stuff. If you are a user of one or the other that could help you make a choice between one.
Overall – both devices are pretty good and fun to use. If you have a cell phone and laptop but want a tablet to take to meetings, connect to the internet, view email, and facebook, either one should satisfy your needs just fine. I personally think the big things to consider here will be price and size because the other things are minor in my opinion. For business needs, iPad is probably better, for surfing the web, email, and facebook I would probably just get the Kindle because of the price but thats just because I am cheap and have a laptop/phone – the tablet is just a luxury to me. Again, it really depends on your needs and financial situation. Both do pretty much everything the other does and each has something that is better or worse than the other.
Now iPad 1 vs iPad 3.
If you have iPad 1, I would NOT recommend getting iPad 3 unless….You want
4G data – just so you know its $30 a month
Camera/Microphone – honestly are you really going to take pics with your iPad?
Besides those features, the rest are really minor and not worth an upgrade in my opinion. The new iPad has a much better screen resolution and this might matter to tablet gamers (is there a such thing?) and people who watch a lot of movies on their iPad and really need that HD. It is also slightly faster but I really couldnt tell much of a difference. Otherwise its the same interface, apps, functionality, size (for the most part – I cant tell a difference), etc.
Overall – if you have iPad 1 I would not upgrade unless you care about the 4G and Camera/Mic. while its a big upgrade for us techies it is NOT an upgrade for most iPad users.
Rumors, rumors, rumors….
Finally back from my conference and now playing catch up. Will start up my regular posting as well….anyway several BIG rumors that I have heard in the last week.
1. I personally heard from a good source (someone who would know/that I trust) that the iPad 3 will be coming out in March. Just confirms all other rumors but hearing from this source is a pretty good indicator that it is definitely coming soon.
2. Google might be releasing Jellybean (android 5.0) which will boot with dual cores in the Q2 of this year! Wow and ICS isnt even on any phones except the Gnex. However, I would suspect this would only be on tablets at first. link to article
iPad 3? Rumors…
Well its coming at some point, we just do not know when but the tech blogs and news sites are running rampant with rumors. Most are pointing to a late february (not likely at this point) to March release date. My guess after seeing how these things play out and are always a bit behind is March/April.
Rumored specs:
Quad Core
Siri Support
Improved Cams
4G
Better resolution
Thicker than iPad 2
Significantly improved battery life
Also, iPad 2 price will drop and may continue to be sold
Well these are all rumors so take them with a grain of salt but be ready in the next 2 months to see iPad 3.
Here is a good site that explains the recent rumors: http://mashable.com/2012/02/01/ipad-3-details-2/
Copyright concern when publishing with Apple’s iBook App
Apple’s new iBook App seems great. However, more research into the tool seems to show that when you publish to Apple’s App, you are now bound to an agreement and you cannot just go ahead and sell the material you wrote. As noted by mashable, here is bit of the agreement:
“IMPORTANT NOTE: If you charge a fee for any book or other work you generate using this software (a “Work”), you may only sell or distribute such Work through Apple (e.g., through the iBookstore) and such distribution will be subject to a separate agreement with Apple.”
What does this mean? You cannot take this work and put it into a book to sell or sell it anywhere else. Essentially you are giving Apple the rights to it.
This is kind of scary and not what this app should be about. Copyright needs to be maintained by the author. So Apple, if you are out there are and listening, please change this. I am now hesitant to publish here and I would recommend ALL to avoid this app until this is changed. If you want to publish, publish it online at your own website where you retain copyright.
Source:
Potential for Apple’s iBooks App?
I am wondering where this app will go in the future. There is a great potential for educators to write/publish their own work. However there is one BIG question that jumps into my mind. Havent we been able to publish our own work, for use on the computer, in Word/PDF/Blog/Website form, for many years now? The answer is YES. So I am a bit confused. I would like to see this tool take off but are people going to have the time to use it? Why will this take off when regular internet/blog publishing, which is the same thing, didnt (as far as texts are concerned)?
Apple iBooks App
Apple’s big announcement today: An app that allows a teacher to create their own book and publish it to iBook. Thus you can take a Word document and the app formats it to be read on the ipad. Its supposed to be very user friendly. I am excited to use this in my courses this semester. For more info see:
Apple’s Siri vs Google’s Android Voice Control
Apple’s new iPhone 4s introduced voice to phone communication. At first I was not too impressed with this feature as I have a droid 1 that has had voice to phone communication since 2009. However, after reading about SIRI I realized this was a significant step up from Google’s voice commands but in the end would not be a significant deal breaker for me to switch to iPhone.
What can they both do:
text message
Find location on map
Make phone calls
Play music
Web searches
Email
Open the browser
Now where is the difference? The major difference is that Google voice relies on commands like ‘call john smith on cell’. Whereas SIRI relies on natural language such as ‘call my mother on her cell phone’ You can also ask SIRI questions like ‘what are my meetings for the day’ and SIRI will know to look at your calendar. This would be important for people who cannot remember or do not want to remember the commands. This introduction in AI is a significant step in voice communication with the phone and Apple has a slight advantage. However, I should point out that Android does have 3rd party apps that are supposed to do the same thing as SIRI.
A difference in favor of Android is that SIRI does not give text to speech voice directions like Google voice does. You need a 3rd party app for apple to do that. In light of that, there are rumors that Apple will soon have a good GPS system just like android does.
So overall is SIRI a deal breaker? I think it depends what you want. It seems like either way you can make each phone function the same using 3rd party apps (GPS apps for apple, AI apps for android).
I guess the main question is, are you going to talk to your phone?
Here is a good source with more explanation: http://gigaom.com/mobile/speech-smack-down-siri-vs-android-voice-actions/
Want to develop an ipad, iphone, ipod app?
Here is a link to the apple site which walks you through the process. First you need to pay $99:( Then you download the SDK (standard development kit). At that point you can develop apps, test them, and send them to apple for approval. Remember apple apps are developed using Objective-C. This is actually not that easy of a language for the average programmer to develop with so it may take some time. I have spoken with several advanced programmers who had many difficulties at first when developing with this code so be patient as there may be a steep learning curve.