Activision has their best mobile titles on sale in the App Store

Who doesn't love holiday sales? Right now you can grab some of the best iOS games in App Store from Acitvision.


Wipeout - $0.99  -  App Store Link: <Wipeout - Activision Publishing, Inc.


Guitar Hero - $1.99 -  App Store Link: <Guitar Hero - Activision Publishing, Inc.


Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies: $2.99  -  App Store Link: Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies - Activision Publishing, Inc.


Call of Duty: Zombies: $1.99  -  App Store Link: Call of Duty: Zombies HD - Activision Publishing, Inc.


Activision Anthology: $1.99 per game bundle or $4.99 for full 45-game collection - App Store Link: Activision Anthology - Activision Publishing, Inc.


Pitfall! – Free! - App Store Link:   PITFALL!™ - Activision Publishing, Inc.


We have previously reviewed Wipeout and Pitfall, be sure to check out the reviews of the games as well.

Clash of Clans - Strategies

Clash of Clans has easily become one of my all-time favorite iOS games. Before I played Clash of Clans I was mostly playing Kingdom Rush and Strategery on a daily basis. Both of those games are different types of games compared with Clash of Clans but I enjoyed myself immensely when playing both of them. I have not played either game in over a month, it is mostly Clash of Clans and I have mixed in some GTA: Vice City along the way.

This video is mostly about the strategies that I use when attacking opponents. My strategy may not work for you but you can always try and see if it helps any. Everyone has a different way of playing, attacking, setting up defenses, etc. These are just my tactics and what I have found the most success in doing.

One the offense side of things I always check for 2 things:

1. Do they have barracks or workshops tucked in the corners of the map?


2. Do they have any reinforcements in their clan castle?

If normally check for reinforcements first by placing either 1 goblin or 1 warrior close to the clan castle. If they have reinforcements then I will find a spot on the map which is away from all other defenses, normally a corner and I will set a couple of warriors there to draw the reinforcements away from the other defenses. Once I get them in the corner I will launch a few more warriors and archers to defeat the reinforcements. It is much easier to defeat the reinforcements away from the other defenses.

Once the reinforcements are defeated I will then focus on a point of attack on their walls. I will try to find the weakest spot or if I am farming I will look for a spot that I might be able to use wall breakers on so I can unleash my goblins.

My usual offense for farming gold and elixir:

• 80-100: goblins


• 10-20: archers


• 10: warriors


• 5-8: wallbreakers


• 5-8: giants

That is my basic attack setup, also I only attack players that I know I can raid for all their lucky charms. Sometimes it takes me 10-15 tries before finding the perfect village to raid = lots of gold/elixir and a weak defense. It is always worth it in the long run.

Be sure to check out my other Clash of Clan video: Clan of Clans Review

Check out Simon's Clash of Clans strategies: CoC

Give the gift of Apps this holiday season

Now you can gift iTunes credit and applications right from the iPad. This feature was removed and recently added back to iOS devices just in time for the holiday season. You can also choose a date in advance to send the App or iTunes Credit, so if you buy today your gift can get delivered on Christmas if you choose December 25th as the day you want the recipient to receive the gift.

This is a great feature and I am really happy Apple has decided to add it back into the iOS App Store. I always send my daughter applications and it is much easier to send these applications right from the iPad vs. having to open iTunes on my computer and send the app.

LIMA SKY ANNOUNCES GROUNDBREAKING PARTNERSHIPS TO DEVELOP RANGE OF DOODLE JUMP TOYS AND GAMES

Lima Sky the makers of the fabulous Doodle Jump game that I reviewed a couple of weeks ago announced a new partnership to develop toys based on the game. Good for them, I am sure my daughter will be begging me for a Doodle Jump plush before long.

Doodle Jump is coming home. Lima Sky, creators of the award-winning, bestselling mobile gaming classic, is today proud to announce a hand-picked team of world-class designers and manufacturers to craft a complete line of Doodle Jump toys and games for all tiers of distribution. Global exclusive master toy licensee, Innovation First International, and the other licensees will work directly with Lima Sky, including founder Igor Pusenjak, to ensure each product meets the standard of charm and excellence that Doodle Jump fans have come to expect.

“Lima Sky prides itself on giving Doodle Jump fans a rewarding experience, both in terms of visual aesthetics and elegance of gameplay. Our ambitions for consumer merchandise are the same: quality of product and design sensibility must meet exacting standards,” noted Eric Karp, Chief Licensing Officer of Lima Sky. “To fulfill on that promise, we’ve chosen best in class partners to create merchandise that Doodle Jump fans will bring into their lives.”

Joining the Doodle Jump family is Innovation First International, creators of the wildly popular and internationally recognized HEXBUG® Micro Robotic Creatures brand, and the industry leader in robotics and electronic toys, has begun developing a broad assortment of novelty, collectible and robotic toys. The company is also teaming up with Gund – a division of Enesco and the most celebrated soft toy manufacturer in the world – to design a collection of both premium and value priced plush toys, for Doodle Jump fans of all ages. Retail partnerships for the summer 2013 global launch will be announced shortly, along with dozens of other licensees in every product category.

“Doodle Jump is one of the last untouched powerhouse app brands. We are thrilled to bring this modern classic into the homes of fans globally with our broad assortment of toys and collectibles,” stated Chris Troyak, president of Innovation First Labs, Inc.

With tens of millions of downloads across multiple platforms since its original release in 2009 – making it a consistent chart-topper on the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Amazon Appstore – Doodle Jump’s fan base reaches a diverse set of consumers well beyond the toy market. As such, Lima Sky will partner with a number of distinctive creators and designers in unveiling an extensive set of gaming and style products.

In addition, Innovative Concepts in Entertainment (ICE), a leading manufacturer of coin operated games is working with veteran game developer Raw Thrills to create Doodle Jump Arcade, a high-definition, coin-op arcade version of the original title. The game is displayed on a vertically mounted 42 inch tall high-definition monitor. Doodle Jump Arcade is playable at the biggest arcades in the country, including Dave & Buster’s and Chuck E. Cheese’s.

About Doodle Jump
Doodle Jump is an Apple Design Award-winning game and one of mobile gaming’s most successful titles. First released in 2009, Doodle Jump has earned continual praise for its excellence in innovation, performance, and user experience, while its addictive yet accessible gameplay has made it a must-have classic and the #3 All-Time Top Paid iPhone app. Doodle Jump is available on the iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Nokia Symbian, and Windows Phone platforms.

About Lima Sky
Lima Sky, creators of the bestselling Doodle Jump, is an award-winning video game and app development studio. It was founded in July 2008 by Igor Pusenjak, a graduate and faculty at the MFA interactive design program at Parsons School of Design in New York, and Marko Pusenjak, a veteran mobile applications developer. As one of the world’s leading independent publishers, Lima Sky is dedicated to creating entertaining and innovative games across multiple platforms.

About Innovation First International
Innovation First International and its subsidiaries (VEX Robotics, Inc., RackSolutions, Inc., and Innovation First Labs, Inc.) are the undisputed leader educational and competitive robotics products, and a growing developer of consumer robotics toys. Incorporated in 1996, Innovation First International is a privately held corporation that was founded on the belief that innovation is necessary very early in the design process to produce simple and elegant product designs.

About Gund
GUND, a division of Enesco, LLC, is known worldwide for its top quality, soft and huggable plush designs and gift products. Award-winning GUND products appeal to all ages, from infants up, and are perfect for both play and collecting. The 114-year old company is based in Edison, New Jersey, and distributes throughout the United States and Canada as well as in Europe, Japan, Australia and South America. GUND products may be found in gift, specialty, toy, book, museum and department stores and many other retail outlets.

About Innovative Concepts in Entertainment, Inc. (ICE)
Innovative Concepts in Entertainment, Inc. (ICE) has been a manufacturer of coin operated amusement sports and skill redemption games since 1982. Today, ICE carries one of the largest, most prolific product ranges in the coin operated industry. We sell our products into over 70 different countries around the globe. Our commitment to product quality and reliability as well as after sales parts and service is unparalleled.

About Raw Thrills, Inc.
Raw Thrills, Inc. was founded in 2001 by Eugene Jarvis, Andrew Eloff, and Deepak Deo to create the finest arcade video game entertainment for the world market. In 2006, Raw Thrills merged with renowned game development studio Play Mechanix, founded in 1995 by George Petro, a former designer of Midway Games, to create a new world leader in arcade games. Raw Thrills and Play Mechanix develops hit arcade games of all styles.

Creating a market

2 1/2 years ago this aisle did not exist in Wal-Mart:

A few weeks back I bragged about some iPad numbers but is it fair to say I bragged? I do not mean brag as in being cocky and rubbing it in the faces of others I mean bragging as in what I said was true. Tablets have been around for a lot longer than the iPad has but nobody cared nor wasted their money on those products. The folks who did buy them probably wished they had not wasted those green Gods on said devices.

Walk into a Best Buy, Target, or Wal-Mart today and you will be greeted with aisles of tablets and tablet accessories. Thank Apple and the iPad. Matter of fact when I walked into Best Buy again this weekend I set out to count the aisles of tablets vs. aisles of laptops/desktops. You can go ahead and stick a fork in the desktops, that era has come and gone with little fanfare. By my count the tablets had just as many aisles as the laptops did. The accessories won out 3 to 1 over laptops accessories. That is probably not fair because there is not much you can do to a laptop, with tablets you can have all types of screen protectors, cases, folios, etc. The fact reamins though, tablets are here to stay and they are taking over!

Decided to go to Wal-Mart today to do the same thing. 1 aisle of laptops, 3 aisles of tablets. So if you love your tablet no matter what brand it is be thankful for Apple for creating the hype for tablet devices.

YouTube replacement applications

With Google not renewing their YouTube license with Apple, the YouTube application for iOS will be disappearing with iOS 6 as you have probably already heard. Google did release an official YouTube application but that was only for the iPhone. No iPad version has been released yet. I think Google will take their sweet time, probably hoping the iPad faithful will get frustrated and buy a Nexus 7. I am only half kidding about that last statement.

The iPhone version of YouTube will work on your iPad in 2x mode, but who wants to view iPhone applications on their iPad? I know I don’t! The official YouTube application also includes advertisements during the pre-roll of the videos. In the Apple version of YouTube those advertisements did not exist. This caused a problem with some of the videos not being allowed to be played on the iPad and iPhone because of this. Google solved that. Now when you get ready to enjoy your 3 minute videos you also enjoy the 2 minute advertisement as well. Thanks Google.

Hold on, do get so discouraged there are some other great video applications that you can enjoy on the iPad. Many of these apps will show you YouTube videos. Until Google decides to release their advertisement laden app on the iPad enjoy these fine applications in the mean time.

Vimeo - Vimeo, LLC - Vimeo for iPad is a universal application and is free in the iOS App Store. If you are looking for high quality videos done right then look no further. Vimeo is my personal favorite video website.

Video Time Machine - Original Victories, Inc. - Video Time Machine is a universal iOS application and is only $2.99 in the iOS App Store. Video Time Machine is the best way to view videos from previous years. All of the videos are on YouTube and they are all handpicked videos representing each year dating back to 1860.

Showyou - Remixation, Inc. - Showyou is a universal iOS application and is free to download in the iOS App Store. Showyou is a social video application that allows you to discover videos that your friends have shared across various social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Showyou is a terrific application, especially on the iPad.

Devour - Zombiecorp - Devour is a universal iOS application and is free to download in the iOS App Store. Devour is a curated collection of hand-picked videos from the editors of the terrific website devour.com.

Frequency ~ Tune In, Watch Videos - Frequency - Frequency is an iPad only application and is free to download in the iOS App Store. Frequency is a terrific application that pulls in videos from a ton of different sources. This is by far the single most useful video application you will ever install on your iPad. It does require you to set up a Frequency account but trust me, it is well worth it.

Preparation for iOS 6

iOS 6 will be launching within the next couple of weeks and possibly as soon as this week. In preparation for iOS, I figured I would write-up a short guide on things to consider before upgrading your particular generation iPad.

Transfer Purchases:

You can transfer purchases you have made on your iPad 1 of 2 ways:

• Connect your iPad to your computer via the USB cable > Right-click on your iPad in the left panel and select ‘Transfer Purchases from…’


• You can sync your iPad to iTunes by connecting your iPad to your computer > Open iTunes > Click the ‘Sync’ button in the lower right hand side of your iTunes window.

Transferring your purchases is not that big of a deal any longer since you can always re-download any purchases you have made via the App Store now, this used to be a big deal before Apple started allowing you to re-download music, TV shows and movies that you had purchased. This will help keep you from having to re-download your purchases again though especially movies which can be quite large in file size. It is much easier to transfer your purchases from your iPad to your computer and takes much less time than having to continually re-download.

Backup:

This probably should have been the very first step I listed,as it is the most important step. You have several options for backup on your iPad.

• Backup to iTunes by connecting your iPad to your computer > Selecting your iPad in the left panel > Click the ‘Sync’ button in the lower right-hand window of iTunes.


• iCloud Backup is probably the easiest backup because it does it in the background.  If you have iCloud backup turned ‘ON,’ then you probably have a recent backup of your iPad already. To check to see if you have iCloud backup turned on, open Settings on your iPad > Tap iCloud in the left panel > Tap Storage & Backup > iCloud Backup will either be ON or OFF.

Backing-up your iPad should be something you do on a regular basis to ensure that if something happens to your iPad, that you will never lose too much data if you need to restore your iPad from a previous backup. This ensures that you have multiple backups of your data on your iPad and can easily restore your iPad to a recent state if needed.

I highly encourage everyone to use iCloud backup because your device will automatically backup your camera roll, accounts, documents, and settings when the iPad is connected via WiFi, locked, and charging. You don’t have to think about it, it just does it magically behind the scenes when you are not using your iPad. If you do not have enough storage in the 5GB of free iCloud storage Apple gives you, consider purchasing additional storage for added piece of mind.

I have a nice workflow setup to help me remember to backup to iTunes twice a week. I use the Calendar app on my iPad and created two weekly repeating events that alert me in the evening to backup to iTunes. If I have plans to be out of town during the week and will not be able to backup to iTunes, then I have a system for that as well. I will open that particular week's events that I have planned and set my Calendar to the day before I leave to alert me to backup. I then remove the Calendar events from the week I will be away so it does not disturb while I am out of town.

How to Upgrade:

If you are running iOS 5.0.1 or later you can update your iPad OTA (Over the Air) by doing the following:

• Open the Setting App on your iPad


•  Tap General in the left panel


• Tap Software Update


• Your iPad will automatically check for updates.  If an update is available, you will see the ‘Install Update’ button.

If you want to upgrade your iPad via iTunes you will need to do the following:

• Connect your iPad to your computer via the USB cable


• Open iTunes with your iPad connected to the computer


• Click your iPad in the left panel of iTunes


• Under the Summary tab at the top of iTunes look for ‘Version’ below that you will see 'Check for Update.' Simply click that, if there is an update available it will ask you if you want to upgrade.

Things to Consider:

When updating to a new version of iOS you should consider a few things before upgrading. If you depend on a certain application for school or work, you may want to wait until the developer updates his/her application to support the new version of iOS. That does not mean if an app is not updated it will discontinue working.  It just means that it is something you may want to consider before upgrading. Once you upgrade to a new version of iOS, there is no way to roll it back to the previous version[1]. You could check the developer's website to see if he/she has any information regarding an update to his/her application. As well, the developer may have a support forum board and you could check to see if anyone is reporting problems with the application regarding updates to either iOS or that particular application. Also, keep in mind just because a few people are reporting problems that doesn’t always mean you will have the same problem as them. They could be running a different generation iPad that could cause a different situation for them that might not affect you. The best way to go about it would be to send the developer a message and ask if there are any known issues with his/her application and the new version of iOS.

If you are using a 1st generation iPad would highly recommend you check the Apple iPad Support Forums to see if others are experiencing problems with updating to a new version of iOS. Again, remember just because someone is having an issue with their iPad does not mean you will have the same problem. My opinion is Apple will not push an update out to a device if that device would not support that particular update. That does not mean you will not have any performance issue or any other problem though. Use your best judgement and consider waiting a few days to see if any problems arise. Keep in mind that the 1st generation iPad is not getting the iOS 6 upgrade. However, if you are updating to other versions than what you currently have on your 1st generation iPad, be aware, as I have seen quite a few people complain on the Apple forums and Twitter about iOS 5.x.x regarding the 1st generation iPad.

I am fairly confident with the 2nd and 3rd generation iPad’s getting iOS 6 that their will be minimal problems, if any at all. I have been using the developer's beta of iOS 6 and have not noticed any significant problems.  Keep in mind the keyword is ‘BETA,’ so I am sure some things could change before the official launch. By change, I mean any problems that I may have experienced will be addressed. Let me note that I have not experienced many problems at all.

If you run into any problems with updating your iPad and you end up needing to restore from a previous iCloud back-up, I wrote a 'how-to' awhile back on Total iPad. You can find that article HERE.
You can find instructions on how to restore from iTune HERE

If you have any problems with updating your iPad to the new version of iOS and need help, I would start on the Apple Support Forums.

Also, you could reach out to me on Twitter: @iCrizzo.

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1. You can restore your device, but that is beyond the scope of this discussion. Check the Jailbreak community for help on this topic.  ↩

My Apple Store experience

I originally posted this on my personal blog, but it is about the iPad so I figured I would share it here.

I bought my iPad 2 on day 1, which I believe was March 11, 2011. I can't quite recall off the top of my head, but I am pretty sure that was the official release date. This time around I bought the 64GB 3G iPad (AT&T). I probably had the iPad for about 2 months before I noticed something on the top left of my iPad, LIGHT LEAKAGE. At first it was not that bad, it was a slight yellowish tint/light bleeding through the side of my screen. No worries, or at least I thought, after 3 more months or so I noticed more light leakage in several more spots going down the right side of my iPad, if you were viewing in landscape mode with the home button on your right when facing the screen of the iPad, I now had significant light leakage on my iPad 2.

In the beginning of December of 2011, I picked up my phone and called Apple Support to see what I could do about my problem with my iPad. At first I was told my 90 day complimentary technical support period had already passed and when talking on the phone with the Apple Support assistant I started to think that I was screwed. He was friendly but he kept trying to sell me Apple Care for an extended period of time since my "1 year limited warranty" was due to expire in about 3 months. I was told it would be best to take it to an Apple Store and have my iPad looked at and if it was a hardware issue then I could have my iPad possibly replaced, I was then given an Apple Support case number and asked if I wanted to set up an appointment to take my iPad in. My problem is where I live, the closet Apple Store is in Albany, NY, which is about a 1 hour and 45 minute drive. I told the Apple Assistant my situation and was told that I could hold on to my case number and if I wanted to set up an appointment a later date to just use that number as it was already on file.

At this point I am thinking that I am now the owner of a $829 piece of shit! This past week for the holiday my relatives come to visit me for a few days and it just so happens they want to go Albany for a day of shopping, I decide not to call the Apple Support number to set up an appointment and just decide to bring my iPad 2 with me on the trip and decide what I will do about my iPad when I get there. This is 2 days after Christmas and yes the Apple store was wall to wall with iFans. I walk up to an Apple employee for assistance and tell him problem, he tells me I need to see someone at the Genius Bar so he walks me over to a Macbook Air on display and has me enter my email address and name on a support page for a Genius Bar appointment. He tells me it will be about 15 minutes before anyone can see me, I wait 10 minutes and my name is called. I talk to the Genius and explain my problem with my iPad 2, I have a hard time really showing him the light leakage as you can only see it when you are viewing the iPad in a darkened room and when the screen is dark or black, it will really show up then. He tells me he has seen this problem before, which really surprised me to hear an Apple employee admit that an iPad has a known problem, or any Apple product has a problem for that matter. He takes my iPad into the back room and comes out about 3 minutes later and says he can see the problem areas on my iPad. He tells me that he can exchange my iPad for a new one but he can't promise that the new iPad 2 will not have this same problem, also tells me once he opens it for the exchange that it is mine, I am skeptical as I am thinking he is just trying to keep me from exchanging it, but I explained to him that I use my iPad 2 basically as my 2nd computing device behind my iMac and this flaw was unacceptable. He was very understanding and went into the back room again and returned with a brand new boxed iPad 2 in hand, opened it up in front of me, activated it, restored the new iPad 2 from a back up from my iCloud back-up data then proceeded to wipe my original iPad 2, hopefully my iMessage are not getting sent there still though.

I guess the moral of the story is I walked into an Apple store with a 9 month old iPad 2, no box, no receipt, no proof that I was even the original purchaser of this iPad 2 and I walked out of the Apple store with a brand new iPad 2 with ZERO light leakage from what I can tell so far. Let me see you do that with any electronic device or computer. It is the little things that make Apple products so great, the buying experience is one them, the design of the product down to the way the products are perfectly packaged, the craftsmanship that goes into every device is spectacular, but the customer's buyer satisfaction is 2nd to none. I have been an Apple fan for about 10 years now, ever since I bought my first iPod, I have now amassed 3 Mac's, 6 iPods, 3 iPads, several other Apple devices such as trackpads, magic mouse and keyboards. I have been satisfied with everyone of my purchases. Now I know if I do happen to get that rare dud that Apple will do everything possible to make it right as they did with my iPad 2.

Apple's Smart Case

I recently decided to buy an Apple Smart Case for my 3rd generation iPad. To be honest I have no idea why I bought it, I think it was more of an impulse purchase rather than something I needed. Anyway, here is a short review of the Smart Case with my opinions of it and what you can expect out of the Smart Case.

DESIGN

The Smart Case is made of Polyurethane material outside and a microfiber lining on the inside. The Smart Case comes in 6 different colors: light grey, charcoal, sky blue, lime green, light pink, and red. The Smart Case costs $49 and if you buy the Smart Case from the Online Apple Store you can get it laser-engraved with a personalized message. Apple claims the Smart Case will work with both the iPad 2 and the ‘new’ iPad (3rd Generation). The Smart Case reminds me of a hybrid of the 1st generation iPad cases that Apple sold but with the front of a Smart Case. The front cover is magnetic and your iPad will wake from sleep when lifting the cover, it will also put your iPad to “sleep” when closing the cover on the front.

The case will protect the front and back of your iPad from scratches as well as add a vibrant color to your iPad. The case probably will not protect it from drops nor keep the glass from shattering if you were to drop or if your iPad took a hard knock to the screen. This is more of a wear and tear protection cover rather than a keep my iPad safe from rugged usage.

If you fold the Smart Case back the case will double as a stand so if you have an external keyboard you want to use with your iPad or if you want to prop up your iPad so you can watch a movie it will work for that also. Be warned though, using the Smart Case as a stand feels very flimsy to me and the slightest touch to the iPad and it will start rocking back and forth leaving you with the feeling that it is about to crash land! It will also prop up in 2 other directions: Portrait Mode (be very careful) and Landscape Mode with the iPad laying flat but propped up at an angle.

The Smart Case lines up with all the buttons and ports on your iPad. You can easily access the mute switch or rotation lock button on the side of the iPad. The volume buttons are covered but the Smart Case fits over the top of the button and replaces them with rubber like buttons that allow you to adjust the volume the same way as if you didn’t have your iPad in the Smart Case. I did not have any problem plugging my earphones into the earphone jack. The 30-pin cable will fit into the slot perfectly. I did have a problem using my Apple iPad Dock Connector with my iPad while it was in the Smart Case, my iPad would not fit in the slot of the Dock Connector while it was in the Smart Case.

I have noticed that the outside of the case will dirty up fairly easily, if you have owned an Apple Smart Cover then you know what I am talking about. The Smart Case seems very susceptible to smudges and dirt. You can take a damp cloth and wipe it clean though, just remember it is probably a good idea to remove the iPad first.

COMFORT

The iPad will snap into the Smart Case fairly easily and it just wraps around the sides of the iPad. With the iPad in the Smart Case you will not notice any added bulk or weight when carrying your iPad. I have noticed one thing though when carrying the iPad, the edges seem to be “sharp” and if you hold the iPad with the hinge facing up it feels like the edges are digging into your hands. You will also notice this while holding the iPad in your hands while reading a iBook or playing a game.

(View the full gallery. Click to enlarge.)

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PROS

• Protects the front and back from scratches


• Auto-on


• Auto-off


• Lines up with buttons and ports


• Case is magnetic and will wake on opening

CONS

• Flimsy


• Sharp Edges


• It gets dirty easily

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Smart Case is not the cheapest case on the market nor will it keep your iPad the safest. Apple does not claim either of those statements. What it will do is give you piece of mind from the normal wear and tear your iPad will go through on a day to day basis. Kids playing with your iPad, dropping it in a messenger bag or purses, dirty hands, etc. All those things the Smart Case will protect your iPad from. If you were to ask me if I would recommend this case I would give you a resounding YES. It does what Apple intended this case to do and that is protect the outside of the iPad.

Do you have a question or comment? Try me on Twitter

My first LTE Experience

I recently returned from a 10 day vacation, on this vacation I only brought my iPad and my iPhone with me. Normally when I go out of town I usually bring my Macbook or Macbook Air with me and connect to hotel Wi-Fi or free Wi-Fi hotspots if I can find one. For this trip though I brought only my iPad and paid the $30 fee to AT&T and used the cellular data on my iPad, this was also the first time I got to experience LTE and not just the '4G' data on my iPad. I also saw a ton of people with iPad's at Disney. Actually. At. Disney. Taking pictures with the iPad, browsing with the iPad, using the Disney line apps on the iPad, using the Disney map on the iPad basically using the iPad like a mobile device and not a laptop replacement. But, that is a story for another day.


My first experience with LTE was a terrific experience. The first time I saw LTE appear on my iPad was around D.C. but I think I was actually in Virgina on I-95 South toward Florida. I didn't have LTE service for that long maybe about 15 minutes and LTE went away a did not appear again until I was outside of Jacksonville, FL. After Jacksonville I think I had LTE the rest of the time I was in Florida, keep in mind that I am on AT&T so I am not sure if Verizon has better coverage, I think they do. I will say that while I was in Florida it seemed I never had less than 2 bars of LTE though. Those 2 bars felt faster than my home internet which is powered (or underpowered) by Comcast. It felt awesome using my iPad on LTE, nothing lagged, webpages loaded fast and it felt like I was at home sitting on my couch. My overall service with AT&T was pretty good I think out of my entire trip I was only without cellular data only once for an extended amount of time and that was for about a 30 minute stretch of south Georgia on I-95. I would say from New England to Florida I only went without service maybe 3 times and never for more than a few minutes with the exception of that stretch in Georgia. I don't think my battery drained that much faster on the LTE vs. my normal usage which is on Wi-Fi. If the battery did drain faster than normal it was not noticeable.

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The LTE model iPad paid for itself. The Disney resort I stayed at wanted to charge me $9.95 a day for internet access, $9.95 x 7 days = $69.65. Of course I still had to pay AT&T the $30 but that was for a month of service which is about a $1 a day. I still have 4G cellular data on my iPad as of right now even though I probably will not use it since I am home and will probably just connect via Wi-Fi. I do travel a lot so having cellular data on my iPad when I normally would not have Wi-Fi available is a nice added feature to an already terrific device!


I did run into a few annoyances with a data only iPad, in other words no Wi-Fi access. PhotoStream was my biggest problem, it wasn't really a problem as I know that my photos only sync over Wi-Fi but until you go an extended amount of time without Wi-Fi service you will then begin to see how valuable Wi-Fi + PhotoStream is. For those that do not know what PhotoStream is, it is Apple's photo sync service through iCloud which sends your photos taken with your iPhone or iPad camera to your other iOS or OS X devices using the same Apple ID via iCloud that have PhotoStream turned-on. Since I was on vacation and using my iPhone to take a ton of pictures (1337 to be exact) I really missed not having PhotoStream sync my pictures from my iPhone to my iPad. I could still sync my photos but that required a USB cable and the camera connection kit plus about 10 minutes of my time. Another thing that bugged me was trying to either download a new app or update applications that I already had installed on my iPad. I ran into this problem a couple of times, on a data connection you can not do either if the file size is above 50MB. Seemed like everything I wanted to do was over this 50MB cap which really irked me to no end. I guess I can look at it on the bright side, it beat the 35MB limit that it used to be.


The main reason for this post is, if you are thinking of buying an iPad and not sure if the LTE model is right for you, I would say if you live in an area with LTE go ahead and spend the extra $129 and get the iPad with LTE. If you do not live in an area with LTE but you travel a lot or if live in a city where LTE might be coming soon getting the LTE model iPad is probably a good investment. Even though I only got to use LTE for about a week in that 1 week it made me glad I choose to go with the LTE model. A few annoyances aside my overall experience was a good one.


Have a comment? Try me on Twitter @iCrizzo

Custom iMessage tones for iPad 1

I just realized that you can not set specific message tones on the iPad 1, I understand the ringtone being absent since FaceTime is not on the iPad 1, but it has iMessage so shouldn't I be able to set specific text tones for each contact like I can do on my iPad 2 and my iPhone?  Weird that Apple has blocked this, I am still able to add custom text message tones, I just can not add custom tones for certain contacts.

 

 

iPad 1



 

 

iPad 2



 

 

 

 

Air Display

Today I bought Air Display for my iPad, I do not have much to say except that I wasted $9.99! The app works but it is not a great experience. It feels very buggy and sluggish, especially moving the mouse around on my iMac and trying to figure out where the mouse cursor is when it scrolls over to the iPad. This is not a review and I am not bashing Air Display, I am just stating that I am not impressed with it.



If you don't want to take my word for it and want to try it for yourself, you can download it here:
Air Display - Avatron Software, Inc.


Have a comment? Try me on Twitter @totalipad

Air Display Website

iPad battery test

I saw a post online about the iPad charging faster while it was powered off vs. charging it while it was powered on but in “sleep mode”. What I found out was that it did not make much of a difference, the iPad did not charge any faster powered off vs. powered on.


It was a fun little test, below is a chart I whipped up showing the difference between being powered on vs. powered off:

( 0-100 is the battery percentage )




It took a total of 6 hours and 6 minutes to go from 1% battery life to 100% battery life while powered off, I did not continue to test to see how long it took while powered on, I stopped after the timer reached 6 hours and 6 minutes. The iPad was at 98% when I stopped the clock.

Have a comment or question? Try me on Twitter @totalipad

Getting video into iMovie

Let me get right to it, getting videos from my iPhone to my iPad is a major pain in the ass! I love iMovie on my iPad but getting clips into my camera roll on the iPad is a hassle, you have 3 choices to import video to the iPad:

• Camera Connection Kit


• Import via iTunes


• Email yourself the video

I have tried to use Dropbox but it does not work with video, with photos I could use Dropbox and then save the image to my camera roll but that does not work with videos. I have also tried using other applications on my iPad such as GoodReader and I run into the same problem as I do with Dropbox, no way to save to the camera roll nor does it allow me to access iMovie using the 'Open In' feature. The problem with video is that is does not sync via PhotoStream on iOS devices and iMovie does not have iCloud support yet. Hopefully Apple will address this in the next few months, maybe with iOS 6? I would love to see iMovie sync not only with other iOS devices but also iMovie on my Mac. I am unsure why Apple is hesitant to allow this, maybe Apple is trying to save people from filling up the storage on their iOS devices considering how large HD video files are?

Camera Connection Kit:


Connect your iPhone or video camera via USB cable to the Camera Connection Kit¹ adapter then plug the adapter into the iPad, you will notice that the Photos application will open and you will see in the top menu bar that you are in 'Camera'. Now select each video or photo that you want to import to your camera roll and tap the blue 'Import' button. You can differentiate the photos from the videos by looking for the video camera icon, the icon will appear in the lower left of any video file in your camera roll. You will also be able to tell which videos you have selected for importing by the blue check mark in the lower right on the thumbnail.



 

 

 

Email:


Emailing your videos is an option but only if they are short videos, normally about 1 minute or less. If you try to email a larger video you will be greeted with the following message:



If you do not own the Camera Connection Kit and your video is really short it is simple to email it to yourself:

Open the Photos app on your iPhone >

Choose your Camera Roll album >

Locate your video >

In the top right you will notice a rectangle with an arrow bursting out of it, tap on that >

Now tap on the video you are wanting to email, you will know you have selected the video by looking at the lower right of the video file, you should see a red checkmark >

Tap the 'Share' button in the lower left >

Email >

Enter your email address, subject and any message you wish to include. You will notice that you have a video file link in the email as well, now just tap send. Please remember that emailing videos may take a tad longer than sending a normal email, but normally you should get it within a minute or two.



If you have the videos on your Mac and you are wanting to email those to yourself instead of syncing with iTunes you can easily do that by opening mail and then drag and drop your video into the subject area of the email and send.



 

 

 

Import via iTunes:


This is the old way of doing things but to be honest it is probably the best way to do them. I normally do not use iTunes for syncing anything to my iPad any longer, with iCloud and over-the-air (OTA) updating syncing with iTunes is not really needed unless I want to transfer video or movies. I really hope that this is something Apple addresses because the iPad is promoted as a post PC device yet I am still needing my 'PC' to use iMovie on my iPad.



First thing you will need to do is get your videos off of your iPhone or video camera. I am going to go in detail on getting them off of your iPhone, I use a Mac so that is what these instructions are for. I don't use Windows so I am unsure about what importing videos entails, getting them onto your iPad would be the same though.

In iPhoto:
Connect your iPhone to your Mac >
Open iPhoto >
Select your iPhone in the left panel>
Create a new event name, this makes it easier to find the folder when you are importing in iTunes >
Select your video or videos. You can either import all or hold 'Command' down on your keyboard and select each video then use either 'Import' or 'Import Selected' >
You either delete the video from your iPhone or keep them on there. You will be prompted to choose in iTunes >

In iTunes:
Now connect your iPad to your computer >
Open iTunes >
On the left, select your iPad under the 'Devices' tab >
In the top menu of iTunes select the 'Photo' tab >
Checkmark 'Sync Photos From' and in the drop down menu select iPhoto >
Now select the 'Selected albums, Events and Faces, make sure you also checkmark 'Include Videos' >
You should see 2 panels - 'Albums' and 'Events' >
Look for your newly created folder that you named in iPhoto >
Checkmark that folder >
Apply

That is it, now your videos will be in your Camera Roll on your iPad. Now when you open iMovie on your iPad you can start a new project and import your videos from the Camera Roll on your iPad.

 

UPDATE: You can also transfer videos using the File Sharing in iTunes as well.

¹ - Make sure you plug the Camera Connection Kit in the iPad not the iPhone. It will not work plugged into the iPhone.

Blogging from the iPad

The iPad often catches a bad rap for being nothing more than a consumption device. This may be true for some but I think it takes finding and using the right applications to really show off the power of the iPad. Not only is the iPad convenient because of its light weight and small size, it has tremendous battery life that you are not going to find with a laptop or netbook. I have put together a list of iPad applications that I use on a daily basis. Most of them are paid applications, I am not sure if there are any free applications that will substitute for these apps, all I know is these are 10 must have iPad applications!

• iA Writer


• GoodReader


• Markdown Note


• Downcast


• Reeder


• Dropbox


• Evernote


• iWorks (Keynote, Numbers, Pages)**


• Procreate


• Splashtop

[box]Technically there are 12 apps, I have included iWork's as 1 application. They are sold individually but are essential to your blogging needs. Well, at least Numbers is, never know when you need to mock-up a chart or graph. I will explain why I think each is important. [/box]
iA Writer – This is what I am using to write this thread, I feel this is hands down the best app for writing on the iPad. It is clean and works well, you can use iCloud and Dropbox to get your content out to where you want to share it. iA Writer - Information Architects, Inc.

GoodReader – I would say this is probably the best overall app that you could buy for an iPad, this should be the first app you buy or download. Just like a PS3, it only does everything! It has FTP access, you can download files, transfer files, edit .pdf’s and so much more. It offers easy access to Google Docs or your web server, you can also upload documents to iCloud or Dropbox as well as a few other cloud services. GoodReader for iPhone - Good.iWare Ltd.

Markdown Note – This app is just what is sounds like, it is Markdown text language. If you need to format your content then this is the app I recommend that check out. It is easy to use and it works great if you want to work between your iPad and your Mac as Markdown Note also has an OS X application. MarkdownNote - CodingRobots

Downcast – This is a Podcast viewer and manager. I know what you are thinking? "What does this have to do with blogging?" Well, you can gather great thoughts or listen to your favorite podcast while you are working, it will stream in the background, you can subscribe and also download a podcast for listening when you are offline. Downcast - Jamawkinaw Enterprises

Reeder – Much like Downcast this is an app for gathering great ideas. Reeder is a Google Reader application and it allows you to import your RSS feeds from Google Reader into this application. There are other apps that are free like Flipboard or Pulse that are similar and are free. I prefer Reeder though as I can pick which source and which story I want to read. Plus the layout is clean and it syncs and updates perfectly from Google Reader. Reeder for iPad - Silvio Rizzi

Dropbox – I am sure everyone with an iPad already has downloaded the Dropbox application. This is cloud storage at it finest. Easily share documents, music, pictures, etc., between your iPhone, iPod, iPad or your Mac. The application is free and once you set up your account Dropbox will give you XXX amount of free storage. You can also pay for extra storage if you need it. Dropbox - Dropbox

Evernote – Like Dropbox, Evernote syncs perfectly with all your iOS devices and your Mac. Evernote is great for webclips or audio notes. I may have an idea pop in my head when I am out and about, I grab my iPhone, do a quick voice note, put my spoken words into written words later when I get home. Evernote is more than that, though. It is a robust and feature packed application which lets you take pictures, videos, and create quick typed notes to go along with voice notes. Evernote - Evernote

iWorks – Numbers, Pages and Keynote are Apple’s version of Microsoft office. Numbers is probably my most used app of the 3. You can easily create spreadsheets or charts, write formulas and organize data. Keynote is great for presentations, if you want to add a slide show to your blog this is your app. Pages would probably be my least used app, at least in terms of needing it for my website/blog. Pages is perfect for resumes or reports, you can also create brochures and flyers. I guess if you have a professional blog then adding a resume would be a good idea, this is the app you would want then. All 3 of these sync perfectly with iCloud and you can easily share them to your Mac. In other words, build that spreadsheet on your iPad, fire up your Mac, open Numbers and your spreadsheet is already there via iCloud sync. Pages - Apple  / Keynote - Apple  / Numbers - Apple

Procreate – This is like a mini Photoshop (which is also a great free app), I am talking about the desktop version of Photoshop though. If you want to add pictures to your blog or webpage, this app is great for editing pics you may have or cropping out things you may not want to show on your webpage. An example, I do a lot of posts about the iPad and I take screenshots on my iPad to use as examples. Sometimes my personal email is showing, so I fire up Procreate and black out my email address. There are many other uses but that is something that I use Procreate for almost daily. procreate - Savage Interactive Pty Ltd

Splashtop – This is not really a blogging tool, but it can be a very handy app if you are blogging away from home. Splashtop is a Remote Desktop app and will allow you to connect to your Mac when you are away from home. This can be useful if you are writing about something and you would like include a document with your post, but your document is at home on your Mac.  Fire up Splashtop, connect to your Mac, locate your file, add it to your Dropbox folder and it is now on your iPad in a matter of seconds! Splashtop Remote Desktop for iPad - Splashtop Inc.

The one type of application I have left off of here was an actual blogging application, and I did this for a reason. Most of the blogging apps are for iPhone only, from what I can tell only the WordPress application is native to the iPad. Some of the others: Blogger, Tumblr, Google+ and Posterous were all iPhone only at the time I wrote this, that may change in the future. This blog is powered by Wordpress even though it is hosted on my own server, so I use the Wordpress application.

Normally what I do is create my content and save and share it using Dropbox, open it up in the next application, then copy and paste to Wordpress app.  Most of the time I will leave my post in "draft" status until I am at my iMac then I will proofread it and publish it. I could publish from the iPad and it would work the same but I like to check my images and links when I get home on my iMac.

*UPDATED*

I originally wrote this post about 8 months ago on my personal blog. I figured this would be a good place to share it as well as update it with a few more apps that I am using on a day to day basis to blog or write on my iPad. You will notice how I ended this original post saying that I could not find a decent blogging app for the iPad, well that has changed and I found and love Blogsy for the iPad, I even had the Blogsy devs on my weekly podcast to talk about Blogsy.

My updated apps:

Blogsy - Fomola - This is now my go to blogging app on my iPad. It does everything I need it to do and then some. It even allows me to push to both my blogs as well as my Tumblr site.
iPhoto - Apple - iPhoto was not out when I originally wrote this post, with iPhoto now I can share entire albums/journals and paste links to share my photos with the world as well as make a few edits to images I may want to include in my post on the fly. Great app, universal and very affordable at $4.99.
SoundCloud - SoundCloud Ltd. - This is another app that was not available when I originally wrote this post or if it was I did not know about it, with SoundCloud now I can share audio in my post and grab the links right from the app, or if you use Tumblr you can post it right in the application. Best of all, this app is free.