Posted on April 24, 2011 at 3:26 pm
So I’m on a train heading back from the 2011 NYIAS and I’ve got some time to kill so I’m gonna write a few posts, I’m doing so on my iPad 2 using my new Samsung LC11 4G LTE modem (more on that later). I figured since I wrote a first impressions of the iPad 2 I might as well follow up with my thoughts after having used it for a while. I noticed today was a month since I got it.
I have to say, not surprisingly, I adore it. It’s everything my iPad was only better. I’ve gotten very used to the new thinness, tho I still find some issues with the buttons, I like the new size and shape. I’m kinda disappointed that it’s not as wide as it used to be as it no longer has any hope in hell of fitting into my Rocketfish iCapsule (guess it’s time to eBay that) and hence I’m on the prowl for a new setup for my keyboard situation. As I felt before typing on the iPad is just fine but when you ‘re writing things like this… you’re gonna want a real keyboard. I still miss the feeling of my finger actually striking a key. (In fact I’ve switched to the MacBook Air to write the rest of these posts!).
The battery actually seems to be lasting just as long as the last one, I get about 3 days of use before I need to charge it. A lot of that comes from the fact that I’m gaming more and more on it which means that the screen is on more.
The cameras are fine, tho I find that I’m not using FaceTime as much as I thought I would. I still use FaceTime on my MacBook Air because the angle is better, (who wants to look up my nose?), but I’ve had some great chats with some friends with it so it’s certainly not a waste 
.
All in all I am really happy with the upgrade. I’m certainly not feeling like I wasted my time or energy in upgrading!
Posted on March 24, 2011 at 10:02 am
Just hooked up the iPad to the HDTV via the Video cable. Holy moly this changes things. It looks great. Games, surfing, MOVIES! It’s awesome how it just fills the screen. That cable will be permanently in my bag so that anywhere there is an HDTV… I can watch my content. Sweet.
Posted on March 24, 2011 at 8:46 am
As I’m beginning to write this post, I’ve only played with the iPad for a few hours… but I wanted to talk about some first impressions.
First up, it does feel lighter. I don’t think it’s as much as other people have commented, but I didn’t have an iPad 1 and an iPad 2 side by side to compare. It is seriously thinner.
I’m not all that crazy about the thinner, because with the thinner, comes the curvier, I does fit in your hand better but as there is no edge, the buttons are all on the curve… and the the dock connector is on the curve and the headphone jack is… well you get the message.
It is fast. Apps launch faster, magazines in Zinio download quicker (I think it’s the processing of the data that has sped up) and App switching is much smoother.
I have some thoughts about the Smart Cover but I’ll do them in another post.
Posted on February 27, 2011 at 11:55 pm
Last week I received in the mail a very cool new accessory for my Mac from the brilliant folks over at Twelve South, called the Magic Wand. I already have a couple of products from Twelve South, the Book Arc, a holder for my a MacBook, and the Compass, an easel stand for the iPad, and was quite impressed by them. The design of both products is very nice, but the build quality and materials is what blows you away. Both accessories are made of heavy, solid, high quality aluminum, and the Magic Wand is no different.
The Magic Wand is an amazing concept, an elegant tray that lets you connect an Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and an Apple Magic Trackpad. This is done by using a perfectly sized aluminum tray that you sit the keyboard and track pad into. You then add a spacer to keep them from bumping into each other and viola… one, solid keyboard with a trackpad attached.
I know that you may be thinking that this is a problem that you didn’t realize you had if you had these two devices, but let me tell you how much
better these two items work when they are attached to each other. On my desk, I can push the whole contraption back under the monitor with one swipe. The trackpad never wanders off on its own! I also could see if you were using a Mac mini as your home theater, this would make for an excellent all in one keyboard/trackpad for your living room.
How much does all this connected goodness cost? $29.99. Now I know that may sound steep but let me say that you will NOT be disappointed in the quality of this or of any other Twelve South product. If you have these two devices. GO GET A MAGIC WAND. That is all.
The Magic Wand
Twelve South
$29.99
Posted on February 22, 2011 at 7:37 am
As I mentioned a previous blog post I got a pair of Jay Bird SB2s the other day but one of the ear buds were not working, well I got a new set on Thursday and I’ve used them for a few days and i wanted to tell you all about them.
The SB2s are as some have told me a little bit odd looking. I however very much like them. They look mostly like a headband, Mine are glossy black (I do have a high gloss fetish) on the outside and a soft foam/rubber material on the inside (SB2′s come in a variety of color combinations) and are fairly comfortable to wear. My only complaint about wearing them is like every other over the ear headphone I’ve ever worn, eventually my ears get a little sore.
The right earphone contains the controls, a power/action button, next and back button and a volume increase/decrease button. The pairing of the headset was fairly easy, hold down the power/action button for more than 6 seconds (the light will alternate between red and blue) and then select it from your iPhone/iPod touch’s device list. That’s it. You’ve paired it to your iPhone/iPod touch. Functions work pretty much as you’d expect. Press the power/action for play/pause, next and last track move forward and backward in your tracks.
About volume. The iPhone/iPod touch has it’s own volume adjustment that is completely independent of the headphone’s adjustment. Think it of how you can plug in a aux cable and adjust the volume of the output and of the stereo you’ve connected to. It’s not at all a problem, just be aware of it.
The sound quality for music is pretty good. I was impressed. It sounds every bit as good as the standard Apple headphones that I usually stick with. The bass is nice, not super thumpy but not lacking either. As for the phone, the quality is also “not bad’ I can ear fine but I notice that people’s voices and sounds around them have a more “electronic” sound. It’s more high pitched than with the regular headphones, nothing you can’t get used to, again just be aware. People on the other end said I sounded fine and the mic picked up my voice well.
The are only two places that I was disappointed in the SB2′s was really where I’ve been disappointed with ALL bluetooth headphones I’ve tried… when paired to my MacBook Air, I get MONO sound only. Even if I choose “Use as a stereo device” I get just mono horrible sound. And when I try to use them as my input/output device with Skype, it causes the app to crash… and speaking of Skype, try as I might, I can’t get the sound from the Skype iOS app to come out thru the bluetooth headphones, no matter what.
All in all I’d give the Jay Bird SB2s a solid 4 stars. I’m sure there are better (and worse) bluetooth headphones out there but the SB2s are solid and I can see them being my headphones of choice for quite some time.
Jay Bird SB2
