I have an original iPad, so video editing was always a problem, because iMovie only works through some cumbersome methods, and with problems, while the alternatives where few and poor.
Imagine how happy I was when i heard about avid studio, that promised to overshadow iMovie, while working fine on BOTH iPad models.
I already have it installed, and I can say it lives to its promise, this is a must have for any iPad owner, but specially for people with original iPads. iMore sums it up very well.
All have problems due to screen size, but Numbers and Keynote are surprisingly usable, in landscape mode. However, due to difference in the APIs used by the iPad (iOS 3.2) vs the iPhone (iOS 4.0), the applications tend to crash when we try to access the photo library, etc. However, unlike iMovie, i think we can expect Apple themselves to make the entire iWork suite available for at least the 3gs and iPhone 4 in the coming months, with all me mentioned problems solved.
Last Monday i visited the Louvre Apple Store while passing by Paris, so i had the opportunity to test the iPad (while it´s out in some European countries, it´s not here in Portugal).
First, i noticed Apple has lots of units available for testing...and i mean LOTS - there were always several with no one using them.
On to the testing. I´ve heard several people saying this, and i had the same impression: the iPad is heavier than what we expect. However, i think i´d quickly get used to it. And it is indeed a beautifull piece of tech.
I tested several aplications, including games like Real Racing HD (impressive, but i think the iPad is too heavy for long driving sessions), productivity apps like Appigo Todo (love the interface!), NY Times (yeah, i see myself using this to read the daily news at breakfast), iBooks (again, great interface), plus Mail, Safari and Calendar, all clearly benefiting from the bigger screen. But Photo.app takes the prize has most awesome iPad feat...see the video above.
And the youtube app is equaly great.
To sum it all, i loved what i saw, loved to have one, but it is still not something i would "die for". The iPhone is still more usefull for me, and i have a netbook for other type of portable stuff. However, it all comes down to price, in the future i may get one.
Has promised, i installed the beta 1 of iPhone OS 4.0 and will be sharing my views on the new features during the 2 months of beta testing that will precede the release for the general public.
First reaction is very positive - the new wallpaper is great to show the new ability of setting a background for Springboard.
What can i say about yesterday´s presentation? I´m very happy with some changes (multitasking, internal notifications, mail.app improvements, gamecenter - i called this one in my predictions, folders), but i´m VERY angry with Apple for not doing anything regarding what i think is the main problem on iPhone OS - the POOR way that notifications are handled! I mean, we´re in 2010, the competition have shown how to do it in a usefull, non-obtrusive way, and we have to put up with the stupid popups in the middle of the screen...really Apple? Funny thing is that we will have even more types of notifications to deal with, making the problem even bigger. Thank God for jailbreak!
The other two BIG letdowns are the way the Lockscreen remains the same, very far from what can be done, and the absence of ways to quickly access most used settings (think sbsettings). It´s very clear that jailbreaking will remain a must for iPhone users, unless you´re a soccer mum.
It finally came. The news i was expecting since January, and that caused me to delay doing any maintenance restore to my iPhone for months. iPhone OS 4.0 will be presented Thursday the 8th, and this is what i expect:
Some kind of multitasking, even if limited.
New notification system.
Unified inbox for email.
Refreshed Springboard UI
New system wide multitouch gestures
Printing support
Global documents storage area
FM radio app
Access to calendar events in the SDK
Xbox Live/PSN style gaming network
IM integration with contacts
What i also would like to see:
Wifi sync for podcasts
Widgets, at least on the lockscreen
Tasks app
Quick access to wifi, bluetooth and 3G settings
Better battery life
Less restrictions in the SDK
It´s clear expectations are really high. However, this time i think there´s a big chance most of this will really happen, because it has to - now Apple has real competition, and the current iPhone UI is showing it´s age.
One more thing - has i´ve been in the beta test program for one iPhone app, i have my iPhone´s UDID registered to a dev´s account. This means i will be able to install the beta builds of OS 4.0, so stay tunned!
My opinion regarding Apple´s latest tech wonder has been changing almost by the minute. But i now reached a conclusion.
The iPad has lot´s of flaws, some in hardware (lack of camera for skype calls), some in software (lack of multitasking, etc - but have to wait for OS 4.0). It´s not what geeks wanted.
However, i would totally love to have one, specially because it will surely be hacked, and this will satisfy my geeky needs. But forget me and all the other geeks - what will make it succeed is the common people.
Last Christmas, me and my brother were considering offering a netbook to my parents, so that they can some web experience, to see their granchild´s photos, news, cooking recipes, etc. We gave up, because we reached the obvious conclusion that they wouldn´t be able to adapt to a full computer experience.
Now, imagine the iPad in the hands of people like my parents, that normally struggle with computer stuff. Or people that although being more tech savy, don´t really want a laptop besides their desktop pc. Huge.
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