Tag: Apple iPad

uTime 2 Now Available!

~ Matthew Jagiela

utime-icon-launch

With the arrival of iOS 10 tomorrow I thought it was time to step uTime up a notch! So I am very happy to announce that uTime 2 is now available on the iOS App Store!

One of the biggest things which you can find from this post is that the icon has changed a little bit. Of course it has our little stopwatch and name but the color has changed and it still is a perfect design.

However, if that was the only thing that came with version 2 than that would be a little disapointing so there are a lot of features baked into this update.

What’s New:
2 (Current):
-iOS 10 Support
-Today Widget! Now you can see how much time is left by using the today section of notification center! This keeps up to date with iCloud so everything is always up to date!
-If you have a device with 3D Touch Running iOS 10 if you force touch the uTime Icon on the home screen the widget will appear!
-Dark Mode: You can now select if you want UI Elements to be darker.
-Added animations to “change timer” sheet.
-Multiple timer deletion: You can now select multiple timers to delete all at once instead of having to swipe each one individually. Few!
-New Icon!
-Info Screen Text Improvements.

That’s right for the first time a uApps app has a widget for notification center (and if you’re running iOS 10 (which you should) on the homescreen itself).

The widget does allow you to move throughout iCloud timers and will be self updating with iCloud Timers.

I am so happy to be able to roll this out the same day iOS 10 launches and I hope all of you enjoy it.

Download uTime for iOS

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uSurf 1.3 now available (bookmarks!)

~ Matthew Jagiela

uSurf Icon

uSurf 1.3 is now being pushed to your iPad through the App Store. A lot of effort went into this update and uSurf 1.4 is already in development making improvements on everything released with this update. Here is the change log.

-Bookmarks: Bookmarks are here. You will be able to name them and all that goodness soon. Hit the plus and a bookmark will be added.
-Bookmarks are saved automatically
-When switching themes most things (except for the settings info bar because why would that work) will change automatically.
-Memory managment… Less wait times.
-Label will tell you when you added a tab or bookmark.
-Bookmarks and tabs are a work in progress. Expect them to be better in coming updates.

Again updates will improve on bookmarks and tabs. Enjoy!

Buy uSurf on the App Store for your iPad ($0.99)

Apple bumps iPad 4 to 128GB

~ Matthew Jagiela ~ Leave a comment

Apple has announced it will be offering a 128gb iPad 4 at $799 for the wifi model and $929 for wifi and cellular. The new models with upgraded storage will be available on February 5th in Black and White.

“With more than 120 million iPads sold, it’s clear that customers around the world love their iPads, and everyday they are finding more great reasons to work, learn and play on their iPads rather than their old PCs,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “With twice the storage capacity and an unparalleled selection of over 300,000 native iPad apps, enterprises, educators and artists have even more reasons to use iPad for all their business and personal needs.”

[Apple]

iPad Mini Review

~ Matthew Jagiela

The iPad Mini is here and yes like other launches in the past I got mine the first day so I could bring you a speedy review of the new tablet Apple has to offer and answer the question: Is this iPad Mini really worthy of carrying the iPad tittle and what are the good’s and bad’s of this new device. Let’s get started

Design

The first thing I want to start with is the design. This is now a smaller iPad, if anything it is a bigger iPod Touch. The design is the exact same without the color options really. Same form factor as the new iPod Touch just without the colored aluminum on the back. It is the same slate or silver you find on the new iPhone 5 with the mirror sort of bezel around the screen. The home button is smaller than the iPhone 5 which is surprising and has sort of the same solid feel the iPhone 5 has where you don’t have to worry about it breaking after using it so many times. There is on the bottom for the first time stereo speakers next to the brand new lightning connector that made its debut with the iPhone 5. There is 2 volume up and down buttons where it’s big brother has sort of the unified rocker and of course the mute/rotation slider. On the back a 5 megapixel camera and the front has a facetime HD camera. All of this delivered in a device as thing as a pencil. Let me tell you it feels good in the hand(s). A lot better than the iPad 2/3/4 that could cut into your hands with the teardrop design.

Screen

The screen is honestly the only real problem I have with this device. After being spoiled with the retina display in the iPad 3 and iPhone 5 the screen is a disappointment, however it is not as bad as everyone is making it to be. The only thing is yes text does look terrible. However if you are playing a game or even using it for a couple of minutes your eyes will adjust and it will be fine. The colors are bright and so is the screen. There is no way they could have put a retina display in something this small and thin. Maybe next year they will have the technology for it.

Software

The software for the mini the user can tell is pretty basic iOS 6. You got the now famous maps app that you may hate or love and some other goodies. Now the things the user doesn’t notice is what gives Apple the advantage. Apple makes their hardware and software so they can make the software perfect for the hardware. For example the mini has incredibly small bezels compared to the iPad. The thing is however you can still rest your thumbs on each side of the device fully touching the screen and the software can tell you are just resting so the software doesn’t freak out. It’s something you won’t notice but would be annoyed with if it wasn’t there. Of course you also have siri and that is either a hit or miss with you. I also like that they made the iPad Mini run iPad Apps and iPhone apps. However be warned the iPhone apps will look TERRIBLE on the mini.

Speed

The iPad Mini runs the A5 processor found in the iPad 2, iPhone 4s, and iPod Touch 5. Even though the processor is a few years old apps launch fast and the operating system can keep up with lots you have to throw at it. How it stands in a few years will be anyones guess but for now the mini handles apps and data very fast with wifi speeds at 43mb/s. LTE models will be available soon for all of you who need to use your mini without wifi… Or you could do what I do and tether your iPhone to the mini, your call.

Big Brother

So which one should you go for the iPad 4 or Mini? Well the answer is a lot more complicated than you might think. If you already have an iPad with retina display I would say stay away. If you are looking to upgrade the iPad 4 with the new A6x and retina display may be the way to go. It runs everything a lot faster and has an amazing retina display. However it is big. If you need something portable and light you should go with the Mini. The screen isn’t that bad and it does run thing very fast. It would make a great iPad for most. It all depends if you want small and portable or big and powerful.

Summary

The iPad Mini is great. The worst thing about it really is the screen which really isn’t that bad. The price makes it a little less compelling to people who are looking only at price however in terms of usability you will want a mini over the competition. You can use both iPhone and iPad apps on the mini which make it better than android tablets which have mostly blown up phone apps not optimized for the display like iPad apps for the mini. The form factor is great and the software is great as well. The mini is very fast and is portable as well. The design is great and it feels remarkable to use. In some ways it is better than the big iPad 4. It all depends what you are looking for big and powerful or small and portable.

Gallery

iPad Mini delivered early, unboxed

~ Matthew Jagiela

The iPad Mini isn’t supposed to hit the world (other than review models) till this Friday, however one lucky individual got his today and gave us a little unboxing. The packaging is the same as other iPads just smaller. You get your quick start booklet, lightning connector, and a 12w power adapter to help charge the iPad Mini and other iPads faster.

[iGen.fr]

Why the iPad Mini makes sense [Opinion]

~ Matthew Jagiela

 

I will be the first to admit I thought the idea of a smaller iPad with around a 7 inch screen was remarkably stupid on Apple’s part. Then after the keynote I thought about some things and the idea kind of grew on me and now I am setting an alarm to go and pre-order one. The thing is the iPad mini makes perfect sense and it took me some time to realize it. You see I am a high school student and I am the tech person and of course I am a fanboy but here is the thing: I would rather have an iPad mini even though some of the specs are worse than competitors and is more expensive. The reason is simple: All my amazing iPad apps and iPhone Apps will run on it.

Continue reading “Why the iPad Mini makes sense [Opinion]” →

UPDATE: The Best Way to Pre-Order your iPad Mini

~ Matthew Jagiela

If you are like me you are going to be up at about 2:30AM tomorrow waiting for the store to open to get your iPad mini just the same way you might have done with the iPhone 5. Given the fact this is an Apple device and it is new it means the store will go down or be very slow with everyone trying to pre-order the new device. So here is how you should pre-order the new iPad Mini so you can be done fast and let others have a shot.

The first thing you want to do is enable express checkout with your Apple ID. This will store your credit card and shipping information so you can quickly just review it and press order and be done with it in a matter of seconds (or minutes depending on traffic). Here is how to enable it:

  1. Head to the Apple Store Account Manager. This will allow you to set up express checkout.
  2. After the link loads Scroll to the “Account Settings” in giant letters. Under that you will see “Update Express Checkout” click that and sign in with your Apple ID that you want to purchase the device with.
  3. When you log on you will see your Apple ID, Payment Information, and Shipping information. Make sure those are all filled out.
  4. UPDATE: Under The Payment and shipping information there will be a switch to turn express checkout on. Move the switch to ON

From there you should be done but here is the thing: During the iPhone 5 launch the only way to pre-order the device was through the Apple Store app on your iPhone unless you had luck getting through to the servers. So before the time make sure your device’s store is signed into the Apple ID you used for express checkout. To do that open the app store scroll down till you see your account sign out and sign in with the new. From there you can open the Apple Store App and pre-order easily. You may be able to pre-order in the store but that is if it is online during the chaos. I will be tweeting if the store is up for the first half an hour or less and experiences. Good Luck everyone!