Apple has sent out press invites to the much anticipated launch of the next iPad. Based on the photo, it seems clear it will have a Retina display. The question is what will be on the insides? A6 quad-core processor? Larger memory? Larger storage? Bigger battery? If this is going to be a pro level device that’s targeted at business users and aligned towards the strategy of cannibalizing or replacing the Mac, then those specs are pretty much assured.
iOS 5 Is Out!
iOS 5 has finally been officially released. I actually already had iOS 5 on the iPhone for a few weeks since I’m a “developer”. But I haven’t gotten around to updating the iPad. So I updated using iTunes. Couldn’t connect to the server. Looked like the servers are swamped so I waited till the evening before trying again. Still couldn’t connect to the server. Looked like they’re still swamped. Not a good indicator for iCloud and its infrastructure. I got a direct link and downloaded from there. It was pretty fast and in about an hour or two I already had the ipsw file. It seems bandwidth is not the issue. And indeed, when I tried “restoring” using the ipsw and everything went well until iTunes tried to verify the ipsw with the server and failed with an error 1654. Luckily, it went through on my second try and I was on iOS 5 on the iPad. Relatively easy compared to the experience of quite a few users. It’s good to be a techie.
iOS DLNA Players
I though I’d update my iPhone DLNA Players roundup.
I’m a fan of Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) because of its promise of using standards-based technology to make it easier for consumers to use, share and enjoy their digital photos, music and videos. When I got my Buffalo Linkstation, I started streaming movies and music from it to the Playstation 3. But I had to stay in front of the TV.
When I got the iPhone 4 and later the iPad, I got media players that I can use anywhere in the house. I was lucky enough to be able to get VLC from the App Store while it was available. However, it meant copying files using iTunes to the iPhone. Somewhat, archaic to say the least and definitely a far cry from what’s possible with DLNA. So I went around searching for a DLNA player. Here is the result of my research.
Capacitive Pen
One of Jeanne’s favorite iPad apps is a drawing and painting app. It saves on paper and minimizes the risk of her writing on other things. Unfortunately, unless it’s finger painting, drawing and painting using fingers doesn’t exactly train her on the motor skills for actual drawing, painting, and eventually writing. Enter the capacitive pen. I’ve been planning to get one for some time. So it was quite timely when James gave me one from his trip to the US. Thanks, James!
Only problem is that there are bits of metal on the pen. So to minimize chances of it scratching the screen, I was forced to install a screen protector. Now that was a chore! It took me 5 tries before I was satisfied, i.e. the display area is clear of dust and bubbles. Even so, there were still some dust specks here and there. But since they were on the border, I can overlook them.
The iPad 2 That Reading Bought
I had thought of getting Jeanne an iPod touch but I’ve pushed back the purchase time and time again. But recently, Michelle and I have been reading ebooks a lot and although it’s reasonable on the iPhone because of its retina display, it’s not exactly ideal on Michelle’s Nokia 5800 where your squint at the small low-resolution display and tapping the not-so-sensitive resistive touchscreen so often. And there’s also Jeanne taking over the iPhone especially when I’m reading. And yet, the display is too small and she ends up hunching over it. So I finally decided to get an iPad. Now Michelle can read on the iPad, Jeanne can play with a bigger screen, and I have the iPhone all to myself. Now that’s a win-win-win situation! :P