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Entelligence: Wired or tired?
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide. In the mid 90s, a friend of mine was involved in a project to recreate magazines like Time on CD-ROM for the multimedia PCs of the era. The results were pretty cool, but the CD-ROM versions of the publications hardly replaced their print counterparts. Content has since moved from optical disk to the web, and now the allure of tablet devices has created a market for specific newspaper and magazine apps -- the number one paid app for iPad is a digital version of Wired, which sold about 1,000 copies an hour the first day it was launched. While it's a much better effort than some of the other efforts, more than anything Wired for iPad shows the weaknesses of media apps and demonstrates how the tablet remains a still-imperfect medium to deliver this type of content. Wired's efforts, like the CD-ROM efforts of the past, by has some cool features. A video clip of Toy Story 3 graces the cover and there are various interactive features, but more than anything else, it feels like a scanned in copy of the paper mag. Although navigation is better than most iPad magazines, it's still never clear when a screen should be scrolled down or just swiped horizontally.
Reuters: Hulu plans to expand to iPad, Xbox 360, offer subscription service
We've already heard rumors of Hulu coming to the iPad and Xbox 360, and rumors of a subscription service, and it looks like those might now all be coming together. According to Reuters, two sources and "another with knowledge of the matter" say that Hulu will be rolling out to "multiple devices" in the next month or two -- only the iPad and Xbox 360 are mentioned by name -- and that it will indeed be offering a subscription service. As we had heard, the subscription service would apparently only be for older episodes of TV shows and other content -- you'd still be able to watch new episodes of shows for free -- and it sounds like it will apply to Hulu as a whole, not just those aforementioned devices. Not many more details than that, unfortunately, but this does certainly seem to be taking on a feeling of inevitability.
First Look: Interactive Bartleby picture book
My son and I really dug the recent release of the iPad-ized Alice in Wonderland. After reviewing that application, I've been approached by any number of developers working on interactive e-Book titles. For the most part, these have been a disappointment -- providing the iPad equivalent of a "read along" book (the kind with a cassette or CD, and tones to turn the page) rather than showcasing any innovation. I was really pleased, therefore, to stumble across this Bartleby preview. Under development by Monster Costume and Octopus Kite, and expected to release in July, Bartleby adds child-centric interactive elements to its eBook offerings, targeted at a 4-6 year demographic. As you can see in this preview video, buttons, sliders, and little puzzles expand an otherwise flat story-telling experience.
Barnes & Noble launches eReader for iPad app, we go hands-on
Barnes & Noble might be pushing the Nook as hard as it can, but the retailer has always said it wants to build a reading platform across devices, and it's making a big step in that direction with the launch of its eReader for iPad app today. The app allows Nook users to download most of their content to the iPad -- the books all work, but some periodicals like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal aren't available yet -- and there's a nice bookshelf view with jacket art and a library search function, which the Kindle app and iBooks don't have. As with the Nook and other B&N clients, the iPad client supports LendMe for certain titles, but there's no in-app purchasing -- selecting "add books" from the bookshelf view kicks you out to the browser, just like the Kindle app. We're not sure if this is an Apple restriction or a design decision, but we were told B&N is looking into adding in-app purchasing in a future release. As for reading, eReader is actually quite flexible -- you can customize the page, text, highlight, and link colors any which way you want (we made some hideous combinations), and there are some nice presets themes as well, ranging from "The Printed Page" to an inverted setting called "Night Light." You can also set books to display using the publisher's settings, and there are the usual line spacing and justification options as well. The only issues we had were with page turns and rendering -- flipping from portrait to landscape too fast would result in some brief wonkiness, and flipping pages too quickly would eventually stall the app and lead to a brief load time. Neither was a deal breaker, but there's clearly some room for polish here -- we're sure B&N is planning to iterate this rapidly, so we'll see what happens. All in all, though the eReader app is a worthy competitor for your iPad ebook dollar -- as long as iBooks has the only in-app store it'll remain our favorite iPad reader, but if you've already purchased Nook content this is a solid free addition to the ecosystem. %Gallery-93757%
Magic Window creates living photo art piece
Most iPad applications create a way for you to interact directly with your device via the human touch. Magic Window is not most applications. A $3.99 iPad application, Magic Window works when you put the device down. It transforms your iPad into a living photo art piece, creating a real-time window onto a virtual world. As the video here shows, you can select from fifteen pre-built time lapse experiences to display while your iPad rests on its stand. Photo sequences include both natural and urban viewscapes. You can watch sunset over the Pacific, clouds drifting over Vancouver city, sunset in Santa Barbara, and more. A subtle audio track accompanies each presentation. Most of the sequences ship in a stripped-down "sample size" version. You need to have access to a Wi-Fi connection to download the full image sequence to your iPad.
First look: New IUGO iPad games
The video you see here was in my inbox this morning and I really liked what what I saw. IUGO, a long time player in the mobile entertainment arena, is in the process of releasing four new games for the iPad platform. What made these games stand out for me was how well they leveraged the iPad hardware realities for both cooperative and competitive game play. Several of these games highlight multi-handed multi-player interaction on the same device. That's a feature that's specific to the iPad. The iPhone's size doesn't allow that kind of two player interaction, except through online game play with virtual opponents. What IUGO's games are doing is expanding play from an iPhone-style one user at a time paradigm into a two-users-at-once iPad experience. Read on for an exclusive discussion with IUGO Mobile Entertainment.
From iPhone to iPad: Star Walk
How do old iPhone favorites hold up on the iPad? In our From iPhone to iPad series, TUAW revisits iPhone applications that have transitioned to the iPad. We look at their latest incarnations and see how the new measures up to the old. Today, TUAW looks at Star Walk. I first encountered Star Walk last summer at an O'Reilly Foo Camp meet-up. "You want to see an app that really takes advantage of everything a 3GS can do?" asked one of the attendees. "Try Star Walk." I dutifully scribbled down the name and, when I returned home, I picked up a copy at the App Store. True to the advice, Star Walk really impressed. It's a kind of "virtual window" application that you use at night. You look "through" the 3GS to the sky behind it and see a live view of the constellations the 3GS is pointing at. Move the 3GS down out of your field of view, and you see the real night sky. Move the 3GS back in front of you and it explains exactly what you're looking at. That's because Star Walk was one of the first applications that took advantage of the iPhone 3GS's built in magnetometer. The sensor that powers the onboard compass allows apps to retrieve magnetic north readings. Star Walk uses the magnetometer to determine which way you're looking -- not just your position. And it uses that bearing information to display the correct portion of the night sky.
ABC said to have 3G-compatible iPad app on the way
We had a pretty clear indication that a 3G-compatible ABC iPad app could just be a matter of a relatively simple fix, and it looks like that is indeed the case -- Silicon Alley Insider is reporting that ABC has already submitted an updated app that adds 3G streaming to Apple for approval. Barring some unforeseen issues, that seems to be all but assured, and it will presumably function much like the Netflix app by knocking things down to a lower bitrate when you leave your WiFi comfort zone. Still no official word from ABC on this, but we'd suggest keeping a close eye on the app store if you've been craving some Dancing with the Stars on the go.
TUAW TV Live: iPad love and some stellar Mac app demos
This appears to be the week for iPad love, since we have tons of video clips to show you (and talk about). Games, development tools, and politicians with iPads are all covered. Your host Steve Sande is joining you today at 5 PM EDT live from his new studio! Well, there's not really a new studio, but he'll be facing a new direction so it looks new. And he's got a fancy schmancy new iMac, so the video rendering should be incredible, if not utterly fantastic. To join in from your Mac or PC, just go to the next page by clicking the link at the bottom of this post, and you'll find a live stream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to join in on the fun by asking questions or making comments. If you're driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you're stuck in traffic, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone by downloading the free Ustream Viewing Application. iPad users haven't been forgotten, either, as you can tune in TUAW TV Live on your iPad! That link will send yo to a non-Flash page, although you won't have access to our chat tool.
Hands on with OmniGraphSketcher
Retailing for a relatively hefty US$14.99, OmniGraphSketcher may initially leave you scratching your head and wondering exactly who the app's target audience is. OmniGraphSketcher offers a free-form drawing application for creating graphs and charts. With it, you can illustrate many kinds of numeric information, just as you would by using the chart features in a normal spreadsheet. However, OmniGraphSketcher isn't powered by spreadsheets. It's powered by human drawing, and that's a rather odd combination; it's also the application's main feature. There's not a lot you can customize creatively when working with a standard spreadsheet graph. OmniGraphSketcher helps build persuasive illustrations that break the cookie-cutter sameness of pie-charts and bar graphs and hopefully brings design excellence to the table. This app isn't about mathematical precision, it's about beauty. You choose the axes, the labels, the drawing style, and so forth. Like OmniGraffle, most of the functionality is placed into a pair of modes (line drawing and filled drawing, which I used to create the graph at the top of this post). An inspector popover lets you customize how each feature is colored. The software is, clearly, first generation. I ran into a fair number of bugs both before and after Omni issued a bug-fix 1.1 release. Even now, you cannot easily move labels within a shape. I worked around this by creating separate labels and dragging them to where I wanted them to be rather than where the app wanted to put them. I could not order my objects back to front, but I realized that deleting a shape and undoing that action moved each shape to the front. (I initially drew the shapes purple, then red, then green, but wanted them ordered in the sequence you see above.) I admit readily that I'm an engineer, not an artist. (The picture shows this quite clearly.) While the idea of creating artistically enhanced illustrations appeals to me, I have no talent whatsoever to really make the most of this application. I'll stick with spreadsheets, I'm afraid. For anyone who does have that artistic spark, you may find that this application will help you build those persuasive graphics, even when you're on the go. %Gallery-91459%
Hands on with OmniGraffle for iPad
Long a Mac desktop staple, OmniGraffle for OS X offers an interactive editor for laying out charts and diagrams. It's a useful tool for planners, managers, and designers. I have not been a serious user of the product, nor do I own the latest OS X version, but I have used the software enough to recognize that it has made its own niche in the Mac ecosystem. The desktop versions I've used have been solid, robust and, most importantly, they've gotten the job done when the job is to lay out and edit organizational wiring diagrams. Hearing that OmniGraffle was coming to the iPad surprised me. It wasn't the kind of application that I'd expect to move smoothly to a touch based interface, given its reliance on a vast number of menus, palettes, and other tweaking elements that let you manipulate your creations just so. The Omni Group developers thought otherwise. They envisioned a "back of the napkin" style application that would let you create diagrams on the go, whether at a business meeting or sitting on an Airport shuttle. They created an iPad application that depended on fingers rather than mice or styluses, to allow users to create high-quality editable and manipulatable presentations. %Gallery-90847%
From iPhone to iPad: Plants vs Zombies
How do old favorites hold up on the iPad? In our "From iPhone to iPad" series, TUAW revisits iPhone applications that have transitioned to the iPad. We look at their latest incarnation and see how the new measures up to the old. Today, TUAW looks at Plants vs Zombies HD. An action-strategy game published by PopCap (they're the people who brought you Bejeweled, Peggle and Bookworm, among other popular titles), Plants vs Zombies forces you to defend your house from the zombie hordes with plant-based protection like pea shooters and cherry bombs. It's a castle defense game but one with a great twist and clever features. First ported from desktop systems to the iPhone, PvZ was an instant hit, receiving accolades and a fanatical user base. It has now been expanded to the iPad in an upgraded "High Definition" format. The iPad version includes enhanced graphics (as you would expect), an iPad-only mini game ("Buttered Popcorn!"), and exclusive iPad-only achievements for more fun during game play. So how does the upgraded version compare to the original? It's marvelous. The expanded room fits the game dynamics. Every element of the game from help screens to the game board to the size of the pieces really matches the iPad proportions. It plays so well on an iPad that you'll wonder why it ever was a hit on a tiny little iPhone screen. Fellow blogger Dave Caolo puts it this way: if Twitter clients could be said to define mobile handsets as a platform, then Plants vs Zombies was meant for the iPad. Like the original version, Plants vs Zombies remains a delightful family-friendly game that's playable by and accessible to a wide range of ages and skill sets. As far as TUAW is concerned, the iPad version is a must buy. TUAW is commonly provided with not-for-resale licenses or promo codes to permit product evaluations and reviews. For more details, see our policy page. Promo code requests are not guarantees of review.
ABC reveals iPad app statistics, says it's 'pleased' with results
There's no question that ABC's free iPad app was one of the highest-profile apps to launch with the device, and ABC has now finally revealed some hard numbers to give an indication of just how successful it has been. According to The Wall Street Journal, ABC says the app has been downloaded 205,000 times in the ten days following the iPad's debut, and that is has been used to watch at least part of 605,000 TV shows. Perhaps the best news for ABC, however, is that the app has served up "several million" ad impressions, although the exact number is apparently still being calculated, with ABC only adding that it is "pleased with the results." Also, the most popular single show watched with the app? Why the episode of Modern Family where Phil Dumnphy gets an iPad, of course.
Hands on with Hangman RSS HD for iPad
I am fond of fellow TUAW blogger Dave Caolo and friendly with Brian Akaka, and were it not for those associations there is no way I would have tried out Hangman RSS HD for iPad by Finger Arts, because on paper the game just sounded absolutely dire. But Dave had given it a spin at Macworld and found it playable, and Brian Akaka asked very nicely if I would give it an honest try. And what do you know? I liked it. A lot. Hangman RSS HD turns out to be insanely addicting and challenging. It's a standard hangman game played with real time RSS feeds from all over the world. That means you're just about as likely to find a story about horrible events as one that's...family friendly. The first game I played was about a 9-year old Yemini bride. I nearly didn't make it to the second game, but I'm glad that I persevered. Once you understand that the game uses unfiltered, real world topics you'll be able to switch your attention to the word challenges and catching up on the news. There's not a lot to explain about how the game works. Nearly everyone has played Hangman, the game where you get several chances to guess the letters in an obscured word. When you guess too many wrong letters, you lose. Hangman RSS keeps track of your successful solutions and you can challenge yourself to keep getting longer and longer "runs" of wins. There are several levels of game play, where the number of obscured words increases from one to two, to three, and so forth. A small semi-obscured clue appears at the bottom of each puzzle, and you can "dig" into a story to read the original articles directly from the game. The iPad delivery really lends itself to reading the news web pages. Its expansive screen means the tiles and interaction elements really have room to "breathe." The game is a very good match to the iPad. I found myself playing this game for hours. I also (inadvertently) learned how to spell the names of much-mourned Polish leaders. There's a lot of that going on in Hangman RSS. When you play with real news, there's a bitter that goes along with the sweet. It's real but it can be hard. Hangman RSS HD for iPad costs $2.99 at the App Store.
From iPhone to iPad: Revisiting Labyrinth 2
How do old favorites hold up on the iPad? In our "From iPhone to iPad" series, TUAW revisits iPhone applications that have transitioned to the iPad. We look at their latest incarnation and see how the new measures up to the old. Today, TUAW looks at Labyrinth 2. I loved Labyrinth 2 when I first tested it for iPhone. So I was delighted when developer Carl Loodberg of Illusion Labs offered me the opportunity to try out the updated version for the iPad. As I wrote about the iPhone version, Labyrinth 2 offers a beautifully designed and fun-to-play classic wooden labyrinth with metal ball game that's fun to use, even for the manually uncoordinated like myself. Labyrinth 2 for iPad is all that -- and more. Loodberg has brought all the visual appeal that made the iPhone version a treasure and upgraded the graphics and interaction for the iPad display. Unlike many accelerometer games that are hindered by the iPad's larger form factor (that no longer quite matches the size of your hand), Labyrinth 2 HD actually benefits from the size jump. In fact, the iPad version more closely matches the real-world size of the original wooden toy. Labyrinth 2 HD hasn't sacrificed the great electronic touches that made the original stand out. You can still use magnets, shooters, ball doublers and other fancifully delightful elements to transform a simple game of balance manipulation into an arcade. I particularly love the pin-ball style bumpers and the little buttons that unlock obstacles. Labyrinth 2, in both its original iPhone ($4.99) and updated iPad HD ($7.99) form, offers a great iPhone OS game. It is priced slightly above the market but provides value for that cost. TUAW is commonly provided with not-for-resale licenses or promo codes to permit product evaluations and reviews. For more details, see our policy page. Promo code requests are not guarantees of review.
From iPhone to iPad: Revisiting Zen Bound 2
How do old favorites hold up on the iPad? In our "From iPhone to iPad" series, TUAW revisits iPhone applications that have transitioned to the iPad. We look at their latest incarnation and see how the new measures up to the old. Today, TUAW looks at Zen Bound 2. It was just about a year ago when I first played the original Zen Bound game on the iPhone. Having been recommended to me by Dave Caolo after it was originally reviewed on TUAW by Mike Schramm, I loved the game's beautiful graphics and sound design. Starting its life as a physics emulation game called Zen Bondage, Zen Bound became be a huge breakout hit on the iPhone. You play the game by wrapping rope around objects until you've covered a certain percentage of the object in question, avoiding running out of rope in the process. You progress by ascending a "game tree," unlocking new puzzles as you succeed in wrapping each object. The iPad version of Zen Bound 2 brings the same high quality design and interaction as its predecessors, all nicely updated to the new screen size. I found it a great deal of fun to play, although the puzzles are much harder this time around -- much as you might expect with a sequel. The big question is this: does the bigger screen improve the playing experience? I'm going to say no. That's not a slam at the application. It's a great game family, regardless of whether you play on the iPhone or iPad, and that's where the "no" comes from. There's nothing particularly innovative in the iPad release beyond the revised levels and a new "paint bomb" mode, which I never actually got to test. But that's okay. Zen Bound 2 is still basically the same excellent game; the iPad version has been competently upsized and the results are good. Zen Bound 2 is a worthy successor to Zen Bound. If you loved the original, you're sure to enjoy this update. Zen Bound 2 for iPad costs US$7.99 at the App Store. It's a beautiful, fun-to-play application. If you're playing with kids, you may want to start with the $2.99 iPhone original version, which offers easier puzzles before moving on to the iPad version, which my children found far more challenging. TUAW is commonly provided with not-for-resale licenses or promo codes to permit product evaluations and reviews. For more details, see our policy page. Promo code requests are not guarantees of review.
Found Footage: iPad Alice comes to life
I'm not a huge Alice in Wonderland fan but I've got to give props to the developers behind this iPad realization of the book. They've taken Alice to a new place with their interactive graphics that simulate the kind of reader engagement you'd normally find in a pop-up book. Ben Roberts and Chris Stevens, the people behind the app, seem to have done a lovely job putting this together. We at TUAW haven't had a chance to actually try the application out yet. And, yes, we know that the book won't have that great soundtrack but we thought we'd share this first peek at what might be the next, great trend on App Store: interactive book illustrations.
Dashboard iPad app rejected by Apple, made open source instead
So you spend hours and hours toiling away on an app that adds some much-needed Dashboard-like functionality to the iPad (sort of, more on that later) only to have it rejected by Apple -- what do you do? If you're Hongrich, developer of the slightly problematically-named "Dashboard" app, you make it open source. Of course, you'll have to be a developer yourself to actually try out the app, and it's not exactly the full-fledged Dashboard that many have been hoping for, but rather a standalone app that simply lets you run and arrange widgets however you like. Still, it's definitely a start. Head on past the break for a demo video, and hit up the source link to download it yourself.
First look: Memeo Connect Reader for iPad
If you're a big fan of Google Docs and the iPad, then you're going to love the free Memeo Connect Reader for iPad. While the app doesn't allow you to edit your documents, it works well as an online and offline reader for many file formats, including Microsoft Office, Apple iWorks, PDF files, images, and movies. Documents that are updated online by collaborators are instantly synced back to Memeo Connect Reader, so you'll always have access to the latest version. As you can see in the video, the app has a nice, simple interface. Documents that have been created and saved in Google Docs or that have been created elsewhere and uploaded to Google Docs are automatically parsed into a group of folders. There's one for Documents, another for Presentations, one more for Spreadsheets, and so on. Tapping a folder displays an animated folder with a list of new or older documents, listed in reverse chronological order. To open an view a document, you simply tap on it. Memeo Connect Reader for iPad looks like a big ol' bucket of win for anyone with an iPad who needs access to their Google Docs.
Dr. Seuss iPhone apps get supersized for the iPad
Oceanhouse Media has updated three of their popular Dr. Seuss iPhone/iPod touch apps for the iPad by updating their existing apps to universal binary. If you are already an owner of The Cat in the Hat, Dr. Seuss's ABC, or How The Grinch Stole Christmas! (US$2.99 each), all you need do is accept the free update and presto, you'll get a version that takes full advantage of the larger iPad screen while still working exactly as before on an iPhone or iPod touch. This is a wonderful idea, and one that I'd love to see other developers follow. We briefly covered some of these apps but haven't yet done a proper review, so it's about time we did. Oceanhouse has partnered up with Dr. Seuss Enterprises LLP, and they have done a remarkable job of turning these classics into apps. They put together an engine that they can plug any Dr. Seuss book into, since the apps all work exactly the same way. I don't think this was done to make it easier on themselves, but rather to address their market of ankle-biters. If you learn one, you've learned them all, and even for small children, mastering them is easy.
