Copyright © 2012 Thomas. Visit the original article at http://isource.com/2012/11/26/typing-on-ipad-mini/. I dare say I’m enjoying the software keyboard on the iPad mini far more than I ever did on my iPad 2. The size of the iPad 2 made me want to use all eight of my fingers to touch type, but that experience never [...]
Copyright © 2012 Thomas. Visit the original article at http://isource.com/2012/11/23/isource-ipad-mini-case-roundup/. I think there’s far more reason to put the iPad mini in a case than there ever has been for the full-sized 9.7″ iPad. That reason has everything to do with weight and how I handle iPads. I’m far less likely to need any kind [...]
Copyright © 2012 Thomas. Visit the original article at http://isource.com/2012/11/22/the-99-cent-dancegiving-sale/. Three of the very best iOS music apps are on sale for $0.99 in celebration of Thanksgiving (and the Blackest of Fridays), and each of them has something different to offer. Groove 2 acts like a digital DJ for your local music library, Track 8 [...]
Copyright © 2012 Thomas. Visit the original article at http://isource.com/2012/11/21/the-one-handed-smart-cover-grip/. I’ve been trying out a different way of holding my iPad mini by using the mini Smart Cover as a make-shift handle. Instead of simply folding the entire cover behind the iPad mini, I’m folding the Smart Cover back, and then collapsing it on top [...]
Copyright © 2012 Thomas. Visit the original article at http://isource.com/2012/11/21/blackberry-10-reminds-me-of-how-much-i-want-a-better-iphone-keyboard/. Check out this video of the software keyboard on Blackberry 10 devices. You can swipe up to accept text-predicted words, you can swipe down to add numbers and symbols, and you can swipe to delete words. Time will tell if these are simply too many [...]
Copyright © 2012 Thomas. Visit the original article at http://isource.com/2012/11/20/bookbook-for-iphone-5-looks-like-the-ultimate-wallet-case-combo/. That’s the BookBook for iPhone 5, and it’s now available to order for $60. I expected it to simply be taller and camera-holier than the BookBook I used on my iPhone 4S, but it looks like TwelveSouth took the time to optimize the case design [...]
Copyright © 2012 Thomas. Visit the original article at http://isource.com/2012/11/20/reliably-tether-your-ipad-to-your-iphone-via-bluetooth-personal-hotspot/. I wrote about how to reliably use your Personal Hotspot over Wi-Fi, and then found out in a number of subsequent tries that I hadn’t provided a bulletproof solution. Wi-Fi tethering works most of the time, but there are still very strange and very stupid [...]
Copyright © 2012 Thomas. Visit the original article at http://isource.com/2012/11/19/spell-rift-now-available-for-iphone/. I only recently reviewed Spell Rift for iPad, so it’s a nice surprise to see that it has been adapted for iPhone. It’s $0.99 and features all of the magnificent Keiffer Bros. art and sound effects from the iPad version – but in a smaller [...]
Copyright © 2012 Thomas. Visit the original article at http://isource.com/2012/11/19/heres-how-to-send-an-imessage-as-a-text-message/. Given yesterday’s temporary iCloud outage, it’s probably a good time for a refresh on how to send an iMessage as a text message. Apple colour-codes messages in different ways: green for regular text (sent via your mobile carrier) and blue for iMessages (sent via the [...]
Copyright © 2012 Thomas. Visit the original article at http://isource.com/2012/11/17/twelvesouth-hirise-for-macbook-review/. It’s more comfortable to look at a 20″ desktop monitor than it is to look at a 13″ laptop screen – this is not only due to the difference size, but also the difference in height. It is this inequality of height that TwelveSouth’s HiRise [...]
Copyright © 2012 Thomas. Visit the original article at http://isource.com/2012/11/16/day-one-1-9-review-for-iphone-and-ipad/. My journal entry for Thursday, November 15, 2012 simply says: !!!. That’s because yesterday was when Day One 1.9 for iPhone and iPad came out, and it’s kind of a big deal. It’s got full text search, great tag support, and Markdown support for footnotes [...]
Copyright © 2012 Thomas. Visit the original article at http://isource.com/2012/11/16/evernote-5-for-mac-is-out/. The lovely Evernote 5 for Mac is out – for real this time. This isn’t a beta, so you probably don’t worry about having to back up your notes. You also don’t have to read the Evernote 5 beta impressions from writers like myself because [...]
Copyright © 2012 Thomas. Visit the original article at http://isource.com/2012/11/16/lightning-adapters-now-available-for-elevation-docks/. I’m glad to see that Elevation Labs has prepared a lightning connector adapter for the Elevation Dock, because I’m still happily using mine, and I’d probably like to keep using it for my next iPhone, as well. The adapter costs $15 before shipping, comes with [...]
Copyright © 2012 Thomas. Visit the original article at http://isource.com/2012/11/15/summly-for-iphone-review/. Summly for iPhone reminds me a lot of Flipboard; it’s an app that automates the news for you, so that all you really have to do is read little snippets. But my real reason for trying Summly out was because Stephen Fry kind of told [...]
Copyright © 2012 Thomas. Visit the original article at http://isource.com/2012/11/14/camera-3-6-operation-ubercam/. The tagline for Camera+ 3.6 and Camera+ 1.1 for iPad is “Operation
I remember Pulse being one of the apps that made me want to check out the iPad. I thought that sifting through multiple streams of content just by scrolling was a novel idea, but when I first got my hands on Pulse 2.0 last year, I was disappointed. It’s not that apps like Reeder for [...]
The VIP feature in Mail is useful for prioritizing e-mails from people that you really want to hear from. You start by selecting a contact within Mail on iOS or OS X, and tapping on the “Add to VIP” button. On iOS this will result in a VIP filter, showing only the inbox e-mails that [...]
Two task iOS task managers have recently been adapted for the Mac. Clear, which sells for $10, specializes in making tasks as easy and fast as is colourfully possible. It syncs with Clear for iPhone over iCloud, and lets you keep different sets of lists, without the extra hassle of setting due dates and tags. [...]
There are over 50 cases in Devil’s Attorney, and and I won every one of them. I played as Max McMann – ace attorney – who is a winner by nature. I never lost a single case because winners don’t lose (it’s not in their nature), so I didn’t. It’s that kinds of opening speech [...]
I had a few friends over earlier in the week, and one of them lauded my choice of the red Smart Cover for my iPad mini. She said that it was about time that I sported some colour – regardless of whether it was on my clothing or on my gadgets. I promptly disappointed her [...]
Agile Tortoise, the developer of the excellent Drafts app, has released Tally for iPhone. Tally is useful, simple, and awesome, I decided to make a video for it: Share this: … Continue Reading Here Tally for iPhone thomas – isource.com
I’ve been an iPad 2 owner for a year-and-a-half, but I plan to switch to make the switch to this 32 GB iPad mini. I don’t want two tablets in my life, so I intend to sell my iPad 2 and use an iPhone 4S, a 2009 13″ MacBook Pro, and a 2012 iPad mini. [...]
I reviewed the Jot Touch pressure sensitive stylus two months ago. The Jot Pro is its far more affordable cousin, which manages to preserve the excellent construction and transparent, sound-dampening tip of the Jot Touch, but without all of the extra electronics. Compared to the Jot Touch, the Jot Pro is shorter, a little lighter, [...]
The new version of iA Writer for Mac hit today, adding a new responsive design, Markdown preview window, and selective word count. Most of these features are fairly self-evident, but the responsive design looks like it could add some real flexibility to iA Writer on the Mac. The text will now resize itself based on [...]
I bought a red Smart Cover to go with my slate iPad mini. I would have preferred leather, but polyurethane was the only choice this time around. The design isn’t quite as classy as its full-sized alternative on the 9.7″ iPad because it lacks the metal magnetic latch, but it still compliments the sharp design [...]
Even though the general consensus is that most iPad apps run beautifully on the mini, I’m sure that some people will still want to test this for themselves before buying a $329 tablet. You can head to a the Apple Store for some hands-on time, but it can be difficult to see how your favourite [...]
It was only last night that I got my hands on the latest Evernote 5 beta on the Mac and droned on about how I wanted the company to clean up iPad version in a similar manner. Well, lo and behold, they’ve actually done just that – and not to just the iPad app, but [...]
I received my iPad mini earlier today and unpacked it to find the expected Lightning USB cable and a surprisingly familiar 5W adapter – the exact same adapter that I use to charge my iPhone 4S. I’ve yet to see how long this will take to fully charge an iPad mini’s battery to full, but [...]
The Evernote 5 on OS X feels like a real breath of fresh air. I downloaded the beta earlier today, backed up all of my notebooks using this quick script from Nik’s Crappy Blog (via @Viticci of MacStories), and then installed it. I haven’t had a lot of time with the app yet, but it [...]
One of the decisions I had to make before purchasing an iPad mini was how much storage I wanted this time around. My iPad 2 has the base 16 GB of on-board storage, and while that can easily fit all of my apps, I’ve had trouble keeping even my relatively tiny 13 GB music library [...]
A recent Search Engine Land post highlights how the new Google Search app responds when asked about the best smartphone. Instead of pretending that there are no other phones on the market like Siri does (“Seriously-”), Google’s Search app takes the higher path and says that “no one phone is right for everyone” or that [...]
Before purchasing my iPad mini late last week, I walked over to the local Best Buy to see how tablets in the 7″ range looked and felt. I had some hands-on time with a Nexus 7, Blackberry PlayBook, and Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, but couldn’t really enjoy get a feel for them. This was [...]
Sena has unveiled a new series of premium leather cases for iPad mini: The $120 Envy looks like a leather purse, complete with card holders and an envelope-like enclosureThe $80 Jornal gives the mini a bit of Moleskine-like treatment, with two stands, multi-purpose pockets, and an elastic sealThe $80 Sena Folio and Florence, both of [...]
Here’s something I hadn’t quite realized while I was at university: iOS alarms and timers will ring out of your loudspeaker, regardless of whether or not earphones are attached (you’ll just hear a sound in your ears, too). It’s becoming more well known that iOS alarms will ring right through silent mode (NYC’s Philharmonic Orchestra [...]
I haven’t had much time to really sit down enjoy the latest iBooks 3 update from last week, so I set aside an hour and a half last night to simply sit in bed, read, and check out the new scrolling mode. ScrollingIf you haven’t already tried it, iBooks can now visualize your books as [...]
Evernote 5 for Mac coming, and it’s looking really, really good based on the video below: The whole app looks cleaner, and note thumbnails are framed better, so different types of images should appear less disparate. The release timeline is set to “soon”, but the beta is set to come out some time this week, so [...]
Learning to use Siri isn’t just about getting used to dictating and spitting out voice commands (however natural they may claim to be) – it’s also about getting over or reducing the stigma associated with talking to your computer and having it respond out loud. One thing that might help you out, provided you’re not [...]
Lexic for iPhone (later known as Abca) was one of my favourite iOS word games. There was something about the way that it looked and felt to play that made the game so captivating. The animation, sound, and sense of atmosphere made it come alive. Lexic never received a Retina update, and it’s actually no [...]
Touchscreen-compatible gloves aren’t a new concept, but they usually come with some sort of very obvious nib on the fingertips. These new touchscreen gloves from Mojju, on the other hand, look just like a normal pair compact, light, and pocket-friendly but with capacitive capabilities woven right throughout. The gloves were reviewed on GigaOm late last [...]
Spoiler alert: I plan on picking up an iPad mini the moment that the pre-order window opens (which is likely at 3 AM EST, this Friday). I’ve been pretty excited about the new device ever since I laid eyes on it (a whopping 24 hours ago). Yet there are techies out there who would rather [...]
Apple’s iPad mini wasn’t the only iPad announced today. The 10″ Retina king of the tablets saw an internal upgrade today, with a new A6X processor, new image signal processor (for stuff like face detection), FaceTime HD front-facing camera, 2x faster Wi-Fi, and a Lightning connector. In other words, this year’s Retina iPad just got [...]
That’s Phil Schiller holding the iPad Mini in its first public appearance. Apple revealed their newest little tablet in a very cheeky way – by rotating their just-announced 4th-gen iPad and showing a smaller, slimmer iPad behind it. The mini is “thin as a pencil” at 7.2 mm (23% thinner than 4th gen iPad), 0.68 lbs [...]
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