This post is being typed in the iPad Wordpress app. The keyboard is superb in my opinion.

I also got the Apple case which should offer some protection.

I am looking now for apps designed for the iPad as iPhone sized ones don’t scale well in my opinion. They work okay in a small window centred on the screen.

I am also waiting for the book store to carry some more, varied, titles. Perhaps I have unusual tastes.

Recommendation : Go buy one ( an iPad that is).

When the Air launched opinion was devided; Many praised the refreshing lightweight design. Others complained about the lack of features (many argue that these features are never, if hardly, used – including myself).

I purchased the Macbook Air at launch and have used it at home ever since. At the time I reasoned that my main usage was internet browsing and email and this has been the case ever since. I have fired up Front Row a couple of times and used iWork occaisionally. Of course I store my pictures and music on the Air and sync to the iPhone and iPod units I own.

I often think of how Apple products can be improved, “what can they possibly do to improve this or make it more desirable?”

A year ago I wrote “The Air is so pure – so esential that everything else seems excessive” and yet I consider the iPad  to be the next evolutionary step for the Air.

Apple have minimised the Air hardware further to the point where the physical keyboard has gone along with the USB port, and the video out port. In terms of aesthetics the iPad represents an improvement over the Air being effectively the screen and enclosure with minimal switches and ports.

For the things I do with my Macbook Air the iPad would meet 80% of my needs. The only reason I cannot get rid of the Air is that I need to be able to sync the iPad with something. If I could backup the iPad to, say, a time capsule I could just get by with that. Once sync’d I could download music directly and transfer photos directly to it.

In it’s current spec the iPad will be a companion device. Perhaps in the future via the cloud or some other storage solution I could use the iPad as my only computer with a sync system over the air to my iPod etc..

iPod Dock

I have just received an email from my local Bang and Olufsen dealer. They have introduced a new iPod dock. In the UK the dock will retail for £375. That is a heafty price for a simple dock that is just a connection device. You need additional speakers or a B&O music system to connect to.

The dealer information was as follows;

We’ve got it docked

We’ve just launched an I-Pod docking station which you can attach directly to your BeoSound Audio System or even just to a pair of our BeoLab active loudspeakers.

It is fully compatible with our Beo 4 remote control so you can surf your tracks or adjust volume from your armchair

Priced at £375.00 our dock fits all I-pods. We have one set up in the showroom so please feel free to bring in your I-pod and see what a difference Bang & Olufsen can make.

I think another £100 spent on a Vita R4 would be a better deal.

Like many, I queued at my local Apple store to pickup a new iPhone 3 GS. This device is well worth the upgrade. The new features work well and the speed bump is terrific.

When you spend time and take in all the changes Apple makes you will notice what I call Incremental Beauty.

Look at the picture above. This is of the wall charger that now comes with the iPhone 3GS. If you were to compare this with the previous versions you would see how much more beautiful  it is. One piece instead of two. Smaller. Neater.

These are the changes that make Apple great.

Along with their refined design reduced to the essential I feel that by offering a limited product range I can clearly focus on what’s essential for me. Less choice = greater clarity.

So, at the WWDC ‘09 next week I hope that they mainly update existing products and not introduce too many new things.

Netbooks have cramped keyboards, small screens, “junky” hardware and bad software, said Tim Cook, chief operating officer of Apple, during a fiscal second-quarter earnings conference call on Wednesday 22 April 2009. They don’t offer the “consumer experience” that Apple wants to offer through its Macintosh hardware.

Via Macworld UK.

… I think they have forgotten that they already make the best Netbook available.

I am proposing that the MacBook Air is that machine.

For those who don’t already know the MacBook Air is designed as a wireless ultra-mobile computer. Like a Netbook, it does not have an internal DVD drive. Apart from that it functions like any other Laptop.

If you compare one Netbook; the Samsung NC10, with the Air you will see many similarities but the Air scores higher in the areas that count i.e. Screen size, RAM, and Aesthetics.

The only positive for the NC10 would be it’s cheap price, but then a Peugeot is cheaper than a Porsche.

The other day I was watching the LUXE.TV channel here in the UK.

Along with the images a background soundtrack played. This sounded good and I wondered what it was. I had my iPhone to hand and launched the Shazam application.

After I had tagged the music (from about 4 feet away from the TV) I learned that the artist was Lux and the track name was Secret Fish.

Later, whilst at work, I looked up the track on iTunes (from within the Shazam application). Over a 3G connection I sampled the tracks and then I started to downloaded the album.

A few minutes later I had my earphones ‘in’ and was enjoying the Northern Nights album by LUX.

Years ago I imagined a time when I would hear music on TV and, by interacting in some way, would be able to download it. This is now a reality through the use of an iPhone.

UPDATE
The playlist have been created and the sync is complete. As we have a pair of the high-end Apple ear-phones we used these and the sound quality is very good. On a par with an iPhone at least. The voice-over function also works well and after the remote has been used a couple of times we do not think the control scheme is that complex (as others claim). The most important features of the remote require the least ‘clicks’

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
Finally we are back up. Our previous domain name registrar decided that they would not offer this service and so we had to migrate to another provider.

Although a few months have passed we wanted to start off with the Apple iPod 3rd Generation.

Recently announced, and despite having received mixed reviews, this iPod is very appealing to those who seek out the minimalist aesthetic in product design.

As soon as possible a visit to the Apple Store allowed us to procure one. After comparing the two options; anodised black or anodised silver, a black model was selected.

The iPod Shuffle was beautifully packaged, as usual with the minimum of waste.

The design itself is oft described as bland. To the minimalist this is ‘music to their ears’ (pardon the pun). We think the design is distilled to the essentials and with the remote now integral with the RH earphone cord the overall look is further refined.

This model introduces playlist support which, with the right combination of presses on the remote, speaks the playlist names to the user. We have decided that the following five playlists would support our listening requirements;

1. Ambient
2. Exercise
3. Hotel
4. Minimal
5. Techno

Suitably minimal – what do you think?

Spend a few hours with Apple Inc. products and you will really start to appreciate the thought that goes into the design.

Recently I purchased a white iPhone 3G and have been impressed with the quality and design of the hardware and the software.

I like the colour white so quite often I place my iPhone face down on the table in order to look at the back (BTW the back of this phone is “better than the front of other phones”).

As I looked at the phone’s back I considered the design and the shiny Apple logo. It then occurred to me that I could use this logo area to take a self portrait.

I could see my face in the logo and took a picture. When I checked the results my face was framed perfectly.

I reckon that Apple deliberately chose this design in order to support self-portraits.

What do you think?

This post is a bit tenuous I know but here goes.

Based on the information relating to availability in the States from the web site…
http://www.topmuffin.com/3g-iphone-availability
… a quick analysis shows that, of the three models, the 16Gb Black iPhone is the most popular followed by the 8Gb Black model. In last place is the 16Gb White model.

The figures work out as follows;

• 8 GB Black – Available in 85 Apple stores.
• 16 GB White – Available in 97 stores.
• 16 GB Black – Available in 76 stores.

What conclusions can we draw from this?

• White is more exclusive (Less people own one).
• People have not realised that black iPhones show finger prints and scratches more than white.
• People do not appreciate the colour white.

The snob in me might say that when I see someone with a black iPhone to their ear I might think it’s an 8Gb version. However when I see a white one I know it’s a 16 Gig.

Of course it could also be because I own a White iPhone and that I am biased.