Kim Yeo Hee plays with iPad

"How to Turn Your iPad Into the Ultimate Video Rig"

How to Turn Your iPad Into the Ultimate Video Rig, article.
First, there are a couple of tools built into the iOS camera app you should know: auto exposure and auto focus. If you want to focus on something, just tap onscreen in the camera app, and it’ll focus there. If you want to lock in that focus, tap and hold, and the AEAF lock notification will appear at the top of the screen. The latter is particularly useful if you’re recording an interview, and you want your subject in focus for the entirety of a video.

I'm not sure how limited the video quality from a new iPad is, but if it's good enough for the purpose (and for web use it surely is), I very much agree that it's a very kewl device for the purpose. In the same slender package you have everything you need: the camera, the editing software, a big screen for the editing, and means of distribution!

By amazing coincidence, just before I found this article, I got a fresh comment on the last article I posted with a similar viewpoint, The iPad As Mobile Journalist Studio. And this one too.

Tim Cook Soundly Rejects Politics of the NCPPR, Suggests Group Sell Apple’s Stock

Tim Cook Soundly Rejects Politics of the NCPPR, Suggests Group Sell Apple’s Stock, article.
Apple's CEO: "If you want me to do things only for ROI reasons, you should get out of this stock."

Go Cook! I doubt many CEOs would have the balls to tell their stock owners that they refuse to do only things that are profitable.

Pro HDR app for iPhone

The newer iPhones have HDR (High Dynamic Range) option built into their camera, which is great, for reducing too-high contrast.
Good uses are when you want both the landscape and the sky exposed right, in the same shot. Or you want both the interior and what you see out the window to be exposed right.
But I didn't realize how limited it was until I bought, 2 bucks, and tried Pro HDR.
I only tried it once yet, but I'm impressed.
(One little downside is that one has to be careful to hold the camera still between the two exposures, which are not instant unlike with the Apple camera app.)

Apple camera app without HDR:

Apple camera app with HDR*:

Pro HDR app:

What a dif!


*It is odd that the Apple version with HDR has darker shadows.  It seems the app prioritises the highlights so much it may sometimes make the shadows slightly darker. Though I haven't seen it before. 

Phone, Meet Tablet. That’s Phabulous

Apple's feet-dragging tactics is becoming more laughable by the month.
Apple's CEO claims they are waiting because they want to make sure that the technology is up to supporting a phone with a larger screen. Well, does the iPad work well? I think you have your answer.




Article.
But even phones that aren’t strictly phablets are getting bigger. Samsung announced its Galaxy S5 this week in Barcelona, and its screen measures in at 5.1 inches. LG has been successful with the 4.7-inch LG G2; 4.6-inch displays are almost the new minimum. When Samsung introduced a Galaxy S4 Mini, its screen was 4.3 inches — 0.3 inches larger than the iPhone. (My emphasis.)
[...] I’m happiest when I’m using the Note 3 just as I’d use a tablet: playing games, browsing the web, checking Facebook, watching video, reading books and magazines, and sending email. But what makes the phone better than the tablet is one-stop shopping for all my communications. I can also text, Instagram and even make a call, without switching devices.
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Folding phone stand/tripod

[Thanks to TMO]

Supercompact phone stand/tripod.

I've tried several flat/foldable phone stands, and this seems very promising. And the angle is even steplessly adjustable, so it can work as a table tripod.

The iPad as mobile journalist studio

I've written about this before, and here is a nice article from a journalist who prefers his iPad to a MacBook for mobile production of text and images.
The iPad Air isn’t just for capturing images; it also does a decent job of editing them. [...]  I remain primarily the writing kind of journalist and require hardware suited for that purpose. In this regard, the iPad Air has performed splendidly when outfitted with an add-on physical keyboard.

I'm still waiting for somebody to make a purpose-made portable writing machine. One of the early devices which came close, I had briefly but sadly it had a hardware fault, this was the beautiful eMate.

You may say: what's wrong with the Macbook Air (or a knock-off), isn't that the perfect portable writing machine? Well, it's close, but primarily the keyboard is too flat for me. If they could make it deeper and more clicky, without raising the weight significantly, we'd have something. The Logitech Wired keyboard I acquired recently is the thing, near-perfect for typing, to my taste. It's not the smallest, but it is full size, the same size as the Apple Wireless Keyboard To my surprise, I can write about as fast and comfortable on that 300gram thing as I can on my big, professional German keyboard.

iPad Mini + Logitech Wired kb. Total 620 grams.
And the iPad can at any moment be taken off
to be used as e-reader. 

Update:
TCG said:
I used to wonder if I would like the Macbook Air keyboard, myself, and have to report that I LOVE it!! In fact, I can whiz along faster on this keyboard, than anything else I have had before this... WEE!!!! :-P Have you tried it, yet?? It feels "deep" (and clicky!!) enough for me... :-D


That's very cool.

Taste vary. And I won't deny it is a good keyboard. I just prefer, personally, a deeper "travel", and a tactile feedback in the *middle* of the travel so you know you hit it without having to bottom it.

Also, it is so flat along the top surface of the keys, it makes for further uncertainty about the placement of my fingers.

Of course, it just might be great if I used it for a couple of months. And some love it. (I have mostly heard this from women. And I admit I have large hands.)

Man-Machine love

Woa, somebody really loves his new Mac Pro!

This almost makes me want to get the new Mac Pro. But not a used one, I think!
By the way, I was sure for years that Apple's next Mac Pro would be an exercise in compactness (given that previous case could stop a tank), and they really succeeded.
Especially for a top-shelf speed monster, this is amazingly small. (Yes, much of that comes from expansion being only external now, but still.)

How much Would an iPhone Really Cost in 1991? How about $3.5M

How much Would an iPhone Really Cost in 1991? How about $3.5M Post
 it turns out an iPhone in 1991 would cost you a lot more than $3,000. 32GB of RAM would set you back $1.44 million, data bandwidth would cost a cool $1.5 million, and the iPhone's processor comes in at a paltry $620,000.

Holy mama. What will we play with in 20 years? Not to mention 50?

Kindle Paperwhite 2 vs. iPad Mini Retina

Kindle Paperwhite 2 vs. iPad Mini Retina, article. 

I am very much on the same page (even if it's electronic) as Janet Tokerud here. 

The Kindle Paperwhite is by far the best Kindle yet, the front light (what an accomplishment to bend light in and get it evenly spread on a page in such a super-thin space) really handled my biggest problem with the earlier Kindles, the too-dark screen. 

But it seems that me and many others (for example Len Edgerly from The Kindle Chronicles) are getting used to reading on a backlit screen, despite the early cries about "flashlight in your face" etc. Perhaps it's partly due to the much higher screen resolutions nowadays (how that has changed in just three years), but in any case... for example, recently I was reading in the near-dark because the text-to-speech (a great boon) in the Kindle Fire HDX had problems with a homemade ebook. And it occurred to me that the Paperwhite might be easier on my eyes. But to my surprise, it was not. The KF's LED screen was! 

I don't know why. Well, even though the front-lit screens have become more and more even since the first Kobo Glow, they are still nowhere as even, or as sharp, as a good LED screen. There is really a world of difference. Could be that, I'm a little mystified...

I also agree with Janet that despite the reaction time of the KF Paperwhite being adequate when you're used to Kindles, when you're used to an iPad, it just seems slow and clunky. I would have thought that processors now could easily handle such tasks faster, but perhaps it has more to do with the speed of the E-ink screen. Even though some of them were shown to run video already a few years ago, so I really don't know. Another mystery. 

I also think that the mysterious limit on the sharpness of E-ink screens (despite nominally high resolutions) puts a practical limit how much smaller they can make readers with that screen. The modern super-sharp LEDs can put many more words in a given space and stay legible. 

What I would like that we still don't have, is a 5 to 6-inch ereader under 200 grams, about the weight of the lightest Kindle, but a full-fledged tablet with a good LED screen. 

The closest we have, I guess, is the Samsung Galaxy Note, which indeed is very good as ereader, but Android's quirks still get on my nerves. 

The screen on the K Fire HDX is really amazingly good though. The device is just a bit too heavy for easy bed reading though, being over 300 grams (same as the iPad Mini). I think people would find that getting it under 200 grams would really make a difference. 

MacObserver: The iPhone REALLY Does Need a Larger Display

The iPhone REALLY Does Need a Larger Display, article.
In time, technology advanced. Now we have a 64-bit processor in the iPhone 5s. The demands on the iPhone for maps, weather apps, watching videos, shopping, banking, calendaring and even reading books has grown dramatically. The iPhone has gone from being a great phone + music player + internet access device to the Star Trek tricorder of our times.
Accordingly, because of the demands we make and the performance delivered, a larger display is called for. I think it's that simple.
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Amazon's "big package"

Amazon is promoting something big coming, disruptive, and "bigger than the Kindle".

“Bigger than the Kindle”... hmmm.  Perhaps they are doing word plays, something PR and editors seem unable to stay away from.
But sort of switched. Maybe it’s simply bigger, physically. Maybe they want to get a jump on Apple and Samsung with a 12-inch tablet. And it has some capability which can be considered disruptive. (That's a real buzz word these days, innit?)

---
Oddly, I think they need a 5-inch phablet too, because they’re promoting “Listen Anywhere” (or Audible is, on the Kindle Fire), and they have nothing pocket-sized at this moment. The phone part is immaterial.

I mean, look at this ad. It's a promo for Audible, on my Kindle Fire. It's a comple give-away: Where is she gonna stick it?! The 7-inch Kindle looks ridiculously clumsy for audio content next to an iPod or iPhone.

A great portable writing station, Logitech Wired Keyboard, "clicky"

Finally, a portable keyboard with "clicky" keys...

The LWK with iPad Mini, my new favorite
away-from-home writing station. The cable is shortish,
but I later found a 1-meter extension cord on eBay. 

So, I've gotten a new keyboard... again!
This is the Logitech Wired Keyboard with Lightning Connector for iPad.
It is excellent. In fact, if I had to pick right now, I think it's my favorite of portable keyboards.
At about $58 at the moment, it's more expensive than for example the Amazon Basics keyboard, but it's much more rugged and to me feels better.
It's nice that you don't have to fumble with Bluetooth, which I find unreliable (like I find all wireless technologies). You also don't have to fumble or remember batteries, it gets the power from the iPad (but uses very little).

I wondered why the bottom of the keyboard is neon green (!). But when I saw that it is mean primarily for classrooms, that was explained.
My top favorite sort-of-portable keyboard is on the Alphasmart Neo. That in fact is a fantastic keyboard.
So I guess we can conclude that when companies build for young students, they make better keyboards. I think it is because they are then not afraid to make the device a bit thicker than is the vogue these days. Like the fashion industry, they are endangering the functions of the models by squeezing them thinner and thinner.

The Logitech is *almost exactly* the size of Apple's portable Bluetooth keyboard. The keys are the same size. It is a few milimeters wider and thicker. And it is 25 grams lighter. In fact it weighs only 300 grams (10.6oz), like the iPad Mini. Nice. And while the Apple keyboard is a good keyboard (and looks great), this one has a deeper travel, which I like.

LWK with iPhone 5s

This means they had the space to make the keys more "clicky" (or "clacky"), meaning they give a slight sound (it's pretty quiet though), and you can *feel* when the key activates. This is, for many typists, very important for comfortable and speedy typing, and it's the first portable keyboard I've had that I could say this about. (That's the main reason I've bought so many!)
Of course it's not as "clicky" as the top-shelf keyboards like the DAS Keyboard or the Matias Tactile Pro, but it's much better than other portables I've tried.

Because of the Lightning connector, it does not work with Android devices or early iPads. It only works with iPads with the Lightning Connector, Like iPad 4, iPad Air, iPad Mini. And new iPhones! (But they also have one with the older wide plug.)

Update:
Especially with the iPad Mini, this make for a great portable writing station. In cafés, on holidays, on the beach, when you wait... Seriously. 600 grams including a full sized keyboard. And the iPad, of course, additionally has all the surfing, research material access, reading, and video you could require on the go.
(I'm not sure why I find the Mini so fitting here. Maybe just my old fetish for compact and light, but effective technology. Anyhow, the iPad Air would be awesome too.)

Update:
This is still my favourite keyboard for tablets/phones.
There is one consisistent bug though (at least with the extension cable which I have to use): After the tablet as been asleep, the keyboard is usually not connected for some reason, and one has to first put the cursor in a text  field, and then disconnect the cable and reconnect it. On  the other hand I see it now also happening with my Apple Wireless keyboard, so it may not be anything to do with the Logitech at all!

Have fun, Eolake

Update:
TCGirl said:

That's a pretty cute keyboard! I have to say that I'm pretty much "in LOVE" w/my new MacBook Air... I tried the mini and it didn't much do it for me... It would be cool if they made that in wireless; must check...even though, right now, I don' t have any use for it... :-/

Heck, there's hardly much not to love about the Macbook Air! (Or the new slim Macbook.)

I could as easily use that for writing on the road. I guess only a couple of things tilts it to the iPad: my weakness for simplicity, and having the iPad with me for text and media consumption.
And the Mini is much easier to hold for a length of time without tiring the hand.

Oh, and also, because of the Macbook Air's super-slimness, this Logitech keyboard actually have deeper (to me: better) key travel than the Airbook's. (Though I must say that considering the space available, they made a damn fine keyboard on that machine.)

 It does not require any special software, it just works like any keyboard.

Update3:
Alex T said...
What is the name of that stand you're using for your iPhone & iPad Mini in the two pictures with the LWK? It looks very useful for wired connections!

Blogger Eolake Stobblehouse said...
Yes, it's a pity how few stands allow for the plug to be at the bottom.
This is a DarwinMachine.
It looks good and it quite useful.
(Though it may not be very stable laterally for full-sized tablets.) 

The big-tablet race is on

Samsung is first out of the gate, because they care about the CES show, which Apple doesn't.
I hope Apple comes out with one soon. I really don't want to be "forced" to buy yet another Android device which I buy because of the screen size, but then put in the drawer because the software is so awful.

Blek, unusual iPad game

This looks tricky, and cool. And inventive, who could have imagined something like this before we had been around tablets for a while?