Marianne Schultz

the musings of a geeky girl

Musings of a geeky girl. About | Contact

Social

iTunes, App Store, iBookstore, and Mac App Store

Categories

In line for my iPad!

by Leave a Comment

I’m waiting in line at the mall for my iPad. I didn’t expect this but they set up two lines – one for people who had pre-ordered and another for those who did not pre-order. I got here around 7:30 am and am 3rd in the pre-order line. *Insert Arsenio-inspired arm movement and “woot” here.*

The other line has grown quite a bit already and now has around 50 people in it, up from about 25 when I’d arrived:


I am far too excited right now. If all goes well, I should be out of here shortly after 9:00 with iPad in hand!

Sent from my iPhone

iPad: The Final Countdown

by Leave a Comment

WOO HOO! Only a 47 hours, 43 minutes, and 10 seconds until the iPad is released! I will be at my local Apple Store bright and early on April 3 to pick up my pre-ordered iPad. I think I’m going to shoot for being in line at 7:00 am or so to ensure I’m somewhere close to the front of the line and can get in and out quickly to get home and play with it as quickly as possible.

Of course, reviews by the big tech journalists are out now and I find it odd that they really didn’t seem to tell me anything I didn’t already know about the iPad from the initial announcement or the new guided tour videos Apple put up. None of them have changed my mind about getting one – not that any were overly negative anyway and I doubt that even terrible reviews could have changed my mind.

I’m still keeping an eye out for promising iPad cases and have found a few more that are intriguing. Among them is a case by TwelveSouth that should look like this case they make for the MacBook Pro – I’m hoping it will be a play-through case for the iPad. I also like the Wallet and Clutch cases planned by Happy Owl, though I would prefer just a simple notepad slot on the other side instead of an accordion pocket. There is a fantastic thread over at MacRumors.com that lists all case and iPad accessories on the horizon, which is where I found out about these two.
Also, Vaja is coming out with iPad cases as well, god bless their little hearts. I have always been a sucker for their cases (see my reviews of a couple of their iPhone cases here and here). Vaja has indulged me by putting out some of their iVolution cases for the iPad, but I’m waiting for one that opens like a book. Well, I’ll hold off for as long as I can, anyway.
The New York Times mentioned that Amazon is working on a Kindle app for the iPad (here’s the article I wrote about it on MacRumors.com). I think this is great news. As an avid reader who absolutely loves ebooks, I’m anxious to see Apple’s own iBooks app plus any other iPad app that makes it easy to browse and buy ebooks. While it still remains to be seen, I don’t think that Amazon will be able to include the ability to directly purchase ebooks in their app since this would allow it to compete directly with Apple’s own upcoming ebook store. Apple hasn’t allowed any app that allows you to purchase and download media directly to your iPhone (though streaming doesn’t seem to be an issue, as found in Pandora, Sirius XM, eyeTV, and others) and I don’t see any change to their general rule to prevent “duplication of functionality.”
iPad apps are already showing up in the App Store database – you can see some of them at AppShopper.com here.
Crap. That reminds me. I think I need to stock up on some iTunes gift cards (ideally purchased at a discount somehow) to help defray the costs I will inevitably incur this weekend downloading iPad-specific apps. Costco, here I come!

Navigon Launches MyRegion Navigation Apps for iPhone

by Leave a Comment

Navigon’s MobileNavigator is by far my favorite* iPhone GPS app – after reviewing an ad hoc distribution of it, I paid $69 to buy it (while it was on sale a little while ago) and have also purchased the traffic feature via an in-app purchase (also while it was on sale). Today, Navigon has made available several MyRegion versions of their navigation app which cover a portion of the U.S., each available for $24.99 (this is an introductory price and the regular price will be $29.99 after April 12).

There are 3 MyRegion U.S. apps: Eastern, Western, and Central (links open iTunes). If you need another region after you’ve purchased one, the other regions are available as in-app purchases for just $12.99 (to go up to $14.99 after this introductory pricing). You can also get the Traffic Live feature as an in-app purchase. Each MyRegion app has the same features as the full MobileNavigator North America app.
I think this is a pretty neat offering, particularly for those who don’t want or need to have maps of the entire U.S. with them all the time, while still offering the ability to buy them on the fly if they are needed.

*To be fair, I haven’t tried out the latest version (1.3) of TomTom’s app (review) which seems to have been updated to fix many of the things I didn’t like about it. Sygic’s Mobile Maps app (review) is still quite good as well, but Navigon still wins out over it with more fluid interface that mimics the out-of-the-box iPhone apps.

iPad accessories: Cloak case by Quirky

by Leave a Comment

Yesterday I mentioned that I could envision having 2 cases for my iPad – one silicone skin-type case without a cover for reading and other casual use around home and another one with a cover to protect it while I’m traveling with it. For the latter, I’ve come across one contender so far – the Cloak by Quirky.

Quirky is unique company that accepts product ideas from anyone and provides a process and method for the Quirky community to refine the ideas and bring them to production. Those who influence the product as it’s being developed earn credit to be applied to purchasing Quirky products. I’m not extremely active with Quirky in influencing product ideas but I have purchased two of their products so far: the PowerCurl, which is a power cord manager for Mac portables, and the Beamer, which is an iPhone case with a built-in flash/light (this case is still in production and I haven’t received it yet). The PowerCurl has made the short list as permanent staple in my gear bag to complement my MacBook Air and I’m working on a full review of it.
For full disclosure, if you buy these any of these products through these links I’ve given in this post, I earn credit with Quirky.
The Cloak is a hard rubberized folio-type case for the iPad. When closed, it will encase the iPad while still leaving the ports accessible. The front cover can be flipped around the back and has a pop-out stand so that the iPad can be propped up vertically on a table. The front cover also acts as a stand for the iPad in landscape orientation, using a neat locking mechanism to secure it at the desired angle. The Cloak will come in different colors – so far it looks like it will come in black, blue, olive, and pink.
If you commit to buying the Cloak now during the pre-sale period (you won’t be charged until it ships), it costs $36, and the price goes up to $42 once enough purchase commitments have been made to make it out of the pre-sale period. If you’re looking for a unique case for your iPad that offers good protection and flexibility, check out the Cloak. I’m thinking a black one is now on my shopping list…

iPad pre-order frenzy

by Leave a Comment

Today is a big day for Apple fans (at least those in the U.S.) who want to secure an iPad as soon as they’re available. Pre-orders kicked off this morning at 8:30 am EST and I interrupted my morning get-the-craziness-out-of-your-system-so-I-can-work play session with the dogs to get one. After a few minutes of mad clicking and frantically searching for the in-store pick up option, I pre-ordered the 64GB 3G model and also reserved a 16GB wi-fi one to pick up on April 3 for the hell of it.

The beauteous order confirmation email

When the pre-orders were first announced, Apple stated that only the wi-fi versions could be pre-ordered and I only found out last night via Twitter (thanks, mac-fusiongirl!) that the 3G version could be pre-ordered as well. To be frank, that threw a bit of a wrench in my plans since I had planned to pre-order a wi-fi version to tide me over until the 3G one was available (after which I’d return or eBay the wi-fi one). I hadn’t counted on the 3G version being available for pre-order but I am quite happy that I was able to secure on in advance and I still might pick up the wi-fi one I ordered as well so I have *something* to play with on April 3.
I didn’t order any accessories for it like the keyboard dock or the case (I read over at iLounge.com that the case feels a bit cheap, surprisingly). I want to get a sense of how I’ll use it before I pony up for those. However, I can picture wanting two cases for it. One silicone/other skin case to make it easy to hold and for light protection around the house, and another one high-quality one with a cover that could double as a stand for use when traveling. Ideally, I’d love some kind of portfolio case with a notepad on the other side or something. Yes, it may sound cheesy but I have a thing for paper and pens (shopping for school supplies as a child was heavenly for me) and would like a case that does a little more than just hide my iPad.
I’m still counting on being able to somehow use the SIM card from my current AT&T 3G modem (I’m thinking I might find a shop that can duplicate the SIM to a blank MicroSIM instead of cutting the SIM so it will fit). If that fails, I suspect I’ll be taking advantage of the $14.99 250MB month-to-month plan from AT&T in months when I expect I’ll be out and about and will need it. I really can’t picture needing to use the unlimited data plan unless I am traveling without my MacBook Air for an extended period.
Did you order an iPad today? If so, which one? Did you order any accessories to go with it?
Verified by MonsterInsights