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What’s new in the Apple iPad 3 (or iPad HD)?

09 March 2012

Apple has unveiled the iPad 3, and perhaps the most surprising thing is that there were few surprises. There had been so much speculation before its release, some of it informed by leaked photos of parts and some of it possibly planted, that there was already some consensus on what would be introduced in the iPad 3.

There were a few predictions that didn’t come true, including a fascinating story in The Guardian about a haptic technology that makes the flat screen feel like it has texture, so you can feel the edges of keys, for example. There were rumours the Home button would be removed so that all the controls are gesture-based, although this seemed unlikely, both for usability and branding reasons.

We now know that there are two main changes: the first is that the camera quality has been improved. It still lags behind the iPhone’s camera quality or a dedicated digital camera, but it’s significantly better than the iPad 2. Until I get my hands on one, I won’t be sure what kind of shots it will be good for, but the previous camera was only really suitable for video calling or for quick grab shots. It couldn’t be used as a real camera, to make photos you’ll want to keep forever. Hopefully, the iPad’s new camera will be much closer to what we would expect from a camera phone.

The other main change is that the screen resolution has doubled, so text and images will look sharper. The device will be able to play back HD video at its full resolution, which led to some speculation that the device would be called the iPad HD, although there’s no indication of that on Apple’s website. Apple just calls the device a third-generation iPad. Apple says the higher resolution has no significant impact on battery life, which is good news.

There are a few other changes that will be less obvious. The iPad now supports 4G mobile communications, but since there isn’t much coverage for these in the UK, that’s unlikely to make much difference here. You can use your iPad’s mobile connection to create a wi-fi hotspot for other devices, although this is probably of most use if you’re getting superfast 4G speeds in your mobile connection.

The new iPad also has a new processor, called the A5X, which has double the graphics processing capability of the previous processor, so it can manage the enhanced screen effectively.

The release of the iPad 3 also came with some software enhancements. The camera app has been redesigned, most notably so that the button to take a photo is somewhere you can actually reach it without having to juggle the iPad with one hand. It’s now possible to delete photos from the Photo Stream folder on the iPad, although that delete instruction doesn’t seem to synchronise with other devices, so you’ll need to delete the photo on your other devices too. The camera is also said to have face detection built-in, so that it can optimally balance the exposure across all the faces in your photo. Apple says it’s also improved the sound quality on the iPad so that films and TV shows sound better. All these features, plus some bug fixes, are available to owners of older iPads who upgrade their iPad software to version iOS 5.1 (obviously, you still need an iPad 2 with a built-in camera to use the Camera app). If you’re not yet running iOS 5.0, see my guide to upgrading to iOS5. If you have upgraded to iOS 5.0, you can upgrade again to this latest version iOS 5.1 by going into your Settings app, tapping General, then Software Update.

There’s also a new software feature which Apple hasn’t rolled out to older iPads, which is a new dictation button on the keyboard which enables you to dictate text to the screen. At first I thought this was a simple software feature that could easily have been given to those with older iPads, but on reflection, voice recognition is quite processor-intensive, so it might need the new A5X chip to work.

Apple has also released iPhoto for the iPad (pictured, above). When Apple announces a new application like this, I feel a little conflicted. On the one hand, it’s great that they’ve invested in creating new software. On the other hand, given the device costs about £500, it wouldn’t hurt them to give away the software, rather than charging £3 for it, which almost seems petty. When you buy a new Mac, you get iPhoto, iMovie and Garageband for free, and these are all sold separately for the iPad. Apple did introduce basic photo editing capabilities in the iOS5 software upgrade for the iPad, so perhaps I shouldn’t grumble about them making enhanced features available to those who are prepared to pay a bit for them, given they have to invest resources in creating the software.

The iPad 3 will be released on Friday 16th March and Apple is taking pre-orders now if you’re interested. Amazon doesn’t have a proper listing for the iPad 3 yet, but I expect other retailers will be advertising it for sale and pre-orders over the next few days.

(Corrected, with thanks to Michael Hülskötter, to clarify that the quad-core is for graphics only).

Labels: Apple, iOS5, iPad, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad HD

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Download a free guide to iOS5 for the iPad

20 December 2011

In October, Apple published a free update to the iPad software, called iOS5, that introduced 200 new features and bug fixes. New iPads bought after the introduction of iOS5 will have it installed by default and older iPads can be updated for free.

Working with my publisher John Wiley, who have done a fabulous job on editing and layout as usual, I've published a free update to the book to cover iOS5.

The free iOS5 for the iPad guide shows you how to update your iPad (if necessary) and introduces the new features, including iMessages, tabbed browsing, the Reminders app, iCloud for wireless backup and synchronisation, the Notification Centre, new gestures and more.

If you have a copy of my book iPad for the Older and Wiser, this guide is like a bonus chapter that would come at the end of the book. If you don't have a copy, this guide will still get you up and running with iOS5 and will also give you a taster of the style and content of iPad for the Older and Wiser.

The 47-page guide is available as a PDF that you can read on your iPad or on your computer. Download the free iOS5 for the iPad supplement.

You're welcome to share that free supplement with your friends and post it on your blog. Let me know if you'd like any images, text or anything else to help you spread the word!

Labels: Apple, books, iOS5, iPad, iPad 2, iPhone, iPod

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The Beatles Yellow Submarine iPad ebook signals the future of iBooks publishing

09 December 2011

Apple is promoting a free ebook of The Beatles' Yellow Submarine, which shows the capabilities of the new version of its iBooks app. It's fantastic fun for younger readers, and a showcase for what the concept of a book might become for everybody.

There have been lots of apps that modernise the concept of the pop-up book. My friend Chris Stevens created the Alice for the iPad app, which is one of my recommended iPad apps. It uses clever physics simulation for the reader's interaction with the pictures, so that the characters move as if on springs, or respond realistically to you shaking the iPad. He shared the code to do this in his book Designing for the iPad. There are lots of other people who have created apps for their books too, so that readers can interact with them in memorable and engaging ways.

The interesting development here is that the Yellow Submarine app works within the iBooks app, which further blurs the lines around what defines a book. The iBooks app is great. I was really impressed with the user experience iBooks offers with my own books (including iPad for the Older and Wiser), but so far it's been mainly about reflowing text, searching text and viewing images. It hasn't offered a huge amount of interaction. Maybe that's because I don't usually read children's books, but in any case, I haven't seen anything like the Beatles app working as iBooks content, and the fact I had to upgrade iBooks to get it to work suggests this type of interaction is new to iBooks.

The Yellow Submarine book is everything you would expect: colourful, surreal, and interactive. The animations are quite subtle: it's not a video, but small parts of the image move, such as a waving hand or a waggling tongue. You can tap pictures to make them perform other moves and can sometimes drag pictures (such as butterflies) around. The Sea of Holes is fun, with The Beatles popping up and down like a whack-a-mole game. There's an option to have the book read aloud to you, with the words lit up as each one is spoken. The app includes embedded videos you can play within the page, and short bursts of music that are played when you tap some of the characters. The only disappointment is that the music bursts are quite short. I haven't bought the Yellow Submarine album from iTunes, but I do have many of the songs from albums I've bought on CD and it might have been nice for there to be a way to integrate playback of those.

There's still some work to be done on refining the user interface. The problem is that there can be a conflict between the book's content and the iBooks controls. For example, you can often touch a character to make them sing or move. Indeed, the whole point of the book is that you touch things to see what they might do. If you touch a character that doesn't have an action assigned to it, though, iBooks is likely to interpret that as a tap on the app, and turn the page or show/hide the iBooks controls. It feels broken when you touch a character to see what they might do, and it turns the page, or when the controls keep popping in and out of view as you try to explore the book.

These new iBooks capabilities create fantastic opportunities for book authors and publishers: it's easy to think of educational content that would benefit from simple animations, embedded videos or interactive elements (such as lifting the flap to reveal an answer). It's also a nice way to add value to written content. Authors often have access to audio recordings or other research materials which would be considered bonus features on DVDs, but which don't really have an outlet in book publishing.

To get the app working, you'll need to update your iBooks app (tap the App Store icon on your iPad, then tap Updates at the bottom, then find iBooks in the list, and then tap Free). Then go into the iBooks store and download the Yellow Submarine iBook. If you put the book into the app before you upgrade the app, it won't work unless you've previously upgraded to iBooks 1.5. Here's a direct link to download the Yellow Submarine ebook. There's more information on updating apps and downloading ebooks in iPad for the Older and Wiser.

Now I have the urge to check in with Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and catch up with Henry the Horse, Lovely Rita and all the other surreal characters there. Cue the music!

Labels: Apple, books, iPad, music promotion

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A computer shop's tribute to Steve Jobs

09 October 2011

I spotted the shop display above while out and about yesterday. I was saddened to hear of Steve Jobs dying earlier this week, but I don't think I have anything to add to my blog post about his achievements written when he stepped down as CEO.

Labels: Apple

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