ipad

Colbert explains why iPad is just like the iPhone

"Never mind how I got it. I had two kidneys," said Stephen Colbert in his second brilliant, spontaneously QVC-ish iPad pitch, which aired on "The Colbert Report" Thursday night.

The seriously committed, or those who should be, will remember that Colbert was first seen producing an iPad from inside what might well have been a specially made jacket pocket at the Grammys. Thursday, on his show, he claimed everyone was raving about the magical revolution.

Newsweek, he declared, loved the iPad so much it made it the "first non-Obama cover in 15 months." Yes, … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1198: Tong tied? Frayed not (podcast)

With Molly out covering the iPad launch for your local CBS stations, we're free to make wanton puns about knot theory. And we do. Plus Brian Tong gets his brain in knots trying to explain how it applies to tangled headphones. We also have the explanation for why iPad apps are ridiculously expensive. And we compare the JooJoo which is actually here, and explain why it's getting trumped by Apple.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1198

How Long Will It Take iPad App Prices To Drop? … Read more

First impressions of iPad as a productivity device

I picked up my iPad from Apple today to give you some early thoughts on how the device works. I'm going to focus on what the iPad brings to the table for me in my daily work life.

As a writer, I can basically work anywhere in the world, but carrying around a notebook computer isn't always the most efficient way to get things done. Even the light-weight notebooks are bigger than what I would like for such a task.

Similarly, a Netbook isn't much better. Some people have been comparing the iPad to a Netbook and … Read more

April Fools', or does iPad have a time-travel app?

For some people, it is clear Christmas is coming tomorrow. Like many eager children awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus, many soon-to-be iPad owners are regularly tracking their shipments to see where they are and when they will arrive. One CNET reader, Don Dennis, found that his iPad seems to have gained an uncanny capability to travel back in time.

The iPad started its journey somewhere in Shenzhen, China, on the March 30 and departed at 4:43 a.m. on April 2, only to arrive in the U.S. back on April 1. Perhaps Apple failed to mention on … Read more

iBooks app now available on iTunes store

Numerous big-name app developers are announcing titles for the iPad, and Apple has made its much-advertised iBooks application available in the iTunes App Store. The application will allow iPad owners to access and organize thousands of e-book titles. While it will be running on the iPhone OS, according to the system requirements it will only be available for iPad devices.

This is Apple's version of Amazon's "Kindle for iPhone" application that was released a short while ago for the iPhone and also recently announced for iPad. iBooks will include a complementary illustrated version of "Winnie … Read more

Plants vs. Zombies for iPad gets hot and buttered

The iPad's bigger screen real estate has held some of the biggest promise for fans of tower defense games, and iPhone and iPod Touch best-seller Plants vs. Zombies from PopCap could be one of the best early examples.

The iPad version of the title, dubbed Plants vs. Zombies HD, was leaked last week along with a slew of other iPad games through Apple's iTunes Web interface for apps. At $9.99, it costs more than three times its smaller sibling.

However, the iPad-optimized version brings the game nearly up to parity with the versions found on PC and Mac computers, which cost twice as much. This includes the proper top placement (instead of the side) of all the weapons and resources you must work with to defeat your zombie foes, as well as survival mode, which lets players try to stay alive for as long as possible. For many of those who have finished the game's campaign, this is the mode of choice, and something that was sorely missing from the iPhone version.

iPad users also get a new (and exclusive) mini-game mode called "buttered popcorn," which makes use of the iPad's multitouch display. As PopCap explains it:

Players attack zombies by first "buttering" them up before firing corn-cob cannons at them. To defeat the growing hordes of zombies, players can touch them to place butter on their heads. With the multitouch user interface, players can select up to 11 zombies at a time, targeted for 'buttering' by the powerful cob cannons.

Presumably, by selecting "11 at a time," PopCap means players are expected to use their nose, or the help of a friend, to select the extra zombie beyond their own 10 digits.

PopCap says it's sold 650,000 copies of the title for the iPhone and iPod. Users who have already paid for that version will, of course, still be able to play it on the iPad, but will need to buy a copy of the HD version if they want to take advantage of all the new features and extra screen real estate.

More screens after the break. Click on any shot to see it in its native iPad resolution.… Read more

So long, and thanks...

Today will be my last day writing for iPhone Atlas. It's hard to imagine that I've written or contributed to more than 450 posts during my nearly two-year tour of duty with CNET's iPhone Atlas.

I have been serving up news, break fixes, tips, etc. to more users than I ever could have imagined, and I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to do so. I have always been greatly humbled by your reader responses, and I have had an amazing time meeting some really great people along the way.

If you would like to stay … Read more

Friday Poll: Got your eye on an iPad?

iPad Day, as you've surely heard, is almost upon us. When Apple stores around the country open their doors Saturday morning, those who have preordered the much-hyped tablet, yours truly included, can finally get their hands on one. Those who haven't preordered the device can also get one at Apple stores starting at 9 a.m. local time, as well as at most Best Buys.

It's been reported here and elsewhere that iPad preorders are numbering in the hundreds of thousands, and you, being Crave fans, perhaps count for one of those. Or at least you're … Read more

Latest iPhone jailbreaks could work on iPad, too

Attention, jailbreak fans: two competing tools might be released in the next couple of days to jailbreak iPhones running 3.1.3--and they might also work on the iPad, which launches Saturday.

Jailbreaking is the practice of hacking an iPhone or iPod Touch to install non-Apple-approved programs and run system hacks. It allows for things like tethering, interface tweaks, and other changes Apple doesn't approve of. Many people don't like being locked in to the "ecosystem" Apple forces its iDevice users to inhabit, and jailbreaking is seen as the cure.

The hacks have been demonstrated and … Read more

Touchfrastructure meets the HypePad

by Fabio Sergio, Creative Director, frog design

Those who know me will tell you that I tend to reflect on things, but the sad truth is that my brain is simply slow: here I am, writing about the iPad months after everybody else has put the microscope down and decided to wait for the thing to finally hit the market for real.

From my vantage point of nonengagement I must admit it was oddly amusing to see Apple for once unable to safely ride out the centrifugal mammoth hype tube they managed once more to build around their latest … Read more