How The iPad Keeps You Connected, Wherever You Are
Thanks to the major marketing boost that the iPad received from parent company Apple, we now have the impression that it is the best device to experience the Web, watch online streaming video, and connect with friends via social networking services.
The opinion is backed with good reason and real results because the iPad is filled to the brim with Internet-savvy features and services. Despite the initial skepticism expressed by most industry pundits when the computing device was unveiled at a press conference in San Francisco, positive reviews by tech experts who had the privilege of testing the first few commercially available iPads—from Walt Mossberg to the guys at Engadget—had to admit that, indeed, Steve Jobs has unleashed a worthy competitor to netbooks.
It is equipped with built-in, high-speed 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, which makes downloading files and streaming videos fast and easy. You can forget about buffering, which takes up so much time that it lengthens a four-minute video into eight minutes of waiting. Although some connections may tend to slow down—particularly when there is heavy gateway traffic or when too many subscribers are using the network—it is not going to affect your iPad browsing experience, thanks to its combination of a beefed-up Safari app (which is Apple’s answer to Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer), and the latest Wi-Fi standard.
Browsing most of the online content that you’ll be accessing on an iPad is mainly handled by a specially designed mobile version of Apple’s proprietary web browser called Safari, an app that, according to Apple engineers, is the fastest browser among its league. Considering its reputation as the fastest app to render mobile webpages and the degree of advanced Wi-Fi technologies that are built into the iPad, it can be predicted that browsing the Web for information on the device will take your breath away at lightning speed.
These days, Wi-Fi hotspots are easy to come by; one does not need to remain in highly metropolitan areas to stay online because even rural towns and suburban communities have Internet access. However, that is not to say that we are entirely wirelessly connected. Some Internet connections can be accessed through 3G technology. Fortunately, the iPad does not only operate on Wi-Fi but on 3G as well. That means you are not solely tied up to Wi-Fi and feel completely powerless when a hotspot is not available because 3G, via your mobile telecommunications provider, will keep you connected.
Depending on your location, most major network providers have 3G service contracted by Apple. For instance, AT&T has monthly Internet plans that allow you to swiftly switch from a Wi-Fi network to a 3G connection seamlessly. All the processes can be completed online on your very own iPad, so there is absolutely no need to go to an AT&T store or contact their customer support to purchase the plan.
When you have used up all your surfing minutes, an interactive push notification will pop up to tell you about your impending state and will provide you with two options: switch to the latest Wi-Fi standard with a frequency emanating within your vicinity or upgrade to the next data plan. Data usage and plan information can be monitored and managed on the iPad itself because that, too, has its own app.
iPad – A Kindle Onslaught, For Real?
The pioneer in e-reading industry seems to have been beaten by a consolidated device that also delivers superb e-reading experience. But is the game over already between Amazon’s kindle and Apple’s iPad?
When Steve jobs presented the much-anticipated tablet PC, the iPad, during the formal launching of the product, he gave the nod to Amazon for pioneering and revolutionizing the electronic books industry. It was only a matter of time until he took an ominous tone that seemed to threaten to burn Kindle, for good. In Steve Jobs’ words, “We’re going to stand on their shoulders and go a little further.” And they have taken e-reading further.
iPad is not exactly an e-reader. It is a hybrid that hovers between a smartphone, a laptop, and in some incredible respects, an e-reading device. What it does exactly, no one can quite pin down. It houses a powerful software that can do anything from playing high definition videos to providing a superb gaming console and, well, everything else in between. E-reading capabilities included. At first glance, iPad seems to run away as a winner in many things. But when pitted against Amazon’s Kindle, does it even stand a chance?
The heck it does. Take Steve Jobs’ word for it. iPad is a device that can take technologies to much greater heights.
Retailing at $499 per piece, iPad does something more than a $249 Kindle can. It plays all sorts of media very well, it manages Instant Messaging platforms superbly, it allows seamless surfing of the web with the updated and better performing Safari, and has other capabilities that are apparently beyond the reach of Amazon’s Kindle.
Now the obvious question, will consumers prefer a multi-functioning device that seems to have consolidated everything from smartphone capabilities to plasma TV capabilities – yes ipad enthusiasts go so far as comparing the glossy multitouch screen of iPad to a plasma TV – to a device that only does one thing – to serve as a platform for ebooks? More importantly, when Kindle’s price go up, will consumers still buy it? Apparently, there are some Kindle die-hard fans out there who appreciate everything Kindle.
Kindle is Amazon’s blockbuster for a good reason. It is quite simply the best e-reading device out there. It does what no other e-reading device out there does – it takes e-reading experience to a realistic yet more convenient level. It is a no brainer that kindle is not as sophisticated as iPad and that exactly is the selling point for the device. It does house any entertainment applications so users can focus on what they are doing, that is to finish the books they are reading from cover to cover. It also has the slow refresh function which makes it hard for readers to jump from one page to another, making it virtually impossible to skip from one chapter of the book to the next.
Kindle is also much less heavier than iPad. It weighs no more than 1.2 pounds, which is pure convenience for long readers. Compared to iPad which comes at 1.5 pounds, Kindle does not pose any discomfort identical with users who have tried reading with iPad.
So it’s a standoff…Apple’s iPad has functions that Kindle doesn’t even pretend to have but Amazon offers a specialized device that delivers on its promise. In the end, users will still have to decide. Do they need a toy that allows e-reading or an e-reader that does its work very well?
