Dan Cohen | Gear Diary

How I Lost Over 6 lbs On The iPad Diet

One of the unexpected benefits of starting to use the iPad in place of my MacBook is that it has made me feel far lighter than ever before. No, I don’t mean “lighter” in a “techno-geeky I’m so happy to be using this magical device…” way. No, I mean lighter as in “using the iPad means I carry a lot less in my bag”. In fact I can now carry a far lighter bag now thanks to the iPad. I set out to figure how much weight I had “dropped” and even I am surprised. Here is a quick, rundown…

Editorials

Old Jews Telling Jokes- Yet Another Reason To Be Thankful For HTML 5

Here’s another reason to be thankful that websites are moving over to HTML 5 and passing by Flash… Old Jews Telling Jokes. My Catholic “cousin” (my mother’s best friend growing up hence adopted “cousin”) and I have been talking quite a bit about Apple’s new products. Well, more accurately, I’ve been asking questions and he’s been telling me that because he works for Apple he’s not allowed to answer any of them. 🙂 Now that the iPad is released, however, we can chat about how amazing it is… So two nights ago we were exchanging e-mails and I was telling…

Reviews

e.ez LA robe iPad Allure – Review

The iPad cases are starting to roll on and, as expected, they are coming in a few basic designs. Among the most popular thus far are the slip-cases or sleeves that offer full protection for the iPad when in transport but let you remove the iPad and use it naked (or protected by a clear skin) when you want to use it. Case in point- the be.ez LA robe iPad Allure. From the company- Don’t compromise with “net book-compatible” sleeves, LA robe iPad is adjusted to fit your iPad exactly, offering the best protection and style in the minimum volume…

Reviews

Hard Candy Bubble Sleeve For iPad- Review

You are headed out for the day, and you want to bring your iPad with you. What you really want to do more than anything is throw it into your bag and not have to worry too much about it. The problem is the device is relatively delicate. Yeah, it is well-built and solid, but it is delicate nonetheless thanks to the large touch screen. That’s where Hard Candy’s Bubble Case comes in. Let’s take a look… From The Company- Bubbles on the Outside, Rubber on the Inside Hard Candy’s signature bubble design tangoed with the Hard Sleeve, and the…

Reviews

iPad + Dragon Dictation + Apple iPad Case = Mobile Desktop

When the Apple iPad case arrived a little while ago, I was not initially impressed. It is rather thin, gets in the way of docking the device, and the edges are a bit on the sharp side. Moreover, I am not in love with the overall “feel” of the material they used. That noted, I didn’t immediately box it up for return because it is nice to finally have a way to protect the device a bit. Then I tried the case propped up in landscape mode. I was impressed. The case holds it at a perfect angle for typing….

eBooks, Editorials

Why Monthly Periodicals Still Have an Uphill Battle

This isn’t another post about Zinio on the iPad. No, this is a post about why certain types of magazines will continue to have an uphill battle in an always- connected world. All the magazines I looked at on my iPad since the Zinio app was released look great. The colors a brilliant, the navigation is simple. And there is no lag when moving from page to page or from magazine give to text view. It is a gorgeous way to read eMags. But it has one fatal flaw. Let me explain… Last a week, March 31st to be precise, I was notified…

eBooks, Reviews

Zinio For iPad – Review

Over the last week I have written a few times about the upcoming Zinio app for the iPad. The reason for my enthusiasm was two-fold. First I had been using Zinio as long as I have been using Tablet PCs. Since moving to the Mac I had used it less — not because it doesn’t work well on the Mac, but because it really lends itself to the tablet format. When the iPhone app came out my enthusiasm was once again peaked; on the larger iPad the promise of eMags was hopefully going to be fulfilled. In addition, my attempt…

Reviews

Browser Duo- iPad App Review

It will come as no surprise that the more I use the iPad the more I like it. It is powerful, gorgeous, and just a lot of fun to use. I do see it replacing a notebook for much of my day-to-day needs. At the same time, however, a few imitations have emerged. Well, to be accurate, a number of limitations that I knew to expect have clearly shown themselves to be limitations that hopefully will change sometime in the near future. First and foremost on that list — the ability to run multiple applications at the same time. Not…

News & Features

Who Says The iPad Cannot Be Used As A Phone?!?

A great deal has been made about the inability to use the iPad as a phone. The argument is, who wants to use something this big as a phone? Well to be honest, me. The fact of the matter is to be able to make a phone call using the iPad as a speakerphone would be a great thing so I decided that I would try it out. First I loaded the Skype application. It’s currently only available in the iPhone version but, as you know, iPhone applications work on the iPad. I tried it out and discovered that it…

News & Features

The iPad Makes For A Busy UPS Saturday

When I was with Elana yesterday expressing my exuberance over my anticipated arrival of the iPad, she suggested that I spend some time with the UPS driver since, according to all reports, there was an amazing amount of logistics involved in getting all the iPads out. I thought it was a good idea. So when my iPad finally arrived late this afternoon — okay actually it was early this afternoon but it felt like late this afternoon — I asked the UPS driver if he could spend a few minutes talking with me. He responded that he would be happy…

Reviews

And The First iPad Case To Arrive For Review… The Speck PixelShield

I was wondering what iPad case would be first to arrive for review. That honor goes to… Speck’s PixelShield. Obviously I can’t actually “review” it since my iPad does not arrive until tomorrow night, but I can show you a few shots of the PixelShield which looks like a good way to carry your iPad and know that it is fairly well protected. The material feels nice. It is soft and a bit “smooshy” (a technical blogger term) in order to protect the iPad from impacts. The red is BRIGHT so this case in this color is definitely for someone…

News & Features

iPad Apps From Warelex That Are On The Way

App developer Warelex is making the move into iPad app and have a few nice looking ones in the pipeline.We don’t know pricing yet but will share it with you are soon as we hear. In the meantime let’s take a quick look at their first few offerings. Alice in Wonderland: Hidden Objects This app is- A must have for all Hidden Objects games genre fans! Alice in Wonderland: Hidden Objects is a fascinating game by the bestselling novel of Lewis Carroll that tells about Alice’s adventures in Wonderland. It’s a story about a girl who gets in a wonderful…

Editorials, News & Features

First BIG iPad Surprise- Many Apps Universal- Translation- Rebuilt For iPad Free Update For Prior Owners

I just got my first big surprise with regard to the iPad. The iPad App Store went live and I started shopping. I bought Pages and Keynote. I bought the Scrabble app. Then I saw something odd. In my iTunes account it suddenly showed a bunch of updates that weren’t there a few minutes before. I went to look and saw the following I checked a few more apps and saw the same thing. The app was updated for the iPad and was available for download. But it looked the same. Then I noticed the small Toggle button above the…

News & Features

Breaking News- Come And Get ’em. iPad Apps Now Live On iTunes

The above image says it all. Apple just turned on the iPad portion of the App Store. Time to spend some money…

Reviews

Joby Gorillamobile for iPod touch Review

I have been a big fan of the Joby Gorillamobile since it was first released for the iPhone. I love the bendable flexible tripod that allows me to have my iPhone securely attached to just about any surface and then held there for pictures. One of the best uses for it is to set up the iPhone in a specific place using the tripod and then allow the iPhone to take a series of time-lapse pictures. It works beautifully and, because of the excellent design and build quality of the tripod, I feel secure that my iPhone isn’t going to…

Editorials

Same Device + Different Users = Totally Different Perspectives.

One of the new apps that I am most looking forward to on the iPad is the Keynote application. The reason is simple. The app looks amazing, and I have been using Keynote more and more over the last two years. Having it available for both creating and presenting material on the über-mobile iPad will likely be a terrific step forward for me. It all started two years ago when I was playing around with iWork. I looked at Keynote and thought it might be interesting to use it to teach instead of printing up a series of handouts. I…

Editorials

Verizon iPhone- Rumors Everywhere and FINALLY A Thoughtful Post On It

It’s HERE!. Oh wait, it’s not. OMG the iPhone is coming to Verizon! Uhm, oops, it’s not. Again and again and again this is what we have been hearing since shortly after the iPhone was first introduced. Every few months there is a small rumor about the iPhone coming to Verizon and then BAM! It is on every blog and even crossing into the mainstream media… as if it were true. It happened just the other day. Elana was listening to the news and called down to me saying “Just heard on the radio that the iPad was delayed until…

Editorials

Zinio Poised to Bring eMags to the Mainstream

I discovered Zinio’s electronic magazines when I first started using Tablet PCs In the mid-00s. The company has been in existence for 10 years, so I was a fairly early user. I found that despite the Tablet PC’s relatively significant weight, short battery life and tendency to get hot, somethings VERY hot, the experience of using Zinio to read was a pleasant one. The magazines looked good on the relatively high resolution screens. The links in ads and some articles jumped you right to the product’s page. And I often got notice of my Zino downloads a day or two…

Editorials

Will High News and Magazine Pricing Hurt iPad Adoption?

Everyone and their cousin is reporting that a subscription to theWallStreet Journal on the iPad will run around $18. Ouch. While it is certainly cheaper than the current “dead tree” , is much more than people are usually used to paying for digital content. Think about it this way, if you get the 3G iPad and a subscription to the WSJ, you’ve just added about $50 to your monthly nut. That’s not peanuts. Moreover Engadget is reporting that when prices are announced for iPad content, “magazines to be at or near newsstand prices”. All this raises a few thoughts/questions for…

Editorials

Dear AT&T, I’m Going To Purchase One of Your New Microcells, but Let’s Not Act As If You’re Doing Me Any Favors, Okay?

AT&T’s Microcell. You get great reception. AT&T gets to double dip. As you may have read elsewhere on the web AT&T is rolling out Microcells that will solve many of the reception issues people have at home. That is, assuming they already have a highspeed Internet connection. You see, the Microcell will allow you to connect to your high-speed Internet service and then have your iPhone or any other AT&T cell phone jump on the data connection from your cable company and route calls through it. This will, in turn, improve your cell reception because you won’t be using AT&T’s…

Editorials

The Approval of Readdle’s Scanner Pro 2.0 Raises Questions…

Scanner Pro is a powerful iPhone app that “transforms the device into portable scanner”. Just updated to version 2.0, the app adds GoogleDocs integration, camera stabilization, automatic edge detection and passcode protection. It costs $6.99 in the App Store but is a free update to existing users. With Scanner Pro 2.0 comes in handy when a hard copy document should be scanned and there is no scanner nearby. It lets people scan multipage documents, email them and even upload to Dropbox, Evernote, MobileMe iDisk or any other WebDAV enabled server. The application incorporates special algorithms to enhance image quality and…

Articles by Dan Cohen