Emerging Technology that Will Change the Way You Interact with Computers
I have never been a major fan of Apple products for a variety of reasons and was skeptical of the iPad when it was first introduced. It just never made sense why anyone would ever use a device like this. It was 8 months after it was introduced before I got one, as a friend gave it to me for Christmas last year and I actually played with it.
If you own an iPad already then you know and I am preaching to the choir, but for those that don't, let me tell you that shortly after using this device it became very clear to me that this will radically transform computing technology.I use it daily...
The key is the form factor and the ability to EASILY consume electronic content, my 16 month old can access her apps... I can have rapid access to key information when needed. It is about the size and weight of many magazines, yet it can hold hundreds of thousands of books. Unlike a bulky notebook computer which typically weighs three to five times as much, it is easier to carry around. You will get very few stares in a business meeting or restaurant if you break out an iPad, but you might if you start to use your notebook computer.
Emerging social trends confirm my observation, as now Yale Medical School has its entire curriculum on the iPad and many if not most airlines are in the process of converting their forty pounds of flight manuals carried by each pilot to iPad equivalents. There is simply no question that most schools will switch to tablets and away from textbooks. This is simply inevitable.
The tablet computer is really designed primarily as a consumption device to read and consume information. It is not intended to write large amounts of texts. If you plan on substituting it for a notebook you will be disappointed, as it is not easy to enter long streams of texts unless you have an external keyboard. Even though I have one for my iPad, I have never used it and always wind up using my notebook for extended writing. It is certainly easier than typing on a smart phone but anything beyond a sentence or two is cumbersome and highly inefficient in my opinion.
Hints on How to Use the iPad
There is no question that for the foreseeable future the iPad will dominate the tablet market. Hopefully Android tablets will provide some competition down the road, but for now the iPad rules. If you haven't purchased one, it is my suggestion to not purchase one with a wireless modem for several reasons. They cost $100 more , you need to pay monthly fees and the current 3G connection is too slow. So get the Wi-Fi version for $100 less. If you can afford more memory for it, if not, the base model at $499 is fine.
The key to making the iPad a great tool is the speed of your connection, as many of the useful apps may be cumbersome for some people to use at typical 3G speeds. So you can hook up to your home or office Wi-Fi, or when you are mobile you can hotspot into a phone that has 4G LTE. I got the first phone with the service from Verizon in March and it is extraordinary. I only use it when traveling but it is amazing. No more internet connection fees at hotels or airports.
My Favorite Apps to Make Your iPad or Smartphone Truly Useful
The reason you use an iPad is for the apps, so I thought many would appreciate which ones I find useful. Many of my friends realize I am passionate about this, so I typically share my latest findings with them and my family. Part of the reason I wrote this article was to have it in place to make it easier to share with my friends, and I thought that many of you would also appreciate these insights.
I have scanned many thousands of articles and downloaded several hundred applications, and these are the cream of the crop, from my perspective. You might have some other interests or needs, so clearly these are not the only good apps out there, so I would encourage you to keep your eye open for others.
So here are my top recommendations:
Google Maps for Android
In my mind this is the single best smart phone/tablet application and is absolutely a stunning representation of what technology can do for you. This app alone is worth the purchase of an Android smart phone if you drive a lot. Unfortunately this is an app that only works well on Android smart phones. It will not work as well on the iOS platform.
At the time of this article, Google Maps for Android has a number of features that the iPhone does not. Most important is a true navigation system. On the Android version of Google Maps, the navigation works more like a standalone GPS device. It automatically updates your next turn based on your current location.
Android also has "offline reliability," which saves a cache of frequently used areas of the map so you can still navigate even if you don't have a data connection. These two features alone are enough to convince most prospective smartphone users to choose an Android phone for navigation purposes.
Google Maps is nothing less than pure magic. It is, in my opinion, the single best way to navigate to a location while not only driving, but walking. What makes this application so great? The marriage of highly effective voice recognition and awareness of where you are located. I use this app all the time when I am visiting a different city and it has eliminated all fear of getting lost or not winding up where I need to be.
This app is better than any in car navigation system that you can spend several hundred dollars for and it is FREE. On many occasions I have had to fire this app up when the driver of the car I was using had a navigation system that simply did not provide the correct information.
You merely press the application and then speak your destination. For example you can state the name of large chain, like Whole Foods, and in seconds it will give you turn by turn directions that speak to you so you can get to the nearest Whole Foods. When you arrive at your destination it tells you which side of the street the destination is on and actually shows you a picture so you can find it. How awesome is that?
If you have ever used this program my guess is that you will agree with me that this is the most sophisticated navigation program on the market and it is likely that most cars will use it instead of their expensive navigation systems in the future.
The Weather Channel
One of the most useful information you can easily obtain from your device is to know the weather now and in the immediate future. I downloaded all the major weather apps, including the paid ones and there is one clear winner in this area that decimates the others. The Weather Channel was an order of magnitude better than the other apps, but they recently released an update that makes it even better. This free app is an absolute must have . Beautiful graphics allow you to easily compare different cities by a single swipe, and colorful graphic ten day predictions. Of course they have Doppler radar maps so you can easily see when rain or snow will likely hit your area. I use this every day and suspect you will too.
I hope this help you to better understand and utilize these useful tools
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