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Note
2nd August 2011
You don’t know me. You know little about me. You don’t know what I’m made of or just how much I’m capable of. You don’t know where I’ve come from nor where I’m heading. You know nothing of my highs or my lows. You don’t know how fast I am, how strong I am, how resilient I am. You haven’t got a clue what breakfast cereal I eat, what fragrance I wear or who I’m dating. You don’t know me at all. But you will.
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6th July 2011
My new gadgets consists of;
13” MacBook Pro, Sony NEX-3 Camera with 18-30mm Wide Zoom Lens, iPhone 4, iPad 2.
My obsession with technology continues to grow…
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6th July 2011
White iPad2 - Review
Okay, I’m not doing an extensive review here. The aim of my review is to showcase my experience with the product and how it’s sort of replaced my MacBook Pro for portable working/ entertainment.
First of all, the product in question - I selected the white 16Gb Wifi only model. A fair £399 price and although I was strongly advised to invest in a highly storage model I have since purchased DropBox and their 50Gb remote storage option. Combined with a very handy and 3 Mifi Wireless Modem the iPad2 works perfect with them.
I travel alot and carting around my MacBook Pro isn’t an issue, it’s only 13” so it’s not exactly heavy, nor does it take up much space in my backpack but when investing in the iPad2 I never imagined that I’d choose to leave the Mac at home on my weekends away.
Obviously, on my Mac I can do pretty much anything. From simple tasks such as emailing, surfing the web or sending an invoice through to more intensive tasks such as photo editing, downloading heavy files, web development, etc. But I have to ask myself, how much of the more intensive stuff do I really do on the road? Not all that much. When sitting on my Mac on a train for example it’s usually random browsing online, catching up with emails, sending the odd invoice or writing. All of this can be done on the iPad2.
Now, you may ask - how can you really compete with a laptop writing heavy emails and such? Well, first of all - the on screen keyboard works a treat for short-medium emails/documents. But with the investment of a bluetooth keyboard you have the power to do anything. The Apple one is priced at £57, but you could get one on eBay for around £30.
The iPad truly has it all - social media apps, the latest news apps including newspapers and magazines (in beautiful form), amazing games, music and entertainment from Spotify through to DJ apps and more. There really is no reason to take that £1000 laptop around anymore, the iPad2 works wonders and truly fits that requirement.
Battery life is very good - something which my iPhone has never quite done well with. Usually rounding off to be 8 hours of intensive usage.
Don’t forget to protect that beautiful investment! I got the smart cover from Apple, along with a clear rubber shell which wraps around the back and sides. Then house it in a Belkin zip case when I’m on the move.
Finally - some recommended apps, if you’re looking to invest in your new travel companion. Without stating the obvious iOS apps…
Dropbox is great, allowing you to access files stored online locally - from videos, music, documents, etc - great to have your data online just in case you need it.
djay - if you’re an amateur DJ like myself ;) Then this is a great app. Allowing you to mix and edit music on the move like a pro - very addictive.
Flipboard & Pulse News is a social news app - pulling in links and content from your social media networks. Great app when you’re bored as you can learn something new - usually technology or random news, but still fills up a good 30 minutes on the train.
MetroOnline - the official Metro News app allows you to download the latest edition in the morning and then read it whenever. If you’re like me and love reading the Metro in the morning but often see the stands empty - this works great.
Pages & Keynote. Offering you the ability to do everything you can do on your computer for word processing and power point style presentations.
Monopoly - whether you’re playing alone or with friends, this game really works wonders on the iPad.
That’s it for now, my verdict - 4/5 for the iPad2.
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18th June 2011
Is this the future of computing? My MacBook Pro vs. My iPad2 + Bluetooth Keyboard. In all honesty - the iPad2 is winning so far as a very neat mobile solution. Yeah, geek moment over (for now anyway).
