iPad 2 is simply the original iPad with a thinner design, a couple of cameras, and a faster chipset. Only it isn't. Not any more than the original iPad was just a big iPhone. Device by device, year after year, Apple has slowly and now successfully changed the conversation from individual specs to unified experience, from reviewer and competitor driven checklists to mainstream consumer-centric usability. They've forced us to touch and feel our computing and not just click and think our way through it.
Photo Booth on the iPad 2 is a fun application that applies silly effects to your camera when taking photos. It is similar to Photo Booth on the Mac and is entertaining for kids and adults alike.
Photo Booth is equipped with 8 different effects: Thermal Camera, Mirror, X-Ray, Kaleidoscope, Light Tunnel, Squeeze, Twirl, and Stretch. You can edit the effect before snapping the picture by pinching and dragging on the screen. As you take photos (from either front or rear camera) with Photo Booth, they are saved to your Camera Roll and you can see thumbnails of the images at the bottom of the screen. From here, you can easily email, copy, and delete multiple photos. Be careful though, deleting a photo from Photo Booth also deletes it from your Camera Roll.
The quality of the photos taken with the VGA front-facing camera are not by any means outstanding, but given the nature of these shots - fun, quirky, and silly - it isn't too big of a deal.
Check out some images taken with Photo Booth after the break!
The editing screen is set up similar to iMovie on the Mac and split into 3 different screens. On the bottom of the screen, you find the timeline for your movie, on the top left, you find available media, and video preview is located in the top right. The "My Projects" screen is beautifully designed to look like a vintage movie theater.
Editing movies is very easy on the iPad 2. You can preview clips by dragging your finger across them and trim the edges before adding them to your project. To move clips around in your timeline, simply drag it to where you want. If you want to split a clip, position the curser, select the clip, and swipe down along the curser. You can also easily record audio and video directly into the timeline.
iMovie is stocked with 8 different themes, each of which comes with its own title screen format, transitions, and theme music. It also comes with a plethora of sound effects to add to your movies. Sadly the new Trailer templates from iMovie '11 on Mac didn't make it into the iPad version but hopefully we'll see those in an update.
Sharing your movies is a breeze and iMovie is equipped the the ability to send directly to YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, and CNN iReport. Just tap the familiar sharing arrow from the projects screen and make your selection.
I am very impressed with how well iMovie runs on the iPad 2. It responds well and performs tasks quickly. iMovie on the iPad may well become my primary video editing software - yes, I will chose it over iMovie '11 on my Mac.
To check out the movie I created in the video above, follow along after the break!
If you waited in line today and picked one up - congrats! If you are wondering what we think of Apple's latest, here's the short version: it's a thinner, lighter, faster iPad with a couple of cameras. That may sound anti-climactic - but after using the iPad 2 for just a very short while we're starting to suspect that it's anti-climactic in the same way that "the iPad is just a big iPhone" was anti-climactic in 2010. In other words: it's an experience that can't quite be quantified but gets under your skin in the same way the original iPad did. There's "nothing new" here to most people, but the execution of all the little details adds up to something pretty special.
As far as the hardware is concerned, we're impressed. Looking at the spec differences between the iPad 1 and the iPad 2, you might be tempted to say that there's not much improvement here. But .5" vs .34" only tells part of the story. The full story is that the tapered back of the iPad 2 makes it feel thinner than any device this size has a right to be. It's kind of amazing. Unfortunately, we can't quite say the same for the weight - while the iPad 2 is lighter, it's still not something you're going to happily hold at arm's length unsupported for any appreciable length of time.
A full photo gallery is after the break and video is coming right quick - keep it locked to TiPb as we unpack our thoughts and impressions of the iPad 2 this weekend and, heck, for the months to come.
Complete feature guide to Apple's iOS 4.3 software for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
iOS 4.3 is now in gold master and scheduled for release on March 11, 2011 alongside iPad 2 with new features like Wi-Fi personal hotspot for iPhone, iTunes home sharing, improved AirPlay, faster Safari and more.
If you want a quick look at the new software but don't have a lot of time, check out the video above for everything you need to know about iOS 4.3 in just 5 minutes. For a more in-depth iOS 4.3 guide, read on after the break.
Note: We're combining iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad walkthroughs below since, post iOS 4.2 grand-unification the size of the updates are roughly similar. If it gets more complicated later, we'll split iPhone/iPod touch out from iPad like last time.
blueSLR is a bluetooth accessory for Nikon DSLR's that pairs with your iPhone to embed GPS information into your files as well as allow you to use your iPhone as a remote shutter release. The folks at XEquals sent me a unit to test out and share with you. To find out what I think, follow along after the break!
Full review of the Verizon iPhone 4: Apple’s first CDMA phone
The Verizon iPhone is one of the most anticipated smartphones in recent memory, made even more so by the endless rumors and years of waiting those who wanted it had to endure. Now it's here and while the radio has changed it's still pretty much the same iPhone 4 Apple shipped on AT&T back in June 2010. A 7 month old phone on a brand new network is not something iPhone users have had to consider in the past. Is it worth the wait? Is Verizon really a better network? Does CDMA have important shortcomings you need to be aware of? Will the entire thing be rendered moot when Apple announces an iPhone 5 in June?
Figuring out the answers to these questions and more have kept all of us at TiPb extremely busy over the past couple of weeks. So hit the jump and on for our full Verizon iPhone review!
The Griffin Slap for iPod nano is a fun, colorful watch adapter that children of the 80s will no doubt appreciate. It gets its name from how you use it -- just grab it by the strap and slap it onto your wrist. It wraps around and voila -- iPod nano watch!
But how does it hold up in use? Read on for the review!
AT&T boasts of being "America's fastest 3G network", so I've been putting that claim to the test by comparing the speeds with Verizon and AT&T iPhones side-by-side. The results were incredibly surprising. To find out what they were, watch the video above then follow along after the break!
Verizon boasts of being "America's largest and most reliable network" and I've been putting that claim to the test. I've been comparing reception, voice quality, how quickly voice calls are placed, and messaging speeds with AT&T's iPhone. To see my results, follow along after the break!
