iPad

Things vs. OmniFocus

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I always loved how things looks and its simple, elegant user interface. The iPad version is simply beautiful: it works exactly the way a task management app on an iPad should work.

Unfortunately, Things’ syncing has never worked smoothly. Syncing it between two different computers can only be done with something like DropBox, and you can’t run it on both machines at the same time when using the same data file. Things can also sync with iCal, but that always causes duplicate & missing items and doesn’t work at all between two different machines sharing a data file. Things usually syncs nicely between a single Mac, iPhone, and iPad, but today it suddenly stopped recognizing my iPhone, even after I removed it and paired it again.

OmniFocus is a lot more powerful and flexible, but as a result it doesn’t feel as clean & elegant as Things. OmniFocus has a major advantage over Things in syncing. While Things only syncs mobile devices over the local network, OmniFocus supports several different syncing methods, including MobileMe. OmniFocus can only sync manually with iCal, but it doesn’t screw up the way Things does. Most importantly, when syncing via MobileMe, you can run it on two computers at the same time without screwing anything up, and you can sync your iPhone even when you’re away from the computer.

Due to all of the syncing problems I’ve been having with Things, I’ve switched back to OmniFocus. Unfortunately they still don’t have an iPad version, so the iPhone version (like most iPhone apps) is just plain ugly when run on an iPad. I miss Things’s beauty & elegance, but not losing data is more critical.

How to get free books for iBooks

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The iPad’s iBooks application supports the standard ePub format as well as books you purchase through the iBooks store. This means that you can use the huge library of free eBooks available from Project Gutenberg & Google Books. You can also read eBooks purchased through other sources such as The Pragmatic Bookshelf. Simply drag any ePub books you download to iTunes and after you sync your iPad, those books will appear in iBooks.

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iPad unboxing & first impressions

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After nervously refreshing the UPS package tracking page for most of the morning and wondering if my iPad would arrive today, it arrived just before noon.

The Box

It’s every bit as good as I expected and it really does live up to the hype. The screen is simply gorgeous, it feels fast & responsive, and is very comfortable to hold & use. Mail & Safari are as good as desktop applications and is by far the best mobile browser I’ve seen. Videos play smoothly and look gorgeous on the screen, even outdoors.

A few other notes:

  • Non-native apps really look like crap. Pixel doubling looks awful and the 1x window within a window feels like running Classic under Mac OS X. Any developer who doesn’t think a native version of their app is necessary is just plain wrong.
  • It really needs a screen protector. The screen attracts fingerprints and they’re very visible.
  • It fits perfectly in UNIEA’s U-Sleaf.
  • Battery life is excellent. After using it continuously for about 3 hours, the battery is still at about 80%.
Home Screen

See my full unboxing gallery here.

iPad Shipping Shenanigans

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Like a lot of people, I’ve been obsessively refreshing the UPS package tracking page several times an hour today, only to see that my iPad is still in Guangzhou, China. A few days ago, UPS showed that it was at my local facility, but on Wednesday it suddenly appeared back in China.

Boy Genius Report explains what has been going on:

There are iPad shipments sitting in your local UPS location right now. Yes, they are there. Right now. The issue? Apple has hired an outside security agency to monitor all shipments from the regional distribution centers to the local hubs, and at the local hubs, the cages (where they hold the packages) are under 24/7 guard by the outside security agency. Apple did the same thing when they used FedEx for iPhone shipments, and they also had the same security company literally sleeping overnight at AT&T stores when they got iPhones the day before launch day.

Don’t worry if your tracking info still shows the package hasn’t left China, it’s probably only 10 miles from you, sitting comfortably under the watchful eyes of Top Flight security.

I hope he’s right and I’ll have an iPad in my hands by this time tomorrow.

I Can Has Cheezburger Universal is ready for sale

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I just got a notification email from Apple saying that I Can Has Cheezburger Universal is ready for sale. The only new feature is native iPad support & the ability to work in either landscape or portrait orientation. This is a free upgrade for owners of the pro version. Note that there is no universal upgrade for the free version, since the ads don’t scale well to the larger screen.

PicSlide Universal is Ready for Sale!

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I just got an email from Apple telling me that PicSlide Universal is ready for sale. This will be a free update for current owners and will work on both the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad. When it runs on an iPad, it will allow you to choose 3 additional board sizes: 10×10, 12×12, and 16×16. You can download it here.

Ready for Sale.jpg

ICHC for iPad submitted

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I have submitted I Can Has Cheezburger Pro 2.1, a universal application which runs natively on the iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch. I haven’t updated the free version, since the ads won’t scale nicely to the full iPad screen. The only change in this version is native iPad support and the ability to work in all interface orientations.

PicSlide 1.5 final submitted

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Today I got the following email from Apple concerning my PicSlide submission for iPad review:

Thank you for your submission. Your application has been through the initial review process and we have verified that it successfully loads and functions as expected on iPad running iPhone OS 3.2 Beta 5. You will receive additional information about submitting your app for final review before iPad ships.

Since both your application has been compiled using a beta SDK, your submission cannot be posted to the App Store and will appear in the Manage My Applications section of iTunes Connect as ‘In Review’, with the version string changed to “SEED5 APPROVED”

The iPhone SDK 3.2 GM Seed is now available. Please compile your code using this GM Seed and upload your new binary for final review by March 31st, 5PDT.

I just recompiled it with the GM and re-submitted it. It took one minute for it to go from ‘waiting for review’ to ‘in review’. Hopefully PicSlide will be ready for day 1 on the iPad. I’m also hoping to submit ICHC for the iPad in the next day or so.

ICHC plans for the iPad

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Now that I’ve submitted PicSlide for the iPad, I’m going to start working on an iPad version of I Can Has Cheezburger. Most likely I’ll only port the pro version initially, since the ads currently don’t work properly on the larger screen. I’ll need to redesign some parts of the user interface to look good on the iPad.