New iPhone/iPad app: MegaTape

The new app from Proctele AB will arrive in the App Store any moment now. 
It's called "GPS MegaTape - Tape Measure".

It is a tape measure and an odometer. It measures distances with GPS. Hence it's meant to be used outdoors. It has two screens.
The tape measure measures the distance as the bird flies. The odometer measures the distance along the path you're walking, cycling, driving etc. Here's its icon:

You'll find it among the utilities category and the lifestyle category.

It costs $0.99

1984 is here again

I wanted these pictures in my blog, because they're cool. 
It's an iPad in a case looking like a 1984 Mac.

They come from Gizmodo.com and this URL: 
http://gizmodo.com/5934584/double-take-an-ipad-case-thats-a-1984-mac

Timestables on 3 wheels for iPad

Hi all lucky iPad owners! Timestables on 3 wheels for iPad is now in the App Store. 
This version is called "Timestables on 3 big wheels" and I'm sure you can guess why. But it's not just the wheels that are bigger, so is everything else, like the strawberry, the bomb, the tomato, etc.
This version is very much like the iPhone/iPod version, but there's more graphics still. Landscape mode is of course supported too and in fact you can hold your iPad any way you like.
The names in the localized App Stores are as follows:

• Swedish: Multiplikationstabellen på 3 stora hjul
• Dutch: Vermenigvuldiging op 3 wielen – Big Size
• French: Table de multiplication sur 3 roues grandes
• German: Einmaleins 12 mal 12 – Big Size

Who wins: iPad or a book?

I have a library card. With that card I can borrow books in the library that issued it. I show the card and get my books. After 4 weeks I have to bring it back to the library. If it's not back in time I must pay a small fine. If I damage it or lose it, I pay about $50.
I can also do the following: With my iPad I visit the library's web-site for e-books. I search for a book or select one from the top-50. I then enter the number of my library-card and press a download link and finish off by selecting to open the book in my iPad app called Bluefire. After 4 weeks I'm no longer able to read the book, but I can revisit the library site and re-borrow it. I don't have to worry about fines, because there's no requirement to return the e-book. I can't cause any damage to the book that will hurt the library and I won't lose their property. Isn't that fantastic? I think so. However there's more. Suppose a friend calls to tell me about a new book he's reading. While he's telling me about the book I can visit the library's e-book site and borrow it!
The downside is that the choice of e-books is much smaller than hardcopies, but most of the new best-selling books are available. For most people that's probably enough. 


For me, the iPad wins!


What about buying books then? What about the reading UI? I'll treat that in another blog entry.

The Lion and the iPad

Hi iPad lovers!
As I already wrote, iPad's new freedom from its enslavement to the PC was the top news from WWDC in SF this week. However there was one other thing I found quite exciting, and that was gesture navigation and Launchpad in Lion, the new Mac OS. Very attractive features. But they're not just good, it's the fact that they first appeared on the iPhone/iPad/iPod touch. These devices are the future, meaning that's where Apple's growth will occur. It's only natural that the laptop user interface is enhanced through cross-breeding with those great devices. Beautiful, and it's Apple yet again in the lead. They are the only company that can do this, because they make both the software and the hardware. It takes both and we see it clearer and clearer.
Now's just hoping that Apple can keep it up and not get lost in itself. Great success can be hard to handle.

The iPad has been freed

Hi Apple friends!
The best news from Apple's developer conference, which is taking place in San Francisco, is the iCloud. The demos at the opening of the conference have shown some important aspects of iCloud. You take a picture on one of your devices, which sends it to Apple's server, which pushes it onto your other devices. That's great. Another important advantage of the iCloud is that you have storage you can trust, which of course is well backed up.
However the greatest advantage is that the iCloud sets the iPad free! You will no longer need to have a Mac or PC in order to own an iPad. The USB-cord that held the iPad will be irrelevant starting with iOS 5. 

Now iPad is for everyone!

Spring or Not Spring?

Hi all App fans! You may have read the April 27th post, the one about spring in Skåne. Spring optimism must have hit me on that day, because I was totally wrong. I turned the central heating off and went to the driving range. 
It's been incredibly cold here for about a week with sub-zero (sub 32F) night temperatures and day temperatures of about 5 degrees C. Turned the central heating on again, and it toiled like it was mid-winter. But finally it's getting warmer outside.
Possibly due to cold temperatures, the morning paper didn't arrive yesterday. However that doesn't bother a lucky iPad owner like me. A free online subscription is included in the paper subscription, so no problem there. Great device, I keep saying it. 
I've noticed that I do certain web-activities almost exclusively on the iPad or iPod touch, as opposed to doing them on the MacBook.

• iPad only: handle Google Docs, use Google Reader, read morning paper
• iPod touch or iPad: mail, browse the App Store, check weather/stocks/calendar, morning paper feed, Proctele games, Facebook, Twitter
• MacBook: work, mail, Facebook, Twitter

Of course the above is not complete. 

I have not made any conscious decisions about device use. The way I use them is only decided by convenience. A good app on a certain device can definitely drive use towards it, but it's a good app in combination with good and suitable hardware that makes a really good user experience.

NumberWiz is now in App Store

The NumberWiz app was released to the App Store on Friday December 10. 
If you want to exercise your mental arithmetic skills then NumberWiz is certainly for you.
It works as follows: You pick six numbers out of two stacks of cards. One of the stacks contains all the numbers from 1 to 10, two of each. The other stack contains the numbers 25, 50, 75 and 100. The stacks are shuffled, so you can't select what numbers you get. When you've selected the numbers, you press a button and then the app immediately selects a three-digit number. Now it's up to you to use the four arithmetic operators to arrive at the three-digit result.
It's quite a challenge and you decide for how long you're going to try and find an answer. However after 45 seconds you have the option to ask the app for an answer. I usually press that button to check if the app suggests my solution. 
I've played it a lot myself. It helps to practice and there are tricks you can use, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_calculation
There's a help button in the app, which displays a short explanation of the rules.