I’m late as usual, but better late than never!
I finally discovered Instagram for my iPhone 4 and how it makes it sooo easy to post good looking blog pics. I love it!
Instagram also helped me to discover Tumblr, a super easy way to post multimedia like pictures, videos and audio. Follow me on Tumblr!
Yes! Finally, easy access and purchasing of magazine issues and subscriptions on the iPad with Apple’s Newsstand. I’m not a fan of Zinio’s magazine store b/c they’re usually straight up conversions of the printed publication. Dedicated magazine apps work the best and I think the Newsstand will consolidate all of these specialized magazine apps into one place. It was hard searching the store to find out which magazines had their own apps. Problem solved!
I just finished installing a Stage 1 Kinetic Turbo kit into my Corrado VR6 and wanted to try to take in-car videos. I’m only running 5psi (wastegate supposed to open at 7psi) so nothing crazy..yet. But I really posted this to show how easy it is to make decent in-car videos with an iPhone 4 and a $30 Gorillapod flexible tripod. My suspension is pretty stiff so I’m actually surprised that it turned out more stable than I expected. More videos to follow in the future. But for now enjoy!
Corrado Specs at this time:
Kinetic Stage 1 Turbo, OBD1 w/Distributor
7psi Wastegate opening at 5 psi
3″ Downpipe into 2.5″ TT Exhaust.
Engadget published a first hands-on about the iPad 2 and what piqued my interest was this:
“The design feels great in your hands. Sleek, super thin — much nicer to hold than the previous version. Definitely has more of a magazine than book feel. Everything is tight and solid. It is pretty amazing how thin they’ve gotten the device.”
I’m an avid magazine reader and if the new iPad 2 has more of a magazine than book feel like they said, I’d be very happy with the iPad 2. However, I’m still reluctant because the magazine experience I think is still better with the print copy than a digital copy on an iPad. I will have to spend more time using an iPad 2 to read magazines, but from my experiences so far with the original iPad (which has the same form factor anyway), I would rather stick to traditional print magazines. The biggest issue is that the iPad 2 is basically only half the size of an open magazine. You can’t look at the iPad as a 2-page spread, but rather as a single page. On an iPad it’s hard to read an article and quickly glance at the pictures like you can with a print magazine because you have to zoom in to read the article. You almost need to have 2 iPads with a spine. And I don’t see that happening with future generations of the iPad or with other tablets in general. Steve Jobs joked how 2011 is the Year of the Copycats. And he’s right. What a shame. Unfortunately, Microsoft cancelled their Courier concept which I think could’ve been a great competitor to the iPad. It could’ve been a great alternative as it would meet the needs of different users. But like everyone else, they’re instead probably going to try to copy Apple’s iPad if they eventually try to join the tablet wars.
The cancelled Microsoft Courier Tablet concept. Picture courtesy of Engadget:
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Hmm with the release of the iPad 2 next week, is it time for me to get one? Good question!
I want to reward myself for being patient and holding out from buying the original iPad by getting the iPad 2. But I’m on the fence still. TUAW and John Gruber both believe that there may be another iPad with a retina display coming out later this year. I kind of agree. I want to wait for a retina display and legitimate cameras. The iPad 2’s cameras are pretty crappy. The iPhone 4 has a pretty good camera so you know Apple has the capability to include a decent camera. I think that’s an indication that Apple is still holding out on the iPad. Therefore I can see Apple coming out with an iPad HD in September with proper cameras and a high resolution display.
So I held out on the iPhone until Apple put in a good camera and I may do the same with the iPad. Besides, I spent a bit of money on my turbo! Plus, I don’t really need the iPad 2. It’s just a toy. Well, a beautiful toy.
The other idea I have is to wait for the refurbished iPad 2’s. It took the original iPad 5 months before refurbished models started showing up. So that means by August there should be some showing up. And by then, if the rumors grow stronger of a September iPad 2 HD release, I can either wait to get a new iPad 2 HD or just get the refurbished iPad 2. I bought my Macbook refurbished and it’s been great so far so I’m happy buying refurbished Apple products.
So is it Worth The Dough? Yes it is! There isn’t a better tablet out there. But I think I’m still going to wait.
Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge from the NYC side I took this picture with my iPhone 4. What an impressive camera it has! This was my favorite pic because I think it captured the raw engineering of the bridge and the view from the bridge all at the same time. The Brooklyn Bridge has aged nicely!
As an Apple fan I think I can be pretty impressed with myself that I was able to wait until the 4th iteration of the popular iPhone. But I finally did it because with its new features and new design, it is Worth The Dough.
I pre-ordered the Apple iPhone 4 through AT&T’s website. I was originally going to pre-order from Radio Shack b/c they were offering a $20 gift card, but Apple mostly blocked third party retailers from early pre-ordering. Plus it’s easier to just order online through AT&T and get free shipping for it to arrive at my doorstep as soon as it is released on Thursday June 24, 2010.
Now why did I finally get one? Well the biggest reason is that Steve Jobs and Apple finally decided to put in a proper 5MP camera with LED flash. The Sony Ericsson W810i that I’ve had for over 2 years has an LED flash that can be used as a flashlight. I use it ALL the time. Such a small feature, but the most useful to me. It’s great to have a flashlight on you at all times. One time while hiking up in CT we didn’t plan ahead and got stuck trying to get back out of the trails after it got dark. Luckily, my phone’s flashlight helped lead the way. The ability to shoot HD video is also plus, although I don’t see myself using the feature all too often. The other new features such as the high quality Retina display, multi-tasking and FaceTime are great as well. But they just round out the package of the already amazing iPhone. Speaking of the Retina display, it sure makes me glad I was able to wait on the iPad as well b/c I’m sure the next iPad will have this feature.
So all in all, the iPhone 4 is definitely Worth The Dough!
I don’t have anything to excerpt, except to tell you to read the entire article. Great article stating how “perfectly” Jonathan Ive designed the iPad. I agree 100%!
Where have I been? Apparently Zinio features magazine subscriptions to be read on the computer and soon on the iPad. Although they’ve been around for over 10 years, for some reason they haven’t come up in my Google searches for internet magazine subscriptions. So I’m going to try and get the word out. In my last post I posted how the iPad needs magazine subscriptions before I would buy one. Zinio has them. And they have plenty of car mags to subscribe to, including Road & Track. I think my decision has been made now. Zinio makes the Apple iPad Worth The Dough.
It seems like the cost of the subscriptions are the same as or a couple bucks less than their paper counterparts. Or as some people call “dead tree versions.” For example the Road & Track subscription is $8 as opposed to $10 for the print version. The real savings however are in International magazine subscriptions.
British car magazines are widely known to be bigger and better than US car magazines. And since Europe is where Formula 1 is popular, their F1 publications, like F1 Racing, are amazing. The US simply does not have any dedicated F1 publications because F1 isn’t as big in the US. Subscriptions to these mags by a US subscriber are very expensive. I mean, these British publications are expensive for British subscribers too but with shipping fees and other fees it’s even worse for US subscribers. For example, a 1 year subscription to the print edition of F1 Racing is $66 for UK subscribers and $90 for US subscribers! So far Zinio only has the spanish version of F1 Racing, but a 1 year subscription is $43.39. Look at the cost savings! Cheaper for both UK and US subscribers. Here are some other prices for US subscriptions to other International publications.
Lastly, I’m going to go slightly off topic and mention that for those who like reading novels more than periodicals, it’s been said that Project Gutenberg books will work on the iPad. “The site has over 30,000 free ebooks, most of them classics whose copyrights have lapsed.”
So there it is. The Apple iPad is Worth The Dough and Zinio is a major reason why. If you like international magazines like I do, then it is WTD for you too!
Yesterday the Wi-Fi version of the Apple iPad became available for pre-order. I’ll eventually get an iPad, but I didn’t pre-order it. Why not? No, not because it doesn’t have flash or a webcam, but because the Apple iPad is not Worth the Dough for me unless there are magazines available for it! Without magazines on the iPad, not only does Apple not get my money, the magazine publications don’t get my money either because I won’t be subscribing to any until they have an iPad version.
I’m a big fan of magazines and throughout my life I’ve been a subscriber of magazines like Road & Track, Men’s Health and Wired. Well I’ve since slowed down with my subscriptions because the internet has replaced them as my avenue for consuming articles that are not only interesting to read, but also visually appealing with great photography. And that’s what magazines are all about. But I still like to flip through the glossy pages of a magazine and would rather do that than sit in front of an iMac or Macbook clicking through the internet with a Magic Mouse. And that’s what appeals to me the most about the iPad – The ability to feel like I’m flipping through a magazine while getting content like the internet. An internet magazine on my lap!
So I repeat. Magazine publications better create an iPad version and subscription model soon because they won’t have my business again until they do. So far only Conde Nast has revealed any plans to develop magazine apps. Wired says they’ll have one by the summer and it looks great. That’s probably about the time I’ll buy the iPad and my first magazine subscription in awhile. My Wired subscription just ended and I want to renew it b/c it is a great publication, but I’m going to wait until their iPad app comes out before I subscribe again.
I’m also hoping that one of the car publications will get their content onto an iPad. I hope Road & Track does because they are my favorite car publication. 0-60 Mag would be great too because they emphasize great photography. Edmunds’ Inside Line website on the internet would be a great template for an iPad automotive magazine application. It has great visual slideshows that can be seen full screen to go along with their articles. And that would be perfect for the iPad. Check out one of their articles. Just what the iPad was designed for. I really don’t know why Apple didn’t push to have magazines (and comic books for that matter) onto their iPad instead of just iBooks.
So my message to the magazine publications and Apple: Put magazines onto the iPad pronto! Magazine subscriptions and the iPad aren’t Worth the Dough to me until that happens.
Steve's Octane Blog 