By Tony Bradley
July 19, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO – 30 Days With the iPad: Day 15

In order for the iPad 2 to be functional as a primary computing device, it has to be able to work with files. I need to be able to create files, save files, copy files from other devices, print files, and send files as email attachments. However, the iPad doesn’t have a typical file and folder system for storing data, so for today’s installment of 30 Days With the iPad I am going to try and figure out how to work with files and data on the iPad.
When I worked with Ubuntu Linux on the last 30 Days series, the lack of–or irrelevance of–file extensions took some getting used to, but at least the files and folders were still in their traditional hierarchy.
The iPad treats files more like a necessary evil. The iPad has mechanisms in place to enable apps to work with files, but most feel like workarounds that were added as an afterthought the first time someone fired up an iOS device and said “Cool, but where do I store files and how do I access them?”

iTunes File Syncing

The native method for addressing the file issue in iOS is to handle it on a sort of app-specific basis and sync them from within iTunes. When the iPad is connected to my PC and syncing with iTunes, I can click on the Apps tab, and scroll down to view a list of the apps that are capable of file sharing. Then I can add files to each one.

The problem is that each app is like an island unto itself, so if there is a file that I want to use in DocsToGo, and maybe Pages, or perhaps print using the Epson iPrint app, I may have to add it to each one. It certainly seems like it would be more efficient to have one central file repository on the iPad where I can copy these things and any apps that need the file can access it and share the one copy instead of each app having its own.
Like I said, the native method of dealing with files in iOS is clumsy and unintuitive. It’s like Apple added it under duress, and wasn’t interested in making it an enjoyable experience.

Wireless Drives

I decided to take a look at using external storage. This is yet another area, though, where the iPad doesn’t really just work with the common tools and storage devices most people own. There are some duct tape and chewing gum methods of using USB drives or SD memory cards, but they have limited application, or require jailbreaking and extensive hacking to accomplish. Besides, being technically able to connect with those devices doesn’t make the iPad any better at navigating them or working with the files they contain.

There is a new breed of external hard drives cropping up, though, that are Wi-Fi hotspots in and of themselves, and can share data wirelessly. Drives like the Kingston Wi-Drive, and the Seagate GoFlex Satellite are designed specifically for storing and streaming content with iOS devices.
I have a 1TB Iomega drive attached to my Linksys wireless router so it can be accessed by all of the PCs in my home. That is the drive we do frequent backups to, and it contains the collective music library of the family.

Unfortunately, I can’t find a way to get the iPad to “see” the drive even though its available on a wireless connection, and even if I did the iPad would probably not know how to access or use the data it contains. So, I picked up a GoFlex Satellite instead.

Frankly, with a 64GB iPad, I don’t really need the additional 500GB of storage for day to day use anyway–I have plenty of music and a handful of HD movies stored internally and shouldn’t need more than that while on the go. But, for an iPad-only post-PC era solution, a drive like the GoFlex Satellite may be necessary as a means of growing beyond the limitations of the iPad itself for long-term file storage.

The GoFlex Satellite is a 500GB drive that acts as its own Wi-Fi hotspot. First you have to connect it via USB to a PC of some sort so you can transfer the content you want onto the device. The “magic” of the drive, though–and why it works while my Iomega probably can’t–is that Seagate has developed an app to act as a front-end for accessing the data in terms that iOS can understand.

The app is GoFlex Media app is available for free from the Apple App Store. You can’t access the data while the drive is connected to the PC, so you have to disconnect it first. Then, the Seagate drive will show up on your list of possible Wi-Fi connections. You connect to the Seagate Wi-Fi, then access the data through the Seagate app.

The plus side is that the device works on a rechargeable battery and it can stream data to multiple iOS devices simultaneously. It could come in handy for storing a music and video library to be shared among the family on long road trips.

However, I wasn’t completely impressed. I copied my entire music collection to the device–enough music to play roughly 23 days without repeating a song. The GoFlex Media app just lists the thousands of songs alphabetically. It doesn’t sort by album or artist. It doesn’t even list the artist or album name in the details–you just have to guess based on the titles of the songs.

I also did not appreciate listening to the high-pitched whining from the drive as it accessed data. The constant beeping and chirping was subdued, but loud enough for me to hear it, and loud enough to annoy me. A more concerning issue is that there’s no security in place by default. You have to go into the settings on the app to change the name of the Wi-Fi network so it isn’t obvious that it’s a GoFlex Satellite, and assign a password so that every device sitting in range of the drive doesn’t connect to it and access your data.

I assume the Kingston Wi-Drive is similar, but I haven’t used that one. Overall, the GoFlex Satellite is a promising concept, but Seagate has a few issues to refine for the next version.

Cloud Storage

The iPad seems uniquely suited for online data storage. The tablets have relatively small internal storage capacity, and the lack of USB ports or SD memory card slots (without the aforementioned hackery) leave you with little option other than turning to the Web.

Thankfully, there are a variety of great options available for online storage. Many apps like DocsToGo, are capable of connecting directly with Google Docs, Box.net, Dropbox, iDisk, and SugarSync. The Apple iWorks Pages app can connect with iDisk, and also with other services that offer a WebDAV API of some sort.
I use Box.net already, so this connectivity gives me a variety of options. First, it provides a familiar file and folder sort of structure for my documents. Second, it lets me share one copy of the files among a variety of Web-enabled devices including my iPad, iPhone, and PC (when I was using it as well), so I don’t have to worry about different versions or syncing.

iCloud

When Apple’s iCloud becomes available this fall, it will provide another online storage option. Like Box.net, Dropbox, and the other services already mentioned, iCloud will sync documents from one device and make sure that other iOS devices or PCs have that same data.
iCloud will have two distinct advantages. First, it will be seamlessly integrated into most of the default apps in iOS 5, and tools that are native and seamlessly integrated almost always work better than third-party add-ons. Second, it doesn’t just store and sync data, it will also automatically and seamlessly back up and sync music, photos, apps, books, email, contacts, and calendar events–making it a much more comprehensive solution than the others.
There is also one significant caveat to iCloud–it is iOS-centric. Apple includes Windows PCs in the mix, but if you have a Linux PC, or if you use Android, or BlackBerry, or WebOS, for your smartphone or tablet, those will not be able to sync with iCloud.

I am looking forward to iCloud for all of the other benefits it brings to the table, but odds are fair that I will continue to rely on Box.net for storing and syncing my documents, spreadsheets, and other data so I still have the flexibility to use non-Apple devices if I choose.

By Tony Bradley
July 6, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO – 30 Days With the iPad: Day 3

I have always had email set up on my iPhone and iPad so I can send and receive messages while on the go. As I embark on the 30 Days With the iPad project, though, I am taking a closer look at how it is set up, and learning some new things about the iOS Mail app.

First, let’s look at setting up the email in the first place. Click on the Settings app on the iPad, and tap the Mail, Contacts, and Calendars setting in the left pane. Toward the top of the right pane under Accounts, tap Add Account.

POP or IMAP

You can add a variety of email account types to the iPad: Microsoft Exchange, MobileMe, Gmail, Yahoo!, Aol, or the generic Other. I prefer using Exchange, for reasons I will cover in a minute, but generally I have used Other. Other is what you use to set up any generic POP or IMAP account. The question is which: POP or IMAP?

There are pros and cons to each. With POP, the messages are downloaded from the remote server to the iPad. That means that the email messages are stored locally, and you will be able to read them even if your iPad doesn’t have a working connection to the Internet at the moment, but it also means that the messages are no longer on the server, so they can’t be retrieved or read from other PCs or devices, and if you lose the iPad the emails go with it.

Thankfully, you can configure when or if messages are deleted from the remote server within the Advanced settings for a POP email account. The options are ‘When removed from Inbox’, ‘Seven Days’, and ‘Never’–and iOS defaults to ‘Never’. The downside to this set up is that every PC or device essentially has its own copy of the messages. If you delete the message on your iPad, it is still there on your PC so you are forced to maintain multiple inboxes.

Another problem for POP accounts on an iPad is that they are limited to a maximum of 200 messages. If you are at a client site and you need critical information that you know is in your email…from last week, odds are good it won’t be available any longer on the iPad.

IMAP takes a different approach. With IMAP, the device locally archives messages, but the server is the real message repository. All of your various devices are kept in sync because they are all connecting to the same data on the server. When you delete a message on your iPad, that deletion is reflected on your PC and any other devices set up for that email account.
With IMAP, because the messages are stored on the server rather than on the iPad, there is no 200 message limitation. More importantly, you can load older messages, so you would be able to get that crucial client data from the email last week as long as the message is still in your inbox folder.

A potential downside of IMAP is that you might have the message headers, but not the complete messages, so if you try to open and read your email while the iPad isn’t connected to the Internet it may not work. In my experience, though, I was able to open and read the content of my messages just fine without a Wi-Fi connection. The only issue I had was that linked content–like images and such within an email were unable to load.

Your mileage may vary, but for my purposes IMAP offers more benefits and makes managing and maintaining my email accounts simpler.

Exchange or Gmail

Some of the account types offer even more advantages. For example, Exchange and Gmail accounts offer a good alternative to IMAP with some additional benefits. If you have a Gmail account, or a Microsoft Exchange account–like an Office 365 account–you can sync in real-time with your email and calendar (and contacts for Exchange).
Using Gmail or Exchange, you can access your entire mail account–including sent messages, and all of your folders and subfolders. So, even if you moved the email from last week with the crucial client data to a different folder called ‘Crucial Client Data’, you would still be able to access and retrieve it from the iPad as long as you have an Internet connection.

Another advantage of using Exchange or Gmail is that your messages are already scanned for malware, spam, and phishing scams, and those messages are filtered out so you don’t have to sift through them in your inbox.

iPad Mail Pet Peeves

Apple has made some significant improvements to the Mail app over time. I appreciate that I can have multiple email accounts and view them all simultaneously with All Inboxes, and I like the threaded conversations that make following a stream of messages more efficient.

However, I am not a fan of the spam. When I set up my email accounts using POP or IMAP, I get all of the email messages in my inbox–including spam messages about low interest loans, and guaranteed penis enlargment. If I go look at those same email accounts in Microsoft Outlook, those messages don’t make it to my inbox because the Outlook junk mail filter catches them and filters them to a separate box.

I also don’t appreciate the lack of groups or distribution lists. I have a variety of distribution lists set up in Outlook that I use frequently, but with the iPad Mail client I have to manually add each individual email address every time I want to send an email. It would also be nice to be able to do simple things like make text bold or italic, or insert links into the message, or add file attachments.

The Mail app is decent, and it is way better than it was in previous version of iOS, but it still has a long way to go to rival what I am accustomed to with Outlook 2010.

Changes in iOS 5

iOS 5 will be here in a few months, and when it is released there will be some pretty significant changes to the Mail app. Here is what the Apple iOS 5 site has to say about the updates coming to Mail: “Your inbox is about to receive some great new features. Format text using bold, italic, or underlined fonts. Create indents in the text of your message. Drag to rearrange names in address fields. Flag important messages. Even add and delete mailbox folders on the fly. If you’re looking for a specific email, you can now search in the body of messages. And with iCloud, you get a free email account that stays up to date on all your devices.”
For my purposes, I am setting up my personal and business email accounts as POP accounts within my Gmail, and then using Gmail for sending and receiving messages on my iPad and iPhone. It gives me more flexibility and is easier to manage, while also providing spam filtering and phishing protection.

LONDON – An Apple patent focused blog has revealed new features that could appear on the second generation Apple iPad, anticipated to be released early next year.

Patently Apple highlights a patent application filed with China’s Patent and Trademark Office that suggests the ability to dock in landscape mode as well as portrait.

Other new features, suggests the website, could include a smart bezel on the bottom left hand corner of the iPad and a new charging dock/external keyboard combination. Apple currently offers a £25 iPad Dock and £55 iPad Keyboard Dock.

Earlier on Saturday, Patently Apple unveiled more registered designs also filed with China’s Patent and Trademark Office. Among them, an iPad Camera Connector and what seems likely to be a front facing camera, found on the iPhone 4 and new iPod touch, for FaceTime video chat and video conferencing.

Patently Apple notes most of Apple’s new industrial designs come from a core team of designers, which includes Bartley Andre, Daniel Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Evans Hankey, Richard Howarth, Jonathan Ive, Duncan Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Peter Russell-Clarke, Douglas Satzger, Christopher Stringer, Eugene Whang and Rico Zorkendorfer.

1. Display. At 9.7 inches, the iPad has more display real estate than the 7-inch Galaxy Tab, allowing more room for developers to work with in developing apps that capitalize on the features and functions of the tablet. The iPad display also has a sharper 1024 x 768 resolution compared with the 1024 x 600 resolution of the Samsung tablet.

2. Battery Life. One of the critical elements of a mobile computing device is how long it can last on a single charge. Samsung lists the Galaxy Tab as capable of up to seven hours of video playback, while the Apple iPad is listed at ten hours.

Most business professionals won’t be constantly playing movies throughout the day, but the number is theoretical and actual battery life results will vary with how the tablet is used. The bottom line is that the iPad has a significantly higher chance of surviving a full day while the Galaxy Tab might run out of juice before you clock out.

3. Contract. The Apple iPad is loosely affiliated with AT&T wireless, but Apple negotiated an arrangement that allows users with 3G-capable iPads to purchase wireless access on-the-fly sans contract. The Samsung Galaxy Tab, on the other hand, is going to be offered through each of the four major wireless carriers using the same subsidized pricing model as smartphones. Details are not yet available, but that most likely means committing to a two-year contract of monthly payments for a 3G (or 4G) data plan that you may or may not need on a regular basis.

4. Price. Thanks to the wireless carrier subsidies, the Galaxy Tab is expected to be available between $200 and $300 depending on the provider. Assuming a minimum monthly data plan of $25 and a two-year commitment, though, that tacks on an additional $600 over the life of the contract and brings the Galaxy Tab up to $800 on the low-end.

Granted, users can opt to simply forfeit the subsidy and buy the device outright without the contract. Samsung has also announced that a Wi-Fi only version is coming soon which ostensibly would not be subsidized by, or locked to, any wireless provider, but that also means foregoing the carrier subsidy. Based on what is known of the pricing of the unlocked European models of the Galaxy Tab, the unsubsidized Galaxy Tab could cost as much as $1000, making it a very expensive proposition compared with a $499 Wi-Fi only iPad.

5. iCulture. Android is growing a culture of its own, but it is not as mature as Apple’s iCulture. Apple has an ingenious business model that starts at the iPod to hook people into iTunes and the Apple culture, then evolves to the iPod Touch which introduces the App Store. By the time younger users are ready to join the world of smartphones and tablets, they are already invested in a unique custom library of apps, and are indoctrinated into the features and conventions of the iCulture.

Of course, the opposite is true as well. Android has been skyrocketing in smartphone market share, and the millions of users that have embraced Android smartphones may lean toward the Galaxy Tab in order to stick with what they know and maximize the investment in Android apps.

There are also a variety of factors that make the Galaxy Tab a better choice. Ultimately, though, the question marks behind the pricing of the unlocked, or Wi-Fi only Galaxy Tabs, or the total cost of ownership associated with a contractual obligation to some minimal data plan could doom the Galaxy Tab.

SAN FRANCISCO – The Samsung Galaxy Tab is the first tablet to come along that appears to be capable of challenging the Apple iPad. On paper, and in initial hands-on reviews, the Galaxy Tab is impressive, but the burden of carrier contracts may seal the unfortunate fate of the Samsung tablet before it even launches.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab was unveiled in Germany last week, and it is set to launch first in Europe. Initial reports of pricing, though, are not encouraging. In Sweden, the Galaxy Tab will retail for the equivalent of nearly $1250 USD, while the price reported from O2 in Germany places it near $1000 USD. Keep in mind this is nearly $200 more than the top-end 64Gb iPad with Wi-Fi and 3G.

There is good news and bad news for those in the United States anxiously awaiting the Android-based tablet. The good news is that the Samsung tablet will be offered through wireless carriers, subsidized like a smartphone. The bad news is that the Samsung tablet will be offered through wireless carriers, subsidized like a smartphone.

No, you didn’t read that wrong. And, no, it is not a typo. The Wall Street Journal relayed an excerpt from an interview with Hankil Yoon, a Samsung product executive. According to the Wall Street Journal, Yoon said the Galaxy Tab “would likely retail for between $200 and $300, although the final price would vary depending on different carrier subsidies.”

So, the good news is that the Samsung tablet will be offered for a much more reasonable and affordable price when it is launched here in the United States. It is also worth noting that Yoon’s statement supports the pervasive rumor that Samsung may offer the Galaxy Tab through multiple wireless carriers–possibly all four major ones–just as it does with the Galaxy S series of smartphones.

The bad news is that the pricing will come with the added burden of a contractual commitment for service–most likely the industry-standard two-year agreement. That means being basically stuck with that tablet regardless of what new and innovative tablets might come along, and paying for a data plan whether you actually use it or not. And, don’t forget that if you lose or break your Samsung Galaxy Tab, you will still be under contract and you will have to replace it at the full price which is apparently somewhere around $1000.

Keep in mind too that depending on the carrier the cost and limitations of the data plan can vary greatly. With the iPad, 3G service can be purchased from AT&T on a contract-free, as-needed basis. Better yet, for roughly the same investment as the additional $130 for the 3G model of the iPad you can get a Virgin Mobile MiFi and get unlimited mobile data for the iPad and four of your closest friends for only $40 per month–still with no contract.

The iPad may not have front and rear-facing cameras, or an SD memory card slot like the Samsung Galaxy Tab, but it comes with something better–freedom from wireless contracts.