Official Facebook iPad app now available
Posted Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at 8:13 am by Jason Cartwright![Facebook iPad app[8]](http://www.techau.tv/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Facebook-iPad-app8.jpg "Facebook iPad app[8]")
Thanks for playing Friendly and MyPad, the real Facebook iPad app has arrived. It may not show up for you immediately on the device, as it’s being rolled out worldwide. As a work around, you can use the link below from your iPad to get the app now !
The app does provide the standard status update, photos upload, location Check In and Chat. Pages, Groups, Events and Friends are all among the functionality we expected and are included. Navigation in the app is done quite elegantly, with a press of the menu button in the top-left (or swipe front left to right), the content slides right, to reveal the menu options.
Photo galleries support the usual iPad swiping goodness, and Nearby shows your friend’s pictures on a map at the last location they checked in.
The Facebook iPad app has a few shortcomings, there’s no ability to edit profile information and you can’t see that sexy new profile Timeline. There’s no ticker in the top-right, although judging from the feedback when it launched, most users won’t be heart broken about that omission.
That aside, if your an iPad and Facebook user, you should at least try it out. The official Facebook iPad app is available free from the App Store. Facebook have posted an official page for the application at http://www.facebook.com/mobile/ipad
Boxee iPad app now available
Posted Wednesday, August 10, 2011 at 9:21 pm by Jason Cartwright
Social video service Boxee, has released the long awaited iPad app today. Available for free in the App Store, the Boxee iPad app offers users a way to watch online videos of three varieties. Videos shared by friends, videos added to the watch-later list and featured videos chosen from Boxee are all on offer.
While the score of the application does feel somewhat limited, it is a convenient way to access some great online video. What’s not available is Boxee’s applications. Boxee Box owners along with desktop software lovers enjoy hundreds of dedicated applications on the platform. Unfortunately they are missing, at least from this initial release of the Boxee iPad app.
There is one other function to the Boxee iPad app, that is to play videos from your computer, only problem is, rather than access network drives directly, it requires desktop application. The Boxee iPad app works in both landscape and portrait modes.
Skype for the iPad released..did u get it before it was pulled ?
Posted Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 6:05 pm by Jason Cartwright
Update: 11:18PM - Skype is now back in the App Store, not sure what they could have fixed in that short window. Most likely a show stopper bug they had to fix before it was released to the masses.
Apparently someone over Skype hit the go button before it was ready, but this afternoon some quick fingered Skypers were able to download the Skype iPad app. Skype even went as far as publishing a YouTube video promoting the app, before pulling it a hour or so later.
News of Skype for iPad’s availability spread quickly online, which resulted in some confused users who went searching unsuccessfully in the app store. Skype confirmed the app had been pulled via their official twitter account.
Those of us lucky enough to grab the app before it was pulled can still use it. The app generally works as expected (big iPhone version). Users can be logged into the iPad version and desktop versions at the same time, this means you can leave one and pickup on the other, right from where you left.
Maybe Skype was right to pull the app.. I did find myself in a scenario where the only way out of a full-screen chat window was to force quit the app. Was your trigger finger fast enough ? If so, what do you think ?
If not, check out this gallery.
View Skype for iPad on Flickr.
iPads dominate Australian International Motor Show
Posted Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 8:55 pm by Jason Cartwright
From the 1st to the 10th of July, the Melbourne Exhibition Centre is playing host to the Australian International Motor Show. It is one of the biggest opportunities for manufacturers to showcase the latest automotive technology. A major theme of the show was electric vehicles, with most of the manufacturers showcasing either EV concepts or cars ready for production in 2012.
One other theme for the show was iPads being used as information display devices for each vehicle. If you were unsure why there’s still an iPad 2 shortage, it’s likely because car companies bought them.. in bulk. Apparently nearly all the manufacturers got the memo because they were everywhere. Another use for the iPad was as a customer data entry point, most which were running custom applications that aren’t available in the App Store, however most information is on their website.
By no means were iPads the only technology on display at the show, there was plenty of driving simulators, touchscreens, iMacs, iPhone apps, even a v1 Microsoft surface. One of the most impressive vehicles at the show was a concept car by Hyundai called the Blue2 (Codename HND-6) which featured video displays on the front and rear bumpers as well as a cockpit that apparently runs Windows 7.
Here’s some fun facts about the motor show..
■ Over 300 semi trailer loads of equipment is required to build exhibitor stands for the Motor Show.
■ Over 450 people work on site during the Move-In to get the Motor Show built. These include riggers, electricians, tilers, carpenters, sound and lighting engineers and plumbers.
■ Around 150 mobile phones are found in and around the Motor Show during public days.
■ Almost 8km of staging truss for lighting grids and 65km of electrical cable is used in the construction of exhibitor stands and set up of audio visual equipment.
■ Over 23,000sqm of floating floor and carpet used in the exhibition.
■ Approximately 400 motor vehicles will be displayed when the Show is completed!
More information @ http://motorshow.com.au/
Will iOS4.3’s Wi-Fi hotspot kill the 3G iPad ?
Posted Sunday, January 30, 2011 at 10:11 am by Jason Cartwright
Competition as a general rule is always a good thing. In the mobile space, its an incredibly good thing, it forces both hardware and software manufacturers to constantly improve to maintain market share. One of the most recent examples of this is Apple’s decision to include a Wi-Fi hotspot feature in the next revision of the iOS software. When 4.3 ships in the next couple of weeks, iPhone users will be able to turn there 3G connection into a hotspot, allowing up to 5 devices to use the data.
This feature is common in Android phones and actually beginning to effect consumer buying decisions. To stop people choosing Android-based phones over the iPhone, Apple will match the feature. I’ve been using it now for a couple of weeks and can tell you, this is a fantastic feature, something that any phone I have from now on, must have.
Wether its my Wi-Fi only iPad or laptop on the road, being connected on devices that otherwise would be offline is a massive deal. To begin, the Wi-Fi only iPad is $170 more expensive up front, then you have to pay for a 3G data plan each month. While your not in contract and can opt-in month to month, the fact is, your still paying for 2x 3G data. What competition over the years has also achieved is much higher data caps on the phone, most of which goes unused. Check your usage, how much of that 1 or 2GB data cap did you use ?
Now admittedly there may be some people who do want 3G connectivity on an iPad and don’t own a smart phone, but that’s got to be an incredibly small percentage of users.
The other big benefactors from the upcoming Wi-Fi hotspot is iPod touch users. Imagine a road trip where mum or dad enables the hotspot feature, then the kids in the back connect their iPod touches or Nintendo DS’ to the WiFi. With all of the devices getting data from the one account, it just makes sense. Naturally connection speeds will reduce the more devices you connect, as well as your location and signal strength, but hey, your online when you otherwise wouldn’t be.
You may be wondering about public Wi-Fi hotspots and why not just use them. Great idea, except they aren’t everywhere you need them and a lot are unsecured, leaving you open to exploits like Firesheep.
So my question is given this new functionality will soon be available to iPhone users everywhere, is there really much of a market for the more expensive 3G version of the iPad ?
Move over Friendly, Facepad has arrived!
Posted Monday, January 3, 2011 at 2:12 pm by Jason Cartwright
For the longest time, the go to app for Facebook on iPad was Friendly. Now along comes a competitor, win consumer. Facepad was released a couple days before the end of the year and is well worth a look if you haven’t seen it. Available for free from the App Store, Facepad does away with lengthy load times, supporting Apple’s fast app switching. This makes a massive difference in the experience when using the app, I’m constantly switching back and forward between twitter and facebook.
The user interface uses the very familiar landscape layout of navigation on the left, content on the right, seen in many other iPad apps. This is used very well for displaying in-place photos, browser, videos and more. The app uses a swipe-based navigation which will be very familiar to twitter iPad users.
One downside is that right now Facepad doesn’t support multiple accounts, but they say there’s already an update in the pipe to remedy that. Another complaint about pretty much all 3rd party clients for Facebook is that there’s no support for administering pages. I’m guessing this could a be a limitation for Facebook’s API, as a multiple Page admin, this is functionality I really want. The workaround is to visit Facebook in Safari, but then why have an app at all ?
Overall its a great looking app, really functional and fast. Definitely one worth checking out.
Get it @ iTunes
More @ TechCrunch
