Greenville Business Magazine 2010 May issue : Page 66
››executive lifestyle g gadgets izmos & Editor’s Note: Greenville Business Magazine is iPad compatible. 66 GREENVILLEBUSINESSMAG.COM | MAY 2010 I ran into someone this week who had never heard of the Apple iPad. I’m still not exactly sure how that could happen. Anyone within earshot of Apple’s marketing machine has received a shotgun blast of advertising for the device. Still, I run into a lot of people who have not held or used the device and that’s a shame, because it is something completely different. The Apple iPad is slightly larger than a junior sized legal pad and about as thick as two stacked together or slightly smaller than a grid of iPhones laid out two by three. It is easy to hold, although slightly heavy for its size, and able to bring a large number of fabulous applications, as well as the internet, directly to your fingertips. And finally, because it’s got a large multi-touch display, you really do use your fingertips to touch the web. You scroll pages with a flick of your finger up or down, zoom out of a page with a pinch, or get closer with the reverse of that maneuver. What makes the iPad magic is that you can hand it to someone who doesn’t get tech and they will do what comes naturally, they reach down and touch the screen and the iPad reacts the way they expect. It is amazing to watch someone new to the device. They get the basic function using it even though they’ve never owned an iPhone and never played with a tablet before. It just works. By the time you read this, the 3G version will be available, but the one I own uses WiFi only. This means I either end up using a public hotspot or press the button on the MiFi (see earlier review) to get access to the internet. When connected, it’s screamingly fast and the device lacks the frustrating delays you sometimes see in some netbooks, which the iPad seems destined to replace. While the killer app of the iPad is probably the browser and email access, there are some applications on the device that are so compelling they may be worth the reason to investigate purchasing one alone. Evernote (which we also reviewed earlier) has a beautiful iPad app which syncs all of my notes across computers and my cell phone and allows me to very quickly reference my work no matter where I am. The Weather Channel app on the iPad is absolutely the best implementation of weather information on any platform, including television or their own website. It displays all of the weather maps, radar, and their custom maps overlaid on a map that shows where you are standing. One button pulls up a full screen display of the weather for the next several days and another tap of your finger and you can watch the video of your local weather just as if you were sitting in front of your TV. The Kindle app is another must have item. It provides all of the functions of the Kindle ebook reader, including access to the Amazon store, and the ability to read a book on the Kindle, lay it down, and then pick up the iPad and continue where you left off. That function is simply amazing. While tech heads will complain the iPad doesn’t play Flash websites and won’t allow you to add memory, the rest of the world will love all the things it does well - like bringing the internet, your photos, music and movies to your fingertips. BY PHIL YANOV Apple iPad
>>executive lifestyle - Gizmos & Gadgets
Phil Yanov
Apple iPad
I ran into someone this week who had never heard of the Apple iPad. I’m still not exactly sure how that could happen. Anyone within earshot of Apple’s marketing machine has received a shotgun blast of advertising for the device. Still, I run into a lot of people who have not held or used the device and that’s a shame, because it is something completely different. The Apple iPad is slightly larger than a junior sized legal pad and about as thick as two stacked together or slightly smaller than a grid of iPhones laid out two by three. It is easy to hold, although slightly heavy for its size, and able to bring a large number of fabulous applications, as well as the internet, directly to your fingertips. And finally, because it’s got a large multi-touch display, you really do use your fingertips to touch the web. You scroll pages with a flick of your finger up or down, zoom out of a page with a pinch, or get closer with the reverse of that maneuver. What makes the iPad magic is that you can hand it to someone who doesn’t get tech and they will do what comes naturally, they reach down and touch the screen and the iPad reacts the way they expect. It is amazing to watch someone new to the device. They get the basic function using it even though they’ve never owned an iPhone and never played with a tablet before. It just works. By the time you read this, the 3G version will be available, but the one I own uses WiFi only. This means I either end up using a public hotspot or press the button on the MiFi (see earlier review) to get access to the internet. When connected, it’s screamingly fast and the device lacks the frustrating delays you sometimes see in some netbooks, which the iPad seems destined to replace. While the killer app of the iPad is probably the browser and email access, there are some applications on the device that are so compelling they may be worth the reason to investigate purchasing one alone. Evernote (which we also reviewed earlier) has a beautiful iPad app which syncs all of my notes across computers and my cell phone and allows me to very quickly reference my work no matter where I am. The Weather Channel app on the iPad is absolutely the best implementation of weather information on any platform, including television or their own website. It displays all of the weather maps, radar, and their custom maps overlaid on a map that shows where you are standing. One button pulls up a full screen display of the weather for the next several days and another tap of your finger and you can watch the video of your local weather just as if you were sitting in front of your TV. The Kindle app is another must have item. It provides all of the functions of the Kindle ebook reader, including access to the Amazon store, and the ability to read a book on the Kindle, lay it down, and then pick up the iPad and continue where you left off. That function is simply amazing. While tech heads will complain the iPad doesn’t play Flash websites and won’t allow you to add memory, the rest of the world will love all the things it does well - like bringing the internet, your photos, music and movies to your fingertips.
Canon SX20 IS
When it became time for us to upgrade the camera we use for work, I considered a number of models before deciding what is essentially the latest version of the camera we already know and love. The Canon SX20 IS looks and acts like the little brother of a full fledged digital SLR. To get to this smaller size and much smaller price tag, you give up interchangeable lenses and RAW shooting mode, however, you get a camera that’s a lot more portable and has at least one feature that we find critical that’s not even available on the professional model. The SX20 IS has an impressive zoom, 28mm to 560mm (35. mm equivalent) that will let you shoot wide when you need it for an interior shot or long when you need to get close up for just a head and shoulders shot. The SX20 IS uses 4 AA batteries for power and stores shots on a SD cards, both of which we always have plenty of. This avoids our having to carry around an expensive custom battery pack just in case the one we’ve got goes dead while we’re working. AA batteries are cheap and plentiful and we always have a number of the rechargeable ones in our bag and ready to go. We absolutely love the flip and swivel view display on this camera. It allows you to take great pictures without having to hold the camera to your eye. This means we can take surreptitious candids or hold the camera above our head and can still see to frame the shot. While most of the best pictures are taken in fully automatic mode, there are plenty of modes on the dial to shoot scenics, portraits, and sports photos and let the camera make all of the decisions. There are manual modes for those who care, and the camera shoots beautiful high definition video as well. For travel or work, we think this camera is the best of all possible compromises.
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