Touch User Guide

What’s next for ROVIO?

Touch User Guide — Tue, 15 May 2012 07:59:09 +0000

Finnish game studio Rovio has begun to drop hints about its next game — and its first outside the Angry Birdiverse. Amazing Alex will be based on the game Casey’s Contraptions, which Rovio recently acquired.

Rovio CEO Mikael Hed told a Finnish TV channel that the game will focus on Alex, “a curious young boy who loves to build things.” The Next Web quotes Ville Jeijari, Rovio’s VP of franchise development:

The “gameplay is a perfect fit in our arsenal with its approachable, fun and highly addictive take on the physics puzzler genre,” adding “We are currently reworking the title to enhance it, and getting ready to re-introduce it in a true ‘expect the unexpected’ Rovio style launch to an even larger audience.”

Casey’s Contraptions, which has since been deleted from the App Store, was an educational physics-based title that launched a year ago. Amazing Alex should have somewhat similar gameplay, but polished to Rovio’s exacting standards.

Help Casey get his toys back by building crazy contraptions. Create Rube Goldberg-like machines with toys and everyday items to solve puzzles and playtime scenarios. See the solutions your friends came up with, and share your own instantly with Game Center.

The fun doesn’t stop there! Create your own contraptions with the toys you get back, and challenge your friends through email to solve them. You can use slingshots, RC trucks, darts, ropes, magnets, balloons, trapdoors, punching gloves, and more. Let’s see who can come up with the craziest inventions!

Angry Birds Space… run out of air already.

Best Buy Leaks Logitech Solar-Powered iPad Case

Touch User Guide — Wed, 02 May 2012 00:51:40 +0000

A new listing at Best Buy has unveiled — perhaps prematurely — a very interesting gadget: A solar-powered iPad case by Logitech. This confirms a recent rumor that Logitech is working on such a case, though Logitech itself hasn’t officially said a word about it yet. The Best Buy listing looks very real, however. The iPad case comes with a built-in, solar-powered keyboard, which charges in “direct light” and features 121 keys, with dedicated Internet and multimedia keys.
Unfortunately, the case doesn’t seem to power the iPad, only the keyboard. However, that too is an improvement over most keyboard-bearing tablet cases, whose batteries can run out fairly quickly.

On the compatibility front, Best Buy only lists “the new iPad” — there’s no mention of iPad 1 or 2. The case weighs 15.9 ounces and connects to the iPad via Bluetooth, with the price listed at $129.99.

LinkedIn for iPad gets a big overhaul

Touch User Guide — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 07:14:52 +0000

The world’s largest professional social network just got a wider reach — and it wants to be in front of your face for more of the day.
LinkedIn launched its long-awaited iPad app late Wednesday, along with revamped versions of its iPhone andAndroid apps. Redesigned from the ground up, the tablet version looks nothing like the LinkedIn website; it’s more akin to a social news aggregator.

“This was a chance to go back to the drawing board,”

says Mario Sundar, LinkedIn’s social media manager.

“To design it for how people use the iPad: morning and night infotainment.”

The app’s main screen is a clean, simple interface with just three options: updates, profile and inbox. The latter two are self-explanatory, although it’s worth mentioning that the list of people who’ve looked at your profile — a voyeuristic option hidden deep on the website — is front and center here.

USA Today plans ‘radical’ overhaul to focus on devices like iPad

Logitech Announces Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for the iPad

Touch User Guide — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:29:33 +0000

Logitech has announced the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover – made for the new, third-generation iPad as well as the iPad 2. The cover provides an ultrathin screen protector and built-in keyboard so you can type easily and travel without worry.

The Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover protects your screen with a stylish, slim aluminum cover that adds minimal weight to your tablet, and features a built-in keyboard that pairs through Bluetooth. When you’re ready to type an email or watch a movie, the keyboard’s built-in stand holds your iPad at the best angle.

The cover attaches quickly and securely to your iPad with a magnetic clip. It has an instant On/Off feature, which means your iPad automatically wakes up when you open the cover, and switches to standby when you close it. And with a six-month battery life (based on two hours-per-day usage), you can spend more time typing and less time worrying about your keyboard losing power.

The keyboard also offers function keys for enhanced navigation and sports a piano-black finish.

Amplifiear: Better sound for the new iPad and iPad 2

Touch User Guide — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 04:21:26 +0000

The Amplifiear is the latest Kickstarter project that I’ve fallen in love with. We all know how quiet the iPad speaker can be when using at a distance. With the Amplifiear, this changes. The Amplifiear is a sound amplification device for the new iPad and iPad 2. It uses no batteries or electricity. It is portable and hassle free. It just works.

With the launch of the new iPad, everything seems to have been rethought except the speaker. The built in speaker faces to the back and gives off a low volume sound. Because of this, we end up setting the volume to max. just to hear it. This leads to lower fidelity sound and distortion.

There are other options; we can use headphones, but they are isolating and only work for personal use. We can plug our iPad into our sound system with the headphone jack, but this defies the best part of the iPad, its mobility. Bluetooth speakers drain our battery faster, and even if our sound system is portable, we still have a second device that we need to recharge.

Why would we deal with any of these hassles if there were a product that could clip right onto our iPad and simply amplify and clarify the sound that is already coming out of our iPad, using the simple geometry of an old gramophone. The Amplifiear does just this.

The Amplifiear simply clips onto the corner of the iPad and reflects and amplifies the sound coming from the speaker back at the user. With the Amplifiear, the higher frequencies, receive a considerable boost. This will allow us to hear the crispness of a snare drum on our favorite track. This type of sound is often mottled or even completely lost as the sound from the speaker points away from you.

With the Amplifiear, the sound coming right from your iPad now fills a room and sounds crisper and cleaner than ever..… and you won’t need to have the volume up at maximum. Sounds to good to be true, but it really works. The Amplifiear uses old tried and trued low tech geometry to enhance one of the most advance product to date.

The Amplifiear is made of ABS plastic so it is light and virtually indestructible….. and recyclable. Simply stick it in your bag or even your back pocket and you can take it anywhere.
The Amplifiear is coming out very soon with pledges starting from just $15, and currently taking pre-orders on Kickstarter.

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A look inside the iPad production process

Touch User Guide — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 05:21:01 +0000

Marketplace Shanghai Bureau Chief Rob Schmitz, the second reporter ever to gain access to the factory floor at Apple’s Chinese producer Foxconn, has posted a video showing some steps of the iPad’s production.

Schmitz was the reporter who revealed that Mike Daisey had falsified many of his stories about Foxconn and the visitors that work there.

Adidas MiCoach tracking

Touch User Guide — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 23:31:34 +0000

Adidas announced earlier today that its adizeros will be a part of the “world’s first smart soccer match,” during the MLS All-Star Game on July 25th in Philadelphia. With the help of the miCoach’s tracking system, coaches are able to measure a player’s speed and acceleration, how much ground was covered, the intensity of play, as well as spotting weaknesses and strengths. Naturally, the end results can then be analyzed on a computer or directly from an application on one of Apple’s slates. Adidas says this is only the beginning, as it plans to bring the technology to other leagues around the world in the near future.

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OzTV for iPad

Touch User Guide — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 07:34:47 +0000

Sure you could just open your EPG on your TV, or open the paper… but OzTV is cool… it’s on your iPad and its your full free view TV guide available to you 24/7. But how is this better than Googling the TV guide? Well OzTV has one very cool feature, in fact it’s the one cool feature that’ll rock your world.

When you find a show you like, not only you have the option to highlight all future shows, but you can also make the app give you a reminder. Not just a pop up notification, but it adds a full calendar entry to your Calendar app, including reminder times, title and notes about the show you can check if you’ve already seen that episode without even having to turn the TV on.

OzTV looks gorgeous the new iPad despite it essentially being a text only application its very useful, and I’ve moved it to my home page over the last week as I find myself using it more and more.

VERDICT: Well worth the couple of bucks.

Calendars 1.2 Updated with iPad Compatibility

Stylus Showdown: Is the Stylus making a comeback?

Touch User Guide — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 08:45:15 +0000

Despite the fact that the iPad is designed for your finger-pointing pleasure, there are still some times in your life when you’d just wish you had a pen. Despite what Apple think ‘the future’ is, your finger is not the best way for input MOST OF THE TIME.

For example, using a Keyboard is NOT EASIER on a touch screen, touch typing is not possible when you can’t feel what you are touching. I really hope that we don’t follow the current trajectory of technology and start interacting with our computers entirely with touch, honestly.. it’s not efficient or accurate.

The same goes for drawings, since you were a baby you learnt to express yourself visually with a pen, this is a very different drawing style to using your own finger a the painting device. It feels different, most of us are not used to it, and you simple can’t see beyond the ‘stump’ of your finger to draw accurately.

Over the past months we’ve been trialling a lot of different stylus’ for the iPad, because despite popular thought, we believe that the Stylus may well make a big comeback this year.

Could Microsoft have been right all along with their constant push towards using Styli their Tablet PC technology?

So which Stylus is best for you?

…here are our favourite 3 Stylus available right now.

The Cosmonaut

Studio Neat produce some of the coolest stuff ever, their Stylus doesn’t disappoint, it’s our favourite…. by far. The Cosmonaut is chunky, chunky like a 5 year olds crayon, which makes it feel almost retro in my hand. I love it for point and click functions throughout my day using the iPad, it’s not super accurate because of it’s size, but cool factor on the bus gives it extra kudos. In one week, 3 people asked me where I got it. LOL.

Studio Neat say:

The Cosmonaut was born out of our desire to have a really great stylus for our iPads. We love to sketch out quick ideas or doodle on our tablets, and using a stylus is much better than a finger for such tasks. The problem is, all the styluses on the market are designed to look and feel like a pen. But why? Writing or drawing on the iPad feels nothing like using a pen or pencil. The perfect tablet stylus is one that feels like a dry erase marker: fast, simple, low fidelity.

Cosmonaut is available from Studio Neat for $25

The Jot Pro

The Jot Pro was originally a kick-starter project so it got off to a great start, and rightly so. The smart engineering gives you a clear ‘disc’ to look through to make sure you are accurate with your usage. It’s not quite a ‘rough and ready’ as the Cosmonaut, but for folks loving line art or detailed drawing, this is the stylus of choice. It feels like a ball point pen, and it also features a nifty magnetic clip on thingy that ensures you don’t loose this stylus.

The Jot Pro is available from Adonit for $29.99

The Griffin Stylus

Griffin consistently produce simply great products for your iLife. I’m not kissing butt, they don’t ship free samples to Australia where we are based, yet this is my stylus of choice for every day use, I have 3 or 4 dotted around the house. Griffin’s Stylus is a balanced pointer with a soft rubber tip designed to mimic your finger (at least, as far as your touchscreen is concerned). The stylus keeps your touchscreen free of fingerprints and smudges as it gives increased control over any touchscreen operation. Perfect for sketching, drawing and photography apps, it includes an integrated clip for your pocket or pencil loop, but no easy place to store it with your iPad like the Jot Pro.

The Griffin Stylus is available from Griffin Technology for $19.99

Conclusion

So which one is best for you? Well it really depends. If you have the money, buy all three and try them all. As I said, my ‘goto’ stylus is the Griffin because it’s robust and still feels like a pen, however the Jot Pro is perfect for my art applications, but then the Cosmonaut is fun and cool. As I mentioned, i have all 3, most artists don’t use only one pen or pencil, likewise, with the iPad you need to view your styli in the same way, have a few, see what works best for you on an app by app basis. These 3 are essential for your digital pencil kit.

Screen Protectors and iPad Stylus

DON’T BOTHER. iPad’s screen protectors and Styli don’t work well together, it’s bad enough using your finger with a screen protector let alone a mechanical device. Just remember, the iPad screen is REALLY STRONG, it’s pretty hard to scratch, I’ve gone over it with my keys many times to demonstrate this to friends. If you are bothered about fingerprints, well, yes screen protectors can help reduce that, however you can’t see the finger prints when the iPad is on. Just saying.

One More Thing – 26 May – Australia

Touch User Guide — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 07:53:10 +0000

You’ve got the idea, your code is solid, but you’re still working for the man and uncertain about going solo on the App Store — sound like you? Well you’re not alone. Others have been where you are and taken the leap into being full-time iOS developers, on their terms, doing what they want.

One More Thing isn’t a traditional programming conference. It’s a meeting for iOS developers, designers and those who just want to come along for the ride. You won’t directly learn to code better. Your UI probably won’t improve either. But you will leave with more confidence in your abilities as an iOS developer or designer.

Our hope is that through listening to the stories of successful independent iOS developers, you will be inspired to follow through on your own ideas and projects. For 2012, we’ve brought the best independent iOS developers from all over the world to Melbourne, and expanded to an extra day of workshops, with masters in the craft of code & design. If you’ve ever wanted to make a living off the App Store, making your own apps and setting your own agenda, One More Thing is where you want to be.

Get your tickets for One More Thing in Melbourne, Australia this year, 26th May. See you there.

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