Group photos

iPad 2 The Intro -Kara Lindsay 620032345

At first, iPad owners were disgruntled about their new gadget not having a camera, its weight, which became unbearable after a while and the inability of the gadget to meet their needs of a variety of video formats, much unlike the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

To give the Samsung Galaxy Tab a good run for their money, in comes the innovation of the IPad 2 which has definitely blown many of the iPad’s faults away. With its new cameras for Face Time and HD video recording, the much thinner and lighter design, the dual core A5 chip and of course the same 10 hour battery life….

The iPad initially weighed 1.5 pounds but the ipad2 is now 33% thinner and up to 15% lighter which enables its ease in manoeuvring while surfing and enjoying the net. The newly installed cameras, although really tiny, they capture amazing images through High-Definition recording. 

The iPad 2 consists of the LED backlighting display which allows for terrific images even in really dull lighting. It has a screen length of 9.7 inches which displays vivid, crisp and bright images upon the adjustable screen, which easily switches from portrait to landscape display depending on how it is held, adjusting to fit the screen in what direction.

Ever heard the saying, “Everything’s at your fingertips”? This is exactly the feeling one accomplishes after a few taps, pinches, swipes and flicks that are transformed into life like actions on the iPad 2’s multi-touch screen.

What allows the iPad 2 to function in such powerful and innovative ways? This is due solely to the operating system it uses, iOS4,it is the world’s most advanced mobile operating system. It is responsible for the many fun built-in apps the iPad has and also for the multi touch screen and all the other features which are only unique to the iPad 2.The iPad has both wireless and 3G technology to keep its users always connected no matter their location, there is always quick and easy access of data. The iPad 2 has completely gone wireless, everything is “air-borne” with this gadget…Airplay, air print and video mirroring. With airplay u can stream all your videos, music and movies straight from your iPad to your HDTV and speakers, video mirroring is about allowing a wider audience to view your documents by using wireless to stream data to projectors or HDTVs so everyone will be able to view any movements you make on your iPad. Air print includes no cables, no instalments, no downloading, just printing through wireless connections.

I must say Apple Inc. has definitely satisfied their customers this time, it’s an amazing innovation and a multi-tasking device which all members of a family can enjoy without any boundaries or limitations.

iPad 2 much music! Leon Belvitt 620024587

iPad 2's Great Music Leap Forward: GarageBand- What does this Mean for music crazy young Jamaicans

The Garage Band

Young Jamaicans has always been crazy over music. They used it as a means of relaxation and entertainment. Many of them also have even take it a little further by doing it as a business, whether by producing, singing, or as a musician. Because of their love for music, young people in general listens music all day, and therefore would need some form of portable players to listen to. They use CD player, Mp3, Mp4 and ipod which would have been the latest developments in portable music players until March 11 of this year when Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPad 2. The musical possibilities of what can be accomplished with the iPad just took a huge leap forward

An amazing new app was introduced, the. GarageBand- is the popular music production tool for the Mac that has very impressive looking set of features too. Young would be teased venture into the world of music making with such a piece of technology before them. For those who are crazy about Beyonce, Jay-z, Beenie-man,Kkartel or even Reggea’s great, Bob Marley can now atleast believe that they can be like their idols. The GarageBand app for the new iPad 2 offers nine different amp options.

Another feature which has been received with a fair degree of excitement from both users and developers is that the iPad detect how hard the screen is tapped or touched, apparently using the device’s accelerometer. This means that the iPad can become what is widely known as “velocity sensitive” – essentially that it can reproduce the varying tones and timbres that musical instruments have, as determined by how soft or hard you play.

combining this new touch feature with the existing control offered by multi-touch and the device’s accelerometer, Apple has made the iPad an even more appealing and flexible musical controller than anyone ever really expected it would be. The garage band app comes with a built-in 8-track recorder allowing users to record themselves and build songs. Apple helped put that into perspective:
"When the Beatles recorded "Sgt. Pepper's," the most advanced technology of the day was a 4-track and it weighed 300 pounds and it was the size of a washing machine," said Xander Soren, Director of music applications marketing at Apple, during his presentation at the event. Now music crazy young Jamaicans   can imagine all of the fun things you can do today with 8 tracks on their iPads.

 GarageBand's (colorful) 8 tracks

There are not a lot of rock'n'roll fans in Jamaica, but the few would of course be young people, after all its music. What Apple is aiming for with GarageBand for iPad is to give aspiring rock'n'roll heroes the ability to easily create a song with multiple instruments, record it, and share with others. A noble idea if they can pull it off; but one entirely possible with the app's impressive functionality.

The new version of GarageBand comes loaded with more than 250 music loops as well as a full range of guitars and effects, including nine amps and 10 stompboxes. You can also choose between three drum kits, which gives users a drummer's view from behind the kit.
There are some rather sophisticated technologies behind GarageBand. For example, the app can gauge dynamics and velocity, so it knows how hard or soft you are hitting a drum or keyboard (there's an accelerometer inside the iPad). The app can also determine if you are hitting a rimshot, bell or ride cymbal.

To make it easier to play, the product is introducing Smart Instrument technology. Using the Smart Guitar, for example, you can choose notes, chords, strumming or fingerpicking. There are also Smart Keyboards, Bass and Drums to tap out individual parts yourself or which GarageBand can help make easier. It will be interesting in the months ahead to see exactly how musicians use GarageBand for iPad; but it will be even more interesting to hear the results.

With all these interesting features and a very low cost been offered by Apple for this amazing piece of technological mucical icon, the music crazy people of Jamaica, the young people of course are surely going on a music adventure.

I Pad 2 Gaming Sadique Maitland 620019850

Gaming on the iPad 2 wow J. This device unlike its first generation counterpart contains a one gigahertz (1 GHz) dual core apple 85 processor which creates and also enhances the beauty of three dimensional gaming. To be specific the newly installed processor within the I pad 2 allows the house hold named video games to run at real time speed just as it would on any regular video game system. The graphic quality has also been  increased so it’s not that the iPad G1 had poor graphics it’s just that the I pad2 has better  graphics so this means less lagging in the games faster loading and a lot less motion blur.

 Besides the processor within the iPad 2 that allows better visual gaming quality the touch screen and accelerometer allow for a better gaming experience the players are able touch areas in the games and view the environment that they are in just by sliding there finger across the screen while playing specific games and in others the accelerometer allows them to feel as if though they are right there at the steering and in control. In the video below is a great visual example of what gaming on the ipad 2 is like.

I PAD2 video features - Dillion Ricketts 620016398

The height and the width of the screen of the I pad 2  is exactly 9.50 and 7.31 respectively and can hold any amount of video or movies possible depending on the size of the device; which can be 16, 32 as well as 64 GB. The I pad 2 also records video of a high a quality, up to 30 frames per second accompanied with audio which is emitted through its built in speaker.

The recording of the device is done in HD which is high definition which translates into a higher image quality. It consequently captures video that is very good under less- than optimal conditions, and also has the capability to do video editing, through the means of an application known as I movie.

Also The I pad 2 is compatible with most if not all video formats which include mp4, aac, mpeg as well as Blue ray, however in order to view this format, it has to be ripped and converted into HD. The I pad 2 also has a revolutionary mirror technology which allows its users to mirror or reflect the video unto a television screen in HD.

When watching videos on the iPad 2, dragging a finger to move through frames will allow a more precise navigation of the video. Note: you cannot put everything in your iPad. For video files, you have to make sure that your videos are in iPad 2 acceptable formats.

Tool Required:

ImTOO iPad Mate - ALL-IN-ONE solution for Apple iPad 2 users to convert and transfer videos, DVD movies, music files to iPad directly without using other software.

What's more, it’s also an iPad 2 backup software which can transfer video and audio files in your iPad 2 back to computer and iTunes library. With it, you can share files among your iPad 2 friends.

Note: It is possible to put Blu-ray disc movies on iPad 2 by downloading the blu ray ripper. It is possible to download and view YouTube video clips and high definition music videos on iPad 2.

Accessibility- Nicolette Sutherland 620013554

Since the iPad is marketed by Apple Inc. primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, games and web content, it is imperative that the large audience, to which it facilitates, is able to access the iPad in whatever part of the world. In 2010 when the iPad was publicly launched, individual in parts of the world except the US were unable to access the equipment but since it has been introduced to the global market, there is a greater degree of accessibility.

In a global setting, the iPad 2 can be ordered online from Apple stores, Verizon and AT&T stores.  In Jamaica, one can get the iPad from the Boulevard supercentre, the Watts New stores, KGs. A technician, from the International centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences (ICENS) at the University of the West Indies (UWI), states that the cost for a new iPad ranges from $60 000JMD; however a used iPad could cost $40 000JMD. The iPad can also cost $74 000JMD. A 16GB costs $US499, 32GB is for $US599 and a ipad2 which has 64 GB costs $US699, according to Ben Patterson of Yahoo news.

In Jamaica, speeds of Digicel 3G and 4G Broadband can be used with the ipad2 when using the internet. The user would just need to ‘Plug, Pay and Go!’ With Digicel Data services you can browse the internet directly from your mobile phone or from your laptop using a data modem. With Data Services you can

o   Browse the internet

o   Access our Digicel Live Portal

o   Download content – music, ringtones and games etc

o   Use email service

Digcel’s network uses both General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technologies to deliver data services. This will definitely work with the ipad2 because the ipad2 is compatible with EDGE/GPRS.

Photos on the iPad2 - Danielle Batchelor: 620024684

Photos Application for iPad2

The iPad2 is controlled by just touching the screen. To access the photos application, just tap the photo tab and you can scroll through your photos. The pictures are arranged in albums and all you have to do is slide your finger on the screen to scroll through them. To open a picture, tap or pinch the photo and you will be able to view it widescreen. There is also a bar at the bottom of the screen so you can easily skin through your pictures. You are able to turn the iPad2 in any way, flip it over, vertically or horizontally. Your photo will turn with the screen. 

There is a tab on the upper right hand corner of the screen. This allows you to email pictures and send them to mobile phones. You can also assign them to contacts, so the picture you choose will be the picture of your contact. Photos can also be set as your wall paper. There is also the option to print and to copy the photo. To the left of that tab is another tab, which allows you to view a slideshow of the pictures. 

To make viewing pictures more entertaining, you can assign a soundtrack of your favourite reggae album from your library, and also choose from animated transitions. Pictures can be imported from a MAC or even a PC with the use of iTunes. The photos are arranged in order of events, faces and places. Under the events tab, the pictures are arranged in order of when they were taken.  The fireworks you took on New Years Eve from Coopers Hill would be in one folder, New Years Eve. 

 Under the faces tab, the photos are arranged in the order of who is in the picture. All the photos you took with your grandmother in St. Mary, would be in one folder, Grandma. 

Under the places tab, the pictures are arranged in the order of where they were taken. For example, all the pictures you took at Somerset Falls in Portland would be in one folder.

 Pictures can be uploaded directly to the iPad2 via the iPhone, camera or a SD card. The photos can be views by airplay- wirelessly. This means that is you have an Apple TV the pictures can be viewed on it. The pictures can be printed wirelessly with any air print compatible printer. The iPad2 allows for ease in viewing your pictures. With such a wide screen and a high quality, it will feel like you are holding the pictures right in your hand.