I just received my iPad 3G today after selling my Wifi a few weeks back. It has been a hard time and I missed the iPad very much, but after playing with it today, it was well worth the wait. Since I ordered the iPad before June 7th, I was able to get the unlimited data plan. Once you quit the unlimited data plan though and opt for one of the lesser plans, you never have the option to go unlimited again. So for the summer at least while I travel, I will be using the unlimited.
I have already done a few videos on the iPad like the iPad Unboxing and the iPad Breakdown where I breakdown various apps I love. This video is all about the 3G and the practicle uses of the 3G. Specifically I take it and stream video from multiple sources like CNN.com, Airvideo from my house, and Netflix. Airvideo is a brilliant piece of software consisting of a process running on your home computer that serves up videos to your iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad over the interent. With this and Netflix, we will be able to have the hundreds of kids videos I have one our home machine available for the kids while on the road.
I also show you how I can use VPN (virtual private networking) to connect to a Windows system at my office and how I can support network equipment from anywhere I can get a GSM signal. Enjoy the video.
I am riding in this years MS Ride "Venture the Valley" and I am a tech nerd. So how can I incorporate technology into my ride? Well for me it all starts with my iPhone.
Venture the Valley is a 150 mile, two day bike ride where the proceeds go to MS research. First things is first, if you would like to donate to the cause, please follow this link. I committed to raising $300 for the event and anything you can give is greatly appreciated.
I mount my iPhone to my bike using the Bicio GoRide bike mount. To track my rides and my progress this summer, I am using an iPhone app called Cyclemeter made by the guys over at abvio.com. Cyclemeter tracks your ride progress and gives you feedback. I wear my bluetooth headset when riding and if you follow the same course, it can be set to give you ride statistics at periodic increments during the ride, updating you of your progress versus your other rides. For me I have it set to five minute increments which means I can concentrate on riding and not looking at the screen. Another nice thing is does is automatically send out emails, twitters, and Facebook updates with your statistics and a map of your ride. I have it set to send an email to my wife every 5 minutes so that if something happens, she knows what area I am in and can come find me. You can check out one of the sample maps of my rides it sends out here.
But a 75 mile bike ride creates problems for me. This program will drain the battery in about 2.5 hours and I need it to last 8 hours or more. To combat this problem, enter the Satechi iCel 4800mAh battery extender. It can charge any portable device that can charge with a USB cable. I have it setup with a charge cable running under the frame of my iPhone and into my saddle bag where the battery is placed. It gives me an extra 8 hours or so of battery life for those long rides.
Do you carry a lot of gadgets and travel. Carrying all the cables to charge the devices can be a pain. Checkout the a device called Callpod at callpod.com which can charge up to six devices at the same time.
Well, 45 days have pasted since I got the iPad WiFi and I still have not written a review. That is not entirely true. See, I wrote a nice 1200 word review 30 days in and then it came time to put pictures with the blog post. Since everyone and their brother had already written reviews, and the pictures seemed like a pain in the butt, I decided to write a simple review on my iPad and back it up with video.
To put it simply, the iPad is awesome. I can use it to read books, watch movies, get any information I need at my fingertips, and use it to do actual work. Since getting it, I find I have used my work laptop at home just twice, and that was when I needed to put in about three hours of hardcore work. See I am a network engineer and I have to remotely support routers, switches, and firewalls. To log in and make simile changes, the iPad works like a champ and there is no boot up time or connection time. So I can many times have simple changes made before I would even get my laptop connected. Typing in the iPad works well, and it is simple to use.
When it comes to the price justification, I think it is well worth it. I wanted an eBook reader because Lisa and I were fighting over the Kindle. Personally I think it is a better reader than the Kindle as long as you don't try to read in direct sunlight. The screen is the same size as the Kindle DX which runs $459 so for $40 more you get a much better device.
The web browser (Safari) is wicked fast and displays pages beautifully, as long as you are not viewing Flash.Video is very pretty and the speaker is surprisingly loud. In fact, last weekend we took a lengthy drive in my truck which has nothing in the way of video to keep the kids occupied. Lisa brought up Horton Hears a Who and wedged the iPad between the driver and passenger seats and the girls were pacified for a while. If you hold the iPad about two feet from your face and use a good pair of wired or bluetooth headphones, it's like watching a 50" TV from 10 feet away. Games are great on the device and there are a ton of useful free or cheap apps. News is an incredible on the iPad and it may be the savior of the newspaper industry.
My only regret is that I didn't get the 3G version. At the time I bought the WiFi iPad, I thought you would have to sign a two year contract for the 3G. Turns out, the 3G is month by month and you can order it in the fly when you need it. So I'm selling a 64GB 3G for less than retail price if anyone is interested.
All in all, I don't want to sound like a drank the Cool-Aid, but I have. I think the iPad is an incredible device and worth the money. A disclaimer to that statement is that I am a true gadget fiend and I spend a lot of time figuring out every possible use for the devices I buy. Watch the video for my rundown of my favorite apps.
Today Apple announced the iPhone 4.0 OS upgrade scheduled to be released this summer. Some of the new features are:
Multitasking and Fast App Switching
App Folders - Grouping your apps into folders instead of just screens of apps
Enhanced Mail - Multiple Exchange accounts now allowed and a new integrated inbox for all your accounts
Background alerts - Apps running in the background can now alert you like push notifications from servers currently do
iBooks (for the iPhone/iPod Touch)
Custom Walpaper (iPad currently has)
Bluetooth Keyboard Support (iPad currently has)
Tap to focus on video (similar to what it already has for pictures
5x digital zoom on the camera
Spell Checker (iPad currently has)
There are also a slew of features for the new SDK for developers as well. I'd say they are catching up to the features that other Android, Palm, and Window Phones have. Since Apple touts it is more about the experience, it should be interesting to see how they design these features.
Monday, June 14, 2010 at 11:33PM | 
the iPad very much, but after playing with it today, it was well worth the wait. Since I ordered the iPad before June 7th, I was able to get the unlimited data plan. Once you quit the unlimited data plan though and opt for one of the lesser plans, you never have the option to go unlimited again. So for the summer at least while I travel, I will be using the unlimited.
