The official Twitter client for iPad is now available to download, and it’s pretty impressive. Centered around consumption, it features panes that allow for easy viewing of photos, news stories, tweets, and even a built-in media player that allows you to watch videos directly in the app either within a floating window or fullscreen. It’s still sort of shocking to me that the screenshot above is a Twitter client, certainly doesn’t look like what you imagine when you think of Twitter does it?

Naturally the iPad client supports touch gestures and interestingly enough, they made the iPad Twitter client not require a login initially, meaning you can start consuming without signing up for anything.

This is a pretty interesting direction for Twitter to go, the iPad client is now more full featured than their website… what’s that tell you? You can download the iPad version directly from iTunes, it’s free.

I think it’s safe to say that this is the best Twitter client for iPad at this point. Perhaps not for its simplicity, since it’s a pretty complex client, but for raw consumption of media and link sharing in the Twitter world it’s pretty amazing. If you have an iPad, don’t miss it.

Apple has announced that iOS 4.2 for the iPad will be available in November when it is also released for iPhone and iPod touch. This is in line with previous rumors suggesting iOS 4.2 would unify all the versions of iOS across the i-device product lineup. This also fits into Apple saying that iOS 4 for iPad would be available in the fall.

iOS 4.2 features for iPad

iOS 4.2 will bring all the existing features of iOS 4.1 to the iPad plus new features that are exclusive to iOS 4.2:

• Multitasking
• Folders
• AirPlay wireless music, movie, and photo streaming
• Printing support over wireless networks
• Game Center for multiplayer and social gaming
• Unified and improved Mail inbox
• Search text within Safari
• Enhanced enterprise support
• Accessibility enhancements
• Keyboard and dictionary enhancements

Of course the most anticipated features are multitasking and folders, but some of the other additions look to be great as well. Airplay looks promising, which will allow you to stream music and video to and from the iPad over WiFi, and Print center, will allow you to wirelessly print and manage documents from the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. The total new features and improvements count over 100, which will make the iPad function almost as if it’s a new device.

The exact release date isn’t known but November isn’t too far off, we’ll let you know when you can download the update. You can read more about the upcoming iOS 4.2 update for iPad at Apple.com

Apple and Amazon are rapidly changing the way books are consumed and read thanks to the iPhone & iPad and Kindle. The other effect of this is that it’s actually helping to ease the barriers to entry into the book publishing and sales market.

In the past an author would need to have an agent pitch books to publishers in the hopes it might get picked up, but not anymore. Now if you have a Mac and a word processor and a bit of patience, you can create your own book in the EPUB format and upload it directly to the iTunes iBookstore for sales.

OK well it’s not quite that simple (yet), but it’s not that difficult either. Just jump through a few hoops and you can get your book for sale on Apple’s online bookstore ready to be downloaded by anyone who owns an iPad or iPhone, here’s how:

Write and Publish a Book to the Apple iBook Store

First, some relatively simple requirements: you’ll need an Intel Mac running 10.5 or newer with adequate hard disk space and preferably a high speed internet connection.

1. Write the book (obvious) and get it into the iBooks compatible EPUB format (see below, it is easy to take a file and convert to EPUB format)
2. Get a unique ISBN number for each book title you plan to release. Cost is $25 per ISBN and you can fill out an ISBN application here
3. Get the following ready: a US tax ID (social security number or EIN), valid iTunes account with credit card on file
4. When all of the above is met, you can apply to be part of the iBookstore distribution network at Apple.com

How do I create an ebook in the EPUB format?

Almost any text containing document format can be converted into EPUB ebook format and there are multiple free software options available to do this. If you would like a walkthrough check out our guide on how to convert to EPUB. It covers most major source file types you’d want to convert including PDF, RTF, HTML, DOC, TXT, and more.

Thanks to a recent software update, you can also create an ePub with Pages if you already own the iWork office productivity suite from Apple.

If you’re looking for a free solution that doesn’t involve iWork/Pages and you don’t need help, just go ahead and download Calibre, it is a good choice because it will automatically create book structures like chapters, table of contents, and allow you to insert book metadata. Oh, and it’s free (open source is nice). The interface is a little strange but it gets the job done and for the wonderful price of free, we can’t complain too much.

Can I convert an existing text or word file to EPUB?

Yes, you will need to download a program that handles the ebook conversion for you. There are many free options, see above or refer to our article on how to convert to EPUB.

Can anyone help me sell my book on Apple’s iBookstore?

Yes, there are several companies that will handle many of the complexities of selling on the iBookstore for you, but you’ll still need your book ready in the EPUB format. The best way to do this is to use an Apple approved iBookstore aggregator, Apple conveniently provides a list of approved aggregators for the iBookStore. Most of these charge an upfront fee and then handle all the distribution services for you, in many cases you’ll then receive 100% of the revenue of book sales after Apple takes their iTunes Store cut. Prices vary widely so be sure to get a few quotes before agreeing to a single aggregator.

The iPad is beautiful, no doubt about it, but once you’ve handled it for a while you might notice the screen gets dirty rather quickly. The worst thing about the iPad is that it shows up fingerprints and smudges so easily, this is despite the fact that the screen has an anti-oil coating on it.

Cleaning the iPad screen

The proper way to clean the iPad display is to use nothing but a soft damp cloth:

• Turn off the iPad and disconnect it from any accessories, cables, or docks
• Using a very soft and slightly damp cloth, gently wipe the iPad screen. Be sure to not allow moisture to get into the openings of the iPad
• Repeat until the iPad screen is clean again

Can I clean the iPad screen with Windex?

No, for the love of Apple please do NOT use Windex or window cleaners! This includes rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover, and the like. The chemicals in window cleaners and these products can damage the oleophobic screen coating and actually make the iPad screen less responsive to touch over time. Not worth it, do not use chemical cleaners!

What can prevent the iPad screen from showing fingerprints and getting dirty?

Your best bet to keeping the iPad screen clean is to just wipe it down frequently with a soft cloth. If you get annoyed with the fingerprints though, you can use a screen protector product like the invisibleSHIELD which doubles both as a way to protect the screen from scratches and also reduces the appearance of fingerprints.

There are also anti-glare iPad screen protectors available if both the glare and the fingerprints bother you.

Do you want to know what song is playing? Don’t be left wondering, you can find out for sure thanks to an awesome app called Shazam. The app first came to the iPhone some time ago and has made it easier than ever to discover what song is playing regardless of where you are. It works flawlessly in loud bars, clubs, restaurants, stores, cars, just about anywhere music is playing, it handles background noise remarkably well and is nearly always able to identify music. Once a song is identified, Shazam will provide links to buy it via iTunes or watch the related music video from YouTube.

Shazam – the “what song is playing” app

I figured the days of wondering hopelessly what that catchy song playing is were largely over due to this app. Honestly I thought everyone knew what Shazam was by now, it’s been featured in iPhone commercials and has been in the App Store top downloads for a long time.

Despite it’s ubiquitous promotion and popularity, I still have people asking me frequently how to find out what music is playing. I just recently used it to figure out what song is playing in the new iPad commercial after a few people asked me about it, everyone is always amazed that I can quickly come up with an answer. I then told them to just download the app and they were pretty amazed that apps like this exist.

Shazam has both free and paid versions available to download for iPhone, iPad, Android, Nokia, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile phones. The free version works the same as the paid version but has limitations on how many songs you can ’shazam’ in a month, while the paid version offers you unlimited music discovery. You can download the free version for iPhone and iPad via the iTunes App Store.

It’s definitely a must-have app for any smartphone, you should check out the free version first and if you end up using it often go ahead and upgrade, you’ll be amazed how often you’ll be pulling out your phone to discover new music. Highly recommended.

The tablet wars are about to heat up. The iPad is currently the only meaningful tablet device around, but that may change as soon as November when Google is rumored to release their Chrome OS Tablet. According to MacRumors, the Google Tablet may be released as soon as November 26 in order to fit into the holiday shopping season.

Running Google’s Chrome OS and attached to data plans through Verizon, the hardware specs of the Google Tablet are anticipated to be impressive so that the device doesn’t “disappoint its early adopters”:

It’ll likely be based on NVidia’s Tegra 2 platform and sport a 1280×720 multitouch display, 2GB of RAM, minimum 32GB SSD, WiFi/Bluetooth/3G connectivity, GPS, webcam, and possibly expandable storage via a multi-card reader. Expect it to be every bit as geek-tastic as the Nexus One

Google will likely aggressively price the Chrome Tablet against the iPad, although the pricing structures for the device and accompanying data services are currently unknown. Data plan contracts are expected to subsidize the consumers cost of the tablet dramatically, similar to the manner of cell phone contracts.

Apple’s iPad is the dominant tablet computer at the moment, and thus far all other attempts at competing in the marketplace have flopped. Microsoft has already floundered, leaving Google to be the only foreseeable threat to the iPads dominance. Google hopes to replicate Androids success against the iPhone with their entry into the tablet market, creating yet another head-to-head battle between Apple and Google.

Not much is known about the touch interface of Chrome OS, or the appearance of the Google Tablet itself, the above image is nothing but a speculative mockup. You can run Chrome OS in Mac OS X, but the current version floating around really isn’t that exciting, it’s basically the Chrome browser running in a virtual machine. It’s highly unlikely the released version of the tablets Chrome OS will be as boring.

Apple just released a new iPad commercial called “iPad is Delicious” that features the text “iPad is…” followed by images of someone browsing a pictured recipe book, playing games, reading books, writing on a virtual chalkboard, etc, the video is posted above if you haven’t seen it yet.

Playing in the background is a piano song with fingers snapping to a gradually increasing energy level and soon come handclaps, a bass line, and the whole shebang… of course since it’s an Apple commercial this song is about to get very popular and two people have already asked me what the song is.

What’s the name of the song in the new iPad commercial?

The song is ‘Never Stop’ by Chilly Gonzales, from an upcoming album titled “Ivory Tower” that will be available on September 14. There are actually two versions of this song available, a ‘rap mix’ and the ‘original mix’ which is an instrumental version.

Where can I get the song?

You can pre-order the full album now directly through the record label for $9 (cheaper than the iTunes Store!) and the album comes as an MP3 download.

You can also download the “Never Stop (Rap Mix)” here for free at their website.

A quick note: If you like the song used in the iPad commercial you should buy the full album, it includes both versions of “Never Stop” and the other songs are just as good, providing a solid mix of funky piano riffs, catchy beats, smooth instrumentals, and electronic goodness.

Can I listen to the full song online?

Yes you can. Here are the full songs in both versions (via YouTube videos)
Read more »

Have you ever wondered what an iPad and Kindle screen would look like up close? Not just to the naked eye, but really up close… say at 26x and 400x magnification. Despite the fact they are serving completely different markets, I know people compare the iPad and Kindle frequently so these shots are quite interesting.

These pictures were taken with a Veho USB Powered Microscope, which I had no idea you could even get a 400x USB powered microscope for $65, that’s amazing in and of itself. Anyway, more pictures:

At 400x the iPad looks like any other close up of a LCD display, while the Kindle amazingly enough actually holds detail and, well, resembles ink.

Admittedly this isn’t the most fair comparison considering the current iPad screen is using a traditional LCD display while the Kindle uses the wildly complex MIT creation known as E Ink. Of course, the Kindle also isn’t intended to compete against the iPad and vice versa (try playing games or browsing the web in a meaningful fashion on a Kindle), but it’s neat to see these detailed pictures. I’d really like to see this test done using the 326ppi iPhone 4 retina display, which is rumored to appear on iPod touch and iPad models in the near future.

These images confirm the opinions I’ve long held: if you’re looking to get a handheld device for only reading books, the Kindle takes the cake. If you want to do more like play games, browse the web, email, listen to music, watch movies, etc, the iPad is a no brainer.

The above pictures originated from microscope shots by Keith Peters at his website, Bit-101. There are several more pictures and also comparisons with real printed ink if you’re interested in seeing them.

Adobe Photoshop for iPad has been released and it’s a free download. Technically called Photoshop Express, the Express moniker suggests a more full featured version may be in the works from Adobe to further utilize the power and screen size of the iPad. Photoshop Express is the as the Photoshop for iPhone version released last year, but the name has been updated and there is an iPad specific feature.

Photoshop for iPad exclusive feature set:
• Support for portrait and landscape orientations
• Redesigned Online, Edit, and Upload workflows
• Ability to work on multiple photos in sequence from within a single workflow
• Redesigned Organizer view with simplified album sharing
• Updated icons and visuals that make it easier to navigate and use the Editor
• Ability to upload to Photoshop.com and Facebook simultaneously

Adobe says that Photoshop Express for iPad lets you use the simple touch gestures to make quick edits and share the photos from your mobile device. Personally I think the existing features leave something to be desired, as there are a significant lack of real photo editing abilities. This is especially amplified considering some of the other relatively more powerful photo editing and manipulation packages available for iPad and iPhone.

Despite the shortcomings, the Photoshop app is useful and the brand is strong. I’m sure future versions will have many more features even if in the form of a paid download, for now though you can get Photoshop Express for iPad as a free download via iTunes.

EPUB stands for ‘electronic publication’ and it’s the accepted standard format for digital book publishing. If you want to make an ebook that can be read on a digital device, you’ll need it in this EPUB format.

You can convert virtually any text containing document to EPUB format, which is the preferred format for reading on many ebook readers, including the Barnes & Noble Nook, Android, and the Apple iOS iBooks platform that runs on iPhone and iPad (note that the Amazon Kindle currently favors .mobi format which Calibre can also publish to). Here are the exact steps to convert a file to EPUB.
Read more »