iPad/iPhone

As I've stepped up the running since the football season ended I was on the look out for an armband to hold my iPhone. Having read various reviews of armband screens cracking or not allowing access to the screen properly I picked out the one I wanted carefully.

The great people over at Mobile Fun supply some cool iPhone 4 accessories and they were happy to send me the Belkin DualFit Armband to review.

First impressions were good, the phone fitted snuggly into the sleeve so there was no worries of it popping out again during a run. The next test was to try using the phone whilst in situ, this being an important aspect of the armband. I was wary of reports of other armbands not allowing you to use your phone but the Belkin passed the test with flying colours.

I've used it twice and can safely say the plastic cover seems quite flexible and doesn't look like it's going to crack either, which is a bonus. The armband comes with a secure velcro strap with two eyelets, one for muscle bound hunks, the other for the more lithe arm.

On the look out for suitable iPad covers I came across the Griffin Elan Passport case and with impeccable timing the nice people at www.gearzap.com got in touch to see if I'd like one to review. Within a few days I had the case in my possession and I've not been without it since.

I was looking for a case that would give good protection but also easy access to the screen, both around the office and on the move. That's when I saw the Griffin Passport case which appeared to provide just that.

I see a lot of people asking the question on Twitter, "Should I get the 3G iPad over the WiFi only version?" and my simple answer is no.

Why pay extra for the iPad itself for 3G connectivity, then the data package to go with it when WiFi is widely available and quite often, when out and about, free.

I went away for a week on holiday to Southwold in Suffolk, on the east coast of England, knowing that the property we were going to didn't have WiFi. What I did find though was the Blyth Hotel with free WiFi, beautiful food and good hospitality!

Having done a little research before we went away I knew there were quite a few WiFi spots in the area, so I didn't panic.

iPad 3G Data Plans UK

One thing that also put me off the 3G iPad was the cost of a data package. I already pay £25 a month for 8mb broadband in the office so the thought of paying £15 a month for a 3G tariff combined with my monthly O2 iPhone bill just didn't seem logical.

Having used a number of Twitter apps on my desktop and iPhone I was looking to take my Twitter interaction to the next level on the iPad.

Having heard that Tweetdeck was quick to the market I jumped on board, downloaded it and gave it a whirl.

On first impressions the app looks great, in portrait mode you have two columns of info, primarily your followers tweets and mentions. In the top third of the screen you have a blank area which, when you click on a tweet, is used to display said tweet or, if you click a link inside the tweet the panel flips to show the website.

Selected Tweet

Up to this point in time I feel my participation in social media has been quite fruitful. I started my blog back in January 2008 and since then it has steadily grown with thousands visiting on a regular basis. 

I've been active in Digg, Sphinn, Stumbleupon, Design Float, Mixx, the list goes on, for some time and have had a Twitter account for a couple of years. All this time I think I've done my fair share of social media marketing, sharing content, writing blog posts etc but the busier my web design business has become, the less time I've had for other things.

I realize how important blogging and social media is to my business which is why I felt the iPad would be crucial in boosting my activity in both areas. Having previously used my iBook and iPhone primarily to tweet, share content on social sites and read feeds I saw the potential that the iPad offered me.

RSS Feeds

In my opinion the best way to keep up-to-date with industry news or what's going on in general is either with Twitter or an RSS feed reader. I use NetNewsWire on my iMac, iBook, iPhone and now iPad. It's a great app and one I use every day.

The only problem being is that I follow so many blogs, last count 60, is that it can be a struggle to keep the number of unread posts at a reasonable level. I'm probably not the only person who feels like this but the sight of 900 unread posts makes my heart sink!

I took the job, yes I used to see it as a job, of reading these posts quite seriously, keeping abreast of the latest goings on in the blogosphere, that was until I got the iPad.

To take a quick step back I used to open up NetNewsWire on my iPhone or laptop to read posts, mainly to get away from my main machine to stop my legs from thinking they were no longer needed! 

Yes that's right, I have an iPad, I can't quite believe it myself, I'm keeping up with the Fry's of this world!

This time last week I was only dreaming about getting one when they eventually come out here in the UK, luckily for me a great client was off to NYC to get their hands on one and managed to snaffle a second. Even better than that is the fact he didn't then put it straight on Ebay but instead offered it to me for a reasonable amount :o)

So enough of the fawning over actually owning one and on to the business of reporting my first impressions, which are blinking brilliant. Mainly because if you blink you miss it, the speed of the iPad is one of its stand out features.

The Basics

Speed is definitely of the essense when it comes to the iPad and start up doesn't disappoint. Opening and closing apps is as quick and efficient as you could ask for. Battery life so far is good although I haven't used it non stop yet!