360 DEGREES Weblog

You’ve no doubt seen the split keyboard that iOS 5 brought to the iPad, but it turns out it has a few hidden buttons on the edges. Here’s how they work.
My biggest gripe with the split keyboard was that it forced me to type certain letters—like T or Y—with certain hands. Depending on what I’m typing, sometimes I prefer reaching to T with my right hand, or Y with my left. It turns out, though, that Apple actually lets you do that with the split keyboard—you just don’t see the keys. Try it: tap and drag the keyboard key in the bottom right corner to split the keyboard, then tap next to the Y key. It should type the letter T. Now the split keyboard is quite a bit more enticing!

Thanks Lifehacker

I’m being overly enthusiastic here. I mean, lets face it: who still has paper?… Well, ok, maybe a couple of you still do, and I guess that’s why the iConvert exists. I guess my point is that no one is excited about paper; it’s just one of those figments of a distant past we still have to live with. And for as long as this is the case, and people are still buying iPads, there might be a place for this portable scanning machine. Simply dock your tablet, launch the app and scan. The feeder tray accommodates paper between 2 and 8.5 inches so letters down to small photos can be scanned with ease. It’s done at 300dpi and the images are saved in your photo gallery, in JPEG format.

It’s $150 at Brookstone and ships in February.

Taking the iPad-as-TV-replacement concept to its literal conclusion, the V-Luxe iPad Stand ($TBA) turns your iPad into a ’50s style TV set. Available in three finishes — walnut, cherry, or African mahogany — it offers cable access for audio and power, a hidden speaker cabinet that can accomodate low-profile systems, swivel and tilt adjustments, and access to the device’s screen and Home button. A great way to repurpose an aging first-gen unit, or a soon-to-be-replaced iPad 2.

iPads are about to join the mile-high club in the captain’s cabin of American Airlines planes, as the FAA has now approved the use of iPads by pilots in the cockpit.
As of Friday 16th December, pilots will be able to replace their bulky flight manuals with one of Apple’ sleek touchscreen tablets, letting them more easily browse the reams of information stored within the paper tomes.
Rigorous testing by both American Airlines and Alaskan Airlines was carried out to ensure both the hardware and accompanying software we’re reliable enough to work consistently across long-haul flights.
“Pilots will use iPads as electronic chart and digital flight manual readers,” the source told ZDNet.
“The airline will begin iPad operations on B-777 aircraft, and then implement across all other fleets. By using electronic charts and manuals, the safety and efficiency on the flight deck is significantly enhanced.”
However, the move is sure to miff frequent flyers who are regularly told to refrain from using electronic devices during take off and landing, as well as needing to switch off wireless equipment. Won’t the pilots’ tablets interfere with equipment too?

Perhaps airlines will relax rules on in-flight electronics following this new allowance.

Sure, it’s got a funny name, but the Cosmonaut ($25) is no joke when it comes time to use your iPad. Designed from the ground up to be a perfect stylus — and therefore not constrained to a pen-like body — the Cosmonaut features a thick rubber body that’s comfortable to grip and a tip that glides smoothly across the screen (That’s what she said?). Available with Aluminum or Wood bottom trim.

$25

The trend of making fancy new high-tech devices look like the comparatively crappy hardware of yesteryear continues with this iPad 2 case that will disguise your tablet as an Apple Macintosh.

It comes complete with a 3.5-inch floppy disk in the drive, the Macintosh’s familiar black and white UI on screen, and an unfortunate HOMADE logo in the corner which kind of wrecks the whole effect. But just slap one of those white Apple stickers over it and it won’t be such an eyesore.

The $37 ABS plastic case attaches to the back of the iPad 2 and includes all of the necessary cutouts to access its buttons and controls, and is even compatible with the Smart Cover. And if history has taught us anything, it will certainly sell better than the Apple Lisa iPad 2 case.

The Steve Jobs Autobiography by Walter Isaacson has gone on sale today and it is now available to download from Apple’s iBook store and also Amazon’s Kindle store, and for the book Isaacson interviewed over 100 people, which included Steve Jobs’s colleagues at Apple, his family, friends and also his competitors.

In the book we get our first look inside the world of a very private man, with details on his personal life, including his adoption, Apple, and his competitors at Microsoft and Google.

$16.99

BBC fans with iOS devices and Apple TVs rejoice. The British broadcaster has just rolled out a significant update for its iPlayer app for iOS devices. The updated iPlayer app now introduces AirPlay support so you can stream content from your iOS device to your HDTV via Apple TV. Since not everybody around the world gets BBC content delivered to their home TVs, AirPlay support will allow more people to enjoy BBC shows on their big screen TVs: the way video content ought to be enjoyed.

The app is free, and some content is also available for free, but most of it will require a monthly subscription of $7.99 to be enjoyed. Grab the latest version of BBC iPlayer from the Apple App Store now (iOS 5 and Apple TV required for AirPlay support).

Want to write on your tablet without all of the requisite finger grease? How about a stylus? Too pedestrian? What about a Smart Pen? Better yet, what about the aPen A5 Smart Pen? eFun’s peripheral includes a stylus and a receiver that hooks into your iPad or iPhone’s 30 pin connector, digitizing your handwriting or drawings via a number of compatible apps, including the company’s own free Studio Basic Light. The A5 is set, broadly, for a release some time in 2012, and should run you around $99 whenever it actually hits the market.

The Dutch experts of Travelteq permanently keep an decisive eye on simplicity resulting in leather goods that shine with a timeless appeal. A design language this iPad2 case is no exception to, with being made of Italian premium leather, to be precise Florentine Vachetta, coupled with an Alcantara lining.

$300