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Apple iPad – Hit or a miss ?

Apple’s  “Most awaited!”  Tablet device is out, unlike a full Tablet PC this is  more of an iPhone with a 10 inch screen. It runs the same iPhone OS and almost has identical features of the popular iPhone.Apple Lovers will crave for the device and critics still have a lot to complain.

But Apple has Maintained its consitant tactic of Beauty over features. With a thickness of 1.3 cm and weighing less than 0.75 kg this must be one of the thinnest and lightest computing devices around, also it sure will be a style statement, if you carry one around. But lets get down to business in terms of features.

It is available in two versions one with 3G and other without the 3G support. Below is the price for both versions available in 16GB,32GB and 64GB
                         16GB          32GB             64GB
Wi-Fi              $499             $599             $699
Wi-Fi + 3G    $629            $729            $829

Features –

– 9.7 inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display
(same multi touch as iphone)
– 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
– Fingerprint-resistant coating
– Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
– Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology
– UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz) (Data only)
– GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) (Data only)
– Email and Document support
– Browser without Flash support
– Accelerometer
– Ambient light sensor
– 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack
– Built-in speakers (Mono)
– Microphone

Main Disadvantages
– Not a Full fledged computer OS (iPhone OS)
– No Multitasking support (it can run a maximum of two apple apps)
– No USB
– No Webcam
– Mono Speaker
– You can install apps only from Apple Appstore
– Need to use itunes on PC
– No Flash support in browser
– Limited to AT&T 3G network
– Too pricey for its limited feature set
– 16/32/64 GB Flash drive is too limited for a device like this

Overall Apple has created a device between a Phone and an Tablet PC, but for this form factor and price the functionality provided is very disappointing. Many who own Macs still install Winodws XP on them and use it for many applications which are not supported in the Apple OS.

Possibly a more feature packed version of the Ipad with a full featured Leopard OS will be much more appreciated than the shortcut taken by Apple here.

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Apple Ipod Nano 5G Introduction

Apple launched its refreshed line up of Ipods on Thursday. One of the major product updates includes its ultra portable ipod lineup of Ipod Nano. The Nano gets quite a list of new features.

Apple Ipod Nano 5G Silver Grey
Apple Ipod Nano 5G Silver Grey

* A larger 2.2 inches bright screen

* FM Radio receiver.

* Video camera (like a webcam) with 600 K Pixels (1000 K Pixels = 1 Mega Pixel or 1MP) – Cant take photos, only videos.

* Voice recording and Voice Memo

* Voice Over – a feature to read the song names and  playlist names.

Apple Ipod Nano 5G FM Radio Yellow Green
Apple Ipod Nano 5G FM Radio Yellow Green

The new Ipod nano 5G (5th Generation) retains the looks of the Ipod Nano 4G and adds these new features.

Though camera and voice over features are merely for “fun”  rather than being really useful, the FM is a very good addition considering most other MP3 players have this basic music feature.

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The Apple Ipod Touch 2G or the Ipod Nano 4G or Ipod Classic 6G?

Before I owned the current generation Ipod’s I definitely had the above question which one is the best? Which one of the current generation Ipods have the best music quality? Better Usability? More features?  Now with more than few days with each one of them I can help with some answers.

Music/Audio Quality :

They are all the same in terms of Audio Quality.Also the headphones given with all the three ipods are exactly the same and they all sound bad. So get some good headsets from Sony,Sennheiser or the Bose.

Features :

If you are someone looking for features then Ipod Touch will win undoubtedly in all the features other than what you typically expect from a Music player. Ipod touch allows you to check mail,Watch youtube videos and browse internet and lets you use your ipod just like a Mini laptop (Given that you have access to Wi-fi), all these features are very relevant to US customers. But many of them become totally irrelevant say to customers in India (thanks to lack of wi-fi in 99% of places).

Same goes with the Video feature, though videos can be fun with Ipod Touch, but watching a full movie will drain your battery (same goes with Ipod Classic and Nano too).

In terms of music features all the ipods namely the Ipod Nano 4G,Ipod classic 6G and the Ipod Touch 2G all are very much the same.

Battery :

The battery performance of Apple  Ipod Touch and Ipod classic is much better than the Nano, the Nano’s battery in a normal usage would’nt even last for 6-7 hours for music, if you keep playing with it. The other two are far better in this regard.

Usability :

The Ipod touch is the best in terms of usage, the scrolling of long lists and spotting songs is best in the Ipod Touch. Both the Nano and Classic lag behind. After using the Touch I felt crippled with the Ipod Nano.

But the Nano makes up for its shortcoming with its small size, very easy to carry in your pocket, which is practically not possible with the touch or Classic. Inspite of all the extra features I felt more comfortable with the Nano just because of this reason.

Final Choice :

This is definitely upto the individual choice, if you want a highly portable device then Nano is the best. Want more storage than 16/32 GB then the classic is the option. If you want to carry around and play with more features like browsing/youtube then go for Ipod Touch.