W♥M

Living with the Apple's iPad Pro12.9 and Pencil

iPad Pro 12.9 Specs Model: A1670 (Wi-Fi) CPU: Apple A10X Fusion with Apple M10 2.36 GHz hexa-core Apple Fusion (3× Hurricane + 3× Zephyr) Graphic: 12-core PowerVR Series 7XT Display: 12.9 inches (330 mm) [diagonal] multi-touch display with LED backlighting and an oleophobic and scratch-resistant coating, Wide color display, True Tone display, Fully laminated display, Antireflective coating, ProMotion display (120 Hertz refresh rate) 2732-by-2048 pixel resolution at 264 ppi (Retina Display) Read More Apple It's hard to believe that it's only been three years since the iPad was introduced. Despite me thinking what a crap name "ipad" was, I think the name is probably well-accepted with people now. …

I’ve been living with the iPad 12.9 Pro (2017 Model) since March 2018. After using the iPad daily for about two months, here are my thoughts:

COMICS
Since I mainly wanted to read comics on a bigger screen (coming from the smaller 9.7 size), the iPad’s nearly 13 inches is just perfect for comics. The size is nearly one to one, if not slightly larger than the print version.

For comics bought on ComiXology, they upgraded their comics to nearly 4k resolution, so a typical “Epic” collection is about a gigabyte in size! While they look gorgeous on the higher resolution, you really need to make sure you have the disk space for it.

Magazine View

On the other hand, the magazine experience is only okay. I bought a subscription to PC Gamer on Zinio, and was not impressed. While the text is super crisp and readable, the art/images did not look so good on a higher resolution. I suspect on a smaller sized iPad, you wouldn’t notice... but you can clearly see the pixelation on the iPad Pro. See screen print as an example.

Until the magazine industry catches up or offers high quality resolution, I don’t think I’ll be buying it on digital (unless is free as part of a print subscription).

If you want to load your own content, the two iOS apps I’ve used and endorsed are: Chunky and Foxit PDF Reader (or the built in Books reader). Although I’m not a fan of the name “Chunky”, it’s probably the best CBR reader. I’ve even upgraded to the Pro version, even though I didn’t need or want the Pro features - I just wanted to support the Chunky creator.

SMART CONNECTOR
I have several Bluetooth keyboards, but I have never really liked pairing the keyboards. Sometime, particularly with the original Apple bluetooth keyboard because it doesn’t have a reset button, the iPad does not see the keyboard because it was previously paired with another iPad. It’s very frustrating.

With the Smart Connector, the keyboard is instant-on when you connect. You don’t need to charge the keyboard (since it’s powered through the connector).

I’ve read some reviews on Smart Connector keyboards, and they mentioned the magnets, but let me empathize on the magnets: the iPad will automatically align and stick to the keyboard. It’s powerful enough that you can lift it up and the iPad without any worry that the keyboard will drop off.

Although only Apple and Logitech makes Smart Connector keyboards, I think it’s worth it to buy one. I have the first generation Logitech iPad Pro keyboard, which is technically not meant for the iPad Pro second version, but it fits and the price was discounted to $75 (originally $149).

DRAWING
Before the new 2018 “New” iPad was announced last month, only the iPad Pro supported the Apple Pencil. I’ve wanted to draw on digital for a long time and have, in the past, used various instruments and softwares. None of them really worked for me, that is until the iPad and Apple Pencil combination.

Using ProCreate ($10), drawing was is pretty amazing. Trust me, drawing was nearly real time one to one, just like drawing in “real life”. Since it’s digital, there’s no paint mess or cleanup. Plus, producing artwork, from idea to finalized art, can be pretty fast and efficient.

Don’t take my words for it, professional artist Mark Ulriksen went from traditional to digital for The New Yorker with the same setup I have (iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, and ProCreate). Read his interview and profile at businessinsider.com

CONCLUSION
Let me get to the point: the iPad is not a laptop replacement. There are many limitations with the iOS system, for example true multitasking and file transfers. If you’re a traditional laptop user, you’re not going to be happy with the iPad, so stay with the tried-and-true laptop experience.

What the iPad is meant for, and excel at, is media consumption and portability. Watching movies and television is a joy (especially on a larger 12.9 screen) and reading is wonderful (at the higher resolution). Apple is known for their gold-standard battery life, and the iPad’s weight is a feather compared to traditional laptops.

If you like what you read, but don’t want to shell out the premium price usually associated with Apple products, the new 2018 9.7 iPad, at $329 (with Apple Pencil support), is the iPad I would recommend for you. Sure, you’re not getting the larger 12.9 screen or Smart Connector, but for most people, they’re not going to care to spend the extra cash to upgrade.

P.S. This article was written on the iPad using the Logitech Smart Connector Keyboard and Google Keep. If this was a collaborative article (requiring other people’s input), then I would use Google Docs with its sharing functionality.

Vuart examples:

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

iPhone 5s

Read More Apple It's hard to believe that it's only been three years since the iPad was introduced. Despite me thinking what a crap name "ipad" was, I think the name is probably well-accepted with people now. …

The iconic iPhone 7 has been announced by Apple yesterday (September 7th). It is the latest and greatest from the company, and they are getting a lot of negative feedback about the lack of a headphone jack (which I don’t think this is such a bad thing).

Like you, I don’t have $649 lying around to get the new iPhone - but if you don’t mind an older (and smaller) iPhone, you can pick up an affordable Tracfone’s iPhone 5s for $199 at Target (I looked around, I believe this may be a Target exclusive as they are not available at other retailers like Best Buy or Walmart). Since Tracfone is a budget pay-as-you-go service, you do not actually need to pay every month or actually need to activate the phone to use all of its features.

I’m not actually sure if you can use other SIM chips in this iPhone, but if it is locked to that carrier... the iPhone, even without phone service, is still a valuable WiFi device (web, email), music, video, gaming, reminder, checklist, voice memos, book reader, pocket camera, health device (it has a built-in steps tracking), etc.

However, personally speaking, I feel that TracFone is the best budget cell carrier. It costs about $20 for three months (180 mins, 180 text, 180 mb data). Normal users will burn through the 180 mins in no time, that's why alternatively, when you're at home, you will want to use WiFi phone alternatives like Skype ($30 a year for unlimited calling to North America and Canada).

Additional costs: 1,000 text for $5 and 1GB for $10. Since the minutes and text and data carry over, you can actually stretch out your usage until you run out of service time.

PS, if you were looking to get an iPod, why not consider getting the iPhone 5s for the same price ($199) instead? If you decide to not use Tracfone, you can still use it as an emergency phone (by law you are allowed to call 911).

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

We Heart Music App by DWNLD, Inc.

Read More iTunes You must register with iTunes to use this feature, if you already have an account: choose "Get Album Artwork". Music not available or sold on iTunes will not return an album artwork, in which case, use ...

Do you have an iPhone or iPad running iOS 7 or greater? Then check out the We Heart Music App, courtesy of DWNLD, Inc.

I have been using it for a few weeks now and here are my thoughts on it.

From the vertical-only view and lower resolution images, the application was clearly designed for the iPhone only. Using the app on the iPad is awkward because it doesn't make use of the larger screen.

Since there is no offline mode, I'm not entirely sure this is a useful application for the iPod Touch or WiFi-only iPad. Again, DWNLD assume you have a data plan with your iPhone. Since there are plenty of RSS readers out there that will automatically download and cache the data, I hope they add an offline option to a future update.

PROS

Looks great. Designed as a reading tool.

Optimized for iPhone: low-res images to reduce load time for the smaller screen. However looks ugly/artifact on the iPad.

Blog, Podcast, Youtube, Soundcloud all together in the main menu... no need to go to different websites to get the contents.

Audio file will play in the background.

CONS

Requires iOS 7.0 or later... not really sure why the high requirement for text and images.

Vertical only (no landscape)

No offline mode

Interested in checking it out? Head over to itunes.apple.com.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com

Let Freedom Sing

It's the Fourth of July, so let freedom ring... so here are some free stuff:

Read More They Might Be Giants You know we're big fans of They Might Be Giants (or short TMBG). The band recently announced their latest compilation album called Idlewild. Described as "not a best of" or a "rarities" album …

THEY MIGHT BE FREE: Memo to myself, do the dumb things I gotta do... John and John are at it again!

They Might Be Giants is offering a download of their First Album Live! as a special gift if you give them your email address.... I'm on a lot (and I mean a lot) of unwanted email music lists, and trust me, the TMBG list is not as intrusive. Full disclosure, I am a longtime fan and used to be on their old snail mail list and I used to call their Dial-A-Song (answering machine) service.

So, if you've ever wanted to hear "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" or "(She Was A) Hotel Detective" or "She's an Angel" or "Rhythm Section Want Ad", grab the First Album Live! free download at theymightbegiants.com/firstalbumlive.

First Album Live! Track Listing:

1. Everything Right Is Wrong Again (live) - 2:18
2. Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head (live) - 2:17
3. Number Three (live) - 1:32
4. Don't Let's Start (live) - 2:27
5. Hide Away Folk Family (live) - 3:27
6. 32 Footsteps (live) - 1:36
7. Toddler Hiway (live) - 6:57
8. Rabid Child (live) - 2:52
9. Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes (live) - 2:07
10. (She Was A) Hotel Detective (live) - 2:09
11. She's an Angel (live) - 2:27
12. Youth Culture Killed My Dog (live) - 2:30
13. Boat of Car (live) - 1:27
14. Absolutely Bill's Mood (live) - 2:52
15. Chess Piece Face (live) - 1:13
16. I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die (live) - 1:40
17. Alienation's For the Rich (live) - 2:21
18. The Day (live) - 1:44
19. Rhythm Section Want Ad (live) - 2:50

Read More Tennis As you can see from their setlist, Tennis had a longer set than all the previous bands. Since they have that new EP called Small Sound, they did work in those new songs, including "Mean Streets" …

TENNIS SINGLES: Ritual In Repeat is the new upcoming album from Tennis. The Denver-based band just came off of a highly successful tour with HAIM... but there's no rest for the duo as they've booked a new headlining tour date, starting in September in support of their upcoming album, set for release on September 9th via Communion Records.

Can't wait for the new album? You can grab its preceding single, "Never Work For Free", as, what else?, a free download.

Tour dates:

09/18 St. Louis, MO The Ready Room
09/19 Louisville, KY Headliners Music Hall
09/20 Atlanta, GA Terminal West
09/22 Orlando, FL The Social
09/24 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle
09/25 Washington, DC The Black Cat
09/26 New York, NY Webster Hall
09/27 Northampton, MA Pearl Street
09/29 Cambridge, MA The Sinclair
09/30 Philadelphia, PA Underground Arts
10/02 Montreal, Canada La Vitrole
10/03 Toronto, Canada Virgin Mobile Mod Club
10/04 Columbus, OH A&R Music Bar
10/05 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
10/07 Minneapolis, MN Fine Line Music Cafe
10/17 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
10/18 Boise, ID Knitting Factory
10/20 Seattle, WA Neumos
10/21 Vancouver, Canada Fortune Sound Club
10/22 Portland, OR Wonder Room
10/24 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
10/25 West Hollywood, CA Troubadour
10/26 San Diego, CA The Casbah
10/29 Phoenix, AZ Crescent Ballroom
11/01 Austin, TX Red 7
11/02 Dallas, TX The Loft
11/04 Lawrence, KS Granada Theater
11/05 Omaha, NE The Waiting Room
11/07 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater

CAPTAIN EO: The E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation is now offering the complete iBooks Edition of E.O. Wilson's Life on Earth books for free... hoping to introduce and teach students about "the story of life on Earth".

I love these books, and they are an exceptional value for anyone with an iPad.

Additional details from iTunes:

Get the complete 41 chapters of E. O. Wilson’s Life on Earth for free on iBooks. Newly offered as a replacement for your previous purchase, this unabridged seven book collection features four previously unreleased units as well as updated interactive visual diagrams and videos to enhance your learning experience. Tap the link below to get your updated complete copy of Life on Earth today and continue to enjoy learning in a way that is as captivating as it is unforgettable.

Get It in iBooks > iTunes.com/loe

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Site Update: March 2014

Hey, what's the happs?

iPad Read More Apple It's hard to believe that it's only been three years since the iPad was introduced. Despite me thinking what a crap name "ipad" was, I think the name is probably well-accepted with people now. …

EVASI0N
evasi0n.com

Last December, I mentioned about the release of evasi0n's iOS 7 jailbreak, but I also said I probably wouldn't do it because there's nothing so great when you jailbreak.

Well I've come around since then, because I have discovered the greatest reason for jailbreak: semi-multitasking! My biggest complaint about the iPad is that it only does one thing at a time. That means if you're watching YouTube and you want to check your email, you have to close the application. It's so annoying and disruptive.

With VideoPane ($2), you can have the YouTube float on top of whatever you're doing and have the video running in the background. This even works with podcast or any application that uses the native iOS video playback. It is pretty awesome, you can resize the window and drag-n-drop it anywhere on the screen with, get this, no stutter! Video playback is smooth 100% of the time. I'm running this on a first generation iPad Mini, so your mileage may vary.

What puzzles me is why Apple doesn't allow this to happen on their regular iOS? Seriously, this is a really, really useful thing for the iPad.

Julian Lennon: Through The Picture Window (Apple iOS app review)

Julian Lennon: Through The Picture Window Music From Another Room Ltd Details This official Julian Lennon App uses cutting edge technology to bring you a fully interactive, high quality media experience. Filmed by award winning film-maker Dick Carruthers [Oasis, Led Zeppelin, The Killers, Aerosmith], the documentary is a feature length, in-depth look at the story behind EVERYTHING CHANGES, examining the history, influences and the creative process itself. The lush and stylised film is packed full of fascinating imagery and exclusive interview footage featuring the likes of Bono, Steven Tyler, and of course, Julian himself. The interactive viewing mode of the documentary with animated butterflies tempts the user to explore the songs, videos and other content His latest album 'Everything Changes' is another collection of powerful and sophisticated adult pop which includes 'Someday'; the superb collaboration with Steven Tyler, who comments “you can't hide from a good song... it just blew me away.” 'Through The Picture Window' showcases and examines Julian's work and relationships: what motivates and informs them; and in doing so, frames a revealing portrait of Julian Lennon the Artist: the inside truth about his music, his philanthropy, and his new-found love of photography. Read More John Lennon Howard Smith, is making his original recordings available now for the first time in 40 years (since it was originally aired). This upcoming collection focus on the Beatles, featuring five interviews with John Lennon & Yoko Ono …

It has to be tough to be Julian Lennon. Any music released by "the other Lennon" will be ultimately compared to his father John Lennon. While Julian's debut album Valotte were slammed by some critics as sounding too much like his father, but it was also what made the music so good.

Since 1984, Lennon would find himself dipping his feet in video documentary, writing, and even photography. You will find many of these aspect of Julian's visual, art, and music, on his DVD release for Through The Picture Window (December 2013), which, in many ways, was a vast improvement over the original 2011 album Everything Changes.

The contents of the DVD has been transformed and reworked as an Apple iOS / Kindle / Android / Windows application, called Julian Lennon: Through The Picture Window which is available now. And yes, this release includes the two additional bonus tracks, "Someday" (featuring Steven Tyler from Aerosmith) and "In Between".

After watching all the music video and rather length documentary (80 mins), I found myself understanding Julian Lennon more; he seems to always under his father's shadows. The "Through The Picture Window" documentary film did a good job capturing in keeping my attention through candid footage of Lennon's life and interviews with Steven Tyler and Bono. The story behind the relationship between Julian Lennon and Tyler and Bono are interesting and well worth watching to the film to find out for yourself.

As for Everything Changes, every song has been filmed and created as a music video. The videos are varied enough that it felt these were put together with different directors and visions. Every video (including the acoustic tracks) on Everything Changes are unique to the song, which is a relief because in the past, I've seen some bad video albums which looked the same videos/animations.

The video compression looks fine, it's by no means in high definition, but it is passable for the small screen of my iPad. Audio sounds great to my ears. Look, the audience is not for the high end video and audiophiles, so the app will be fine for many fans.

Before I address some of the glitches in the Julian Lennon: Through The Picture Window app, I want to stress that they are minor complaints and should no way discourage you from getting the app. If you play any video from Everything Changes, it will automatically play the next consecutive track. Unfortunately, sometime the next track does not play its audio. This happened three times. To fix this, just go back to the main screen and restart the video and it will play correctly.

Julian Lennon: Through The Picture Window (Size Comparison)

The other problem I had (and this is really a tiny complaint), is that the app itself is about 900mb, which is quite large. Compare that size to some other games and maps I own and you get the idea where it stands. I understand that this has much to do with the videos (so you can view it offline), but I had to delete a few applications just to install Julian Lennon: Through The Picture Window. I think most users won't have this problem installing because they are not an app hoarder, like myself.

For fans looking to experience the album Everything Changes on a whole new and interactive level on their Apple, Android, Windows, or Kindle Fire, they will find a lot to like with the Julian Lennon: Through The Picture Window app. The app is available now for only about $11.99 (this price includes all three Julian Lennon videos: Through The Picture Window, Everything Changes, and Everything Changes Acoustic.)

PROS Available on all major platforms Three-in-one: Everything Changes, Everything Changes Acoustic, and full documentary of Through The Picture Window Will work offline Able to switch between regular & acoustic songs Ability to jump out (and jump in) of documentary via a butterfly link Various bonus/hidden features: full Bono interview, photographs (wallpaper), etc. Intuitive control and icons

CONS App size is nearly 900mb, so make sure you have enough disc space Audio sometime will not play correctly Hidden features may be hard to access due to touch-screen (you just have to touch everywhere!) No virtual volume control - instead, you must use the physical volume buttons on your iPad or Android device.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com

Site Update: Christmas Edition 2013

Vulcans and Andorkians Vuart (May 2012) Read More Site Update Yeah, I know, I missed Marr at the Varsity Theater, but I think I got a better deal with a personal one-on-one with the legendary guitarist at Twin Town Guitars. An employee there …

Merry Christmas!

As I figure, no one, and I mean no one, is working this week. Everyone is on holiday, with their loved ones and family. I'm also taking a little break.

So, here are a couple of non-music things that I've been using:

IPAD MINI
It's hard to believe that it's only been three years since the iPad was introduced. Despite me thinking what a crap name "ipad" was, I think the name is probably well-accepted with people now. Originally, I said that I would wait for the iPad 2, but, of course, I didn't take my own advice and bought a cellular first generation iPad. I love it, but I should have waited for the iPad 2. As a punishment, I waited three years to upgrade to the iPad Mini. Again, I wanted to wait for the iPad Retina, but the price was right for the iPad Mini.

Hardware
I honestly don't have an issue with the non-retina display of the first iPad Mini. The screen still looks incredible, and playing 720p videos on it looks amazing. I may change my mind if I got around to playing with a retina screen, but again, I think at the "smaller" size, the image looks great.

As for the physical size, it's larger than typical android 7" tablets. At first I didn't think I liked the "fatty" size of 4:3, but watching old television shows (all the Star Trek pre-Enterprise for example), I love it. I spend most of my time watching TV shows anyway, so I don't mind the 4:3 thing.

Software
I have iOS7 running on the iPad which is awesome compared to old outdated iOS. Last night, just in time for Christmas, it was announced that iOS7 is now jail broken. I really want to jailbreak, but I don't know. Any great/must-have applications that is available on Cydia that I must own? Probably not.

Guess I'm watching Star Trek tonight Vu's iPad

One of my main reason why I decided to stick with the iPad (and not go to Android) was that I previously already own a ton of (paid) applications, movies, television shows, on all my previous Apple device. The unfortunate thing is that I just didn't want to re-pay for the same applications on other platforms.

Plus, I know that videos (with subtitles) ripped on Handbrake will work on the iPad with hidden closed caption or subtitles. I'm not familiar with the Android Video player to know how it handles .H264 or subtitles.

Cellular
So I bought the Verizon version. I mainly want the cellular version of iPad for the built-in GPS.

I tried activating Verizon in Chicago, but it failed. Now I can't seem to reset the cellular. After connecting to regular wifi, it said the iPad was activated, yet it doesn't connect to cellular. I think it wants me to "add" the iPad to my existing Verizon account (which I don't have). So basically it keeps asking me for a Verizon phone number, which, again, I don't have one. It sucked. My previous AT&T iPad experience was awesome, I turned on and off their service whenever I felt like it - I never had this much problem before.

On top of their expensive data plan ($20 for 1gb of data), I'm not going to recommend a Verizon iPad. Get an AT&T iPad instead, you'll thank me later.

GATEWAY DX4870-UB318
I've been rocking this since August. For $400, you get a great Intel Core i5-3330 and pre-formatted Microsoft Windows 8. The 8gb of DDR3 ram was a vast improvement over my previous AMD computer, which, by computer's standards, is a dinosaur.

Gateway DX4870-UB318

For the price, it's perfect. I rip movies, watch movies, and write/publish on this thing without any problems. Gaming works fine for the most part, but more intense games like Witcher 2, forget about it because the graphic card is integrated and it can't process high intensive graphics. None of the modern graphic cards sold today will run on this thing because the power supply is at bare minimum of 300 watt.

I think eventually somewhere down the line, I will have to replace the power supply and graphic card, which will set me back an additional $200.

However, I would likely just wait for five years and buy another computer for $400 and it will probably be a vast improvement over what I own now.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com

Apple in my eye

Read More Appleseed Cast The Appleseed Cast: When I first heard The End of the Ring Wars some two years ago, I was completely floored by the ingenious sound I heard -- here was a band, locked in the seemingly eternal debate over what defined emo and what ...

Read more Apple-related bands.

THE APPLESEED CAST
theappleseedcast.com

Deep Elm Records is releasing "Gold Limited Edition 3XLP" of the Appleseed Cast's Low Level Owl, Vol 1 + 2. No actual release date was given in their press release, only that it's "currently in production in the Czech Republic," but you can reserve a copy over at deepelm.com.

If you're a hardcore fan and missed out on the Silver Limited Edition (which sold out in eight days), then you need to get this Gold Limited Edition.

In the meantime, did you know that members from Appleseed Cast (Nathan Wilder), And Academy (Ryan Rodine), Paper Airplanes (Marcus Stoesz), and Solagget (David Lord and Sean Fanning) are in a Wichita collective called The Wonder Revolution.

This band not only feature a ton of band members, they also have a lot of music in them. They've threaten us with "three more albums in the works!"

Their album, Firefly, will be coming out December 11, 2012, via Air House Records.

THE HISTORY OF APPLE PIE
thehistoryofapplepie.com

I'll bet this band gets asked the question "what is the history of apple pie" a lot in interviews. I would recommend the band to brush up on your history lessons, just in case they are serious questions.

Anyway, The History of Apple Pie is from London, and their debut album, Out of View will be coming out January 29th, 2013, via Marshall Teller Records. In the meantime, you can hear a new preview song, "Glitch", over at Pitchfork.



What's even cooler than their British-sound is that Blur's Graham Coxon is a fan, having handpicked the band to support him at his recent HMV Forum show.

If you live in the UK, they will be on tour in February in support of Out of View.

Feb 01st Inside Out, Darlington (Free) Feb 02nd Victoria Inn, Derby Feb 03rd Stereo, York Feb 04th Soup Kitchen, Manchester Feb 05th Art School, Glasgow Feb 06th Dog & Parrot, Newcastle Feb 07th The Compass, Chester Feb 08th Cockpit, Leeds

Feb 09th West End Centre, Aldershot Feb 11th Bodega, Nottingham Feb 12th Undertone, Cardiff Feb 13th Joiners, Southampton Feb 14th Ballroom, Canterbury Feb 15th Green Door Store, Brighton Feb 16th 60 Million Postcards, Bournemouth (Free) Feb 17th U/S @ Thekla, Bristol Feb 19th The Old Blue Last, London (Free)

APPLESCAL
applescal.net

Applescal is a techo/DJ/producer from the Netherlands, and he just released a three-track pre-release for Dreaming In Key. With already three albums under his belt (under Yoshiba 87 and Applescal), at the age of twenty-four, Applescal can only grow as a music producer.

When he's not working on his music, he's part of the RTFKT outfit, a band/art/website that I just don't get. Also, seriously, who thought RTFKT stands for artifact? It's not even spelled with a 'K'!

Anyway, the three-track pre-release of Dreaming In Key is out now. You can listen to "Boys", featuring David Douglas, via Soundcloud.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Kindle Fire HD, will you get one?

I've been interested in the iPad since its announcement. If you haven't jumped on board with the tablet frenzy, here are some more option: the Kindle HD 7" or 8". While most people will be happy with the $199 Kindle, if you're into reading comic books and magazines - then you have to go large. For $199, it's cheaper than an iPod touch, if you're looking for a "portable" music player. 7" will fit in large pockets, just don't wear those tight, tight jeans.

I wouldn't buy a 7" iPad version (if that's coming out). Remember, the size has to be large to display a whole comic book page without having to zoom in and out - so the larger the screen, the better. 10" is not exactly "portable", but it's the right size for a magazine page.

Anyway, Amazon announced their competitor to the iPad, so let's break it down with a side-by-side comparison.

KINDLE FIRE HD 8.9" 4G LTE	NEW IPAD (3rd Gen)
Size: 8.9 inches	Size: 9.7 inches
Price: $499	Price: $729
Display: 1920x1200 HD at 254 ppi	Display: 2048×1536 at 264 PPI
Speakers: Dolby audio and dual stereo	Speakers: Single grill
CPU: 1.5Ghz dual-core	CPU: 1 GHz Apple A5X
Graphics: Imagination PowerVR 3D	Graphics: PowerVR SGX543MP4
Storage: 32 or 64 GB	Storage: 16, 32, or 64 GB
Memory: 1 GB DDR2 RAM	Memory: 1 GB DDR2 RAM
Camera: "HD"	Camera: 1080p rear-facing
Battery: 8 hours (based on old Kindle Fire)	Battery: 10hr
Weight: 1.25 lb	Weight: 1.46 lb
Wireless: Dual-band/dual-antenna Wi-Fi, Bluetooth	Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
LTE: $50 a year for 250mb a month	LTE: $179.88 a year for 250mb
Advertisement screensavers	No advertisements

Keep in mind the comparison is with the "new iPad", which was released one year ago. Apple has yet to announce a new, new iPad for 2013, but I suspect they will upgrade and surpass the current model.

Right off the bat
The LTE pricing is awesome. It's $50 a year to stay connected. Granted, 250mb is not a lot of data, but it's really useful if you just want to check your email or update your status, etc. On the other hand, the iPad is no-contract, so you can turn off the internet anytime you want.

No GPS on Kindle?
I don't think there's GPS services with the Kindle. I don't have the old Kindle, does that also mean no Google maps on the Kindle? The other bad news is that Amazon has their own app store, which isn't as big as the regular Android store… and less big than the Apple app store. Most games also appears on iOS before other stores - and they're generally cheaper (average iPad app price is $2.99).

Movie playback
I can't comment on the new Kindle - but the old Kindle Fire does not support softcode subtitles or multiple audio tracks. Even the first gen iPad will playback 720p content with softcode subtitles and multiple tracks. The new iPad supports 1080p content, but to be honest, because of storage issues, I downscale my Blu-Rays to 720p. Also, if you stream content within your home, 1080p does tend to choke, especially if you're using older Wi-Fi band (like the PS3's wireless).

Anyway, it should be interesting to play around with the Kindle HD when it comes out to see what it can and can't do. Right now, based on pricing and connectivity, the Kind HD is pretty hot. However, this could all change when Apple announce something this September 12th.

Other things to consider
Amazon does not support Epub, which is a popular e-book format. Amazon has its own DRM book format called AMZ, which no one else uses. Amazon also tout their prime service, but if you're an iPad user, Amazon does offer an iOS app.

Amazon puts "special offers" as a special feature. It's not a feature, these are advertisements. How would you feel if your computer's screen saver started showing Microsoft ads?

ALSO: Kindle Fire HD has a built-in HDMI out. You have to buy a $30 dongle for the iPad. I would imagine iPad4 will have its own built-in output.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Currents vs Flipboard vs Pulse. FIGHT!

Looking for an RSS reader for the iPad? Perhaps one of these will work for you. While all of these are functional, personally, the winner for me is Currents because I need to access the latest feeds offline. But if you have unlimited 3G access, then go crazy! Please add our RSS or Atom RSS.

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Free Category: News Released: Dec 08, 2011 Version: 1.0.0.938 Size: 9.3 MB Seller: Google Mobile © 2011 Google, Inc

GOOGLE CURRENTS
google.com/producer/currents

I've been playing around with Google's Currents iPad app. This just came out a few days ago and is their answer to Flipboard (see my thoughts on Flipboard for the iPad below).

So my thoughts on Currents is that I believe that Google just is NOT GOOD at design. The 'newspaper' layout is alright, but I wish I had more control over its setting - for instance, set the font to a different size.

Links to youtube videos will automatically show up in the article, the article is a folded in the middle layout (wish maybe there was a light line to separate to the two side, because as a creature of habit, I will read left to right, despite the break).

I think eventually, Currents will become "good enough" for me to ditch paying for a subscription to the Daily. At the moment, paying $60 a year for a daily newspaper/magazine is worth it for what I need it to do for me (keeping me updated on the events of the day on my breaks).

As for the Currents, I will say that it's easy to setup and add my own RSS. I added W♥M right away and that worked out just fine.

Good: Offline is automatic and downloads are done in the background. Syncing up images takes longer to download, but it's worth it when you're in an offline area.

Bad: Requires a Google login. Sure, we all have a google account, so the sting isn't that painful (plus your library will sync across platform, so if you're using Currents on Android, it will remember what you're reading). Also, it crashes a lot. Also, it's UGLY.

Free Category: News Released: Dec 08, 2011 Version: 1.7.1 Size: 8.6 MB Seller: Flipboard, Inc. © 2010-2011 Flipboard Inc.

FLIPBOARD
flipboard.com

People are calling this the "social magazine" and it finally came out on the iPhone and iPod Touch this month. Also rolled out is an updated version to their iPad edition.

What I immediately like is that it looks good. Their "partners" have custom RSS and setup, making it look even better and prettier on the iPad.

Adding W♥M's RSS is a bit of a hassle, it found our twitter account right away, but finding the typepad website was a no-go. I had to manually type in the full address.

Offline access can be done via instapaper or Read it Later, but this requires you to open up the article and flagging it to read later. This is cumbersome, why isn't there a "download all" option?

Good: It looks pretty, oh so pretty. It's fast. They have an eye for design, unlike Google.

Bad: Offline reading is annoying, it requires an external additional login and you have to manually find articles to flag for offline.

Free Category: News Updated: Oct 21, 2011 Version: 2.6 Size: 5.2 MB Seller: Alphonso Labs Inc © 2011 Alphonso Labs Inc.

PULSE
pulse.me

Pulse kind of disappeared in the background, despite having won the Apple Design Award for 2011.

Their goal is to make news reading "fun and engaging", which, unfortunately means "social", which equals: you need a Facebook account. Sure, most of us have a FB account, but I'm not looking to share what I have read, I have spent too much time deleting social news in my timeline. So, yeah, I don't trust and I don't use any FB plugin whenever it's offered.

While they want you to create a login for a ".me" account, I found that I can still click on 'save' without having to register.

Good: Gridlike design, good use of images. Retains original RSS format, which is a plus for me (as it does not randomly remove tables and CSS).

Bad: Relies too much on images, feeds without images looks AWFUL. Does not offer a "newspaper" layout. Like Flipboard, you need to open a page individual for offline saving, no "download all" option.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M