Meet the iPad (third generation)
Introduction
When the original iPad debuted two years ago (yes, it’s been only two years), it seemed like a grand experiment. It was an impressive new device, but would people actually buy it? And when they did—in massive, unexpected numbers—I honestly had a hard time figuring out why. Don’t get me wrong—I love the iPad and use it every day, but I’m also a nerd who writes about technology for a living. I wondered why Apple has sold more than 55 million iPads to date. And then, I realized the secret to the iPad’s ongoing success.
The iPad is the first real spontaneous device. It’s not as bulky as a laptop, and it doesn’t need to be anchored in one room of the house the way a desktop computer usually is. The iPad can be anywhere in the house, or with you on the bus or train, and is a godsend for anyone who frequently travels by air in cramped middle seats. You can pick it up and search for something—like an actor’s name while watching TV—without having to relocate to “the computer” or trying to remember to look up the detail later. Heck, if you also own an Apple TV, you can play a video stored on the iPad directly on your high-definition television. You can take the iPad into the kitchen and use an app such as Epicurious to find a recipe and cook a meal.
At the same time, the iPad is not ultra compact like the iPhone. Although the iPad and iPhone share many features—they’re both based on the same underlying operating system, the iOS—the iPad’s larger screen does make a difference when interacting with software, viewing photos, and reading electronic books (especially if you increase the text size because your eyes don’t see as well as they used to).
So what is the iPad? It’s all of the things I mentioned, enhanced by the way you interact with it by touch. It’s the first gadget in a long, long time that really makes a huge difference to use in person rather than just read about online. The newest, third-generation iPad is thin and light, which makes a difference every time you pick it up—and, being a tablet, it’s almost always in your hands when you use it. At the same time, its powerful processor and fast graphics make everything quick and responsive. You forget you’re using a computer and focus on making music, watching an HD movie, reading a book, playing a game, creating a presentation, or video-chatting with remote friends and family members.
Also, this is just the beginning: Apple believes the iPad is the future of computing. The iPad is no longer tethered to a computer and can operate on its own. Data can be backed up using Apple’s free iCloud service. Or, if you choose to continue to sync with a Mac or Windows PC, you can do so over a Wi-Fi network instead of using the iPad’s sync cable. As someone who uses the iPad many times a day, every day, I’m inclined to agree that this is definitely a “post-PC” device.
Conventions used in this book
The iPad is a computing device, but it introduces a few new ways of interacting with software that differ from conventions used on computers running Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X. Here’s how I refer to the following throughout the book.
Referring to iPad models
This book focuses on the third-generation iPad, introduced in March 2012, which Apple calls, simply, iPad. When I refer to an “iPad,” in nearly all cases that’s the model I’m talking about. If I need to mention earlier models, I’ll refer to them as the original iPad and the iPad 2.
Navigating settings
When I mention a system preference in the Settings app, I do so with symbols to indicate the hierarchy of taps. So, when I write Settings > Safari > AutoFill, that translates to:
1. At the Home screen, tap the Settings app.
2. Tap the Safari button in the left-hand pane.
3. Tap the AutoFill button in the right-hand pane.
Popovers
It’s taken me a while to not think of breakfast pastry when I type this, but a “popover” (Apple’s term) is a new interface element introduced on the iPad. A popover is a floating list of options that appears when you tap some buttons (Figure 1).
Figure 1. A popover in Safari
Power On and Set Up the iPad
An iPad doesn’t require a computer at all—though one is definitely helpful to have. Apple’s step-by-step getting started process is easy to follow, but you’re prompted to make several decisions about how your data is synchronized and where it will live. (If you’ve already done this stage, skip ahead to “iPad Essentials.”)
1. To power the iPad on for the first time, press and briefly hold the button at the top of the iPad until the Apple logo appears.
2. Slide the “Slide to set up” slider to get started.
3. On the Location Services screen, tap the Enable Location Services button. This option allows apps such as Maps to use data related to your whereabouts. You can choose to disable Location Services if you’re concerned about privacy, but that limits the functionality of many things, such as Find My iPad. (You can enable or disable the option later in the iPad’s settings, too.) Tap the Next button.
4. Tap the name of a nearby Wi-Fi network and enter its password to get online. Tap Next.
5. Choose whether to set up the device as a new iPad or to restore data from an iCloud or iTunes backup, and then tap Next.
• To set up a new iPad, you’ll need to enter an Apple ID (or create a new one if you don’t have one). The Apple ID is what you normally use to buy media from iTunes, the App Store, or the Mac App Store.
• For iCloud, you’ll need to enter your iCloud user name and password.
• For iTunes, you’ll need to connect a sync cable between the iPad and the computer running iTunes. In iTunes, choose the name of the device you want to use as the backup source. The iPad will restart, and iTunes will sync the settings and content from the backup to it. You will then need to repeat some of the setup steps above.
6. Review the Terms and Conditions for using the iPad, and agree to them by tapping the Agree button.
7. Choose whether to use iCloud to sync data using Apple’s cloud service. It enables you to automatically synchronize contacts, calendars, email, photos, and documents among all of your devices, as well as optionally back up your iPad’s data. Tap the Use iCloud button, and then tap Next.
8. If you want to back up your iPad’s data using iCloud, tap the Back Up to iCloud button on the next screen. When the iPad is connected to a power source (whether that’s a computer or just the charging plug and sync cable) and is on a Wi-Fi network, your data is copied to Apple’s iCloud servers. (See “Use iCloud,” later, for more information.)
If you prefer to keep your backup local—for example, perhaps your Internet connection is metered or especially slow—tap the Back Up to My Computer button and then tap Next. Although I have a good Internet connection, I still prefer to back up to my computer because that’s the easiest and fastest way to restore the data in case anything goes wrong.
9. Tap the Use Find My iPad button to enable the fantastic Find My iPad feature. This option lets you locate the iPad on a map, play an alert sound (which is handy if you know the iPad is somewhere in your house, but you can’t find it), or display a message.
10. If you want Apple to receive anonymized usage data and diagnostic information in the event something crashes, tap the Automatically Send button in the Diagnostics screen. If you’d prefer not to share the data, tap Don’t Send. Tap Next to continue.
11. Lastly, tap the Start Using iPad button to finish setup.
If you already have a lot of apps for your iPhone or iPod touch, iTunes may want to transfer them all to the iPad. Instead of deselecting unwanted apps one by one, do this: In the Apps tab in iTunes, Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Windows) one app’s checkbox to deselect them all. Then, go through the list and enable the apps you want to transfer.
I own an iPhone, which goes with me everywhere. Because my iPad acts as an extension of all of my important data, I originally chose to use the data from my iPhone instead of configuring the iPad from scratch. If you take this route, you’ll still need to do some cleanup work; I found that some universal iPad apps (ones that can run on either an iPhone or the iPad) did not transfer automatically, but otherwise the process was smooth.
iPad Essentials
After the iPad is set up, and each time you press the power button or Home button, a Slide to Unlock control appears. Drag your finger left to right along the slider to advance past the opening screen.
Sleep and wake
Once powered on, the iPad rarely needs to be turned off. Instead, when you’re finished using it, press the power button once (without holding it) to put it into a low-powered sleep mode.
The iPad automatically goes to sleep after 5 minutes of inactivity to conserve battery power. You can change that amount in the Settings app by tapping General, then Auto-Lock, and tapping a time duration (1 to 5 minutes, or Never if you want to always put the iPad to sleep manually).
To wake the iPad, press the power button or the Home button and then use the Slide to Unlock control.
Sleep and wake using a Smart Cover
Apple’s Smart Covers were designed alongside the iPad: They interact with magnets built into the iPad’s case to align the cover and also provide a nifty sleep/wake feature. Open the Smart Cover to wake the iPad, or close the cover to put the iPad to sleep. (Other companies also make cases that interact with the magnets in the same way.)
You can disable this behavior by going to Settings > General and then turning off the iPad Cover Lock/Unlock option.
Power off
It’s rare that I turn off the iPad completely—usually only when something seems to be wrong and I want to restart it, or if I know I won’t be using it for an extended period of time (like that’s realistic). To do so, press and hold the power button until the red Slide to Power Off control appears. Slide it to turn off the power.
Set a passcode lock
To prevent just anyone from unlocking your iPad and accessing your data, specify a passcode that must be entered first. Doing so also encrypts the data on the device, so if someone were to steal the iPad, they wouldn’t be able to read any information from it.
1. Go to Settings > General > Passcode Lock.
2. Tap the Turn Passcode On button.
3. Enter a four-digit passcode, and then enter it again when prompted.
If you want to use something more secure than a four-digit number, set the Simple Passcode option to Off and then type and retype a word or phrase. By default, the iPad will ask for the passcode every time you wake up the device, but you can change this: Tap the Require Passcode button and set a delay of from 1 minute to 4 hours during which the code won’t be needed.
If you’re more security conscious, turn on the Erase Data option; if you or someone else enters an incorrect passcode ten times, all data is automatically erased.
Home screen
After you’ve unlocked the iPad, you’re taken to the Home screen, which displays the software applications (or “apps”) stored on the device (Figure 2). When your iPad holds more than 20 apps, a new Home screen is created; you can see how many screens are available by looking at the dots near the bottom of the screen. Swipe left or right to switch between each screen. The shelf at the bottom of the screen holds up to six apps that remain visible on every Home screen.
Figure 2. Apps on the Home screen
Yes, that’s right. Although the shelf holds four apps initially, you can add two more apps of your choosing.
Press the Home button in the bezel at any time to exit an app and go to the last Home screen you were viewing. If you press the button when you’re already on a Home screen, you’re taken to the first screen. Or, if you’re currently viewing the first screen, pressing the button displays the Spotlight search page; see “Search Using Spotlight,” later.
Launch and run apps
Tap once on an app’s icon to launch it. (That’s it. No double-clicking, pressing Command-O, or hitting Return and wondering if Windows is actually opening the program.)
Unlike most desktop or laptop computers, the iPad displays one application at a time, which takes over the entire screen; it’s not possible, for example, to have Mail on one side of the screen and Safari on the other. To switch to a different app, press the Home button and then tap the other app’s icon from the Home screen.
Switch quickly between apps
Even though only one app is visible at a time, the iPad runs several apps at the same time (a feature known as multitasking). When you exit one app, it’s effectively frozen until you return to it. Some apps can continue to work in the background—Mail can send and receive messages, iPod can play music, and so forth—but most apps wait until they’re activated, at which point they resume where they left off.
• To view your most recent apps, press the Home button twice quickly. (You can also swipe up with four or five fingers, but first go to Settings > General and turn on the Multitasking Gestures option. It’s off by default, but I recommend enabling it.) The multitasking bar appears at the bottom of the screen (Figure 3). Flick left on the list to view more apps, and tap the app you wish to open.
Figure 3. The multitasking bar
• When you’re viewing an app, swipe left or right with four or five fingers to switch to the next or previous app, bypassing a trip to the Home screen.
• Pinch with five fingers to return to the Home screen without pressing the physical Home button.
Change screen orientation
One of the coolest features of the iPad is the accelerometer, a sensor inside that knows how the iPad is being held, including whether the screen is in a tall (portrait) or wide (landscape) orientation. Knowing the position is important, because the iPad’s operating system adjusts to the orientation: Hold the Notes app in portrait position and the screen is filled with the yellow pad; rotate the display to the landscape position and a list of notes appears to the left of the pad (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Screen rotation: portrait (left) and landscape (right)
Simply turn the iPad to change its orientation. In fact, from the software’s point of view, there is no “correct” orientation. No matter how you hold it, the screen contents rotate to be right-side up.
Screen orientation is just a parlor trick for the accelerometer, however. Because it calculates the iPad’s position in three dimensions, it also knows at what angle you’re holding the device and responds to that. Plus, a built-in gyroscope and compass make it possible for the iPad to calculate where it’s being held in physical space. Many games take advantage of these features, turning the entire iPad into the game controller to affect what’s happening onscreen.
Lock screen rotation
You may not want the screen to adjust its orientation at times, like when you’re reading while lying down. The iPad offers two ways to do this: The iPad side switch, located next to the volume adjustment button, can be set to lock the orientation or to mute audio; or, you can tap a control in the multitasking bar.
When the side switch is configured to lock screen orientation, you can still easily mute the iPad’s audio: Press and hold the volume-down button for a couple of seconds. The volume level dips and then drops to zero.
To choose which behavior to use, you need to specify how the iPad side switch is used:
1. Open the Settings app and tap the General setting.
2. Under the “Use Side Switch to” heading, tap to choose either Lock Rotation or Mute.
Based on your choice here, the opposite action becomes the option available in the multitasking bar.
To lock screen orientation or mute the iPad volume using the multitasking bar, do the following:
1. Double-press the Home button to reveal the multitasking bar.
2. Swipe left-to-right to reveal a set of system-wide controls (Figure 5).
Figure 5. Locking orientation in the multitasking bar
3. Tap the left-most button to either lock orientation or mute audio, depending on the side switch setting.
Adjust screen brightness
Normally, the iPad’s ambient-light sensor adjusts the screen brightness automatically according to its surroundings. If you’d like to dim the light or punch it up manually, you can do so in two places:
• Go to Settings > Brightness & Wallpaper and drag the slider left (darker) or right (brighter). To always adjust manually, turn off the Auto-Brightness switch.
• Double-press the Home button to bring up the multitasking bar, swipe right, and adjust the brightness slider (located just to the left of the audio playback controls).
Charge the iPad battery
The iPad includes a non-removable lithium-polymer battery that provides up to 10 hours of use on a single charge. (In fact, Apple claims that 10 hours of video playback, surfing the Web using Wi-Fi, or listening to music are possible.) You can check the state of the battery by looking at the indicator at the upper-right corner of the screen (Figure 6).
Figure 6. The battery indicator
To show or hide the percentage next to the battery indicatory, go to Settings > General > Usage and tap the Battery Percentage switch.
Actual battery life depends on how you use the iPad, of course—playing a video game that makes extensive use of 3D graphics is more demanding on the processor and will eat up power faster than reading a book in iBooks. As the battery nears depletion, warning messages appear when 20 percent and 10 percent of the power remains. After that, the iPad becomes unresponsive and needs to be charged to function again.
To replenish the battery’s charge, plug the iPad’s sync cable into the included power adapter (charging takes about four hours if the battery is nearly spent).
You can also plug the sync cable into your computer to sync and recharge, but there’s a catch: Your computer’s USB port may not have the oomph to do it. If that’s the case, you’ll see “Not Charging” in the power indicator at the upper-right corner of the screen.
The specifications for running power over USB call for at least 5V (volts), but the iPad requires more than that. Some computers, such as recent Apple laptops and desktops, can optionally provide as much as 12V when a device that requires it is connected. In that case, the iPad will charge, but more slowly than when connected to the power adapter. The upside is that when the iPad is connected to a low-power USB port, the battery does not deplete; in fact, it will trickle-charge slowly when the iPad is asleep, and keep a steady level when it’s awake.
Conserve battery life
You can take steps to make the most of the battery’s charge. No need to be slavish about these, but you’ll definitely want to implement them when you get a low battery notice:
• Turn down the screen brightness.
• Turn off Wi-Fi if you’re not within range of a wireless network.
• Turn off Bluetooth if you’re not using it.
• Disable Push notifications.
• Disable cellular networking (provided you own the 4G model) if you’re not accessing data online (discussed later).
What if the battery dies?
Batteries lose capacity over time, but sometimes a battery won’t hold a charge for nearly as long as it once did. If the iPad is still under warranty (one year, or two years if you also purchased AppleCare for it), contact Apple and ask for a replacement iPad. If an Apple retail store is nearby, an Apple Genius will be able to diagnose whether the battery is faulty.
If you’re out of warranty and the iPad “requires service due to the battery’s diminished ability to hold an electrical charge” (in Apple’s words), then you can take advantage of Apple’s battery replacement service. For $99, Apple will replace the entire iPad (so be sure you’ve synchronized it before sending it off). See www.apple.com/support/ipad/service/battery/ for more information.
Multi-Touch Gestures
You probably noticed that when you opened the iPad’s box, no stylus fell out. Until recently, most tablet computers and handhelds required that you use a plastic pencil to do anything. The iPad, instead, is designed for your fingers. You interact with the software on the screen by touching, tapping, swiping, and performing other Multi-Touch gestures. Many controls are intuitive: Tap the Edit button in Contacts, for example, to edit a person’s information. Other motions may not be obvious at first, but they quickly become natural.
Tap
As you’ve no doubt discovered, the most obvious action is to point at an area of the screen, like a button or other control, and lightly tap with one finger. Sometimes, you’ll want to double-tap the screen, such as when you want to zoom in on a section of a Web page in Safari.
When you encounter an On/Off switch, you can slide the switch if you want, or simply tap it to change its state.
Touch and hold
Instead of quickly tapping and lifting your finger from the screen, there are times when you want to touch the screen and maintain contact to elicit an action (for example, see “Work with Text,” ahead).
Drag
Touch and hold a point on the screen, then move your finger across the glass. Drag a Web page in Safari from bottom to top to scroll as you read.
Flick and swipe
A flick (yes, that’s Apple’s official name for it) is like a drag, but faster. On a Web page, touch the screen and flick your finger to “throw” the page in any direction. The software simulates the physics of the motion and slows the scrolling page until it comes to a stop, based on the velocity of the flick.
A swipe is similar to a flick, but you drag something (usually horizontally) a bit more slowly. You swipe a photo from right to left to advance to the next picture, for instance.
The iPad’s screen responds to the electricity in your fingers, not to pressure. Pressing harder on the display doesn’t improve its response.
Pinch
When you want to zoom in or out on an item, such as a map, a photo, or a Web page, touch two fingers to the screen and pinch them together (to zoom out) or spread them apart (to zoom in).
Rotate
Press two fingers to the screen and rotate them in a circle to rotate something, such as a photo in the Photos app.
Shake
Yes, that’s right, give the iPad a good shake. The accelerometer recognizes the motion as an intentional vibration, and software that’s been written to handle the gesture can act on it. For example, when you’re typing in the Notes app and make a mistake, shake the iPad to bring up a dialog that gives you the option to undo the last action. I’ve found that shaking front to back, not side-to-side, seems to be more responsive.
Use two hands
The iPad’s entire screen is filled with sensors, so take advantage of the large display area and use both hands. One obvious application is the keyboard that appears when you’re entering text; since it’s nearly full size, you can type as you would on a physical keyboard.
For another example, look to Apple’s Keynote app: Touch and hold a slide with the finger of one hand, and then use your other hand to tap other slides to select them all in a group. Numerous games and other apps also accept two-handed input.
Work with Text
It’s one thing to view photos and movies, but how do you enter and edit text? Whether you’re typing a Web address, adding an event to your calendar, or composing a letter, you need to know how to put letters to screen. You’ll encounter the following basic operations throughout the iPad environment.
Type text
Whenever you tap on an editable text area, the iPad’s software keyboard slides up from the bottom of the screen (Figure 7). Type on it as you would a regular keyboard, keeping a few things in mind:
Figure 7. The onscreen keyboard
• The screen can’t accommodate a full-sized keyboard, so some characters appear where you may not expect them. For example, you type an exclamation point (!) by holding the Shift (
) key and tapping the comma (,) key. Number keys are accessed by tapping the “.?123” key, and symbols such as the equals sign (=) are available after next tapping the “#+=” key.
• The keyboard varies depending on the context of the text field. When you’re in the Address field in Safari, you’ll see a “.com” key—a shortcut for the often-typed end to a Web address—and the Return key reads “Go”. At other times, you may not see letters at all, such as when a number keypad and options for different functions appear when you edit values in Numbers.
To quickly enter other domain name suffixes like .net or .org, touch and hold the “.com” key. A pop-up menu presents other options for you to tap to add to the text. The same is true for typing accented characters.
• To hide the keyboard without exiting the text field, tap the 
key.
• You can end a sentence with a period by simply tapping two spaces after a word. This shortcut came about on the iPhone, where the period key doesn’t appear on the first screen of keys. If you’d rather turn off this feature, go to Settings > General > Keyboard and disable the “.” Shortcut option.
Want to know the most useful iPad keyboard tip? To type an apostrophe, which isn’t on the main screen, touch the comma (,) key and slide your finger up to insert the apostrophe character. You can do the same with the period (.) key to get a double-quotation mark.
• By default, the Caps Lock feature is disabled (nobody likes it when PEOPLE SHOUT, after all), but if you often type acronyms or otherwise want the option, go to Settings > General > Keyboard and turn on the Enable Caps Lock option. When typing, quickly double-tap the Shift key to enter Caps Lock mode; the face of the key is highlighted (versus just the up-arrow icon when normal Shift is active).
If you look closely at the software keyboard, you’ll see faux raised bumps on the F and J keys, which on a physical keyboard help touch-typists determine their finger position without looking at the keys. There’s no raised portion of glass on the screen, of course, but it’s a subtle visual clue, meant to make you feel more at home typing on the smooth surface. All sorts of little “real-world” touches like this one are scattered throughout the iPad interface.
Split or move the keyboard
When you’re holding the iPad, versus resting it on a flat surface, how do you type? Balanced on one hand and typing with the other hand? With your thumbs, like on a smartphone? I fall in the latter camp, and my fingers are just barely long enough to accommodate the onscreen keyboard when the iPad is in its portrait orientation.
To make it easier for people to type, Apple introduced a new split-keyboard option in iOS 5. The keys can also be repositioned vertically on the screen.
1. In an app that accepts text input, tap to place the cursor and bring up the onscreen keyboard.
2. Drag the right edge of the key up the screen; as you drag, the keyboard splits (Figure 8).
Figure 8. Split keyboard
3. To position the split keyboard higher on the screen, continue dragging up.
To return the keyboard back to its original joined state, drag the key back to the bottom of the screen.
Auto-Correction
This extremely helpful feature debuted on the iPhone, where the smaller screen size makes it more challenging to hit the right keys as you’re typing. As you type, the iPad analyzes your letters to look for patterns and offers suggestions in a little pop-up box (Figure 9). To accept the suggestion, type a space or punctuation. To ignore it, either tap the X on the pop-up or continue typing letters. (Also see “Cut, Copy, Paste, and Suggest,” just ahead.)
Figure 9. Text auto-correction
If the feature is getting in your way, go to Settings > General > Keyboard. While there, you can also disable Auto-Capitalization, which automatically enables the Shift key after you’ve applied punctuation.
Shortcuts
If you frequently type the same phrases, you can set up shortcuts that expand to longer items. For example, instead of writing “Cheers! Jeff” at the end of every email message, I could set up a shortcut of “cjf” to insert that text for me.
1. Go to Settings > General > Keyboard and tap the Add New Shortcut button.
2. Type the text you want expanded in the Phrase field.
3. Type the shortcut text in the Shortcut field.
4. Tap the Save button.
Select text
On a computer, selecting text is easy: you position your mouse pointer, then click and drag to select the text you want. The iPad has no mouse pointer, so the process of selecting text is slightly different.
1. Within any range of text (not just in text-entry fields), touch and hold where you want to start selecting. A magnified view of the area appears above your finger (Figure 10).
Figure 10. Select text with magnification.
2. Position the insertion point and release your finger. As you’ll see in a moment, you don’t need to put the insertion point at the exact start of your selection.
3. In the pop-up that appears, choose Select to highlight the closest word; or, tap Select All to highlight a full sentence.
4. Drag the handles to the left and right of the initial selection to define the full area you wish to select (Figure 11). If you drag beyond a paragraph, the selection area broadens to include blocks of text instead of letter-by-letter selections.
Figure 11. Drag to highlight text.
If you’re in an editable text area (versus a read-only area like a Web page), double-tap a word to select it. Or, tap four times quickly to select an entire sentence. Or, here’s a quick tip that doesn’t apply just to editable areas: Double-tap a word, but hold the second tap to make a selection, and then drag to expand it without lifting your finger.
Selecting text occasionally works differently depending on which app you’re using. In Safari, for example, touching and holding on text on a Web page selects whichever word is under your finger; drag to select any word, lift your finger, and then expand the selection.
Cut, Copy, Paste, and Suggest
When you make a selection, a set of options appears above the text.
• Cut: The selection is copied to memory and then removed from the content you’re editing.
• Copy: The selected content is just copied to memory.
• Paste: If you’ve previously cut or copied some text, the Paste option appears. Tap Paste to add the content stored in memory; if a selection is made, the pasted content overwrites the selection.
• Suggest: Does a word look misspelled? Select it and tap the Suggest button. If the iPad comes up with a different spelling (or a similar word), it appears in a pop-up—tap the suggestion to replace the selected word (Figure 12).
Figure 12. Tap Suggest to view selection options.
Misspelled words also appear with a dotted red underline. Tap once on the word to view suggestions (Figure 13).
Figure 13. A misspelled word underlined
Selecting, copying, and pasting aren’t reserved solely for text. In Safari, for example, you can select a range of text that also includes an image, copy it, and then open Mail and paste the formatted content into an outgoing message.
Voice dictation
The third-generation iPad didn’t get one of the signature features of the iPhone 4S—the Siri voice-activated personal assistant—but it did gain access to part of Siri’s technology: voice dictation. If you’re more comfortable speaking instead of typing on the iPad’s keyboard, definitely give voice dictation a try; I’m regularly amazed at the quality of the transcription.
1. Tap any text field (such as the Messages app) to make the onscreen keyboard appear.
2. Tap the Voice Dictation button (Figure 14).
Figure 14. The Voice Dictation button
3. Speak the text you’d like to type. Remember to speak punctuation, like “period” or “question mark,” to include it. For example, to type Robert, did you remember to buy groceries?, you’d say, “Robert comma did you remember to buy groceries question mark.”
4. Tap the Done button, or pause long enough for the iPad to guess that you’re finished.
Sync with a Computer
Although an iPad can do everything you need it to do by itself, chances are your music, movies, and other data reside on a Mac or Windows PC. A computer is also the easiest way to keep a backup of the iPad’s data. iCloud backup is great, but it isn’t appropriate for all situations (namely, when you don’t have robust Internet connectivity).
The iPad’s home base is iTunes, Apple’s media hub software. If you don’t have the latest version, go to www.apple.com/itunes/ to download and install it.
When you connect the iPad using the USB cable, the iPad appears in the iTunes sidebar. Select it to view information and options for synchronizing your data (Figure 15).
Figure 15. The iPad in iTunes
You’ll be surprised at just how infrequently you may need to sync the iPad. Using iCloud, for example, you can wirelessly sync your calendars and contacts. Application updates are also available using the included App Store app.
Here’s what gets transferred when you connect the iPad:
• Any new or changed data, which is added to the backup of the iPad on your computer
• Personal information such as calendars and contacts (unless you’re syncing using iCloud)
• New and updated apps (those downloaded on the iPad and in iTunes)
• Music, movies, and TV shows
• Podcasts
• iTunes U (university courses available via iTunes)
• Photos
• Files used by iPad apps
Set up Wi-Fi sync
If you ask me, one of the best unheralded features of the iPad (and any device running iOS 5) is the ability to sync wirelessly. As long as your iPad is on the same Wi-Fi network as the computer to which you sync, you can leave that 30-pin USB cable in a drawer or use it on a bedside table for charging. Here’s how to set it up:
1. Connect the iPad to the computer using the sync cable.
2. Select the iPad in the sidebar in iTunes.
3. On the Summary screen, scroll down to the Options section and select “Sync with this iPad over Wi-Fi.”
4. Click the Apply button.
Whenever the iPad is plugged into power and on the Wi-Fi network, a sync operation occurs. You can also initiate a manual sync from the iPad: Open Settings > General > iTunes Wi-Fi Sync, and tap the Sync Now button.
Even if Wi-Fi sync is enabled, the iPad will still sync when connected via the USB cable. If you’re transferring a lot of data, the cable is a much faster option.
Unlike other USB devices, the iPad doesn’t need to be ejected first if you’re connected using the sync cable. Simply disconnect the cable.
Special sync options
Synchronization mostly concerns transferring your media and related files. These options, found on the Summary screen, refine how iTunes handles the sync.
• Open iTunes when this iPad is connected: Select this option to launch iTunes if it’s not running when you plug in the iPad.
• Sync only checked songs and videos: In iTunes, you can uncheck a song’s checkbox to prevent it from playing (such as when you like every song on an album except one). If this option is deselected, all songs and movies are copied to the iPad, taking up more memory.
• Prefer standard definition videos: Although the iPad can play Apple’s HD videos, they take up much more memory. Select this option to transfer standard-definition versions of movies to conserve storage.
• Convert higher bit rate songs to [128/192/256] kbps AAC: Selecting this option can significantly reduce the amount of space your music collection occupies by making lower- (but still decent-) quality versions of songs: 128 kbps, 192 kbps, or 256 kbps. If you’ve ripped your own music at higher bit rates, choose a quality level to eke out some space on the iPad.
• Manually manage music and videos: Wield more control over what gets transferred to the iPad. When this option is selected, you can drag songs and videos from your iTunes library to the iPad name in the sidebar. If you decide to turn off this feature later, however, your music and videos are erased and replaced according to the options you set up in each media tab.
• Configure Universal Access: Click this button to enable options that make the iPad more usable for people with impaired vision or hearing. These controls mirror those found in Settings > General > Accessibility.
What if you want to connect the iPad to your computer but don’t want to sync? You can’t change the automatic sync preference without the iPad connected. Instead, press and hold Command-Option (Mac) or Shift-Control (Windows) when you connect the iPad, and hold them until the iPad appears in the sidebar. It won’t sync.
• Encrypt local backup: The data on the iPad is encrypted—scrambled so that if the iPad is lost or stolen, its contents can’t be read. The backup stored on your computer’s hard disk, however, is not encrypted. To make it inaccessible to prying eyes, activate this option, which is listed in the Backup section of the Summary screen when “Back up to this computer” is selected. A dialog appears, asking you to define a password and verify it.
Update the system software
When Apple releases updates to the iOS, iTunes informs you with an alert. You can also click the Check for Update button on the Summary screen to query manually. If an update is available, you’re given the option of downloading and installing it.
On the iPad itself, you can check for updates by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
If you say yes to the update in iTunes, you get to choose whether to download and install it right away or just download the software for later. The second option is good if you want to take advantage of a robust Internet connection (for example, you’re at the office or in a coffee shop with your laptop) but plan to update the iPad at another time (when you get home).
Connect to the Internet Using Wi-Fi
Every iPad supports Wi-Fi wireless networking, enabling you to connect to the Internet using nearby access points; you may have a Wi-Fi network set up in your house or office, or you might go to a nearby “hotspot,” usually a coffee shop or restaurant. A Wi-Fi network usually covers the space of a house or small building. Compare that to 4G cellular wireless (more on that shortly), which is designed to offer miles of coverage.
Once the iPad is connected to a Wi-Fi network, you can browse the Web, send and receive email, view maps, and perform other tasks that require an Internet connection. Wi-Fi also lets you interact with other devices and computers sharing the network connection; for example, you can play a game against another iPad owner or control music playback of a computer running iTunes.
Choose a Wi-Fi access point
When the iPad requires an Internet connection, such as for accessing email or a Web page, it checks to see if an active Wi-Fi network is within range. A dialog appears with a list of nearby networks (Figure 16). Tap the name of a network you want to join, type its password if required, and then tap the Join button on the keyboard.
Figure 16. Available Wi-Fi networks
Many public Wi-Fi hotspots don’t require a password to join the network but do need you to log in using a Web form once you’re connected. After you get onto the network, go to Safari and enter any valid Web address. A login page should appear if you need to sign in (or pay) for access.
If you’d rather not be interrupted by a pop-up list of networks, go to Settings > Wi-Fi and then turn off the Ask to Join Networks option.
Exercise good judgment when joining open, unprotected Wi-Fi networks. It’s possible (and easy, for those who are savvy) to intercept the data passing between the iPad and the base station running the network. A nefarious network owner—or even someone at the next table in a coffee shop—could collect the data stream and mine it for things like passwords and credit card numbers. Unless you can vouch for the network owner, avoid paying bills or making purchases on public networks. If I have no choice, I fire up a service such as WiTopia (www.witopia.net) to create a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection.
Connect to a Wi-Fi network manually
The iPad is helpful in displaying and connecting to available Wi-Fi networks, but there are times when you will want to link up with one manually—when you accidentally connected to the wrong network or the owner has hidden the network name for security, for instance. Here’s how to connect using the Settings app (Figure 17).
Figure 17. Connect to Wi-Fi in Settings.
1. Tap Settings > Wi-Fi.
2. From the list that appears under Choose a Network, tap a network name.
3. If a password is required, type it into the Password field and then tap the Join button.
The network name gains a checkbox, and a Wi-Fi signal strength icon appears in the upper-left corner of the screen.
To connect to a network that isn’t broadcasting its name, or if the iPad isn’t listing the one you expect, do the following (Figure 18):
Figure 18. Join a hidden Wi-Fi network.
1. In the Wi-Fi screen, tap the Other button.
2. Type the network name in the Name field.
3. Tap the Security button and specify which type of encryption the network is using. If you don’t know, try WPA2 first, followed by WEP (which is older and no longer secure, but still widely used).
4. Enter the network’s password in the Password field that appears.
5. Tap Join to establish a connection.
The iPad remembers Wi-Fi network names and settings, so the next time you’re within range of a network you’ve previously joined, a connection is automatically made.
Disconnect from a Wi-Fi network
If you accidentally join the wrong network, it’s easy to sever the connection. In Settings > Wi-Fi, tap the detail button (
) and then tap Forget this Network.
Turn off Wi-Fi
Go to Settings > Wi-Fi and set the Wi-Fi switch to Off. You may want to do this when conserving battery power or if you’re in an area where you know a Wi-Fi network isn’t available.
Connect to the Internet Using Cellular Data
For people who tend to travel more or who need more frequent access to the Internet than is afforded by Wi-Fi hotspots, Apple offers an iPad model with 4G cellular data access built in, the same network used by modern cell phones. With 4G enabled, your iPad likely has Internet access nearly everywhere.
The iPad can hop onto a 4G cellular network, but it can’t place or receive calls like an iPhone. The 4G access is strictly for data. (But you can still place calls using a Voice-over-IP service such as Skype.)
However, 4G is more expensive: The 4G iPad model costs $130 more than the Wi-Fi–only model in the United States and requires an additional fee to access the network. The good news is that Apple negotiated great deals with AT&T and Verizon Wireless to provide 4G access. (I’m using the U.S. carriers as the examples here, but companies worldwide also offer the iPad with 4G access. Check with your carrier for specific pricing.)
The AT&T and Verizon iPad models require different communications hardware to connect to their networks. Be sure you purchase the correct model if you haven’t done so already.
Here’s how it works for AT&T customers: For $14.99, you can transfer—both downloads and uploads—250 megabytes (MB) of data within a 30-day period. For $30, you get 3 GB of data transfer during the same period; $50 pays for 5 GB of data. If you use more than your allotment, you can pay for more data. The least expensive plan for Verizon customers is $30, but that counts for 2 GB of data; other prices include $50 for 5 GB of data and $80 for 10 GB. (These prices are current as of March 2012, and may have changed by the time you read this.)
The “great” part of these deals is that, unlike with the iPhone, there’s no contract that locks you in for a minimum length of time. Activate the plan when you need it (if you expect to travel a lot next month, for instance), and cancel when you’re done. If you bump against the limit of one plan, you can jump to another plan or wait until the 30-day cycle begins again.
And you do it all from the iPad directly.
The 4G iPad boasts a few other differences from the Wi-Fi model. It includes a GPS chip for identifying the iPad’s position in Maps and other apps; the Wi-Fi model uses a method based on wireless access points to determine its location. Also, when an AT&T 4G plan is active in the United States, you get free Wi-Fi access at AT&T-operated Wi-Fi hotspots, such as those in Starbucks, McDonalds, and many airports. The Verizon model, at least at the time of this writing, also offers the Personal Hotspot feature (where the iPad can act as a wireless base station for up to five other devices, including computers) without paying an extra fee; AT&T is not offering Personal Hotspot at all, even though the iPad is capable of it, but it may do so in the future, likely at extra cost.
Understand 4G LTE
The idea of “4G” cellular service is as much a marketing term as a description of technology, so here’s a quick overview of the iPad’s 4G capabilities. My apologies in advance for the alphabet soup here.
The iPad 4G model is capable of LTE (a meaningless acronym for Long Term Evolution) data transfer, which can achieve up to 72 megabits per second (Mbps). If you’re in a service area that offers LTE, that’s the theoretical fastest transfer rate.
The 4G model also supports three other varieties of cellular data: DC-HSDPA (42 Mbps), HSPA+ (21 Mbps), and HSPA (7.2 Mbps). To put these into context, the iPad 2 and iPhone 4 use HSPA, and the iPhone 4S uses a slightly slower variant of HSPA+.
However, don’t fret too much about these levels: The iPad 4G will connect to the best signal that’s available in your area, and fall back to 3G service if necessary. As it is, LTE is currently limited to a couple of handfuls of major markets, so many iPad owners may not get to sample higher speeds unless they’re on a business trip to one of those areas.
Activate cellular service
To enable cellular service, do the following:
1. Go to Settings > Cellular Data and make sure the Cellular Data option is set to On.
2. Tap the View Account button.
3. Enter your user information.
4. Enter login information. This is a new account for the iPad, not an existing account with your provider. (So even if you have an iPhone account, the iPad is separate.) Type an email address and a new password.
5. Tap a plan to choose it.
6. Enter your credit card and billing information and tap Next.
7. Read the terms of service and tap Agree.
8. Review the payment summary and tap Done.
After a few minutes, a dialog appears informing you that your data plan has been successfully activated.
Once cellular service is activated, you can access the Internet anywhere you have cellular reception.
Measure your cellular data usage
So, just how far will you get with 250 MB of data? As you might expect, that depends on your use. Go to Settings > General > Cellular Data > View Account. The Account Overview section tells you how much data you’ve used, how much remains, and how many days are left in the billing period.
In an area where both Wi-Fi and cellular work, Wi-Fi supersedes the cellular network. Using the iPad at a Wi-Fi hotspot, for example, doesn’t count toward the data limit even if cellular service is active.
Add or cancel cellular service
As you approach the end of the allotted bandwidth on the 250 MB plan, the iPad displays warnings when you reach 20 percent of data left, then 10 percent, and then zero. At any point, if you want to add bandwidth, tap the Now button to bring up the Cellular Data Account window. You can also get there at any time by going to Settings > Cellular Data and tapping Add Data or Change Plan (Figure 19).
Figure 19. Change cellular plan options.
International roaming data rates can be substantially higher than what your domestic carrier offers, so if you know you’ll be traveling out of the country, tap the Add International Plan button and set up a plan.
The SIM card included with the AT&T iPad 4G model stores your name and account information. You can remove it from the iPad and put it into another device that accepts a Micro SIM card and still use your account. It ships with a PIN code that’s set by the network provider. To lock the SIM card for added security, tap the SIM PIN button in the Cellular Data settings, switch SIM PIN to On, and enter 1111 (the default for AT&T in the U.S.). To set a new code, tap Change PIN and follow the instructions. (If you enter the wrong passcode three times, the SIM will be shut down and you’ll need to contact the cellular provider to re-activate it. See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4113 for more information.)
Use iCloud
iCloud is Apple’s ambitious, ubiquitous service for keeping all of your data in sync no matter which computer or iOS device you’re using. When you update some piece of information, such as an event in the Calendar app, the changes are copied to the iCloud servers and applied to every device that shares your iCloud account. You don’t need to sync using a cable or via Wi-Fi; as long as you have a connection to the Internet, the information is updated automatically.
This feature is especially helpful when editing documents in apps that support iCloud. The process of moving a word processing document in Apple’s Pages application from the computer to the iPad is cumbersome and requires a trip through iTunes. With iCloud, the file is copied wirelessly without fuss.
iCloud can sync email, contacts, calendar events, iOS reminders, Safari bookmarks, notes, music, and documents. For images, Photo Stream is a way to share new photos you capture using the iPad’s camera, or to view photos you shoot with an iPhone or iPod touch or that are saved in compatible photo applications such as iPhoto (Figure 20).
Figure 20. A visual representation of iCloud
Set up iCloud
If you didn’t enable iCloud when you first set up your iPad, do the following:
1. Open Settings > iCloud.
2. Enter your Apple ID and password.
3. Tap the Sign In button. The iPad verifies the information.
4. In the dialog that appears, allow iCloud to use location information for your iPad.
The iCloud settings include On/Off switches for the types of data that can be synced (Figure 21). Tap to enable or disable any of them. For the Photo Stream and the Documents & Data options, tapping their names brings up additional options. (For example, Documents & Data lets you turn off cellular access for documents so you don’t inadvertently chew up your cellular bandwidth allotment.)
Figure 21. iCloud settings
Sync data to iCloud
The beauty of iCloud is that once it’s enabled, you don’t have to do much else. Contacts and calendars, for instance, are automatically updated. Some items require a small amount of manual intervention. For example, music, TV shows, or apps you’ve purchased from the iTunes Store on a separate device can be downloaded to the iPad.
1. Open the iTunes app or the App Store app on the iPad and tap the Purchased button at the bottom of the screen.
2. Tap an artist’s name in iTunes, or skip to the next step for the App Store.
3. Tap the iCloud Download button next to the item you wish to download (Figure 22).
Figure 22. Download purchased music.
An option in iTunes lets you download new music, apps, or books to all of your devices when you purchase them. Go to iTunes > Preferences, tap the Store icon, and turn on the Automatic Downloads options for the media you want.
You can access your contacts, calendars, email, and iWork documents using any modern Web browser at www.icloud.com.
iCloud backup
Instead of backing up the iPad’s data to iTunes, you can back it up directly to iCloud when the iPad is connected to a Wi-Fi network and being charged. Go to Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup and enable the iCloud Backup option. (You can also choose “Back up to iCloud” in iTunes on the iPad’s Summary screen.) Here you can also see how much of your free 5 GB capacity is being used. As you might guess, Apple is happy to sell you more storage space.
Click the Manage Storage button to view which items are being stored, and how much space they occupy. Some types of data stored on your iPad don’t count against the 5 GB of free storage, such as Photo Stream images and purchased music, apps, books, and TV shows.
View your Photo Stream
When the Photo Stream feature of iCloud is enabled, images you capture using the iPad (or an iPhone or iPod touch) appear in the Photos app. Enable the Photo Stream option in Settings > iCloud.
Photo Stream automatically keeps 1000 photos, including the last 30 days’ worth of new photos. If you run across a photo you want to keep on the iPad before it’s rotated out by new photos, add it to the Camera Roll or to an album, as follows:
1. In the Photos app, tap the Photo Stream button to view your stream.
2. Tap the Share (
) button.
3. Select the photo or photos you wish to keep.
4. Tap the Save button.
5. Tap Save to Camera Roll, Save to Existing Album, or Save to New Album to choose an album (Figure 23).
Figure 23. Copying a Photo Stream photo to an album
Similarly, you can delete photos from your Photo Stream. With one or more photos selected, as in the steps above, tap the Delete button. Tap the Delete Selected Photos button that appears for your confirmation to remove the images from all devices that share your Photo Stream.
Read Notifications
Under previous versions of iOS, notifications were a hassle. If an app put up a notice—for example, I use Boxcar (www.boxcar.io) to alert me when I receive Facebook or Twitter direct messages—it appeared as a solitary box, obscuring everything else. iOS 5 revamped notifications, making them much more useful.
You can read notifications at any time by swiping down with one finger from the top of the screen (Figure 24). Tap an item to go directly to it in the appropriate app. To hide the drawer, drag it back to the top of the screen.
Figure 24. Notifications
Customize the appearance of notifications (such as whether new alerts show up as a banner at the top of the screen, show up as a dialog, or do not show up at all) by going to Settings > Notifications.
Connect to Bluetooth Devices
The iPad includes just two ports for connecting cables: the headphone port at the top and the dock port at the bottom. The rest of the iPad’s communication happens wirelessly via Wi-Fi, cellular, or a third option: Bluetooth. Thanks to this short-range wireless technology, you can listen to music using Bluetooth headphones or speakers; you can also type using any Bluetooth keyboard instead of the onscreen keyboard or Apple’s optional keyboard dock accessory.
When shopping for Bluetooth audio products, look for ones that support A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile).
Pair the iPad and the device
To communicate with the iPad, a Bluetooth device must be paired with it to ensure that each device is recognized and won’t get confused by other Bluetooth connections nearby. You need to pair the devices only once, after which the iPad identifies and communicates with the keyboard or audio product automatically when it’s within range. Follow these steps:
1. Open the Settings app and tap the General category.
2. Tap the Bluetooth option.
3. Ensure that Bluetooth is on; if not, slide the Bluetooth switch to On.
4. Power on the Bluetooth device you want to pair and put it into its pairing mode; you may need to press and hold a button on the device to switch modes. It will appear in the Devices list.
5. If the iPad displays a dialog for pairing, skip to the next step. Otherwise, tap the name of the unpaired device.
6. Enter the device’s PIN number.
For headsets, this is usually “0000” (four zeros), but check the device’s instructions if that doesn’t work. For keyboards, the PIN is a series of numbers that appears on the iPad screen (Figure 25).
Figure 25. Pairing the Apple Wireless Keyboard
7. Tap the Connect button. If successful, the device appears as Connected on the Bluetooth screen.
The iPad can be paired with more than one device at the same time. For example, you can listen to music through a wireless Bluetooth headset while typing on a Bluetooth keyboard.
When using a Bluetooth keyboard, the iPad’s onscreen keyboard won’t appear. This makes sense, except when you’re close enough to be in range of the keyboard but not intending to use it. You may need to go into Settings and disable Bluetooth in that case (or turn off the keyboard’s power, but is it really worth getting off the couch to do that?).
I bought the Apple Wireless Keyboard to use with my iPad, but you can use nearly any Bluetooth keyboard. When you want to turn off the Apple model without disabling Bluetooth on the iPad, press and hold the keyboard’s power button for a few seconds until you see the status light disappear.
Forget the Bluetooth device
To remove a device from the list, tap the detail () button and then tap the Forget this Device button.
Use the Cameras
The iPad includes two built-in cameras for capturing photos and video: one mounted on the back and one at the front. I’ll be upfront and say that the front-facing one isn’t the highest quality, but specifications quickly lose their importance when you’re video-chatting with a friend in another city or capturing a photo or video that you otherwise might have missed.
Shoot photos and video
Many apps take advantage of the cameras—if you haven’t already played with Photo Booth, definitely check it out for a lot of fun—but I’ll cover the basics using the iPad’s Camera app.
Capture photos
1. Tap the Camera app to open it.
2. Compose your shot using the preview on the screen; you can hold the iPad in portrait or landscape orientation and it senses the difference.
3. Press the shutter button or the physical volume-up button to take a shot. The photo is saved in the iPad’s Camera Roll, which is accessible by tapping the preview in the lower-left corner of the screen or by launching the Photos app.
Tapping the shutter button can sometimes result in a blurry photo due to the vibration from making the tap. If you’re seeing fuzzy pictures, try this: Touch and hold the shutter button. Then, line up your shot and release the button when you’re ready to capture the photo.
Capture video
Shooting video is similar to capturing still photos. In the Camera app, tap the Photo/Video switch to enter video mode (Figure 26). Tap the shutter button to start recording, and tap it again to stop.
Figure 26. Switching to video mode
Make FaceTime calls
Videoconferencing on computers has been around for years—iChat, Skype, and Windows Messenger are just a few options. But as I’ve learned recently, a toddler’s desire to sit in front of a computer screen, even when talking to grandparents, is short-lived. FaceTime on the iPad brings video chatting to wherever you are, and the ability to switch cameras lets you follow your subject around or point to something you want to feature (like the child’s latest dance moves).
Set up a FaceTime contact
1. Tap the FaceTime app to open it.
2. Tap the Contacts button to view the people in your Contacts list. If you’re just starting out, the list may be empty. Otherwise, if you synced contacts from your computer, they should appear here. I’m going to assume you’re starting from scratch.
3. Tap the + button to create a new contact.
4. Enter the person’s first and last name, phone number (if you know it), and email address (again, if you know it).
If the person owns an iPhone 4 or later, they’re capable of chatting via FaceTime using their mobile number. Other iPad owners, or friends who have the FaceTime application installed on their Macs, are identified by their email addresses.
5. Tap Done to finish setting up the contact.
Make a FaceTime call
1. Tap the Contacts button to view your list of contacts.
2. Tap the name of the person you want to chat with.
3. Tap the person’s phone number or email address to initiate a call.
4. When the other person accepts the FaceTime request, you’re connected (Figure 27).
Figure 27. A FaceTime video chat
The small window in the corner is what your camera is sending, so you can make sure your face is in the frame. If you wish to move it to another corner, drag it there.
5. To switch between the iPad’s two cameras, tap the button at the right in the control bar. You can also mute the audio of your side of the conversation by tapping the Mute button at left.
6. Tap the End button to disconnect the call when you’re finished.
Mirror Video
On the original iPad, the only way for teachers or presenters to share what was happening on the tablet’s screen was to mount a camera above it and project the results. The iPad can mirror its video to an HDTV, digital projector, or other similar device. All you need is an Apple Digital AV Adapter or Apple VGA Adapter; plug it in and mirroring is automatically enabled.
Better yet, if you also own an Apple TV, the iPad can mirror its screen over Wi-Fi. Here’s how to activate it:
1. Double-press the Home button, or swipe up with four fingers, to reveal the multitasking bar.
2. Swipe left to right to view the iPad’s audio playback, volume, and brightness controls. You should also see an AirPlay button to the right of the fast-forward button.
3. Tap the AirPlay button and choose the Apple TV on your network.
4. Set the Mirroring option to On (Figure 28).
Figure 28. Start mirroring the iPad’s screen.
Search Using Spotlight
Even the smallest-capacity iPad model stores a lot of information. To locate something quickly, go to the Home screen and swipe to the right. (If you’re in any Home screen, you can also press the Home button twice; one press takes you to the first Home screen, and the second opens the Spotlight screen. Don’t be too quick about the two button presses, though, or you’ll open the multitasking bar.)
Type some text into the Search field to bring up results, sorted by apps (Figure 29). Tap the one you want to jump to it. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, tap the Search Web or Search Wikipedia options to view those search results in Safari.
Figure 29. Spotlight search results
To quickly erase a term and start over, tap the cancel (X) button to the right of the Search field.
Spotlight also matches app names when you search, so if you have dozens of apps and don’t want to navigate to the screen containing the one you want, simply perform a Spotlight search to locate and launch it.
Browse the Web
Web browsers on smartphones have always been pretty terrible. The iPhone demonstrated that it’s possible to render a Web site that doesn’t need to be custom programmed to be readable on a mobile device. However, even that didn’t prove to be 100 percent accurate, because although Safari on the iPhone can render a page as it would appear in a desktop Web browser, the screen size is still a limitation, leading many sites to adjust their code to accommodate.
The iPad is almost all screen, with a version of Safari that displays Web sites just as you’d see them on your Mac or Windows PC. We no longer wonder or marvel at how we get information online—we just get it.
Access Web sites
Tap the Safari icon on the Home screen to launch the iPad’s Web browser. (As soon as you try to access a Web site in Safari, the program checks for an Internet connection. If one isn’t found, the iPad asks if you want to join a nearby Wi-Fi network.)
Open and read a new Web page
Safari opens to a new blank page, with a layout similar to what you’re accustomed to on your computer.
1. Tap the Address field.
2. Enter the address of the site you want to visit.
To quickly erase what you’ve typed and start over, tap the cancel (X) button at the right edge of the Address field.
As you type, Safari suggests matching URLs from your bookmarks or history in a popover (Figure 30).
Figure 30. A new Safari window
You don’t need to type “http://” at the front of a URL in the Address field. Safari adds that automatically when contacting the site.
3. Tap the Go key in the onscreen keypad or a suggested address in the popover. After a few seconds, the page appears.
To read the site’s content, flick or drag the page in any direction to scroll it. If you’d like to enlarge an area, double-tap that spot to zoom in—Safari smartly figures out how much zoom to apply based on the page’s layout. You can also spread two fingers to enlarge manually. Double-tap or pinch to zoom back out.
To follow a link to another page, simply tap the text or image that is linked. You can return to the previous page by tapping the Back button in the toolbar.
To quickly jump to the top of a Web page, tap the status bar at the top of the screen. (This shortcut works in most apps.)
View Photos
Just look at that screen! Full color, high resolution, larger than a phone, attached to a device that’s more comfortable to hold than a laptop. If the iPad didn’t already do a thousand other things, you’d think it was designed solely for displaying digital photos.
When you have an iPad stocked with your favorite photos, you have a portable presentation machine to show off your latest snapshots.
The Photos app provides a limited set of editing tools. If you want to do more than just view photos, I recommend buying Apple’s iPhoto for iOS ($4.99).
Open the Photos app and tap the Photos button at the top of the screen to see thumbnails of all the photos stored on the iPad. There are many ways to get photos onto the iPad, but for our purposes here (if your photo library is empty), take a few snapshots using the iPad’s camera (described earlier). Tap a photo to open it. The onscreen controls disappear after a few seconds so you can enjoy just the image. Rotate the iPad to match the photo’s orientation for the best effect (Figure 31).
Figure 31. A photo viewed in landscape orientation
While viewing an image, you can do a number of things:
• Tap once anywhere to make the controls reappear. Tap again to make them go away again, or wait a few seconds.
• Double-tap anywhere on the photo to zoom in. Double-tapping again zooms back out to fit.
• To zoom further in with more control, pinch two fingers outward. Swipe anywhere on the image to view a different area of the photo. To zoom back out, pinch two fingers together or double-tap the screen.
• To quickly skim all of the photos, tap once to view the controls and then drag the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen. The preview is extremely fast because the Photos app displays low-resolution images as you drag, giving you a sense of what the photo is without having to draw all of the detail. If you pause, the higher-resolution version appears.
• Tap the button at the upper-left corner (which reads either All Photos or the name of the current album) to return to the Photos pane.
I think this one is my favorite Photos tip: Instead of trying to tap the back button in the upper-left corner of the screen (which is labeled with the name of the enclosing folder), pinch two fingers together to collapse the stack you’re currently viewing. It’s much faster, because your fingers are likely already in place from opening a stack or zooming in on an image.
Get Apps
The iPad is sleek and shiny, a fantastic example of industrial design that packs a host of cutting-edge technologies into a thin, responsive tablet. Aside from holding it in your hand, however, your time spent using the iPad will be focused almost entirely on its software.
The core apps that ship with the iPad are useful, but those are just the beginning. With a few taps (and often just a few dollars), you can locate, purchase, and download apps that do nearly anything you can think of. Here, I tell you how to find and install apps, as well as how you can share them with friends.
Find and install apps
Quick, jump in the car—let’s go app shopping!
Or don’t. The only outlet to get apps is Apple’s App Store, available on the iPad itself or from within iTunes. Pricing varies among apps, naturally, but most cost less than $15—in many cases, far less, and many apps are available for free.
The App Store does not offer demo or shareware versions of apps, so it’s difficult to evaluate an app before purchasing it. It’s not impossible, though: Many vendors offer free “light” versions of their apps, which are limited in scope but give you a sense of what the paid version can do. Other apps may cost as little as $0.99 and offer just a handful of features, with the option to unlock others if you pony up some more cash.
The App Store on the iPad
Tap the App Store icon on the Home screen to launch the App Store. Since it’s a storefront, you’ll see many new and featured titles (Figure 32). Tap the What’s Hot button at the top of the screen to view more featured apps, or tap the Release Date button to see what has been added recently.
Figure 32. The App Store on the iPad
At the bottom of the screen, the buttons let you view featured apps; see Genius recommendations of other apps based on apps you already own; consult lists of the most popular paid and free apps in Top Charts; view and download past purchases, or browse by category. (See “Update apps,” later, for more about the Updates button.) If you already know what you’re looking for, enter its name into the Search field in the upper-right corner of the screen.
To view more information about an app, including screenshots and customer reviews, tap its icon.
It’s sometimes difficult to get a sense of what an app offers by looking solely at screenshots, so be sure to tap the link that takes you to a developer’s Web site for more information. Often companies will include video of how the app operates.
If you decide your life isn’t complete without the app, tap the button that displays the price. The button changes to read “Buy App”; if the app is free, you’ll see “Install App” (Figure 33). Tap it again to purchase, or tap anywhere outside the button to switch back to the price.
Figure 33. Tap the Buy App button.
After you enter your iTunes Store account password, the app downloads and is installed in the first open space on the Home screen.
If you’re using a cellular connection to the Internet, large apps—over 50 MB—won’t be downloaded. Connect to a Wi-Fi network or use iTunes on your computer and try the purchase again.
The iTunes Store knows which apps you’ve purchased on other devices. Those appear with an Install button; no need to re-buy them.
The App Store within iTunes on a computer
It may be more convenient to browse and purchase apps on your computer and then sync them to the iPad later. However, an extra step is required when buying apps in iTunes. Fire up iTunes, click the iTunes Store item in the sidebar, and then click the App Store heading at the top. After clicking the Buy App button, the app is downloaded and added to iTunes. When you next perform a sync, the app is automatically transferred to the iPad and appears on the Home screen.
Update apps
When developers update their software, they submit a changed version to the App Store, where Apple approves the update and makes it available. Because everything goes through the App Store, your iPad can check for updates so you don’t have to go searching for them online.
A numbered badge appears on the App Store icon in the Home screen indicating how many updates are ready to be downloaded. In iTunes, the badge appears on the Apps item in the sidebar.
You don’t have to wait for the iPad or iTunes to communicate with the Apple mothership. In the App Store app, tap the Updates button to trigger a check for new versions. In iTunes, select the Apps item in the sidebar and then click the Check for Updates button.
To install the updates on the iPad, do the following:
1. Tap the App Store app to launch it.
2. Tap the Updates button in the bottom toolbar. A list of updated apps appears.
3. To learn more about the update, tap its name in the list. Otherwise, skip to the next step.
4. Tap the Free button next to any single app you want to download; when it changes to Install, tap it again. Or, tap the Update All button at the top of the screen to download and install all updates at once.
A scary-looking dialog may appear before the download begins, warning you that an app may contain material inappropriate for children. Apple is strict about the type of content that’s accepted into the App Store, so you shouldn’t find anything too suggestive, and certainly nothing explicit. However, Apple can’t control all content, especially for apps that fetch data from the Web, so the company throws up this disclaimer.
Remove apps
As you download more apps—and I predict you will—you’re going to find that some don’t hold the allure they once did, or you’ll discover a new app that does something better than the first one you downloaded. You can remove the app on the iPad itself, or you can disable it from syncing within iTunes by deselecting it in the Apps screen.
The original apps that ship with the iPad cannot be removed. If they’re in your way, consider moving them to another Home screen.
1. Locate the app you want to remove on the Home screen, and then touch and hold its icon for a second. All of the apps begin to shake, and an X button appears on the app’s icon.
2. Tap the X button.
3. Tap the Delete button in the confirmation dialog that appears.
4. You can optionally rate the app, which will be reflected in its description at the App Store. Tap a star to give a rating between 1 and 5, and then tap the Rate button. Or, tap No Thanks to delete the app without rating it.