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Tag Archive for: iMovie

2011 – Year of the iPad 2

0 Comments/ in News / by Jimmy Liew
10 March, 2011

Steve Jobs was on stage last week to announce the next iPad, simply called iPad 2. Much had been speculated on what it will have and how it will look, with some getting close while others missed by miles. But it is here and iPad 2 will be available in the US from March 11 and another 26 countries from March 25. Unfortunately, Singapore is not in that 26.

It took more than 6 months last year before iPad officially hit our shores and hopefully for iPad 2, the wait will be shorter. But don’t be surprise as you will probably see them in your neighborhood electronic stores at extremely cut-throat prices.

Prices remain the same as the original iPad when it was first launched and you will have the options of WiFi or WiFi+3G at 16GB, 32GB and 64GB and also a choice between White or Black. See below for the SG prices from last year.

iPad pricing for Singapore

iPad pricing for Singapore from last year

In a nutshell…

The iPad 2 will have a new tapered, slim design with the same screen size as its predecessor. It is lighter than the original iPad and even thinner than the iPhone 4 (8.8mm vs 9.3mm). There are also TWO color options – White or Black…which kinda means Apple has solved the White case problem that had plagued the iPhone 4.

There are two cameras on the front and back of the iPad 2 (VGA and 720p respectively) which you can use to record HD videos and also use it for FaceTime with other iOS devices or the Mac.

FaceTiming with the iPad

Internally, it has a new duo-core processor, A5, which Apple claim to be double the speed than before. They also stated a 9 times improvement in graphical performance which will come in useful with some of the new apps announced (more on that later).

With the slim design, powerful processor and graphics chip, one might think that battery life will be affected. Nope. Apple somehow managed to squeeze more battery in the iPad, so much so it will still have 10 hours usage using WiFi (9hrs with 3G).

The “soft” side

The iPad 2 will come with iOS 4.3 installed, which Apple had just made available for everyone. This comes with improvements to AirPlay, Safari and the new iTunes Home Sharing that allows you to watch all your media on your PC via iTunes wirelessly.

As mentioned previously, with the two cameras in iPad 2, you can start doing FaceTime video chat with someone on another iOS device or your Mac. With the front camera at the top of the iPad while held in portrait mode, the camera will be closer to you but I am still not convinced if one will be comfortable doing FaceTime with the iPad 2, or be happy with how one will look on screen when the camera is looking up …

Another software that comes new with iPad 2 is Photobooth which you should be familiar if you owns a Mac. But with the touch interface, you can even manipulate some of the effects to give yourself that unique special look.

During the event, Apple also demoed two new apps that will be coming to the App Store which utilize the features of the iPad – iMovie and GarageBand.

Make a movie? Now you can with the HD cam on the iPad

The iMovie app for the iPhone currently is a much stripped-down version of what you get on the Mac. But with this update (it will be an Universal app), the iMovie on the iPad works closer to how iMovie works on the Mac, taking full advantage of the increase screen and touch gestures. You can import directly from what you shoot with the HD back camera, and activate the Precision Editor to fine tune your edits. There are multiple audio tracks overlay which you can add music, sound effects or even record voice over directly. When done, you can share it out to your favorite video sites or watch it on the iPad. Watch the demo here

Fancy being the next singer/songwriter with the GarageBand on iPad 2?

As for the GarageBand, Apple has create an app which makes making music much more accessible to anyone. On a Mac, GarageBand requires you to have a keyboard/guitar to make music. But on the iPad, using touch interface, GarageBand lets you play and record music like the real instrument – be it a drum, guitar or a grand piano. It also comes with an 8-track recording suite that lets you import music from your iTunes library, or record straight off an instrument or via the built-in instruments. Watch the demo here

Accessories me

With Apple, you know that everything they put out will have been carefully thought through and they usually don’t produce something just for the sake of that. Take for example the Smart Cover they announced together with iPad 2. This is basically a harden piece of cover made of Polyurethane or Leather, that when laid over the iPad 2, holds itself steadfastly onto the iPad with magnets and protects the screen when closed, or when folded, becomes a stand – both vertically or horizontally. To add to its functions, when you lift the lid off the cover, the iPad will switch itself back on from sleep mode. There are 5 colors to choose for either the Polyurethane or the Leather cover. I think this will be a hot-seller.

See it in action in the video below.

Apple also announced a new adapter (Apple Digital AV Adapter) that will allow you to mirror your iPad 2 screen onto a display with HDMI on both landscape and portrait mode at 1080p (movies at 720p). This works across all apps on the iPad 2. You can also connect your 30pin cable to charge your iPad at the same time. When used with other iOS device, you can display slideshows or movie on the big screen at 720p, with audio support.

So what else is there – the question of should I buy one?

It will be another post to give you the reasons to buy or not, to upgrade or not, WiFi or 3G, white or black…etc. But thankfully someone else has done it – read this thorough should I buy article by Marco Arment.

With regards to the choice between WiFi or WiFi+3G model, it depends how and where you see yourself using it. As mentioned in the article by Marco, the WiFi+3G model includes a GPS module which you will need if you require your iPad to give you decently accurate location. Also now with iOS 4.3, if you have iPhone 4, you can use the Personal Hotspot feature to connect your WiFi iPad onto the net

But if you are still looking at the WiFi+3G iPad, besides the price difference between a WiFi and a WiFi+3G model, you need to factor in the additional cost to of getting the 3G connection.

There are two options: MultiSim or iPad package. MultiSim is a value-added service tagged to your mobile post-paid plan. Assuming you already have a phone plan with 3G data, you can get another SIM card with the same account and use that card in your iPad. Monthly charges for all 3 telcos for a MultiSIM VAS with at least one MicroSIM card, is S$10.70. (If you are a SingTel customer, get a normal SIM card for MultiSIM VAS and get it cut to size to use in iPad, saves you S$5/mth, assuming both SIM cards you have are not MicroSIM)

Alternatively, you can get a separate post-paid plans for iPads, ranging from S$21.40/mth from M1 to S$36.40/mth from Starhub (S$34.50/mth from Singtel).

.h3 So now we wait.

While we wait for Apple to release the launch date of iPad 2 to come out, take this time to think about your usage need and see whether the iPad will fit into your life. Alternatively, like some of us, shape your life with an iPad instead… ;)

And for those who are contemplating waiting for the next iPad…

You can argue that there might be another one coming out within the next 8-12 months… but that’s always going to be the case. And unlike a lot of other electronics, the retail price of any given Apple product will probably never change over its lifespan. Therefore, the best time to buy an Apple product is right when it’s released or updated ~ Marco Arment

Share with us your thoughts on the iPad 2.

Run your Software Update before you sleep

1 Comment/ in News / by Jimmy Liew
8 June, 2009

softwareupdate

Apple released a bunch of software updates over the past week, focusing on fixes and compatibility issues, especially with the iLife software suite.

Here are the whole list:

  • iLife Support 9.0.3 – direct download
    iLife Support provides system software resources that are shared by iLife and other applications. This update addresses general compatibility issues, improves overall stability for the Media Browser, and fixes a number of other minor issues. The issues addressed include:
    • Resolved memory leaks for improved performance of the Media Browser
    • Corrected issues to display custom folders when added to the Media Browser
    • Maintained correct image dates when importing from iPhoto to Aperture
  • iMovie Update 8.0.3 – direct download
    This update addresses general compatibility issues, improved overall stability and fixes a number of other minor issues. The issues addressed include:
    • Support for 720p AVCHD Lite cameras and camcorders
    • Deleting a beat marker no longer modifies the project duration
    • Video Effects palette now uses the correct thumbnail for still images
  • iPhoto Update 8.0.3 – direct download
    This update addresses general compatibility, improves overall stability and fixes a number of issues in the following areas of the application:
    • Publishing to MobileMe, Facebook, and Flickr
    • Slideshow playback
    • Location (GPS) info embedded in emailed photos and exported JPEGs
  • iDVD Update 7.0.4 – direct download
    This update addresses general compatibility issues and fixes an issue where iDVD is unable to add title/comment to an image in the image details list. This update is recommended for all users of iDVD version 7.
  • Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 2.6 – direct download
    This update extends RAW image compatibility for Aperture 2, iPhoto ’08, and iPhoto ’09 for the following cameras:
    • Canon EOS 500D, Canon Rebel T1i, Canon EOS Kiss Digital X3
    • Nikon D5000
    • Olympus E-30
  • AirPort Utility 5.4.2 for Mac – direct download
    This update includes general fixes and compatibility updates for the following applications: AirPort Utility and AirPort Base Station Agent. The update also installs AirPort Disk Utility on Macs running Tiger.
  • QuickTime 7.6.2 for Mac – direct download
    QuickTime 7.6.2 includes changes that increase reliability, improve compatibility and enhance security
  • GarageBand 5.0.2 – direct download
    This update addresses general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and fixes a number of other minor issues.
  • iTunes 8.2 – direct download
    iTunes 8.2 now supports iPhone or iPod touch with the iPhone 3.0 Software Update. iTunes 8.2 also includes many accessibility improvements and bug fixes.

Did it help fix any issue for you? Let us know

Macworld 2009 – Looking at iLife’09

0 Comments/ in News, Opinions / by Jimmy Liew
9 January, 2009

ilife09The updated softwares – iLife’09 and iWork’09 – are definitely worth looking into. Again, these are not revolutionary changes to the two application suits, but a maturing of softwares that targets the general consumers, but sprinkled with professional features that are made easy to use. Yes, even your grandma can definitely do those edits with these new tools.

You can see the new features here at their respective pages – iLife’09 and iWork’09. But here are some of the more interesting new features.

Putting Faces and Places in iPhoto

ilife09-iphoto

The most exciting improvements to iPhoto, though might on first look mere cosmetic, is the introduction of Faces and Places. Those two, add to that with Events, gives you a much more intuitive way of organizing, viewing and sharing of your photos, as briefly touched on in this post at 37signals.

Apple realized that people don’t just want to find photos. Go back to iPhoto’s domain: it’s that situation where you have a bunch of photos and you want to look at them and share them. When you’re in that situation, you don’t just want to see random photos. You want to see and share photos of certain things. Like photos of your wedding, photos of your trip to Maine, or photos of that dinner in Paris. These are Events.

With Faces, iPhoto lets you easily sieve through tons of photos and group them of a particular person on an easily accessible page. Need to find all the photos of your wife or your Mom, just tag a few of the photos and let iPhoto identify the photos taken of them easily. Added with sync support to FaceBook, you can easily upload photos of your friends whom you had named in iPhoto, when synced will be converted into tags in FaceBook and your friends will be automatically notified about these new photos. My concern is how good the detection is when the person is not looking directly at the camera.

As for Places, you can track the photos taken at various places on your previous holidays, or find all the photos taken over the years at a particular spot in the country. However, as most of us won’t have a GPS-equiped camera (or iPhone, at least till last year), most of our photos need to be painstakingly geotagged for Places to be effective.

Themed slideshows and Travel Maps are beautifully done, but are mostly cosmetic than useful. How many Sliding Panels slideshow do you want to see before it becomes passe?

I’d love to use iPhoto just because of Faces and Places, but I’d think twice as I still prefer to organize my photos via the Finder than to have all my photos imported into the iPhoto Library, something which Aperture and Lightroom allows.

Pro-app features in iMovie

ilife09-imovie

iMovie meanwhile, have a few new tools that you might find only in professional applications – video stabilization, precision editing of both the video and audio tracks, green-screen and picture-in-picture effects (need to activate advance functions to see them), just to name a few.

Video shooting is becoming more available now to consumers, from small handhelds like Flip Video, to traditional video cams from Canon, Sony etc to even higher-end DSLRs like Canon 5D MkII and Nikon D90, we will definitely see more home-made videos being shot. But as most of us don’t have access to steadycams, many if not most of our videos will be like watching the Blaire Witch movie. Having video stabilization built into iPhoto, a previously pro-app only feature, is a boost for all. To see it in action, see it here. However, do note that you will need to run your raw clips through iPhoto’s Analyze for Stabilization option before stabilization will be set, and it will definitely take time if your clips are long. This feature itself, is definitely worth the money paid for iLife.

The improved editing and effects tools will definitely push more consumers not just to shoot videos, but also to edit them and share them with friends and families.

GarageBand, iWeb and iDVD

GarageBand has become a popular tools not just for musicians to record and produce their music, but also for podcasters to mix their podcasts for their shows. It has also become a useful tool for ring tone creation for your iPhone. With iLife’09, GarageBand now takes on another role in your music life – as your personal music teacher.

ilife09-garageband-stingThey have included Basic Lessons, using videos and interactive features on GarageBand to teach you piano and guitar lessons. For more advance classes, you can even enlists help from famous artists like Sting, Sarah McLachlan and Norah Jones to teach you how to play their tunes. Though you will need to pay for these Artists Lessons via GarageBand’s built-in store.

IWeb wasn’t mentioned during the keynote but Apple’s collaboration with Facebook also extended to iWeb. When you link your iWeb site to your Facebook account, whenever an update is done to the site, a notification will be sent out to all your friends in Facebook. Other improvements includes updates to the widgets that you can add to your site – RSS feeds, YouTube videos and Google Maps and Adsense to name a few.

Nothing new in iDVD except probably some new themes to the mix.

To buy or not to buy?

So is it worth spending S$138 (S$168 for 5 License Family Pack) for iLife’09?

YES, if you want to make full use of the photos and videos you took. Apple has made these tools that will give your photos and videos an attractive and professional look and more importantly, in an affordable and very easy to use package.

Do check it out at the nearest Apple store and test them out.

Update: If you buy a Mac on or after January 6 that shipped without iLife’09, you can get the upgrade at a cool S$18 with Apple’s iLife Up-To-Date Program. Do read up the details on how you can get your upgrade before the end of March.

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