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Posts Tagged ‘Blank Space’

The iPad doesn’t have a camera, but does it matter?

Apple introduced its newest product on Wednesday—the iPad—suggesting that it fits in a space between an smartphone and a laptop. Both of those products typically have an integrated camera, so many folks were left scratching their heads when the iPad had none. Evidence buried within the iPad SDK suggests that Apple was ready to include one, but we’re wondering if its omission even matters to most consumers. Our feeling is that, despite the complaints, that lack of a camera won’t affect the iPad’s popularity or usability.

Screenshots of the Contacts application running in the iPad Simulator (part of the developer tools Apple released yesterday) reveal that Apple included a full interface to take a photo to add to new or existing contacts. If a contact doesn’t have a photo, you can click the blank space to add one. The user is then presented with the option to “Choose Existing Photo” or to “Take Photo.” Choosing “Take Photo” brings a pop-over to preview and take a picture. The apparent completeness of the feature suggests that Apple was prepared for the iPad to include camera hardware—if not in the current iteration, then perhaps in a future one.

However, does the iPad really need a camera? The iPhone has a camera capable of decent still shots and fair-to-middling video. It’s also a pocket-sized device comparable in size to many digital cameras—it’s size and ergonomics are suited to using it as a camera. The iPad, on the other hand, is 7.5 x 9.5 inches, which is easily bigger than most digital SLR cameras. The 9.7-inch screen would be great for framing (almost like using an 8×10 view camera!), but the device itself doesn’t seem like it would be very good for taking pictures.

Still, MacBooks have a built-in iSight, handy for videoconferencing via iChat or Skype, or taking gratuitous Facebook profile pictures. Surely such functionality would come in handy on the iPad? If you think about it, though, a webcam sitting in your lap and pointed up at your chin isn’t the most flattering angle, and holding it upright for an extended period doesn’t seem like it would be very comfortable either. We know there are some people who use video chats for keeping in touch with far-flung family, but the impression we got from a lot of folks is that the novelty of a video iChat wears off after only a couple sessions.

The iPod touch—another small, handheld Apple device—also got left out of the camera club with the most recent hardware update. Even without a camera, though, Apple recorded a 55 percent year-over-year growth in iPod touch sales last quarter. An integrated camera may have boosted that number a bit further, but the lack of camera doesn’t seem to be hurting the iPod touch by much.

iPhone OS may be ready for a camera-equipped iPad in the future, if Apple ever decides to include one. But we don’t feel the lack of camera will have any significant negative impact on the current-generation iPad’s sales.

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The Ultimate Gift for the iPhone Developer in Your Life: Notepods

We’ve discovered an adorable yet highly useful little product that could significantly ease some pain and lead to greater levels of productivity for smartphone developers.

It’s ridiculously simple as a concept, yet it allows for more creativity, freedom, and portability than any other tool we’ve seen for mobile developers, hands down. The product of a design shop and a web development lab, both based in Australia, these nifty and inexpensive toys have been popping up in offices all over Silicon Valley. Read on to learn the secret behind your favorite mobile dev’s favorite Christmas present.

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It’s made of paper.

Yes, the Notepod is the Moleskine of the digerati, an ingenious little sketchpad shaped like an iPhone. The front of each sheet features “52mm by 77mm of blank space floating in darkness,” and the back of each piece is a blank grid of graph paper, perfect, as the site says, “perfect for notes or jotting down the phone number of a hot geek.”

Notepods each contain 100 pages, and you can snag a 3-pack for around $18USD. Shipping will take between 7 and 12 business days, unless you’re lucky enough to live in Australia or New Zealand.

As we all know, the best ideas often hit you at inappropriate or inconvenient times. As Inventive Labs posted, “It’s incredibly fun to come up with an idea in the pub over a few beers;” however, how fun is it to decipher those indecipherable, scrawled-on and soggy cocktail napkins the next morning? Keep one in your bag, one on the nightstand – wherever inspiration strikes. It might be made of paper, but we think smartphone developers will find it a fun and simple productivity tool.

Discuss

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