Having made most of my living in the news business, I'm pretty much a news junkie. As a result, I've loaded my iPad up with a lot of news applications so I can keep up throughout the day. I'd taken some pretty strong issue with the failings of the AP News app for the iPhone, but the iPad version hits a new low in design and function. Let's start at the beginning. When you launch the app, you are presented with a screen that has little strips of news on what appears to be a cloth background. Each strip is a story. You can get about six of these strips on the iPad screen. That's pretty silly, since the screen is so large and the strips are so small. You would think the people that designed this app would use the extra space for more content, but that isn't the case. Read More

It's pretty clear that new iPad owners are hitting the app store in droves. Books, games and movies are all flying off the virtual shelves. Since you may be suffering from sensory overload, or just looking for some ideas, here are some things I've seen that might be worth a look. I tried Time Magazine (U.S. $4.99) and Popular Science ($4.99) magazines on the iPad. The both look striking on the luscious iPad screen, but neither one really excited me enough to get me to subscribe. Time had nice use of video. Pop Sci looked stunning, but didn't have a lot of text. I think both magazines will need to come down below 5 bucks an issue to attract readers. For news, I liked Reuters News Pro, the new NPR app and the New York Times Editors' Choice app. All are free, and make clever use of the screen and finger Read More

As an early adopter of an Apple iPad, it’s a safe bet you enjoy media of all kinds. Fortunately Yahoo! has created the best looking entertainment resource available for the iPad and it’s completely free of charge. Yahoo! Entertainment is an interactive guide to all things media related. Find all of the latest news in the entertainment world from movies, television, books and music all organized in a very slick interface. If you plan to have your iPad on hand as you watch television, you’ll be able to access an interactive television program guide giving you  highlights of things to watch so you’ll never miss a thing. Additionally, catch Yahoo! Videos specifically formatted for use on the iPad to keep up to date on news within several entertainment categories. The presentation is very appealing and takes full advantage of the iPad’s very slick touchscreen interface and it’s available all for free. Read More