I think this is my first ever iBook recommendation here on iPad Insight – but I’ve been reading more and more books on the iPad in iBooks so I guess it’s about time.

I Suck at Girls is by Justin Halpern, the guy who created the massively popular and and always funny @shitmydadsays Twitter account that lead to a book and even a TV series. This book proves that as funny as the Twitter account and Halpern’s dad are, Halpern is a very funny and talented writer who can keep us laughing throughout nearly 300 iBook pages – not just in 140 character chunks.

The book is a hilarious look back at Halpern’s youth and his efforts to find the right girl – from terribly awkward elementary school efforts right through to meeting the woman he ended up married to. Halpern writes with sharp, often self-deprecating humor that had me laughing out loud early, often, and consistently while reading. He reminds me a little of Nick Hornby (author of titles like High Fidelity and Fever Pitch) who is one of my favorite contemporary authors.

(...)
Read the rest of Recommended iBook: I Suck at Girls (by the guy who wrote Sh*t My Dad Says) (209 words)

---

© patrickj for iPad Insight, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: iBooks review, iPad iBooks

Who doesn’t like free? And who doesn’t like great iPad apps? When the two come together it’s good stuff. With that in mind, we’d like to share our Best Free iPad App of the Week here every weekend.

This week’s pick is TouchTV, which promises to bring high quality TV highlights to the iPad – and delivers nicely on the promise.

The app provides bite-sized clips from a good range of channels and popular programs. So it can serve well as a way to discover new shows and to see what you might have missed from shows you already know.

(...)
Read the rest of Best Free iPad App of the Week: TouchTV (205 words)

---

© patrickj for iPad Insight, 2012. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: best free iPad app of the week, best free iPad apps

The Daily for iPad, the original iPad-only newspaper, was updated again yesterday – to Version 1.2.7.

This is mostly a minor update focused on bug fixes, but one of the items mentioned in the change list is ‘Increased reliability of Newsstand’. That’s some pretty poor, vague wording – and I don’t feel sure I even know what it means. The Daily has no control over Newsstand, that’s an Apple product – so the wording is very odd in that respect right off that bat.

As far as I’m concerned, Newsstand’s primary (only) good purpose is to facilitate new issues / content for all its titles downloaded nicely in the background – so when you open them up, they’re ready to go and present you with fresh new content. So I assumed that maybe that’s what was being increased / improved in this update – but sadly, just as with other updates to The Daily, I don’t see any noticeable improvement in this area at all so far. After applying the update yesterday it still took the app quite a while to download a new issue and have pages ready to read. This morning was the same again.

At one point The Daily had seemed to improve in this area. It’s more than a little disappointing to see this feature still doesn’t work well at all. And after this long I really don’t see the point of it continuing to be in Newsstand if it can’t get this right.

I know we have quite a few readers of The Daily here. Your thoughts on this latest update / The Daily’s Newsstand performance?

---

© patrickj for iPad Insight, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: iPad Apps

If you’re looking to pick up an iPad on the cheap, Apple has some great prices on refurbished iPad and iPad 2.

While some people may not like refurbished products, some Apple customers swear by refurbs and even go so far as to claim better reliability than non-refurbs! In any case, the refurbished iPads from Apple include a one-year warranty, a new battery, and a new outer shell. Basically new.

Based on the Apple Canada website, the following refurbished iPads are available at a discount:

iPad 2

• White 64GB Wi-Fi+3G: $649.00

• Black 32GB Wi-Fi+3G: $549.00
• Black 64GB Wi-Fi+3G: $649.00

iPad

• 64GB Wi-Fi: $469.00

• 16GB Wi-Fi+3G: $399.00
• 32GB Wi-Fi+3G: $469.00
• 64GB Wi-Fi+3G: $569.00

Apple does not yet offer refurbished units of the new third-generation iPad, but we may see them available later this year.

Lifedge Case Makes iPad Waterproof and Shock Resistant

iphone news

Infinity Blade: Dungeons is the new upcoming installment in the much popular Infinity Blade series. Changing their strategy from 1-1 fights to a diablo like gameplay, the game surely is going under some major renovation. Its looking promising but will it live up to the expectations, I hope so. via

Saturday Morning RPG is a new indie game series that was largely funded through a Kickstarter project last year. The result is a hilariously tongue-in-cheek game series that combines the best elements of 8-bit gaming, turn-based combat and a wistful look-back at just how great it was to be a kid.

(...)
Read the rest of Review – Saturday Morning RPG for iPad (591 words)

---

© Beth Elderkin for iPad Insight, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II is now available for purchase in the App Store. This is the fifth Sonic game for iOS devices. In Sonic 4: Episode II you and a friend can team up as Sonic and Tails to stop Metal Sonic and Dr. Eggman's evil alliance.

The game features Gamecenter, accelerometer support, Cloud Save, and a special unlock for users who own both Episodes I and II. Sonic 4: Episode II is a universal game compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. It requires iOS 4.0 or later.

read more

According to a report from DigiTimes, Amazon is planning to release a 10.1-inch version of its Kindle Fire tablet to compete with Apple’s iPad.

The company is suspending the launch of their 8.9-inch model to potentially focus on this new ‘iPad Killer’.

Amazon’s 8.9-inch Kindle Fire was originally going to compete directly with Samsung’s Galaxy Note tablets, but now the company seems to want to simplify its product offerings and produce a larger device.

As per the report, tablet orders from Amazon may begin as early as the end of the second quarter this year which could place the device for release later this fall/winter 2012.

What do you think? Do you like what Amazon’s Kindle Fire offers today? Will 10-inches of screen real estate make you switch from the iPad?

"/>