DAMON BROWN’S SIMPLE GUIDE TO THE iPAD
3G iPAD UPDATE
By Damon Brown
PUBLISHED BY:
Damon Brown on Smashwords
Damon Brown’s Simple Guide to the iPad
Copyright © 2010 by Damon Brown
Covers designed by David G. Brown of DGB Studios http://www.davidgbrown.net
COPYRIGHT NOTES
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
iPod, iPhone, iPad and related products are trademarked by Apple Inc.
SMASHWORDS EDITION LICENSE NOTES
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.
DEDICATION
DEDICATED TO THE MEN IN MY LIFE: DAVID BROWN, TONY HOWARD & STEPHAN GARNETT
THANK YOU FOR SHOWING ME THE VALUE OF INDEPENDENCE
OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR
The Damon Brown Reader: A Decade of Sex, Tech and Pop Culture Journalism (2010)*
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Memes with John Gunders, Ph.D. (2010)*
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Connecting with Your Angels with Cecily Channer (2009)*
Porn & Pong: How Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider and Other Sexy Games Changed Our Culture (2008)*
The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to the iPhone (2007)
The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Satellite Radio (2006)
The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to the iPod (2005)*
*Also available on iPad, Kindle, nook and Sony e-readers!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Damon Brown regularly covers sex, tech and pop culture for Playboy, New York Post and other publications. He is a daily media and technology blogger for BNet.com (http://industry.bnet.com) and Mobile Games Editor at About.com (http://mobilegames.about.com). Damon has written several technology guides, including the Pocket Idiot’s Guide to the iPhone, the first book on the groundbreaking device. He is known for the critically-acclaimed title Porn & Pong: How Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider and Other Sexy Games Changed Our Culture (Feral House, 2008), praised by Playboy, Salon, Publishers Weekly and Popular Science.
This is his eleventh book.
Based in the Bay Area, Damon loves distant travel, extremely spicy food and both written and spoken language. Follow him at http://www.twitter.com/browndamon, join his Facebook group at http://bit.ly/d8QTai and read more of his work at http://www.damonbrown.net.
Table of Contents
1: THE BASICS
- The Device
- The Price
- Getting Started
- The iPad Front Page
- Using The Touchscreen
- Setting Up Online Connection – 3G
- Setting Up Online Connection – Wi-Fi
- Typing and Editing
- What The iPad Can’t Do
2: APPS
- Included Apps
- The App Store
- The Goods
- Searching For Items
- Buying Items
- Keep Items Up To Date
3: MUSIC & VIDEO
- Overview of iTunes
- Transferring Music and Video
- Finding Music, Movies and Video
- Buying Music, Movies and Video
- YouTube
4: PHOTOS
- Viewing Photos
- Slideshows
5: BOOKS
- Buying Books
- Reading Books
- iBook Alternatives
6: INTERNET & EMAIL
- Surfing the Web
- Reading and Navigating Email
7: PRODUCTIVITY
- Calendar
- Maps
- Contacts
- Pages
- Numbers
- Keynote
8: TIPS & TRICKS
- Settings
- Troubleshooting
- Online Videos
USING THIS BOOK
According to Apple boss Steve Jobs, millions of people already knew how to use the iPad because it operates like the popular iPhone and iPod Touch. This is both true and false. The iPad is definitely part of the Apple family, with its touchscreen, clean interface and thousands of apps. Once you turn it on, however, you realize that it is so much more sophisticated. You will never be word processing on an iPod, nor will you be making presentations on the iPhone anytime soon. The Apple iPad isn’t just a giant iPod, but a mini laptop.
This book is to help you understand the iPad quickly and easily!
I’ve been a techie my whole life and I love helping other people understand the power, the beauty and the advantages of learning the latest technology. After ten years as an author and journalist, however, I become frustrated. Why? It can take a long time to get information to people who need it, particularly when a traditional book takes several months to make it to you, the reader. By the time you get it, the tech info is dated and, unfortunately, less useful than it would have been when I wrote it.
What you’re reading right now isn’t your traditional book! First, this edition is written specifically for e-readers. Second, it is meant to be short and to the point – a breezy, afternoon read instead of slogging through a college course. Third, it is out FAST, so you could be reading this a few days after the iPad hit the stores. Fourth, as you noticed, it’s cheaper than the expensive iPad books not even available yet. It costs about the same as your favorite iPod, iPhone or iPad app.
What are you getting? Eight chapters with all the major information you need, from downloading music and checking out apps to troubleshooting your iPad and doing actual work on it. There’s more than enough to get you started here.
My goal is to give you a fun, focused overview of how to have fun with 2010’s biggest device. No tech jargon, programming tips or complicated procedures. We’re just going to spend an hour together, and, when you’re done, you’ll be ready to have a blast with the iPad.
And a special thanks to my Dad for the cover and my Mom Bernadette Johnson, my girlfriend Dr. Parul Patel, my writing partner-in-crime Jeanette Hurt, and my fellow techie Kurt Collins for the support.
-Damon
Chapter One: The Basics
Getting a new iPad is super exciting, but it does take a little prep work before you can rip-run through the music options, awesome games and smooth Internet browsing. Let’s go over the basics to make the rest of the experience easier.
The Device
If you already bought the iPad and took it out of the box, then you know the iPad is a small, light device. Here are the dimensions:
9.56 inches (242.8 mm)
7.47 inches (189.7 mm)
0.5 inch (13.4 mm)
1.5 pounds (0.68 kg) Wi-Fi model
Tiny, right? The average laptop is twice as thick and weighs three times as much. There are some sacrifices Apple had to make to keep it so lightweight, which we’ll get into later in the chapter, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a more portable device with equal power. Also, the iPad was made for multimedia and has no problem being played like an iPod, a digital picture frame, or a movie viewer.
Let’s look at the iPad itself. The front is just one big screen and, at the bottom, a concave button with a square on it. This is the Home key. The Home key is like a safety switch – press the button and it will always take you back to the iPad front screen. The back of the iPad is silvery and smooth.
Lift up the iPad, and take a look at the top of the device. You’ll see a small hole on the left and a long bar on the right. The hole on the right is the headphone jack, so slide in your headphones or earbuds in here. Keep in mind: Headphones made for the iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch will plug in fine, but others will require an adapter to fit in – check out http://www.apple.com for a list of headphones and the adapter (the small adapter currently runs about $20 US Dollars). The bar on the right is the Sleep/Wake button. You’ll use the button to turn on or off the iPad, or to take the iPad in and out of sleep mode (which will blank the screen and save power when the iPad’s not in use).
OK, let’s turn the iPad counterclockwise and look at the right edge of the device. At the far left you’ll see a small switch and a long bar. The switch is for locking the screen rotation: Like the iPhone and iPod Touch, the iPad will change your view between landscape (horizontal) and portrait (vertical) based on how you hold it. Flip the switch and it will keep the last view no matter how you turn the device. Right next to the switch, the long bar will push the volume up (top) or down (bottom) based on where you push. You’ll see an icon showing the current volume when you press it, if your iPad’s screen isn’t in sleep mode.
Finally, turn the iPad counterclockwise one more time and look at the bottom of the device. You’ll see a little space in the middle. This hole is where you’ll plug in the USB wire that came in the box. Any iPad accessories will plug into this hole, too.
A handful of accessories are available, including:
Keyboard dock
Rechargeable dock
iPad leather case
Check out the Apple website, at http://www.apple.com, for the latest accessories.
The Price
From the iPod to the iPhone, Apple products usually come in just a couple flavors. The iPad, however, has a ton of different pricing options. There are six different prices for the iPad – each slightly different:
iPad with Wi-Fi only connection and 16GB space = $499 U.S.
iPad with Wi-Fi only connection and 32GB space = $599 U.S.
iPad with Wi-Fi only connection and 64GB space = $699 U.S.
iPad with Wi-Fi and 3G Wireless connection and 16GB space = $629 U.S.
iPad with Wi-Fi and 3G Wireless connection and 32GB space = $729 U.S.
iPad with Wi-Fi and 3G Wireless connection and 64GB space = $829 U.S.
Amidst these six options, there are two big differences – wireless connection and memory size.
A Wi-Fi only iPad means you’ll need a wireless connection to get online and use email, download apps and surf the ‘net. You’re set if you have a wireless router set up at home or are in a “hot spot” like a coffee shop or restaurant that has wireless available. Once you leave the wireless area, the iPad can’t get online anymore, but you’ll still be able to use it. In other words, a Wi-Fi only iPad wouldn’t be ideal for road trips, unless you’re going to use it in offline mode.
On the other hand, a Wi-Fi and 3G Wireless iPad doesn’t make phone calls, but it uses the same cell phone towers as the iPhone to stay connected on the ‘net. Any area you have cell phone reception is an area you can get online with this iPad. As you probably noticed, the Wi-Fi and 3G Wireless iPad models cost $129 more than the Wi-Fi only ones. Furthermore, like a cell phone, this iPad requires a monthly payment to get 3G coverage.
Heavy internet surfers and business travelers would be happiest with the Wi-Fi and 3G model, but most of us would be fine with the Wi-Fi only one.
Choosing a memory size depends on a few factors, like if you plan on carrying around most of your music or downloading lots of movies for travel. Here’s a general overview:
16 GB carries approximately 3,000 songs, 10,000 photos or 40 hours of video
32 GB carries approximately 6,000 songs, 20,000 photos or 80 hours of video
64 GB carries approximately 12,000 songs, 40,000 photos or 160 hours of video
When deciding on the right amount of iPad memory, remember that you don’t need to carry all your multimedia on the device. For example, if you’re like the average person, you go through phases with your music – you might be in the mood for country for a while, then feel like listening to hip-hop, and so on. Your whole music collection can sit on your PC or Mac, so the iPad is really about the music you’ll need on the road – not all the music you own. Ditto for photos and video. And any multimedia purchased through the iPad is automatically backed up on your computer when you sync it up, leaving you free to delete it off the iPad and return it when you need it later.
Getting Started
If you already have an iPad, go ahead and take it out of the box – don’t be shy. Congratulations on your new toy.
As usual, Apple keeps it simple in the box. Inside you’ll find:
The iPad
USB cord with attachable power plug
The iPad doesn’t come with headphones or earbuds, so plan on using your iPhone/iPod Touch headphones or purchasing a set.
The first thing you want to do is connect one end of the USB cord to the iPad. Go ahead and put the square power plug on the other end of the USB cord. Now find the nearest electrical outlet and connect the iPad to the wall. Let the iPad stay plugged in for a short while – 20 minutes or more – so it can charge its battery for the first time.
While it charges, hop on your computer and make sure you have iTunes. iTunes is Apple’s free music, video and app manager that will allow you to transfer multimedia to your iPad. You have iTunes if you’ve already been using an iPod or iPhone – it’s the same software. If you don’t have iTunes, download it for free from http://www.apple.com/itunes/. Once it’s downloaded, run the program to install iTunes and follow the directions it gives.
Has the iPad charged for 20 or more minutes, and do you have iTunes all set up on your main computer? Now you can remove the iPad from the wall, take the power plug off the USB cord and connect the cord to the USB port on your computer. The USB port location is different on every computer, but it is usually on the side of a laptop computer or the tower back of a desktop computer. Plug it in correctly and, after a moment, iTunes will say a new iPad has been plugged in.
Follow the online directions to register and name your iPad:
Accept the Apple agreement,
Type in your Apple ID and password,
Put in your address, other information for future Apple Store purchases, and
Transfer over all your media to the iPad, if you like.
Have you used the online Apple Store before? The Apple ID and password are what you use to log in, so type that in to get started. Did you forget your password? Click on the “forgot password” option, and it will send you an email reminding you. Don’t worry if you don’t have an Apple ID – just come up with a nickname and a password you’ll remember.
The iPad will ask if you want to auto-sync your media, which means that it will transfer as much of your music, video, apps and other media to your iPad as it can fit. It’s a personal preference: I have lots of media, like 20 days alone worth of songs, which will never fit on an iPad, so I choose to not auto-sync and transfer my preferred music since the iPad will just cram as much music as possible onto the device. However, if you have a small amount of music, video and apps, or don’t feel like managing the details, you can do auto-sync and not worry about transferring things yourself. Make a decision now and no worries if you don’t like it – we can easily change it later.
Now your old computer and your new iPad are friends. Look on the left-hand column of iTunes and notice you have a new icon with the name of your iPad! We’ll get more into downloading and transferring stuff from iTunes in CHAPTER 2: APPS, CHAPTER 3: MUSIC & VIDEO, CHAPTER 4: PHOTOS and CHAPTER 5: BOOKS.
The iPad Front Page
Touch the Home key on the front – the only button on the surface – and the iPad will “wake up” for you. It will ask you to “slide to unlock”. Take your index finger, touch the space with the arrow and slide your finger to the right until the virtual arrow reaches the other side. Your iPad is ready to play!
You’ll see a bunch of icons and info onscreen. Take your time, and follow me through the descriptions.
Top: At the very top you see three things, the wireless power, the current time, and the battery power. The clock and the battery power show the time and the remaining juice, respectively, but the wireless power needs a little more explanation. Similar to a cell phone, the wireless power shows how strong your connection is to the Internet. The less lines filled in, the weaker your connection and, as a result, the longer it will take for multimedia downloads and web surfing. Fortunately, the wireless connection power doesn’t affect how your iPad plays music, shows photos or any other activity that doesn’t require Internet access.