MobileRead Forums - View Single Post

DrFyzziks · 01-30-2010, 06:38 PM

I've been reading thru the comments in this thread and I've noticed that some people have made assumptions & statements about the iPad that need a bit of clearing up.

While I haven't held an iPad in my hands yet, I have done quite a bit of research and I've also been working with the new iPad 3.2 SDK since Wednesday. So with that in mind, I hope I can clear a couple things up:

Drag & Drop files (this one's for exreader):

Unlike the iPhone and iPod Touch, the iPad will show up as an external "drive" to which you can drag and drop files. This is stated in the iPad developer documentation. Furthermore, this virtual drive operates as a shared filesystem on the iPad - any iPad application can access and use it. Think of it like a "My Documents" folder. You'll be able to drag & drop a PDF file onto the iPad, and any PDF-capable application will be able to access it.

This is in contrast to the current iPhone and iPod Touch filesystems, where each application is limited to accessing files in its own directory.

source: Apple iPad 3.2 SDK documentation & you can find it mentioned all over the net now.

iWork / MS Office Compatibility

Like its desktop counterpart, the iPad version of iWork is capable of reading and writing files in both its own formats as well as standard MS Office formats - including Word, Powerpoint and Excel files. So you'll be able to drop Office files right into that previously-mentioned shared folder (or receive them via email or other method) and open them right on the iPad.

"Most" iPhone applications will work

Apple has stated that "most" of the 140,000 App store iPhone apps will work on the iPad. I noticed a few comments questioning the use of the word "most" - it's actually pretty simple. The iPad isn't a phone. While it does possess a microphone, speaker and 3G connection, the iPad OS lacks some of the phone-specific UIs (dialer, voicemail interface, etc). Any 3rd party app that utilizes the phone APIs isn't likely to work very well (if at all).

That said, VoIP apps like Fring, Skype, etc should run just fine.

I doubt Apple is going to prevent the iPhone Kindle app from running on the iPad. I don't know what they'll do if Amazon updates the app to take advantage of the iPad's larger screen - they'd probably allow it, given that they aren't just in the business of selling books via the iBookstore ... but we'll have to wait and see.

01-30-2010, 06:38 PM	#85
DrFyzziks Member Posts: 12 Karma: 1128 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Vancouver, BC Canada Device: Sony PRS-505, iPad (soon)	Clearing up some confusion I've been reading thru the comments in this thread and I've noticed that some people have made assumptions & statements about the iPad that need a bit of clearing up. While I haven't held an iPad in my hands yet, I have done quite a bit of research and I've also been working with the new iPad 3.2 SDK since Wednesday. So with that in mind, I hope I can clear a couple things up: Drag & Drop files (this one's for exreader): Unlike the iPhone and iPod Touch, the iPad will show up as an external "drive" to which you can drag and drop files. This is stated in the iPad developer documentation. Furthermore, this virtual drive operates as a shared filesystem on the iPad - any iPad application can access and use it. Think of it like a "My Documents" folder. You'll be able to drag & drop a PDF file onto the iPad, and any PDF-capable application will be able to access it. This is in contrast to the current iPhone and iPod Touch filesystems, where each application is limited to accessing files in its own directory. source: Apple iPad 3.2 SDK documentation & you can find it mentioned all over the net now. iWork / MS Office Compatibility Like its desktop counterpart, the iPad version of iWork is capable of reading and writing files in both its own formats as well as standard MS Office formats - including Word, Powerpoint and Excel files. So you'll be able to drop Office files right into that previously-mentioned shared folder (or receive them via email or other method) and open them right on the iPad. "Most" iPhone applications will work Apple has stated that "most" of the 140,000 App store iPhone apps will work on the iPad. I noticed a few comments questioning the use of the word "most" - it's actually pretty simple. The iPad isn't a phone. While it does possess a microphone, speaker and 3G connection, the iPad OS lacks some of the phone-specific UIs (dialer, voicemail interface, etc). Any 3rd party app that utilizes the phone APIs isn't likely to work very well (if at all). That said, VoIP apps like Fring, Skype, etc should run just fine. I doubt Apple is going to prevent the iPhone Kindle app from running on the iPad. I don't know what they'll do if Amazon updates the app to take advantage of the iPad's larger screen - they'd probably allow it, given that they aren't just in the business of selling books via the iBookstore ... but we'll have to wait and see.