iPad Party: iPad Q&A

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I hosted a live "iPad Party" on Ustream Saturday. I was joined by Sara and Rosy, and we took a first look at Apple's iPad together. It was 90 minutes of exploration and some silliness.

 

We answered questions from the couple-dozen people in the live chat room. We also answered questions that were submitted through Google Moderator. Here are some of the questions and answers:

"Do attachable microphones work with the iPad?"

My Belkin TuneTalk does not work with iPad. My earbuds with mic did work. However, only the left channel recorded, so playback came through only one side in my earbuds. All this is ok because iPad's built-in mic (which is at the top of the device) is pretty good.

"Can the iPad be remotely controlled? This would be handy if it was connected to a videoprojector in a classroom." jjedtechguy, Salem, OR

So far there are no apps to remotely control iPad. It would be cool to be able to advance slides with an iPhone or iPod touch, though.

"Do iPod and iPhone power adapters also charge iPad? Do iPhone/iPod attachable batteries work"

iPad need a 10W charger, so most iPhone and iPod power adapters do not charge iPad. In fact, most powered USB hubs won't even charge iPad (or they charge very, very slowly and do not charge when the device is on). Newer Macs can charge them. Apple recommends for the fastest charge to use the included power adapter. My iPhone battery pack does charge iPad.

"In the Steve Jobs demo it appeared that no flash plug-in existed. Will this limit on-line sites students/teachers can access as learning tools in the classroom?" Mr Steve, Phoenix, AZ

The lack of flash does limit the iPad's ability. Sites like Discovery Streaming and sites with interactive Flash content don't work on iPad.

"Can you print over WiFi from the iPad?"

 Printing is not a built-in function. However, there is an app for that. I bought Fax Print & Share and was able to print from the app to my network printer without any setup. It prints PDFs and images, so you just have to save to those formats to print.

"Can you edit a Google Doc in the browser? (Currently you can't do this on an iPhone or iPod touch)"

You can edit a Google spreadsheet, but not Doc in Safari for iPad. This seems to be a limitation Google imposes, so hopefully they flip the switch to allow editing of word processing documents soon. There are apps that open and save to Google Docs, but I really want to do it from the browser like I do on a desktop computer.

"Can you project "apps" or is just Keynote and Video?" SMeech, Kenilworth, IL

The VGA adapter does not output a mirror of the iPad's screen. Apps have to be specifically programmed to output to the secondary display.

"Can voice memos be made on the iPad like they can on the iPhone (http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-3gs/voice-memos.html)." jjedtechguy, Salem, OR

There is no Apple Voice Memos app built-in. I downloaded the free Voice Memos app from the App Store. It works just like the iPhone version with one important exception: it cannot run in the background. That means you can't continue recording when you leave the app.

"Is there a place for Presenter Notes in Keynote for iPad?"

No. Keynote does not support presenter notes. In fact, if you sync a desktop Keynote doc to iPad, it removed the any notes you might have already had.

"As a teacher or administrator, can I load applications on a set of iPads at one time, or do they have to be loaded individually? Can I load a set of applications on each device at once, or again individually?" Bruce A, Grand Rapids, MI

iPad syncs just like iPod touch and iPad. Apps on the syncing computer are transferred to all iPads you sync with. I haven't tried to sync multiple iPads simultaneously. This may not work like iPod touch because of iPad's 10W power requirements. So iPad may have to be synced on-at-a-time to a computer (but that computer can have many iPads synced to it no problem).

"Can/Will apps developed for the iPad format (Keynote, Pages, Filterstorm, etc.) also work on an iPod/iPhone?" C Chausis, Lincolnshire, IL

There are 3 kinds of apps in the App Store:

  1. iPhone & iPod touch: These are the apps we're known and loved for a couple years. They work on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
  2. iPad only apps: Pages, Keynote, Numbers, and many other apps are iPad only. They will not load on an iPhone or iPod touch. They have their own section of the App Store and their own section in your iTunes Library.
  3. Apps Designed for both iPhone & iPad: These apps have a + icon in the App Store and when downloaded, it like having 2 apps in one. There is an iPad version that takes up the full screen and there is also included an iPhone/iPod touch version for the smaller screen.

You can find more questions and answers at the Google Moderator Series for iPad Party. There are also some great questions and answers at iPad 4 Edu.