One of the least discussed features of iOS 5 is the new split keyboard option. Yet, this has had one of the greatest impacts on the way I use my iPad. A quick drag of the return key up splits the keys apart and shrinks each key size. It looks awkward and too small to be comfortable, but for me it makes holding the iPad and typing a sane experience.[1]
Sometimes a gated community is good
Android Browser Calls Home
I tried using the Newsstand app on iOS 5 last week. I purchased one issue of a Mac centric magazine. It was a disgusting mess that quickly reminded me why I prefer Instapaper, Zite and my RSS feeds over reading on glossy paper. The Newsstand “magazine” was slow to render and was 50% ads. By slow to render, I mean that after a page turn, there are several seconds where the facing pages are too blurry to read.
I've been doing this trick (from TUAW) with my wife for the past week. She doesn't have an iPhone 4S (yet) but she prefers the reminders app to any other option, including a list on the refrigerator. Siri makes it all that much easier for me to add things to the shopping list while I prepare meals (I do the household cooking and my wife does the grocery shopping).
Keyboard Maestro macros can be executed several different ways. There’s the common hot-key trigger and text snippet trigger. These are great but sometimes I need to run a macro when I’m not sitting in front of my computer. That’s where the KM Webserver trigger and Keyboard Maestro iOS apps come in handy. Webserver This a somewhat understated feature of Keyboard Maestro. I can configure the application to expose a webserver running on a specific port.
One of my favorite new features in iOS on my iPad2 is mirroring to an Apple TV 2. This is a pretty big deal. It transforms the iPad from an introverted device to a home activity center.
If you own an Apple TV2 you probably know how satisfying it is to watch the photo screensaver serve up all of your favorite family moments. It’s equally satisfying to sit together on the couch and look for local restaurants on Yelp or look at recipes in Paprika.
I want to thank lonelysandwich for inventing the split keyboard Apple is using in iOS 5. Genius. I realize his version is modestly different. I like the feel of Apple's version better, because the keys are larger but I dare say I would probably type faster with Sandwich's version.
Great review by Macstories (do they ever sleep?) of the new features in Instacast on iOS 5.
I've been using Instacast (see this review) for about eight months and it's already one of the most used apps on my iPhone. It is the best podcast app available for iOS. Cross device syncing is a great demonstration of where apps can go with the new iOS 5 services.
My iOS 5 notification center is working great on my iPhone 4 but I only received 4 calendar notifications on my iPad tied to the same account. After rebooting the iPad and pulling open the notification center, the widget appears to have seizure for several seconds while every notification from the past 24 hours passes through the display. After that, I'm left with a single reminder in the display widget. Hopefully the restart has kicked the notification system back on track.
You know an OS is great when it it makes MS Outlook even slightly tolerable. In this case iOS 5 adds syncing Exchange tasks with the new Reminders app in iOS 5. I have avoided uses Outlook task since my first iPhone arrived. I preferred to hop from my work windows machine to my iPhone or iPad rather than use Outlook any more than I was forced to.
I missed it in many of the great iOS reviews but discovered it last night when my old completed tasks from work showed up in Reminders (4 year old tasks that were surprisingly completed).
