iBooks 2: Apple Goes to School

At today’s Education themed event at the Guggenheim museum in New York City, Apple has released a newer version of it’s popular book store: iBooks 2 (available now to update). This update bring’s the iPad into the classroom by replacing the hard-copy textbooks with interactive versions (e-textbooks I guess?) at a fraction of the price.

iBooks 2 allows students to download the relevant textbooks for their classes providing a massively visual and most interestingly, interactive experience. One of the first books for download is E.O Wilson’s ‘Life on Earth’, I’ve had a little look through the book and it is amazing, you can easily see how attractive these will be for students and schools alike with it’s interactive sections spread out over the pages along with high quality videos from experts in the field. Pages in this book for example include content focusing on Insects. Here the student can learn by interacting with one of the elements on the page that can be full-screened, the activity shows different parts on different insects. You press on the thorax and the images above highlight that particular part.

The double-paged spread: Interactive elements dominate the screen

Imagine a whole class using these and the teacher dictating them through the activity: gone are the days of hearing “…turn to page 40 in your textbooks”. Now it’s more like, “…open your iPad’s at section one and complete the activity.” The future of this idea looks exciting indeed, but at the current cost’s of iPad’s, will school’s bite?

The books look and work fantastically but the sizes, well, their not small. This biology example is 1Gb, imagine a whole syllabubs on your device or even a whole University course. I suppose you could manage which books are needed for what day and install them before the day begins (that then don’s new excuses such as: “Miss, can I borrow a book? I forgot to install mine this morning.” Or, “Can I borrow your’s? My iPad has crashed.”) In the future, as iPad’s get cheaper, each student can get an iPad – like some do with laptops. These would then act solely as textbook holders allowing you to keep watching films and playing games on the one at home.

What do you think about the iBook’s update? Will it be a success?

Jetpack Joyride – First Impressions

 

  Halfbrick Studios have created another little gem to add to their app collection, with Fruit Ninja a huge success on iOS it has migrated over to the Xbox Kinect. It’s new game, Jetpack Joyride features Barry Steakfries breaking into a lab and taking their jetpack out for a spin.

  The controls are simple, it’s a tap game (like the popular flash Copter game), to make Barry rise you tap and hold the screen and to make him fall you let go. You use these controls to navigate him along the endless corridors of the lab filled with many obstacles along your path. Electric fields, laser beams and rockets are all there to make you fail but as you play the game travels faster and faster making you have to concentrate like  never before. In future updates hopefully they will bring in more obstacles and areas for you to play because at the moment I’m starting to see that one too many electric fields.

  The score system in this game is all about your distance. As you keep avoiding those obstacles the speed of the game gets faster and faster testing your reflexes every time.  My skill can only get me past 3000m which when compared to the worlds score is about 2000m too low and to think how fast the game is at that stage is mind boggling and I can only take my hat off to those people.

  As you play the game you collect coins which can be used in ‘The Stash’, the item store/upgrades area of the app. In there you can spend your money on snazzy clothes for Barry, new Jetpacks and more. For 7,500 coins you can purchase a nice looking Top Hat for him to wear as he causes havoc to the test lab. There are tokens that randomly appear throughout the game which you want to collect. At the end of the game you can either cash each token in for 50 coins or use them in the game’s slot machine where you can win some awesome bonuses like 1000 coins, a 750m head start in the next game and even a large explosion that propels you to a further point of where you died making beating that high score possible.

  You can also pick up a random vehicle as you fly through the levels, I wont give them all away but they are like the mushrooms in Mario, you get them, you get hit and you carry on, so you want to pick them up when you see them. These can be upgraded in the store too using those coins, upgrades like a coin magnet are available.

  What app nowadays doesn’t have ‘in-app purchases’? Will Jetpack Joyride come with them too. Packs of coins are available aswell as a counterfeit machine that doubles every coin that is collected. These packs range from £8.99 for 1,000,000 coins to £0.69 for the coin doubling machine.

  In summary, this is a great game at a great cost. The gameplay is easy to understand and fun to play. The additional features like the coins and vehicles both heighten the experience as well as the many missions that you are to complete. I’ve just thought…why am I writing this when I can be Jetpack-ing around in a cool lab filled with little scientists? I suggest you should stop reading this and buy the game!

Ipad/iPhone: 99c (US)/69p (UK)

The New Face of Apple, Tim Cook, Sends Employee Letter

   

With nearly 24 hours as the new CEO of Apple, Tim Cook has sent a letter out to all the employees to keep morale high now that previous iconic Steve Jobs stepped down from the position. The letter he sent reads,

Team:

I am looking forward to the amazing opportunity of serving as CEO of the most innovative company in the world. Joining Apple was the best decision I’ve ever made and it’s been the privilege of a lifetime to work for Apple and Steve for over 13 years. I share Steve’s optimism for Apple’s bright future.

Steve has been an incredible leader and mentor to me, as well as to the entire executive team and our amazing employees. We are really looking forward to Steve’s ongoing guidance and inspiration as our Chairman.

I want you to be confident that Apple is not going to change. I cherish and celebrate Apple’s unique principles and values. Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that-it is in our DNA. We are going to continue to make the best products in the world that delight our customers and make our employees incredibly proud of what they do.

I love Apple and I am looking forward to diving into my new role. All of the incredible support from the Board, the executive team and many of you has been inspiring. I am confident our best years lie ahead of us and that together we will continue to make Apple the magical place that it is.

Tim

What do you think of the new position change?

Steve Jobs Steps Down As CEO Of Apple

Jobs has released a letter with some shocking content,

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

  Tim Crook is to be his replacement while Steve will defiantly still be a part of the Apple community as he himself became the face to the company’s success.

iPad 3 with Retina Display Looking Promising

   

  Oh, that Apple rumour mill never stops does it? Constantly churning out ideas that gets the tech community all fidgety. The fruit centred brand has people guessing what’s next all year round, rumours for a retina display on the iPad are looking more and more promising as there have been reports that suppliers have already received their Q4 orders that may well be within the iPad 3 that may or may not be available in early 2012. These are still only rumours, but ones that are coming into focus and may become fact very soon indeed. The crystal display of the retina screen is, in my opinion, the best there is. Only Samsung’s screen on the Galaxy S is any competitor but still, it has visible pixels whereas Apple’s has none.