My love of Crossword apps on mobile devices is no secret, so I was pleased to see that Standalone, Inc had their Crossword App ready for the iPad at launch.

The phrase “just a big iPod Touch” is getting tossed around a lot this week and in some ways Crosswords is a perfect microcosm of that – some of the same iPhone screens and elements are available as pop-ups and in general there’s no actual functionality that’s available on the iPad version that you can’t get on the iPhone — except the gigantic screen. Portrait mode has enough space to show you a long list of clues, the keyboard, and in most cases the entire puzzle without zooming. Landscape is even better, giving you both the across and down clues in separate columns, the keyboard, and a zoomed-in view of the puzzle.

Naturally, there are plenty of features like hints, the ability to tweet your time, and of course the ability to download dozens of different crossword puzzles every day from both free and for-pay premium sources.

Video demo and gallery after the break!

Quick Review: Crosswords on the iPad is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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We have to say we’re pretty excited about the streaming video possibilities on the iPad. So excited, in fact, that the YouTube app feels pretty much like old hat. Jeremy already took a quick look at Netflix on the iPad and the verdict is that it works and the magic of simply having Netflix streaming on an iPad does much to overcome the fact that what you essentially have here is an app made of up Netflix’s webpage.

ABC Video, however, is much more elegant and is a nicer iPod app. You get a set of tabs at the bottom for viewing video, your video history, and even a schedule of ABC shows. The video looks crisp to my eyes, but I’m especially impressed at how well the app saves my place on the various shows I’ve watched.

A quick video comparison of ABC, Netflix, and the default Videos app, along with a gallery of ABC and Netflix, are after the break!

iPad Video: ABC, Netflix, and Videos Apps is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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I’ve spent a good time of today tweeting from Twittelator Pad [$4.99 - iTunes link], and I must say that I’m rather impressed.

Twittelator Pad is best viewed in landscape. On the left hand side, your timeline is displayed in a nice traditional fashion and on the right hand side is where you can access all other features of Twittelator Pad. Choosing different tabs on the bottom has nice animations that are appealing to the eye.

One of my favorite features of Twittelator Pad is that photos are embedded into your timeline and conversations. In most cases, pictures are plenty large enough with no need to enlarge them. Twittelator Pad also has a nice drafts feature that is easily accessible when you need it.

So far, Twittelator Pad has given me the Twitter experience I desire on the iPad. To see what Twittelator Pro has to offer in more detail, check out the screenshots and video after the break!

YouTube link

Quick Review: Twittelator Pad for iPad is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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iFixit has performed their traditional tear-down of new Apple gear, this time taking the iPad apart piece by gloriously crafted piece, and here’s what they found:

The iPad’s battery has 5.5x the capacity of the battery in the iPhone! The iPad actually has two batteries wired in parallel, for a total of 24.8 Watt-hours. On average, the iPad sips just 2.5 Watts. That’s 1/5 the power of a compact fluorescent bulb!

The rear case is machined from a single billet of aluminum, increasing weight but greatly improving the rigidity of the device.

The empty void in the upper right corner is where the cellular communications board would go in the 3G iPad.

The A4 is a Package-on-Package (PoP), with at least three layers of circuitry layered on top of each other. A4 is packaged just like the iPhone processors, microprocessor in one package and two memory modules in the other package. They’re all sandwiched together in a very nice and thin PoP.

The iPad RAM is INSIDE the A4 processor package. Confirming this took quite a bit of sleuthing: we had to partner with Chipworks to X-ray the processor. The X-ray revealed two layers of RAM. In addition to the ARM processor, the A4 package contains two stacked Samsung dies.

We will be releasing a detailed analysis of the A4 in conjunction with Chipworks in a few days.

The rumored slot for a camera is actually taken up by the ambient light sensor.

The glass panel is quite thick: about 1.18 mm, compared to the iPhone’s 1.02 mm thick glass. This is necessitated by the panel’s large size.

The touch circuit design is more similar to the old 2G and early 3G iPhones than the current 3GS. Chipworks informed us that “there is so much room in the iPad that Apple didn’t need to use small chips, just the right ones and cheap ones.”

Disappointingly, especially for those hoping for iPhone 4.0 multitasking miracles, Furbo.org tests show iPad is using the same 256MB of RAM as the iPhone 3GS. We were hoping for me — as in double. If true, there are other ways to handle the demands of multiple apps, but there’s no such thing as too much RAM when we’re still talking MBs…

iPad Tear Down and Benchmarks: battery, A4 chipset, RAM exposed! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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If your iPad isn’t charging properly via USB cable, try changing the port you’ve got it plugged in to. Turns out iPad requires more power to charge than iPhone or iPod touch, and not all USB ports are powered equally (some are branched off, like hubs). This is especially true of laptops, including MacBooks. Could be front vs. back, left vs. right side, just keep trying until you find a high-power USB port that does the job.

(This is also why the iPad included a different, 10 watt power adapter from the one included with the iPhone and iPod touch). Apple has a knowledge base article up with a variety of other iPad charging related information, so be sure to check that out.

Hey, 10hrs of battery life on a 9.7″ display don’t charge cheap!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

iPad not charging via USB? Make sure you’re using a high-power port is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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If you’re an international user who just picked up an iPad in the US and want to get some apps via the on-device App Store app, you ‘re out of luck: “Cannot Connect to the App Store. The App Store is not supported in your country”

That’s what you’ll get if you synced via iTunes on your Windows PC or Mac using an international account, like Canada, Australia, UK, etc. and then try to use the iPad App Store app.

Of course, you can just keep on syncing via iTunes but for the convenience of the on-device downloads, you’ll need a work-around.

1. Set-up a free US iTunes account.
2. Open the iPad iTunes Store app (which does work.
3. Scroll down to the bottom and log out of your international account
4. Log back in with your US iTunes account

And boom, the App Store app will start working. Now the bad news: anything you download will be locked to your new US account, which makes managements more of a hassle. And if you want to buy apps, you’ll need a US credit card or US iTunes gift cards. But if you gotta have it now, that’s the only solution we have working (if you know a better one, drop it in comments!)

Hopefully before the iPad launches in more countries in “late April” Apple will sort out this little problem and we’ll all have on-device App Store access no matter what country we’re in…

How-to fix the iPad “App Store is not supported in your country” error for international users is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Did TiPb really have to resort to the worst gonzo pr0n of the gadget blogging trade and unbox a brand new Apple iPad Wi-Fi on launch day?

Yes. We. Did.

Video after the break!

YouTube link

Apple iPad Wi-Fi unboxing (warning: gadget porn!) is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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We are pretty sure by now most of you have heard of a little game called Plants vs. Zombies from the developer Popcap. TiPb would now like to introduce you to Plants vs. Zombies HD. [iTunes Link - $9.99] Right away I know what many of you may be thinking, why spend another $9.99 on a app I always paid for on my iPhone or iPod touch? I am here to tell you that if you love the game on any platform – buy it for iPad as you will not regret it. Plants vs. Zombies HD on iPad is the best way to experience this game.

The iPad version is identical to it’s iPhone counterpart in the gameplay aspect but is much more graphically pleasing to the eye on iPad. You defend your home from invading zombies with an arsenal of 49 zombie destroying plants. The plants (a.k.a. weapons) available to you include peashooters, wall-nuts, cherry bombs and more to dismember the 26 different types of zombies. Along with all of this zombie action you get five game modes:

• Adventure: 50 levels — Play through day, night and fog, in a swimming pool and on the rooftop.
• Mini-Games
• Puzzle
• Survival
• Stress Free Zen Garden

Screenshots after the break!

Quick Review: Plants vs. Zombies for iPad is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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You say you just picked up a new iPad and wanted to sit back and watch your favorite episode of Lost or perhaps a blockbuster movie? If you are a Netflix member you can do just that with the official Netflix iPad application! [iTunes Link - Free]

All you have to do is download the Netflix app from the App Store and you can instantly watch TV shows and movies directly on your iPad. Once you start the app you will be taken to the Netflix website that seems to be optimized for iPad and you will enter in your password and username and everything will be familiar. If you start to watch a movie from your computer or TV and want to resume it on your iPad, you can. Even better is that since the app uses the web interface you have the ability to manage your que or make any account adjustments directly from your iPad.

I’ve been playing around with it for a while now and must say it is very snappy with no lag in the UI and the video content streams flawlessly. This is a must have for all Netflix users out there!

Screenshots after the break!

Quick Review: Netflix for iPad is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Today Apple’s iPad finally went on sale which means a bunch of you just scored one and now, the unboxing done, the device powered up, the initial exploration done, you’re looking at it and trying to figure out what you need to do next. Don’t worry, TiPb’s got your back:

• Get apps and games. Apple has unleashed almost 2000 of them already (seriously, we’ve stopped counting!). You can find them — all of them — on iTunes, either on your Windows or Mac, or right on the iPad App Store. We’ve covered a ton of iPad apps here already, and we’ll be reviewing some of our favorites this week, so keep your eyes peeled!

• Get accessories. The TiPb Store has just started offering iPad accessories for pre-order. If you want to protect that big, beautiful screen or wrap a case over that pristine aluminum shell, be sure to check them out! (And hey, don’t forget their 10% off coupon code!)

• Get talking. If you just want to talk about your new iPad and all those apps and accessories, or if you need help getting started (or to trouble-shoot bugs), or advice and recommendations, we have two new discussion groups just for you: iPad Device and Help Forum and iPad Apps and Games Forum.

Just get an iPad? Here’s what you need next! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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