You have a big presentation to give for your job and you have very carefully created the perfect Keynote with your Mac. Every little detail was meticulously chosen, including the font. The big day is here and you excitedly transfer the project to your iPad as this will be your means of delivering your presentation. But to your dismay, when you open your document in Keynote for iPad, you get a popup informing you that the font you chose is missing and may look different! But your font selection was an important detail to you, so instead of delivering your Keynote presentation with your iPad, you bitterly drag your 17 inch MacBook Pro along and give a subpar delivery of your speech because of the disappointment you experienced earlier that morning.

It’s situations like this that has brought Jeffery Zeldman to write a petition to Apple asking that they bring more font support to the iPad, specifically the iWork suite of applications.

I sometimes spend weeks on a Keynote presentation, and so do my colleagues. We'd love to be able to work on them whether we have a Mac or an iPad at hand—that, after all, is the promise of the devices we buy from you; frankly, it is the promise of all computers. But when the iPad loses my fonts, it loses me. A Keynote presentation with substitute fonts is of no use to me, except perhaps as a rehearsal tool—and I can just as easily rehearse with a PDF.

Do you share Jeffery’s frustration? Have you been disappointed with the lack of font support in Pages, Keynote, or Numbers? Or perhaps this is the first you’ve heard about this and find it unacceptable. If so, let us know and head on over Jeffery’s website to sign his petition.

[zeldman.com]

Petition to bring more font support to the iWork suite on iPad is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Boy Genius has a source that informed him both the CDMA/Verizon iPhone 4 (code named N92AP) and iPad 2 may be heading into field verification testing:

Way down deep within iOS 4 is a pretty intriguing block of code. Our source says that the code queries the device, and if the device is either a CDMA iPhone or iPad 2, the device will auto-activate, thus bypassing the need for iTunes. We're told this block of code has appeared every year consecutively before a major iPhone / device release, removed right before launch. This allows the products to be field tested by carriers (or partners) without having to activate the handsets or devices.

BG also says the upcoming iPod touch 4 is code-named N81AP. We should see that this fall at Apple’s annual special music event for iPod/iTunes. iPad 2 should be announced early next year, and rumor has it the CDMA/Verizon iPhone might hit during the same period.

Anyone starting to believe that yet?

[BGR]

Apple field testing CDMA/Verizon iPhone, iPad 2? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

If you had to put your precious iPad through the ultimate scratch test, which protective film covering would give it the best chance for survival — the BodyGuardz or the InvisibleSHIELD? They’re both ultra-thin, ultra-durable plastic skins, but which is the most durable? That’s the challenge they gave me for the latest episode of TiPb’s Amazing Case, our hardcore, case vs case tests of strength, durability, and performance.

We figure if either — or both — of these skins could survive being ground against rocks, etched with metal, and — quite frankly — screwed, then they can survive pretty much whatever normal, day-to-day use throws at them.

Follow on after the jump for the details, and the give-away!

BodyGuardz Protective Skin for iPad

The BodyGuardz is nice and clear but a little less tacky. It looks great though and doesn’t “orange peel” as much in my experience. This version has front and back covers and a series of small strips to cover the sides. It’s trickier to put all of that on, though, so please take a look at my video on how-to install the BodyGuardz.

InvisibleSHIELD Protective Skin for iPad

The InvisibleSHIELD is not as glossy but also not as slippery. It feels a little safer to grip, though it also seems more likely to “orange peel” (have slight bumps in places). This version covers the front and the back of your iPad but not the side. It’s also a little challenging to put on, but I’ve done a video how-to for InvisibleSHIELD installation as well, so check it out.

Fight! (and give-away)

So which protective skin was the most protective? No spoilers! You have to watch the video above for the results of our BodyGuardz vs InvisibleSHIELD ultimate iPad scratch test.

When you’re done leave me a reply in the comments below and tell me which one you’d rather have protecting your iPad — BodyGuardz or InvisibleSHIELD — and what you most want it to protect you from. I admit it, those rocks sent my heart racing (I was scared I’d gone too far!), what makes you most afraid of scratching your iPad, what puts you in panic mode?

We have a couple of each to give away, so make sure you leave a valid email address so we can contact you if you win. (US mailing address required for delivery).

Let’s go!

BodyGuardz vs InvisibleSHIELD in ultimate iPad scratch test — Amazing Case [give away] is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

With this weeks sale of Square-Enix games in honor of Chaos Rings release, I thought it fit to review Crystal Defenders for iPad. This is a very fun strategy/tower defense game: hardcore players apply only.

Crystal Defenders has you assume the role of master strategist as you place your units on a map to destroy the oncoming 30 waves of monsters trying to steal your crystals. Before you begin a game, you have to choose which game style you want. There are three to choose from: W1, W2 and W3. W1 is the easiest and simplest. The maps are not difficult and you do not have any power crystals (more on that later). W2 brings in the use of power crystals during gameplay and more challenging levels. W3 is the ultimate challenge. New monsters, units and very challenging maps.

The game revolves around Gil, which is your money/source for everything in the game. You use Gil to place units on the board and to upgrade them. The waves of monsters are cued up on the left of your screen and your units on the right. Before each wave of enemy monster you can place as many units as you would like onscreen till you use all of your Gil. Then, with the tap of the screen the oncoming horde commences towards the level exit and you have to cross your fingers that your units can defend your crystals. The good news; even during a wave you can still place and upgrade your units and if needed pause the action in the middle of a wave. If you become impatient, you can speedup the action 4X so waves complete very quickly.

You have a wide variety of units and monsters. There is the standard solider fanfare as well as archers, mages, thieves, hunters, etc. All of these types of units are necessary as monsters have varying levels of HP, resistance to physical, magical or air attacks and movement.

Once you progress past the W1 levels, the W2 levels give the add strategy of power crystals. There are three crystals in your arsenal: red to increase damage, blue to increase distance and yellow to increase speed. It is imperative to place these crystals next to your most important units to give them an edge. Just like other units, the power crystals can be upgraded, but at a much higher Gil cost than your units. You also have the ability to cast what are called Espers. Espers are creatures that can cast a spell for a wave, like increase all unit damage for that wave; Espers come in really handy.

If you think you have what it takes, then this is the ultimate in Tower Defense games. Three levels of varying difficulty and challenges, deep strategy (it’s the only way to win) and creatures and characters from the Final Fantasy universe make this a must have game for the enthusiast.

[$3.99- iTunes Link]

Pros

• Great fun!
• Bright, colorful graphics
• Familiar characters from the Final Fantasy universe

Cons

• Very difficult
• Simple graphics might shy players away

Crystal Defenders for iPad- app review is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Since iPad doesn’t seem (yet?) to be cannibalizing Mac sales, those 1 million units moved a month have to be eating into something and it looks like netbooks — which Steve Jobs said aren’t better at anything — are the ones on the buffet:

Asustek Computer saw sales of its netbooks in the second quarter fall short of expectations mainly due to competition from Apple’s iPad, and has downward adjusted its target shipments for the third quarter, the traditional peak sales period, to 1.4 million units, according to company president and CEO Jerry Shen at an investors conference on August 13.

They’re going to try an eeePad to compete.

[Digitimes via 9to5mac]

iPad putting a hurt on Asus netbook sales is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Looks like Apple has gone and hired a NFC (near field communications) expert to be their new head mobile commerce. Benjamin Viger, formerly product manager for mobile wallet, payment, and NFC at mFoundry, NearFieldCommunicationsWorld rounds up a plethora of recent Apple patent filings he just may be helping bring to market:

• An NFC-based mobile payments service that lets consumers make payments to merchants and other consumers via a credit or debit card, directly from their bank account or using credit stored in their iTunes account.
• The ‘iPay, iBuy and iCoupons’ patents, describing a comprehensive mobile payments, mobile commerce and mobile marketing business based around an NFC-enabled iPhone.
• Products+, an NFC-based product marketing and promotions application.
• An airline ticketing and boarding pass application that describes an unmanned, automated airport ticketing and baggage counter kiosk and introduces the concept of an automated security checking process where users of the iTravel app could process themselves through the security clearance system and check themselves in at the boarding gate.
• The Grab & Go patent, designed to make it easy for customers to transfer files between devices such as the Mac, iPhone and Apple TV.
• An NFC-enabled iPod, games controller, TV and iPhone.
• An NFC-based concert, entertainment and sports venue ticketing application that includes exclusive bonus features for users of Apple’s service.

So does a world where you can wave your iPhone in close proximity to a radio receiver in order to pay for your next iPad (or pair of jeans, or turtleneck, or whatever) appeal to you?

[NearFieldCommunicationsWorld via MacRumors]

Apple hires mobile payments expert — iPhone to replace your credit card? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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iAds is Apple’s attempt to bring the emotion of television to the interactivity of online, but the Wall Street Journal says it’s off to a bumpy start. Apparently, part of the reason is — surprise, surprise — Apple is exerting tight control over the platform (what, punch the monkey ads aren’t good enough for iOS?!). Apple is also producing the ads themselves at this point and there appear to be longer than expected delays getting them up and running even after they’ve been signed off on.

That has made the creation of the mobile ads laborious, taking about eight to 10 weeks from brainstorm to completion—longer than normal for most mobile ads, executives said. The building of the actual ad, handled by Apple, in some cases is taking two weeks longer than expected, one person added.

Once online, however, they seem to be working.

A Nissan spokeswoman said its iAd “has driven exceptional results to date.” The company said the rate of users tapping on the banner is five times the click-through-rate of the Nissan Leaf online campaign.

Those “people familiar with the matter” claim Apple underestimated the demands of the new business and are scrambling to learn how best to deal with the Mad Men of advertising.

Once it gets established, once Apple rolls out an HTML5 development environment for it, once it gets on an iOS 4.x iPad, once we see more of it internationally (I don’t think I’ve seen a single iAd yet, anyone else outside the US?) — i.e. once it matures — these problems could go either go away, or just become the constant, mild grumbling we hear with App Store growing pains.

[Wall Street Journal]

What’s the deal with iAds on iPhone? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Best of Smartphone Experts, 15 August 2010 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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