iPad Live hits the air tonight at 9pm ET, 6pm PT, 2am GMT. It’ll be our biggest show ever as well with Chad, Rene, Dieter, Leanna, and me, Georgia, as we discuss… (drumroll) iPad 2!!

Place: http://www.tipb.com/live/

If you have any questions or topics you’d like us to discuss, just leave them in the comments then come be part of the show!

(And yes, you can watch from iPhone via Ustream Viewer app (here’s how) and iPad (we recommend Duet Browser.)

Chat with you soon!

The biggest iPad Live podcast EVER tonight 9pm ET! Come chat! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Every week a few of us from team TiPb will bring you our current favorite, most fun and useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they're iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch related, they're fair game.

To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

Dungeon Hunter 2 HD – @skeetobite

The new iPad 2 is out, and I am sure that for the next week, you will be hearing all about it’s new features, the new apps designed for it, and how wonderful it is. But in our excitement, let’s not forget that the old iPad is still a pretty darn good machine, with plenty of cutting edge apps and features itself (of course, that won’t prevent me from trying to get an iPad 2!). In that vein, I have selected Dungeon Hunter 2 HD as my pick of the week. A relatively new sequel to the popular and successful Dungeon Hunter app, this app takes what was good about Dungeon Hunter and adds even more deliciousness. As an action/adventure RPG game, it has many features that you would expect to see in major console games – multiple classes, cooperative multiplayer mode, unique skills and advancement options, and lots and lots of equipment and items to find. The graphics are nice, the controls are easy and straightforward, and the game itself is rather engrossing. There are also difficulty levels and “pro” clases to allow even more variability and enhanced replay. The multiplayer cooperative mode is what interests me the most – my wife like to play games like this where we “help” each other.

So while all the hoopla about the iPad 2 is nice, and the iPad 2 apps are nice (I wouldn’t be surprised to see the device and the apps show up on this week or next weeks “pick of the week”) let’s not forget the original iPad, nor forget that it can still bring it when asked.

[$6.99 - iTunes link]

Planet Rock – @chrisoldroyd

It is a very simple app but one I use every day. Planet Rock is a UK based rock radio station, usually only available on digital radio or satellite TV. With this app you can listen on the go using either WiFi or the data connection on your iPhone.

The app streams high quality audio and also tells you what song is currently playing along with artist information. Other features are social network integration, schedule of upcoming shows, rock news, weather and a rock tribute calendar.

Planet Rock plays some amazing music from a wide array of rock artists like Ozzy Osbourne, Motorhead, Bon Jovi and lots of classic rock too. Well worth the free download if you like a bit of rock!

[Free – iTunes Link]

Wunderlist – @imuggle

Every once in a while I stumble across an amazing app by accident in the App Store. This was the case with Wunderlist. To put it short, I’m a list freak. Between TiPb, running a business, keeping clients info straight, and the 80 billion other things my brain apparently can handle, they’re a necessity for my life to run smoothly.

I typically use Evernote for free form notes and ToDo by Appigo for time sensitive tasks. ToDo is powerful but I’ve never been a fan of the layout and complexity. I found Wunderlist while randomly browsing productivity apps. I’m extremely glad I did. Not only is it free, it offers free syncing! This is a privilege I’ve been paying Appigo a recurring $20/year to have. I may not be renewing it this summer.

The only thing I would like to see Wunderlist add is recurring tasks. Other than that, the UI is gorgeous and you can even choose from several beautiful backgrounds. It’s easy to use and even easier to share your lists with others. You can share via e-mail or share a list and the user will be invited to join Wunderlist. This is extremely convenient for me as when I add a task to my business list, anyone I’ve shared that list with will see an updated list as well.

Did I mention the best part? It’s free! Even the iPad HD version is available for free as well. Check it out and let us know what you think! Wunderlist has earned a permanent spot on my home screen.

[Free - iTunes Link]

WeatherAlert – @Alli_Flowers

Do you live in an area prone to changing weather? Snow storms? Flash floods? Hurricanes? Tornadoes? How about plain old winter, heat, or fog? If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere unaffected by any of these things, move on to the next pick. But if you live anywhere else, you might want to take a close look at this app.

My WeatherAlert has been beeping alarms at me for two days now, as we have experienced horrible thunderstorms, flash flooding, and tornadoes. The nice thing is, you can adjust the alarms. WeatherAlert’s push notifications offer the usual selections: badge, sound, alerts. You can also choose the weather type for which you receive notifications. And as you can tell from my first paragraph, there are a lot of conditions from which to choose!

WeatherAlert has consistently notified me before local news, and often before the weather actually becomes threatening. Don’t get caught out in the storm. Let WeatherAlert warn you.

[$1.99 - iTunes link]

GarageBand – @reneritchie

Make no mistake, GarageBand for iPad was created with three different but complementary goals in mind — to delight and astonish users with an incredibly immersive content creation experience, to raise the bar for developers and challenge them to make mobile software of the same caliber, and to programmatically walk up to the competition, pull out a Bugs Bunny glove, fill it with a brick, and smack them back to the drawing board.

Both GarageBand and it’s companion iLife app, iMovie, represent the next generation of tablet software, once again redefining perceptions on what can and can’t be done with multitouch and 9.7-inches of glass and aluminum.

But that’s big picture stuff and honestly, when you’re laying down up to 8-tracks, tapping away on virtual drums, strumming virtual strings, tickling virtual ivory, and laying down some smoking hot vocals to top it off, you won’t give a flying frak about the big picture stuff.

You’ll be too busy rocking out to GarageBand for iPad.

[$4.99 - iTunes link]

Podcaster (Formerly RSS Player Podcast Client) – @JBaby

I adore Podcaster and the recent update has made this app even better. There isn’t anything wrong with how iTunes handles podcasts, but I needed a way to get my podcasts while on vacation without a computer. Podcaster was my solution. I love it so much that it’s become my preferred podcast aggregator. I really like how I can download, or stream, my podcasts on the fly. With the newest update watching video podcasts is even better. In addition to scrubbing through videos, I love being able to skip backward/forward 30 seconds with a single tap. If 30 seconds is too much you can tap and hold the rewind/fast forward buttons to finely tune your scrubbing. Lastly, the ability to play my video podcasts at twice the normal speed is saving me a bunch of time!

If you listen to podcasts at all this is a must have app! Podcaster is on sale so now is the perfect time to try it!

[$0.99 - iTunes link]

iMovie for iPad 2 – @llofte

With the release of the iPad 2, iMovie for iPhone has be updated to be a universal app for the iPad 2 – and it’s awesome. Editing video on the iPad feels so natural, and Apple has done a wonderful job with its design. I’m already familiar with editing on iMovie with a Mac, so the transition to the iPad 2 was familiar and intuitive. Most of my video editing will be done on the iPad 2 with iMovie from this day forward. Check out my hands-on video of iMovie on the iPad 2 to see what I’m talking about!

[$4.99 - iTunes link]

Real Racing 2 HD – @ichadman

I have been waiting for this game on iPad and now I could not be happier! 16 cars on track plus multiplayer. A long career mode and a decent selection of cars and awesome controls make this a must-have app for any racing fan. Not only that, but if you happen to won an iPad 2, the graphics look absolutely amazing. Buy this app now!

[$9.99 - iTunes link]

Music Quiz! – @JorjLim

iPods came with a great game called Music Quiz, which played a portion of a song from your music library, and gave you 4 options to choose from. Unfortunately when the iPhone was first released, it didn't include this iconic title.

Music Quiz! is a port of the iPod game, to iOS. You can choose to use all of your music from your iPod library, or just selected songs or playlists.

The app can play, either random points during the song or the beginning of the song. It will play for 8-12 seconds, and the longer it takes you guess your song, the less points you get.

Its a great simple little game, and lets you relive those classic iPod days.

[Free - iTunes link]

News360 – @tracym1471, reader’s choice!

News360 is a free universal app that searches over 1000 news sources and presents them in a super easy way. You can read what’s important or drill down to the actual source all in the app. It has a lot of great features like a GPS option to show you local events, the ability to save articles, a wiki-like built in highlighter, and excellent social network integration. The app looks totally different from landscape to portrait – going from a flowing news picture view in landscape to a scrollable list in portrait. This app rates a look, as it is a viable replacement to many single source news apps out there!

[Free - iTunes link]

Your pick?

You're part of the team as well, so we will be choosing one reader to make a submission each week! Just look for my tweet each weekend for a chance to be picked! In the meantime, jump into the comments and let us know your pick of the week!

TiPb Picks of the Week is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

The iPad 2 is out and while many have figured out what iPad 2 they should buy or whether or not they should upgrade from the original iPad, I’ve decided to pass on the iPad 2. That’s right, unlike most of our staff, I plan on sticking with my original iPad. Hit the break to hear my reasons for not jumping on the iPad 2 bandwagon.

It isn’t my main device

I know a lot of users can get away with just an iPad. This simply isn’t a viable solution for me. I have two devices that are vital for me. The first is my actual Mac. The iPad 2 still can’t replace it. I spend a lot of time writing, uploading images, working in Creative Suite, and editing video. While I may be able to write and edit video on an iPad, I can’t do a lot of the functions I do everyday. Not to mention I can whip out an article on my Mac a lot faster than I can on the iPad. It’s more than usable but for lengthy pieces, an iPad just won’t do.

Until the iPad can stand on its own without relying on a physical computer, it shouldn’t be considered a replacement even for the modest user. Apple does claim it’s an “in between” to be fair. I guess I just haven’t found an “in between” use for it yet within my own ecosystem.

My second essential device is my iPhone. I depend on it to conduct business on a daily basis. It also does most of the basic functions an iPad can do. Sure the iPad is more comfortable to type on and you have the advantage of having a larger screen but it essentially runs the same software. While I may “prefer” reading news feeds and books on my iPad due to the better screen real estate, my iPhone gets the job done just as well. The difference is I could do without the iPad, but I can’t do without my iPhone.

I’m not a heavy gamer

I know there are a lot of hardcore iOS gamers out there. From what I’ve read and seen, the iPad 2 is aimed at you. The graphics improvements and speed enhancements seem to put it over the edge when it comes to gaming. My idea of gaming is playing Tiny Wings and Angry Birds. While Infinity Blade and other games look awesome on the iPad 2, I just never really sit down to play them all the way through. Heck, I’m a huge Harry Potter freak and I’ve yet to even finish Lego Harry Potter. So for me, the gaming improvements aren’t a huge selling point. Angry Birds works just fine on my original iPad.

Wait, my iPhone 4 already does that

Like many of you, I also own an iPhone 4. Apple has added FaceTime to the iPad 2. While that’s all good and fine, my iPhone already does it. I barely use it now so I don’t see this being a feature I would necessarily jump up and down over. And all the features of iOS 4.3, yeah I can have those too. I actually still find myself picking up my iPhone a lot more than I do the iPad. I really only use the iPad when I want to read lengthy content or watch a video. On our recent trip to Florida, it was definitely more enjoyable watching movies on the iPad during our flight than on a tiny 3.5″ screen. But again, my original iPad plays movies just fine.

There’s a jailbreak for that!

Come on, you knew I was going to say it at some point! And in this case, the one feature I would actually find useful I already have on my original iPad. That feature would be display mirroring. There’s a nifty little jailbreak app called Display Out that will give the original iPad this capability. Jailbroken iPads have had this capability since just shortly after the launch of the original iPad. You don’t need an iPad 2 if you’re willing to jailbreak.

The original version can be had on the cheap

If the differences between the first generation iPad and the iPad 2 aren’t a huge deal to you, you can pick up an original iPad at an amazing price. Not only did Apple drop the prices by $100, but tons of people are trying to off them all over the internet.

We currently have one iPad in our home. It’s always worked out alright as both of us work opposite schedules. Plus we both have iPhone 4s. If one of us is on the iPad, the other just jumps on one of the many other devices we have floating around. We each have our own pages on it with our own folders. It’s always worked out just fine but now I’m actually thinking of picking up another one. In the Chicago area, I’ve seen 64GB wifi models of the original IPad going for as little as $450 on sites such as Craigslist. And most are in mint condition, if not almost brand new. These are devices people paid $700+ for not even a year ago. So if the new features of the iPad 2 aren’t terribly important to you, you may save quite a bit of cash picking up a lightly used original iPad from someone locally. The iPad 2 may have an edge but no one can deny that the original iPad is still a very capable device.

Pass

I guess my main point is that I really haven’t found a compelling reason to upgrade to the iPad 2. A higher resolution display or a higher storage capacity may have convinced me. I already assumed we wouldn’t see a resolution increase just yet. Display cost is still an issue which would make it hard for Apple to stay at the same price points. Not to mention formatting issues for already existing applications. I’m hoping for iPad 3 we will get both of these things. But until that time, I’ll stick with the original.

Why I’m passing on the 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

The iPad 2 is equipped with two cameras, a front-facing VGA camera and a rear facing 720p HD camera. Check out the video above for example footage with both cameras.

Recording video on the iPad 2 is a little awkward given it’s large size, but it gets the job done. Another thing that takes some getting used to is that when using the front-facing camera to record yourself in landscape mode, the camera is positioned to the far left (or right). It feels strange looking so far from the center of the screen because I have grown accustomed to looking at the top of a device or just the screen while recording video. It’s clear that you are not looking at the camera if you stare at the screen while recording.

The quality of video taken with the VGA and HD cameras are as expected. In well-lit situations, the HD camera produces excellent results and the VGA camera gives acceptable quality. Both cameras do an ok job in bad lighting situations, but admittedly do better than I was expecting. In fact, while taking footage in my daughter’s poorly lit bedroom, the video looked pretty bad; but after uploading it to YouTube and watching on a computer, it didn’t look too shabby.

Taking still photographs with the iPad 2 is not nearly as rewarding as video. The photographs come out mediocre even in excellent light conditions. With that said, I was actually rather impressed with the close-up photograph I took of a bush. Digital zoom with the rear-facing camera, however, is awful. It’s not even worth your time to test it out.

Considering the fact that the iPad 2 is not, and should not be, regarded as a primary camera, I am content with the quality of the video and photographs obtained with the iPad 2. Of course, I would love to see better cameras, but they do a good enough job for my needs.

To check out the photos taken with the iPad 2, follow along after the break!

Side note: the video above was edited with iMovie on the iPad 2.

iPad 2 cameras hands-on is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

While Apple believes the mainstream cares more about iPad 2 experience and feeling than feeds and speeds, Anandtech clearly favors the latter and using an array of tests, they claim they’ve deduced that — as suspected — the Apple A5 system-on-a-chip is indeed powered by an ARM Cortex A9 CPU and Imagination PowerVR SGX 543MP2 GPU. It’s also fast, beating out not only the 2010 iPad’s A4 but the 2011 Motorola Zoom’s Tegra 2 in a number of benchmark tests.

In the CPU and JavaScript render tests iPad 2 was a little faster than iOS 4.3 on iPad 1 and Android 3.0 Honeycomb on the Xoom. In GPU tests it was devastatingly faster. Faster as in it digs a hole, stomps them into the mud, refills the whole, stomps it again, and repeats ten more times before the others even try to fight back. It’s fast.

What all these geekily benchmarked numbers mean in the real world is faster access to your web pages, especially JavaScript-heavy pages like Facebook, and far smoother, more detailed, and more high-performance graphics in everything from OS transitions to full 3D games.

In other words, Apple may have changed the specs into an experience fight, but they’re more than got the SoC specs to make that experience.

(Can’t wait for this to come to iPhone 5, can you?)

[Anandtech x2]

Apple A5 is dual Cortex A9, PowerVR SGX 543MP2 competition stomper is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

TiPb checks out the best, most must-have apps to load up as soon as you get your new iPad 2

Just get a new iPad 2 and curious which are the best, most must-have apps and games you need to install first? Want to really show off those new cameras or put that new super fast Apple A5 processor to the test? Well read on for TiPb's top 5 most recommended, most must-have iPad 2 apps to get your started.

If you’re brand new to iPad, be sure to check out our Top 10 iPad Apps to get you started with all the basics, from social to casual to creative. If you really want to stun your friends and family, however — if you want to blow them away with your new iPad 2, then grab/update these next!

iMovie

When Apple debuted the iPad 2 they wanted to raise the bar when it came to iPad 2 software as well, and iMovie was their first salvo. Pull in video and photos via the decidedly tepid built-in cameras, from the Camera Roll, or from your iPhone, point-and-shoot, vidcam, or DSLR via SD or USB and the Camera Connection Kit and you’re on your way. If you’re familiar with iMovie ‘11 on Mac it’s the same basic concept but completely touch-centric. You can mould your video as if you’re working with digital clay. Clip and transition and modify the audio and title — all in multitouch. Universal app – buy once, use on iPhone 4, iPod touch 4, and iPad 2.* [$4.99 - iTunes link]

GarageBand

Apple’s second iPad 2 salvo is also arguably one of the best mobile apps ever made. While it also works on the original iPad it’s even better on iPad 2. If you’re familiar with GarageBand ‘11 on Mac… well this is a different animal almost entirely. You’ve got touch sensitive instruments that, thanks to the accelerometer, can even tell how hard you’re hitting them. Strings, keyboards, and percussion from classic to electric are available both for you to play and in “smart” varieties to play along. You can also plug in your own instruments and record your own vocals and you’ve got 8 full tracks to mix it all down with. Even if you’re not musically inclined, GarageBand will wow you. [$4.99 - iTunes link]

Real Racing 2 HD

Always on the cutting edge of Apple’s latest hardware, the ADA award-winning team at Firemint wasted no time in releasing an iPad 2 optimized version of their flagship driving game. Gyroscope makes it steer better and the new PowerVR SGX 543 graphics chip in iPad 2 lets them turn the textures to overdrive. While the game may look and control better than ever before, it’s still Real Racing 2 and that means great cars, exciting tracks, and more fun than you can throw a hyper car at. If only I could drive like the Stig! [$9.99 - iTunes link]

Infinity Blade

Not only did Epic provide great new content in the recent Deathless Kings update for their Unreal 3 Engine-powered fighter, they powered it up for iPad 2 as well. While the original Infinity Blade for iPad blew people away with its gorgeous, real-time 3D environments and kinetic gameplay, the iPad 2 version takes it not only to the next level, but the next generations. The textures look better than ever, the frame-rate is near flawless, and if it looked gorgeous before it looks darn well glorious now. (You can even plug in the HDMI adapter and let your friends watch the mayhem video mirrored on your big screen HDTV!). [$5.99 - iTunes link]

Dead Space HD

Dead Space HD was one of the best looking, most atmospheric, most intense first-person shooters (FPS) games we’ve experienced on iPad — and now they’ve gone and enhanced the already impressive visuals for iPad 2. So yes, good things can get better… or scary things can get even scarier… either way! It’s hardcore horror and that might not be for everyone but for those who’ve been aching for console quality FPS on iPad, we’ve taken then next big leap in that direction. [$6.99 - iTunes link]

Your top apps?

So there you have them, our top 5 best apps to show off your new iPad 2. Be sure to check out our Picks of the Week and iPad App and Games Forum for more recommendations, and if we missed any of your favorites leave them in the comments below!

Top 5 apps to show off your new iPad 2 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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