Speed 2 for iPad is a new iPad app that converts your iPad into a speedometer while you drive. It features a gorgeous UI that integrates with Google Maps and will make you want to install your iPad directly into your dash.

Speed 2 has 4 main elements: the maps which take up the top third of the screen, and the compass, speedometer, and odometer in the bottom third of the screen. This area is like your dash. On the speedometer, you’ll see a red marker that can be moved around. If you exceed the speed marked, the app will emit an alarm sound to alert that you’re going too fast.

If you swipe your finger up the dash, it will slide up to reveal some options. Under the compass, you can select true or magnetic north. Under the speedometer, you can select an analog or digital display and enable/disable the speed limiter. Lastly, from this menu you can reset the trip or total of your odometer and select if you want to allow the app to track in the background.

Speed 2 require GPS as this is how it determines how fast you are traveling, so it’s only compatible with 3G and LTE iPads. You also must have your 3G or LTE enabled in order for Speed 2 to work. This also means that Speed’s performance is dependent on the strength of your connection. On Verizon LTE, Speed 2 worked perfectly for me.

The Good

• Gorgeous UI
• Slide-up panel is very convenient. It’s nice to not have to navigate to a separate menu
• True North or Magnetic North
• Analog or digital
• Alarm will sound when you exceed a specified speed
• Tracks in the background
• Includes trip odometer
• Tap the speedometer to switch between miles, kilometers, and knots

The Bad

• Cannot insert addresses and map out directions

The Conclusion

Combined with an iPad car mount, Speed 2 will be a great speedometer for your car. The UI is gorgeous and being able to view Google Maps at the same time is awesome. It’s a shame that you can’t retrieve directions to a destination, but Speed 2 can pair nicely with a turn-by-turn navigation app running in the background.

Now excuse me while I hunt for the best iPad car mount…

$2.99 – Download Now

Georgia, Seth, and Rene talk iMore app giveaway, next iPhone rumors, AT&T unlocks, iBooks anti-trust, Nokia’s botched beta, Facebook buying Instagram, missing iPad apps, and Steampunk iPhone cases. This is iPhone & iPad Live!

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Meta

• Georgia: How I use my iPhone 4S as a therapist
• Editor's desk: iMore app, iPad mini redux, obviousness, features, and more
• Great artists steal
• Iterate 19: Photoshop CS6

News

• Apple rumored to be testing 1GB, A5X-variant powered iPhone, readying next generation iPod touch
• Could the iPhone 5 have a 4-inch screen while keeping the same 4S footprint?
• AT&T begins unlocking qualified, off-contract iPhones
• U.S. carriers band together to form database of stolen phones
• Could carriers rebel against the high costs of Apple's iPhone?
• Apple hit with antitrust lawsuit over e-book priciiphonelive289.htmlng
• Smartphone beta test campaign comes back to bite Nokia in the @$$

Apps

• Why Facebook bought Instagram and what it means for Apple and iOS
• Not happy about Facebook buying Instagram? Here's how to export your photos and delete your account!
• Solving the case of the missing iPad apps: The best clock, voice recording, weather, calculator, and stock apps alternatives
• Flipboard vs Zite vs Pulse: iPad personalized magazine app shootout!
• Have free access to over 2700 educational videos with Khan Academy for iPad
• Snapguide for iPhone review: Best app for creating beautiful guides and DIY projects

Accessories

• SGP GLAS.t Screen Protector for iPhone review
• Pebble E-Paper watch for iPhone brings our dream communicators one step closer to reality!
• Have your iPhone follow you wherever you go with the Galileo robotic stand

Hosts

• Georgia (@GeorgiaTiPb)
• Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie)
• Seth Clifford (@sethclifford)

Credits

You can reach all of us on Twitter @iMore, or you can email us at podcast@imore.com, or leave a comment on the website when the show goes live.

We’re here every Wednesday night at 6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern, 2am GMT at www.imore.com/live

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This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Byword, iA Writer, and Elements definitively compared to find out which type-written text editor and note-taking app is the absolute best for your iPad

Taking and sharing notes is a vital part of what many users will want to do on their iPad. We’ve already taken a look at the best handwriting app for iPad, but what about the best typing and text editing notes app? Let’s find out!

The iPad App Store is filled with an incredible amount of high-quality text editing and note taking apps. There are so many that the problem isn’t finding one — it’s finding out which is the best! Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, features and support. After a lot of heavy sifting, it came down to three contenders: Byword, iA Writer, and Elements.

Byword vs. iA Writer vs. Elements: Design

Byword is an app you can just open and start using right away. There’s nothing tricky or complicated to learn, and everything you need is right in front of you, right where you expect it to be, all the time. Because the interface is so unobtrusive, you can really focus on the writing.

While all three have a great overall design, Byword has a slight edge due to the simplicity and clean interface. There's literally no learning curve.

While Byword and Elements not allow you to change the font or margins, iA Writer does not. Ai Write does, however, have a feature called Focus Mode that fades everything away except for the sentence you are writing. This is great way to avoid distraction and concentrate on the work. Since iA Writer’s default font may not appeal to everyone, however, this doesn’t make up for their lack of settings options.

iA Writer allows you to easily access files and the organization is simple. Users won't have design issues with any of these apps but Byword just seems to be a bit more thought out.

Elements has a few more options than Byword but also has few more controls to learn.

While Elements has a great interface, a lot of things users may need to interact with are buried in the settings menu. This is especially noticeable if you need to access documents across an iCloud or Dropbox account.

Byword, which is configurable yet still clear, powerful yet still usable, is the best when it comes to interface and design.

Byword vs. iA Writer vs. Elements: Markdown support

Markdown may not be important for every user but for those users who have come to depend on it for everything from blogging to writing to creating richly formatted emails, it’s very important.

Byword and Elements both support Markdown and both apps allow you to access a Markdown preview straight from the edit screen as well as copy the HTML to your clipboard or export it.

Byword Markdown preview can be accessed by tapping on the settings menu within any document and tapping "preview markdown". iA Writer does not support Markdown at all.

iA Writer does not support Markdown preview. You can, of course, type in Markdown with iA Writer, you just won’t be able to preview it inside the app. And if you’re new to the Markdown language or want to start learning, that may not be a good thing. For writers that prefer having everything formatted so publishing or exporting is as simple as a button tap, Elements or Byword would be a better choice.

Elements allows you to view a preview of your Markdown content with just one tap. From there you can copy to HTML or exit preview and continue writing.

Byword also adds a line above the keyboard that gives quick access to many Markdown functions. Just slide the word count away to the left and you’ll see keyboard shortcuts. Swipe one more time and you’ll get popular options such as header tags, insert image and link code, and lists.

That’s why, when it comes to Markdown support, Byword, its ease of use, and its shortcuts gives it the edge over Elements.

Byword vs. iA Writer vs. Elements: Organization

Byword, iA Writer, and Elements are all pretty much the same when it comes to organizing notes. They’ll create default folders either natively or wherever you choose to store them, whether it be iCloud or Dropbox.

As with Byword, you'll need to choose a different directory within Elements in order to access different documents. iA Writer has the edge due to the extreme ease of browsing files across all syncing services without the need to change any settings.

All three also support the creation of your own folder or folders in Dropbox. That way, regardless of which text editor you’re using, you always know where your notes are. This is especially convenient if you use a different notes editor on your iPad than you do your iPhone, smartphone, or Mac or Windows PC.

Byword allows you to change the default directory quickly but you'll need to navigate to that syncing folder each time and change the location which may be bothersome to certain users.

iA Writer is the easiest app to navigate. You can access any .txt file within your Dropbox account with a simple menu tap. If you saved something in a different location, no problem — just go grab it from wherever it is.

iA Writer allows you to easily navigate around all your Dropbox documents for text files. The others aren't as intuitive when it comes to navigating around folders.

If you’re storing things natively and don’t plan on syncing, Byword, iA Writer, an Elements are all tied when it comes to organization. All of them provide an easy way to organize and access files natively. iA Writer, however, has the advantage when it comes to organization and accessing online files. If you have everything you write in one folder, you shouldn’t have an issue with any three apps. iA Writer just makes it simpler to access things that may not be in the default path.

Byword vs. iA Writer vs. Elements: Syncing

Byword, iA Writer, and Elements all offer iCloud, Dropbox, and iTunes sync. All three apps perform well and sync seamlessly with Dropbox. Changes are brought down pretty much instantly. Byword does have the option to manually sync. So if automatic syncing isn’t something you want, Byword may be a better option for you.

Byword vs. iA Writer vs. Elements: Cross-platform editing

Byword, Elements, and iA Writer are all universal apps, so if you buy them for your iPad you can also use them on your iPhone or iPad touch at no additional charge, and if you’re syncing with Dropbox or iCloud, any changes you make on one device will be reflected on the others. Likewise, if you’re saving everything in .txt format, you won’t have any issue opening a document on your Mac or Windows PC with a native word editor.

Byword and iA Writer also have apps for Mac users as well. Elements does not. So if you’d like consistent environments between all your devices, Byword and iA Writer are probably the two apps you’d want to look at.

Byword vs. iA Writer vs. Elements: Cost

iA Writer is by far the cheapest of the three note-taking apps at just $0.99. Byword sits in the middle at $2.99. Elements is on top of the price range at $4.99.

Byword vs. iA Writer vs. Elements: Conclusion

While Byword, iA Writer, and Elements are all excellent choices for editing and sharing text, Byword is currently the best choice. It is a great balance between functionality and simplicity. It syncs everything seamlessly, and it’s incredibly easy to get started with. Just choose your syncing option, a folder you’d like to save things to, and start writing.

If you are more concerned about writing without distraction, iA Writer may be a better choice (provided you can live with Markdown previews). If you want a dark mode to work with and a bit more customization, Elements is a great choice (provided you don’t want a Mac client to go with it).

If you just want a well round, well supported text-editor for your iPad, get Byword and get writing.

Byword – $2.99 – Download Now

Elements – $4.99 – Download Now

iA Writer – $0.99 – Download Now

Mac companion apps

Byword for Mac – $9.99 – Download Now

iA Writer for Mac – $8.99 – Download Now

Additional Resources:

• Byword for iPhone and iPad review
• iA Writer for iPhone and iPad review
• iMore apps & game review forum

Apple has recently started prompting iOS users to create three security questions and answers to make sure nobody’s breaking into their account. The additional measure is stanadard practice, and considering your credit card information is associated to your account, this is a solid move to make. Some users may be understandable worried that this is a sneaky phishing attempt, but apparently the prompt checks out – some users are reporting iTunes is asking users for security questions too.

We got asked for them yesterday when setting up a new account in iTunes desktop, and The Next Web has seen them pop-up on the iPhone as well.

Has anyone received this prompt yet? Are they asking for any other security info? Are you happy about going through this extra step if it means better security or is it just one more annoyance between you and getting your apps?

Source: TNW

iMore and PXLFIX are teaming up to give away four (4) iPhone 4S or iPhone 4 color conversions — Enter now!

Have an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S and want to add a splash of color to it? We’re giving away a total of four color swaps courtesy of PXLFIX! Mix and match colors however you’d like to create an iPhone that’s totally you and totally unique.

To enter, just hop into our forums via the link below and let us know what color combo you’d want. Maybe you’re a baseball fan and want your favorite team colors? It’s your iPhone so go crazy. Just make sure you let us know before midnight on April 29th.

To be eligible you’ll just need to leave your comment before the deadline and reside in the United States. On May 1st we’ll pick four winners at random that’ll get their choice of color swap as either a mail-in swap via PXLFIX or a DIY kit sent directly to them. So what are you waiting for? Hit the link to ENTER NOW!

iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 Color Swap Giveaway – Enter Now

Jack Lumber made its debut at PAX East 2012, offering a fresh spin on the swipe-and-slash gameplay established by Fruit Ninja. Coming this summer to iPad, iPhone, and eventually Android, Jack Lumber follows a lumberjack whose grandmother was brutally killed by a malicious pine tree. After manifesting telekentic and time-warping superpowers, Jack Lumber has taken it upon himself to uproot entire swathes of forest and earn vengence the only way he knows how: chopping.

The gameplay will seem very familiar the second a bunch of logs come popping up into the air, but it differs from Fruit Ninja in that the movement of your targets slows when you press on the screen. You then have a limited amount of time to trace your finger through the logs, but you have to make sure that it’s along the grain – otherwise, the logs drop to the ground, beligerant and unchopped. The game quickly complicates by throwing innocent woodland creatures to avoid, kegs of dynamite, knotted logs that require multiple swipes, and time bonus logs to extend the annihilation of your arboreal foes.

Even among the many console titles at PAX East 2012, Jack Lumber leaped out to me as the one with the most personality. Sure, it’s a little derivative of Fruit Ninja, but that’s not a bad thing, and they’ve added enough new mechanics to erase any feeling of oversimilarity. The lumberjack theme is a largely untouched in iOS games, and these guys were tackling it with panache by dishing out buttons at the show bearing a salty domain they snagged: “F-cktrees.com“. I’m half-expecting some environmentalists to cause a lot of noise about this one, but Owlchemy Labs is no stranger to controversy; their last title, Smuggle Truck, was about getting Mexican babies across the border. That proved a little too spicy for Apple, so Owlchemy released a game with stuffed animals instead and called it Snuggle Truck.

When Jack Lumber launches this summer, we can expect it to have Game Center support, be universal, and be optimized for the new iPad’s Retina display resolution. They have full intentions of launching the game on any platform with a touchscreen, so sit tight Android users.

Some recent poking around inside Apple’s third-generation TV unit show that there’s actually a dual-core A5 processor inside, and not the single-core CPU listed on the spec sheet. It’s possible Apple’s just reusing iPad 2 parts that have a bad core, and simply disabling it. Further investigation shows that the chip was actually made using a 32 nm process, compared to the standard 45 nm found elsewhere in Apple products.

The last teardown we had seen of the new Apple TV revealed extra RAM to handle 1080p video playback. The third-gen Apple TV also introduced a new user interface, though apparently the venerable Steve Jobs wasn’t a huge fan.

It’s entirely possible that this new manufacturing process will actually be squeezed into the iPhone 4S to save space and improve battery performance, perhaps with an Apple A5X variant we heard about previously?

Source: Chipworks

UPDATE: According to some digging around in a restore image, there are already plenty of iPad 2 models out there using the same processor.

For today only the iMore iPad Accessory Store has the Incipio Smart feather Ultralight Hard Shell Case for iPad 2 on sale for only $22.95! That’s a big 34% off! Get it before it’s gone!

• Shop Incipio Smart feather Ultralight Hard Shell Case for iPad 2 now!

The Incipio Smart feather Ultralight Hard Shell Case for iPad 2 helps protect your device from harm with a form-fitting polycarbonate shell. Measuring about 1mm in thickness, the Smart Feather is a slim case that offers low-profile protection.

Create the ultimate sleek, protective duo by combining the Smart Feather with your Apple Smart Cover (sold separately). This case provides the low-profile protection for the delicate frame of your iPad 2 while the Smart Cover protects your screen.

The Smart Feather has custom cutouts and is molded to fit the Apple Smart Cover’s magnetic anchor and clasps, providing the same level of magnetic hold without any materials interfering with the connection.

The Smart feather case must be used in conjunction with the Apple Smart Cover (SOLD SEPARATELY)

Features:

• Hard shell polycarbonate material
• Rigid structure with slight flex
• Thin design: 1mm thickness
• Weight in at approximately 2 oz.
• Stylish and protective
• Soft touch matte finish ensures smooth feel
• Sturdy polymer protects against scratches and dents
• Works with Apple Smart Cover (sold separately)

Apple,  Penguin, and Macmillan haven’t shown any signs of settling with the Department of Justice over charges of e-book pricing collusion issued yesterday, sources say. However, the other publishers in the suit, HarperCollins, Hachette, and Simon & Schuster, are likely to settle before the investigation goes any further.  Those who settle would basically be letting Amazon take back its throne as the god-king of e-books, since publishers were “forced” to raise their prices there due to the contract with Apple that forbade them to offer the books for cheaper anywhere else (known as “the most favored nation” clause). Apple obviously isn’t interested in allowing Amazon to undercut them if the iBookstore is going to have any hope of success.

On the upshot, any settlement means that consumers will be able to enjoy cheaper e-books on iOS devices, no matter which store you go with. Amazon seems willing to take a loss on pricing so long as it drives rivals out of the market. That said, is it unfair that Amazon is using its existing position of leverage to lock out competition, or should Apple be doing what’s best for consumers rather than what makes publishers the most money?

Source: WSJ

If you want to see how an iPad is assembled at a Foxconn factory, a new video reveals some of the processes involved. The video shows an iPad assembly line and focuses on the installation of the motherboard into the iPad casing, the installation of the battery, a visual inspection of the rear panel for scratches, the fitment of the LCD panel and then tests of the gyroscope and the display. The iPad is then packaged and ready for despatch.

The video is part of a series of reports by Rob Schmitz; who is only the second ever reporter given permission to access the factory floor at Apple's iPad assembly line.

Source: Marketplace via TNW

One of the advantages of having a camera on your iPhone and iPad is that you can you use it with great apps like Scanner Pro that let you take photos of documents to “scan” them and store as PDFs. The result looks just as if you used a physical scanner to do the job.

To use Scanner Pro, you simply take a photo of the document you wish to scan, or upload a photo that you took at an early time from your Camera Roll. After you take the photo, Scanner Pro will automatically detect the edges and put a box around it. If it needs adjusting, you can simply drag the edges and corners to where they should be. In my experience, the detection has been very good. Even when I intentionally did a terrible job at taking the photo, Scanner Pro found a way to make it work.

Even though I took a terrible photo, Scanner Pro did a great job detecting the edges and produced a "good enough" result.

Scannner Pro also allows you to choose the document size before accepting the scan. Choosing an accurate paper size and border for your page is important for having the best looking scanned document for your result.

Tapping Done will bring you into the next stage of the scanning process. This is where you can decide if the document will be in color, black and white, or simply look just like the photo. You can also adjust the brightness and contrast to make sure the final documents looks good. Tapping Done at this stage will finish the scan.

After you’ve scanned your documents, you can share them to Dropbox, Evernote, or GoogleDocs. Scanner Pro also includes the “Open in” button so that you can open you scanned documents in any other apps that support PDFs.

The Good

• Easy way to scan documents on the go
• Does a fantastic job
• Auto edge detection is pretty accurate
• Set page size
• Support for multi-pate documents
• Option for password protection
• Sync with Dropbox, Evernote, and GoogleDocs
• Universal for iPhone and iPad

The Bad

• Edges can’t go off the screen, so make sure your document is completely visible in your photo

The Conclusion

Scanner Pro does a great job at scanning documents into electronic form. It’s a perfect solution for people who don’t have access to scanner or for those time they’re away from their scanner. I’m beginning to think I didn’t need to purchase that all-in-one printer I bought last month.

$6.99 – Download Now

Everybody’s favorite time-slowing vigilante, Max Payne, is now available on iPhone and iPad. Sure, the game originally launched on consoles and PC is a little old, but Max Payne Mobile comes complete with all of the dual pistol-wielding bullet-time action we know and love. There’s support for the new iPad’s Retina display, and compatibility with every iPhone going back to the 3GS. The gameplay itself looks pretty much identical, including the third-person perspective and comic-style cutscenes, but there’s an added bonus for configurable controls, so you can drag and drop your fire button wherever is most comfortable. Max Payne for iOS will also tie in with Rockstar’s Social Club community for sharing profiles and achievements.

I saw the Rockstar booth at PAX East 2012, but they were primarily interested in showing off Max Payne 3 for consoles and PC. While a whiff of nostalgia may convince many gamers to pick this up, 9 years really ages a game; I think it’s safe to say that the iPhone and iPad can handle much more than what Max Payne Mobile is demanding in horsepower. Of course, if Rockstar had mobilized Max Payne 2 instead, odds are good that it would only be available on the latest iOS hardware, and even then, they might have had to dumb down a few aspects to keep gameplay smooth.

In any case, it’s still nice to see Max’s face on an iPhone, puckered as it may be. Anyone big fans of the franchise? You can download the game now at the link below. Keep an eye out for our review soon!

Max Payne Mobile – $2.99 – Download Now

It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time to announce this week’s photo contest — and the winner of last week’s flower photography contest. Before I do, I want to congratulate everyone on their awesome entries. We’ve got some talented iPhoneographer readers here at iMore!

And the winning entry is…

…this gorgeous photo by NSq! What made this photo stand out to me was the unique perspective. NSq also did an awesome job of using the rule of thirds on the focus point making this a very strong composition. Great work NSq!

This week’s contest: Macro!

With the end of one photo contest, comes the beginning of new one — this week we’re going to get up close and personal with macro photography! There is no restriction on subject matter. You can photograph bugs, flowers, gadgets, or anything you want. Get creative!

The prize

In addition to a thumbs up from the iMore crew and all of us yelling about how great of a photo star you are, the winner of this week’s photography contest will have their photo converted into an official iMore wallpaper and we’ll showcase it on the front page of iMore! But that’s not all! The winner will also receive an olloclip external lens! This awesome little accessory transforms your iPhone’s lens into either a wide-angle, fisheye, or 10x macro lens. I have one. It rocks my world.

The rules

The rules of entry are very simple. The photo must have been taken with an iPhone or iPad (we’ll check the EXIF data of the original file to verify) and any edits must have been done with an iPhone or iPad app. No Photoshop CS6! If you have external lens accessories (like an olloclip!), you are more than welcome to use them. You can submit as many photos as you’d like, but remember, this is a contest, so make sure you submit your best work!

Resources

Now, before you run off to take your macro photos, remember that it’s not technical skill alone that will claim this prize. Even if you’re not the best photographer (yet!), a great eye and a great subject can still get you the win. However, a little help can never hurt, so make sure you check out these articles from our iPhone photography series for some tips.

• How to take amazing macro photos with your iPhone
• How to make your iPhone photography more striking with the "rule of thirds"
• How to make your iPhone photographs more powerful with negative space

How to submit

Submitting your photos is easy. Just head over to the iMore Photography Forum and post your photos to the official contest thread. Don’t forget to state which apps, if any, you used to edit your photo!

That’s it! Now go out and get those beautiful macro shots!

ENTER NOW

Found an interesting article you want to share with iMore? Have a burning question about that feature you just can’t figure out? There is ALWAYS more happening just a click away in the forums. You can always head over and join in the conversation, search for answers, or lend your expertise to other members of our community. You check out some of the threads below:

• LTE Connectivity in other countries
• Need Help with Exchange
• Best browser to view Flash content?
• iOS 5.1 turning my volume completely down at random times
• Dropbox like features of iCloud
• My iPhone won’t charge. Help?

If you’re not already a member of the iMore Forums, register now!