Khalid Alkelabi

Summary

• Name: Zinio
• Developer: Zinio LLC
• Current Version: 1.2
• Language: English
• Category: News
• Price: Free (+ Magazines subscriptions)
• iTunes App Link: Zinio

Review

Let’s face it, Apple’s iPad is the content delivery savior for traditional media companies: be it newspapers, magazines, or books. While Apple’s iBooks app is an excellent reader and store for books, it doesn’t offer other printed materials such as magazines or papers.

Zinio for the iPad is another tool from the successful Zinio platform. The app lets you read your magazines in the comfort of your hand with one of the biggest selection of magazines online. It allows you to buy subscriptions or individual issues of hundreds of US and International magazines so you can brows through them on your iPad (or iPhone, PC, Mac, etc.)

The app allows you to brows quickly through your magazines exactly as they were published. Yet all text is clear and readable in its original formatting or using the text button that displays only the text itself in an iBooks like manner. It also allows you to email any article in its text format, a great feature in my opinion.

Even though the app has its own quirks (slowness, crashes, etc.) yet it is still the only real solution for magazine publishers to deliver their content to readers and subscribers on Apple’s iPad. I like the idea of reading my magazines on different platforms and this is where Zinio shines.

Pros

1. Large selection of magazine subscriptions
2. Horizontal mode allows the view of 2 pages of an issue
3. Automated delivery over Wi-Fi
4. Text reading mode and email features
5. Simple interface

Cons

1. Magazines’ prices are high (digital v. print)
2. Very limited options and tools (bookmarks, text selection in magazine view)
3. iPad store offers fewer titles than other platforms
4. Performance issues

Verdict

Features
Performance
Usability
Updates
Price
Overall

Gallery

[View with PicLens]

Summary

• Name: Penultimate
• Developer: Cocoa Box Design
• Current Version: 1.0
• Language: English
• Category: Productivity
• Price: $2.99
• iTunes App Link: Penultimate

Review

Note taking was not a priority for my iPad but a lot of developers are publishing such apps to iTunes App Store. Penultimate from Cocoa Box Design is one of those apps that you must have! Even though I’ll never use it for note taking, I love the freedom to draw shapes and graphs very easily.

For those who used Windows Phones or Windows Tablets, pen tools never really worked: I tried! Penultimate does a great job making drawings on iPad’s large screen very natural and easy. The results are good and you can always erase or undo drawings from within the app.

The app starts with your notebook selection screen by which you can choose which notebook to open, or you can create a new one. Within a notebook you can create as many pages you like with different types op paper:

• Graph paper
• Lined paper
• Plain paper

Other nice features include the ability to send a page of your notebook by email as an attachment or the hole notebook as a PDF document. I also like the accuracy of the ink and the eraser, as long as your finger is not sticky or sweat though! Lastly, I loved the introductory notebook the developer created, it’s informative and funny!

Pros

1. Gorgeous and elegant interface
2. Solid and fast performance
3. Ability to send notes by email
4. Reasonable price

Cons

1. Writing is not easy using your fingers
2. Not that many features or options
3. Can’t store notes as images in iPad’s photo library

Verdict

Features
Performance
Usability
Interface
Price
Overall

Gallery

[View with PicLens]

Summary

• Name: Air Sharing HD
• Developer: Avatron Software
• Current Version: 1.0.2
• Language: English
• Category: Utilities
• Price: $9.99
• iTunes App Link: Air Sharing HD

Review

One of the first things I struggled with since I’ve got my iPad was how to “store” files and access them. Apple decided not to bundle a built in file browser or give the user access to internal storage other than what each individual apps offers. Air Sharing HD bridges that gap by allowing you to create a mountable hard drive on your network so you can mount your iPad on a PC, Mac, or Linux and use it as network drive; thus allowing normal file operations on your iPad such as: copy, move, delete and edit files.

I tried mounting my iPad using Air Sharing HD on a Windows 7 PC & on an iMac (OS X 10.5.8). It was a very easy one time process to create the network hard drive on both. Air Sharing HD does this by creating its own server through Wi-Fi and giving you an address on your local network. The result is great: I can copy my files to the iPad and access them on the go. The app offers a long list of feature, some I didn’t even try such as printing, which will defiantly accommodate the needs of any fellow geek!

My main use of this app is to store huge amounts of files and documents on iPad for later use that I can’t sync with iTunes, this includes: Microsoft Word & Excel documents, PowerPoint presentations, PDF files, etc. The app does offer you the ability to open files from within and it has a robust and powerful file viewer which I read PDF’s from on daily basis. It also allows you to email or share any file and to perform many other actions on it.

I’ve purchased Air Sharing HD after trying many similar apps, other apps always fall short in terms of features, performance, or usage. The built in tools are so many to detail in this quick review but here is a quick list (from the developer):

• Create a wireless hard disk
• View documents
• Many file formats supported
• Email documents
• Connect to your computer
• Mount remote file servers
• View and download email attachments
• Perform advanced file operations
• Print documents
• Share files with other users

Pros

1. Many features and tools that accommodates a wide range of needs
2. Simple  interface
3. Responsive and robust operations
4. Rock solid file viewer and browser
5. Simple connection to other computers
6. Different views of documents just like any computer (lists, icons, etc.)

Cons

1. Pricey
2. Lacks the ability to access computer file systems on the network
3. Slow connection to the mounted drive

Verdict

Features
Performance
Usability
Updates
Price
Overall

Gallery

[View with PicLens]

Summary

• Name: Wikipanion
• Developer: Robert Chin
• Current Version: 1.5.5f
• Language: English
• Category: References
• Price: Free (or $4.99 for Plus Edition)
• iTunes App Link: Wikipanion or Wikipanion Plus

Review

Wikipedia, if you don’t know it yet, is the source for data and information on the web. Think of it as the largest encyclopedia and database created by thousands of users while being completely free. The problem with sites such as Wikipedia is that developers focus more on the back-end leaving the interface somewhat primitive and unappealing.

Apps like “Wikipanion” try to gap the presentation void by delivering the same data and info from Wikipedia in a polished and readable fashion on devices such as iPhone & iPad. Wikipanion comes in 2 version: free & plus. I used the free version and found that reading Wikipedia articles from Wikipanion is a much better experience, especially in terms of text clarity and page structure. The Plus version of the app allows you to add bookmarks for later readings even in off-line mode.

When you start the app, simply type a word you’re searching for and a customized page appears with content from Wikipedia. You can even enlarge images and photos to full screen (iPad screen size is 9.7″). When you rotate the iPad a panel for sections and article structure appears. You can also use Google Maps to point your location for more results.

Pros

1. Very fast results
2. Simple and elegant interface
3. Responsive interface
4. Free!

Cons

1. Lack of customization
2. No off-line mode for free version
3. Limited settings and options

Verdict

Features
Performance
Usability
Updates
Price
Overall

Gallery

[View with PicLens]

Summary

• Name: The Early Edition
• Developer: Glasshouse Apps
• Current Version: 1.0.2
• Language: English
• Category: News – RSS Reader
• Price: $4.99
• iTunes App Link: The Early Edition

Review

I was looking for an iPad App that replaces Google Reader’s dull interface. There are many RSS feed readers on Apple’s App Store but The Early Edition ($4.99) stands out in such an elegant way. The app aggregates your feeds from all over the web and then presents them in newspaper like interface, with page flips!

The result is very beautiful: you view your feeds as if you’re reading the newspaper. The app aligns and renders the layout without you interfering in the process. You can add feeds manually by entering the RSS feed address, and the app comes with many feeds pre-configured.

Pros

1. Elegant and beautiful interface
2. Solid performance
3. Quick rendering
4. Minimalistic settings interface
5. Ability to export articles to other apps (Instapaper, email)

Cons

1. No import feature for OPML
2. No integration with Google Reader
3. Can’t post items to twitter or Facebook

Notes

The developer is very responsive to users feedback. Glasshouse Apps promises to integrate Google Reader in the next version (v1.1).

Verdict

Features
Performance
Usability
Updates
Price
Overall

Gallery

[View with PicLens]

Apple iPad

After much anticipation I finally got my iPad from Apple, and what a day it is…
The device is a pleasure to hold, even though heavier than what I expected, and is stunningly elegant. The screen is so crisp and clear and is easy on the eye. Here are some quick notes after using it for a couple of hours:

• Browsing is a whole new experience in the iPad! The best browsing experience I had so far in any other device, even though Flash support is missing.
• emails are a joy to read and to reply to
• Reading, reading, reading! This device, without any doubt, will change the traditional media industry: newspapers and magazines specifically. This is the main reason I waited so long for the iPad, to read books, papers, and magazines. I can’t start to describe how wonderful books look on the iPad, you have to experience it yourself to understand.
• iBooks from Apple is an excellent bookstore. It needs time though to grow the number of titles it offers.
• Kindle, Amazon.com digital book library, also works great on iPad. All my books were available on my iPad the minute I synced my account.
• Magazines, PDF’s, word documents, etc. all look superb!
• Arabic is supported in all apps I tried (reading but not writing yet), this includes: emails, PDF’s, docs, and websites
• Wireless connection is good, didn’t have any problem as of yet, even though many users report having some problems

Verdict

Weight
Performance
Battery
Price
Usability
Overall

Much to come later but that’s it for now. I will leave you with some screen shots I took from the iPad:

[View with PicLens]

12►

Abdullah Al Fozan

Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper published an Interview today with Mr. Abdullah Abdullatif Al Fozan, Chairman – Al Fozan Holding Co. The interview is a rare opportunity to comprehend the vision and insights of one of the most successful businessmen in Saudi Arabia.

The Interview, which was published today in both the Saudi and international editions of the paper, covers critical economic issues in the region, challenges facing family businesses, and a history of Al Fozan Group of Companies.

You can read the full interview online at Asharq Al-Awsat or at Argaam website.

Alarabiya .Net published an interview today with Mr. Abdullah Al Fozan, Chairman at Al Fozan Holding Company, to expand on his views on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Saudi Arabia.

The interview which can be viewed by clicking here is a response to a previous article published on Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. The interview explores the innovation at work at Al Fozan Social Foundation and its many initiative that contributes to the well being of the Saudi society.

كل عام وأنتم بخير