Reading Roundup – iPad Use & Usability, Keynote Remote Control, News Apps

Here’s a short list of iPad news, reviews and how-to articles I’ve discovered in my recent reading.

About one year ago, I pointed you to a study by the Nielsen Norman Group (NNG) on iPad usability. NNG recently published a followup to that report. This new research shows the usability of iPad apps and display of Web sites have improved substantially, making them easier to use. But their research also shows there is still plenty of room for improvement. Here’s a link to the PDF downloads for both studies.

Usability of iPad Apps and Websites

Imano, a digital marketing company, surveyed 2000 iPad users in the UK. A clever infographic illustrates the results of the May, 2011 survey.

http://idea.imano.com/2011/06/uk-ipad-usage-infographic/

From Gigaom comes a how-to article on controlling a Keynote presentation remotely with your iPhone.

How To Control Keynote Presentations on Your iPad From Your iPhone

Jessica Roy at Mediabistro suggests five apps for consuming the news.

The 5 Best iPad Apps For Consuming The News That’s Important To You

Here’s my quick take on the five she suggests:
Instapaper
One of my favorite apps, highly recommended for saving articles to read later.
Flipboard
A darling of reviewers, I tried it but just didn’t find it compelling.
SkyGrid
I was an early adopter of this news aggregator, but later gave it up due to too few articles of interest or value among those displayed.
Pulse
Gave this one a quick look, but I still prefer my current favorites. See below.
Taptu
Have not yet tried this one.

My favorite apps for collecting news I’m interested in are Early Edition and Zite. How about you? What are your favorites?

About Andy Brovey

Dr. Andy Brovey, The Portable Prof, teaches about digital tools through his work, websites and social media. In 2007, Apple Inc. recognized his work and named him an Apple Distinguished Educator. He started this iPad Academy website shortly after the first iPad went on sale. On his Freelance Teaching site you'll find the resources you need to teach like a smart entrepreneur.

One thought on “Reading Roundup – iPad Use & Usability, Keynote Remote Control, News Apps”

  • Dr. Jabari Cain

    Thanks Andy for the post! I really like Zite as a way to stay up to date and not filtering through a lot of feeds. Instapaper is a must and it’s always great to read while in Atlanta traffic:-) I’m also going to check out Mixtab (http://mixtab.com/home) which is similar to Flipboard/Pulse. One of the different perks is that Mixtab has a desktop version as well. I would love to see a desktop version of ZIte!!!

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