iPad mini with Retina - much easier to read text!

 I've had the iPad mini for some time now and just recently switched to the iPad mini with Retina. I must say that by far the biggest advantage with the Retina screen is that small text reads so much easier!

I spend a lot of time reading and annotating PDFs studying publications. I switched to the mini to make it easier to bring along compared to the full size iPad I started with. The mini is much easier to have in my lap when I attend lectures and participate in meetings. But reading normal size magazines on the small screen was a little hard due to the pixelation. I had to zoom in sometimes to ease the strain on my eyes. The mini with Retina? No problem, no zooming! Reading this as I write it is also much easier than with the old mini.

I've found that imported pictures from my iPhone or DSLR also displays much better and are easier to adjust or edit compared to the plain mini.

I use the "darker colors" setting under settings/general/accessibility/increase contrast. I've set my iPhone to match so I've got the same look on both units.

So if you are choosing between an iPad mini Och iPad mini with Retina and expect to reader write smaller texts - go for the Retina. You'll never regret you did!

Biicado Touch Pro - CAD for iPad/iPhone that works! Perhaps something for you?

The iPad is the perfect portable device for writing, simple photo- and video editing, web surfing, education and a lot of other things. In my case it has replaced the computer for some 90% or so, a figure that would increase if I had an AirPrint-printer, and more memory in my iPad. Recently it fills another "need" for me - technical drafting. Thanks to BiiCADo Touch Pro:

BiiCADo, showing magnifying window and snap point - iPad mini screenshot

While it's no match against say AutoCad 3D, BiiCADo Touch Pro is still a very competent tool for creating technical drawings in 2D. It sports layers, colors, snap points, ISO-standard measurements, the usual tools like move, trim, radius, grid and much more. You can export DXF or PDF by mail or Dropbox. If you are used to working with programs like AutoCad 2D, Solid Edge 2D or Draftsite you will quickly pick up Biicado Touch. You really can make professional quality drawings with the help of this app.


I'm not going to attempt a tutorial here, but you can be sure this is a potent application that packs a lot for the price! The drawing and manipulating tools are real tools, not some halfway-there effort made to separate you from your cash. This is a real CAD app.


It took some time for me to find it as there are a lot of apps that claim to be "the best" in AppStore. Well, I'm not missing anything since I bought this one. A good stylus helps though, but that's more a thing with the tablet format than this app in particular. I use the iPad mini, and while it's lightweight and compact I think the larger iPads would be easier to draft with - bigger is better when it comes to screen size. But if you favour light and small the mini works well. And I don't even have the retina display!



A useful feature I'd like to mention that works very well is the way Biicado Touch handles drafting and selecting points. Instead of trying to hit the exact point where you, say, would like to start a line, you tap and hold the screen until a magnifying window appears (it appears quickly), then you slide to the point you want with the aid of the magnifier and crosshairs and then lift your finger to select it. Sounds confusing? It's not, just select your tool, tap and slide into position and release when you are there. It's a very clever and precise way, and if you two-finger move or pinch zoom while you are drafting, the current tool pauses, and you just tap-and-slide to resume right where you left off. That way you can draw a line right across a large drawing without zooming out, you can two-finger move several times while drafting the same line or using any other tool.
The magnifying window is actually rather necessary since your finger or stylus is blocking the view most of the time. Clever idea, nonetheless!

You also tap-and-slide to select a start point and then enter lengths, angles, radiuses (depends on what tool you are using) and so on using the input field at the bottom and the keyboard. Or even enter the start point coordinates and everything else without doing any tapping and sliding.


The snap function can be set to your liking or turned off completely if it interfers with your style of drafting. You can turn on or off snap for different points independently of each other. You can set grid snapping units as well, helpful if you want whole number coordinates for objects.


I had an issue with the "move" and "rename" functions not working, but after contacting BAST, the Germans, there was an update a week later that fixed it. Way to go, these are serious guys!



Those of you that know CAD will find Biicado Touch a great tool, but if you only want to make sketches or simple room plans this might not be for you. If you've never used CAD-programs before you might be put off by the learning curve. I find Biicado Touch to be the perfect companion to SketchUp for my needs. Having access to real CAD in a very portable and lightweight format is a winner for me!


UPDATE 13 september 2014:

I have found a few minor bugs and contacted BAST about them. Very fast response and nice guys to deal with. Thumbs up! Biicado will get even better by the next update!

OSnap! - time lapse for iPhone/iPad

Some time ago I wanted to try time lapses, you know when you take pictures in intervals and then put them together into a film. I have a D200 which is capable of interval shooting, and there are a few well executed time lapses on Youtube that are shot with a D200. I never got a around to making a time lapse with it though. Interval shooting really drains the battery fast, and I don't feel like buying a power adapter just to try lapse shooting. Also, there´s nowhere to plug a power adapter out in the middle of nowhere if I don't bring a generator set. Well, my iPhone 4s consumes much less battery power while shooting, it fits nicely in my pocket, and there is a bunch of apps for it. There are several time lapse app comparisons out there, and after much reading and googling I finally decided to buy OSnap! and try it out.

Time lapse is quite fun! I set my iPhone 4s on a silly little tripod, guesstimated the interval, and forgot about it while me and my brother tried to fix a SIM-card he accidentally cut to the wrong size. I imported the video to Pinnacle Studio on my iPad mini, added some text and sound and made this:

No Oscar winner, but it was just for fun and testing purposes anyway…

In OSnap! you set interval, resolution, number of total photos (which you can leave unrestricted) and orientation. When you´re done shooting you can select export video framerate, quality, audio and more. You can have several projects going on separately, but of course only shoot in one at a time. There´s also an overlay guide to help you take for example a photo each day of your growing beard. All in all I´m happy with OSnap! You might not use it every day, but is sure is a fun app to have on hand. With some imagination, creativity and planning you can make really good time lapses using it!

Tags : TIMELAPSE-IPHONE-IPAD-TIME-LAPSE-OSNAP

Bic stylus - cheap and great! ...and a little bit of rant, for good measure.

Whenever I saw a stylus that was reviewed or hanging in a store it was several if not all of these things:


- "Revolutionary" in some way. A paintbrush, why??
- Whatever crazy color the anodizers could provide.
- Heavy.
- Too short.
- Usually round and slippery. At least slippery. My Targus is.
- If it had a pen on one end, it was not of high quality.
- If it had a pen on one end, there was nowhere to put the cap that covers it. I mean, come on!
- Made of metal that goes "clank" against my iPad screen. Ouch.
- More money than I want to spend.



You know, since nobody pays me or sends me stuff to review I can say whatever I want. While I'm at it, isn't it a little annoying that most people who write "reviews" write about new stuff, not things they have had for some time and really used and tried out? It's so easy to mention this new thing with these specs that you can buy at this place for these kind of money. Kind of useless when what you really need is people with experience of that thing you are ready to spend money on telling you what is good and what is not so good about it. Ok, I'm done for now heh heh... And to be honest, there are very good reviews out there too!

My favourite stylus is not the latest whizz bang gizmo in pink or blue anodizing with amazing features. No, it is as long as the standard ballpoint Bic, as lightweight as the standard ballpoint Bic, as grip-friendly as the standard Bic ballpoint and writes as good as the standard Bic ballpoint. It is in fact a standard Bic ballpoint pen - with a stylus on the end. And yes, the cap fits right over the stylus end while you are using the ballpoint, and I paid a whopping 1,90 EUR for it. Actually, I bought five of them (hey, when you find good and cheap stuff you've better stock up) and it was still cheaper than the stylus I used until now. (UPDATE: next time around I bought ten heh heh)


This is what I'm talking about - The Bic Cristal Stylus:

Sure looks cheap but it's sooo good! - iPhone 4s, Camera+

I find the light weight keeps my hand relaxed and the hexagonal shape is easy to hold (you can try the grip and feel yourself - just grab a Bic pen!) The stylus tip responds with a light touch and the pen works.... well, as a pen should. The plastic has more friction to it than the slippery paint on my Targus  and improves the grip. Those guys or girls who made that Bic the first time new a thing or two, didn't they? Besides the obvious, it works great for drumming. You can make little buzzes and rolls with it, and that is something you can't do with that short, clunky metal one. Even if it's pink or whatever bright color the anodizers... ah, you've heard that before. You can also use a Bic, this one included, to test the sharpness of knives - but that's for another time.

Perhaps it won't make you feel as special as the guy who spent a fair bit of cash on his unique, elegant design thingimabob, oh yeah I spent some google time and words like "nostalgic", "dynamic" and "good looks" come up, but you won't have a $39,90 hole in your wallet either. What you will have is a perfectly good lightweight stylus on a perfectly good pen, and that's a winner folks!

Oh, and everyone I give one to agrees that it is very, very good! Now also has the wifes approval!