Zite for iPad Updated – Improved Recommendations & More

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Zite for iPad

The Zite app for iPad has been updated today, to Version 2.3. Zite is one of the leading news magazines apps for the iPad and learns from your interactions and tailors the content for you as you go along using it. I’ve seen many apps that claim to do this sort of thing, but Zite is by far the most effective at it.

This latest update is focused on further improving the app’s recommendation engine and tweaking the UI to make it even easier to use and to find the best content more quickly. Here are the new features listed for the 2.3 update:

· We’ve made huge improvements to our recommendation engine to ensure that the stories we deliver are a good match for your interests.
· Articles that you’ve read before will be greyed out (synced across all your devices).
· We’ve enhanced some articles with pull quotes.

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Just A Little Something to Make Your Hotel Stay Nicer: a Gold Plated iPad

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Gold Plated iPad

The heck with stealing the towels – at this hotel you’re going to want to leave the towels and sneak out with a gold-plated iPad.

As Business Insider recently reported, the Burj Al Arab hotel, touted as one of the world’s most luxurious hotels, is offering gold-plated iPads as a luxury amenity.

When guests check in, they’ll be given their own gold iPads, which will serve as a “virtual concierge” that offers information on everything from the hotel’s restaurant menus and spa treatments to housekeeping and butler services.

The iPads are given to the guests for the duration of their hotel stay. If they grow attached to them they can be bought in the hotel’s boutique. I couldn’t find the price for these gold-plated iPad 3 models at the hotel site or the manufacturer (Gold & Co)’ site. I guess that puts them firmly in the ‘If you have to ask…’ category.

I nearly always find myself saying this when I see these sort of ridiculous gold or jewel adorned iPads and iPhones, but I honestly find them extremely ugly.

Anyway, look out for these next time you’re spending a weekend at the Burj Al Arab – and when you do, let us know in the comments if the towels are gold too.

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Fancy Repairing Your Own iDevices? There’s a Book for That

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The Unauthorized Guide to iPhone iPod and iPad Repair

If you fancy learning how to maintain and repair your iPad and all your iDevices, there’s an impressive new book out that could serve as a starting point and handy reference guide. The book is ‘The Unauthorized Guide to iPhone, iPad, and iPod Repair’ and is billed as a DIY guide to extending the life of your iDevices.

It’s available in print and also in an Amazon Kindle edition and on the iBookstore.

The book’s author is Timothy L Warner, an Apple Certified Repair Technician and is said to be the only reference / tutorial of its kind that is in full color. Perhaps most impressively, the book has been thoroughly reviewed for technical accuracy and approved by the brilliant folks at iFixit.com.

Here’s a slice of the book’s iBookstore description:

Fix your own iPhone, iPad, or iPod with secret repair knowledge Apple doesn’t want you to have! This groundbreaking, full-color book shows you how to resurrect expensive Apple mobile iDevices you thought were dead for good, and save a fortune.
Apple Certified Repair Technician Timothy L. Warner demystifies everything about iDevice repair, presenting simple, step-by-step procedures and hundreds of crisp, detailed, full-color photos.
He’ll walk you through safely taking apart your iDevice, replacing what’s broken, and reliably reassembling it. You’ll learn where to get the tools and exactly how to use them. Warner even reveals sources for broken Apple devices you can fix at low cost–for yourself, or even for resale!

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Battle of the Bulge Lite (free) for iPad Out Now, Full Game on Sale Too

by on in iPad Games

Battle of the Bulge Lite iPad game

Battle of the Bulge Lite was released on the iPad App Store yesterday. This is the new, free version of the superb Battle of the Bulge strategic wargame for the iPad. This new Lite version of the game offers unlimited play of one of the game’s most interesting scenarios – ‘Race to the Meuse’, with all its features and modes of play.

Here’s a little more on Battle of the Bulge Lite and its notable features, via its App Store page:

Battle of the Bulge is a historical wargame, designed specifically for iPad. It’s a turn-based simulation in the spirit of traditional board wargames. Pieces represent actual military units fighting on the terrain of the famous WWII battle.
• Play three ways: online through Game Center, vs. computer opponents, or Pass & Play
• Unlimited play of “Race to the Meuse,” a short, tense fight in the opening days of the battle
• Match wits with two canny AI generals with distinct personalities
• Play any of the scenarios from Battle of the Bulge via Game Center when invited
• Tutorial, quick start guide, and online strategy forums help players learn to play and to explore the game’s subtleties
• Extensive historical photos, film, and commentary
• Retina support
• Introduction to a series of WWII titles by legendary designers: El Alamein, covering the decisive battle in North Africa, is in development for release in 2013

I’ve been a big fan of strategic wargames for many years, form back in the days of board games covering battles and wars from ancient times through the two World Wars and modern warfare. Battle of the Bulge is easily the best of this genre that I’ve seen come to the iPad. The full game is normally priced at $9.99 and is more than worth every penny of that. It’s on sale until May 26 at 30% off to mark the arrival of the new Lite version.

If you enjoy wargames and own an iPad, Battle of the Bulge Lite is a great introduction to what’s possible with this type of game on the iPad – and with the full game on sale as well for a few days this is an especially good time to try it out.

Here are App Store links for Battle of the Bulge Lite and Battle of the Bulge for iPad.

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Contest: Win a Free iPad Insight Branded Mobile Cloth for Your iPad

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ipad_insight

6 Free Mobile Cloth Combo Packs To Be Won (one large and one small)

Contest Deadline: Friday May 24, 2:00PM US Central

It’s contest time again. This time we’ve got one of the least glamorous but hardest working and most useful iPad accessories up for grabs. If you’ve been following this site for any length of time you know that I’m a big fan of these Mobile Cloth cleaning cloths. If you somehow missed my past mentions of them, check out my post when I first came across them, and asked how excited you’re allowed to be about cleaning cloths.

The short story is these are by far and away the best cleaning cloth for the iPad and all my touchscreen devices. Winners of this contest will receive a combo pack of the big and small Mobile Cloth – with the iPad Insight logo on them, so you’ll never forget which site you need to visit every day. :)

Hit the break to see how easy it is to enter for a chance to win …

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Price Drops: Flickr Studio for iPad Free Today Only

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Flickr Studio for iPad is available for free today only (5/21/13) – to celebrate ‘the new Flickr’. That’s down from its standard price of $4.99. Yahoo announced the new Flickr yesterday, including an upgrade on all accounts to 1TB (!) of free storage. The Flickr Studio app is designed specifically for the iPad and offers [...]

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How To Import Instapaper Articles into Pocket

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Pocket and Instapaper are two excellent read-it-later apps / services for the iPad, iOS and beyond. I’ve used both services for years, but for the last year or so I’ve been using Pocket a lot more than Instapaper. So a tip on how to import Instapaper articles into Pocket, from Whitson Gordon at Lifehacker, caught [...]

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iPad Art: Portraits

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I’m continually amazed with the incredible art being created on iPads. For years I’ve watched as a growing number of both traditional and ‘digital artists have embraced the Apple tablet as not just one of their tools, but as their primary canvas. I’ll share some great iPad artwork here each weekend, and I hope some [...]

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