I know you might be thinking that it’s a bit late for Black Friday shopping, but think again, because there are still some sweet deals out there! Especially on the Internet, because many companies start their deals on Black Friday and carry them over until Cyber Monday, which is this Monday.

The cool thing about doing your shopping on the Internet is that there is no traffic, no long lines, nor do you have to deal with navigating between mobs of people. It’s just you, your device of choice, me (your personal deal finder), and the wide open information superhighway that has been dubbed the Internet.

So let’s not waste any more time and dig in, shall we, because time’s a tickin’!

This time around, the deals are to be found in the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch App Store. The one that really stood out for me is the BEST app suite to view and edit Microsoft Office documents, Quickoffice Pro (iPhone & iPad Touch) and Quickoffice Pro HD (iPad). Quickoffice Pro HD is normally $19.99, but is on sale for only $4.99, and the Quickoffice Pro app for the iPhone is usually $14.99, but is priced at a whopping $.99!

So if you want MS Word, Excel and/or PowerPoint on your iPad (or iPhone), then I would suggest that you DEFINITELY jump on that deal.

If you’re looking for some fun, then you might want to check out Real Racing 2, if you like racing cars, like I do, or The Amazing Spiderman. Both are very popular.

There are many other cool apps that are on special right now, and below is a list of the more popular ones that I got from iPhoneHacks. I, myself, took advantage of a fair amount of them. I suggest you go through the list right now while you’re thinking of it, because who knows if they will be available tomorrow.

iPhone & iPod Touch App Deals

QuickOffice Pro – normally $14.99 –> $0.99
Real Racing 2 – normally $4.99 –> $0.99
PDF Expert – normally $9.99 –> Free
Smart Office 2 – normally $9.99 –> Free
Game Your Video – normally $1.99 –> $0.99
1Password for iPhone – normally $9.99 –> $6.99
Localscope – normally $1.99 –> $0.99
Scrabble – normally $1.99 –> $0.99
Fieldrunners – normally $2.99 –> $0.99
Plants vs Zombies – normally $2.99 –> $0.99
djay for iPhone – normally $0.99 –> Free
Star Walk – normally $2.99 –> $1.99
Momento (Diary/Journal) – normally $2.99 –> $0.99
Garmin U.S.A – normally $49.99 –> $24.99
SketchBook Mobile – normally $1.99 –> $0.99

NOTE: iPhone apps will work on the iPad. They just appear the size of the iPhone app. You can hit to 2X button to make it bigger, but it will be grainy.

iPad App Deals

QuickOffice Pro HD – normally $19.99 –> $4.99
Real Racing 2 HD normally $6.99 –> $0.99
NFS Shift 2 Unleashed for iPad – normally $4.99 –> $0.99
Monopoly Millionaire for iPad – normally $4.99 –> $1.99
Star Walk for iPad – normally $2.99 –> $1.99
Flight Control HD – normally $4.99 –> $0.99
djay for iPad – normally $19.99 –> $9.99
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 for iPad – normally $4.99 –> $0.99
Yahtzee HD – normally $4.99 –> $0.99
ReaddleDocs for iPad – normally $6.99 –> $1.99
SketchBook Pro for iPad – normally $4.99 –> $2.99

Universal Apps (Apps for iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad)

The Amazing Spider Man – normally $6.99 –> $0.99
Asphalt 7: Heat – normally $0.99 –> Free
Tango Remote – normally $4.99 –> Free
Documents To Go – normally $9.99 –> $5.99
Track 8 – normally $1.99 –> $0.99
The Sims Medieval – normally $4.99 –> $0.99
Galaxy on Fire – normally $4.99 –> Free
FIFA 13 – normally $6.99 –> $2.99
FiLMiC Pro – normally $3.99 –> Free
IM+ Pro – normally $9.99 –> $2.99
Navigon USA – normally $49.99 –> $24.99
Navigon North America – normally $59.99 –> $29.99
Scanner Pro – normally $6.99 –> $1.99
Printer Pro – normally $6.99 –> $1.99
TomTom U.S.A. – normally $49.99 –> $31.99
TomTom U.S. & Canada – normally $59.99 –> $39.99
TomTom U.S. & Mexico – normally $59.99 –> $39.99
Groove 2 – normally $3.99 –> $0.99
LensFlare – normally $0.99 –> Free

As I said above, even though it’s past Black Friday (Nov 23, 2012), don’t despair. The deals that you’re interested in above may still be valid. All you have to do is click on the links for the apps to find out! Some deals are lasting through Cyber Monday, or even longer, so it’s definitely worth a shot.

If you have any more deals that you would like me to add to the list, post it in the comments below and I’ll be sure and add them.

Happy Holidays!

A client of mine recently asked me how they can hook up their camera directly to their iPad without a computer so they can travel with just their iPad and a camera, download their photos onto their iPad, and share them online. A very good question. One that I’m sure many of you would like to know the answer to as well. So…here we go.

First thing you will need to do is purchase the Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit (Apple thinks of everything, don’t they?).

Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit
Product Link

Once you have that in hand, it’s a very simple process. But which adapter you use from the kit will be dependent upon whether your camera uses an SD card for its memory card or another type of memory card (the kit comes with both an SD card reader adapter and a USB adapter).

Your choice of adapter will also depend on whether you prefer to take out the SD card and pop that into the card reader, or if you just want to hook up your camera directly to your iPad via the USB cable, which will save you from having to take the SD card out of the camera. Given that, I will give you directions for both.

Option #1: Apple SD Card Reader Adapter

If your camera uses an SD card for its memory card

1. Take the SD card out of your camera, insert it into the SD card reader adapter that comes with the Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit, and insert the adapter into the 30-pin dock on your iPad (the same place where you plug in the charger to charge it)
2. The Photos app will launch on your iPad, and you will see thumbnail photos of the photos on your camera displayed on your iPad
3. You have two choices when it comes to importing the pictures.
• If you would like to import all of the pictures on your camera into your iPad, then touch the blue IMPORT button in the upper right corner of the screen, and select IMPORT ALL from the pop-down menu.
• If you would like to just import certain photos from your camera into your iPad, then touch the photos that you want to import (after you touch each photo, a green circle with a white checkmark should appear next to it, telling you that you’ve successfully selected it). After you finish selecting the photos you want to import, touch the blue IMPORT button in the upper right hand corner of your screen, and select IMPORT SELECTED.
4. After it imports your photos, it will ask you if you want to keep or delete the photos on your camera (the photos you just imported). Select the appropriate answer.
   NOTE: If you are traveling and have limited space on your card, then you might want to free up some space by selecting to delete the photos on your camera so you can take more pictures. If you do this, you might want to also back up your photos to iCloud (on your iPad, go to SETTINGS>iCloud>turn on PHOTOS) so you have your photos backed up.
5. If you have imported all of the photos that you want to import, close the Photos app and then unplug the adapter you used from your iPad.
6. Done!

Option #2: Apple USB Adapter

If your camera does not use an SD card for its memory card, or if you just don’t like feel like taking the SD card out of the camera

1. Make sure your camera is ON, and is in PLAY mode (the mode that allows you to view the photos you’ve taken in the display screen/view finder of your camera).
2. Hook up the USB cord that came with your camera to your camera, insert it into the USB adapter that comes with the Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit, and insert the adapter into the 30-pin dock on your iPad (the same place where you plug in the charger to charge it)
3. The Photos app will launch on your iPad, and you will see thumbnail photos of the photos on your camera displayed on your iPad
4. You have two choices when it comes to importing the pictures.
• If you would like to import all of the pictures on your camera into your iPad, then touch the blue IMPORT button in the upper right corner of the screen, and select IMPORT ALL from the pop-down menu.
• If you would like to just import certain photos from your camera into your iPad, then touch the photos that you want to import (after you touch each photo, a green circle with a white checkmark should appear next to it, telling you that you’ve successfully selected it). After you finish selecting the photos you want to import, touch the blue IMPORT button in the upper right hand corner of your screen, and select IMPORT SELECTED.
5. After it imports your photos, it will ask you if you want to keep or delete the photos on your camera (the photos you just imported). Select the appropriate answer.
   NOTE: If you are traveling and have limited space on your card, then you might want to free up some space by selecting to delete the photos on your camera so you can take more pictures. If you do this, you might want to also back up your photos to iCloud (on your iPad, go to SETTINGS>iCloud>turn on PHOTOS) so you have your photos backed up.
6. If you have imported all of the photos that you want to import, close the Photos app and then unplug the adapter you used from your iPad.
7. Done!

I don’t have time to make a video right now to show you how to use it, so I will let the beautiful & smart Sharon Vaknin from CNET TV show you. She also includes some extra goodies, which I think you will find useful, including being able to hook up other USB devices to your iPad like a USB keyboard, USB mic, etc.

Enjoy!

Secrets of the Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit
by Sharon Vaknin from CNET TV

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It never ceases to amaze me how intuitive Apple makes their operating systems, including that of the iPad. We were just at my uncle’s this weekend, and a close friend of the family had his two year old with him. His parents are very much Apple fans, so of course they have an iPad.

Consequently, Hiro, the very cool and hip two year old, has working knowledge of the iPad. His favorite app? Angry Birds? Nope. Need for Speed? Not old enough. Elmo’s ABCs? Not a chance. No, the app of choice for this clever toddler is none other than Netflix. I didn’t derive any conclusion from that (I’m not one to judge a two year old), but I found that to be pretty interesting.

Anyway, we recently gave my mother the new iPad for her birthday, and so we had that with us. First I took some pictures, and then a movie with the iPad of Hiro and his older brother horsing around. They were wrestling on the floor. And when they found out that I was recording it, they really put on a show! Clearly they LOVE the attention.

So after they finished their “match”, they crawled up to the couch where I was recording them from and asked to see it. I showed it to them. Hiro LOVED watching himself wrestle with his brother and make noises that you would think would be coming from a cat in pain.

In fact, he loved it so much that he asked if he could put the iPad on his lap so he could watch it again. I obliged, of course. He then proceeded to play that 20 second clip over and over and over again, laughing more hysterically with each subsequent viewing.

But like all children, his attention span waned, and he wanted to move on. So he reached out with his tiny hand with his figures spread out, put all five fingers on the iPad screen, and brought his fingers together so they touched. What happened? The iPhoto app closed, of course!

I know that it seems obvious now, but I would have never thought of that as a way to close an app being a tech guy. However children, especially at that age, just do things intuitively. They use their sixth sense more in a day than we adults do in a month, and it certainly seems to work well for them.

This is also a perfect example of the brilliance of Apple. They make their computers think the way we humans think (no matter how old), instead of having to teach us humans how their computers think (PC, are you reading this? ;p ).

There’s a quote by Steve Jobs that encompasses the mindset Apple has when they design their products:

“They’re not stupid for not knowing how to use our products. We’re stupid if they don’t know how to use our products.”

So if you want to get better at using the iPad, tap deeper into your intuition and think more like a two year old. ;)

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Snapseed, a very popular photo editing app for the iPod (and iPhone/iPod Touch) that was voted App of the Year for 2011 by Apple is currently FREE in the app store. It’s usually $4.99.

Here is a description of it:

Snapseed is the only photo app you’ll want to use every day. It makes any photograph extraordinary with a fun, high-quality photo experience right at your fingertips.

Anyone can enhance, transform, and share their photos with ease using incredibly advanced features from the leader in digital photography software.

And with respect to the features, here is what you can do with the app:

• Easily adjust your photos with a single tap using Auto Correct
  Tweak your photo to perfection with Tune Image
• Use Selective Adjust to enhance specific objects or areas in your photos
• Experiment with fun & innovative filters like Drama, Vintage, Grunge, and Tilt-Shift
• Add Image Borders for a finishing touch
• Share your creations via email, Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter

Sound cool? Well, I’m not done selling you this free app yet!

Check out these videos that include an overview of the app, and some video tips on how to use some of the more popular features:

Snapseed: An Overview
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9_MWOaI9fg[/youtube]

Snapseed: Creative Editing
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8Dgknd9yG0[/youtube]

Snapseed: Selective Adjust
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdw6GhhCwso[/youtube]

Snapseed: Black & White
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EncyhDeA6A[/youtube]

How about now? Are you sold now? Then go grab it now while it is still free!

Download Snapseed here

Enjoy!

Below is a list of the countries where it is free, and list of those countries where it is not free or not available. If your country is not listed here, then please let me know whether or not it’s available for free in your country by commenting below, and I will update this post. Thanks.

Countries Where It is Free
US, UK, Canada, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Japan, and Chile.

Countries Where is is Not Free
New Zealand

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