✔ Dummies.com online articles: Head to this book’s Extras page located at www.dummies.com/extras/ipadaio to read about cool apps for your iPad. You’ll find information about entertainment apps, apps for business power users, apps to use with iWork, and informative apps such as dictionaries and news sources.
✔ Updates: I provide information on changes to the iOS or iPad hardware that occur after this book’s publication on my website at www.ipadmadeclear.com, so you can continue to use this book even if changes are introduced after you buy it. Please check this website periodically as Apple makes software and hardware updates to iPad now and then. You can also check for updates and corrections at www.dummies.com/extras/ipadaio.
Where to Go from Here
After you read this book’s introduction, it’s time to jump into all things iPad. I hope that when you turn to any chapter in this book, you’ll find something you didn’t know about iPad that will increase your enjoyment of your new device.
Start by checking out the basic concepts and instructions in Book I (you might be surprised at what you discover, even if you’ve been tinkering with your iPad for a bit) and then jump to any minibook that addresses topics you want explore next – to have fun or get work done, for example.
Wherever you dive in, you’re likely to find some advice or information that will make your iPad experience even more rewarding.
The first step you should take (and this is covered in Book I, Chapter 2) is to update to the latest operating system for iPad – iOS 8, at the time this book went to press. (All steps in this book are based on iOS 8.)
Book I
Getting Started with iPad
✔ Discover new features in the iPad mini and fifth-generation iPad and iOS 8
✔ Get an overview of preinstalled apps
✔ Set up iPad and sync it with your computer
✔ Open an iCloud account and back up and share content with other devices
✔ Explore the iPad touchscreen and cameras
✔ Make settings that control how iPad works (including accessibility settings)
✔ Browse with Safari and its improved tabbed interface
✔ Set up your email account
✔ Learn about new features for sharing content with other people and devices
✔ Explore troubleshooting and maintenance advice
Chapter 1
Buying Your iPad
In This Chapter
▶ Finding out what’s new with iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3, and iOS 8.0
▶ Picking the right iPad for you
▶ Choosing where to purchase your iPad
▶ Contemplating accessories for your iPad
You’ve read about it and seen people using it everywhere you go. You know you can’t live without your own iPad to have fun, explore the online world, read e-books, organize your photos, play games, and more.
Trust me; you’ve made a good decision because the iPad does redefine the computing experience in an exciting new way.
This chapter is for those of you who don’t already have an iPad. Here is where you discover the different iPad models and their advantages, as well as where to buy this little gem and the accessories you can purchase to trick out your iPad.
Discovering What ’ s New in iOS 8.0
iPad gets its features from a combination of hardware and its software operating system, with the most current operating system being iOS 8.0, though small updates appear all the time, so by the time you’re reading this, you might have 8.1, 2, or 3. If you’ve seen an older iPad in action or own one, it might be helpful to understand what new features the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 bring to the table (which are all covered in more detail throughout this book). In addition to features on previous-generation iPads through the iPad Air, the latest iPad models offer
✔ Design: iPad Air 2 is lighter (.96 lb.) and thinner (.24 inches thick) with thinner bezels for more screen area. Both iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 offer awesomely crisp displays with 2048 x 1536 resolution – which, trust me, makes for a very good viewing experience.
✔ An improved chip: The 64-bit A8 processor in the iPad Air 2 increases the processor and graphics speeds accomplished by the A7 chip on the previous generation iPad. The iPad mini 3 retains the A7 processor.
✔ Better Wi-Fi: Two-antennae dual-channel Wi-Fi and the use of MIMO (multiple-input, multiple output) technology allows for much faster wireless connections. In iPad Air 2, support of the latest Wi-Fi standard, 802.11 ac, ups the ante on Wi-Fi performance. Note that the iPad mini 3 doesn’t support this standard.
✔ M8 Motion Coprocessor: This coprocessor on the iPad Air 2 processes game features like the gyroscope and accelerometer faster.
✔ Video Recording: Video recording features include the addition of a Slo-mo mode as well as improved stabilization and face detection.
✔ Touch ID: This security feature has been added to both iPad models. Essentially, sensors in the Home button allow you to train iPad to recognize your fingerprint and grant you access to your iPad with a finger press, as well as to use the new Apple Pay feature to buy items without having to enter your payment information every time.
✔ A barometer sensor: Only on iPad Air 2, this new sensor makes it possible for your iPad to sense air pressure and weather around you. This one’s especially cool when hiking a mountain where the weather may change as you climb.
✔ A “soft” SIM card: With iPad Air 2 you get a software-based SIM card. This means that if you get an iPad that supports a 3G/4G connection through a phone carrier such as AT&T, you don’t have to get a little plastic card from the service provider to hold all your account data. SIM functionality is now built into the iPad Air 2, and you can use it to connect to your account. This is great news for international travellers who can connect with another carrier without getting a physical SIM card.
Any iPad device other than the original iPad can use iOS 8.0 if you update the operating system (discussed in detail in Chapter 2 of this minibook); this book is based on version 8.0 of iOS.
This update to the operating system adds a few new features, including
✔ Family Sharing: Apple has provided a new feature called Family Sharing with iOS 8. This feature allows up to six people to partake of purchased iTunes content on their separate devices.