cre8tive flow

There is no doubt that apple products are slick.

Many have already heard, but officially Apple released their second version of the iPad. Starting March 11th, you have yourself this $500 piece of equipment, but why? It’s thinner, it’s lighter, it’s faster, has a 10-hour battery and has a pretty cool cover that comes with it. Oh yah, just like the iPhone 4, it is featuring FaceTime. Really, what is there not to love about this thing?

Gathered from Cnet, here are some common questions regarding this new little toy;

How is the iPad 2 different from the original iPad?
In a nut shell, the iPad 2 is thinner, lighter, faster, and has two cameras for video conferencing.

The new iPad uses a new A5 dual-core processor, which Apple CEO Steve Jobs says is twice as fast as the previous iPad. He also said it will help boost graphics performance making it nine times faster. The newer iPad is also about 33 percent thinner and lighter than the original iPad: 1.3 pounds instead of 1.5. And it now comes in white as well as black.

Additionally, the iPad 2 now offers two cameras, which means it can be used for video conferencing via Apple’s FaceTime app or a third-party video conferencing app, such as Skype. The rear camera is 720p. And the front camera is “VGA-quality” suitable for video and still photography.

I’m glad Apple added HDMI capability, but how does it work? Do I have to buy something extra?
Yes, you do have to buy an adapter. Apple didn’t change much about the overall design of the iPad in the latest version. Specifically, it didn’t add additional ports to the device. But it is offering a $39 HDMI connector that will allow the iPad 2 to be connected to a flat-screen TV so whatever you’re seeing on your iPad can be viewed on a big screen. The adapter fits into the iPad’s 30-pin opening and then connects via an HDMI cable to the TV.

How much does a new iPad 2 cost?
Here is the pricing for the Wi-Fi only versions:

• 16GB: $499
• 32GB: $599
• 64GB: $699

Here is the pricing for the Wi-Fi/3G devices:

• 16GB: $629
• 32GB: $729
• 64GB: $829

Has the original iPad gone down in price?
Yes, it is has gone done in price. You can save about $100 if you buy the older version of the iPad.

Here’s the pricing for the original Wi-Fi only iPad:

• 16GB: $399
• 32GB: $499
• 64GB: $599

And here’s pricing for the original Wi-Fi/3G iPad:

• 16GB: $529
• 32GB: $629
• 64GB: $729

Will a 3G version of the iPad work on either Verizon’s network or AT&T’s?
No, if you want a 3G-enabled iPad 2, you will choose either an AT&T version, which uses GSM technology, or a Verizon Wireless version, which uses its CDMA network technology.

How much are the service plans from AT&T and Verizon Wireless?
For Verizon Wireless the pricing is as follows:

• $20 per month for 1GB per month
• $32 per month for 3GB per month
• $50 per month for 5GB per month
• $80 per month for 10GB per month

AT&T offers two pricing options:

• $15 per month for 250MB per month
• $25 per month for 2GB per month

Customers of either AT&T or Verizon Wireless are not required to sign a contract for the 3G service. They can turn the service on and off as they like.

What will the iOS 4.3 upgrade offer?
The new iOS 4.3 will improve the Safari mobile browsing performance with the Nitro JavaScript engine. It will add iTunes Home sharing, which allows users to play music, movies, and TV shows on an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch from their iTunes library on a Mac or PC over a local Wi-Fi network. The new update also added enhancements to AirPlay, a wireless technology that allows users to stream music, photos, and video to Apple TV. Photos and videos can be shot with an iPad 2, iPhone, or iPod Touch and streamed directly from the Photos app to Apple TV.

The software update also adds a Personal Hotspot feature, which turns a device into a Wi-Fi router allowing a device connected to the 3G cell network to connect up to 5 devices to the Internet using Wi-Fi. But this Personal Hotspot feature, which was first introduced for the Verizon Wireless version of the iPhone, is only available for the iPhone 4. It doesn’t work for 3G connected iPads.

Optimize your website to be search-engine friendly. Submit it to various search engines and directories. In addition to major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Ask, Bing and MSN, it’s worth submitting to lesser known web directories. If your website is listed in as many places as possible, it can boost your rankings in major search engines as well.

Create a links page that will contain the links to other non-competing websites in the same industry. Contact the owners of other websites with your proposal to exchange links. You will add their link to your links page, and they will link to your website in return.

Post in forums. Visit the online discussion forums where people in your target market like to gather. Post useful responses to people’s questions, and include a link to your website at the end of your post next to your name. Although you ultimately want to get your sig file with the link to your site seen as often as possible, don’t overdo it with your posts, otherwise other forumites won’t respect you, and therefore won’t visit your site.

Comment on blogs. Visit other people’s blogs on the topic related to your website. Most blogs allow you to add comments about the issues being discussed. Add insightful comments about the blog topics, and leave your website link. Your comment and your link will permanently remain on the blog website.

Create an e-mail “signature” – your name, your website address and a short tag-line describing the main benefit of your site. Set your e-mail program to automatically add your signature to every e-mail that you send.

Create something of value that people will pass around. It can be a report with useful information that you allow people to give away. It can also be some kind of cool and unusual web-page that people will want to e-mail to all their friends. Of course, the pass-around item will include your advertisement and your link, spreading the word about your website. This is a “viral” strategy.

Start your own online discussion community. It could be an online message board, e-mail discussion list or chat room. When people get involved in your community, they will regularly return to communicate with others.

Advertise your site at free classified ad sites. There are many of these on the net. Some of the more popular ones are craigslist, inetgiant, freeadvertisingforum, and gumtree.

Constantly update content on your web-page, so having a news section is a great deal for search engines especially.

Update your Facebook status to let your friends know everytime you update your blog and create a Facebook fan page. Your friend’s friends will see when they join the fan page or comment on your status.

Whatever types of free advertising you decide to pursue, make sure that you use ad tracking software. This will allow you to track where your visitors are coming from, and what types of advertising are the most effective. Steer clear of any advertising tactics that could be construed as spam. Good luck!

cre8tive flow is excited to launch a completely new look for East Ridge Gun Company.

The HTC Thunderbolt is one of the most anticipated mobile phones to hit Verizon. The main reason is that it will be the first phone to ship on Verizon’s new LTE network. What this means is blazing fast speeds. It could also be the first phone to do simultaneous voice and data on Verizon’s network, something that the company is internally not promoting, and even the iPhone 4 on Verizon can’t deliver.

The Thunderbolt also packs a punch, features-wise, sporting Android 2.2 with HTC Sense, a 4.3″ WVGA TFT capacitive touch screen, 8MP camera, 1.3MP front facing camera, GPS, dual mics with noise cancellation, and more. For a full rundown you can check out the official specs page.

So, what’s the hold up on releasing this revolutionary phone? The latest rumors blame short battery life. This one does sound likely given that the Thunderbolt comes with a 1400 mAH one. Could it be that Verizon’s LTE network is a massive battery drain? I’m sure doing a hand-off between LTE and Verizon’s 3G network could be a battery drain, too.

According to GottaBeMobile, Verizon recently pulled its official commercial for the Thunderbolt from YouTube. And AndroidCommunity is reporting that it briefly showed up on HTC’s online store for $700, but has since been removed. Best Buy had previously listed the Thunderbolt at $249, but that has also since disappeared. And now there’s another post circulating showing a release date of March 10th, though it’s now being discarded by many tech sites.