Installation is straightforward, with instructions popping up on-screen the first time you run Air Display on the iPad.  Basically, you need to download the roughly 2MB OS X installer – currently there’s no Windows version, though Avatron say it’s in the works – and run that; after a restart you have a new icon in your OS X toolbar from which you can access the Air Display preferences and choose an iPad to extend the display to.

The choice of preferences themselves are minimal, frankly.  You can turn Air Display on or off, pick an iPad to connect to and choose whether or not the app checks for updates automatically and sits its icon in the toolbar.  Display settings are handled through OS X’s normal preferences, and from there you can drag the iPad around depending on whether it’s to the left or right (or above, or below) your existing display(s).  Both machines must be on the same network, and you can set your MacBook up as an ad-hoc wireless point if that’s not possible.

Pick your iPad from the list and both screens flash blue briefly; after that you can drag windows off the main screen and onto the iPad’s display as you would with any normal multi-display setup.  Both portrait and landscape orientations are supported, with another blue flash after each rotation.  If you exit the iPad app and then restart it, you’ll need to re-select the iPad from the MacBook, since there’s no automatic-reconnect option.

Image quality is always going to be the deciding factor with an app like Air Display, and the obvious limitation is the WiFi network itself.  Avatron say they use “a clever dynamic compression algorithm” to improve responsiveness, which basically adds up to reduced quality for moving graphics.  The first time you drag something onto the iPad display there are noticeable artefacts and pixelation; after a few seconds, assuming it stays motionless, the resolution tightens up and looks basically the same as it would on your MacBook display.

Unsurprisingly that means video is not the app’s friend, dropping frames left, right and center and generally stuttering through clips.  It’s not entirely unwatchable, if you’re desperate to see some particular footage, but for any serious viewing you’ll want to return to the main display.  There’s no way to manually control the amount of compression Air Display uses, either, so you’re at the mercy of its “dynamic” algorithm.

Air Display maps touches of the iPad’s screen to mouse clicks, which means you can interact – in some ways – with programs without reaching for the actual mouse or trackpad.  This works best with apps that have large, finger-friendly buttons, but less so with webpages.  There’s no finger-scrolling support as you’d find in Mobile Safari, for instance, so you’ll need to carefully tap and drag the actual scroll bar.  There’s also no easy way to flick windows between the two (or more displays); we’d like to see a “send to iPad” button that would automatically move a window to the iPad’s screen and maximise it.

If you’re looking for a way to offset Photoshop toolbars, music controls, IM windows and Twitter apps from your main screen then Air Display works well.  Video and anything with dynamic graphics – like games – are less successful, though, and we’d still opt for a regular, wired monitor.  Still, considering USB secondary displays like those from Nanovision are upward of $120 for less screen real-estate and similarly mediocre video performance, if you’ve already got an iPad then the ten bucks for Air Display seems a bargain.

Air Display is available through iTunes now, priced at $9.99.

Of course, you’ll also need a Netflix subscription and a suitable iPad A/V adapter.  The VGA adapter is $29, while the component and composite adapters are $49.

[via MacWorld]

Pulse promises to cut out the distractions of flashing adverts and extraneous information, by presenting your favorite feeds in a “visual mosaic”.  Both reading and webpage views are available, and you can share articles by email, Facebook or Twitter.  The company promise integration with Google Reader and “various organization tools”, which we’re hoping includes Instapaper and Evernote as we suggested a few weeks back.  In fact the only frustration right now is the limitation on how many sources you can have: choose your feeds carefully, as Pulse only allows you to have 10 at a time.

Click here to view the embedded video.

O2 also offer 1GB per month for £10 or 3GB for £15.  Meanwhile Vodafone’s monthly packages are £10 for 250MB per month and £25 for 5GB per month.  There is no “unlimited data” style option from any of the carriers, as we’ve seen in the US with AT&T.

Carrier Orange UK announced their iPad WiFi + 3G pricing last Friday, a range of multiple tariffs offering daily, weekly and monthly packages.  The carrier is currently offering the most inclusive data for the iPad, at 10GB per month for £25.

[via SlashGear]

In the UK, pricing for the iPad starts at £429 for the 16GB WiFi-only version and £529 for the 16GB WiFi + 3G version.  Meanwhile European, Canadian and Australian pricing has already been confirmed.

The paid bundles include a £2 ($2.93) iPad Daily tariff, which is valid for 1 day until midnight and offers 200MB of data, and a £7.50 ($10.99) iPad Weekly package, offering 1GB of data valid over seven days.  Alternatively there are two monthly packages, iPad Monthly 15 with 3GB of data and unlimited WiFi hotspot browsing for £15 ($22) and iPad Monthly 25 with 10GB and unlimited WiFi for £25 ($37).  Excess data is charged at £0.05 per MB.

The plans are more complex than AT&T in the US, and we’re disappointed to see no true unlimited 3G option.  The iPad WiFi + 3G will be priced from £529 for the 16GB model.

[via SlashGear]

Canadian pricing:

• iPad WiFi 16GB CA$549
• iPad WiFi 32GB CA$649
• iPad WiFi 32GB CA$749
• iPad WiFi + 3G 16GB CA$679
• iPad WiFi + 3G 32GB CA$779
• iPad WiFi + 3G 64GB CA$879

Australian pricing:

• iPad WiFi 16GB AUS$629
• iPad WiFi 32GB AUS$759
• iPad WiFi 32GB AUS$879
• iPad WiFi + 3G 16GB AUS$799
• iPad WiFi + 3G 32GB AUS$928
• iPad WiFi + 3G 64GB AUS$1,049

Apple is yet to confirm carrier partners for the 3G modems on each of the iPad WiFi + 3G models, but we’re expecting to hear that in time for the preorders to begin.

The iPad WiFi and iPad WiFi + 3G models will be priced as follows:

• iPad WiFi 16GB €479
• iPad WiFi 32GB €579
• iPad WiFi 32GB €679
• iPad WiFi + 3G 16GB €579
• iPad WiFi + 3G 32GB €679
• iPad WiFi + 3G 64GB €779

As for other European countries, Apple has confirmed that the iPad will arrive in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands sometime in June.  However they won’t announce pricing or specific dates until closer to that point.

The iPad WiFi and iPad WiFi + 3G models will be priced as follows:

• iPad WiFi 16GB £429 (inc. VAT)
• iPad WiFi 32GB £499 (inc. VAT)
• iPad WiFi 32GB £599 (inc. VAT)
• iPad WiFi + 3G 16GB £529 (inc. VAT)
• iPad WiFi + 3G 32GB £599 (inc. VAT)
• iPad WiFi + 3G 64GB £699 (inc. VAT)

The six iPad models will go up for preorder on May 10th, with shipments expected to begin on May 28th.  Anybody considering putting down a preorder, or do these prices sound too rich for your liking?

Pricing is £429 for the 16GB iPad WiFi, £499 for the 32GB and £599 for the 64GB; meanwhile the iPad WiFi + 3G starts at £529 for the 16GB, £599 for the 32GB and £699 for the 64GB.

Stock shortages prompted by greater than expected demand in the US led Apple to delay the international launch of the iPad (and its iPad WiFi + 3G sibling) for a month beyond the initial launch window.

In June 2010, Apple will begin offering the iPad in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore.  Pricing and specific dates won’t be confirmed until closer to that point, however.

[via SlashGear]