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.

Click here to view the embedded video.

[via Apple]

Smartphones of pretty much every shape and size already do this. Palm/HP’s webOS does it. Google’s Android does it now, well after HTC’s Sense User Interface (UI) did it. So, no surprise that Apple wants to get in on the action, too. Especially when you consider how important social networking is to pretty much everyone out there. And, well, it’s Facebook.

Silicon Alley Insider is citing a “plugged-in source in the mobile industry,” when they say that Apple is hard at work at incorporating Facebook into the iPhone OS 4’s contacts list. But, in addition, the report suggests that chatting via Facebook Chat could be somehow integrated into the messaging features of the next iPhone OS. We certainly hope that last part really, really gets figured out, because if you’re been unlucky to use Facebook Chat, then you know how crazy unreliable it is. Now, the big question is: what does all of this mean for iPhone OS 4.x when it hits the iPad later this year? Ah, let the speculation begin!

[via Silicon Alley Insider]

This time around, a curious customer out there wanted to ask a simple question: “Why no printing on the iPad? What gives?” We don’t think we could have worded it any different, to be honest. So, while we have to use our iPads as pretty insular word processing units, except if you have a PC or laptop at your disposal, but it looks like all of that is going to change.

“It will come.” That’s the terse, matter-of-fact response that Steve Jobs has become pretty much well known for in his email responses. And, with that, now the whole iPad customer battalion out there is going to be waiting on the edge of their seat for the printing capability to hit their tablet device. The big question, though: when’s it happening? Then again, you could always just use the other way.

[via SlashGear]

While we’re fans of things making our lives easier, we realize that sometimes you have to work hard for the things that are going to help you. In the long run, it’s always better to know that what you just put on your new gadget took almost just as much hard work as actually buying your new gadget. And, hopefully, the result is the same. As for the Wrapsol protective system, we have to say that we were pretty surprised at how well the thin film worked.

The protective film itself is remarkably thin. So thin, in fact, we didn’t actually think that it would do any good when put against a test or two. It’s also transparent, so that it doesn’t actually change the way your iPad looks, save for adding a bit more reflective edges compared to the aluminum backing on the standard, protective system-free iPad. Wrapsol suggests that their film will be able to protect your iPad from the daily wear and tear of a normal usage. Things like keys, sand, and even some slides against floors or walls, all should be kept at bay by the protection system. And, while we can’t say that we necessarily tried too hard to test it, but we did take our keys to the back of our tablet, and we’ve got to admit: it works.

The package itself, while pretty minimal, houses some very interesting aspects: the custom-fit protection system, already cut into the precise measured pieces that you need to put on your iPad; a mister that includes an application solution for easy installation; a soft, reusable microfiber towlette to clean off the tablet’s fingerprints; a non-marking squeegee; and instructions that Wrapsol suggests are the easiest to read and follow in the industry. Besides the protection system itself, the towlette is pretty fantastic, and manages to keep our iPad looking dead sexy, and shiny, all day long.

In the end, we’re happy with the Wrapsol protection system for the iPad. While we know that there are giant screen protectors for that 9.7-inch display all over the place, at least you know that when you drop your hard earned $34.95, you’re getting a system that protects not only your screen, but also the back and sides of your iPad. It’s well worth the money, if you ask us, especially with the fact that there’s no extra bulk added to the tablet.

The cradle is pretty minimalist, but we don’t think that’s a bad thing at all. The Plyboo (which is bamboo plywood — and we love that word) makes it look like wood helped create this piece of design goodness. In the middle of the cradle rests a rotating plate, made from soft-touch plastic, that you can use to turn your iPad around without having to pick it up.

There’s foam on the underside of the cradle as well, which means that if you need to rest it on your lap, it won’t get uncomfortable in just a matter of seconds. And the cradle itself is remarkably compact, measuring in at 21 inches wide, 4 inches tall, 13 inches deep, and 1/4 inch thick. Seems like it’s not meant to do much more than hold your iPad, and that’s not a bad thing at all. You can preorder it right now if you want, and it will only run you $52.50.

[via Quirky]

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.