It doesn’t matter if you are getting a new iPad or keeping the one you’ve got, you’re going to have to deal with the new retina display in one form or another. You’ve probably already noticed that as your existing apps update to include functionality supporting the new model, the new versions are using more space than the old ones. Some, like Apple’s Pages, Numbers and Keynote apps, are significantly bigger. Pages has more than doubled in size. My old iPad 1 is moving a bit slower as a result and I find I’m spending more time shutting down apps in the multi-tasking pane to keep the iPad operating smoothly.
I’ve ordered a new iPad, but while I’m waiting for its delivery I’m making some changes to both the apps I keep on the device and how I work with those apps. Besides removing apps I’ve seldom used, I’m actively making the move to cloud storage for content. Since I do use Pages and Keynote – a lot – I’m taking advantage of their new iCloud connectivity features to store my projects there. Unfortunately, the desktop version of these apps doesn’t yet have iCloud connectivity built in, but I’m sure they will be getting an update soon. In the meantime, we’re still stuck with iWork.com (which is shutting down in July) for cloud storage.
I read that other commercial (not developed by Apple) apps are working to add iCloud support so check out apps you find interesting to see if they do – or will soon.
I’ve noticed that more of my favorite apps have added Dropbox functionality. I am a die-hard Dropbox fan and delighted to find apps that use it. One of my favorite is the Elements [iOS - $4.99] text editor. All documents created with this app are automatically stored in a folder you designate on Dropbox when you have connectivity. If you are offline, Elements will hold the document on the device until you are connected again and automatically upload it at that time. Not only does it save documents as text files, but it also supports the Markdown language (the same language used by wikis such as WeRelate) and can export files as HTML or PDF to Dropbox, Evernote or iTunes. It also supports TextExpander [iOS - $4.99 & Mac - $34.99] for easier typing. It’s an impressive editor. Another text editor, Plain Text [iOS - free] also supports both Dropbox and TextExpander although Dropbox is a manual sync operation rather than automatic. Other useful apps that take advantage of Dropbox include Carbon Fin’s Outliner [iPad - $4.99], GoodReader [iPad - $4.99] for reading and annotating PDF documents and TextExpander which can use Dropbox to keep your abbreviation library synched between your Mac desktop and mobile devices.
One of the nice things about these apps is how easy it is to use their cloud options. Once you’ve set up your Dropbox or iCloud account in the app’s preferences, most of it is done for you. For me, the most difficult part of all this is finding the apps that support cloud storage. From there on, life is quite easy.
