Using an iPad for LEGO Building Instructions
So I got an Apple iPad recently, and I have seen the future... This a cool device, and it's good at many things. One thing that it is exceptionally good at is viewing LEGO building instructions, because you can have it with you right on the floor with your LEGOs, and it's interactive, connected, color, etc. It beats a laptop or a stack of books easily at this task. So I made a little video demo of using it in various ways for this (viewing web content directly, PDFs, eBooks, etc). This may be the future of education... Check it out.
Comments
But I agree... this little device is very easy to carry around. It might be nice for those of us who have them to talk about standards for creating LEGO BIs for the iPad... format, page/font sizes, etc...
This video is stunning. Now I just have to figure out how to convert my books to epubs!
http://calibre-ebook.com/
Jim
I have been considering using my iPad for LEGO instructions since I got it.
Thanks for a great article on iPad with LEGO.
I am looking forward to many technical topics (books) with text and video.
Yet, as usual (see iPhone or NXT), in Europe it will be much more expensive than in the States: the iPad will most likely be available for around 750 € here - this is twice the U.S. price!!
I can't see any real reason for that (except for Apple exploiting the unawareness of a lot of Europeans about this difference).
Actually, I'm as loath to honor such a blatant price rigging as I have been for the iPhone yet.
But I wonder how much of this is out of Apple's hands? Are there import tariffs, shipping costs, and any other govt fees involved in pulling in a non-native electronics device?
I can't imagine that shipping costs make a major difference here, as the iPad is built in China anyway.
Yet, I saw that the little (16 GB) version is said to cost around 500€ (not 750) in Germany, which is around 650 $. That is still a much higher price than the one in the USA, even when taken the additional taxes in some states into account.
Still, also 500 € is a lot of money for the 16 GB iPad when one has an unbiased look at the actual capabilities of the gadget, isn't it?
Don't get me wrong: I consider the Apple devices fantastic creations in terms of design, usability and stability. Any soft- and hardware manufacturer can and should learn a lot from them.
However, they are pretty overpriced in my eyes.
Which does not prevent them from being a tremendeous economic success also in Europe, by the way (which is well deserved by Apple, given the creative influence they had on the software industry) - there's been an Apple Hype over here for some time now.
I do wonder what their thinking is? Do they think Europeans are more affluent? Do they think Europeans are more willing to pay higher prices for gadgets? Or do they just think they can get away with it because their an American-based company? I'd sure like to know...