Since the iPhone hit the market three years ago, there have been dozens of imitators, and a plethora of touch-screen phones that weren’t as easy to use or as well designed as the iPhone. Andi Ihnatko, of the Chicago Sun Times, described the Motorola Droid after its launch a few months ago by saying, “It’s the very first phone that’s truly in the same class as the iPhone.”

A few years ago, on January 9, 2007, when Steve Jobs took the stage to reveal the iPhone, he said,

“Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything. […] In 2001, we introduced the first iPod and it didn’t just change the way we all listen to music, it changed the entire music industry. Well, today we’re introducing three revolutionary products of this class: the first one is a widescreen iPod with touch controls, the second is a revolutionary mobile phone, and the third is a breakthrough internet communications device. […] These are not three separate devices. This is one device and we are calling it iPhone.”

And so, the iPhone was born. Jobs demonstrated it and made a clear case for why a person might want — strike that — need one. Apple did not need to create a smartphone metaphor, one already existed; Apple reimagined and refined it. The iPhone was easy for people to grok — to fully and completely understand it.

Part of Apple’s job at the recent iPad event was to create a new metaphor for tablet computing. This task was difficult for a couple of reasons: the first, the iPad is not three revolutionary products in one; it’s only a “breakthrough internet communications device.” The second, it looks like a giant iPod Touch.

The iPad is not a netbook and it is not a tablet computer either, at least not in the traditional sense. Companies have been trying to figure out how to make compelling tablets for years and until now there have been no wild successes; products Momenta Computer (1991) and the PepperPad (2004) are just a two examples in “the long fail.” Most tablet devices have been laptop computers stuffed into an ultra-portable form factor, with a stylus thrown in for good measure.

The iPad is not a laptop replacement. Today the iPad is a giant iPod Touch with data; it has the option for an always-on month-to-month data plan. It runs the iPhone software. It requires iTunes to manage media. It doesn’t support Adobe Flash. It doesn’t run 3rd-party applications in the background. And, today iTunes requires a computer, meaning the iPad needs a computer to manage its content.

The iPad is a digital media appliance in the same way a DVD player or DVR is a digital media appliance. You use it to access your media, but you don’t have to interact with any of the underlying complexities of the system to make it work. For DVD players most DVRs, you never worry about running software updates; you use the built-in interface to access your content.

The things that make the iPad compelling are the same things that make the iPhone compelling: the App store and the touch-based interface. Arguably, the iPad is more compelling than the iPhone because developers will have a much larger canvas on which they can create. During the iPad event, Apple introduced iPad-specific versions of Pages, a word processing application compatible with Microsoft Word; Keynote, a presentation program compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint; and Numbers, a spreadsheet application compatible with Microsoft Excel. Over the last year, they worked on designing user interfaces that took advantage of a large touchscreen. With these apps on an iPad, it is clear that students or business people could address at least some of their mobile computing needs.

Of the more than 140,000 iPhone applications currently in the app store, quite a few of them focus on allowing you to sync your data from one place to another. If you were to combine Pages, Keynote, or Numbers with the ability to wirelessly and automatically sync, it becomes easy to imagine drafting a document on a computer and later editing it on the iPad when on the go. Of course being able to print while on the go would be nice, too.

The iPad already has a few accessories which allow it to be connected to external peripherals; unfortunately printers aren’t supported just yet. The accessories include a keyboard dock, a camera connection kit for importing photos from an SD card or directly from a camera over USB, and a VGA connector, to connect to projectors or external monitors. These peripherals help to differentiate it from the iPhone and iPod touch.

There have been more than a few articles online pointing out that the iPad is not open. Does it matter? No, not necessarily. The Tivo digital video recorder wasn’t open either, yet it revolutionized the way people record and watch television. The iPod wasn’t open and it revolutionized the way people interact with their music. The iPad doesn’t need to be open if you can get your content in and out of it when you want. And, as in the case of iPhone, once competitors have a firm understanding of Apple’s tablet metaphor, we are sure to see a huge variety of new tablet devices come to market, some of which might become as popular as the some of the iPhone’s competition, like the Droid or Nexus One.

Many have asked whether the iPad will kill the Kindle. The question behind the question is, “Will e-ink display readers stand a chance against full-color backlit screens that supports full-motion video?” For any who have had an opportunity to read an e-ink display device the answer is clear: yes, they will. Reading e-ink is almost like reading real ink on a printed page. And e-ink displays, unlike LED, will not strain the eyes. Of course there will be people who favor LED displays for the flexibility of what they can render, but not everyone will.

The real question is, “Do you need one?” For most people, no, probably not. Not yet. The iPad is a new kind of device. In the past, when a new device or technology emerged most people didn’t need it. Remember voicemail? Or the pager? The cellphone? The Internet? Email? Once the iPad has been around for a while, people will figure out where it fits within their world.

This tablet may not be as “world changing” as the ones Moses brought down from on high. However, Apple has laid the groundwork for great things. By this time next year there will be a whole new generation of apps that tap into the iPad in ways that we cannot yet imagine. Until then, the Apple faithful will line up, en masse, and buy as many as their arms can hold.

In Jobs we trust.

Read More

Apple introduces the iPad.

Read about the “Reality Distortion Field” on Wikipedia.

See real-time Twitter posts on iPad Disappointment.

Read 5 Reasons iPad will fail by Adam Sharp.

See the Apple Tablet rumors: A comprehensive timeline on Theweek.com.

Read Verizon Droid almost enough to give up iPhone by Andi Ihnatko.

Read about the history and meaning of the word Grok on Wikipedia.

Read The Long Fail: A Brief History of Unsuccessful Tablet Computers by Harry McCracken.

Read about iWork for the iPad.

See accessories for the iPad.

Read The iPad’s Closed System: Sometimes I Hate Being Right by Tom Conlon.

Learn more about the Droid.

Learn more about tne Nexus One.

Read How Electronic Ink Works by Kevin Bonsor.

Read Apple Meets Moses: The Mac Tablet by Jim Goldman.

BlackBerry® smartphones excel when it comes to working with large amounts of e-mail.  Many of the new models feature a trackball which can be used to navigate and select items.

Because the BlackBerry smartphone is a telephone, it ships configured to allow easy dialing from the Home screen.  To dial from the Home screen, press the number keys and then press Send or the Enter key.

For BlackBerry smartphones with physical QWERTY keyboards, this “Home screen” functionality makes tapping in a phone number a snap — or more precisely, a tap.  However, disabling Home screen dialing will enable Home screen shortcuts for many of the built-in BlackBerry apps. Shortcuts on the Home screen can help reduce scrolling.

To Enable Home Screen Shortcuts, disable “Dial From Home Screen”

1. Navigate to the Home Screen.
2. Press the Send key to launch the BlackBerry Phone application.
3. Press the Menu key, then click Options.
4. Click General Options.
5. Set Dial From Home Screen to No.
6. Press the Menu key, then click Save.

With “Dial From Home Screen” disabled, a number of Home screen shortcuts become active.  Shortcuts like “A” for Address Book, “M” for Messages, and “O” for Options, are just a few.

Depending on the version of BlackBerry® Device Software, the smartphone may underline the corresponding shortcut key for the selected Home screen item. (See screenshot below.)

Do you use a BlackBerry smartphone? Leave a response and let us know if this tip gets a “thumbs up.”

BlackBerry®, RIM®, Research In Motion®, SureType®, SurePress™ and related trademarks, names and logos are the property of Research In Motion Limited and are registered and/or used in the U.S. and countries around the world.

Use AutoFill to enter the days of the week or months of the year

Even though Excel can’t sing, it knows the days of the week. You can begin a list by typing either the full day of the week or its 3-letter abbreviation in a blank cell. Then, position the mouse pointer above the AutoFill handle and drag the handle horizontally or vertically across adjacent cells. Dragging the handle down or to the right fills in the next item in the series, while dragging up or to the left fills in the previous item.

Similarly, Excel knows the months of the year. You can enter the month or its 3-letter abbreviation, then drag the AutoFill handle to fill in other months of the year.

AutoFill a numerical series

When it comes to automatically filling in a numerical series, you have a couple of options.

First, if you select a cell containing a number and drag the AutoFill handle, Excel assumes you want to simply copy the value. When you release the mouse button, the AutoFill options button appears. Click the option for Fill Series to replace the multiple copies of the selected number with a series of numbers that increment (or decrement) by one.

Second, if you select two adjacent cells with distinct numerical values and drag the AutoFill handle, Excel fills the cells with a series which increments by the difference of the two values. In other words, if you selected one cell containing the number 1 and another cell containing the number 3 and then dragged with the AutoFill handle to the right, the resulting series would be 1, 3, 5, 7, etc. Each subsequent value would be 2 more than the last. In this way you can increment a series by twos, by threes, or even by twenty-sevens.

Customizing Excel’s AutoFill List

As we have seen, Excel knows days, months, and numbers — and that’s it. If you select a cell with any other “non-series” data and drag the AutoFill handle, Excel just copies those cells. However, you can create your own custom list — or lists — to “teach” Excel new series.

Let’s teach Excel the first ten ordinal numbers, first through tenth. In Excel 2003, click Tools > Options > Custom Lists. Then select New List and type each list entry, separating the values with commas. Finally, click Add, then OK.

Note: In Excel 2007, click the Microsoft Office button, then click Excel Options. Click the Popular > Top options for working with Excel > Edit Custom Lists.

Now, you can AutoFill a series based on items in your custom list. And, you can even sort your data according to the order of items in your custom list.

AutoFill isn’t always a drag

You can extend a series in a column by double-clicking the AutoFill handle; Excel uses the column to the left as a guide.

To toggle the display of formulas on a sheet:

1. In the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the View tab, in the Windows options area, check Formulas.


Excel Options Dialog box

3. Click OK.

Excel displays the formulas contained in cells on the active worksheet; it displays the underlying serial numbers for dates, and opens the Formula Auditing toolbar.

Excel spreadsheet with formulas displayed

Note: Alternatively, you can toggle the display of formulas in Excel by pressing CTRL + ` (grave accent).

To set up data validation:

1. Select the cells you wish to affect.


Cells you wish to affect

2. In the Data menu, click Validation.

The Data Validation dialog box appears.



Data Validation dialog box

3. On the Settings tab, in the Allow box, click List.
4. In the Source box, type the values, separated by commas, you want to allow.

For example, try typing: blue, green, orange.

5. Click OK.

When you click on a cell, the drop-down arrow is available with the values you specified.



Dropdown list

Note: In the Source box, you can use a formula or reference to a range of cells that contain your list values rather than explicitly typing those values in.

However, if you want to refer to a range of cells on a different worksheet in the same workbook, you need to define a named range, then refer to the named range in the Source box, =named_range.

The VLOOKUP function scans vertically down the leftmost column of data, looking for a match to the input you provide. Upon finding a match, VLOOKUP returns a value from the given row, corresponding to a column you specify.

Note: HLOOKUP functions similarly, but it scans horizontally across the first row of data and returns a value from a given column, with respect to a corresponding row number.

For example, if your data looks like the data in screenshot below, then this formula, =VLOOKUP(“associate”,A1:B4,2), would return 135:

VLookup Screenshot

The three arguments required by VLOOKUP are Lookup Value, Table Array, and Column index. There is an optional fourth argument, Range Lookup.

• Lookup Value: The data you want to find. This can be text (enclosed in quotes) or it can be a reference to another cell.
• Table Array: A reference to a range of cells of at least 1 column of data. By default, the first column of data is used as the index to find the corresponding data for each row. Your data should be sorted in ascending order by the first column.
• Column Index: The corresponding column that contains the data you want to return.
• Range Lookup [optional]: A logical value, TRUE or FALSE. If this argument is omitted or TRUE the lookup returns the first closest match. If the argument is set to FALSE, lookup searches for an exact match.

Note: If you plan to copy your formula to use across more than one cell, you may wish to use absolute cell references for the table array so the addresses do not automatically adjust to a new range as the formula is copied. In our above example, the Table Array reference would become $A$1:$B$4.

For example, if you have a cell that contains a first name and another cell that contains a last name, you can combine those cells together and also include arbitrary strings of characters such as a spaces (“ ”), or comma space (“, ”), or even whole words or phrases.

To combine text from multiple cells:

1. Select the empty cell where you want the function to be stored.
2. In the Insert menu, click Function.
3. In the Category dropdown list, select Text.
4. In the Function area, select Concatenate, then click Enter.


Insert Function - Concatenate

5. Select Text1 in the Concatenate dialog box, then either click a cell on the sheet or type some text.
6. Select Text2 in the Concatenate dialog box, then either click a cell on the sheet or type some text.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 as necessary, then click OK.


Function Arguments

Note: In this example, the text elements for a last name, a comma followed by a space, and a first name are combined to make the text string “Beverly, Martha.”

You can use the “&” symbol to make your own concatenate string. This alternate formula would read =C2 & “, “ & B2.

For example, if you have a cell that contain both first and last names, you can use the Text to Columns command to split the data in each cell across multiple columns using a delimiter, a special character that indicates at what point data should be split. In this example, we will use a space as the delimiter.

To split text in a cell across columns:

1. Select the cells you wish to affect.
2. In the Datamenu, click Text to Columns.
3. In the Wizard, select Delimiter, then click Next.
4. In the Delimiters area, check Space, then click Finish.

Before Text to Columns

After Text to Columns

Note: In this example, a new Column C was inserted prior to beginning the steps to split the cell data. The result of using the Text to Columns command is that the split data is saved into cells to the right of the original cell. If any preexisting data is in danger of being overwritten Excel warns you and gives you an opportunity to cancel.

For example, you can use a formula to remove extra spaces from data. If you then wanted to split the resulting values across columns, you would need to extract the values because you can only split text across columns, not formulas.

To paste values

1. Select the cell(s) containing the formula(s).
2. Press CTRL+C to copy.
3. With the cell still selected, in the Edit menu, click Paste Special.
4. In the Paste Special dialog box, select Values, then click OK.

Note: You can paste the resulting values over the original data to “change” it, or you can select different destination cells to contain the plain text.

The steps above describe how to replace the formulas with corresponding values.

1. Select a destination cell for your formula.
2. Type =trim([cell name]), then press Enter.

Note: According to Excel’s Insert Function dialog box, “Trim removes all spaces from a text string except for a single space between words.”