Introduction

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OS and Controls.

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Get to know the operating system that you'll be dealing with.

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Internet Features.

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See what fun features the iOS devices will unlock for you.

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Siri

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Get to know your digital companion, Siri.

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User interface

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The iOS user interface should feel very familiar to anyone who has used a tablet before, because many other systems are extremely similar, and that's no accident. The iconic user interface is very easy to use, if a bit simplistic (think: my first tablet). Icons are arranged on the home screen as the user defines them, and they can be moved by holding your finger down on an app until they start "shaking." Drag and drop them to change their position, or drop them onto another app to create a folder that you can re-name.

But wait, perhaps we're getting ahead of ourselves? Let's review the basic controls first. Tapping your finger is much like clicking with a mouse, though you do not need to double-click ever. Pinching will allow you to zoom in or out where it's applicable, and holding your finger down will call up a menu in certain situations. In order to switch between pages of the homescreen, you can flick your finger much like one would turn a page, and that will allow you to quickly sift through the mountain of apps users sometimes grab from the App Store.

Menus are relatively simplistic by design, and there's very little you can do to mess up your settings irreparably. Take a gander below: settings are laid out in a list format, simplified so that you can use a simple touch or swipe to alter them to your liking. Things you can change via the menu include interface options like: notifications, screen settings, social media settings, location services, and more.

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Keyboard and input options

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As the trailblazer in the tablet market, iPads and other iOS devices offer some features for input that are innovative, and others that are disappointing, but over all it's a matter of preference. For example, the language support is somewhat lacking, but the ability to split the keyboard on the bottom into two sections in order to facilitate thumb-typers saves time and arm fatigue over a long period of time.

Tapping on a text box will call out the keyboard at the bottom of the screen, and it moves to match the orientation of the tablet itself. To enter in text, simply tap your fingers on the corresponding keys, and you're done; no special instructions necessary.

Also present in iOS is the ability to connect Apple peripherals to your device via bluetooth, if your hardware supports it. Once you've set your accessory to be discoverable via bluetooth, search for the device and connect. It's that easy. Once you've done this, you can use things like a wireless keyboard if you don't like the virtual controls of the iPad. Be sure to check out Apple's list of accessories to see what you can pair your iOS device with for maximum enjoyment.

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App management

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app (ˈæp) n. A small, self-contained and self-installing application, used on portable computing devices; tailored for mass consumption.
_ex. "I totally downloaded an awesome app from the App Store."

Apps are integral to the overall framework of iOS, as most of the actions you will perform on your tablet or phone will be through one of these self-contained programs. Input options with applications can range from touching the capacitive screen, to tilting your device to make use of accelerometers (much like the Wii remote), to controlling data from a remote source. While the same controls are not available across platforms, so far most applications have a rather intuitive control interface based on their function. As you can imagine, this also means that there is no shortage of games that make use of the unique control interface, so go nuts trying out new games.

As far as managing your apps goes, the process is a lot simpler than you might believe at first, if you've never used an iOS device before. If you elect to do so, once you locate your app icon, you can hold your finger on it until it starts "shaking," and then drag and drop it to your desired location. You can also drag and drop it onto other applications to create folders of apps like you can in Ice Cream Sandwich. To access apps in a folder (that you can re-title yourself), just tap the folder icon, and a small menu bubble will appear on the screen with all the apps contained within.

You can also manage apps on your Apple account from iTunes to delete or temporarily remove them from your device. If you don't mind a closed system, this is a fairly simple and easy interface to get used to.

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iTunes and file management

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For as many upsides as the iPad has, iOS has one potential downside for consumers looking to upload and manage their own content onto their devices, and that is a monster known as iTunes. Unlike the Android content management system (which is literally: "plug in USB cable, enable USB storage, drag and drop"), the iTunes method of content management is a little different. For some, iTunes is a deal-breaker because of file format issues and the inability to reconcile the terms-of-service agreement and some forms of user-generated content (art students, pay attention). That isn't to say that it's bad: it just takes a little getting used to in order to work it correctly. Keep in mind, however, that nowadays, iTunes isn't 100% necessary unless you want to move files not on your iCloud account onto your device.

First things first, if you have an iPod, you're probably going to know a lot about iTunes and how it works, so feel free to skip this section with the caveat that depending on your library size, you're going to want to do some creative managing to optimize your setup for your iPad versus your iPod.

Here is the iTunes home screen, with media categories/lists to the left, settings on the top, just above the playback options. Once you hook up your device to the computer (or connect via WiFi, new in iOS 5) you want to sync with, your iPad will appear as a list item on the left column of the screen, with options to sync it or eject it. If you click on the item, you can tell it exactly what content you'd like to sync in order to manage your free space the way you'd like without getting any data overrun issues.

Assuming this is set to your liking, you're ready to sync. All you have to do is click the "sync" button and wait for your files to update/upload/download. This process takes a while, but once it's over, all of the synced files will be available and organized on your iPad without much user error getting in the way.

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Page 3 Overview

Now that your tablet is set up, let's go exploring!

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Internet browser (Safari)

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Speaking of adventures, your web browsing experience will be defined by the features and functions of the Safari browser. While it's still got a long way to go, it has a bunch of features like syncing open tabs over iCloud that closely mirror competitors' browser features, but on iOS. For example, you can use tabbed browsing, save pages for offline reading, or sync content from your home computer onto your mobile device using iCloud.

Once you tap on the Safari icon on your home screen, a new window will open and occupy your entire screen. You'll notice that this looks much like any classic browser; URL bar at the top, settings, basic browser functions, etc. Some of the enhanced features, like a bookmarks list, multi-tabbed browsing, and a built-in search bar make the Safari browser on the iPad look virtually identical to the one on an Apple computer.

The touch controls can take some getting used to, especially if you've never used a tablet to browse the internet before, but there's good news: it's really, really easy to learn. Like everything else on the iPad, you can touch an icon or text to perform actions like opening a link, or checking a box, or opening a drop-down menu, but you can do other things with the window as well. For example, if the text renders too small on a page, you can always pinch to zoom in on the page. Holding down your finger on a page or link calls out a menu that you would get that very much resembles a control + click (right click for PC users) that allows you to do things like copy text, links, and other actions.

Keep in mind that if you frequent sites with flash content, it will not work on your iOS device. While it's less of a problem today than it would be, say, 5 years ago, the fact still remains that embedded video and the like will more often than not fail to function when you want them unless you download an additional app to handle it.

The biggest thing you'll probably notice about the browser is that there's no huge curveball coming at you. It functions exactly like a browser normally would. For many, this is OK, but that doesn't mean radically different browsers aren't on the way; for example, Apple antagonist Microsoft is releasing Internet Explorer 11 geared solely towards a tablet-using audience with mammoth redesign.

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Email

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Email is also a breeze on the iPad, as it allows you to link your POP/IMAP/Exchange/GMail email accounts to your iPad for easy access. Once you've enered in your account information in setup, you will automatically be logged in every time you tap the email icon.

Once inside the email app, your inbox will greet you looking much like a normal email inbox, but with several features similar to GMail, like conversation grouping. Attachments are displayed right in the email so you can see which pictures you want to download and which ones you would rather just keep off your computer. You can compose and send your own emails too, with the ability to attach files like pictures you've taken from you iPad. This app works pretty much as advertised: it's an email app that provides the level of support you're used to on your other clients, but on your iPad.

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Apps and App Store

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While Google plays catch-up with its Play Store, Apple's App Store has been the reigning king for years with its self-contained and easily-installable applications. With a library of over 200,000 apps ready for purchase and download. While we can't give you a tour of each and every application that you could potentially mess around with, we can walk you through more or less what the experience will be like on our iOS 5.x device.

Now that you're familiar with how to control your shiny new toy, why not take a look at downloading and managing your apps? Once you've set up your Apple account, and added your billing information, you are all set to go. Using the App Store, you can search through the massive library of Apple-approved applications for your tablet, and download whatever you choose, provided you can afford some of the apps that require money.

Once you've selected the app you want to download, simply tap the purchase/download icon and your download will start. Position it on the main screen the way you like, and you're all set. For more information, see the previous page for additional app knowledge.

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Social Media

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For better or worse, Apple has built Twitter, Facebook, and Yelp! into the OS of iOS 6 to allow you tweet just about anything on your iPad or other iOS device. This is a part of a general trend in iOS updates to make the social media experience on all iOS devices simple and easy to use in comparison to a computer, and for those who like to broadcast the minutia of their lives for all to see, there probably isn't a better platform to do it with than an iPhone or iPad.

In addition to being able to open a menu on a piece of content ready for the web and tweet it or post it to Facebook, you can also attach EXIF or location data to it, as well. While this may prove problematic if you have Facebook stalkers, it does appeal to many as the use of this sort of social media application is on the rise. While iOS 6 has difficulties with java and a complete lack of support for flash, it makes do with apps to handle some of the more common uses of the formats, like .flv videos for YouTube, and HTML5 in place of flash.

If your social media platform of choice was not mentioned here, don't worry, as there's more than likely a licensed application for it. Check out the App Store to locate and download your official iOS client for your social media platform of choice.

Additionally, there's also an app pre-installed by Apple called Facetime that serves as a replacement for other apps like Skype. If you know others with the newest Mac hardware, or iPads, you can chat in up to 720p video in realtime over a WiFi connection, though the sheer amount of data over an LTE or WIMAX network may run you into trouble with your mobile provider if you do it on the go.,

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Maps

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Apple ditched Google's maps application in place of their own version that combines many of the features found in Google's Maps, Navigation, and Earth applications. For example, not only does Apple have an almost-global set of maps available to the app, but satellite views and a feature called "flyover," which allows you to explore an area as you'd see it from a low-flying airplane.

Using this app, you can also get directions, and step-by-step driving instructions much like a dedicated GPS unit (or Android device) does, which is quite nice. We'd suggest allowing Siri to walk you through it, as the pop-up notifications for traffic could be unsafe if you're the only one in the vehicle.

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On June 11, 2012, Apple announced several new features on its newest build of iOS, iOS 6. While some are rather minor, the biggest change by far is the inclusion of Siri onto all iOS devices, not just the iPhone anymore. While there are some who don't like the synthesized siren, you're not obligated to use her assistance. She's just always there, waiting for your queries.

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The basics

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Double-tap the home button on the bottom of your iOS device, and there should be an audible notification that Siri is now listening to you. What you do from here is up to you: ask a question, mark your calendar, set up notifications, or launch an app with just your voice.

Siri was designed to handle just about any command you could reasonably expect something on a smartphone or tablet could do. For example, she can't hold a conversation with your mother, but she can call her for you. Recently, she'll be getting a massive upgrade in iOS 6, as she can get information for you quicker, like Yelp! reviews of nearby restaurants, scores of sports games currently underway, and check on local movie times. While none of these functions were completely out of reach for Siri to begin with, she had a tough time with all of them. No more.

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The advanced stuff

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New to iOS 6, Siri can now make reservations for you using the OpenTable service. While you'll need to be your favorite restaurant will be able to use this service, it's cool to know that Siri is starting to become a more comprehensive assistant-like entity.

While you're driving, Siri can now help guide your trip using Apple's replacement to Google's map software. By accessing traffic data and incident reports (filed anonymously), she can now help you sidestep traffic problems much like some of the more advanced GPS units can do nowadays. This is a much safer solution than the pop-up window that iOS currently uses.

As you may have seen in commercials starring Siri for the iPhone, the wireless wonder can update you on all sorts of things, including the weather if windows confuse and frustrate you. On top of that, she can play songs, start apps, and understand your commands in 15 different languages and dialects, including German, French, Mandarin (简体), Cantonese (繁体), Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish.

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