I liked my original iPad. I love my iPad2. I have some great tips. But there is that deep dark secret….
I use my iPad2 the most for reading. Every time I download a hot-off-the-press new book by a favorite author the minute it is released I feel like I am getting away with something. Kinda the way some women feel about expensive chocolate (which I personally don’t like - chocolate that is). The fact that a downloaded book cost less is an extra bonus because I don’t have room to keep books anyhow.
I like all the advantages of reading on my iPad2 from the backlit pages to the fact that I can increase the size of the type font if I wish, to the built-in bookmark feature.
I also use my iPad to watch some TV shows. I don’t watch much TV and no longer even have cable, but some shows I do enjoy, like Castle, and I can watch it whenever I want to using the free ABC Player app.
Tip 1: Lock in Place
And this brings me to my first tip. When reading books I want to hold my iPad vertically. When watching a TV show or movie I want to hold my iPad horizontally. And most of all, I don’t want it flipping back and forth if I move a muscle. In the iPad2 the lock to hold it in place is not visible. If you know how to access it though, it is easy to get to.
Tap the home button twice. You will see icons for all the apps you have used recently. Move the list all the way to the right with a swipe of your finger, and at the end of the list, on the far left, you will see the icon that lets you lock your viewing area in the vertical or landscape position. If you want to keep the viewing area in the vertical position, make sure that is how you are holding it when you tap the icon to lock it and vice versa.
Finding the lock icon
This is a good way to get back to a frequently used app as well. Just tap the one you want while in this milieu . To exit back to the regular windows just tap the home button once.
Tip 2. Make Your Passcode More Complicated
As with any iPhone, the iPad user has the option of setting a passcode that one must use to access the contents of the device. The default passcode setup is a four digit code which is accessed by selecting the settings icon and then General > Passcode Lock.
Once this window is open there is option to turn the passcode off or on and to set or change the passcode by selecting “Simple Passcode” from the second set of fields.
iPad Passcode Lock Window Set for Simple Passcode
But, did you know you can choose to have a more complicated passcode?
If you have selected “Turn Passcode On” from the first set of options and turn off “Simple Passcode” from the second set of options, you will automatically get a Change Passcode window, wherein you can enter any passcode you want to use, in any combination of letters and numbers.
Creating Your Own Passcode
Once you have entered it, reentered it and clicked the Done button, the more complex passcode will be in place. Let’s see your grandkids get past that!
Click The Done Button To Finish the Process
When Auto-Correction is turned on (Settings > General Keyboard > Auto-Correction) your iPad2 will try and help you by correcting what it thinks are typos. If you hate and despise that feature you can turn it off following the trail noted above.
But if you have a kinder, gentler nature and choose instead to add words to the iPad2 dictionary you do so automatically every time you reject words the iPad suggests. Tap a word to reject the correction and add the word to the keyboard dictionary. So the first time I typed Gravley for my name and it suggested Gravely I gritted my teeth and kindly and gently added Gravley to the dictionary so I would not have that problem any more.
Deep Dark Secret
So, about that deep dark secret. My twin is a connoisseur of shoes. She probably has 90 pairs. To me a shoe is something that keeps my feet from touching the hot sidewalk, necessary but unpleasant. But I am a connoisseur of purses and by extension for iPad cases and bags. I see unusual or beautiful ones and my eyes get glassy. When I get fantastic ones to review I am delighted. When someone else finds one that I have not seen I get jealous and when they say they got it on sale I weep.
So now you know what a shallow person I am. Nevertheless, I have some totally cool purses and really know how to review iPad cases and bags so maybe that is not all bad.
I hope you find these iPad 2 tips helpful. Feel free to add your own to the commends section. I love learning new stuff.