When Josh Lowensohn bought and wrote about the TyPad--the Bluetooth keyboard and iPad case combo--I knew that I had to have it. Though it's a bit expensive for a case ($129), the included black keyboard and fold-over leather case just seemed too convenient and classy to pass up.

I just received mine today, and I'm already glad I bought it, but it does have some minor annoyances. There is no right-Shift key, for example, which will be tough for formerly trained typists to get used to. It also makes it difficult to play a lot of games because with the added keyboard it can be pretty unwieldy. Still, the ability to quickly convert my iPad into a laptoplike experience will be better for working than using the onscreen keyboard, and the controls for music, cursor arrows, and tactile typing make the case worth it to me.

What do you think? Does the TyPad seem like a good deal to you or should I have just bought a laptop if that's what I wanted? Is there a better case/keyboard combo you know about? Let me know in the comments.

This week's apps include an iPhone/iPad text editor that automatically syncs up with your desktop, and a game in which you control a man-eating giant worm.

Elements - Dropbox Powered Text Editor ($4.99) lets you share and edit text (TXT) files on your iOS device via Dropbox. Dropbox is a free program (Windows, Mac, iPhone) that lets you quickly transfer files between platforms with a folder that automatically syncs up between the devices to make moving files a breeze. You'll also need to register with Dropbox in order to use Elements. But with Elements, you'll now have a separate folder in Dropbox where you can place text files and edit them on your iPhone or iPad. Any changes you make will be automatically synced to your desktop computer's Dropbox, making it easy to work on the go.

Elements is an excellent--if a bit expensive, in iPhone app terms--app with several features that will be useful to those who use text editors for writing, coding, or taking notes. The advantage of text editors over standard word processors is that they are flexible, fast, and totally cross-platform. Added features in Elements include full text search of all your files; a handy info pane that tells you word counts, line counts, and character counts; a separate Scratchpad where you can take quick notes; and TextExpander support so you can bring in your commonly used text snippets to save time. Overall, if you use text editors in your work, or just want a way to sync up text files across your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and desktop computers, Elements is a great choice.

Super Mega Worm (99 cents) is a fun and unique 2D side-scrolling game where the mission is to "Destroy all Humans!" You play as the Super Mega Worm (think "Tremors" or "Dune") and burrow through the ground only to come up for food and to take out humans. There is a certain degree of cartoon violence--there's no shortage of blood and guts--but it's on such a small scale that it shouldn't gross too many people out. The default control system is a slider on the left for turning the worm, and a button on the right that performs various actions based on what you're doing in the game at the time. Later you'll earn another button on the right for using the EMP (electro-magnetic pulse). I found it easier to control the worm by switching the controls to a d-pad in the settings, but you should experiment to see what works best for you.

In Super Mega Worm, each level requires a set number of kills to advance to the next level. The game is continuous, so there are no breaks in the action between levels, but you can pause the game and close the app and still return to where you left off. As you advance, your worm will grow longer and you'll earn new skills including a "spit" weapon you can use when above ground; an EMP to disable machines; and a turbo option to gain speed--all of which are activated using the same button (on the right) under different circumstances.

Super Mega Worm is mostly a fun game, but it suffers a bit by being somewhat repetitive and there are a limited number of enemy types. It's also fairly short; you can finish the game in one marathon sitting or maybe over a few sessions. Still, once you choose the controls that work for you, Super Mega Worm is a fun and unique time-waster, even if it is a bit short.

What's your favorite iPhone app? Do you have a better text editor than Elements you want to share? What do you think of Super Mega Worm? Would you consider getting the TyPad? Let me know in the comments!

Apple today released an update for its MobileMe Gallery app, bringing full support for the iPad.

MobileMe Gallery is an app that allows subscribers to Apple's Internet services to view their MobileMe photo galleries. It also enables users to view any movies and video clips they may have stored on MobileMe.

Among the changes in MobileMe Gallery 1.2 is support for multitasking, a feature currently available on the iPhone and coming to the iPad with the release of iOS 4.2. Support for the iPhone 4's Retina display, and the ability to view a friend's gallery without having a MobileMe subscription, have also been added to this release.

MobileMe Gallery 1.2 is a free app available for download from the App Store.

Originally posted at News - Apple

Over the years I've seen various hacks and apps that let you add speed-dial icons to your iPhone's Home screen. But not many of them let you customize those icons to include photos.

Custom Dial 6 does exactly that, giving you six quick-dial icons with the photos of your choice. Unfortunately, the end result is disappointing.

It's easy enough to set up your icons: just tap one of the six numbered slots, then tap the photo icon to choose an image from your collection. Alas, the app doesn't allow you to snap a new photo on the spot, a feature that could easily have been included.

Sometimes, tapping a desired photo took me to a "move and scale" screen; other times it didn't. And for each and every photo I selected, the resulting thumbnail looked squashed. There's simply no excuse for that.

After you've chosen a photo, you type in a title for the icon (usually the person's name) and a phone number. Custom Dial doesn't tie to your address book, though, so you can't choose a number from it.

Finally, you tap Create Custom Icon, which drops you out of the Custom Dial app and into Safari, where you tap the + sign and add the page to your Home screen.

Presto! Now you've got a speed-dial icon adorned with the person's picture. Tap it and...wait several seconds while Safari pops up again, the screen goes blank, and then the phone finally dials the number. Weird, but it works.

Ultimately, I can't recommend Custom Dial 6--not until the developer solves the issue with the squashed thumbnails. Hopefully an upcoming update (which I'm told will raise the curious 6-icon limit to 30) will address that and other irksome bugs.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

Browser usage statistics for September provide a look at who's gaining clout on the Web: Google's Chrome, twin mobile powerhouses Apple iOS and Google Android, and Microsoft's IE9.

Google's Chrome browser continued its steady rise in usage on NetApplications' network of thousands of Web sites, which get tens of millions of visits monthly, increasing from 7.5 percent in August to 8 percent in September, the analytics firm said.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer remains the top-ranked browser, but its share dipped back below 60 percent, sinking from 60.4 percent to 59.7 percent. Second-place Firefox was essentially flat at 23 percent. Apple's Safari rose a tenth of a point to 5.3 percent. Opera kept its 2.4 percent share.

Chrome is a rising force, a fact that's very useful for Google's ambitions. Not only does it help spread the Google brand, but it also serves as a vehicle to disseminate Google technologies. For example, on Thursday, Google said it will add support for its new WebP image format to Chrome in an effort to speed browser graphics. And it's working to improve the browser: Chrome 7 is getting Google Instant search abilities, some hardware acceleration, and WebGL 3D graphics support by default.

Net Applications' September statistics gave a look at how widely used IE9 is now that it's in beta: with a share of 0.25 percent for the last two weeks of September, that's a respectable 1 of every 400 Web pages.

Microsoft, after a long dormant period, is back in fighting shape for the browser wars with IE9, which in beta form features more extensive hardware acceleration than Chrome. IE9 is notable for its support of Web standards, including a host of newer standards that Web developers are eager to implement.

But standards support isn't an easy matter for Microsoft. For years, Microsoft's IE, not Web standards, was the technology for which developers coded their Web sites. To deal with this legacy of non-standard Web pages, IE uses a "compatibility mode" by which it renders pages using its older rendering rules.

The Net Applications statistics show just how often IE must call upon the compatibility mode. For the IE9 beta, this compatibility mode is used for about one of each eight pages. Clearly it will be a long time before the Web is fully modernized for the post-IE era.

Some of the most interesting trends in the browser market are with mobile devices, a much less mature market than browsing on personal computers.

Mobile browsing is exploding in usage with a new generation of devices. In October 2009, it accounted for 1.1 percent of all browsing, but by September 2010, that figure grew to 2.8 percent, Net Applications said.

A new class of smartphones and mobile devices is dominating that usage.

Apple's iOS devices--the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad--account for 1.2 percent of browser usage. That's up from 0.4 percent in October 2009.

Google's Android operating system, which is chiefly used in mobile phones but beginning to arrive in tablets that compete with the iPad, lags well behind but is growing. Its share of browsing rose from 0.02 percent in October 2009 to 0.24 percent in September 2010.

The statistics don't reflect a large element of mobile Net usage through applications, however. Although iOS and Android browsers outclass mobile browsers that came before, they're still slower than on PCs and hard to use with small screens in many cases. Many companies therefore choose to make their Net-connected services accessible through applications rather than just Web sites.

Originally posted at Deep Tech