But the thing that sets this nav app apart is that you’re not buying maps to use it. There are no in-app $49 purchases for North American roads. CoPilot is sold with maps included and free updates How’s that possible? Well for one thing, they do their own maps, instead of paying a third party. Then there’s the company background: they sell truck fleet software and have for 25 years. You don’t have to care about how CoPilot does its business but you’ll want them to keep up with those free maps. Nav apps can get expensive in several ways

But before we look at that, let’s do a discount dance. Until the end of this week the CoPilot app is $9.95, the iPad version $14.95. Discounts a-plenty here in Macworld week. Even at the regular prices this app looks like it can lead you to better value for nav.

You have to watch out for the hidden costs in nav apps. If your maps are free, are you sucking down piles of data through your data plan? Not with CoPilot. Are you paying for updates to those maps? A larger business can afford that kind of thing, but wouldn’t you rather be spending that on entertaining clients, or just a better bed on the road?

Doing your own maps makes the fixed cost of CoPilot Live sustainable. You will probably care more about being able to drag your route dynamically on the screen, or routes for optimal gas consumption. Or locating waypoints through several resources. All without leaving the app. You care about that because at the heart of it, using this kind of app happens on the road, while you move at 55 MPH. You use the app in bed, too, to plan the next day’s travels.

<

PowerPoint slides in SlideShark

Brainshark will use Macworld to introduce a new workgroup version of its SlideShark app for the iPad. The company says the software has begun to solve the problem of PowerPoint’s incompatibility on the iPad. There’s 30 million PowerPoint decks created every day, according to the company.

SlideShark has been selling since October, and the company says its been downloaded twice a minute since then. A version that will launch in early February adds functionality to support teams and groups within organizations. The current version is geared more toward individuals.

“Prior to SlideShark’s launch last October, millions of iPad users who wanted to view and show PowerPoint slide decks on their device had only spotty, unreliable options,” the company said in a release. The existing software on the iPad market flattens presentations into PDFs at worst. Or the competition’s conversion techniques render animations inactive, sometimes distorting fonts, colors, images and more. We can attest to the last outcome. While we don’t animate with PowerPoint, those slides check into iPad apps of today and don’t check out the same.

The CoPilot Live Team is making Macworld passes available for free. Apple fans just need to visit the CoPilot Live USA Facebook page and Like the company. To show their appreciation for its giveaway, they’re offering a few free CoPilot Live HD apps for the iPad. We’ve got their free iTunes store codes for the first couple of readers who contact us or send a comment. This is a $24.99 app, so go visit the Facebook page and come back for your codes. First come, first served.

Today’s the last day to get a $75 rate on iWorld, the end of the early-bird registration. They’re also packaging an opening night Blast with the three-days of classes for a total of $110. In fact, today is the last early bird day for all of the Macworld experiences, from pre-show training to the Mac IT meetings for administrators and high-end business users. Even the Expo Pass, the lowliest entry ticket to the January events, goes up by $5 tomorrow.

A full list of everything that’s on offer in the iWorld sessions is online. For example, at 10AM Friday is a Super iPad Tools for Work tech talk that promises to “cover office type applications, presentations without projector, database management, PDF management, outlining and brainstorming, tracking secure data, tracking travel and expenses, dictation and transcription, remote OS administration, making phone calls (on an iPad!), and remote meetings (like WebEx and GoToMeeting).”

You can compare the packages and register to save some dough at the Macworld 2012 website.

Order online at Apple's website

Search as you will for the deals from Apple’s retail outlets on Friday. The supplier advertises special deals on its products for the day after Thanksgiving, and the retail store pricing on Wednesday appears was as it’s always been on products at its retail outlets. The iPad, for example, was at $499 rock bottom. The retail outlets clambered onto the Black Friday bandwagon with slight discounts, matching those online.

The Apple Store online posts discounts only on Nov. 25. Apple’s got iPad 2s at $458 (plus tax) through the end of Friday (looks like they’re running that sale through midnight PST, judging from when they updated the store page early Friday), as well as the iPod Touch, the Nano, the iMac, Macbook Pro and the Macbook Air. The Air has the steepest discounts at $101 off the regular $999 price for the 11.6-inch model. That Air is a great alternative to the iPad if you need a keyboard — and the more recent models have a backlit keypad, too.

Check the Apple Store webpage for details. Shipping is free.

We’ve found the iPad for about $21 less, at $473.99, at MacMall on a Friday only sale. You have to call and talk to a sales rep to buy the iPad 2 at MacMall, mostly so they can offer you an upsell of a protection plan (which is a pretty good investment). MacMall’s at 800-622-6225.

I took only my iPad on a couple of business trips this winter, and it served well. Most airports require you to take the iPad out of the carry-on, despite what you may have heard. It has writing and editing tools, the ability to connect to mail and social networks, and bare-bones blog posting and editing tools. I didn’t being along an Apple Camera Connector to hook up my point-and-shoot Canon to the iPad; that would have helped. Instead, I pushed my iPhone camera photos though the web to my mailbox, then pulled them onto the iPad. On that last element, I wished for a nice MacBook Air.

The Air only weighs a pound more than the iPad and takes up just two extra inches in length. What the Air does not have is a multi-touch interface. You can get hooked on that.
What’s more, many of the best apps on the iPad just don’t have a desktop equivalent. Now that there’s an iMovie and GarageBand written for the iPad, there’s a chance for a real iPhoto there. But there’s already plenty of photo editing tools, good ones, on sale for the iPad.

I took along my Kensington Bluetooth Keyfolio (above) on the trip, but that’s become a bit of a disappointment. Between the Keyfolio’s jumpy key repetition, and the ever-vigilant auto-correct on the iPad, it’s actually a bit faster for me to use the onscreen keyboard. It becomes easier to do so if you turn on clicks in the Settings for the keyboard.

Zagg has a nice keyboard and metal case combo, but you still must expose the back of the iPad in that arrangement. Both the Kensington and the Zagg have physical keys, but the Zagg doesn’t use the rubberized keys of the Kensington. I tried out the Zagg at Macworld Expo, and it types faster than anything.

But the recent introduction of Thunderbolt, with its display-plus-disk or printer connections, promises another kind of faster future for mobile computing. This is a category that includes a technology which Apple is not using yet — but there’s still another mobile computer where Apple could use the upcoming Wireless USB.

USB wireless technology shows great promise. I sure would like to have 480mbs connectivity to a few devices in my office. Of course, none of these devices have any wireless capability today. Replacing the printers will be cheap. Not so much the big disks. I don’t know if anyone intends for wireless USB to serve monitors. That’s the real magic of Thunderbolt.

But this wireless aspect is more important to the people who want to use a tablet, or an Atrix-like smartphone that can be mounted on a desktop. Intel might get behind wireless USB — but it won’t, since it’s got a big adopter for Thunderbolt’s desktop connectivity in Apple.

Apple’s got its own wireless connection to printers in AirPrint, but it won’t be able to get much traction from print makers for that tech for awhile. In a bit of irony it’s HP, which is selling an iPad competitor this year, who is the earliest adopter of AirPrint. If HP adopts AirPrint across its printer lines, it matters a lot less what Epson or Canon or Lexmark do for AirPrint.

I expect the HP TouchPad to have some kind of wireless connection to peripherals. Maybe wireless USB, if it’s ready for prime time. That would be a big advantage once the peripheral companies become wireless USB-aware.

Me, I wonder how good all of these wireless desktop replacements will really become, how possible it will become to use them for productivity, and not just consumption. That all comes down to apps making it possible. You know who’s got the biggest lead on mobile apps. InfoWorld has an article on this idea of making iPads or the Motorola Atrix replacements for desktops.

Does any laptop count as a desktop? It does for more people than ever these days, if they have enough horsepower in the laptop. And the Air has only one peripheral connection, a single USB 2.0 port. It could use wireless USB, if the technology allows for multiple peripherals.

Maybe Apple just puts wireless USB into this fall’s version of the MacBook Air. That would get me to buy one. Perhaps not before we purchase an iPad 2. It’s fun to have so many choices.

Keyfolio keypad: An iPad version of a netbook

One of the best additions I’ve made to my iPad this year has been the Kensington Keyfolio keyboard. It’s a Bluetooth keyboard that includes a nice protective, leather case for the iPad. It also adds a stand capability to the iPad, one which works just great to browse the Web from bed in the morning if you’re getting a pre-dawn start on your work day. In a way, this adds the touch interface of the iPad to the concept of a netbook. The weight of the combined keyboard and iPad comes in at 2.75 pounds, so you’re right into the netbook weight category.

The Keyfolio has a great battery saving feature, pulling itself offline when you stop using it for an extended period. It doesn’t need to be resynced often, and you can bypass it by simply switching it off to use the iPad onscreen keyboard.

It’s a great product in the Kensington tradition: well built, lightweight, protects your iPad. Even can be used in a non-keyboard setting (i.e. just a case to use while reading your iPad.) Some say you can’t use it on your lap, but a nice lap desk (think Levenger) makes that possible, too. Big improvement over the on-screen keyboard.

Only the Apple iPad dock has better speed, but it’s not a traveling tool like this one. This keyboard recognizes and includes the cursor arrows, unlike some iPad writing apps whose softkey keyboards do not. I wish there were a shift key on both sides of this keyboard, and the apostrophe key has its own key that’s not in an intuitive place. You type a bit slower at first while using it, but get used to having those keys in unusual places. So far, very happy with this product. In a way, this makes the iPad a great alternative to the new MacBook Air, which at first glance seems like an iPad with an attached keyboard. The Air weighs a little more than the Keyfolio combo, and of course, it’s a full Mac. Just doesn’t have that touch interface, but a lot richer field of applications.

Keyfolio is $69.99 at Amazon today and worth every penny. I bought an Apple Keyboard Dock in the very first month of the iPad’s existence, but the Apple device doesn’t offer a landscape mode like the Keyfolio does. (Keyfolio won’t do portrait, in contrast.) But the Apple keyboard isn’t portable and won’t act as a stand for Netflix movies. There’s a lot to like here.

If only the new iPad could be so lucky to be so well protected. We’ve been using the tablet since its release, but nary an update is to be downloaded to advance the device’s security.

The 10.6.4 version of Snow Leopard, which is a 17-minute download on a middle-fast DSL line, introduces new protection to prevent back door attacks on Macs through the iPhoto software that ships with every system. A new feature called XProtect gets an update that keeps hackers from installing malware by fooling users into thinking iPhoto is at work, when damage is being done.

An update of a Mac’s operating system for security reasons — that’s a good idea. But Apple doesn’t have a practice of identifying security holes they patch with a new release. And sometimes a new OS version will make software stop running on a Mac. This is why backups are a vital complement to any security updating.Apple has brought out four updates to the Snow Leopard version of its OS now, updates that cover just a nine-month period. Not every one had a security benefit. But the state of security is so tenuous now that your Adobe PDF software, browser, and OS should be considered at risk if you haven’t seen an update in 90 days.

Browsers and Adobe software are the chief targets for hackers, since they cover so many more victims than just Apple’s products. More than 360 million people are using Firefox as a browser, for example, on both PCs and Macs. Adobe’s Flash and Acrobat readers run on hundreds of millions of systems. Adobe just introduced a 9.3.3 version of Acrobat to improve security.

As diligent as Apple and Adobe might be (some say Apple’s sluggish at best about security plugs), the vendors can’t do a thing to help secure your business if you don’t install updates. The rule of thumb was once “don’t install if you don’t need” an update. But security issues are much more serious by now. You can balance the time spent downloading and upgrading, the checks of your applications afterward, against the dangers of running an unprotected system.

About 30 minutes of downloading and watching mysterious messages — things like “optimizing” or “unpacking packages” or “moving items into place” or “registering components” — plus a reboot, and my iMac was running 10.6.4. I did the usual first step after an upgrade — started all the apps that matter to my workplace.

The Apple apps don’t need checking — Apple’s done that in its own labs. But the likes of Adobe CS apps, QuickBooks 2010, Microsoft Office apps and even reliables like Eudora, an antique mail program. 10.6.4 updates Apple’s Mail, as it turns out — so my add on Mail Tags software needs to be updated.

Mail checks get easier

Apple’s Steve Jobs waltzed around onstage for more than 90 minutes this morning, much of it showing off the soon-to-be-shipping iPhone 4 at the Apple WorldWide Developers’ Conference. While the new phone is 24 percent thinner than the current iPhones, the most impressive business feature comes from the new iPhone OS. Apple has renamed this operating environment iOS, because it runs the iPods, iPads, and the phone.

iOS 4 makes a distinct difference to Apple’s Mail program on the iPhone and the iPad and Touch iPod. Instead of breaking down your mail checking into multiple tries, Mail now consolidates your different accounts into a single “All Inboxes” menu item.

The current state of affairs is frustrating if you use more than one mail account, which is the case for so many small businesspeople. Your personal email goes to a separate account — or at least a separate email address. The new iOS 4 understands that you’ve got multiple personalities for mail.

The iOS 4 will be available to the iPhone and iPod Touch users later this month. The new environment brings things like a $4.99 iMovie, a choice of search engines including Microsoft’s Bing (take that, Google) and a PDF viewer that’s going to make long documents easier to read on Apple’s mobile devices. The Reader will be worked right into the iBooks application.

Oh yeah, and there’s that multitasking thing in the new iOS4, too. Palm hammered Apple on it all of last year until the Palmsters had to sell themselves off to HP. It was not a big enough deal to save the Pre, but Apple’s got the feature now. It’s probably best used with the newest Apple mobile devices, though — for reasons below.

Using iOS 4, there are now folders to organize that mess of apps so many of us have on our Apple mobile devices. But perhaps the best news of all for business phone users involves battery life. The new Apple chip just made things last a lot longer.

The Apple A4 processor made its debut on the iPad this spring, and for us it’s made battery management while surfing the Web a non-issue. Of course Apple’s made the A4 a crucial part of the new iPhone 4. Jobs claims 7 hours of talk time (3G), 6 hours of Web surfing (3G.) And 300 hours of standby.

The multitasking becomes possible because of A4 — which is not inside your 3GS phone, or the 3G, or the Touch. The new iPad’s got the A4, though, and multitasking is headed there, too.

Apple is hitting the Android/Google competition in the most vulnerable spot. Android phones roll kill off their batteries in under a day’s Web use. The ability to take a phone on sales and client calls, use it without regard for performance, and return to base at day’s end without a recharge required in an automobile charger — well, it’s going to take a specialized chip in Android phones to match that. Even with the latest Froyo version of Android’s OS.

FaceTime between Steve and Jony

There’s a front-facing video camera for conferencing over 3G on the new phone, FaceTime video calling. The app only works over WiFi connects for now, something of a black eye for ATT and its 3G network. It works with both front-facing and forward-facing cameras; you can see an Apple demo of it around the 45-second mark of this video on YouTube.

FaceTime was the “one more thing” that has become a trademark of a Jobs keynote. It’s the most forward-leaping feature of the new iOS 4, but it was demonstrated calling top Apple designer Jonathan Ives, as well as a video between family members. Not strictly a business feature, but expect it to be used for more business two-person meetings and face-time. Thus the name, of course. FaceTime requires the new iPhone 4.

The iOS 4 becomes available June 21, and it’s a free upgrade to users of the iPhone all but the oldest iPod Touch devices. (No word on the iPad availability, but expect it to be simultaneous.) The iPhone 4 goes on sale June 24, and ATT will let anyone with a contract that expires during 2010 upgrade their phone.

And that 3GS, still the leading iPhone lineup until the 24th? Starting that day, the device introduced just last year sells for $99 — and you don’t have to buy it at WalMart to get that price.

A slide-by-slide summary of the Jobs keynote at the conference is online at Engadget’s website. CNET has a darn good summary with pictures, too.

That includes the iPad as well as the iPod Touch. Take Control Books, edited by Mac veteran Adam Engst, has a new PDF book title out to maximize your use of Mail while mobile. Take Control of Mail on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Written and edited by Joe Kissell and Dan Frakes, the 96-page book promises to make Mail more useful on these devices.

This new ebook takes a practical look at using the Mail app on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. It explains various email account options, helps you develop a real-world mobile email strategy that integrates with your Mac, explains the mechanics of sending and receiving mobile email, and provides essential troubleshooting advice.

Mail is one of the most useful things on the iPad, in part because you can create something in it — an aspect of the iPad that’s still gaining credibility. Even over a WiFi link, it’s become a ready tool in my business belt. Take Control has other Mail training aids as well, if your exposure to Mail is limited to your desktop.

We just got a free update to the Take Control of Apple Mail in Snow Leopard ebook, which covers plenty of nuances but is written for the first-time user of Mail. That’s been me, until recently, because I’m making a transition away from Eudora. (Odd behavior in Eudora under Snow Leopard. Beware.)

Engst’s group even has a special anti-spam edition of a book for Mail. These three titles are available in various bundles at a 30 percent discount. You can even download them for reading (using the EPUB versions) on your iPad.