Episode #117 — What Can You Do With iPads & Smartphones?

Dan’s visit to the Apple Store prompts a discussion of the new iPad Pro, and just what you can and can’t do on Apple’s tablet. Are we all just too old to give up our laptops for tablets? The New York Times and Google recently teamed up to deliver another way to use your smartphone – for virtual reality, via Google Cardboard. Is this the beginning of an expansion of VR? Or is it just the View-Master of Mills’ and Stephen’s youth reborn? Finally, we discussed the recent study of media use by tweens and teens by Common Sense Media that highlighted the digital disparities facing low-income teens. In particular, although most have smartphones, they lack access to laptops or desktops on which to do the increasing amount of online homework teachers are assigning. Stephen and Dan talked about the key role of public libraries in giving teenagers access to computers and wireless Internet.

Related Links

• Apple iPad Pro, http://www.apple.com/ipad-pro/
• Google Cardboard, https://www.google.com/get/cardboard/
• “The Times Partners With Google on Virtual Reality Project,” NYT, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/21/business/media/the-times-partners-with-google-on-virtual-reality-project.html
• “The Digital Disparities Facing Lower-Income Teenagers,” NYT, http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/the-digital-disparities-facing-lower-income-teens/
• The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/uploads/research/census_executivesummary.pdf

Running time: 47:50

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