iPad OmniGraffle Review

I have been using OmniGraffle on my Mac for years. It is, in my opinion, the premiere diagraming application on the Mac. I do some of my best thinking when I sit down and organize my thoughts visually with a diagram. The ability to quickly put together professional looking diagrams is a definite edge in my day job. I have even had other attorneys ask me what company I used for my “graphics” when in fact it is just me and a few minutes with OmniGraffle.

OmniGraffle on the iPad is not a simple port of the existing Mac application. The Omni team started from scratch. The user interface was re-designed from the ground up around the touch interface and the iPad’s screen size. Interestingly, the developers did not have access to an actual iPad when developing this application. Instead, they used a fiberglass cut out in bits and pieces of paper with user interface elements printed on it to figure out how to put the application together. Regardless, the programmers overcame this handicap and released an outstanding product.

There are many features worthy of exploration in iPad OmniGraffle. The first time you open iPad OmniGraffle, you are presented with a series of documents that show you the ropes. You should go through the built-in tutorial. There is a lot under the hood with this application and you can save yourself a lot of time down the road if you learn the basics first.

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There is no menubar but instead a series of smart icons that are context sensitive. For instance, hitting the pencil icon brings up icons which are a pre-formatted square and free hand drawing tool. Once you create your object, you can move, resize, shadow, and color it just as if you were on your Mac. It is remarkable how quickly the gestures built into OmniGraffle becomes second nature. You can even attach objects with magnetic lines that remain attached as you move them around the screen. While none of this is revolutionary in comparison to the native Mac OS X application, it is remarkable that this can be created so easily without a keyboard a mouse. It almost feels like playing the piano.

That being said, a few times the interface was more complex than it needed to be. Setting object order, for instance takes some doing from the layers menu. I would prefer a simple “Send to Back” button.

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I found the physical process of creating and moving these boxes with my fingers even more intuitive than doing it in front of the keyboard. The Omni group also included smart guides which allow you to snap your objects in alignment with one another. Even better, you can set up a grid with custom spacing and snap your objects to the grid as you create them. With very little time you can have a precise looking diagram and, with the touch of a button, remove the grid.

iPad OmniGraffle ships with a nice assortment of images, connectors, shapes, software tools, and variables. If you have any favorite stencils on your Mac, you can copy them over to your iPad and OmniGraffle will import them.

iPad OmniGraffle allows you to assign your objects to layers and turn them off and on as the need arises. I have already found it useful when sharing data with clients. Building a diagram in small pieces and then adding the layers one at a time makes it much easier for the audience to digest complex data.

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iPad OmniGraffle is an outstanding implementation of the touch interface. Any aspiring iPad developers should take a long look at the care and deliberation that went into this application. Since the iPad released, the Omni Group has already made a significant upgrade fine tuning the user interface now that they have got their hands on an iPad.

At $50, OmniGraffle certainly is more expensive than most applications you will find in the iPad store but it is a professional graphics application. The OmniGroup has gone on record to explain that if you buy OmniGraffle and are unsatisfied, they will provide a refund. OmniGraffle, in any iteration, is not necessary for everyone. But if you find yourself using it on the Mac, pick it up for your iPad.

This review is based on an evaluation copy of OmniGraffle provided by the Omni Group.

Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch Review

Tablets are an underrated interface. A lot of people think they are only useful for artists. Most of those people have never tried one. I’ve been using tablets for years and find them great for annotating PDF documents, touching up photos, and making simple diagrams. Recently, Wacom provided me a review unit of their Bamboo Pen & Touch Tablet that I’ve now been using for several months on my iMac.

The Bamboo Pen & Touch offers a 5.8” x 3.6” active area for the pen and a slightly smaller active area for the touch functions. The tablet itself is approximately 10” x 7”. The package also includes a stylus and software discs containing drivers and a software bundle CD that has Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 for mac (7.0 for Windows) and Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0.
The Bamboo Pen & Touch accepts both stylus and multitouch finger inputs. For laptop users who want their multitouch on their iMac’s, this is the only solution. The touch input is a nice feature but not as transparent as the touchpad on your laptop. For instance, I was unable to get it to work with the three finger swipe in BusyCal. I’ve been spoiled by Apple’s touch surfaces and the Pen & Touch surface felt a little too abrasive against my fingers. It is not so abrasive to be a show stopper but noticeable.

The pen mode features 2540 dpi resolution with 1024 pen pressure levels. Where the surface wasn’t ideal for the touch gestures, it felt just right for the pen, and much better than the texture on my 2 year old bluetooth Wacom. Clearly Wacom had to make some decisions selling a device that that supports both pen and touch. Wacom made the right decision here optimizing performance for the pen, that presumably gets used more often, over the touch input.

The tablet has four customizable buttons and an LED indicator that distinguishes between touch and pen mode. There is also a small, low tech, fabric tag to hold the stylus. The whole package fits nicely under an iMac ready to drop into your work area when needed. Because it is so accessible, I find myself using it all the time.

If you allow yourself to find your tablet groove, it is nice having an always ready pen input at your computer. Tasks like photo editing, drawing, and annotation quickly become second nature with the pen. Combining the Pen and Touch is really handy. You can draw with the pen and zoom and scroll with the touch features. The Wacom Pen & Touch is a nice upgrade to your iMac. The street price on the Bamboo Pen & Touch is $99 and you can find them from both online and brick and mortar retailers.

Dexim BluePack S3 External Battery

Dexim, who also makes the Richard Solo iPhone batteries has expanded its line to include the new BluePack S3. This device is different from the earlier iPhone specific offerings in that it does not have a built in iPhone dock connector but instead a USB connector and the necessary cables to charge most of your portable devices.

In the Box

The BluePack S3 is about the thickness of an iPhone but narrower and shorter. The design is black with silver accents and, after banging around in my bag for a month, shows no scratches. Also included is an AC Adapter and cable to charge the BluePack and three cables (iPhone/iPod, MiniUSB, and MicroUSB) to charge your devices. There is also a nice pouch to carry it all. Dexim always does a good job of giving you everything you need. The cables are short but rugged and the USB cables carried enough current to also drive my portable USB drive.

Using the BluePack S3

There is nothing to using the BluePack S3. You recharge it by connecting it to the AC adapter or your computer. The charging cord includes two USB plugs so when charging it off a computer you can double up the power. The power connector going into the BluePack S3 is not USB so if you are going to charge it on the road, you need to bring the cable.

Charging your devices simply requires you to plug the device into the BluePack. The BluePack has a series of three lights to indicate battery power. It also has an LED flashlight powered by holding down the battery indicator button. There is no power button so if you leave your device plugged in after it gets the full charge, the BluePack will continue to trickle charge.

What Can You Charge?

Because the device is not iPhone specific you can use it to charge just about anything in your bag. Since most manufacturer’s have adopted USB charging standards, I was able to charge and use my iPhone, iPod, Richard Solo phone charger, Verizon MiFi internet device, pocket camera, Livescribe Pen, and Plantronics wireless bluetooth headset all off the Dexim device. It also charged my wife’s (ack) BlackBerry. In short, if it plugs into USB or an iPod connector, the Dexim will give you juice.

How Much Juice?

The BluePack includes a 2600mAh Polymer Lithion-Ion battery. This is a substantial bump over the 1800mAh in my Richard Solo phone charger. In my testing I got about 1.75 iPhone 3GS charges. It gave several recharges on my various iPods and extended the life of my Verizon MiFi.

Recommendation

There are several vendors selling portable battery packs. I really like the Dexim product for its attention to detail and build quality. The BluePack S3 feels solid. The carrying bag and included cables are good quality and are a great addition to your bag. It is really nice knowing that when you forget to charge, you’ve got a spare tire. The package retails for $80 and can be found from several online vendors. It is also available from Amazon.

You can listen to this review on the MacReviewCast Podcast.

Disclosure

The above is based on a review unit provided by Dexim.