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The Apple Core

Jason D. O'Grady & David Morgenstern

Great iPad app: The Elements

By | April 6, 2010, 8:05pm PDT

Summary: The Elements is one of a new breed of platform apps that was designed specifically for the iPad and it’s mind-blowingly cool.

Special Report: Apple iPad

If you haven’t yet seen The Elements: A Visual Exploration ($13.99, App Store) on the iPad, do yourself a favor and check out this video demo. The Elements is one of a new breed of platform apps that was designed specifically for the iPad. One problem though: it takes 1.75GB of space. 16GB iPad owners may find themselves scrounging for space, I know that I did.

It is impossible to describe in words the experience of seeing and almost feeling over 500 examples of the chemical elements in virtual form, but to give you an idea of the astonishing depth and beauty of the ebook, you can see a preview of all the individual pages from the ebook. Keep in mind that in the real thing, essentially every one of these objects can be spun around a complete circle with the slightest touch of your finger, and can even be seen in stereo 3D using glasses available below.

http://periodictable.com/ipad/Images/Glasses.png

You can even see over 500 finger-rotatable live 3D objects in true 3D stereo with a $5 pair of prism-type 3D glasses. And don’t forget this little easter egg. Man, I wish I had an iPad when I had to learn the periodic table.

It’s a mind blower and a must-get. I’d give it six stars if I could.

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Topics

Jason O'Grady is a journalist and author specializing in mobile technology. He has published six books on Apple and mobile gadgets and his PowerPage blog has been publishing for over 15 years.

Disclosure

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady is the creator and editor of O'Grady's PowerPage, which has been publishing mobile technology news since 1995. He maintains an advertising relationship with the following legacy advertisers on the PowerPage:

  • Amazon Associates
  • Google Adsense
  • Tekserve
  • Advertising on the PowerPage is brokered by a third-party agency (BackBeat Media) and he recuses himself from these negotiations.

Biography

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady developed an affinity for Apple computers after using the original Lisa, and this affinity turned into a bona-fide obsession when he got the original 128 KB Macintosh in 1984.

He started writing one of the first Web sites about Apple (O'Grady's PowerPage) in 1995 and is considered to be one of the fathers of blogging. He has been a frequent speaker at the Macworld Expo conference and a member of the conference faculty. He also co-founded the first dedicated PowerBook User Group (PPUG) in the United States.

After winning a major legal battle with Apple in 2006, he set the precedent that independent journalists are entitled to the same protections under the First Amendment as members of the mainstream media.

O'Grady is the author of The Nexus One Pocket Guide, The Droid Pocket Guide, The Google Phone Pocket Guide, and The Garmin nuvi Pocket Guide (Peachpit Press), the author of Corporations That Changed the World: Apple Inc. (Greenwood Press), and a contributor to The Mac Bible (Peachpit Press). In addition, he has contributed to numerous Mac publications over the years, including MacWEEK, Macworld, and MacPower (Japan).

When he's not writing about Apple for ZDNet at The Apple Core, he enjoys spending time with his family in New Jersey.

Talkback Most Recent of 2 Talkback(s)

  • e-ink
    i can do that on my kindle, too!
    can't i?
    ZDNet Gravatar
    bannedfromzdnetagain
    7th Apr 2010
  • RE: Great iPad app: The Elements
    @elllroy

    No, you can't, but I suspect that you knew that. The larger Kindle (to get to roughly the same screen size) is almost the same price as the cheapest iPad, but does much, much less.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    gslusher
    19th May 2010

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