iPad For Dummies. LeVitus Bob

if no headset is plugged in.

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      Lightning connector: This connector has three purposes:

      ● Recharge your iPad’s battery: Simply connect one end of the included cable to the iPad’s Lightning port and the other end to a USB port.

      ● Synchronize your iPad: Connect one end of the same cable to the Lightning connector and the other end to a USB port on your Mac or PC.

      ● Connect your iPad to cameras or televisions using adapters: Such connectors include the camera connection kit or other adapter cables. Make sure to use an adapter that works with the Lightning connector.

      

If you connect the USB cable to USB ports on your keyboard, USB hub, display, or other external device, or even the USB ports on an older Mac or PC, you may be able to sync, but more than likely you can’t charge the battery. For the most part, only your computer’s built-in USB ports (and only recent-vintage computers at that) have enough juice to recharge the battery. If you use an external USB port on a hub, you’ll probably see a Not Charging message next to the battery icon at the top of the screen (unless the hub has its own AC power source).

       FIGURE 1-2: The bottom of the iPad.

       On the right side

On the right side of your iPad are the volume up and volume down buttons and the ring/silent switch, as shown in Figure 1-3:

       ✓ Ring/silent switch: When the switch is set to silent mode – the down position, with an orange dot visible on the switch – your iPad doesn’t make any sound when you receive new mail or an alert pops up on the screen. Note that the ring/silent switch doesn’t silence what you think of as expected sounds, which are sounds you expect to hear in a particular app. Therefore, it doesn’t silence the iTunes or Videos apps, nor does it mute games and other apps that emit noises. About the only thing the ring/silent switch mutes are unexpected sounds, such as those associated with notifications from apps or the iPad operating system (iOS).

      

If the switch doesn’t mute your notification sounds when engaged (that is, you can see the little orange dot on the switch), look for a little screen orientation icon (shown in the margin) to the left of the battery icon near the top of your screen.

      When you flick the ring/silent switch, if you see this icon, it means you’ve selected the Lock Rotation option in the Settings app’s General pane.

       ✓ Volume up and volume down buttons: These buttons are just below the ring/silent switch. Press the upper button to increase the volume; press the lower button to decreases the volume.

      

The Camera app uses the volume up button as an alternative shutter release button to the on-screen shutter release button. Press either one to shoot a picture or start and stop video recording.

       FIGURE 1-3: The right side of the iPad.

       On the front and back

On the front and back of your iPad, you find the following (labeled in Figure 1-4):

       ✓ Touchscreen: You find out how to use the iPad’s gorgeous high-resolution color touchscreen in Chapter 2. All we have to say at this time is: Try not to drool all over it.

       ✓ Home button/Touch ID sensor (iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 only): No matter what you’re doing, you can press the Home button at any time to display the Home screen, as shown in Figure 1-4. If you have an iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 3, your Home button doubles as a Touch ID sensor, and you can use your fingerprint (or a passcode) to unlock your phone and authenticate purchases.

       ✓ Front camera: The front camera is serviceable and delivers decent-enough video for video chats and such, but it’s not particularly good for taking still photos.

       ✓ App icons: Each of the 20 icons shown on the screen (see Figure 1-4) launches an included iPad app. You read more about these apps later in this chapter and throughout the rest of the book.

       ✓ Rear camera: iPads have a better camera (than the one in front) on the backside, just below the sleep/wake button. The iPad 2's rear camera captures decent video at 720p and shoots fair-to-middling stills; all other iPads have better rear cameras that shoot nice HD video at 1080p and very nice stills.

       FIGURE 1-4: The front and back of the iPad: a study in elegant simplicity.

       Status bar

      The status bar, which is at the top of the screen, displays tiny icons that provide a variety of information about the current state of your iPad:

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Airplane mode: Airplane mode should be enabled when you fly. It turns off all wireless features of your iPad – the cellular, 4G, 3G, GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), and EDGE (Enhanced Datarate for GSM Evolution) networks; Wi-Fi; and Bluetooth – so you can enjoy music, video, games, photos, or any app that doesn’t require an Internet connection while you’re in the air.

      Tap the Settings app and then tap the Airplane Mode switch on (so green is displayed). The icon shown in the margin appears on the left side of your status bar whenever airplane mode is enabled.

      

Disable airplane mode when the plane is at the gate before takeoff or after landing so you can send or receive email and iMessages.

      There’s no need to enable airplane mode on flights that offer onboard Wi-Fi unless you have a cellular-equipped iPad. On such flights it’s perfectly safe to use your iPad’s Wi-Fi while you’re in the air (but not until the captain says so).

      To use Wi-Fi in flight with a cellular iPad, first enable airplane mode and then reenable Wi-Fi.

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LTE (Wi-Fi + 4G models only): This icon lets you know that your carrier’s 4G LTE network is available and your iPad can use it to connect to the Internet.

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3G (Wi-Fi + 3G models only): This icon informs you that the high-speed 3G data network from your wireless carrier (that’s AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile in the United States) is available and that your iPad can connect to the Internet via 3G. (Wondering what 3G, 4G, and these other data networks are? Check out the nearby sidebar, “Comparing Wi-Fi, 4G, LTE, 3G, GPRS, and EDGE.”)

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GPRS (Wi-Fi + 3G and 4G models only): This icon says that your wireless carrier’s GPRS data network is available and that your iPad can use it to connect to the Internet.

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EDGE (Wi-Fi + 3G and 4G models only): This icon tells you that your wireless carrier’s EDGE network is available and you can use it to connect to the Internet.

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