Take Control of Your iPad

Many people can use the iPad well enough, but they aren't having the amazing experience that they should be. They sell themselves short. They can't find their stuff. They scroll when they could tap. They put up with a cacophony of noisy notifications. They miss important email messages. They watch video on the iPad when they could stream it to an Apple TV. They turn on the wrong settings for the wrong reasons. They need help... even if they don't realize that they do.

With 226 detail-packed pages, Take Control of Your iPad is on an unstoppable quest to make your iPad experience delightful. It answers the pesky questions, explains how things work, and explores the intertwingled nature of Apple's apps.

Tonya walks you through the entire iPad experience:

• Understand your iPad: Figure out which iPad you're working on (in case you're helping your neighbor with his iPad and he isn't sure). Learn about the hardware components in each iPad model that make it unique.

• Power up and down: Beyond finding out how to operate the power switch, learn about turning your iPad off and on when it doesn't work the way it should and get advice about making the most of its battery life.

• Setup, setup, setup: Learn how to answer the questions asked by iOS's Setup Assistant, and get help with important options that the Setup Assistant doesn't cover, including security, Bluetooth, tethering, backups, and notifications. Find detailed directions for syncing in iTunes 11, as well as advice about integrating an iPad with services such as iCloud, Google Contacts and Calendars, and Microsoft Exchange. Also, get help with making folders and handling a big Home screen cleanup.

• Learn the interface: Read about how to let your fingers do the walking when controlling your iPad, type effectively on the iPad's virtual keyboard, tell your iPad what to do with Siri, and dictate instead of type. Get help with the many ways to adjust, mute, or otherwise block sound from your iPad. Learn how to copy and paste, mirror with AirPlay, print, wrangle the multitasking bar, and more. (Sorry, Siri and voice dictation don't work with the iPad 2.)

• Use Apple's apps: Take control of your iPad with 90 pages of setup directions and usage tips for Clock, Notes, Reminders, Contacts, Calendar, Mail, Messages, FaceTime, iBooks, Newsstand, Music, iTunes U, Camera, Photos, Videos, Maps, Find My Friends, and Safari. Phew! (And read why you shouldn't use Apple's Podcasts app for now, plus find out about Find My iPad and iOS's Twitter and Facebook integration.) (Although the ebook focuses on Apple's apps, it does mention areas where independent apps are worth considering.)

• There's an app for that! Find real-world advice on locating, purchasing, downloading, configuring, organizing, sharing, and deleting third-party apps.