GoMaterialForTheIpad2
As a wage slave suffering an hour long commuting journey each way, I decided to buy an IPad 2 to see whether the wide screen and light-weight portability of the tablet would be a useful tool for studying/relaxing/general doodling about Go.
After a week, the results exceed expectations.
I have downloaded several Applications (Apps in Ipad jargon) including Igowin HD, Clevergo Pro, SmartGo Kifu and Igowin life (for IPhone). I have also downloaded Go Books from SmartGo which offers several titles online for a modest price.
This page is intended to start a forum for discussing IPad 2 related Go materials and how they operate. I hope other SL users will contribute.
IGOWIN (THE IPAD VERSION OF MANY FACES OF GO - "MFOG")
This App is the most comprehensive Go playing programme available for IPads. It reproduces most of the features of Many Faces of Go (I have versions 11 and 12 on my PC), although the navigation of its different features is not as intuitive as MFOG. Igowin would be improved by a help menu showing all the features.
The touch screen of the Ipad works fine, but some might prefer to use a stylus to enter their moves, (especially those with clumsy, larger fingers...).
An annoying defect of the programme is that it does not adjust its angle to the screen's position i.e. it does not set itself horizontally when the tablet is held horizontally, as with most other Apps on the Ipad. As a result it can only be viewed vertically, which is a drawback if you are used to propping the tablet on a stand or its magnetic cover which rolls back into a stand.
Igoban
This is an attractive, free app for Ipads. Basically, it provides a board with stones, thus avoiding the need to carry a travelling go set. The board is very realistic and the stones are extracted by "dipping" one's finger on the black or white stone bowl and placing the stone on the point selected by putting one's fingertip at the desired place on the board. The bowls make a realistic sound of rattled stones when the finger extracts a stone, and a satisfying click when they are placed on the board.
Mistakenly placed stones can be moved by simply dragging the stone across the board to the correct place. This is useful to demonstrate new sequences etc.
To empty the board, simply tilt the Ipad for a short while and all the stones tumble off the board and a new game can be started. A drawback in the software is that a mistaken "emptying" of the board cannot be rectified. A future version should provide some form of "memory" so that an unintentional clearance of the board can be rectified.
Otherwise a useful free app for Go on the Go!