iPad lets users keep orientation

Apple in its iPad pre-order update today has also revealed a pair of key new facts about the tablet. The company has notably changed the mute switch into a screen rotation lock toggle, addressing one of the most common pre-release complaints: readers can now read the iPad while in bed or otherwise on their sides while keeping the orientation frozen for an e-book or a website.

The change makes the iPad one of the few devices that can accomplish the feat with a single switch. Although the Amazon Kindle and Kindle DX have an accelerometer and auto-rotate as well, their lock systems require delving into the menu system and manually setting the particular direction.

The company has also noted that the handheld's support for ePub books allows users to drag and drop third-party titles into iTunes, albeit with limits. Outside books are limited to "free" unprotected files and aren't known to include texts using the Adobe-created protection format for ePub, which is used by Barnes & Noble's Nook and a number of other e-readers.

Apple has not said whether any books available on the iBookstore will come without copy protection, but it has usually embraced an all-or-nothing approach to locking its content. CEO Steve Jobs hasn't been averse to dropping DRM but, as long as content creators require it, has preferred a proprietary standard to a universal one which allegedly poses more of a security risk and prevents Apple from making quick changes.

By Electronista Staff