The iPad: I finally understand it
Posted on 20th Jul 2010 at 10:28 by Antony Leather with 89 comments
I love my iPhone. Before I get dumped in the Apple fanboy pigeon hole though, I can honestly say it's the first Apple product I've owned and despite enjoying it, I'm still very unlikely to buy a Mac. I like the iPhone because of its large screen, responsive touch interface and range of apps that are genuinely useful - not to mention it's a fully functioning iPod.
However, the iPad reignited my loathing of the ruthless Apple PR machine and the brainwashed hordes falling over each other to get one. It's hideously expensive and generally far inferior to a laptop but most importantly, I simply couldn't see decent reason you'd actually buy one.
Tablets have been around for years and have never really taken off. After all, most tried (and still try) to cram in a desktop-orientated operating system, usually meaning they're painful to use and lack power and features. The iPad at least has the weight of iTunes behind it with games, apps, ebooks, music and videos but with no proper keyboard, lack of Flash support and not sporting anything better than a bigger screen over and above an iPod Touch, why not just get a laptop?
That's my thinking anyway. I can't imagine having a keyboard and screen in the same plane is as easy as having them in separate ones with a laptop. You've also required to hold it in such a way that the screen faces your eyes. Again a laptop does what it says on the tin - sits on your lap and allows you to point the screen at your eyes with its base remaining on your knees or desk.
So basically I'm questioning its very existence although for Jake Humphrey presenting the BBC's Formula 1 coverage, the iPad does seem to be an ideal tool for the job. But apart from TV presenters, who else fits the bill for actually using an iPad in a situation where a laptop might be awkward to use? I was stumped until last weekend when, after weeks of asking me to borrow an iPad from work, my girlfriend and I walked into an Apple store in Lakeside where she spent the next half an hour playing with one while I drooled over the iPhone 4.
Despite my antics with modding, overclocking and PCs in general, my girlfriend isn't very tech savvy and prefers things to be simple and easy to use or else she just doesn't use them. She'll use the internet mainly to watch videos, send emails, read news articles and do research for work and doesn't play games. She prefers reading, and listening to music. And she loved the iPad. What's more I could see her using it at home a lot as it's so easy to use and does everything she needs it to.
Now from my perspective, dealing with Windows is something I've done for two decades. I'm used to updates, viruses, maintenance, reinstalling and everything games and applications bring too. As such, my new Windows 7 based CULV laptop is the best thing I've bought for a while and I'd just find the iPad too restrictive.
But it's easy to forget that a vast majority of the population find these things either a waste of time or simply have no idea how to do them. A big reason the iPhone and iPad are selling like hotcakes is that they're so easy to use - clearly an attribute which has been massively underestimated and devices like these are ploughing their own segment through the field of market share.
What do you think of the iPad? Is it a waste of materials, just another consumer device or do you think it's a great idea? Let us know in the comments.
However, the iPad reignited my loathing of the ruthless Apple PR machine and the brainwashed hordes falling over each other to get one. It's hideously expensive and generally far inferior to a laptop but most importantly, I simply couldn't see decent reason you'd actually buy one.
Tablets have been around for years and have never really taken off. After all, most tried (and still try) to cram in a desktop-orientated operating system, usually meaning they're painful to use and lack power and features. The iPad at least has the weight of iTunes behind it with games, apps, ebooks, music and videos but with no proper keyboard, lack of Flash support and not sporting anything better than a bigger screen over and above an iPod Touch, why not just get a laptop?
That's my thinking anyway. I can't imagine having a keyboard and screen in the same plane is as easy as having them in separate ones with a laptop. You've also required to hold it in such a way that the screen faces your eyes. Again a laptop does what it says on the tin - sits on your lap and allows you to point the screen at your eyes with its base remaining on your knees or desk.
Jake Humphrey using his iPad whilst presenting Formula 1 on the BBC.
So basically I'm questioning its very existence although for Jake Humphrey presenting the BBC's Formula 1 coverage, the iPad does seem to be an ideal tool for the job. But apart from TV presenters, who else fits the bill for actually using an iPad in a situation where a laptop might be awkward to use? I was stumped until last weekend when, after weeks of asking me to borrow an iPad from work, my girlfriend and I walked into an Apple store in Lakeside where she spent the next half an hour playing with one while I drooled over the iPhone 4.
Despite my antics with modding, overclocking and PCs in general, my girlfriend isn't very tech savvy and prefers things to be simple and easy to use or else she just doesn't use them. She'll use the internet mainly to watch videos, send emails, read news articles and do research for work and doesn't play games. She prefers reading, and listening to music. And she loved the iPad. What's more I could see her using it at home a lot as it's so easy to use and does everything she needs it to.
Does ease of use, a great interface and the power of iTunes, mean the iPad has found solid ground?
Now from my perspective, dealing with Windows is something I've done for two decades. I'm used to updates, viruses, maintenance, reinstalling and everything games and applications bring too. As such, my new Windows 7 based CULV laptop is the best thing I've bought for a while and I'd just find the iPad too restrictive.
But it's easy to forget that a vast majority of the population find these things either a waste of time or simply have no idea how to do them. A big reason the iPhone and iPad are selling like hotcakes is that they're so easy to use - clearly an attribute which has been massively underestimated and devices like these are ploughing their own segment through the field of market share.
What do you think of the iPad? Is it a waste of materials, just another consumer device or do you think it's a great idea? Let us know in the comments.
89 Comments
Discuss in the forums ReplyI hope the market learns the fact that ease of use = profit + happy customers
Hardware shouldn't conflict.
Software shouldn't crash or contain bugs.
Viruses shouldn't be able to install themselves.
User interfaces should be (isaac12345's words) intuitive, simple and be easy to use, and understand.
The learning curve should be tiny. But the more advanced of us can then take off and do whatever.
The PC fails the less technically-minded. Even the Mac fails to some degree despite everyones trumpeting.
The iPad is Speak'n'Spell for kids and adults. That is NOT a bad thing :)
Best slogan ever. I am SO using that from now on! :D
Two months ago I won an iPad in a competition and to be honest I think it is fantastic. As pointed out in the article the iPad will never be able to replace a laptop but if you do not own one (like me) then it is the perfect piece of kit to fill the gap.
Also my wife loves it too, she, like Anthony's girlfriend, is a simpleton :D
the only thing is i cant help but feel apple didnt go far enough - it is just a big iPod. Android is in line for a big upgrade for tablets, and i think google will do much more in terms of taking advantage of the larger screen size.
Mac = PC.
And I saw far too many 'spinning rainbow wheels of death' in OSX when I was working in a lab that used Macs exclusively.
But what was Speak'n'Spell famous for? Being dismantled by E.T. and parts used to "Phone Home!" (with pointy finger glowing all orange)
When its suppose to be a media consumption device, not having a USB or SD card slot built in is a serious issue (yes I know you can get an adapter, but that's an extra cost and hassle) and the price! Since it does not have anywhere near the functionality of a laptop at the same price, and it (apparently) costs £171 to build something that they sell for £429, it just seems like they are taking the mickey really.
It's biggest selling point is the ease of use and how similar it is to the iPhone. Most tech blogs and forums simply forget that the geek portion of the world is tiny in comparison to the ordinary users who don't want tons of options and tweaks. They just want something that does what they need and do it very well.
Phone companies and other technologies have for years tried to out feature apples products, but to do that misses the point completely. What apple have been very good at is bringing exactly what you need and doing it well. The rest is left out.
Tablets have always been poor as no one has written an operating system for them. IOS works so well on the iPad despite it's poor specs.
What I think is the major missing thing from the iPad is a camera. The ability to Skype on it would be for me the missing feature. That said my iPhone should be able to do that instead.
What the iPad needs to is competition. I love the fact that Android have forced Apple to keep inovating. It needs someone to do the same with the iPad. At the moment there is nothing else out there that is. The PalmPad from HP might be this alternative. You only have to look at the phone industry over the last few years to see what could happen. One or two iPad type devices would be great for us customers.
However, having played with one, I can imagine finding it frustrating and restrictive very quickly.
It is not a device for geeks. It is a 'content consumption device' for the masses. And of course, apple gets a cut of most of the content you purchase, so they're laughing all the way to the bank.
As a consumption device it doesn't need a full OS, such as Windows or OS X, so the use of iOS makes perfect sense. It can't replace a laptop if you need one of those for work functions, but if you just use a laptop for media then the iPad does a better job.
Although I think it is a good thing what Apple have done such as dumb down the front-end of the OS which works perfectly for the iPhone/iPad but thank god they haven't done it with OSX, lets hope they don't go that root.
I think MACs are very specificly targetted to professionals and/or people who just want to use it for work and internet. They are really not for entertainment, they are not media orientated. The last Mac Book I bought couldn't even last long enough to play a whole DVD. Apple also rejected BluRay as well.
So it was about time they build a platform which is orientated towards entertainment and content a la iPhone/iPad. Now you can have your £1000 Mac book for word processing, your £500 iPad for watching videos and reading books in your lap up until you neck really hurts unless you spend another £50 on a stand, and your £400 iPhone for music and communication. Next they will build a new platform just for gaming costing £2000.
To be honest I could build a monster PC capable of doing all that and more with half that money :P
The only thing I love about Apple is the quality of build, the uni-body cases which are stong and attractive! If I could I would buy a mac pro, rip out its guts and replace with PC :D
I will also say that Apple have their customer care right too. I purchased extended warranty for my 3GS (like I did with my TV in Richer Sounds). It developed a crack in the back by the charge point. I requested a replacement and Apple shipped me an empty pre-paid box the next day. Within 3 days I had an 'as new' 3GS in my hands. I restored the whole thing from iTunes and I was away. Only Dell's monitor warranty has matched that for customer care in the PC industry for me.
Haha.. that about sums it up for me :P. For a geek, the iPad is overpriced for what it does. I can get a culv win7 laptop for £300-400. I will happily pay 900 for something like the iPad, if it also fulfills the laptop role, but as a big iPod, I can't justify it.
It's for people who like shiney shiney and people who dont know how to use anything better properly.
My uncle has an iPad and it's great. I really like it because it's great looking, very simple, extremely usable, and it's a bit easier to manipulate than a laptop. It's nice to slouch back in a couch and just flick your way though web pages or books with your finger tip.
The problem for me is that a laptop isn't a whole lot different. You might have to sit slightly differently to keep it on your lap, but it's not a big deal. It's still great on the couch and great to browse and stuff while lying in bed, and you still manipulate it with your finger tip..
The clincher for me, is that there are some incredibly good Flash games out there. I have a good PC with an HD 5870 graphics card, so I'm able to play pretty much anything and crank it, and yet I still spend a lot of my time playing Flash games. There are hundreds of thousands of them and many of them are surprisingly brilliant. So with a laptop, you can browse, read books, and listen to music, just as easily as the iPad, but you can also play these great Flash games while lying in bed too. I love my iPhone but having to spend money on games, 99% of which, are second rate copies of Flash games, is something that really bugs me. So for that reason alone, I wouldn't get an iPad. The icing on the cake is as other people have mentioned, typing documents and FTP'ing files, a bit of web design or video editing etc... with a laptop you can do anything. With an iPad you can't even do half of all that. So to me it boils down to an iPad giving you about 10% improved comfort and usability over a laptop, but losing about 85% of it's scope.
And in the next several months there are going to be a lot of Windows based tablets coming to the market. That is what I would buy. I remember seeing one of them which was like a laptop but you can just yank the screen off and the screen becomes a tablet. Then just re-attach it to the base when you want more power and the keyboard. I would buy something like that.
Personally though, I have very little need for any portable device. If I'm out and about, then my iPhone is perfectly fine. I can browse, do emails, listen to music and watch films, so all is great. And if I'm at home, then I would rather just sit in my big comfy chair at my uber PC. And that's another clincher. There is a bit of a pointlessness about the iPad in that if you are outside then you aren't going to achieve anything more than you could with a far more portable phone (or iPhone). And if you are at home or at work, then you have your far superior desktop PC to use anyway.
I still can't justify it :(
But if some company decided that they were going to make a GIANT Swiss Army knife with the same, but slightly bigger tools, that needed its own carrying case you'd tell them that was stupid, right?
Never said I liked it, just that I now understand who might actually want to buy one ;)
Interesting analogy. :)
For me, there would be no reason to buy one, I don't get out much so I use my PC for just about everything. However, if someone gave me one or I won it in a competition, I'm sure I'd find a use for it.
One question a bit off-topic, can they be Jailbroken?
Ebook's, well e-ink is a far better system, so give me a kindle and as for interwebz and such, the ipod touch and iphone do that rather well.
HOWEVER,
Then it hit me, fantastic touch screen tech, nice size.... Portable digital sketch pad, almost wacom cintiq cheesecake.
But the downfall, its expensive, and requires power something a sketch pad for £5 including the price of a decent pencil or biro depending on my mood, it once again falls into the ifail group for now.
Don't get me wrong, sitting in a comfortable chair in an office with that in hand and stylus in the other, headphones in listening to grooveshark across the wireless network internet cheesecake, Sounds very appealing.
Also a device to present ideas in a coffee shop to clients sounds like a life saver, anyone trying to present a concept in a busy place would know my pain, no matter how well planned it was.
So until I get rich the ipad is still a no no for me, just looking to get an iphone to start my mac ownership, and possibly hate myself afterwards.
Why does "less tech-savvy" equal "stupid?" Can you design, build, and install functional and attractive kitchen cabinetry that will withstand decades of use? OK then.
Isn't this the third or fourth thread dedicated to debating pros and cons of the iPad/Mac OS? What surprised me is that after reading through many pages in the other threads, I looked here to see the same ignorant ranting about brainwashed masses. Really, it shouldn't be that difficult for highly educated geeks to understand that the majority of the population is not at all interested in the techie bits. We just want a device that works out of the box, is easy to use, and has good build quality.
I think it's interesting that some of the same geeks who mouth off about getting a Win7 CULV laptop for less money are the same people who drool over expensive sports cars. Why spend so much more money on a shiny toy car when a cheaper used VW will get you from point A to point B more efficiently? Right? Or just maybe there is something to the whole "user experience" thing.
They could have added a camera
They could haved added a SD card slot
They could have added a USB port
But then what reason would it give people to upgrade to the ipad 2 next year.
They add these into the ipad 2 next year, & again knowing they have people fallen over themselves to buy one.
It's ALL about user experience and what's more we're all different. The shiny toy cars are fun to drive and anyone can call themselves a petrolhead whether they're into PCs, carpentry or sewing. Yes I could quite easily have got Ford Focus diesel which is more efficient than my Celica, but where's the fun in that? I know plenty of people who are actually quite timid on the road and even if they won the lottery, a fast car just isn't them. Plus, most people who drive sports cars make sacrifices in order to own them.
I'd argue the iPad is more of a purely entertainment orientated device whereas I use my laptop more for work so you can't really compare the two - for me it's more efficient and suited to what I do, plus I have no interest in getting a gaming laptop, yet I need more than the iPad can offer.
But they did decide to make a GIANT Swiss Army Knife, the only thing is it has the same size tools- http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/8b97/
the iPad isn't for us techies. but you cannot deny it will be excellent computer substitute for those occasional content consumers.
As others have stated, it is a consumption device. it's not well equipped to create any sort of content, just to view it.
Most of the comments seem to be "Oh, well you can use it while lounging around on the couch" . My big ol' C2D laptop works fine for sitting on the couch to read the internets or whatever. It weighs probably five times as much as an iPad, and has probably a fifth of its battery life, but those don't matter because I can leave the charger on the end table, and I don't have to carry it anywhere.
That's my issue with the iPad. It's a bloated smartphone. It doesn't do anything the iPhone doesn't, except have a bigger screen.
It's big enough that you can't fit it in a pocket, so you need a backpack or some sort of bag to carry it. If you're going to have a backpack or some sort of bag, then you might as well just get a netbook, which is more versatile and much cheaper. And it's not like the versatility of a netbook only applies to hardcore users. My mom and girlfriend, neither of whom are tech-savvy, both have netbooks and love them. They use them exactly how most of the above posters claim an iPad should be used... to catch up on e-mails and news while on the couch or outside on the deck, to do simple computing tasks, to throw in an overnight bag for a short trip, etc. The only difference is, they can actually input information into it efficiently, using an interface they are familiar with.
I mean, a netbook is about 2 pounds. I can use it standing up. I can use it sitting down. I can use it while walking around. I can bring it on a train and use it there.
If carrying around a netbook in a small bag is inconvenient, then so is carrying around a similarly sized iPad.
The iPad has a nice feature set, but it is too big to be a smartphone alternative, and too stripped of features to be an alternative to a netbook unless you never type long documents on the go. Now, if only they made a smaller version of the iPad, maybe with phone capabilities, and an antenna that works, THAT would be one popular device.
Once we had the PDF, we then had to send it via email to the iPad because there is no USB interface and it doesn't support network transfers at the moment, it seems. This meant a further wait of several minutes while the large PDF was uploaded and then downloaded again.
All in all, it would have been quicker and easier to use the laptop from the start, not to mention £429 cheaper.
I'd certainly not be against buying one, or a suitable Android or WebOS (or even Windows Phone 7, if they pulled their finger out and realised how well it'd work) alternative, but it really needs to have at least a webcam and some serious note-taking ability for me to justify trading £400 for one...if there's one thing Windows tablets could do reasonably well it was provide a suitable productivity environment in the form of OneNote and a digitizer, and using Evernote on a completely flat keyboard just doesn't cut it when I've got a laptop already.
I have to say typing on the iPad is far better than you would imagine. I like it far more than my old netbook. The only thing that is slower is when you need to use characters not in the main selection.
I've never owned a netbook, but I found typing on the iPad a real chore. My problem is that if I lay it on the table I can use both hands to type, but I have to crouch over it. Whereas if I hold it up, I only get to use one hand. All in all, I found it frustrating.
Nope, still don't. It's like an iPod touch with a bigger screen - I have a 20" TV with iPod dock that takes care of that. Is it actually possible to do anything with an iPad that you can't do with an iPod Touch? So far I haven't seen it and that's despite two individuals in my department touting them as the best thing since sliced bread and constantly "demonstrating" for people (one is the Head of IT who, while tech very savvy, prefers Macs for home use, is an iPhone owner and rabid Apple fan while the other is a network engineer who thinks that the Xbox 360 is the epitome of gaming - I rest my case).
I can sort of see it as a consumption device but it looks very restricted to me. A Netbook can do more, costs less and is equally portable. I also loathe, detest and despise touch screens as opposed to a proper keyboard or keypad. Before anyone comments about "try it" I'll state that I have. Pen tablets (still got one), tablet PCs and touchscreen phones - hate the lot.
Then again, if it had been available 10 years ago I might have bought my parents one each but they're both so used to laptops now that it would actually be a step backwards for them. My father is a (finally) retired aero engineer who's still much happier with a pen and the back of an envelope than a PC and 10 years ago he'd probably have leapt at the chance of something that was that simple but could still do what he wanted. Now? I asked and the response was "Where's the keyboard? What use is that?"
Apple (and the Cult of Jobs) are trying to reinvent the wheel, admittedly with a certain degree of success. However, I can see it meeting with as much longterm success as the adoption of DVORAK over QWERTY. Personally I see iPhad being the most appropriate moniker for it. Sooner or later it will run out of steam and fall by the wayside. At the moment it's new, shiney and people are finding reasons for it to be a useful device. This appears to be pure PJR to me. My money is still on sooner rather than later.
@Pookeyhead: Do you honestly believe for one millionth of a second that they will always work perfectly or that it'll stop anyone from asking you about them? I wish I was on your planet, it seems to be much nicer than mine! You'll still get the support calls from family and friends but as it's a locked down platform you can do stuff all about it.
well said sir
At the moment I have ... (*stops to think)... 7 people (friends and family) waiting for me to fix their computers. It's been like that for over 10 years. I can't take it anymore :)
You put a ~9" tablet in your pocket? Everywhere you go?
Kids these days... their cargo pants are just so baggy.
My grandmothers has trouble viewing lcd's, particularly smaller ones. Even if he can see it, it may not be comfortable for longer use.
Personally, I would rather sit on the couch and use the iPad to watch videos, do casual web browsing, and play fun games while watching TV. Even more, I can certainly understand why it would make an excellent media device to take with me on trips. It's light, very portable, and has long battery life - unlike a 20" TV.
"Apple - we've dumbed down personal computing for the masses."
It's quite possible that vastly simplified computing is the way of the future (I'm afraid it is), but this is one trend I simply cannot applaud. Especially if it's done "the Apple way", which walls you in on every side.
Then again, having everyone within two rows of you constantly watching you use the cool shiney device and those immediately next to you asking to try it out... maybe I'd think twice
I hypothesise that any Apple related thread will degenerate into pointless blathering after this many posts.
Good day.
We have had much worse, especially in the first iPad thread ;)
The bigger screen is a nice feature when you aren't going anywhere with it.
That's my issue with the device, and why I am not planning on getting one.
The size of it is too big to fit in your pockets, or on a belt clip, or to carry around (unless you rigged up some James Bond-esque back holster).
It's by nature a compromise between features and portability, but making that compromise severely limits its utility. As far as I can tell, there are no situations where you would be able to bring an iPad, but a netbook would be too big/heavy. Either one is going to need a messenger bag or backpack or something along those lines.
It's the Porsche Cayenne of portable computing devices - tries to be two things at the same time (sports car and truck, smartphone and netbook) and doesn't do enough of a job at either of them to be useful in its own right, so only rich people who want the prestige go out and buy it.
Wot? You don't know DOS? Can't write a config.sys without consulting a manual? Kids these days... Windows just has dumbed them down.
Tell me another one. Not only is yours a patronising attitude, it is also hypocritical. What you call walls, another may call security. And unless you know at least DOS, you have no reason to talk.
Apple doesn't wall you in? I just love how I need to use iTunes (valid credit card required!) to be able to access my iPod Touch, unless it's jailbroken. That's typical Apple for you. Control freaks to the max. Nothing about security here because they certainly don't stop scamware/malware from getting into AppStore. But then again, Apple makes a dime off that too. I'm certain Apple fans can find excuses for that, too.
My gripe when I checked out the iPad was that Apple had the chance to set the standard again for the newly perceived tablet segment. Till that point no-one to my knowledge had produced an effective product to fill the tablet segment.
The iPad's standard, IMO, was set too low. I and many others were hoping for an iPad with a fully fledged OSX (a full OS). Instead we got a glorified iPhone with no phone, or a glorified iPod touch with 3G (choose your poison).
Now the tablet segment has the iPad that successfully filled it. IMO, Apple and their ability to pitch a product to the consumers made the iPad successful. For most people, there was no perceived standard for the tablet segment and the iPad was their first glimpse.
The good thing is the iPad excels at intuitive interface and ease of use. This was a standard set high but ultimately the device falls short because its use is limited by a smartphone OS.
The iPad is a great device for people who use their PC/Notebook only for browsing the web, listening to music or watching videos on youtube, as there's no need to have a fully fledged system for that.
I'm a freelance graphics-designer and i use a Windows-machine as main-rig and a MacBook Pro when visiting clients, so I have basically all hardware available to not need an iPad, but...
When relaxing on the couch or in the garden the MacBook is allready way too much of hardware to just browse the web or write an eMail and it isn't actually comfortable to use it when lying down. To use the MacBook I've to sit quiet upright and typing on a keybord is aswell quiet uncomfortable while lying on the couch etc.
So yes I'm going to buy the iPad just because it's so comfortable to use for all that browsing etc. I'm waiting till christmas though and see if other manufactures start to release similar devices until then. Maybe something better even...
After I got my iPhone, I set up an iTunes account because I knew that I would eventually install apps from the store. Only then did I have to enter a credit card number. Of course, it's a store; I had to do the same when I first bought things from Amazon.
Nice, I'm glad to see graphic designing allows for some expendable income... I'm in the wrong business :P
On a serious note, this would be the only way I could justify having one... but I don't have a couch, let alone a home :(
This App is really another good reason for buying an iPad, as it allows me to do some really fast sketches, and it's even more intuitive then my Wacom Intuos4.
But yeah, skype video-calling would definately be something I'd like to see added aswell.
I know, I was there :P. But I think once an apple thread gets over 40 posts, it becomes a cyclical battle of wills between the various enthusiasts.
A friend of mine deals with Apple on their products and was saying they've already got everything ready for the 9-18 month ipad 2/3gvid/whatever they want to call it.
Its good business, has anyone else noticed that Iphones come out around the time that peoples contracts on their last one start to end....
You can wifi documents (inc .PDF) and movies to the iPad. You might need the right reader app to get it going but it can be done.
Never owned a computer in his life, not nimble with his hands (no mousing), but point'n'click would work.
I guess he could use an Ipad....(but would get a stroke when I mention the price)
Her Father would love showing his clients pictures of work he's done, just placing the device on the table and gawk into the pretty good screen. Perfect.
But how do the pictures get from the camera into the Ipad, darn, no connections. And again, the price.
Both wouldn't mind using one.
Neither will get one.
You're forgetting though that while an initial degree of walled-garden handholding is attractive to consumers when adopting a new technology it doesn't remain that way. With time consumers become more experienced, comfortable and confident using the technology, and eventually reach a plateau where they have outgrown the limitations placed on them.
Remember CompuServe? They created a walled-garden in the WOW network when surfing the internet was intimidating to the lay person. It was completely controlled by CompuServe. It was easier to use. It was safer. It was more secure...Where are they now? Non-existant, because consumers outgrew them.
The iPhone and Compuserve stories will end the same...It's already happening - iOS has seen a 9.5% decrease in market share in the past year, while Blackberry and Android have seen 8% increases. (yes, I've been doing a market analysis for a business proposal)
I know that's just my opinion, and it doesn't count for much, but I just find it sad to see.
Ok.
So, because Nexxo can see through the affected opinions of Apple hatred and not side with you, and he champions some tech for what it is and who it appeals to, you think he's wrong??
Ok.
Having said that, I have an iPhone. Not because it's arty or farty, because it's useful.
I have a iPad, and it's great for surfing the web in the loo, but that's
about it.
Microsoft have finally got it right with Windows 7, and I'm sick of people banging on about how great OSX is. It's easy to make an O/S from the ground up when you have a complete monopoly on who makes the hardware!
I work in IT. Linux, Windows Server, Win 7, Vista, XP right back to Windows 3.11
I've seen most things, but I have to say that the iPad really doesn't make any sense to me at all!
Here's how the majority of Bit-tech works: if you hate on all Apple products or game consoles, you're cool. If you hate on Apple products and consoles, you're cool and awesome.
Defend Apple for a heartbeat, or dare suggest that maybe, just maybe, their technology has a place in this world and you're instantly a raving mad fanboy who's responsible for dumbing down the world.
I hope you find your stay here comfortable. ;)
It's funny how the uninformed haters come out at the start of the conversation but bring absolutely nothing to it.
Fixed ;)
hook, line and sinker!
Don't worry babe, I don't hate you. I just pity you!
yeah, cus the app review works so well:
http://appshopper.com/blog/2010/07/20/handy-light-tethering-app-camouflaged-as-flashlight/
As someone mentioned before, people are fed up of hw/sw conflicts and over complex processes. Yes some of us (who could be classified as being more techy than the bulk of the iPad customers) may find it restrictive, but by being this way it is far more usable to the vast majority... which tbh is more important.
I'll get a 2nd gen probably.
Read my post.
My biggest problem with this trend towards "Apple-like" userfriendliness is that as more people buy products like this it slowly becomes the norm to have limited access/use devices like the iPad. I'm really afraid that at some point I won't be able to buy hardware any longer that actually does all the things I want.
I might be wrong about that, but I don't think so. There are already lots of trends. Just look at where gaming is heading, as an example. From powerful PCs to consoles like the Wii and its "casual games". I'm afraid this is the direction of where "computing" is generally heading. A future of bland hardware and software. Of pure users and consumers, and pandering for the lowest common denominator. And I don't like it one bit...
I have to ask: if you don't like Apple, and you don't see any value in the iPad, why did you get one?
Apple users are smug trendy types or homosexual entertainers. I'm not dissing homosexual entertainers but can anyone please explain the need for Grindr?
On second thought - nah, I've never really been keen on Broadway.
We must get to the bottom (ha!) of this pressing matter.
You know what, I wasn't trying to make any point - I have an iPad because my wife wanted one, it looks nice on the coffee table and is great for buying stuff on the web, but like my post, it doesn't really have a point.
Therein lies the issue.
As for weak credentials, I could list everything I have done over the last 24 years if you like, but that would be as pointless as the iPad...
:o)
Gays and Entertainers.....Hmmm....:)
I'd say it was more of a gay person who is an entertainer. However, I'm sure we can include straight people who happen to just entertain gay people!
Now I'm confused?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20011882-71.html