Apple launches iPad tablet
Apple iPad tablet sports a new Apple A4 1GHz chipset, with optional 3G and a 9.7 inch touch screen.
Rather than boring you with our own opinions on the iPad, we'll keep things simple and just post the essential details first and let you all discuss it in the forums.
Apple iPad
- Apple A4 1GHz chipset
- 9.7in LED backlit 1024 x 768 pixel, multi-touch capacitive display, oleophobic coating
- Optional 3G
- 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, GPS
- 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities
- "Up to" 10 hours battery life, one month on standby
- Accelerometer, digital compass, speaker, mic, dock connector, 3.5mm jack
- 242.8 x 189.7 x 13.4mm
- 680g (WiFi) or 730g (WiFi and 3G)
3G contracts will be available on AT&T in the US, with $14.99 for 250MB and $29.99 for unlimited data per month as the only options - with the prices much irking current iPhone users.
The iPad itself doesn't come with much in the way of accessories, so expect a keyboard dock, carry case, SD card reader and mains adapter to cost extra. The iPad doesn't have a USB, HDMI or Ethernet port, the battery is un-removable and the iPad still doesn't support Adobe Flash. The resolution is clamped at 1024x768, which isn't video-widescreen friendly and there's no built in camera.
Other big issues for users will be the only token codec support (AAC and MP3) and the fact the eBook's Apple have announced all use a proprietary iBook format. The software still doesn't support multi-tasking either, though it will support most iPhone games and software will be organised on an App basis - making the iPad more of a built-up iPod Touch than a streamline Mac.
Our opinion? iPad = iMeh. Let us know your thoughts in the forums, where discussion is already rife.
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Discuss in the forums Reply1. No Flash support
2. Nothing spectacular about the gaming aspect
3. Everything my iPhone can do, but with a smaller screen
Somewhat interested with:
1. HD video, demoed as being smooth
2. Nice UI, but would I need to interact with the iPad if there's nothing on it?
16GB: ~USD $800
32GB: ~USD $1000
64GB: ~USD $1200
.. and it will be overpriced because of it!
I'm going to go home and play Perfect Dark on N64 and enjoy better graphics.
That was the highlight of the launch for me.
I actually laughed.
And WTF is up with that bezel?
Good design - it looks really neat imo, very swish. Even if it is a big iPhone, it still looks quite good.
Too pricey, even for Apple - considering it's not that much cheaper for the base model than a full-fat MacBook.
iPhone-style OS could be a big mistake - if it's too inhibited then it'll be crucially lacking in user satisfaction.
Final thoughts - the ball is in MS' court to come good with the foldy thing.
Well said. I'll wait for an impartial review from someone who is neither pro, or anti, Apple.
As usual with all Apple products though, overpriced.
Gief me multitasking (for spotify) and i'll buy it. The design looks brilliant imo, finally non pay-as-you-go
non contract mobile interwebnets <3. If i can get the 32gb with 3g for £600 then i'd quite happily get it.
Edit: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2010/01/apple-creation-0378-rm-eng.jpg
Contractless 3G is a good thing, but how do you pay for it? It is a lifetime free thing?
[edit] Ooh, different prices than the first news report I read; it's actually not too bad at $500 for the 16GB/WiFi.
the tablet version of the asus eee is much better IMHO, much cheaper too.
I have a Macbook Pro and a Windows machine, but I mostly run Linux. I love my Mac for what it does with Logic Pro and Aperture... But for 500$ this really isn't worth it especially since it's just 16GB with Wifi... Here's the quote up.
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2010/01/apple-creation-0378-rm-eng.jpg
So if you want the useful part of it, you're shelling out quite a bit IMO... If it was $500 with 3G I'd say it was a solid investment.
Oh no, I wasn't saying you were pro or anti Apple. I just meant I'd like to see a full review, rather then the CEO who's touting it as the best tablets since the 10 commandments.
Sadly, it isn't April 1st.
I know, I was just stating facts for those who might be on the defensive/offensive - inevitable with anything new from Apple tbh.
Indeed, rabid fanboys on all sides. :)
The only thing ticking me off is the lack of multitasking, and the fact that this still needs to be synced - it's not a standalone device, like a netbook (although it's nearly there).
Really it should have a front facing camera would be VERY useful on a device like this (skype etc).
Do they ever..? :|
The PC versions of Tablets are clunky. They weigh about 4lbs, have a 2 to 6 hour battery life (depending on expansion battery and the additional 1lbs of weight that brings) and run on Windows; this means that unless you use Standby, there is no instant-on, instant-off. In fact, even with Standby it can take a few seconds to get its act together.
The Windows GUI is not really designed for touch screens. You certainly cannot reasonably poke at it with your finger, so most Tablet PCs use a pen, with a button for right-mouse click. Screen flip/orientation tends to be lumberingly slow as there is no efficient graphics acceleration. Forget about playing games --my Tablet (a Motion Computing LE1600, which five years ago was absolutely the best money could buy, and now still is a top spec device) overheats when it tries and it drains the battery at an alarming rate. It has a 30Gb mechanical drive which makes it kind of vulnerable to drops.
On the upside, you do have a full PC at your disposal: an Office suite, Outlook, PDF, Flash, video (but not too much, else it overheats again), audio with stereo speakers and microphones. Mine also has a fingerprint scanner, bluetooth and Wifi and USB ports as well as VGA and DVI (the LE1700 also has 3G). Which is nice. Screen is toughened, anti-glare and can be read in full-on sunshine. The case is glass-reinforced plastic over a magnesium frame. Sturdy. The price for such quality? £1200,-- to £1800,--, depending on spec.
An honourable mention goes to the HP TC1100 (slower processor, thicker, clunkier, shorter battery life and not quite such a nice screen or tough case) which cost £1000,-- to £1200,-- in its day.
So what's wrong? What is wrong is that the Tablet PC is too heavy, too short on juice, too slow to start up and shut down and needs a pen to work; the GUI is not really adapted to touch-screen input. Media applications suck juice and tax the CPU. Drives should be solid-state, not mechanical. And compared to the iPad, it comes at a price that makes your eyes water.
Since then we've seen some larger media players like the Archos which does media well but nothing else, some netbooks with cramped screens and even more cramped keyboards (I mean, who are you kidding?), convertible laptops which try to be a bit of both but bring the worst properties of either (heavier, thicker, fragile screen hinge, more expensive than laptops) and some recent tablets like the new DELL concept which is so small it might as well be an iPhone or the JooJoo tablet (formerly known as the CrunchPad) which everybody thinks is so great that they don't notice that it is just a slightly less-polished Apple iPad.
I mean, come on. The iPad is just a logical evolution. Apple invented a GUI that simply works on a small touch screen (iPhone) and with a small, low-power mobile CPU so why not port it to a bigger touch-screen device (and yes, Apple invented it. Don't point to other smartphones; don't point to the PalmPilot or Windows Mobile PDA. Look at the Apple Newton. It was there first)? It would simply be repeating Microsoft's mistake to port a full-blown OS(X) to a mobile device.
The only other thing I would want from an iPad is a PDF reader and Office suite of some sort. A webcam and microphone would have been nice for Skyping. Perhaps generation 2. But with the right applications it offers some real practicality (media center control, anybody? Portable terminal?) that Tablet PCs have not been able to deliver for years.
I take it you either:
a) have not seen the CES tablets
b) choose to ignore said tablets
While it's true they've created something better than what currently is on the market, the iPad is not on the market itself, and the upcoming tablets from other manufacturers will rapidly outpace it in terms of hardware and software, especially the ones running Android and powered by nVidia's Tegra1/Tegra2 platform.
The one thing Apple still hold the advantage in though, is iTunes, the AppStore, and maybe the Bookstore, which could be enough to tip the scales in Apple's favor, however, it still underlines the fact that Apple's hardware & software are not at the top of their game.
I would imagine so, I'm not staff though so I can't say 100% either way.
IWork(office suite) has been ported and rebuilt with a new gui. You can bet on some kind of media controller.
I probably do sound biased here (tbh i am, but try not to be) but anything you compare it to that will be available this year will just look shoddy.
Edit: There is also a pdf reader
I think its quite pretty but rather useless and far far too pricey.
Oh dear. Looks like what I hoped wouldn't be the case unfortunately is....
Fail Apple.
Stewb is tired of looking at a wall of Apps, and no, adding big gaps between them doesnt make a difference:(
------
And now I realise it has no multitasking as well
EDIT: And don't get me started on the name
Sam
also you've got it wrong - it's the Apple StooPad.
But watching the video reminds me how douche-baggy Apple people are. I seriously wanted to punch my screen when the Software chap came on and said "you are holding the internet"
FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Look at the netbook market, that popped up out of nowhere and look at it now. Maybe we'll see the same from the 'new' tablet market.
~£350 (depends on exchange) seems a bit pricey for a wifi-only portable computer, but then again it is an apple product and will therefore have a brilliant build quality.
I can never see me ever needing one of these, the only thing I could see a use for it would be as a lab book. But a pen and paper really does do me fine. Plus a laptop to type things up on the move.
Still imo the iPod is the only apple product I find useful to my day to day life.
If I could get it for the dollar-to-pound conversion, would happily pay for one. Sadly it will problem be $1=£1ish.
Also god knows why they're calling this "the best way to browse the web" with no Flash support. Wonder if Steve knew we'd see the plug-in required sign when he demo'd it.
Another Apple 'solution' looking for a problem.
Over at Mac Rumours this thing is getting slated by about two thirds of the the members and the rest are either on the fence or loving it. They even have a dedicated forum for it now. Looks like there is no flash and a pretty low res.
I was thinking Apple's answer to Netbooks would be an 11 or 12 inch Macbook 'Mini' or Air or something not something that resembles the ******* love child of a Digital Photo Frame and an Etch a Sketch.
Just sitting here reading the coverage for 2hrs (among other things, of course ) reminds me what a headache LCDs can give you. I'm not sure how fantastic IPS LCDs are at curing this, but as an eBook reader (which it seems very competent as) I can't see it winning me over 100%. Was also hoping for some magazines in the iBook store or at least a hint of a Wired app, but alas nothing has been said thus far.
Secondly, and most importantly, it doesn't cut it for me as a lifestyle companion device. As I said in the other thread, I want the Courier badly and iWork isn't enough to convince me that this could allow me to go paperless at work. I need a device I can rely on to start within a couple of seconds and have me scribbling a note down that I can organise later. It might work well when it's your main focus of attention, but not as something that will be a 'bit on the side' for a lot of the time. Essentially, Apple's aversion to the stylus has kinda killed it for me.
:rolleyes"
Since the screen is 1024 x 768 you don't actually get HD quality video :/
iEiUlf9BAYU
The iPad's best features:
I am really dissapoint so far, I love my iPhone, but this looks really poor.
On a related matter, I'd like to see the rest of that video, but can't seem to find it anywhere, anyone got a link?
Edit: Also, can it multi-task? I think that will be a real deal breaker for a lot of people.
Of course you do, might not be 1080 but its still HD.
73% on Macrumours do not want :p
Fixed.
http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/
support for "H.264 video up to 720p"
Talk about misleading, how about 'plays 720p format but not at its intended resolution, so in all honesty, it can't support 720p'.
Another thing, if the screen is IPS, why did they drop the S-IPS panel, CCFL backlight. SWOP certified Macbook Pro screens and substitute them for rather nasty LED backlit, TN 6 bit panels ?
Apple tends to stick the video online an hour or so after the show...and no, no multitasking.
Engadget confirmed that there's no multitasking.
You quite obviously did not understand the purpose and segment this product falls in to if you compare this with a netbook.
Sorry Dad.
:(
C'mon Nexxo, you are comparing a product that hasn't even been released yet it's so new to a product that is five years old (which is a monumental gulf of time in the tech market) and one you yourself were also ranting and raving about when you had it :p
Stick and SSD and an LCD display on that old tablet you've got and I bet you'd see a remarkable improvement in battery life and time to life from standby. Then there's new processors out, you're tablet is Pentium M if I remember right and intel have made great leaps in performance since the pentium range was axed.
I kind of get what you meant about the OS though, but that is XP tablet edition, and it wasn't really designed with proper tablets like yours solely in mind, it was designed to be used with laptops that also function as tablets too so it needed a full blown OS for when you are using it in laptop mode.
I find the idea of the iPad intriguing, but I'm not sure why you'd need one, it's just seems like one of those products that fills a gap that isn't there. We already have the iphone, which can do most of the stuff the iPad can do and some things it can't, and it's small enough to fit in your pocket so you can carry it everywhere without much problem. Then if you want to do some proper web browsing or work, just take something like an eee along, it's cheaper, and it has a physical keyboard so it's actually decent at writing anything of a length more than 3 sentences.
It's cool, but it's one of those things you buy because it's cool and for about no other reason.
It's not even 720p if we're considering the size of the screen. So even low resolution "HD" isn't outputted at its native resolution.
Kinda shocked about no camera too. Wouldn't Apple love to demo it running full screen iChat or something, looks right up their ally.
Actually, it's not, the iPad is 60-90 days away from launch depending on if you want 3G or not. Android tablets are slated for the first half of 2010, they're coming up real soon.
Correct, though you can run the built-in iPod application in the background.
On the iphone, you could technically run an IM app because push notifications allow you to be notified of the IM app having activity (e.g. your buddy has sent you a message), but you will have to exit your current app to reply. This could be really inconvenient if you were playing a game such as NFS Shift, which takes about a minute to get you back in after going through the introduction video, etc etc.
You can have music from your iPod while surfing the web too, but you can't do something like stream music off an app like last.fm or Pandora while surfing.
This is similar to the iPad, then.
The iPhone OS has limited multitasking, ie: you can listen to music while doing some other things. Third party apps cannot be run in the background at all, which I think is a crippling blow to an already mediocre product. I'll stick with my iPhone thanks.
There is talk of iPhone OS 4 including multitasking, if it does, I'm guessing it would bring multitasking to the iPad as well.
No multitasking is a big no-no -.-'
Honestly, if the price is right, I can really imagine the iPad being handy to have just laying around the living room.
Comedy. Gold.
QFT +rep
Damn it, now I must have one, especially if you can get a comically oversized number pad on the screen
There's an app for that:D.
M_NYWTkR4lQ
I think you have proved his point by saying that. Most users do not see a use for it, you can call them ignorant for not knowing what it is used for. But if you don't know what something is used for without it being explained to you, it has failed.
I like how Apple have pushed the market forward for mp3 players and smart phones by releasing products that forces people to compete, and competition always means progress.
But I can not say I can see any use for this product in my life, no one I know has expressed any interest in a tablet. The ones who aren't techies say something like "What is the point in it? Is it supposed to be a laptop with a keyboard, or a big phone?"
It was the way he put it like 'Son, I am disappointed.....'.
I was thinking the same thing anyway, he proved my point.
/btw. no "real" multitasking sucks,with all this innovation they could at least come up with a tap system for apps :-/
edit: Oh and WTF do I need an adapter for USB?! (or basically anything els)
Or like a Tablet PC doesn't ? Or like something like the HP Slate doesn't ? But this device has not even a quarter of their functionality.
No camera - don't care.
No flash - still not too bothered.
No multitasking - wait WHAT? You have to be kidding, I hope this is eventually patched out in some way.
Biggest let down is "what would I use it for?". I'm not saying there isn't a use for it, but for the mass market (I know it doesn't HAVE to be designed with the mass market in mind) I fail to see appeal (apart from the obvious oohhh look at my shiny).
True, but they still run windows, an OS thats designed with Keyboard and Mouse in mind.
The prob. of most of those devices is that the win input concept doesn't work that well with
touch an gesture based input methods. Anyway I'd still loved to have a similar functionality with the
ipad but with a more touch friendly OS.
I'll just leave this here...
Oh, and the fact that there is no multitasking, uses the iPhone OS, and is unbelievably extortionate for the specs (even if it IS a tablet) makes me think that this will go straight down the pan
+rep
You'd be surprised...
If nothing else, Apple can sure play the PR game to perfection.
it's the ONLY thing they are good at
I wouldn't mind having an iPad at all, especially if the rumours of supporting bluetooth keyboards etc are true like most journos from the hands-on are saying it is. However if I were to buy such a device it would need to be a decent price and I'm not exactly gonna go into it all guns blazing, especially with the payg 3g which I'd rather just fall back on wifi for the most part unless o2 comes out with some epic "second sim for your iPad with unlimited internets for not much money" kinda plan.
Next up would be people's talking about Adobe Flash. Everyone should remember that 60 days is a long time in which to make additions and changes from what we see today, and something that for me gives a big hint that flash may well be on the horizon is the fact that on a website that was visited during a demo there was just the plugin icon where a flash applet would have normally lived.
In relation to the previous point about flash is that we're currently seeing iPhoneOS 3.2 in that iPad according to posters at the hands-on.. Summer is coming, new iPhone WILL be on the horizon and whilst 3.0 is still quite new, Apple hasn't gone a year yet without doing some decent upgrading to the OS, so it is likely we may see more functionality including multitasking in non-native apps.
Next we have pricing, $499 for a 16gb wifi tablet. I think people are losing sight of how much flash memory still costs at the moment and have been spoiled by the fact that the iPod Touch and the iPhone both have what is admittedly a lot of it, for not much money. And comparing a device like this directly to only one other device on the market is pointless. But some lend themselves to it rather well, example one for myself being the Amazon Kindle DX - Currently priced at $489. That's a mere $10 less than the base model iPad.
Just to do a quick comparison of the two based purely on things we can compare.
-The kindle has 4gb flash (3.3gb user accessable) the base iPad has 16gb.
-Kindle has a grayscale e-ink display - iPad has full colour multitouch
-Kindle is soon to be releasing an SDK for some new apps - iPad can already use almost all the apps available plus new ones specifically for the device.
-Kindle has access to the Amazon store only (purchasing books directly) - iPad has access to apple's own store with many of the big publishers PLUS the Amazon Kindle App is already in the app store, and they may well release a iPad version.
-Kindle has 3g for book purchases and limited internet (in america only) - iPad has option of 3g for FULL internet use and other functions PLUS wifi.
I know that might seem a bit one sided but it's a fair point, and if you want to compare it to any other tablet currently on the market, then double the price and weight, half/quarter the battery life and you'll have the ugliest device on earth with an OS which really wasn't designed to utillize a NUI, and just emulating a mouse for any kind of usable functionality.
On the subject of design. I will gladly admit, the iPad looks like Steve Balmer sat on an iPhone. Yet, it still looks not too bad for it, and remember guys, this is the first itteration of the device we're seeing currently, there's plenty of room for change as is there always with apple products.
So to round up, basically I want one, and has now completely halted any ideas I previously had of buying a Kindle (especially with the comparative price), however I would treat the purchase of an iPad in exactly the same way; it's most definitely not necessary for my daily life, it's a luxury product and as such will be one of those things I'll toy with the idea of buying for a long time and finally get when I actually have "spare" money to buy one. And when I do, unless something good happens with the 3G side of things, I'll probably just get the wifi version in whichever size best suits my (future) needs at the time.
Even worse, it still falls into all the predicted problems. IPS is very nice, but it's just not E-ink and that means this will be a mediocre eBook reader at best; in addition, we now have the iBookstore, which presumably means an iTunes-Store-esque lockdown on the book formats you can use and more DRM than you can shake a stick at. Even better, the predicted 'revolution' in user input that was being trumpeted from Engadget towers is just a really big version of the iPhone's keyboard. They can consider my mind totally blown. Did the predicted MacBook upgrades get a word in edgeways? That's a product I can actually see a use for, as opposed to a product that people might want to own for no particular reason.
...And you STILL cannot multitask? iPass.
This man, he speaks the truth. Have you seen the keyboard attachment yet? Portable computing for the win.
Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/10/iphone-flash/
tl;dr - iPhone/iPad will never have browser based flash support
The problem is that Tablet PCs haven't really moved on in the last five years. The tech has, but all we've seen so far is a lacklustre prototype at Balmer's presentation, and only in an attempt to pre-empt the iPad. The much more intriguing Microsoft double-screened book-like device remains vapourware.
And yes, CES had some interesting prototypes. But again they were unfinished ideas, and the general response was: "meh...". Fair enough. But now Apple launches theirs, which while being not significantly better certainly isn't worse, and everybody gets with the hatin'.
Meanwhile people are not getting its major strength: the context within it has been lauched. A media/web device with an already established media distribution system and an OS specifically designed for touch screens, streaming audio and video and low power and CPU needs. It is the whole package, all bases covered. This is not just a new gadget; it is another building block in a user infrastructure Apple has been planning, designing and building for over a decade. Unlike with other tablets, we don't have to wait for the applications or compatible infrastructure to come along. It is all already there. It is a finished product. That is what makes Apple successful, not marketing, not the hypey launches.
Now, you fail to realize that the iPad isn't merely being heralded as an ebook reader, but instead as a magical new piece of technology that is so much better at its role than the iPhone/iPod and the Macbooks. Sadly, however, that isn't the case. Truth be told, it lacks dearly when compared to a netbook and your optimistic attitude about the inclusion of Flash in the next 60 days is downright naive. Have you seen Adobe and Apple snuggling up recently? It won't happen and you shouldn't set yourself up for disappointment.
I feel extremely disappointed by the iPad frankly, a more open OS and handwriting support for maths based input and I think Apple would have a tempting device for students.
I think you will find they have,
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/touch
Windows 7 introduces multi-touch, not previously seen, a host of features for touch devices.
Seemingly marketing products with features missing so they can then sell them mk2. and rip them off a second time.
Ta apple!
Okay, I'll skirt over the fact you tried to make an intelligent post using nigh on nothing but sarcasm but here goes.
I was drawing a very simplistic comparison to a piece of technology which is roughly of a same form factor, use and price, - considering we are yet to see the emergence of the all mighty slate/tablets from CES.
Also in no way did I say that this 'magical new piece of technology' is better at any of its many roles than an iPhone or Macbooks, for all we know at this point it may not be, however one thing I know is that nearly every Apple product I've used has been intuitive and does what it's meant to do.
I would be interested in your specific views as to how it lacks in comparison to netbooks, especially considering not only are they completely different platforms and architectures, but you (nor I) have seen any form of benchmarks for the Apple A4 processor so cannot possibly speculate on performance. But to give rise to some validity in your rash claim; which netbook do you speak that has 10hr battery life, ability to play 720p video with a 9inch screen which also happens to be multitouch with the ability to charge from USB.
To address my clearly "optimistic attitude" towards the inclusion of Flash in the final release (or subsequent releases of the OS as I believe I may have said), it was based upon observation, of if you'd have read my post properly before attempting to script a fork-tongue'd rebuttal, of the plugin icon for an applet, which gave rise to my suspicions that it may be in the pipeline. This notwithstanding my evident naïvety to any such developments will remain stedfast.
As for having seen Adobe and Apple 'snuggled' up together, well I can't think of a possible thing besides the fact that Adobe develop primarily for the MacOS platform in addition to Windows, and have quite a constant relationship with one-another... After all Adobe don't make graphical design apps that are the main reason people have always and still do buy Apple's products for such work.... Or do they?
Hope that adequately addressed your concerns towards my obvious impending disappointment.
No, seriously; what are its practical applications?
I would have given it serious consideration if it had the capability of replacing pen and paper for note taking in lectures. Being able to piece together bits of stuff from a digital sourse with hand written notes in a searcheably format would be incredibly useful personally. No chance with current handwriting recognition :(
I agree, if my HTC hd can run googlemaps in the background, have the net open and be calling someone and mid call open a callendar/txt up, I would have thought a ipad could easily do it. Although 1ghz, was kind of hopping for 1.6, I think i'll stick to my phone with it's camera, and more open os. Maybe the ipad 2.0 will be a little better, although I was kind of hopping for something which was more laptop less phone.
I think you might have mistaken my annoyance at the PR job at Apple for your particular interest in the iPad. I relate the quote of a "magical new piece of technology" to that which has been said by Apple in their marketing video (which you can find here: http://www.apple.com/ipad/). The suggestion that the iPad is better than an iPhone or a Macbook is in response to Steve Jobs description of the need for an iPad, as pointed out specifically in his keynote speech - "the iPad needs to be in a class of its own" (sorta what he said).
I can appreciate that the interface is intuitive and my fondness of Apple can be found in the fact that I am a champion of the iPhone since I got the 2G and till now, with my 3GS. Unfortunately, the iPad has been shaped as a device for a whole new category. But what is that category? Let's find out..
Now, performance wise, early videos of the iPad on sites such as Engadget show it as a powerful device capable of smooth transitions within the various applications, so I can't fault you there. And indeed, all those features together are wonderful in that few if any netbooks have a battery life better than 6 hours. My problem with the iPad is that it has the functionality of a large iPod, with applications designed for it that will only be more advanced iPod apps. The selection of the iPhone OS over OSX is surely a disappointment for a self-proclaimed Apple fanboy, and even for someone like me who's interest in Apple currently lies solely within the iPhone/iPod Touch sector. You don't buy a device that large and expect nothing less of a proper OS that at least supports the software typical of your major OSes. Indeed, the iPad version of iWork is impressive, but how about something you expect from every experience with your PC? That leads me to..
Adobe Flash. The lack of it in the newest piece of tech from Apple by the time their keynote speech is given surely gives you an idea of how much it means to them (zilch). In the 3 years that the iPhone has been out, there have been two massive revisions of the software with no clear support from Apple that Flash will be coming any time soon. I have waited for Flash, adjusted the websites I use on my iPhone, and realized that Flash will not be coming to the iPhone anytime soon. Since the iPad uses the same OS as the iPhone (OS 3.2!), let's just say they are closer to the iPhone end of the spectrum than they are to the Macbooks.
... and thus, I cannot discredit you for your fair assessment of Adobe and Apple within the Mac product family, but alas, it has no relation to the iPad because the two giants have not accomplished anything for the iPod/iPhone. I also would like to point out this short article on Engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/02/adobe-engages-apple-in-passive-aggressive-warfare-with-iphones/
.. as well as this last article on the apparent joint work between Apple and Adobe on iProduct-based Flash: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/31/apple-teams-up-with-adobe-for-iphone-flash-at-long-last/
If you read that right, that was posted 3 days shy of a year ago! Why has it taken a year to do something with absolutely nothing being said to us eager iPhone users?! Not even a new iPhone rehash could hide from the rumour mill, so why is it that iPhone Flash is wonderfully capable of doing so? Because it is non-existent!
Jesus, why are they always so terrible at selling products at conventions? I'm strongly reminded of Sony's UK P.R. at E3 2006 or 2007, whenever it was that they were announcing the PS3's controller:
afMRIMvgEZE
It was by far the most cringeworthy, but they all seem to do it. Conventions are apparently opportunities to put your absolute worst public speaker in front of the most demanding consumers imaginable, given the least amount of exciting news conceivable, and ask them to patronize the hell out of said consumers by selling it with the tone of a Blue Peter presenter describing a prize giveaway to 6-year-olds.
Where's the market for this? product fan boys?
Yep, pretty much. Jobs knows he can release anything vaguely Jesusphone-like and there will be hordes of slavering Apple fanboys and fangirls eager to part with their hard earned.
Go back and read the other 2 threads to see how this is being positioned. It's not for typing (although the BT keyboard raises some cool ideas), it's not for gaming. At the weight and battery life that it's coming in on, it's intended for web and media use in a more natural way then a laptop and netbook, both of which need to rest on something. Who can hold a PC tablet (at almost 2kg) in front of them for 20 min while standing in the kitchen making coffee and toast before work? The Pad comes in at .5kg, perfect for reading the morning news. I love how Nexxo and Lorquis are the only ones here that are willing to take an objective view of this. And if you do any background reading, you can see how the content portion of this product by far out weighs any whining about the hardware. I know I'm looking forward to getting some textbooks that I gave up after my studies back (and a ton of new ones on subjects I'll never study-but want to know more about), and being able to subscribe to 20 odd magazines that I can get anywhere anytime with out worrying about changing addresses every few years. The Kindle app + iTunes books=book lover win! No more paying through the nose to have books shipped 1/2 around the world!
I'm holding off final judgment until I have one in my hands and I'll keep an eye out for android competitors, but it looks like I'll be getting 2 (unlocked 3G/Wifi). Now I just need to arrange to have a US mailing address on one of my credit cards so that I can get iTunes to let me buy things.
I love how everyone is whining about what it's not, but you aren't even thinking about what it is. And I do resent the idea that I have more money then technical sense. I see global content delivery of books/music/video/news to a device that is light, robust, with a good screen and has a battery life long enough to tide me over for the 16hr flights I find myself on a few times a year. I'm not going to type on this any more then I do on my android phone and the need to game in this format isn't there.
As a student, I'm sick of paying ~$150 for stacks of paper. The iPad means I have my textbooks and notes with me, everywhere, in something the size of a manila folder.
Also, this will kick the netbook and eBook-reader market in the nuts, given how it encroaches significantly on both those territories. And because it's Apple, I would expect the WWDC to give us some more good stuff on the software side of things (multitasking, please? If Android can do it on a 1GHz Snapdragon, so should Apple).
There were a couple of universities here that ran a pilot program for the kindle dx, and most have rejected it because of it's " inaccessibility for the blind" :|
Now i'm no expert but im pretty sure a standard textbook has about the same accessibilty as a
kindle. So I wouldn't hold my breath for those cheap textbooks on your e-reader of choice. It's far to big a chunk of money for the schools to lose.
The Kindle has had textbooks for forever and a day, has a larger catalog, better battery life, and is more suited for reading books, and it's also free to use it's data connection, and it's also cheaper.
As for Apple and multi-tasking, lots of phones with the same, or inferior, hardware compared to the iPhone/iPad can multitask, it's just Apple's choice to not allow multitask as it doesn't correlate with the paradigm of how & for what you should use your Apple device.
While I appreciate how Apple are entering this market, it doesn't change the fact that said market doesn't have much, if any, point to exist; it's much like MIDs.
That being said, I think that Gen 2 of the iPad will bring the device to a much more versatile and useful position.
Edit: BTW, I googled "ces tablets" and all the results were no where near 30-90 days away from launch, none of them had content partners or a delivery pathway for content, and none of them had a form factor that was better then what Apple announced. They aren't even ready to release the specs of the HP, only that it will run Win7. The Notion Ink, while interesting, looks like vaporware until they nail down a launch date other then "late 2009". But I am curious about the HTC/Google rumors.
I doubt they make no money from book sales. Especially on reselling them. For instance, my last textbook was $175 ( new edition of algebra :| ) After the sem was over, they would buy it back for ~$60-$70 and then sell it again for $150-$160 the next sem. Maybe I am just a naive little man but I doubt they send that $80-$100 profit back to the publisher.
Don't get me wrong I would love to see all of my textbooks on an e-reader, but i'm a little worried about keeping a constant internet connection to make sure my edition is current ;)
Now I won't bash the ipad, except for touting HD video with your greasy, nerd fingerprints all over it. I just doubt I will ever see it in the wild.
I remember a similar story when the original iPhone was launched, forums were full of haters who claimed it was too expensive, too big and wasn't needed. We all know how the iPhone turned out.
would you not want to put it on your lap to type anyway? typing with one hand is ok on an iphone cause the key pad is small. how do you comfortably hold this up when your typing with one hand
if theyre promoting a blue tooth keyboard, whats the point.
im sure that this will be a usefull product for someone but the average joe, dont think so some how. i know im happier with a laptop that isnt strangled by the iphone os. if its surfing while away from home an ipod/iphone does this and fits in a pocket. and the app store already has ereaders doesnt it.
if this was a small mac instead of a big iphone it could have been a winner. whole point of an ipod/iphone is it fits in your pocket
seems to me like an ipod version of this
http://cdn-www.cracked.com/articleimages/wong/ctrends/blaster1.jpg
Edit: Prototype pic I know...
Sounds like a rebranded Tegra 2.
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2010/01/28jan10owub453.jpg
__________________
"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." - Groucho Marx
The questions are...
- Does it play Crysis?
- Can you hack this?
- Can you run Linux on it?
I love the way it's advertised as a gaming machine. Erm no. Macs in all honesty have a few good points, but gaming has never been one of them.
Can it play Crysis? Hell no.
Can you hack it? Yes. Everything can be hacked given time and effort.
Can it run linux? Can an iPhone?
So think about this - it can run all your iPhone apps, but you're gonna have to pay twice to have them on two devices????
come on HP - it's tablet time!
16:9 aspect ratio (I just think it will make it easier to lug around,
true multitasking OS (Android will do fine),
Card slots for expansion/data transfer,
non-propriety device connectors.
I've used a tablet for a few years and was hoping this would drive the developement further. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have done that since it has so many restrictions to software and hardware.
Win7 and Slate looks the better functioning and priced option.
Will be interestin to see how it competes against the slates out this year.
For me I have enough laptops, umpc, phones so iMeh
So you CAN listen to music while reading a book? But you can't have spotify running, or anything else?
In all honesty, I find I get sore eyes if reading on a backlit screen, which is why I fancy the electronic "ink" (or Etch-a-sketch as I like to think of it) type readers. Which means I wouldn't use this for books. Which pretty much means that I would struggle to find a use for it at all.
I wanted to like it; I've been pretty much an Apple critic for years, but can't deny the appeal of a simple GUI. Unfortunately I don't.
I note Steve Jobs saying something along the lines of... We wanted to create something that filled the gap between a laptop and a smartphone. Unlike a netbook that pretty much does nothing well (Paraphrased).
Well Steve, this is a poor E-book, too big to be an MP3 player and too underpowered to be a pc. And your problem with netbooks was........??
Frankly, I just don't get it. It's a big iPhone, but it's worse than that - it doesn't really do anything useful that I can see.
Where is Flash support? Exandable memory? Expansion ports? Multitasking Support? HD capable screen?
Seriously what were apple thinking of when they got around to the screen resolution. Why isn't it at least 1280x720?
The great thing with the e-readers (certainly sony's, haven't tried the kindle) is that there's no glare at all. The screen is VERY easy on the eye, it's like reading from a book.
Can't help but wonder how great it'll be for sustained periods of reading though. Glossy screen's tend not to be so hot in direct light (or any light at all really :p).
I like the idea of the iPad though. Especially given the wide range of material available for it and how accesible the media will be. Can't see if having much use over the web browsing/reading on the move market but then that's what it's mostly aimed at.
It's just not been thought through enough. What advantage does it have over an iPhone or a macbook? It's too big to be truly portable, and too small/underpowered to be truly useful. Waste of money.
CC
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2010/01/ipad-keyboard-dock-1.jpg
__________________
"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." - Groucho Marx
Still, I expect people will flock towards it like lemmings as it's made by Apple.
Of course Apple has one again done the things which most annoy me about the company.
1 Case is an optional accessory, bit of a bugger when the thing is one large screen
2. no USB, will they please get over the dock connection, please? I don't want to lug around another adapter
3. A power lead is another optional accessory, a frigging power cable??? If Im close enough to my pc to charge the thing I'm close enough not to bother using it over my pc.
4. Why is there no inbuilt camera, oh yes because its also an optional extra to buy later.
Stop making nominally essential accessories optional; just stick em in the box to begin with.
However I did like the quote from Peter Shankman in the NY times on seeing the name on television, "I'm waiting for the second version that comes with wings," :D
Yes, an iPhone can.
Then I guess it all depends if the morning news is worth $500 to you (or $700 if you go for the pricier model, and that's not including the "optional" accessories). Unfortunately, the vast majority of consumers aren't lucky enough to be in the position to even consider it given its high price and limited practical applications. It's very much a luxury item which many people will think they have a use for, but really don't.
Thats just moronic.
The bezel reminds me of the eepc-701, and for that price you'd expect HD widescreen resolutions. The archos 5 would be the main thing out already i know of that comes close... only issues with with that are smaller, and possible firmware issues. I'd argue flash and multitasking are worth the lack of large screen or a dedicated book store.
If I were you i'd jump on the capacitive stylus and gloves market. Drawing you'll need a stylus for any decent drawings and typing on a solid glass screen? SERIOUSLY? You're gonna need some form of padding...
Oh, and when will apple realise? You can't do everything with two thumbs. We worked that out with the SNES. (or earlier, snes is just the first i remember)
If this chipset is just Tegra 2 in an apple shell... might be interesting. If it has decent Ram, maybe someone can get Android running on it and actually come up with a use for it other than a picture frame?
no want.
Anyway, what company does not hype its products?
Handwriting recognition would be great but my experience is that it puts a significant load on the CPU and hence, battery life. And you need a stylus.
You are also staring at the product, not the user experience. The iPad is embedded in a comprehensive infrastructure, and that is where its functionality and value lie. It's got a bezel? So what? The CrunchPad has a bezel. The Dell concept has a bezel. My Tablet PC has a bezel. I think people are so intent on hating the iPad just because it is an Apple product that they are focusing on trivial detail.
When the first Android mobiles came out they were flawed and buggy. But everyone loves Google so everyone thought they were great. Everyone could see past the rough edges at the future potential. But nobody could give the first iPhone, or the iPad --much more polished products-- the same consideration. Me thinks the geeks doth protest too much.
:) Yeah, I can really see the user going all Michael Jackson with a capacitive glove. Please, how practical is that? But I always have my hands on me. Incidentally, Apple has already filed patents for using full hand gestures and shapes on a touch screen. It is working on the capacitive glove thing but without needing the glove.
Again with the picture frame. Again ignore the big user picture by focusing on the hardware. Ignore that it is hooked into a comprehensive media and e-book delivery system. And with iTunes U? Expect students and academics to be interested.
The iPhone DOES multitasking, by the way. You can play music while doing other things. You can phone while browsing your diary or Internet or map. You can do all the things that it makes sense doing simultaneously on a small screen. Unless you think it makes sense to write an email while playing a game while browsing the web all at the same time on a 4" screen.
Perspective. Don't leave hone without it.
Admittidly Apple do make some good things, the Uni-body Mac for one, but its the fact that the majority of the public, and seemingly the press, think that the sun shines out of Apples ass. Its not a new product, its just peoples obsessions with having the 'in' thing, and having an over complicated, over designed, over priced piece of trash. I bet you I can do pretty much anything that thing can do with my Bold 9700 and an A4 notepad and pen.
Pfff.
Tell me, is it fun to have to reload every page when you go out of a browser? Or have to reload google maps when you're navigating and want to change the album/playlist or answer a call or reply to a text? Thats not true multitasking. Its like saying I have a formula one car when I'm riding a kids tricycle.
And i mentioned the capacitive glove cause typing on a hard surface is just painful. Talk to someone whos used one of those laser keyboards. They'll tell you its impossible for long periods of time. Cause it just plain hurts.
It could be the demo for the iPhone from 3 years ago, its just identical....
Would I buy it? hell no.
I do love how speedy the interaction seems (engadget hands on video).
If the browsing is as good as on an iphone (brother owns one) then I give that a huge plus, since it really is the best mobile browsing I've seen outside a real pc or netbook.
10 hour battery? I'm guessing exaggeration, but if it's 7-8 hours, I'd call that a very good battery life for something that size.
The OS, tho... I don't mind the os itself, I like the simplicity since it works well with the iPhone, and I'd say with this, but it DESPERATELY needs multitasking. I want to be able to have music playing while I browse and have a couple of chats open. If you could do that, I really would go for it, since I think it would be nicer to have in bed than a notebook or netbook (since they're almost always hotter than you'd like them to be, and batteries never last as long as you need it to).
3G costs extra? Personally not bothered, since this so called country of mine doesn't have a decent mobile internet provider, and I'd be paying through the nose.
Dock with keyboard? I actually do like it. Set it down next to my main rig and have chat and music and browsing (as I said, provided it had multitasking) running on that while I game full screen.
So, all in all, I'd call it a hit and miss for now. Maybe they bring multitasking in the 2nd gen version... maybe apple will get my money then :D
As the owner of an iPhone 3GS I can tell you that the browser actually runs in the background at all times, and does not reload pages. It occasionally decides to refresh the page after having been 'closed' on an almost arbitrary basis, however.
Google maps, too - the map does NOT reload. only the GPS has to reinitialise.
If you're going to hate, at least get your facts straight.
During the event I groaned when it was revealed, I really didn't want it to look like an overgrown iPhone and for that reason I think it could be time to sack their VP of design - I think he cheated. The spaced-out icons make it look like the contents of an iPhone screen had been stretched to fit it. Too much bezel. The focus seemed too intent on stores. iTunes, iBook and AppStore.
But, then I just chilled a bit, sipped my tea and watched the keynote. I really wasn't convinced until they got to the price, and then I decided for the bog standard, non-3G version at $499 it was something that could fit into my life. I have lots of reasons for buying this at its price point and CBA to list them. This is just my view of the event and the fact I'm having one.
I don't see this as a replacement for my laptops nor a netbook wannabe. It is a very functional social interaction tool with many more capabilities. Let's face it, when the developers who pumped out those 140,000 apps get a move on, it will do so much more than what was showcased at the event.
1. Is there a gap in the market for a tablet with decent battery life that will do word processing video and gaming + music and whatever apps it brings out. - answer yes next question
2. If its priced at £300 to £600 will it sell - yes
3. do enough people love apple so it will sell either way and still be a success considering 90% of the people who own an iphone have probably never heard of any tech review site let along read one before they brought it - yes
Will i buy 1 to replace my laptop. If and only if it has word processing functions (iworks would be fine) as i can then lug a small thing like this around instead of an overgrown laptop.
From a business point of view. Do i want to pay £1200 to £1400 for an ultra portable laptop ( Sony VAIO VGN-TZ11MN) or buy an apple product that will do the same thing for £3-500 answer is easy.
What does the sony product give that the apple one doesnt. a dvd rom drive?
And this relates to the iPad, how? Although I agree with you it doesn't seem to relate to our reasons for not liking the iPad :p
It's just how many people in this thread seem to slate Apple, for just being Apple, and have probably never used their products. I want to try the actual item before seeing if I do need it, not just slate it straight away because it's made by a certain company.
Anyway, it's still a niche market of "I want" without any practical value (unlike the iPhone which still has practical value some-what, as a phone). It'll fail miserably again.
edit: repost?
Well firstly bear in mind that Sony are generally quite expensive for what they are.
Secondly, said apple product is NOT going to be £300 or £400 - it's going to be over £400 in this country, obviously.
Thirdly, what does a tablet PC give you that the iPad doesn't? Well, have a good think about that first and then read this list:
1. DVD drive
2. HD capable screen
3. Keyboard
4. Handwriting recognition
5. Play games in visual quality better than the N64.
6. It comes with a power supply
7. You can play OGG or FLAC
8. It has USB
9. You don't need to buy a proprietory memory card reader
10. You aren't clamped to the ridiculous Apple DRM
11. Webcam
12. oh lol, multitasking
Shall I go on?
Granted, the iFap has some attractive features, fast booting I'm presuming will be the best thing, along with the tied in access to DLC; but really, how does it warrant £500?
iPad: No USB. No VGA. oh **** it let me save some breath. There's no connectivity unless you use a dock.
To call this a tablet is an insult to tablet PCs everywhere. You gotta dig deep into your memory and remember the 90s so you can call this what it really is. It's a giant, ugly pocket PC.
all hail the fanboy fap material of the iPalmpilot.
This is the least innovative thing i've seen in a long while. I would take 2 of my Asus Aspire Ones over the base model of one of these, and I'd have enough money left to spare that I could buy them each a nifty neoprene skin case.
Nah, not likely, and the hardware problem (or lack of USB ports) would still remain.
Its not like saying a BMW 318i is the same price as a V6 Vauxhall Insignia or whatever and the Vauxhall has more kit standard, as the BMW has features that the Vauxhall doesn't, such as rear wheel drive, lots better handling and near 50/50 weight distribution.
It would be like BMW making a front wheel drive, front heavy box that understeers all over the show and still pricing it at the same point as the V6 high spec Insignia.
Also is cost difference between 16GB and 64GB of whatever memory they use over £200?
It is a company-provided laptop that I have to check out, so it is loaded with the most inconvenient bloatware (for "security" reasons), and admin access is disabled, so I'm limited to what I can do.
With the iPad, I can take my music and movies with me on the flight (because it interfaces with an already-established contenet delivery system); have a few books, magazines, or comics with me for leisure time; bring a long my magazine subscriptions with me for reading when standing in line at the convention; and I can can get to the web for e-mail and time sheet access if needed. All this, and it takes up a fraction of the space in my carry-on bags, and it runs cooler and more efficiently than the laptop.
I'm seriously considering one, but I'll wait to read a few reviews before jumping in. If I decide it's for me, I'll probably wait for Gen 2 so they can iron out any inevitable kinks that are standard with 1st gen hardware.
But an iPod Touch can do almost all of that, apart from reading books and magazines, but it has a much longer battery life so you can enjoy it for longer. I don't see what's wrong with carrying a magazine or book about - it's just as convenient and less of a worry about its battery running out or it being stolen/broken/dropped in a toilet. It suffers from the same problem as ebook readers - they're too expensive and a solution to a problem which doesn't really exist (except for a small number of people).
Excellent ;), +rep
Win. :)
they may not be aimed at the same market, but they'll get used for the same thing's.
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/01/ten-things-missing-from-the-ipad/
No, no. You're all wrong, its not even a large iPhone (that would have a camera), its just a large iPod touch :)
Launched the first what? The first thin, impractical laptop? Not so.
Apple MacBook Air: 2008 19.4mm/1.36kg
Sony Vaio X505: 2003 21mm/0.825kg
Toshiba Portégé R500 2007 19.3mm/0.780g w/SSD
^ This. (You may have forgotten 'real OS,' too.) I'm not just biased against Apple tablet computers, though I consider this one a worst-of-breed because of the aforementioned design limitations, I'm biased against all tablet computers in comparison to a convertible tablet/laptop. You're getting a terrible deal on portable computing because taking this thing mobile requires a bag - it won't fit in your pocket. And if you're taking a bag, you might as well take a convertible tablet and have approximately fifty times the utility for a near-negligible weight demand. Even worse, if you are expected to do any work whilst mobile you have to take a laptop with you, presumably in addition to the iPad. Why take two when you could just take the one...? If you want a portable, Apple, multitouch-screen, mobile-internet, pocketable experience, get a frickin' iPhone already.
Just for the record, I currently own one MacBook, one iPhone, one iPod (the third), and a Magic Mouse, if that'll help the more defensive of you from dismissing me as a 'hater.'
'Bout as well as I handle conversations with hot women, tbh.
http://piasportal.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/broken_laptop.jpg
Flash
I dont get this reason, so its buggy, but people use it, surely the support should be there (ie5 and ie6)
OLED
Fair enough, there are no real benfits to OLED atm other then its incredibly thin
USB
If this ment to be user friendly then why no put the most user friendly port on their and just limit it to USB flash sticks and USB standard complient keyboards?
GPS
Not something that should be worried about.
Multitasking
Something that should be worried about, especially if this supposed to be a media product.
Keyboard
Fair enough but see USB
Camera
I agree why? Answer so all those that bought Gen1 have a reason to buy Gen2 and call mr Jobbs a saviour.
16:9
Can someone tell me the aspect ratio of a piece of A4 paper and then tell me why it would be wrong to use this aspect ratio even if its meant to be used in portrait mode.
HDMI
Neglecting the media connector of the next few years on a media device smacks of a money making scheme or ignorance. Now I hope its the latter.
I like this line, about keyboard (70$) + iPad (499$ for base):
Why wouldn't you bother with a 200-400$ netbook that can do all that the iPad can, and can't do, minus the touchscreen functionality? :|
its apple in the end of the day they have never included usb flask stick support and i dout they ever will. HDMI would only be useful if you intended to output display to an hdmi device. Very few officers have moved from projecters yet which still use DVI.
Flash is a pile of crap the end
GPS has mensioned above who cares
Has it been confirmed it cant multitask? Or is the multitasking limited to ipod + webbrowser? Or can you read a book whilst listening to music?
Word process whilst listening to music this all needs confirming.
Alot of people here granted probalby dont need a laptop to begin with. ( if you need a laptop to game your in either at uni or an idiot) Pc hardware is far to advanced to ignore.
The touch keyboard will take up half the screen, and if you use a keyboard that makes it larger than a netbook to carry. The Ipad is just a iphone but worse.
err, I meant people bitched about the air. And they launched the first thin client tablet. sorry, the use of pronouns made that unclear.
so much win... rep ++
It'll still sell like hotcakes regardless of my opinion though
The answer to multi-tasking on an ipad?
1. No tablet PC comes with a DVD drive (convertibles do). Adds too much bulk.
2. Yeah, because we really need HD on a 12" screen.
3. No Tablet PC comes with a keyboard --unless as a clip-on.
4. Drains the battery alarmingly fast. It is CPU heavy.
5. That is BS and you know it.
6. The iPad doesn't need a power supply. USB charger will do.
7. ...which we all do, I'm sure. In spades.
8. So does the iPad; it just has a proprietary plug at one end. Granted, a USB port would have been preferable.
9. ???
10. Instead you are clamped to Napster, Urge, Amazon or any other Windows Plays For Sure (which it doesn't) MP3 delivery system. Who are you kidding? All commercial MP3 files have DRM. Remember the hue and cry about Windows Vista's DRM management?
11. Hmmm... no. No PC tablet has a webcam.
12. Yeah, because I really need, like, three apps running concurrently on my 12" screen.
Also, the target markets won't buy this. Presuming it's aimed at home users who want a portable device that does everything, chances are they'll have a laptop (yeah, it's bigger, but they'll already have one). If it's aimed at business users (not really, though they're advertising email capabilities, for example) then they'll already have a laptop too, and will find this doesn't have the power or features for them. It's a bit of a lost one really...sure, I don't think it's going to be a G4 Cube, but it's not going to hit hard at all.
Oops, forgot to add...the size. If this replaces a laptop (which, it isn't supposed to anyway, it's not aimed at that) it's not taking up much less room than a netbook, for example. So, not much difference in a bag. If it's at home...computers are there anyway...
Now, had apple marketed it as that, people would be doing a lot more ooing and ahhing, and ultimately declaring it a niche market. But apple chose to make a niche market device and slap the label of "Tablet PC" on it. I'm sorry, but that's like inventing a bicycle with three wheels and still saying it's a bicycle. It isn't a bicycle, it's a goram tricycle, and anyone but a fanboy would recognize it as such. It's a square peg in a round hole. It's just not what they claim it to be, and it will never be.
They should have taken the Air, put a swivel-hinge capacitive OLED touch screen on it, and said there you go. A bigass tablet that could be used for something other than dicking around.
like.... word processing. Which seems to be all mac laptops are good for anyway. I've just never understood the appeal that Macs have. Honestly their high-point should've been in the 90s, when windows actually *did* suck and was very worthy of all the bad-mouthing it got/still gets. Every time i've sat down at a mac, I've failed to see where the appeal is. It's just a dumbed-down PC with limited access to anything truly important to the machine. I guess they're great machines for anyone who's afraid of a POST or BIOS screen. Also: in before BSOD. I refuse to accept BSOD arguments so long as Apple uses the spinning BBOD (Beach Ball Of Doom/Death), something I have seen more first-hand in my time on macs than I have BSODs on my XP/Vista/7 boxes.
I digress... when my Acer Aspire One can play WoW at 15-30fps (not fabulous, but fine for running around and questing when you're stuck waiting at the DMV and pirating wireless from someone nearby), then I declare anything less an epic fail. My netbook is almost 2 years old now, I paid $250 for it new in box, and it does more than a $600 ipad.
"iPad, release your inner 5-year old and... FINGER PAINT! All for the low-low introductory price of $599. Which really isn't cheap, but you can FINGER PAINT! You can touch your finger to the glossy-ass screen and make a smudgy, painty mess!" Offer void where prohibited, dock and requisite micro-fiber cloth sold separately.
Amazing what someone years ago came up with is actually better then what Apple have.
I kinda get the impression you like it?
And I thought I was the only ...
fine, battery on a stock 3-cell is a little slim, but at $45 for a 9-cell battery (my stock 3-cell gets 3-4hrs unless I'm playing WoW/GW on it) still puts my netbook at a price tag under $300, and 9-12hrs battery life.
iFap lose.
You made a VERY good point there, it really isn't a computer as such. It's many many thousands of applications that do a massive multitude of 'things'. It all adds up to a remarkable amount of 'things' it can do, but ultimately it isn't a computer. And maybe that is a large part of why the Apple haters have put their jackets on today and are parading on the forums like they've won a war.
Thing is, I'm even tempted to buy my mum one ... because she is really getting on in life but loves getting the silly spam crap we all hate, and if I get her one of these then I won't have to keep driving 1 hour down the road to set her up again because she's turned something off or she's forgotten to do something.
To paragraph one: these bolded statements are the biggest pile of hyperbolic fail i've seen since I saw the iPad. What good is doing many many thousands of things without multitasking? What would be the point of having 12 dicks if you could only use one at a time? Just being able to say "hey I've got 12 dicks?" Seriously! If the iPad were a human being, it would be the downsiest one in history. It fails to walk and chew bubble gum at the same time, amounting to nothing more than a 12" iPod Touch with an expanded feature set. Not a PC.
And secondly, while funny, it really won't solve that problem. Just instead of 'why isn't this turning on', or 'what does this error message mean?' or 'which key is the 'any' key?' You will get questions like "why is there this perpetually spinning beach ball on my screen?" "Why is there a smiling bomb looking at me?" "How did the screen get all zoomed in/out (pinch)?"
Your mum fails at using technology. It's part of being a mum. And the technology world should not have to suffer the wrath of thousands of nerd-raging mac fanboys drooling over a neutered netbook/iPhone with a vaginaplasty.
The OS was not designed for a phone; it was designed for a compact portable device with a touch screen, a lightweight CPU and limited battery life. In that respect it is suited to the job very well.
I'm sorry, but I really can't get my head around how badly people are not getting it.
"It hasn't got a 16:9 screen". Not useful --in horizontal mode there is no room left for a keyboard.
"It has a bezel". I mean, WTF? The HP Slate has a bezel. Everything has a bezel.
"It is not a real PC". How often do you use your laptop for real hardcore PC stuff? Face it, you use it as a office app/internet/e-mail/gaming/media device. Like, oh, the iPad.
"It has no 'real' OS". OK, try Windows 7 on a touch screen. Seriously. Try it. Set up a network connection, adjust your browser settings, do some serious hardass tweaking that you feel Apple has been denying you. See how well you fare with those tiny buttons and text. Then check videos of the HP Slate at work, and the iPad. See which runs smoother.
"It is overpriced". How much does a Tablet PC cost? Check it out...
"It should have [insert feature here]". What, like the HP Slate hasn't?
When the iPhone appeared, everyone thought it was a piece of overpriced junk. Then Google brings out the Nexus One which is almost exactly the same friggin' thing and everyone thinks it is wonderful. This is all just irrational bias, guys. It is anti-fanboyism. It is Richard Dawkins ranting against religion. Such fervour is almost like belief.
You are my new hero
That was the funnest video I've seen in months
Nexxo certainly answered you better and kinder than I was going to.
As for its abilities. 140,000 apps on iPhone ... just wait for the developers to get going on that screen real estate.
Just thought I'd add, seeing as it came up today:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/28/adobe-on-flash-and-the-ipad-apple-is-continuing-to-impose-rest/
1. My ex's had one.
2. Don't advertise it as an HD capable device then, LIARS!
3. Again, ex's had one.
4. If a palmtop can do it then an iFap should do it.
5. No actually...not really BS at all....
6. So what happens when you are somewhere with no USB? University lecture theatre maybe?
7. I know no end of people that use FLAC and Ogg etc - anyone with mildly capable ears does.
8. Still a cock up
9. I read something about some douchebag memory card reader just for the iFap so you can read SD cards. Idiotic at best.
10. At least they are MP3s.
11. Again, a lie, plenty do.
12. Spotify while browsing?
BOOM! http://www.tabletpc2.com/Review-HP_TX1000_Entertainment_Tablet_PC-Article70020426.html
One example.
And I never said I could buy a tablet for a better price. Well I can, but they are called Neurofen.
https://www.alwaysinnovating.com/touchbook/
Dude thats not a proper tablet, thats a laptop with a swivel screen and touchscreen technology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tablet_PC
That just has to be the most ridiculous statement ever made :)
Cost vs. features? $800 for an oversized iPod touch with internet access? 'Cause that's all it amounts to.
Obviously the Apple brigade are well aware of just how restrictive the OS is because the fact that you can change the background picture was mentioned... and this is something we always used to be able to take for granted, not one of the first things that gets mentioned at a high-profile, highly secretive (even if highly anticipated) product announcement!
Besides size, this brings nothing new to the table (pun!) - and I'm comparing it to the rest of Apples line up.
I'll just leave this here.
I know which I'd buy.
agreed... I have an Ipod it does its job well. Do I need a really big Ipod to go in my oversized ogre pockets? I dont think so..
So.. Yeah.. Erm.. *Drool*?
If they can launch that at the price of the iFap, I'll be the first to buy it!
That looks hawt.
Now that looks like it has potential.
If they go ahead with it as it is... then you'd have to be certifiably insane to buy the iMaxipad instead.
You know you love it dude ;)
Release the hounds.
:D
PROS:
- 9.7in screen. (While its not the size of a sheet of paper yet (8 1/2" x 11"), which would be ideal rather then these ridiculously sized e-readers we have now.)
- Touch Screen. (Unlink the Kindle, Sony e-reader, or that one with more keys then a piano, this is more like Barnes and Nobles Nook E-reader. Smooth, modern design, like most Apple products. It LOOKS awesome.)
- WiFi/3G (It can connect to the internet. I don't know what Kindle/Sony charge-- Nook is free inside Barnes and Noble. $30/mo for unlimted Wifi? I'd probably drop internet from my phone then honestly.)
- Keyboard Support (I can't imagine anyone really having something urgent or dire that HAS to be typed up that would make them use THIS device, but that support is there is nice.)
- HiDef Video (This is just cool fluff.)
- Full Color Screen (E-Ink is nice, works well for traditional e-readers, but this is nice to see.)
- 10hr battery life (Someday when a device can run full power for 25hrs, we'll stop caring about battery life, because it will charge while it sleeps. Still 10hrs? I don't think most of us read books, magazines, etc for 10hrs at a time.)
CONS:
- $500 for the lowest model compared to $350~ for higher e-readers. (Sure it has a higher hard-drive capacity compared to them and a full color screen, but I think I'd rather see an 8GB/Wifi model for $350-400 then this. When the cost drops, or the specs raise on the second generation, I'll buy if I haven't found a better e-reader.)
- No flash support. (While I think most people use their e-reader to read and not to web-surf-- when you toss in a "real" screen, expectations rise. If you touting up Wifi/3g + 1024x768 resolution, people will probably expect Flash support of Youtube or such. Maybe it was for all the vulnerabilities adherent in Flash.)
- No ports. (No real need for Ethernet, but USB could have been nice. 64-in-1 card reader, if its not there, should be too.)
NOTES:
- This is not a computer. (If you go into this expecting iPhone/iTouch is now a computer, you're wrong. It can play cellphone games, watch videos, play basic music, browse basic web, but it is first and formost an e-reader. Nothing more. The second you try and hold this device up to the standards of even a netbook, it becomes a joke, proving that its not a computer, just an e-reader.)
- The above does not make this a bad machine. (The developers and the news might have misjudged what they were making and who it was aimed at, and Apple products are always 20%+ higher with usually about a 3rd of the features. The Apple iPod (no FM tuner, requires iTunes -- stuff $10 MP3 players have.), MacBook Air ($1200 for a netbook.), and the list goes on. Like always, the hipsters, and the tech-elite will buy this up. Just like the iPod/iTouch/iPhone. And they will love it. Then the rest of the industry will catch up and make devices for the rest of us, with even more features. (Think of all the full touch-screen phones that came out after the iPhone.))
Conclusion? This a good attempt, and it'll sell like wild-fire. In 6-12 months we'll see something better. Maybe the 2nd Gen by Apple, most likely by someone else all together.
Our opinion? iPad = iMeh - QFTW
I have said before it would be a crappy overpriced, overhyped and over useless brick.
The creative nomenclature department from Apple needs a sacking, iBrick should me more apropriate
Top of my head:
iPod, iHome, iDock, i<animal> (dances to iPod music), iMac (and eMac), iPhone, iTouch (iPodTouch), iPad. I don't know if their proprietary Mac keyboards, mice, and headphones are i-ed or not.
Exactly... $500 to $800 for a e-reader that plays iPhone apps and plays media.
You've just hi lighted the very reason why it's a total, steaming pile of manure.
Keep up the good work :)
I like to read mine in real life... too many things are becoming virtual and I for one think ebooks are utter crap. Im a tech addict with the best of em but I will never buy an ebook,e-reader or any such crap and when the nuclear war comes and all your e-readers have no power I will sell books for food and be king of the world.... mwhahahah
LOL... agreed.
Books are sacred. I like turning the pages... I like the smell... I like libraries. I like book shops.
This is true, I like real books. The size, the shape, the fact it doesn't hurt my eyes. That being said, if I go on vacation or something and want more then one book for a trip, it does take up space. When you're talking air-travel, its not completely irrelevant.
Other instances is I have a huge manual on PHP5, HTML, C++, etc etc. These are big, heavy, college-style books. (And in fact there's another group that would love a solid e-reader.) To condense 5-10 manuals into a single e-reader? Hell. Yes.
For my collection of Dean Koontz books? Meh, I'll keep the hard-covers I have but it'd be convenient.
For that one author, of that one book, that I'm going to read once? Not really so useful.
Just food for thought.
Sam
Welcome to the internet.
As far as the rumored features:
I read the short article, and looked at the photos they provided. I didn't see a USB port. ZOMGNOUSBFAILFAILFAIL!!!! In addition, there is no keyboard - another point that has been charged against the iPad.
After reading the second article on Gizmodo, it seems as though they're not sure where this device will fit in the gadget world:
Furthermore, I don't believe Microsoft mentioned the Courier device during their keynote at CES, though I'm prepared to be corrected on that. If that's true, you have to wonder how close they are to production. You'd think they would be heavily pushing it if it was really as great as you believe it to be.
An example of Apples marketing in action - Even people who dislike the device can't stop talking about it.
Don't have nightmares! Goodnight x
Well I'm not buying one because I don't need one, so stfu. I have no doubt that it will sell, but I personally have no desire for such a product unless there are some serious things about it that Apple have hidden, which lets face it, rarely happens. If it were £200 or £300, I COULD see a use for it, leaving it in the sitting room for a quick look up of whatever for example - but at entry level notebook prices, I would rather have an entry level notebook.
Just hold it closer to your face
I, with the utter lack of authority to do such, award you with 1 (one) Internet.
Use it wisely.
I was going to link to this article, but then I realized this one has already surpassed the post count there.
I would also argue that it was less an argument than one kid banging his head against a wall :(
meh the both of you, as well as plenty others, will practice your Apple apologetics regardless of valid points.
Who cares if it supports 140,000 apps? 90% of those apps are garbage. I'm gonna use a phone to balance a bookshelf? Make a masturbatoral gesture to pick a restaurant? If Apple products actually had more potential then impressing people at parties with their nifty but utterly useless abilities then maybe I wouldn't be doing a birthday dance at the fact that this is so much fail it's orgasmic.
The problem with Apple isn't their tech, it's their core consumers who declare at every oppurtunity the superiority of a device with half as many features and less innovation than mine.
It's about time that I get my ****ing turn to be smug and arrogant. Every time I go to the trendy cafe, bookstore, or your pick of live music events I've got to put up with Applefags giving me condescending looks over the tops of their boxframe glasses because i'm distracting them from their iPhone game to order a cup of coffee, book, or ticket.
Apple is not an innovator. Now Google on the other hand... there's a company that actually comes out with new and exciting ****. Apple and Microsoft are locked in a pissing match where they rip off each other's ideas from 10 years ago, slap it in a shiny case, and hope that nobody notices. Although at least it didn't take MS going to the brink of death to realize that maybe 3rd party development is where it's at. It took Apple over 20 years to pull their head out of their ass, and even now they still micromanage the **** out of stuff, with the possible exception being the app store.
But I really shouldn't bother, because I could show you a legit video of Steve Jobbs laughing about how hard he's ****ing his core market and how really the iPad schems were something he drew on the back of a cocktail napkin, and just dropped it off in R&D to see if they would fall for it, and ye old apple fans would rush to the device's defense. It's a giant, glossy, expensive one-trick monkey. ~end rant.
Actually my point was that 140,000 apps have been created for the iPhone. What other phone do you know of that has had that much attention by developers? How much attention do you think the developers will spend on this new product?
The product is limited by it's app ability - it is not limited by the fact it can be compared to a bloated iPhone in appearance. But then, how limited will it be? Will the developers by-pass Apples iPad in favour of the geeks favourite Google OS? Will MS be able to claw some of the market share with their offering?
It's fair to say there are two camps on this website if we negate the minority fringes. The main camp contains anti-Apple protestors who will rage at any Apple product or news item. The second camp are the quieter few (by number) who can see this isn't a world changing event but a movement forward in technology. I'm not saying it's a new invention - but it's certainly a step forward. Strangely I don't know any Apple owners who spend their days slagging off PC users, they all just seem to get on with life. But, I do see thousands of PC users who waste their precious time raging about Apple ... you gotta laugh. People always need need a devil to blame. Personally, my devil to blame for all the worlds problems is the parents. Apple? Nah, they just get on with it. Intel? Nah, they do too. Microsoft? Nah, they aren't to blame either. etc.
Google are famous by their search engine, they have a browser, they have an OS, they are launching a tablet ... can you help me out here, I can't think of anything that hadn't already been invented by someone else first and they came along and "reinvented" it. Oh, that word "reinvent", Apple is throwing that around at the moment in relation to the iPad ...
Apple got their patent for proximity sensing the other day ... interesting concept for the future - 3D touch?
Discuss, minus the blind-rage-issues.
When the prices come down. Atleast 50%. For a new (untethered jailbreakable) unit.
There. I said it.
Still what alot of angry internet peoples are forgetting is that Apple don't care the tech geeks don't like it and the gamers can't stand it, they're looking to sell it as a simple to use, cool looking device to the masses of average joe's who are happy with their ItouchXL
I can also see the benifits of using it as a Photo browser out in the field. How many times have took a shot that looks OK on the screen on the back of the camera, only to find it's not up to snuff when you view it on a larger screen? If you're out shooting, you can quickly import the photos, check them out and reshoot there and then if needed.
The multi-touch versions of Pages, Keynote and Numbers where great. A multi-touch blogging or web authoring app would be great (iWeb for example) would be cool.
MrsGOO also wants one. As she said, what could she not do with an iPad that she does with her current MacBook? She browses, plays the occasional games, checks email, does her iTunes stuff, writes Pendragon adventures for out role-play group.
I've seen a lot of whining and wailing and nashing of teeth over what it isn't. Only very few people (several in this thread) have seen what it is. It's a larger iPod Touch, allowing a much better level of interaction with the web, a decent eBook reader and personal media device. For a decent price. You're not expected to be doing heavy duty video editing or photo manipulation, or other intensive tasks.
But then you wouldn't really use a netbook for that, either. It's a job for a full bore laptop or desktop.
I wouldn't bother with 3G on it. WiFi is enough, especially when I have netshare on my iPhone. I'll use the money I would have spent on 3G on an extra slug of storage, thank you.
You may now start denegrating me for being a fanboi, or for buying anything 'with the right badge' - I don't care. I like what I see, and I'll be getting one. Get over it.
Wait...Bob is....my.....
How exactly does 'bigger screen' == 'much better level of interaction with the web' when it suffers the same limitations of the iPhone OS that its younger siblings has? If it can't handle Flash because Steve Jobs is afraid it'll take revenue away from the Holy App Store then it's not really a better level of interaction is it.
Unless the iPad brings something to the web browsing experience other than a bigger screen to the table that the iPhone/iPod Touch can't offer then you can't really be justified in saying it offers a much better level of interaction.
from ipad site
Story here
Considering how long it seems to take the uk/euro publishers to agree ebook rights, this might take some time, so hopefully you've all got US registered cards to set up itunes with?
http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/01/27/think-ibooks-looks-familiar-youre-not-the-only-one/
Flash, Flash, Flash, Flash, Flash - record is broken. Please turn it off. If it comes to the iTouch / iPhone / iPad, so be it. If it doesn't, I won't loose any sleep over it. I don't miss it on my iPhone. Why would I on an iPad?
Surely being able to see more of a page = better interaction? Does in my book. Less scrolling around.
But anyway - you're entitled to your opinion, just like everyone else. You obviously don't like it, Apple or Steveo. Great. Doesn't change my mind at all. ;)
Oi, that hurts man, i had nothing to do with the iPad :)
I'm not sure what the fuss with flash is any site which relies on it i generally ignore, i don't even have flash installed on ff.
I never said it wasn't better, I just don't believe that it provides enough of an improvement to warrant this product existing and for the prophet Jobs to be using such terms as 'magical' to describe it when all it is is a bigger iPod Touch. Are we going to see it in the new Harry Potter film, I wonder?
Fighting the Dark Lord? There's an app for that.
The only thing I miss about flash on my iPhone is streaming videos, and quite a few of the major video sites are offering non-flash alternatives now.
If they come out with some apps that let me control a media centre from it (and lets face it, this is a pretty likely scenario) similar to Air Mouse on the iPod etc - then I'll be sorely tempted.
RwD
Well.. let me answer this as a photographer.
First... I wouldn't rely on ANY on-screen image to asses a shot... on camera, or iPad... as neither is calibrated, and I'll probably be in far from ideal conditions to view ANY LCD screen.
Secondly, I prefer to rely on my skill.... the skills garnered from shooting on film... remember that? :) No preview there.... you waited until it was processed. You had to get it right, and that's what separated the men from the boys. We have short memories do we not? :) Photographers have been producing stunning images on film for over 150 years without being able to see a preview.
Thirdly, if I was to use the on camera screen to asses, it would not be by looking at the image anyway - I'd be looking at the histogram. I don't need a iPad for that as the camera's screen is actually ideal.
Fourth. If I was to carry something that stupidly large around with me on a shoot, I would probably take a proper lap top instead, as the iPad's connectivity is woeful. How exactly am I supposed to connect my Nikon D3 or Hassleblad H4D to it? It doesn't even have a USB socket! The whole point of taking a laptop with you on a shoot is to actually shoot tethered, and edit on site... not to look at pretty pictures on a bigger screen.
As for e-readers being nearly as expensive as a iPad..... huh? You can get a decent e-reader for £200... Scan do one for £160. Anyway... e-readers have a proper screen that can be read as a piece of paper can... in direct sunlight. In fact, the brighter it is, the easier to read. The iPad is a backlit LCD like any other computer device, and therefore render it useless as a e-reader. You couldn't sit on a beach in bright sunlight with it for example. And it's too damned big! Decent e-readers fold away so you can put it in a a small bag, or in some cases, your pocket.
I bet your batteries will run out before the end of the third chapter of any book you read as well.
Utterly useless device.
Well... Do I think I'm too clever to spend at least $500 on a big iPhone/iPod Touch? Yes... yes I do. :)
Why are people also complaining about this thread? Isn't that was a general discussion forum is about?
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/01/iphone-voip/
I think it's appropriate to repost this about now :)
I was drinking a mug of tea when I read this. Messy! :)
Your command of the english language to form a coherant and decisive argument renders me in nothing but awe.
Well done.
As for the voip thing, seems in the iPad simulator in the SDK there's a "touch to resume call" bit which could be interesting...
I lol'd. In class. F***.
That's probably just because Apple can't be ****ed to remove it from the iPhone OS they are using....
http://kotaku.com/5458822/why-the-ipad-is-crap-futurism
That is EXACTLY what I thought when I saw iBooks. Delicious Library is a fantastic app, by the way.
And, yes, it is a fantastic application. I've had the demo for ages, but keep forgeting to buy the license. I really must do that at some point.
Definitely! And you only need 1/4 of the whole iPad to make a phone call!
Besides, what self-respecting person sits on the beach in full sun for 3 hours? Isn't that how you get skin caner? :p
Indeed it is.
I would ask what self-respecting person goes on holiday and spends all their time on their ass reading... anywhere... but each to their own :)
Proper e-readers are a joy to read in daylight though compared to backlit LCDs. Having to crank up everything to power sucking max levels to read in sunlight wil hit batteries hard on something like the iPad, and while it may be legible, it won't be in the same league as a proper e-reader.
^^From Kotaku article.
That pretty much sums up what I was getting at about the iphone apps. Except they did it in a way that was less troll-bait.
The thing that I hate so much about Apple is their arrogance as a producer. They believe that their end-users should be forced to do things their way. You don't have a choice with Apple, it's their way or the highway. There's no development that's not micromanaged by them, and no device or OS that's not conceived with 'their way' as the forefront motive.
Just on a petty level: I can only resize a window from one corner, because that's the way they want it, I can only do x y or z because they arbitrarily made it that way and then shut down any and all third-party efforts to do it a better way.
Even when they fix things, they first have to wait a version from when they notice to implement it, lest they fix it in the next revision and seem like they "gave in" to what consumers wanted. They've got to make it seem like it was their idea all along. /rant
buying brand new tech isn't the only way to go. I can get last year's ASUS Eee Convertible Tablet Netbook (T91) for $400-$450 new in packaging. It's a whole lot more appealing than an iPad, and would be a hands-down no contest winner if it weren't for am 8.9" screen and the 5hr battery life. Then again I can buy a new, higher capacity battery for a netbook, which is something I can't say for the iPad.
if ASUS had a 10.1" model of the tablet, i'd see no niche for the iPad whatsoever. But as it is there is one, however slim it might be.
You can also get older tablets for under $400. That's what's so frustrating about the iPad: it's not a new concept, in fact it's something that was done the better part of a decade ago, and frankly--did more then.
The HP TC1100: http://www.jksalesinc.com/catalog/images/hp_tc1100.jpg & http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Cc8Y5NHwD2E/SxGjRJ_pu8I/AAAAAAAAAnA/bdC3CtSKJMc/s320/Tablet_PC-HP-TC1100.jpg
Wiki Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_TC1100
And it was released in April of 2004. When I saw the iPad, it was the first thing I thought of. The TC1100 might not be made out of animal friendly green materials and aluminim with crystal glass whatever, but it can do flash, full web, full office suite, full OS, you can use a stylus on it (artists rejoice), it supports expansion, custimization, and the keyboard even swivels around and lies flush with the device.
I fail to see an area where the iPad does something that I haven't seen done 6 years ago. Aside from telling me what to do and how I can do it.
a) Jailbreak
b)Linux install = amazing pad
Typical Apple mentality: Lets talk about how it looks and the materials it's made of rather than what it can actually do.
LOL. I think you mean.....
$800,-- for a 1024x768 touch screen with sapphire glass in a solid aluminium housing with wifi and 3G that doesn't actually do anything worthwhile.
And since when has a sheet of glass, of ANY quality cost that much? Most high quality camera optics costs less than that and they contain more glass of much higher quality.
Are you sure it's glass? Wouldn't that be a bit of a safety issue?... and be a bit fragile?
Since when has aluminium cost that much? My huge Lian Li server case is aluminium, and it costs me £79.
Those are simply NOT reasons for it to cost so much.
At least it will be useful, and therefore probably worth the money.
Man this story made me feel so sorry for that guy :(
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9150045/Apple_makes_208_on_each_499_iPad?taxonomyId=15
And yet there will still be Apple fanboys out there who will make excuses for Apple for their pricing policies.
Your average PC manufacturer would kill for markups like that, but then when you've got a virtual monopoly with a horde of fanatically loyal cultis... er, customers I guess you can pretty much get away with whatever you want.
I am by no means a fan boy (I only own a couple of iPods) but the prices in that article have to be total BS. $99 for the touchscreen? $25 for the memory and the same for the case? Its a joke, all you apple haters would like to believe thats the case but its not.
Well let's look at the memory. If it's essentially the same memory that you find in a USB key, they yes it would be that cheap.
Remember this is the company that charges up to 1000 for 12gigs of ram that you can buy anywhere else for a lot less. And no, it's not EEC fully buffered ram, this is the regular ram they put in their Intel based boxes.
Fathers, Cousins, Brothers former Room Mate (think i got it in the right order;))
To be honest, and i simply don't care what people think, i will actually be happy when i part with my hard earned monies and buy one. Granted, i have actually no practical use for it currently, but it isn't going to stop me from buying one.
Sam
Seriously guys and gals... if you don't like it, nobody forces you to buy one.
On another note: today I read the news and Asus and MSi aren't quiet happy with the pricing of the iPad, as they thought more of a entry-level at 1000$.
Now Asus and MSi need to think real hard, as they planned on releasing their similar products at 6-700$ before Apple released the price-list for the iPad.
It's really funny, how flawed and unobjective people become as soon as a product is made by Apple really... you should be pleased by the prices released by Apple, as now you'll get tablets from Asus and MSi for 400$ instead of 6-700$ ;)
Link to the news: http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20100129PD217.html
It's good that Apple is still going strong, as it actually lowers the prices for Windows-products and result in other manufacturers doing something new.
Hitler doesn't seem too impressed with it.
lQnT0zp8Ya4
http://www.funnyordie.co.uk/videos/d2b714361c/hello?rel=featured&rel_pos=2
(Hope it's not a repost)
Still, I have to wonder about the Microsoft Courier. Nexxo may be assuming a cost of at least $1500, but I just can't get over the fact that all we have right now is rumors and an animated video release only a couple months ago showing design concepts. I'll admit that it is pretty, and the design concepts are pretty intriguing. On the other hand, Apple have actually released what I think is a good product backed by an already established content delivery system that provides music, movies, games, books, and more.
can't multitask
cant split the screen
small HDD
no input ports i.e. SD
no phone
overpriced for very little
Steel and Glass
slick n slim
best user interface
Apple ...............................I'll buy the ipad2
Archos 7
Sam
Now note that the 4" screen, 32Gb iPod Touch costs $299,--. the 10" screen, 64Gb iPad of similar spec (Wifi, but no 3G) costs $499,-- . All snapping into perspective now?
The Microsoft Courier is very nice, although again Apple got there first in the 80's with the Knowledge Navigator (although not shown in the videos, the design was that one could close the screen like a book). The real problem is how to turn such an idea into an affordable and practical product.
Take my Tablet PC: the Motion Computing LE 1600. In 2005 it was the cutting edge of tablets, until it was superseded in 2007 by the LE 1700 which has a Core Duo CPU and 3G. They both are the best of the best in Tablet PC design: only 20mm thick, 3lbs (4lbs with a battery that takes running time to 8 hours, except if you use handwriting recognition a lot, in when case battery life shrinks to a third of that) due to a light rigid magnesium frame covered by glass fibre reinforced plastic. The screen is covered with anti-glare toughened glass (as someone who ordered anti-glare covered plexiglass to cover the 5" screen in the bezel of his modded PC I can tell you that this coating costs!). These are Tablets that will survive a drop, as the company will happily demonstrate in their videos.
The price is accordingly: $ 2400,-- for the basic version.
The Courier would face the challenge of incorporating two expensive screens with a decent runtime battery and all the usual processing power in a fairly robust hinged design. Housing-wise, it would be like two LE 1700's folded together. the weight would be at least 5 lbs although --at considerable expense-- the thickness could possibly be kept around 20mm. Since a screen on its own costs about $300,-- I don't see a decently manufactured unit cost less than $3000,--. Still hungry?
:/
How much does a 10" touch screen cost? $135,--
How much does a 10" sheet of saphire glass cost? Well, a 50 x 50mm sheet costs £115,--
'nuff said.
Nexxo, I have a lot of respect for your reasoning in your other posts, but even you must realise that Apple is not paying the market price for any of these items?
How much are you paying for a 64gig usb? Talk about being ripped off.
You call them people who like these devices fanbois? You're fanbois yourself, just of the opposite team!
If you don't like the iPad, then good for you, but there's alot of people who'll make good use of the product, as it matches theirlifestyle.
The problem with most people here in the forums is, that you expect a device that matches the hardwarde-specs and flexibility of a laptop or full blown PC.
The iPad was never designed to be anything like a netbook or a laptop nor a PC... it's designed to be a digital organizer with videoplayback-options.
And again, wait for other tablets released and then start to compare them. Asus, MSi and others release their products sometime around summer this year and they'll offer not anything more then the iPad, if you start looking for leaked informations about them.
with the fact that it has not been given a release date i am sure there will be many changes due to the fact of the critical news.
i do believe it is overpriced regarding that it was made in a 3rd world nation and the fact that supposed to be "eco-friendly" i just dont really care.
Yes, because Apple will naturally be ordering each component one at a time, with each iPad being painstakingly hand assembled by a bunch of trapist monks in a secluded monastery somewhere.
Err, it's estimated shipping date is March for the standard WiFi versions, and April for the WiFi/3g model. And from what i have read, that is in both the US and in the UK, going by both apple.com and apple.com/uk.
The only changes that could happen between now and then are software based, namely the OS.
Sam
No, they're paying trade, which is about 55% of these prices. In a similar vein the assertion that the mark-up on a $499,-- iPad is $200,-- sounds about right. But consider this:
55% of $135,-- is $74,-- (screen)
55% of $175,-- is $96,25 (memory)
Now consider the sapphire glass. A 50x50mm sheet is sold for £115,-- or $183,--. A screen twice that size (for a 10 inch screen) would be about $400,--? Take 55% of that: $220,--
We are already exceeding the manufacturing price of a basic iPad. Now add the CNC'd aluminium housing, the Li-ion battery, the CPU and PCB etc. and the price clocks up.
Apple will certainly have negotiated some tight bulk discounts on parts, but it is not as if they are getting them at 10% of trade or something. They are not making as huge a mark-up as you may think. Hi tech costs.
Its like you've got a vendetta out against everyone who dislikes the iPad or whatever you want to call it.
There's so many people who have a vendetta against a product that they've never touched, because of the company who make it. Nexxo has a good point.
http://i.engadget.com/2010/01/30/ipad-ui-gets-ported-to-the-iphone-and-ipod-touch/
Enjoy
Joe
you need to answer your first question yourself and let us know what it means to you.
secondly as someone else suggested the release date is apparently 60 days from the official announcement. where ya been grandpa?
thirdly, what CRITICAL news?!
Also,
Think it over.
That depends on what you want to use it for. As a George Foreman grill? Probably not. A hacking tool? No. A full-fledged folding or gaming rig? Naah. A mobile media player, e-mail, Internet and e-reader? Hey, might just work, what with the iTunes delivery system already in place...
You forget: we are in the minority. We hack, tweak and stretch hardware well beyond its original spec and application. The majority of mortals just wants to use it as a means to do specific stuff, without having to think too hard about how to make it do that specific stuff.
Nexxo is right, we are looking at it from techie points of view, rather then the average person (who knows dick about tech).
That is not what it was designed for (unfortunately; if it had something like OneNote I'd be first in the queue to buy it). But I expect apps will follow that will allow you to store, read and annotate .PDFs (Mendeley for iPad? Almost inevitable) and allow you to scribble notes with a stylus of some sort.
You're right.... I don't. What's more, I don't care. If someone tried to make me part with my hard earned cash for a portable computer/media device, and started banging on about sapphire glass and aluminium, I'd seriously start to doubt said device. I'd be expecting them to be blowing me away with what it can actually do.
This is my point. Why bother? Why not just cast it, and machine it? Does anyone actually care except Apple fans? It's a utile device, not a fashion accessory.
Not really, because I think the stupid iPod is outrageously priced compared to other capable devices. I think we'll never agree on this. I know people who have a iPod Touch, AND a iPhone, and carry them both around. LOL. Surely if you have a iPod Touch... just any old GSM phone with do won't it? These same people will no doubt now have their iPod Touch, their iPhone, and their iPad with them :)
You're really starting to sound like a proper Apple Fanboy now. Who cares who got their first... 20 or 30 years ago.
I told you... yes. It's not about the money per se, it's about being ripped off by pretty, fabulously expesive products that don't really do anything.
Courier will NOT be £3K Nexxo, as you well know. It's untenable as a mainstream product at that price.
Look... I don't want exotic materials to enable it to withstand massive drops, or earthquakes, or nuclear attack. I want it to work! If it stops working as it should if I drop it, then it's my fault for dropping it. I think most people will agree. If you want the OPTION of a super tough device for extreme outdoor use on location, then I should have the OPTION of paying for it.
Here's some advice: Don't drop it butter fingers! I have loads of stuff that would be broken if I dropped it... it doesn't make it bad.
Normally, you give a well reasoned debate, but you've got Apple blinkers on at the moment. I doubt I'm alone in thinking that all this talk of materials and build quality is just so much fluff. Most people are only bothered about what it can do.... the people who won't be using this as a status symbol, or jewellery.
It will sell by the ship load. I'm sure all the sheep will buy it, and I'm sure they'll be happy with it. So they can now carry their iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad around with their iNsecurity.
I disagree with everything you're saying for the same reason I don't have a Mac Pro: Because I have a machine that's more capable, at half the cost.
If that happens, I might be persuaded to pick one up, although I'd need some proper consensus on the screen's aptness as an e-reader. By the time that happens though (and the device is released) there should at least be some sufficient (if not directly comparably) competition to make the decision harder for me.
But they thought of that! They excluded ports! :(
Well Done, you have tried to put down a good argument by using the most petty of responses. By calling someone a fanboy, when you in fact seem a complete fanboy yourself, and that's why you instantly dismiss an apple product with never trying one. I mean you moan about a Mac Pro, yet you've never owned one? I've owned a Sony Vaio, and have my reasons not to buy one, I've owned a Dell, and a HP and the same I will choose other products over them. I've never tried other products though, and I don't instantly dismiss them without even trying.
You have never used a Mac Pro before, so you are dismissing a product, with a completely different OS without even owning one? I'd understand more if it was a Windows laptop that uses the same OS and was expensive compared to other laptops that has more powerful specs.
As I've said I've owned various laptops in my time, and my current macbook is the quickest, has the best and easiest OS, and is by far the best build quality as the aluminium brings a much sturdier build and my bags split open a couple of times. Now with a Plastic laptop it would have cracked and probably broke, but as its aluminium it has a few dents on the side.
*looks around* I'm pretty sure I'm on a boat, so let me continue.
When I am on Windows, Mac OS, or Ubuntu and open up IE, Firefox, or Safari and navigate to YouTube, Hulu, Video-Streaming Site X-- I have to download Adobe Flash in order to watch their videos.
Many other websites have embedded Flash videos, Flash intro screens (though you can live without these), and what many people are thinking of probably: Flash games. Adult-Swim.com, AddictingGames.com, Facebook, there's a huge list I'm sure.
Someone posted that people are learning how to stream videos without Flash... really? How. Show me. Seriously. I'm not saying Flash is good, resource friendly, or safe. I'm saying its what we have at the moment. I would love to see a new -anything- replace Flash.
I have gotten my computer infected with viruses, despite firewalls and antivirus because of Flash vulnerabilities countless times. (Yes I could use No-Script, I could also not connect to the Internet, but is it that unreasonable to ask for something safe AND friendly?) I don't know any other architecture currently in use that is THIS prone to malicious scripts and tinkering.
*looks around* Yup, I think I'm still on a boat. So unless I'm wrong and missed it-- please fill me in on how Flash isn't relevant.
P.S. - Why is Flash so vulnerable to malicious code? I'm sure Adobe isn't just sitting on their asses going: "Well, lets not do anything about this." They have updates all the time. Flash isn't NEW, its been around for well over a decade. Seriously, what the hell? :?
And you people need to understand, that stuff like the iPhone or iPad etc are lifestyle accesoires. They're not ment to be the best technology available.
You don't buy a Lotus Elise because it's the best car either, do you?
1.) Traditionally Tablet PCs are clunky chunky monsters lack fully resistive screens for ease of use with the finger the way the iPhone/iPad has
2.) All tablet PCs are priced up high at like £1000+ whereas the iPad has been designed to take on the Netbook market in an apple way
Its like netbooks, 4-5 years ago the idea was laughable that a computer small enough to fit in those useless micro backpacks people seem to have these days could do anything more than run Command Prompt and MS DOS without costing the Earth, but the Netbook has redefind the ultraportable laptop market, asus did this almost single handedly, I can't rule apple out to do the same... this thing is so thin it can sit in your messenger bag/briefcase next to your Smartphone, MP3 and other tech junk that has been miniaturized to a state where your bag can have more flash storage than your PC
Perhaps with the money you would have saved buying a Windows laptop, you could have afforded a sturdier bag.
You wouldn't buy the Elise if it didn't turn left just because Lotus were too stubborn to allow it, would you?
Do you have an iPhone?
I only ask because you don't seem to know the YouTube app exists on iPhone and therefore it will exist on iPad too. I simply load up my YouTube app and there are all of the YouTube videos. The benefit of loading in an app is that you don't get trojans or virus - I guess ...
I've never been infected through flash, and after hearing how easy it apparently is I'm grateful that Apple negate it! lol
And a slower OS for a laptop. The only real benefit that Windows offers above OSX to me is gaming, and I have a gaming PC for that. If you've never owned a Macbook, then you really don't have an unbiased opinion. As I've said through the thread most people on this board are Anti-Apple, yet never owned an apple product. I've owned several Windows products (And My main PC still uses it), but for a laptop I want ease of use, quick easy access, good build quality and also something good for Photography which the Macbook provides me best out of all of them.
If you've owned an Apple product, then fair enough you're entitled to an opinion as you've had first hand experience. It's like people who state they hate all seafood because they actually just hate something like Oysters, you have a slight insight into the whole category, and instantly dismiss it without any more of an experience.
You're going off half cocked without even knowing anything about me. I use Macs as much as I use PCs. I use a dual Xeon Mac Pro at work every damned day. So I'm talking from an objective viewpoint. Get your facts right before you start slinging the crap my friend.
Just LOL
Based on whose benchmarks? Apple's? Well we can take those with a truck full of salt. Or are we talking real world experience here? If so, I find all my Windows computers plenty fast enough thanks.
My Windows laptop also provides these features. True, it doesn't have a super tough aluminium case to withstand drops, but then I tend to refrain from dropping expensive bits of PC hardware on a regular basis.
It's not so much Apple products we have a problem with, rather the evangelising of them by both Apple and their customers. If there wasn't such a creepy cult vibe about the whole company, I might be interested in buying Apple products, but it's just the way that Jobs always makes it seem like every interminable update to their product line is the second coming of the computer world that puts me off.
Maybe when Jobs stands down as cult leader, then we'll see.
Let's not make this a Apple vs. PC thread. Let's stick to how pointless the iPantyPad is :)
It isn't actually pointless. It can be used to surf the web, listen to music and read ebooks. Along with whatever else the apps allow it to do. It does all this in a lightweight package that looks the bollocks.
If you dont like it, fine. If you think it overpriced, fine. But you cant say it is pointless.
Yes we can. Did you see those rounded edges on the casing? No points there at all.
I can actually. In fact.. I just did :)
I can surf the web on any number of products. I can do it on a iPhone, a netbook, a laptop... I can do it on my 3 year old mobile phone (albeit far from ideal). Apps? Nothing I couldn't do on a iPhone. Lightweight? Well.. compared to what? Dark matter? Sure... iPhone? Nope.
Looking the bollocks is subjective. Personally, I think it looks stupid. Looks is not an argument, because it's a personal thing. Some people like overly styled "gaming" cases... some people like Lian Li cases. Each to their own.
And again. Show me anything for 500$ that only weighs 680 grams, has a multi-touch-screen, runs for 10hours on a single charge and is as resistant as the iPad... oh and boots in less than 5 seconds ofc.
There's nothing comparable so far and thus all the negative comments on this piece of hardware is totally unobjective and only consists of "We hate Apple".
Not really... just that is there a need for such a product when there are already products... Apple products... that do the same stuff.
As for the other poster: I'm not anti-apple at all. I like OS-X.. I always make my windows themes as OS-X like as possible. I like the way OS-X looks, but like the way Win works... so I have the best of both. I use Macs at work and other than the STUPID prices.. have no problem with them.
I just think this is merely an oversized iPod Touch. If ANY other company had released this, no one would give it a moment's notice, and no one would buy it. Fact.
People like yourself, who don't really give the construction of a device a second thought because they don't understand it are the first to get annoyed when their gadget does not survive an accident.
Apple is not alone. Voodoo PC and Vadim are other companies that charge a premium for a better-built, higher spec device. Even Dell has it's premium range of laptops, built to a higher standard from materials such as magnesium and hence costing more. For people who just want a laptop without the trimmings they sell the cheaper standard plastic models.
And only the insecure need to accuse other people of insecurity just for liking or owning a piece of consumer electronics, FFS. You don't have to like it. You don't have to buy it. You rate technical capability and price over ease of use and build quality? Fair enough. But don't slate a product on emotive bullshit arguments or call others names for their personal choices.
Sorry, that's just patently not true. There are any number of comparable devices - not identical devices for sure, but comparable nonetheless. PC Slates, netbooks, convertible netbooks, convertible laptops, smartphones, PMPs - all of these have features comparable to the iPad's. Even if there weren't comparable devices, it wouldn't follow on from that that the entirely valid criticisms of a number of aspects of this device were 'unobjective' nor is it true that they consist entirely of 'We hate Apple'. It's no fairer for you to dismiss us as Apple-haters than for us to dismiss you as Apple fanboys.
Pookeyhead (who seems that most opposed out of all of us) uses a Mac every day at work and seems to like it. I myself use OSX every day on my MacBook and use mobile versions on my iPhone and iPod daily also. I quite like Apple's laptops and phones. It's not just us two; there's a number of people here who are looking past their affection for other Apple products to recognise that this one is a massive disappointment for people who were hoping for a genuinely game-changing personal computer, because what we get instead is an overgrown iPod Touch.
One of the reason I personally am annoyed about that lack of ambition is that the people who will purchase this (the people who always make up the bulk of Apple's sales) are people who are not tech-literate. People who want it because it 'just works.' These people are being given an unfairly one-sided, not to mention vastly overblown, response to this device by those who are supposed to be informing them objectively. Engadget, Wired, the Guardian; I'm looking at you.
I wish this device would be approached in a more balanced way offline. On Bit, everyone's quite savvy (and if they aren't, the valid criticisms and praise in this thread should enlighten them) so it's OK. On the BBC and in the papers, it's just not the same. That's another reason why we're pissed that Jobs always approaches these presentations in the manner of a cult leader basking in the adultation of the masses; that sort of s*** helps convince people who don't know better. Other companies do brainwash marketing too (Sony's PS3 campaign is a good example, the Toyota Prius is another good example of glossing over massive technological shortcomings) but Apple does it as a matter of course. It's objectionable, so we're objecting the way hardware forumites do - by pointing out the huge hardware shortcomings of their latest device.
LOL.. no I wouldn't. If I drop something, I'll be annoyed at myself, not the product.
I've never had a laptop break on me.
In all fairness.. they reviewed the idea over 20 years ago when there was no 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, broadband... yada yada... please.. you're stretching now Nexxo.
LOL.. Anything that costs $3K will sell here for £2.7K. Stop splitting hairs.
That's the second time you've made assumptions about me. No.. I wouldn't. If I drop something, and it breaks, then I will not be angry at the product.
Oh Nexxo... look where you're posting this my friend. Since when have PCs been beige ugly boxes? In fact.. if anything, it'sMacs that are starting to look tired. They've been pimping that same alloy G5 case for years now. It looks old fashioned as ****!
As I recall.. most people on here laugh copiously at Voodoo, Dell and Alienware as well.. for the same reason... form over function,. stupid prices, and not really enough meat where it matters.
Look.. I've nothing against Macs. If people want to spend their hard earned cash on a nice box, and ignore what's inside it, then fine. We're not talking about Macs vs. PCs though are we. Twice now I've tried to turn this thread away from that, and others keep steering it back towards it.
Good for Joe Bloggs.... Joe Bloggs could you stand up please? Joe Bloggs? Joe???? Sorry... doesn't seem to be a Joe Bloggs in here Nexxo. Maybe you're in the wrong place for that argument.
I'm also sure Joe Bloggs assumes he's getting a BETTER computer because IT COSTS SO MUCH... and LOOKS SO COOL. Yes.. people who don't know much about computers buy Macs... and my God.. isn't Steve Jobs glad about THAT?
Slightly patronising, but I take your point.
ROFL.
I'm sorry, but I know people who will buy ANY Apple product just to have the latest Apple gadget, and they won't even give a second thought about whether they actually need it or not. I know people who readily admit to buying BMW because of the brand, and wouldn't buy a less brand even if they knew it was actually better.
What else are these people?
They're insecure. You accuse me of it? I drive around in £800 Perodua Nippa and work in a industry that is rabidly Mac biased, and still stand by my principles. You're barking up the wrong tree my friend.
Are you serious man? There is no need for a product because there is products that do the same stuff? Your opinions are usually well thought out and well written but this statement is utter shite. By your reasoning no manufacturer need bring out another PC, laptop or mobile phone because these things already exist.
How can you claim fact when it hasn't happened?
Fair point.. I'll amend fact for highly bloody probably then.. will that do?
As for your other point, Apple themselves are touting this as a revolutionary product. Is it really? It's an evolution of their existing products at best. Nothing wrong with that, but it's hardly the earth stopping product that Jobs stood on stage to announce is it?
No its not earth stopping, im not saying that it is an amazing peace of kit. All I am saying is that it DOES have its uses and it IS NOT pointless. I do like it and I will buy one when it comes to the UK but I do understand people who wont buy one and wont have a dig at them for not doing so.
Yeah, because a power connector that catches fire is so much safer.
The whole point of this thread is to debate this. You'll get people who think it's great, and those who just think "oh God.. another iWasteoftime product". Deal with it.
I fall into the latter. Maybe it's the way I work.. I just feel that if I had an iPhone or iPod Touch... and wanted more... I'd get a laptop or a netbook for less money..(or a MacBook for more money) and in my mind, I'd get more bang for my buck.
(shrug).
Not sure what else to add to this. You want me to go back to saying how useless it is because of it's terrible connectivity? We're going around in circles now.
I do laugh at people who buy Apple products, yes. It's one of life's pleasures :) (note to Apple people: smiley... this denotes humour, and a tongue in cheek response)
Mac-users aren't the geeks actually, but we are. We, the ones who like to play games, or like to lay hands on the hardware overclocking it, or we, the people who like to design their own cases etc etc etc...
Mac-users are really simple-minded. They want to buy a piece of hardware and want this thing to work as intended and most of the time, they pay the premium quite happy in that regard.
I'm working as a media-designer myself and I work with MacOS daily, but I'd never buy myself a Mac, as I'm just that geeky person I was talking about there. I own a PowerBook tho, which after 10 years is still running like a charm.
I've got laptops and desktops of varying varieties but I know I'll prefer using the pantyliner for the equivalent simplicity of the iPhone on a bigger screen. Also, who knows how good the made-for-ipad apps will be? there has been hundreds of incredible apps that have kept me busy for over a year now.
I understand that you don't want this to devolve into a PC vs Mac thread, but the majority of the anti-Apple comments in this thread have amounted to, "Stupid i(whatever), I can do all that on my netbook/laptop/tablet PC."
On a related note, one of my colleagues requires the ability to edit and play back full HD video (among other tasks) when away from his desk. As a result, his Windows Vista-based Sony laptop cost over $2000 due to the screen and memory upgrades. It's gigantic, the battery doesn't last long, and I swear the backpack he carries around is going to give him back problems. Different hardware for different wants and needs.
all those thousands of iPods and iPhones.
Insecurity is arguing superiority based on your consumer choices. You value capability and low price; others value ease of use, build quality and aesthetics. You value bang-for-buck, others value build-for-buck or ease-of-use-for-buck and are willing to pay a premium for that. Who is right?
Forget the label, let's look at the product again. You say it is not innovative enough, not capable enough and overpriced. I argue that it strikes a decent balance between innovation and commercial /technological feasibility, is geared towards doing the most common things that most consumers will want to do in a way that makes it easy enough for most consumers to do them, and explained how price is partly dictated by build quality and why that is an important consideration in a mobile device.
In short, it is not aimed at you. It is not for geeks. It is for the regular non-techie guy who wants the comfort and fun of technology without having to hack. For us hacking may be part of the fun, but for them it is not.
Do they fix melted magsafes?
EDIT:
Build quality? O RLY?
Are you suggesting that there are not people who will buy this product for no other reason than having to own the latest iProduct? Or those that will buy a product because of the associated status it conveys? That there's no such thing as an aspirational product?
I reckon the majority of people who own it, will not have a great need for it at all. I can't prove this of course as it's conjecture, but It'll be interesting seeing which of my colleagues buy one, and which do not.
You seem to also be suggesting that you can not establish a level of insecurity from people's consumer choices. I would argue strongly against this. I refer you back to the BMW thing; I had a colleague who was buying a new car. He wasn't sure what to get. He wanted a larger 4 door saloon with good performance and handling. I suggested the Mondeo ST220 (this was around 2003). It ticked all his boxes, but he ended up with a BMW 320 something or other. It was more expensive, slower, smaller, less equipped and was no better built than the Ford. I asked why and he replied "I can't be seen driving a Ford.. people will think I'm not doing as well as I am" LOL.
Now I'm not saying everyone who buys shiny things for the pleasure of owning them are like that. I'm just refuting your argument that you can't judge someone as insecure by their purchasing choices, as sometimes you clearly can.
Anyway... I think we can establish one thing: We'll never agree; I just think we're to dissimilar as people to agree on this. I'll be carefully watching the colleagues I know who buy one (and they will) to see what exactly they're doing with it. My money says they'll be doing nothing they couldn't have done on their iPhone or iPod Touch... and that they'll be carting all three around with them :) I just think the iPad is an aspirational product rather than a genuinely useful one. If it wasn't designed as such, I'm confident it will be bought as such.
Again, conjecture I know. I'll wait and see.
He has never shown an interest in computers before because he's seen them as alien and confusing ...
Oh he also agrees that the Mondeo beats the 3 series BMW as long as you get the right engine. Due to the front wheel drive. And that comes from an old boy who used to be one of the top engineers at Cosworth.
So on the one hand according to some he makes blind buying decisions and on the other hand he knows his cars.
Yes, really. Show me one problem that is unique to Apple products and not any other make of computer. Dell laptops burn people's nads. Sony's batteries explode. In fact, Sony's adaptors (PS2 Slim) burst into flames. Microsoft's XBox 360 is prone to overheating to death (and occasionally will irrepairably scratch DVD-ROMs); Belkin WiFi routers are notoriously unreliable; Windows is riddled with insecurities, the first Google Androids rebooted whenever you typed the word "reboot" in the notepad, an e-mail or SMS; the low-power Intel i945 chipset will in fact not boot with low-power PSU's; the first Intel Pentiums had floating point glitches; the first Pentium 4's had floating point glitches. Do you want me to go on? Because I could. For hours.
Each of these manufacturers proclaims that they deliver a quality product and often (Sony, Microsoft, Intel) charge a premium price for them. Most of the time their stuff works. Some of the time it very much doesn't, and to get them to acknowledge that and make amends can be trying indeed.
It is a simple, easy to use, light, resistant webpage/ebook/multimedia reading device... it is pretty much suitable for almost everyone that is not tech savy... even tech savy people will want one!
Writers (ebook and e-writer capacity), artists (painting and sketching), doctors (patient analysis viewing, Medicines Compendium, memos), nurses (patient data), lawyers (every law book in existence under their arm), engineers (quick reference books, books, lab data, schematics viewing), biologists and scientists (pretty much the book of infinite knowledge as long as you have internet connection or have the right books inside it), etc....
Would i buy one? No. Not because it's from Apple, its because it does not fit with what i want and expect at this moment, it lacks USB ports (i know it has an adaptor, but i don't want to carry an adaptor with my everywhere i go), has a very small hard drive (i am waiting for SSD's to come down in price and go up in capacity) and because it does not have flash (not because of youtube, because of almost every other flash using website on the internet, including news sites).
What i am waiting for is a device that has colour e-ink, wifi, external connectivity with USB, BT and media card readers and has a screen that is about the same size and proportions as an A4 or A5 sheet of paper, it would be extremely useful for book reading and for having tons of datasheets inside it for quick reference while i am at the lab.
The device i am looking to buy, now, is the second batch of the Pandora console, it is nothing of the above, it is simply awesome.
Off Topic:
When i look at a device like this (iPad and friends), that can display any type of information and is linked to something as deep and huge as the internet, i think: "wow, if i go to an encyclopaedia website, i can have much more information than i have from my paper encyclopaedia at a fraction of the size and cost..." and this is just the tip of the iceberg, i can read every single newspaper publication that is published on the internet, i can read any magazine, any book, any scientific publication and i can do it with incredible ease, portability, low impact on the environment and at an incredible speed, it is the book of infinite knowledge.
Some day our grandchildren will look to us and ask: "What is that, paper made, thing on your desk?" and you will shiver and say "a book" and they will look at you with wide curious eyes, the same curious eyes that you get when you show a 12 year old a VCR tape or an old audio tape, and you will have to explain them what it is and what it symbolizes.
My friends, this is the starting point of something amazing...
My point exactly. What her dad is doing is reflecting on what he exactly wants from a product and which one fulfills those requirements best, irrespective of brand name.
I'm not. I was suggesting it will be a common reason for buying one.
I was initially doing just that.... but like all these threads, they degenerate into Apple vs. PC discussions, and all the baggage that goes with that. My initial argument was that why would you pay $800 for a big Ipod with no flash support or USB socket.
We're going in circles here.
I neither despise, nor admire BMW or Apple owners. I am utterly indifferent to either. I have noticed that there is a certain "type" of person that tends to buy Apple products... strangely, so have Apple, which is why their TV ad campaigns use that very stereotype.
So what you've basically done there is confirm that Apple's famous superior build quality is nothing but a fabrication, an illusion created by Apple's marketing department in order to sucker people into thinking they are getting something that is constructed to higher standards than the rest of the computing industry when in actual fact, their hardware sucks just as much as the competition, it just looks prettier before the battery explodes.
Pretty case =/= superior build quality if what is inside the case is no better in reliability terms than the competition.
EDIT:
Problem unique to Apple? Name another company using magsafe connectors.
ROFL.
I can't believe anyone actually believes this crap.
VCRs and stuff are transient, evolutionary stages in a technology that is changing fast. Books, are an unchanging constant that have been around for thousands of years, and you arrogantly assume that the latest piece of magpie attracting tat that falls from Jobs' ass will change any of that?
Books will never be replaced by technology. How do I know? Because we've had the technology to do just that for quite some time, and no one gives a sh1t. Why? Because most people like to sit down in a comfy chair with a book.. a real book. We like to turn the pages, and have the tactile experience.
The iPad is not the start of something amazing... now get your tongue out of Jobs' backside.... and stop trolling.
Well.. exactly...so am I and many others. Which is my point. The iPad is not that. I'm still struggling to see what advantage it would have over a netbook, or even a laptop in that scenario however.
If it had colour e-ink, good connectivity, and the ability to use a decent keyboard when you are in a static or desk environment, then I'd probably concede that it is a useful product. But it hasn't, so it fails as a e-reader, it fails as a laptop replacement, it even fails as a iPod touch replacement due to it's size. I'm really struggling to think of a scenario where I'd be thinking "If only I had a iPad".
I feel a repost coming on....
rw2nkoGLhrE
:)
I don't assume anything! What i am indicating is that, given enough simplicity and advantages, people will adopt e-readers, i was not indicating that the iPad will be the catalyst, f*** no, the iPad will be one of the thousands of devices that will make this happen, its not "THE DEVICE TO RULE THEM ALL", its just one tiny step, for some people it will be significant, for other people it will be non significant, but we can not argue that it is not "one small step" to mass adoption of e-readers.
I have a question: What is a book?
Your answer is very welcome so i can explain my views on this subject.
Please tone down, i know you are in the middle of a flame war with Nexxo and i did not want to interrupt that, i was just putting my views out and was expecting people to point out the flaws in a constructive way, i was not expecting to be called a troll and an ass licker...
They've been around for years. They're simple to use, and readily available, and they're quite cheap. Despite this, few people use them. Ask yourself why.
Ok.. I'll go along with this out of curiosity. :)
It's a collection of words printed on sheets of paper, then bound sequentially into a block of pages that are meant to be read one after the other.
I'm always in a flame war with Nexxo... I just bring the worst out of him :) I actually have tons of respect for the guy, and I hope none of this comes across as personal. We're clearly at the opposite ends of the personality spectrum... which results in some... interesting discussions.
LOL... there was also an element of humour in my reply. I meant no offence. Your post did have a wiff of troll about it if you re-read it however.
Really? I ask this because i have yet to see one where i live... and every unit i find needs to be imported from abroad and becomes expensive...
Then we can consider a book as a method of storing data in a non volatile fashion (as long as your handle it correctly) that can be read randomly (dictionary) or sequentially (novel) and stores data in sequential pages, correct?
Have computers replaced books in some way?
I noticed that, but please compartmentalize your debates, some people are not at fault for your personality disparities...
It is very difficult to transmit emotions on the internet... if there was a wiff of troll on my post then it was non intended... i don't like trolls...
And yes, sorry, but Apple laptops are structurally constructed to a higher standard than cheaper brands. Polycarbonate and aluminium beat injection-moulded plastic. Sapphire glass beats lexan. Rounded corners beat sharp corners. Wide integrated screen hinge beats two small surface mounted screen hinges.
Maybe it's just Portugal, but you can buy them here in book stores. Waterstones, one of the UK's biggest book store chains sell them. PC World sell them. Scan sell them. They're everywhere :)
Not really, no. When I want to read a book, I pick one up, sit down, and read it. I don't even think of using my computer to do so. Computers have changed the way we get SOME of our traditionally printed media, such as newspapers, but I'm talking about books here - text books, novels etc... No.. they will not be replaced by electronic media, other than for pure archival purposes. For end use, they'll be printed, because that's how people want them.
Ok then. The product. It's a poor e-reader. It's a poor web browser. It has rubbish connectivity, and it's expensive for what it does.
Back to square one. You'll now tell me it's none of those things, and in fact brilliant value for money.
Answer me this: What are you going to actually do with your iPad?
Oh please do tell me how sapphire glass, aluminium and wide screen hinges magically protect against exploding laptop batteries, igniting power cords, overheating GPUs and duff screens.
Oh, wait. They don't. All the exotic case construction materials in the world count for squat if what is inside the case is the same junk as in every one of your competitors, which was my point if you had bothered to read my post correctly.
And you know this how?
Again, HTF can you know this? The videos I have seen make it look like a brilliant web browser.
You are trying to pass off your opinion as fact.
I'm guessing his opinions is based off the fact it is not an e-ink screen. This means it can't be read in direct sunlight.
EDIT: As easily.
EDIT2: This is regarding it being a poor e-reader obviously :P
And how exactly does this make it a poor ereader? (not the direct sunlight, because we dont know that this is the case) Im refering to the fact that its not e-ink.
A. It is a backlit TFT screen as opposed to a proper e-reader which has a proper black on white e-ink screen designed to be read in daylight.
B. It lacks flash support, which despite what Apple are saying, will mean that many web sites are simply not going to work as they should.
So no, I'm not passing off my opinion as fact... it is just a fact.
Because a proper e-reader emulates a book... meaning it relies on reflected light from the page rather than being backlit. You can read it as clearly in direct, bright sunlight as you can when it IS backlit at night. A TFT computer screen is pants outside in bright daylight as you well know.
Do I need to dignify this question with an answer? Have you ever read outside in your life?
At this point such statements are as useless as saying "I'm useless in hot climates because I'm white" After all, you don't know my skin's melatonin levels, my ability to cope with humidity, or anything else like that.
What's to say the iPad's screen hasn't got some kind of reflective layer behind the crystal substrate... Also FYI, the iPhone is absolutely fine in daylight, so it wouldn't be a huge leap to assume the iPad might handle daylight just as well..
Probably... look at his avatar comment.
I think you need to use a proper e-reader outside to understand what we are on about. They look exactly like a printed page. Despite not seeing the point, and not wanting one... they are impressive in that respect.
You may be able to read teh screen of an iPhone in direct sunlight, but it's far from ideal, and I certainly wouldn't want to read a whole ****ing novel on such a screen.
If you can. I cant use my laptop underwater but that doesnt make it a poor laptop. Also have you used an iPad outside? Of course you havent so you dont have a fcking clue what you are talking about.
I am very well aware of the fact that E-Ink and IPS are completely different technologies and as such will definitely have differences in how the respond to certain lighting conditions and each have flaws and benefits, such as E-Ink being quite useless low light. The point I am trying to make here is we're still what, 56 odd days away from launch and as far as I can tell, neither you, me or anyone else who's posted in this thread was at the Keynote and handled one, never mind the fact that even if you were, you'd not have been allowed to take it outside, as for apple employees, I doubt anyone would say a damn thing either way for fear for their job; so none of us really knows what the screen is going to handle like at all in any lighting situations other than what we've seen thus far in photos and videos from the keynote.
Stop being so precious about trying to discredit the technology before you've even seen it, there's no point in being petty about it. And whilst yes I have admitted that I am clearly an Apple fanboy, for all I know is it may be utter shite when it actually sees the outside world, but at least I'm willing to wait and see and make my own decisions rather than jumping on a bandwagon speculating about performance.
Of course, to some extent such judgements are subjective. Some people may think it is just fine for their needs.
Boom! Research.
Well, would you look at that. Three "plastic case" laptop manufacturers were more reliable than Apple last year. Not by much, granted but it does go to prove my point that the casing has very little bearing on computer reliability.
LOL.... It would make it a poor laptop if using one underwater was a common pass time. As reading books in bright sunlight IS a common pass time, it's a valid point.
Yes I have. Whilst legible, it pails in comparison to a proper e-reader. Also, as the backlight is having to work on absolute max to do this, battery life on a large screen like the iPad will suffer as a consequence.
Not so... they're also backlit when needed. Can be used at night perfectly fine.
I think I am justified expressing an opinion when there are things we DO know about it right now. Poor connectivity being one, and lack of flash support for it's browser being another. It's screen being a backlit IPS rednering it not ideal for an e-reader a third.
I'm not trying to discredit it.. I'm trying to understand the thinking behind the people who so far in this thread have said "Yes.. I will buy one". I just wonder what they will be doing with it. If they don't actually have a use lined up for it, then they clearly just want it for the sake of it... which is fine so long as they have the balls to admit it, or if they do have a use for it, what is that use?
I don't care either way, but everyone is defending it as a e-reader, and as a web browser, and ignoring the very real, and factual problems it has as both, so those two uses aside... what else is it for?
Been here already. Poor e-reader because of backlit screen being far from ideal in bright conditions (yes I know it can be read in daylight... but it's a poor choice for an e-reader). Poor web browser because of lack of Flash support, and poor connectivity because it has very little of it... I can't even plug in a USB pen drive for example. And I think it's expensive for what it does because it doesn't do all of the above very well.
Sam
Thank god... an objective response to the issues I was posting about.
As I see it, this is what most people want it for. I don't think I'm being unreasonable when I say it looks like it's less than ideal for this because of no Flash, especially when you consider the number of sites that use it.
A lack of USB and card reader is a major concern as well I would imagine, as most people will have their data on such devices already.
It seems though, I'm just being an arse for raising these issues.
EDIT: And btw... what's this about no USB Connection? http://www.apple.com/ipad/ - correct info please
USB? Well.. it has no USB connector, and in the specs:
Input and output
* Dock connector
* 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack
* Built-in speaker
* Microphone
* SIM card tray (Wi-Fi + 3G model only)
No USB listed.
[edit]
What this would be useful for is, portfolio viewing of images. Having just thought about that for a few minutes, it would actually be very, very good for that. I'm not sure how I would get my images on there however without being able to plug in a USB drive.
Why did they not include Flash? Way not a USB drive and card reader?
While it may be great for browsing the web (flash issue aside for the moment)... not great for interacting with it, or posting to forums. That on screen keyboard has got to suck.
I'm guessing there is only the one person who read your original post like that. I think most everyone else would have seen a well presented, well thought out response. His response to you was unnecessary and just so you know there are people who read it and understood where you are coming from.
Actually no, there was no humour in your reply to him but there was an element briefly of you being an unnecessary tard. I wouldn't be surprised if you did offend because if you re-read his post he includes no trolling and no ass kissing, in fact he doesn't even want an iPad but he can see benefits to others. You just used his post as fuel for your own BBQ.
How about you calm yourself down? If at all possible.
Don't mean to offend you, but are you related to Warrior24_7?! And at the same time I will say I added this line for humour.
This picture is either the evidence or highly misleading
Evidence of what mate?
I'll dignify YOUR question with an answer. The last two times were last Summer at the garden table with my shorts on and a bottle of beer and while I was on holiday on an island.
However, that doesn't mean that the iPad becomes useless, it just means that my subscriptions to Custom PC, Empire, Mac Format, Edge and Games remain useful for those moments when reading the iPad will be too hard.
The times when using the iPad will be good are:
on the sofa
in bed
in the office
in my study
on the toilet
in a car
at the airport
on a plane
in a hotel room
when staying at friends houses
I give up now but I think I've made my point that not reading in the sun means jack **** to me.
Thank you.
Don't fuel the fire, i don't mind, i know Pookeyhead since the day i registered and i know he is a sensible person, he is just fired up with his debate with Nexxo...
A 30 pin connector and a speaker... yes, it is evidence that there is no USB in that picture.
edit: Also, leveller, please avoid multi posting. Use the multiple quote button on the right of the quote button.
I have to add the same question. Evidence of what?
[edit]
You posted at the same time as me. Forget the above.
I wonder if that 30 pic connector allows for a USB adaptor lead. It has to surely. If that is the case, then it goes some way to addressing one of my biggest concerns.
Sam
I've re-read it all. I owe you an apology. Sorry mate. I only skipped over your post, and read it as some evangelistic Steve Jobs is the Messiah stuff... I realise now it wasn't quite like that.
Back on subject:
As everyone so far seems to want one of these for browsing in places where a laptop is uncomfortable - sofa, airport, even the toilet etc... Isn't the lack of flash a major issue? It's been raised before in this thread, and neatly glossed over, but without flash it will make your browsing experience limited, surely? That seems to be the biggest attraction for iPad... browsing.
1) it comes with a USB adapter in the box so the capability to transfer via USB and charge via USB is there.
2) I really don't miss flash on my iPhone, and I will not miss it on the iPad. If I have a necessity for flash I'll boot up one of my laptops.
3) The last question you ask about an onscreen keyboard sucking ... They are really easy to use, the iPads' will be huge in comparison to the iPhone and the iPhone isn't exactly difficult to use.
No problem.;)
1.) Thanks, I noticed that but it wasn't really clear so at the risk of getting shot down I didn't post it
2.) I've used an iPhone and until it was mentioned in this thread I didn't even KNOW it didn't have flash - YouTube app ftw
3.) Aslong as its a decent size it'll work, again +1 about the iPhone the onscreen keyboard is tiny yet still easy to use
Flash still DOES bother me. For example... I just went to aCoolermaster site from a link in another thread, and noticed that no script stopped flash from running (which I tell it to). I just had to enable it myself of course in my browser, but on a iPad, I see no other way of progressing from the front page without flash enabled.
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/landing/cm690ii/home.php
Try that without flash enabled.
That would bug me on a iPad.
The problem I foresee stems from the fact that I'm able to rest the netbook on my lap and angle the screen to get the best viewing angle. All this leaves both my hands free for drinking, eating, and most importantly, typing. I imagine that if it was an iPad that I was using today, my arms would be starting to ache as I'd have to have been propping it up the entire time. With one hand propping the thing up, this leaves me one free to write this post. The device would also be pretty good for watching things on iPlayer and the like. Again though, unless you have something to lean it against, you're going to have to hold it up for the entire time. Overall, I'm just not sure if it'd be a comfortable experience... especially for any sort of extended use?
At launch Apple will have their official black case that should be on their website somewhere. It folds around to create almost an A-frame type of stand that creates an angle to help viewing. I don't like it, lot's of others have mentioned not liking it.
However, wait for Belkin and the other iPhone case manufacturers to get going and there will be some really useful and tasty covers/stands.
Doesn't having to set it up on a stand defeat the object though?
Now I know it has USB it's gone from useless to interesting in my estimation, but having to set it on a stand will not make it easier to type. Ideally you want the keyboard flat on the desk or table... or your lap... and the screen at an angle to your face... What you need is a laptop really :)
Lucky bas*ard!:D
The reason i asked you this was because of the following:
I grew up during a very interesting period in my country, we went from playing with balls made out of rags and paper, when computers were really expensive systems and the internet was absolutely alien and expensive, to what we have now: modern computers, games, mobile phones, internet, etc....
This took about 15 years to happen.
When i wanted to learn something i had to go find a book and read it, this would take me between 2 minutes (encyclopaedia at home) and 1 day (had to go to the library away from home), now if i want to learn something i just need to open a web browser and put what i need in some search engine... this is the thing that i was dreaming about when i was a kid, a book that would always be up to date, searchable, editable, would be light and would be hugely vast... a book that contains everything that we know.
Any device that can tap into this stream of data, and present it in a familiar and easy to use fashion, will be very interesting and a candidate to replacing the book.
When i talked about "grandchildren" i was implying 2 generations forward: about 50 years, in 50 years don't you think that we will have perfected e-books to a point where paper books are considered a niche product?
I remember using the yellow pages to look for phone numbers, i remember using data books to find out what was the most adequate component for my circuit, i remember using an atlas to travel in my mind and the encyclopaedia to expand my brain... this was not much time ago... things change, even if they are "unchanging constants", books have changed a lot.
A book is an object made to store data and present it in a familiar and easy to use fashion, if a device appears that does what a book does and does it better, then the book will become obsolete and go the same way of the LP, it will still exist, but it wont be as common as now.
You said that people want printed books, people also want to get them easily and they want to get it now, more or less like with music and cinema, people want to hear music and see movies but these days they want to get them as fast as possible and have the biggest choice possible in front of them, Amazon is a by-product of this hunger for easy to get books, the next step forward is speed, e-readers and broadband are paving the way for this, and its spawn is the kindle...
When my grandchildren go to school i doubt that they will be using blackboards or whiteboards, paper binders and sketchbooks, pens, rubbers, etc... things change...
DAMN MY RAMBLINGS!!!
PS: Pookeyhead, how much is an A5 or A4 e-reader in the UK?
edit:
This?
http://images.apple.com/ipad/design/images/accessories_20100127.jpg
edit2: notice that the cover has other purposes.
@ Pookyhead: now we're talking. Your arguments are sensible and I'm happy to agree with some of the criticisms you raise. But that is different from making a sweeping statement that it is overpriced rubbish that only image-conscious, vacuous Apple fanboys would buy.
Sure, Jobs likes to do his Messiah thing, but so does
GatesBalmer. The iPad has its shortcomings but let's face it; without it HP/Microsoft wouldn't even be considering the Slate.What is also interesting is that the HP Slate, for being an iPad lookalike, is, well, a bit underwhelming. What little has been shown of the GUI (and very little has been shown) looks jerky, suggesting that the Windows 7 OS overtaxes its hardware a bit. And so far from the images I cannot see any network or USB ports; there seems to be no SD card reader so far.
The GUI on the iPad on the other hand looks silky smooth and ergonomic. There is obviously an advantage to sticking with a mobile OS on a mobile device. I agree that a USB port and SD card reader would be de rigeur. Flash... possibly. HTML 5 is looking to make it a bit obsolete.
Another feature I would have liked to see is a webcam and camera. Perhaps generation 2.
Now who would use such a device? Probably people who like the iPod Touch but find the screen too small. They may of course still have an iPod Touch or iPhone because at least you can stick it in your pocket. But I think it will be pitched to people who want portable casual browsing, e-mailing and media playing. I also see it being a good remote for home cinema/media centres and the like.
Let's see now. Looking at the ASUS laptops on their site, even the high end gaming ones, I see no aluminium, magnesium or even GRP used in the case construction. No sir, looks like good old regular plastic to me.
Toshiba? Again, apart from a little carbon fibre detailing on their Quosmio models, no exotic materials used.
Sony? Yet again, apart from a little metal trim which is purely there for aesthetic reasons, looks like good old regular plastic.
Now I never said that they were shoddy case designs. What I did say and what I have been saying all along is that case design is irrelevant if what goes inside the case is no more reliable than the competition.
This is actually one of my biggest worries about this thing. Your iPhone keyboard is easy to use because you can hold your iPhone in both hands and type with your thumbs. If the keyboard on the iPad is the same, how are your thumbs supposed to stretch across a screen that is a little over triple the size to hit the keys in the middle? Also, surely if you're holding it portrait-format, the much bigger size will make it overbalance?
Whatever your thoughts of the iPad as a capable e-reader notwithstanding, I think e-readers will become very popular in the near future. Will the iPad signal the adoption of the medium? Will Steve Jobs get the credit for carrying the world into the e-book age? Probably not. But, who cares if it's the iPad or the Kindle?
The point is that when a digital medium reaches a point of maturity, it begins to gain acceptance as an alternative method to enjoy a past time. As its acceptance increases, companies are willing to spend money on research and development to make the technology better.
There will always be niche markets that hold on to the old analogue form, whether its out of nostalgia or some other aspect. For them, the library will always have a physical copy of their favorite books, just as records will provide those beloved hisses and crackles, and film will offer that touch of grain some people rave about. For others, the e-reader will take its place alongside the mp3 player and the dSLR. Again, those few niche consumers aside, when was the last time the general public bought a film camera, or a vinyl album? Newspaper and magazine subscriptions are dwindling because, after all, who needs to pay for the New York Times when you can just read the articles on the web for free?
Personally, I think newspapers, magazines, and textbooks and other professional journals will be the media to help bridge the transition from paper to e-book. From there, it's only a matter of time before people are carrying around a few e-books along with their textbooks for those rest times between classes - all on the same device, rather than a backpack full of heavy textbooks. We, the older crowd, may not like it. But we, the older crowd, are on the way out.
As others have said, and as I have pointed out several times, the iPhone has dynamically adjusting screen brightness to accommodate changing light levels. It is not the exact same as trying to read a generic laptop in full sun. Furthermore, although I have zero problem reading the screen in full sun, I can't imagine ever wanting to sit and read a full novel in full sun, either, regardless of whether it's on an e-reader or a physical book (as an aside, I find that full sun on paper tends to cause a lot of glare). Your mileage may vary.
Looking at that stand... laying it on my lap is going to make my neck crane at a stupid angle for prolonged periods of time :/
Holding it up to save neck strain is going to be tiring.
You need to prop it up against your legs if you're reclining on a sofa or bed
How much screen space are you going to be left if you use the onscreen keyboard (extended typing doesn't look like it'll be fun, especially if it's one handed)
I know it's not supposed to be replacing netbooks, but my netbook has been my saviour in all sorts of places, from poking at routers to test running all sorts of software when I'm away from the main PC. Functionality just can't be compared. :/
Now that someone's brought it up, I'd really fancy it as a remote... but a damn expensive one
Edit: I'm still waiting for the perfect device to accompany studying.....not only hold books but let you take notes and sort information effectively :( Holy grail.
You know me... it takes me a few hours to blow the crap outta my system, then I calm down.
Now I know it can be easily connected to my existing media, I'm prepared to look at it other than a fanboy's aspiration. I'm still sceptical. I can;t help but think you're better served with a netbook or laptop in almost any situation.
I am thinking it would make a superb digital portfolio however. In fact, it would be excellent.... I'd have to scratch off the apple logo tho... I can;t be seen with a Apple product.
...that was a joke. :)
In all honesty, no. I just think people enjoy reading books... real books. I know I do. I;m about to go to bed in a minute, and I'm going to do what I always do when I go to bed (with the exception of what happens when Mrs Pook and I go to bed at the same time :)), which is pour a single malt, grab some potato salad, and read a good book. I love this little ritual, and although it sounds weird, it's one of the things that makes life work for me. It wouldn;t be teh same with a e-reader. I like to go to teh shelf... select a book... feel it in my hands. SMell it maybe... I love the range of artwork on the cover... the feel of it. I'm not alone in this way of thinking. Do a straw poll... you'll be surprised how people feel about books.
Seriously... I think you're wrong on this one. We've had the tech to get rid of books for some time now, and no one is seriously interested. We love books.
You're talking about reference material... phone listings... encyclopaedias etc. Yes... these will be replaced by digital media... thay are well on teh way to being replaced as we speak.
I'm talking about novels... stories.. possibly even text books. We still love them, and cherish them.
You are neglecting the power of human emotion. Books are a ritual. They are so much more than the sum of their parts.
I know what you're trying to say... but I can't see books going anywhere soon. I'm trying to get my wife to get rid of some of her books because we're running out of space. When I suggest it, she becomes this frightening creature of tooth and claw!... LOL. If I suggest she delete some of her crap off the server, she shrugs and says "sure.. how much".
They'll still be whiteboards, as teachers still need to just blast stuff on a board quickly. They;re still useful and always will be.
Reference books will be replaced, yes. It;s novels I'm talking about. The things we read for pleasure. They'll be around forever. The act of reading... turning pages... It's timeless. It's part of the pleasure.
They start from £150 ish.... go up to around £400 depending on size, memory, features etc. £200 is an average figure for a decent double A5 page model.
Can't be bothered to spell check LOL.
I really think I am right on this.... and furthermore.. I also HOPE I am right as well. I for one would sorely miss books. I'm a complete technophile, and early adopt everything I can get my hands on.... but books are sacrosanct. Leave them alone.
Even in the economic scale... how much does it cost to publish a paper book? how much does it cost to publish an e-book? e-readers will be the youtube of books, everyone will be able to make their own books and give/sell them, and, hopefully, new talented writers will appear.
You are cool mister Pook, sleep well.
Thank you for the data!
edit: I remember that the OLPC has a strange screen that may be of interest...
Basically, it is case design that is most often the problem: the inability to protect hardware innards from liquids, impacts and dust. And there's that pesky DC jack problem. Case design matters.
There, fixed that for ya.
The new toshibas have the power jack in such a way that it is not connected to the motherboard directly, fixing it is easier.
why?
so they can multitask :D
Right there with you on the book thing. Books are compact, robust, have a transparent GUI, infinite battery life and no upgrade or compatibility issues. They never crash either. Although they are slightly vulnerable to infection by bookworms. Books are sensual and tactile.
When ape first wielded a bone, man was born. When man first wielded a book, the geek was born.
Remember, the iPad is not meant to be a power rig. For that you have your desktop PC. Consider its application and ask yourself: what would you need multitasking for? To play music while browsing? the iPad can do that. To receive e-mail while you are doing something else? If e-mail is Pushed, it can do that (because the iPhone can --and can also run any app while simultaneously talking on the phone for that matter). In fact, it can do any task in the background that does not need a display while doing something in the foreground that does. On a small screen, that's all the multitasking you need. Sure, it would be nice if you could have it run several tasks in the background like, say, contunuously monitoring your e-mail, new Twitters as they come in and... well, I can't think of anything else, to be honest. Can you?
With no camera built in I won't be able to take photographs of stuff and post to a website.
However, I then thought, well maybe ... just maybe, they might have thought about this and be including some way to hook the iPhone up to the iPad therefore the iPad piggybacks the iPhone's camera? Maybe.
But then I thought, I've got a lush PC that does everything ... except boil the water, add the sugar and the milk and pour. Ah well. We can't have it all, all of the time.
** disclaimer - I didn't say that no one had thought about lack of camera already, it's just I thought in my personal context **
The fact that it runs the iphones os just makes it feel like a toy to me.
From what I have seen, the iPad GUI is silky smooth. The HP Slate GUI is jerky; what you get when you run Windows on an underspecced machine. I'm not sure that Windows OS (or, for that matter, OS X) is such a good choice for a portable device. Too big, too bloaty.
I'll keep waiting to see what the Android field offers, at least a couple of them will get the balance right.
I must say I was surprised, I was expecting them all to be like giddy children this morning. I'm still waiting for someone to commit to buying one so I can play with it in the flesh.
as long as apple are happy for you to have it and as long as your willing to pay for everything. along with very little control over your storage other than itunes and anything above that is an app, thatll youll pay for. its not technically limited it, its limited by apple
handwriting recognition seems like a no brainer in my view, whether its added later isnt the point, if your investing in things that may come down the line good luck theyre selling a product now.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hate to say this, and Nexxo, you should surely know that I would be one of the last people to throw a deliberate negative towards Apple...
But can it do it out the box? No. It does require jailbreaking, which does put it a little bit more into the "us geeks as a minority" again. It's more the device and OS combo is capable, but Apple have just put the reigns on too tight.
After having some misfortune with the casing on my 3G and having to return it for a replacement (out of warranty I might add +1 for Apple CS!) I'm trying to be as cautious as I can be, especially in regards to jailbreaking (until I get whatever new shiney sex will be coming out in June) as Apple does quite clearly state that jailbreaking will void any warranty etc..
Geeks became fiddler crab....
He replaced it with pr0n.:D
So what is the Ipad? A closed Netbook with the screen on the outside and iphone like usage restrictions, I predict it will be a fail.
The HP alternative seems more attractive (once you replace windows 7 with something that runs better on low spec hw).
Original Article
Man that was a good write up and I nearly washed my monitor with my early morning tea when I got to the bit about prison visits!
:D
The annoying thing is I have actually discovered a use for the damned thing... (digital portfolio for touting around to clients) but that that price, it makes no sense. It's intuitive, self rotating, draggable interface would make this a brilliant little tool. If it was £150 cheaper, I may consider it.
As it is though... apart from that one use... I can't think of any others. I'd still rather use a laptop for sofa browsing, as it's easier to type due to both keyboard and screen being at separate, and ideal angles.
I prefer books to e-books.
I really think Apple have over-estimated themselves this time.
Sadly, that's wht i was afraid of... and that browser of theirs sounds slightly more useful than bin with a camera...
either way. I'm sure there'll be a load of people that will be "ZOMGing" about it for the next year, before it's re-released... and yes, I DO in fact own a brand new MacBookPro...which i love. I Also own a PC... I (sadly) fail to see this affect my life, and as Pookeyhead said, the price is all wrong for what it COULD be used for.
That, and the 4:3 screen. I don't see how this is an ideal movie device when half of it will be black.
4:3 is more book / writing pad shaped, and is therefore a more natural fit.
going by these figures; i used size A for my quick and dirty estimate:
A Format paperbacks are 110 mm x 178mm (4.33" x 7.01")in size,
B Format paperbacks are 130 mm x 198mm (5.12" x 7.8"),
C Format (trade paperbacks) are 135 mm x 216mm (5.32" x 8.51")
Which is fair enough, and the right choice I think, but Apple shouldn't be touting it as an amazing HD movie player.
I don't see the point in an iPod with gigantism, and my solution is not to buy one. Looks pretty, but what Apple product doesn't, but for me? Ultimately useless.
If you believe it will change your life, have fun buying some glass and aluminium that, in my experience, will not survive a fall. I dropped an iPhone, perhaps a foot, from a pocket onto a concrete floor. It landed on its side and completely shattered the screen. Yes, my fault for not securing the device properly, and ultimately replaced under insurance, but honestly not what I would call "drop resilient". I doubt making the screen larger will change that :p
I suppose it takes a few months for the status quo to return to normal, though, after an Apple product launch.
Saw on giz earlier today that someones put windows 7 on an ipad :D at last something useful :D
**** your locked down os apple, steve jobs can go suck a fat cock.
also watch the language, dude. this is a family friendly forum.
With it's pretty much gauranteed success will it initiate armageddon on printed literature? I can only hope not. But then look at vinyl and cd's. Vinyl that you put on a spindle, you feed it the needle, you look at the revolving disc, you can even read the label as it spins round.. it's tactile. A cd you bung in a tray and never see again, apart from digital information on the front of the player. Which are more popular, these days? I'd even suggest that most people rip the cd and listen to it on their mp3 player - music has become nearly passive? faceless? since it had the need to become digital.
An interesting point - But I don't see the same happening to books, if only because of the amount of effort you have to put in.
To listen to music, most people just have to push play. To read a book, well, you have to sit down and pick the damn thing up, be it ebook or proper book, and then focus on the words. Focusing on music is far rarer, as most music these days has about all the message of a micro-post it note.
Isn't that normal for a Macworld keynote speech? I don't know, I just imagine it'd be hard for Steve Jobs to talk about something like the iPad for more than a minute. Then an awkward silence...
I think the music comparison doesn't really work. I love CD's, couldn't give a **** about vinyl, but yet I'll also never go completely digital. I love having the CD, the cover art, the booklet, and knowing that no matter what happens to the shop I bought the CD from, I'll always have the CD. I know it's unlikely, but if iTunes were to go under, a lot of people would effectively loose the music they paid for.
Back to my point, the reason I think CDs have surpassed vinyl is they offer many improvements, they're smaller and more portable, easier to play, you can skip tracks, program, repeat, random etc. And the quality IS better, I'm sure some people will now argue about 'warmth', but at the end of the day, I don't want the hiss or percussive noise you get as the stylus bounces on a warped record.
E-readers don't offer so much of an advantage, sure you can have all you books in one small device, but there are disadvantages, such as battery life, screen readability (although e-ink screens are impressive) and having to re-buy your book collection.
I'm not saying for sure that e-readers wont replace books, but I'm saying that just because CDs/Mp3s have mostly replaced vinyl, doesn't mean it will happen
You really aren't getting what I'm saying are you. Reliability has naff all to do with clumsy users.
I could design a fantastic case for a computer that protects it from everything a user throws at it and makes it nigh on indestructible from external forces, but if the hardware I place inside said case has problems with reliability then all the research and development I put into designing the case is money down the drain.
In other news - looks as if the iPad was supposed to have a camera, and might just have one before it ships. Evidence is certainly pointing that way.
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/02/apple-ipad-may-ship-with-webcam/
Mine and some buds listen to their entire music collections via MP3. I have my music collection on a media server, this can be accessed by any device in the house. I have an iPod in the car with iPod connector.
All my CDs get ripped and put in storage away from sight. I never wanted CDs to kill off vinyl and cassette but it happened. I now regard myself as 'with-it' and can't say I'd ever go back to having truckloads of clutter around the house and in view. People will end up moving on, it's happened with generations of anything, we always improve and move on. Whether it's the iPad that will win the looming tablet wars we'll have to wait and see. I'm a firm believer that the majority want simplicity and function over complications and diversity.
The little bit you put in about iTunes going under ... although it's never going to happen ... you can record your iTunes purchases to a CD to be played normally ... did you know that?
If anyone could ever combine a future version of a tablet with e-ink ... winner.
So yeah. That would make it good for...
Zilch.
Oh please do tell me, Oh Great Guru Of Design how good case design could prevent the dodgy screens on many an iMac, or the bulging batteries on MacBooks, or the incendiary MagSafe connectors, or overheating iPhones.
Please also tell me how it would protect against leaking capacitors on circuit boards, because I'm sure many manufacturers would love to know that.
Not all hardware problems can be solved by improving the design of the case.
EDIT: By the way, "research" can say anything you bloody well like. For ages, "research" told us that fire was the result of a substance called phlogiston being released from flammable materials.
EDIT 2: As for your claim that "most repairs are due to accidental damage by users", please refer back to the report I posted before. I'll repost it again, for convenience.
http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/SquareTrade_laptop_reliability_1109.pdf
1/3 can hardly constitute 'most'.
EDIT 3:
http://www.macintouch.com/reliability/macbooks2.html
Failures due to manufacturing errors are rare. The overheating iPhone falls into that category. Leaking caps do too --there was a spate of them in the early noughties but that has since been addressed. Of course there are occasional hardware design or cost-cutting issues where inferiorly specced or inferior quality components are used.
The problems you keep raising are fairly rare. Batteries do not regularly blow up. Magsafe connectors do not regularly fail. I only know of one publicised case of an iPhone 3GS overheating. The vast majority seem to work just fine.
Research, as you say, is a variable beast. Not many people will admit that the malfunction of their device which indignates them so might have something to do with them dropping it. After all, they want to be able to RMA it under warranty. But also you cannot choose to take seriously the research that you feel supports your argument and dismiss as flawed research that doesn't fit your views so nicely.
In any case let's just agree to disagree, before this descends into mockery and name calling. Don't buy Apple if you don't trust it. I note that Toshiba turns out quality kit; you have choices. And choice is good, isn't it?
One thing I don't get with e-books. There's not supposed to be as much overheads or manufacturing costs associated with the availability of them, so how come they aren't heavily discounted? Some books you can buy new cheaper (e.g. Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol for £13.59 as an e-book from Waterstones is available for under a tenner elsewhere).
I think a music analogy works well as you very subtly picked up on it in your reply. I.e. having to re-buy your purchases and the fact that e-books could very well replace printed media as technology marches ever onwards.
I bought a Bebook for moh last April. The device uses e-ink and it's incredibly clear. The battery lasts for days. Storage space can be upgraded. I don't think any books have been bought for it yet as you can download any and all books by authors that have been dead for 70+ years. I think there's at least 1000 books on it.
Please do post a few links supporting this claim. It is difficult to take what you say seriously when you have nothing to back it up. I on the other hand have provided several links to verify my claims.
Again, it would be nice to see you do something other than say "Research says 'x'" without producing some links to show said research.
It's not the hardware I have a problem with. I trust the hardware about as well as I trust that from any other manufacturer. What I have a problem with is the evangelisation of the brand that goes on, this misguided belief that Macs are significantly more reliable than any other brand in the history of computing. It is Apple as a company that I don't trust, not the hardware.
there's been some nice little discussions resulting from the amazon.com vs. Macmillan debacle over the weekend, about ebook pricing. Mainly if ebook prices dropped significantly it would cut into hardback prices and currently its the hardback profit margins that allow publishers to take risks on unknown authors, profits on books are very low compared to music, and there is currently not enough ebook readers out there to counter balance the profit loss.
have a read over at Tobias Buckell and Charles Stross blogs
Even the Macbook Pro Reliability Study that you link to acknowledges the importance of case design:
It also mentions how design (and yes, engineering) problems can lurk in small corners:
As for the magsafe connector:
It further concludes:
According to the Gartner PC Hardware Reliability Benchmark:
Now on to the PEBKAC issue:
Now I'd like to go back to your SquareTrade report. The study was based on failure rates for more than 30,000 new laptops covered by SquareTrade warranties. It makes a helpful distinction between accidents ("oops!") and malfunctions ("#@*% machine!") and concludes that machines are twice as likely to malfunction than succumb to accidents.
My problem is this: the data is customer reported. To a warranty company. So how likely is the customer to admit that the inexplicable malfunction of his device was really due to an accident or careless handling? Drops do not just cause dents or bugger harddrives; they also dislocate heatsinks (particularly the bigger ones) and loosen contacts. We'd need to see something a bit more objective to know what was the source of the malfunction.
Oh, yes, did I mention the iPhone? SquareTrade did a study on smartphones too:
The article goes on to mention that although the iPhone has the lowest malfunction rate, most of these relate to touch screen issues. It also raises another unexpected problem in, well, case design again:
The study concludes:
and checkmate :D
OK, then why isn't Apple number one in terms of reliability if, by your own reckoning their cases do such a good job of protecting the internals? Yeah sure, you can argue that coming 4th is not too bad, but when their whole marketing campaign is based around how reliable everything they make is, you would have thought they would have made being 1st a priority.
It also says that they are uncertain if the unibody MacBook cases prevent or cause more hardware failures and states that a Powerbook 520 managed to survive being thrown against a wall from 12 feet away, something they doubt a modern MacBook could survive.
Also:
Not something that would happen with a "cheap, plastic laptop". Also, the casing on a "cheap plastic laptop" would be cheaper to replace because it doesn't have to be milled from a block of aluminium.
Good grief! A flaw in the apparently perfect case design of an Apple product? Say it isn't so!
Very impressive stats on Apple improving the reliability of their components but again, if you look back at the SquareTrade survey it shows that they have not managed to improve reliability enough to be top of the charts which, as I said should be their top priority if they are going to be selling their stuff on the "we're more reliable than everyone else" ticket.
Yes? That just says 'notebook manufacturers' in general, not Apple specifically. Nowhere in that article (Yes, article. It is a press release about the report, not the report itself.) does it state that Apple notebooks were significantly more reliable than those of any other manufacturer.
Again, brands are not mentioned, so no data there on whether Apple products are significantly more reliable.
You mean the one that has very little in the way of internal support?
I think that the tale of a 16 year old "plastic laptop" surviving a 12 foot throw against a wall has debunked the theory that plastic casing == easy to break.
Look, you're right. We could go back and forth like this forever and we'd never reach an agreement on this and I'm getting tired of this too now. You have your opinions and I have mine and no matter what evidence one of us posts, the other will manage to interpret it in a way that supports their viewpoint.
Let us, as you suggested, draw a line under this and call it a day.
I think not.
Why..? I still have the files.
On a total non-sequitor: your av: Ulysses 31? Ace cartoon series. ;)
I do think the magnetic power connector is a neat idea though... but hardly a purchasing decider or anything. It's plastic, and creaks alarmingly when I pick it up. I much preferred the old alloy Mac Laptops. I must qualify this statement by explaining that I prefer one type of mac over another in the same way as I prefer one kind of death over another. I'd prefer neither, but I work as a lecturer in an Art and Design college.... I'm sort of forced to use Macs.
I'm curious as to why they decided to have the USB port as a plug in extra... I'm baffled by that. absolutely everyone in the whole world will have their stuff on a pen drive, external hard drive... which connects with USB (or a memory card - CF, SD etc.. which it also doesn't have). Why make it more difficult? That lead is just something you're gonna lose.. rendering the iPad useless until a replacement can be had for Apple's no doubt ludicrous fee.
You've answered you own question. Why add it when you can have it as an extra that you can charge for, and know will be lost ;)
That's why I said effectively, because if you lose that file, it would be gone for good. Obviously you could lose CDs as well, but not quite as easily. But anyway, the main reason I still buy CDs is just because I like to get something physical for my money, and I always will.
It seems likely a daily event now that new devices are being hinted or announced! Most sound crappy and the equivalent of 'speak and spells' compared to the iPad, but some ... maybe ...
If you check the help files or any advice regarding what to do with purchased music through iTunes you will see that it is recommend and advised to record your purchases to CD to ensure they are backed up. Thereby not losing anything.
I used to be like you regarding the physical aspect of owning 'stuff'. I binned all of my old cassette tapes, I gave to charity all of my VHS, I gave to charity all of my vinyl, my DVDs are likely to go to charity soon as well. I no longer buy DVDs or Blu Ray because I have SkyHD. My games come through Steam or PSN. Books and CDs are really the only things that I haven't been able to shed yet, but with the advance of eBooks and the inevitable price reductions on eBook costs ... it's just a matter of time. I find iTunes prices don't compete with CDs so I'm happy to keep buying my music that way, although I have bought some really hard to find stuff through iTunes.
Incidentally, I felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders when I ditched the cassettes, vinyl and VHS. It was all 'stuff' that if I was completely honest I would never listen to or watch ever again, and certainly nothing that I couldn't obtain again in the future at a negligible cost. I'm looking forward to ditching the CDs and books eventually and free up more room for ... damn ... no idea ... maybe I can get a smaller house then!
I think that the iPad will be like the iPhone: people will look at it and wonder what the fuss is all about. Until they use one. Then they will grudgingly admit that it is pretty good at what it does.
The iPad is 189.7mm x 242.8mm, which puts it at a 10:13 ratio (roughly) so it is not far off. But I suspect that it is the ratio it is because of the 1024x768 screen resolution. This resolution seems kind of arbitrary, given that the iPhone and iPod Touch run 480x320. Why not simply scale it up by a factor of 2.5 to 1200x800? This would not only make it easier to scale iPhone/iPod Touch apps to a bigger screen but also give it a ratio of 10:15, pretty close to Fod's ideal of 10:16.
My guess is that the hardware is the limiting factor: I suspect that the A4 CPU and entourage simply can't run at a higher res. Perhaps iPad 2G will --and have a camera!
However, there are always people willing to spend lots of money on a posh-looking toy that they can wave around on the train and show off to friends and colleagues (now that iPhones are so common that they've stopped being a status symbol). They won't care a jot about the spec or the failings of the device.
In the meantime I'll stick to my £200 win 7 netbook, safe in the knowledge that I can do all sorts of things that they can't....starting with CHANGING THE FREAKING BATTERY MYSELF :(
Regarding the battery, again, after this long on the market the iPhones and iPods have shown that they hold up remarkably well. Bash your head on the wall all you like, but the point is that I don't need to replace the battery.
LoL
I think this says more about your own insecurities! Myself and my friends with iPhones don't see it as status symbols! It's a phone with a tonne of function. There are comparable phones on the market, of course, but Apple got there first by making it more appealing and tidier and frankly more fun. When ANYTHING new comes out, people will buy it, feel pleased, and say "Hey, you seen this?", that isn't showing off their status symbols, that's a natural reaction to a new product. Maybe you need therapy to get over it?
posh-looking ... riiiiight!
failings of the device ... riiiight!
Sorry to hear your pain regarding "changing the freaking battery", I'm guessing you must have had some bad experience there with an Apple product ... I've never had to replace a battery in any of my gadgets or laptops. Maybe you are just unlucky?
LoL
£200 on a netbook is really cheap btw, when I was trying to find one to fit my needs, I was looking at netbooks £500+ and they were still lacking in what I needed.
Horses for courses.
Erm, no.
Of course I understand that Apple make popular products - I don't recall saying that iPhones are crap, or that they're *only* bought as status symbols. However, I honestly think that a significant part of the market for them is made up of people who buy them as a fashion statement, and that the iPad (irrespective of all of the pros and cons so eloquently discussed above) will benefit from the same effect.
And yes, my netbook was cheap and does everything I need it to do (specifically, it runs games like Alpha Centauri very nicely) As a matter of fact I've not needed to replace the battery - that was just the most glaring example of why I wouldn't touch an Ianything with a bargepole. Of course, I can understand that not everyone wants to be able to modify, ugrade or even repair their electronic gadgets, but for me it's important.
As a side note, I quite like the E-reader concept, and that is something a netbook's not ideal for. However, the pricing at the moment for both hardware and books is just ridiculous. It's a similar situation to music downloads - the distribution chain is no longer necessary, but the publishers still want to charge the same price for the product. Sooner or later the prices will become realistic, but in the meantime I'll stick to dead trees.
That looks interesting, but I doubt it's the future of portable memory. Like all wireless devices... it will be slow, and flakey. The very reason my entire house is threaded with CAT6 cables, and the radio is turned off in my DIR-655 :)
Can't beat CAT6, but it would be a bugger to rewire a 120-year old Victorian red-brick property. I'm hiking a signal over the mains.
You'll have to define a real OS to me. When is an OS not real? What would a real OS need to be capable of that a "pretend" OS isn't?
Otherwise, IMO, it's just an application itself. Yes, a very OS like application, but since it can only do one thing at a time?
Might aswell just be an app :shrug:
But that's overlooking the broader point that this type of device is not designed to be a heavy multitasker. If you want to play Crysis while encoding a video, listening to your music, and running some folding program, then this device is not for you. But that in itself does not make the device bad. To be honest, I wonder if the much lauded netbooks can do all that simultaneously (at least, with any meaningful battery life). How much multitasking does a person really need in a portable media device?
The whole multitasking argument raises another point: if you define a "real" OS as one that multitasks, does that take hardware capability into account. It's all well and good to include heavy multitasking in an OS, but if the hardware is (purposefully) low-spec, then the multitasking capability is ultimately ineffectual.
Oh, I'm not saying I wouldn't buy one because it can't multitask. Infact, I don't give an arse that it can't multitask - I've lived with that for two years, iPod and iPhone.
My point was simply that I'd expect a "real" os to run more than one thing at a time, say MSN, Skype, browser and email client - Although, with push it does check mail regularly anyway. Hell, even Apples own chat program that covered the basics in one app, a browser and music. That sort of thing, for a device of this type.
I see who this device is aimed at, I see why they designed it the way they did.
I think it's crap (because I have no need for one, and no need for one in the foreseeable future. I realise it's bit stupid to call it crap just because I don't want/need one, but hey) and I won't be buying one. I don't care if it's the best touch based device of its size for the next decade, because I won't be buying anything like it either. I'm still quite happy carrying my laptop around :p
If it suits needs for you, though, knock yourself out. Buy two for all I care. I can read bash at night on my iPod, and that does me fine :p
Cavity walls.. under floorboards, carefully disguised conduit. :) Not a single speck of brick dust was spilled :)
Oh... and to keep it on topic....
FTzhXMbOWHE
EDIT: in reference to an OS not being an OS unless it multitasks and not being an expert myself I had to wiki it.
But that's the Tanenbaum definition. MS would have you believe it's the entire UX provided by Windows, which is arguably an application system.
Do you mean the "assumption" that some people will buy them for fashion reasons? If so, a) it's not an assumption, it's an assertion, and b) I'd have to cite the people I know who have bought Iphones and other Apple products purely for for fashion reasons. I can name names if you like, but that seems a little pointless. In any case, I'm not trying to prove anything, I'm just stating my views. Re: batteries, see below. I'm glad that you have proof that Iphones are reliable, that's nice, but I don't see the relevance - I've not said anything negative about Iphones other than that I don't like the limitations.
Appreciate the sarcasm, but I think you're missing my point. As I said, the battery is an example of the things you can't do, I could just have easily talked about RAM upgrades, changing OS, or running PC software without an emulator and so on. I haven't needed to swap the battery in my netbook, but I have two batteries for my phone, and find it useful being able to swap between the two. And once again, as I've already said, I like to tinker - if you don't mind being limited, then bully for you.
P.S. I've just noticed Nexxo, that you're in the same city as me. Perhaps it would be worth me naming names :)
http://news.softpedia.com/news/iTablet-Debuts-Not-an-Apple-Device-134298.shtml - 250Gb storage, optional HDMI, 3G built in, webcam, win7, multi-tasking, flash.
No price and launch date is penned for April.
No battery life? With those specs, I think 10hrs of active use would be next to impossible.
Pretty much almost the same spec, size and weight as my Tablet PC --except that mine runs on a Pentium Mobile with Centrino chipset. The battery on my 25W TDP Tablet drains in about 2-3 hours. An 1.6Ghz Atom on a 945GSE Express chipset will use around 12W, so I'd think the battery will last about 4-6 hours --tops. Especially if it is multitasking.
The 1.6Ghz Atom has the grunt of a Pentium Mobile running at 800Mhz, and it will be running Windows 7... Now my 1.1Ghz Pentium Mobile-based tablet is hardly zippy so I dread to think what Windows 7 on an Atom 1.6Ghz will be like.
I think that the iTablet will do a good job of highlighting why Apple made all the decisions it did when designing the iPad. :p
I hope you are right on the one hand and on the other I curse Apple for not including HDMI. I've sent off a feedback feature request to them comparing the iPad to iTablet and explaining that the lack of HDMI could be the clincher here ...
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/02/08/inside_apples_ipad_vga_video_output.html
There's some very well reasoned arguments as to why it's only VGA out.
Actually I'm kinda sure I have a DVI to HDMI converter around the house somewhere, so maybe I can get VGA to DVI converter? Wow, that's not getting complicated at all! :)
Basically. With great resolution comes great processing power. With great processing power comes great power consumption. With great power consumption comes tiny battery life.
Interesting read, if purely speculation.
I don't think battery life is the main issue anyway, if it was then all those people getting it for the e-books would just buy an e-reader.
This is certainly true.
It then goes on to worry about issues it already should know the answer to and which arguably are not that relevant in the first place. I think the author just worries because he wants to worry.
And just how good is your little Atom at all that highly rated multitasking? :p
I dunno about you, but I'd be worrying about the status of a steering wheel if I bought a BMW.
I jest.
Although, the exchange support, it's possible that there are nuances in the agreement that we're not privy to that requires a re-negotiation.
Another key question, really, is the state of document storage. What're the options there?
With a productivity suite I'd expect document storage, and for it to appear on the network as any other computer would, but I sincerely doubt that's going to happen.
Granted, most of those questions stink of "I need '10' questions rather than two", but still, the fact that Apple haven't responded regarding Exchange support and document storage? Would that really be hard to "yes/no" on?
Perhaps the author is not that important to be top of the in-box in Apple's PR department. Seriously, why should the iPad not have Exchange support? The iPhone and iPod Touch do.
Document storage would seem kind of logical, but would the iPad not be working in the context of a network with NAS?
People keep not grokking the iPad. This guy does. Although I disagree with him that Flash is "outdated", he makes some good points here:
We are looking at it too much from the perspective of a jaded, hard-core geek. We want raw power over transparency. We want flexibility over accessibility. That's because we don't care about transparency and accessibility --in fact we like it when such things are lacking because puzzling is fun. We like the challenge. We like that we can make devices do cool stuff that other people can't. And with more power and flexibility you can make it do cooler stuff.
Other more ordinary mortals however just want their devices to do the job they were designed (and bought!) to do, without getting all complicated about it. They don't see a lack of power and flexibility as limiting because they don't want to go outside the box. What they experience as limiting is when they can't work out how to use the bloody things and when it runs out of battery power.
What Apple is doing, and has been doing all the time, is make computers and and electronic gadgets for people who are not really that interested in computers and gadgets --in fact, may even dislike them, because they experience them as ugly, inscrutably complex and cumbersome things that demand occult rituals to keep them placated such as recharging, defragging and scanning for viruses and worms. It's like owning some high-maintenance pedigree pet, and they don't want that grief. They want a nice, easy tool to do specific stuff, like a stereo, or a toaster (We want the high-maintenance pedigree pet). Apple makes stuff that looks aesthetically friendly, comes as an integrated package and is accessible and easy to use. That's been its pitch right from the days of the first Apple Mac:
http://www.computerarts.co.uk/__data/assets/image/268555/114macicon455.jpg
Apple does not create hardware for geeks who like to tinker, modify and overclock; who think that a stack of bare mobos each with three graphic cards slotted in and cables all over the place running Folding@Home (GPU2) on the latest version of Linux is a thing of pure beauty (even though it is):
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/KjOW5iW7dJQ/0.jpg
The iPad is not aimed at us. Don't make the narcissistic mistake thinking that it is, and therefore that our opinions actually matter. We're not the target audience for this device.
Like I said, perhaps there are nuances to the agreement they have with MS that haven't been worked out yet. Perhaps not, and Apple are just keeping schtum to keep people talking about the thing, since there's so little else to talk about.
You mention "ordinary" users, I don't know many "ordinary" users with a NAS, nor any idea what one is. I do see your point, though. However, what use is a NAS if you're on the move? I doubt the "ordinary" user would know enough to set up a VPN connection on their network router and their iPad. Perhaps easier on the iPad, but router web interfaces are hardly super friendly to the un-initiated.
I, personally, hope it does no such thing.
I'm not so interested in power, nor flexibility. For example, I recently switched back to a V3 from an iPhone. The huge majority of the reason was because I've decided touch screens are not for me, but the chance for customisation was damned minimal. Even with jailbreaking and unlocking (Not that I much cared for switching provider), the options are limited. There is only so much you can do to the device.
What's the point in accepting something as it is, just because everyone of a non-tech persuasion would be happy with it?
Apples problem, in my opinion, is that they're so shut in. They refuse to let anyone have the chance to change their script - You have to use their products their way, not yours. To me, that sounds rather daft. Which pretty much just proves that aspect of your point.
I've never assumed it was aimed at me, I just like questioning things that so many people are happy to accept as is. I wouldn't buy one even if it did all the things that it doesn't do (Or, doesn't as far as we can tell) because I have no use for one. $499 to read bash.org, which is all I'd use it for (Since I couldn't fit it in a pocket without getting the baggy jeans out again..), is just crazy in my book. I know it's going to sell like hotcakes (Cheesecake, if you prefer), though, because Apple do their job incredibly well. It's not for me, but it is at least done well.
lQnT0zp8Ya4
I really can't wrap my head around that.
It may not offer the flexibility for us geeks, possibly, but it takes the pain out of NAS for noobs.
The price for letting people tinker is that you cannot guarantee the 100% compatibility and integration that non-techie users want. You get the PC situation: hundreds of companies making different hardware resulting in millions of different configurations of PC that Windows all has to cater for. Hence lots of faffing about with device drivers and, for instance the inability to just buy, download, play, sync and restore media to your MP3 player, and keep its firmware updated all within one single application.
In Windows, you need at least 3 different applications to do the same (count 'em). In Windows, you need PlaysForSure certification just to make sure it all plays nice together (and yes, it is all firmy .WMA and .WMV based). But Microsoft's Zune, of course, works only with its own content service Zune Marketplace, not PlaysForSure. There is no PlaysForSure standard for video, by the way.
Can you see how confusing that gets for noobs?
Err, yes. Brain's not in gear tonight.
Not by Apple, no.
Never argued they didn't do it well for the "ordinary" users.
I have no idea which media player you're using as a guide there, but I've never had that much trouble managing media players.. Pretty much all of them have been a drag'n'drop affair. Except the iPod, that was more a drag, drop, click, wait affair.
That's been the case with a couple of Sony devices, something with 64mb of storage space from wayback when, and a couple of Phillips jobs.
Drag and drop means:
Of course Windows Media Player does most things in an integrated interface like iTunes does, except check and update firmware on your MP3 device, but I find its interface to the various stores (choice is good) rather buggy and inconsistent (which is bad). Some insist on opening unrelated advert windows in your browser (e.g. PayPlay; which is extremely annoying). Unless you have a Zune in which case you use a totally different media application again. That one I like, by the way.
Sorry, but as an overall package the iTunes/iPod combo works best. Microsoft recognises that which is why it has a closed Zune/Zune Marketplace combo.
http://mrcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/introducing-ipad.jpg
If you're going to want to use the iPad for file editing outside the wifi range, and you have the 3g version? I'd say it does, yes.
I can't say I do things the same way you do, then, since I do all that from one window.
Well, except the downloading of music, but since that is primarily for my media player on the pc, and the portable is merely something I use because I have it, rather than anything else, and I doubt I'll be replacing when it dies. Incidentally, that's an iPod touch. I don't like that either.
I disagree that iTunes works best, if only because it craps itself at ~50k tracks or more. The main library lags like an arse for no good reason, and it refuses to play FLAC or any other lossless format. Then again, so do pretty much all portable media players.
Pff, that's honestly nothing. Couple of friends of mine have 100k+ collections.
Totally disagree with you here. And before you take this the wrong way - I mean you no harm :D - it is your problem.
It works very well for Apple because it makes everything easy to fix and quick to issue fixes. Due to the limited amount of hardware and possible conflicting software to test each fix, therefore reducing the number of issues in the first place and secondly reducing the time it takes to test a fix. So, a problem for Apple?
Nooooo!
But it does pose a problem for you because it means you can't do what you want when you want to on a piece of Apple hardware.
Like I said, that isn't a dig at you, you brought the subject up of Apples limitations ... but then Apple don't see these as limitations, they see them as features :)
Not working so well with the latest iMacs, eh? I know where you're coming from though, but a limited amount of hardware can still throw up wierd glitches that take forever to fix.
For full disclosure, complete Apple FanBoi here. Just playing devil's advocaat. :)
I'm thinking maybe they need to rethink their 'moving forward' slogan.
"moving forward, uncontrollably"
And it was 8m for the Brake pedal, 1m for the accelerator and another 440,000 for the Prius recall isn't it?
Not all plain sailing I s'pose, but that's the way it goes really. Toyota has had a pretty good run of luck and now it all seems to be fizzling away.
No offence taken :p
I fully realise that what I want to do with something often doesn't match up to what someone else does, but half the things I want to do with an iPod touch, or any of its brothers, are things that a great number of even Applefanboys want to do. I understand their limiting the hardware, and that doesn't concern me, because their hardware tends to be good, so long as you don't intend to game heavily, but the software.. That could do with a degree of open-ness. Even if they just let you have easier access to the plist files, or customising logins etc (Rather than renaming specific wallpaper files :/), just something simple really. Neither the hardware nor the core OS needs to change, just their access limitations. Normal users wouldn't notice, and power users would have more control - Which is what I want.
It's punishment for abandoning F1.
Interesting cost breakdown. I do believe this point was raised earlier and a lot of people got very het up about it saying they were making huge profits/of course they aren't.
Well it turns out they are making quite a profit on it after all, at least according to analysts.
Ooooh, you're in for it now! I raised the same point a couple of weeks ago and the replies made me swear I would not get involved in this discussion again. Waste of time and energy and all I'm doing is adding to the hype & buzz around apple. (Still, here I go again!)I don't like apple's business ethic, and I never have done. I have never bought an apple product, and I don't think I ever will (although I was gifted a video iPod).
I like iTunes Cover Flow, but other than that they simply don't produce anything that interests me. Both my BB Bold 9000 and my old SE W850i suit me better than my iPod (which is used about once every 6 months), my (2005) Toshiba Portege m200 runs OneNote, Firefox, iTunes and (shock, horrror) full Flash (yes, even Cooliris!), at the same time.
Apple products offer far too little value to me to even register on my radar when I am thinking about making a purchase. It's not that I mind expensive products (both the bold and the portege were premium products back in their day), but they have to justify their price-tag by bringing something special to the table. Take the bold, for example: Since I got it, about 18 months ago, I haven't used my computer for e-mail more than about 6 times. It has completely revolutionised my use of e-mail - that, to me is value. I simply don't see what apple products bring to the table (for me) in order to justify the extra cost.
Sticking with mobile phones, I'm due an upgrade this month - will I be getting the 3GS? No, it costs £800 and I cannot see a single thing that sets it above the Nokia N900, which costs £500. In fact, if they were both the same price, I would still choose the nokia, and, if, by some miracle, the 3GS was to go down to £400, my money would still go to Nokia. Why? Perceived value. The Nokia's qwerty keyboard, full flash support and ability to run a huge range of linux apps offers me a freedom that the iPhone doesn't, and never will. And before you mention jailbreaking, riddle me this: why bother? If there is already a (cheaper) device on the market which offers that functionality out of the box, why should I risk bricking my device/voiding my warranty etc etc?
EDIT: Just been to the maemo 5 website: they have some awesome apps out! THE N900 gets AdBlock Plus!! XD
Looking at Orange, the most expensive iPhone I found in the "Select your plan" widget was a 32GB 3Gs model for £280 (with £30 monthly cost). Unless I'm misreading the chart, you can even get a free 16GB 3Gs model with an 18 month contract (with monthly cost of £60).
No, buying a SIM free iPhone 3gs was about £800 a few months ago on play.com, and in fact still is:
http://www.play.com/Mobiles/Mobile/4-/10674553/Apple-iPhone-3GS-32GB-Sim-Free-Unlocked-3-0-Megapixel-Mobile-Phone/Product.html
Sam
Bloody hell that's pricey. Get them from Germany. Only about 400 Euro give or take.
Erm, yeah. iSuppli’s estimates are based on the cost of components expected to be used in the iPad, and not on an actual teardown of the device, with some other estimates of what components like the screen should cost if scaled up from the known cost of the iPhone/iPod Touch screen. I note they left out the sapphire glass sheet (pricey), and the actual friggin' cast/CNC'd aluminium housing for the thing. Nor do they include other expenses such as hardware development and testing, software development and testing, packaging, marketing, sales and distribution, warranties, licencing fees and royalties.
That will be 0, then... thanks to all the hype and free advertising the internet has generated. :(
Please, nexxo, do not try to say that ANY apple product is good value. They may be a lot of things, but one thing the most certainly are not, is value for money. End of story.
I'm not saying the analysts you quoted are wrong necessarily, but most in my view are biased and jaded.
In the stock markets, you only need an analyst to wake up on the wrong side of the bed and announce that the future of technology is paper and pen, and then Intel, AMD etc all lose billions off their stock values. Or more famously and more current, that we're all making a triumphant exit from recession ...
Oh look, the financial markets just collapsed again.
Depends on what you consider value for money. My Motion Computing LE1600 Tablet PC cost a bomb (new): £1200,--, which seems ludicrous for a glorified laptop with the keyboard taken away. But it is well built: it will survive a drop on a hard floor. It is light, thin, tough, fully featured (3 USB, VGA, DVI, PCMCIA, SD card reader, 3 microphones, 2 speakers, bluetooth, WiFi, fingerprint scanner) and has a good battery life. It has a daylight readable screen (brightness toggled by light sensor, auto-rotating by inertia sensor) with toughened glass and Wacom pressure-sensitive touch sensors. You can clip on two batteries to run it up to 8 hours straight. Each battery comes with a natty LED status indicator. It runs a 'real' OS (whatever that means).
You can buy a laptop for nearly a quarter of the price. But is it as good? Depends on what you want in the product.
Exactly. The LE1600 is value for money. The iPad is not. How many of the features of your LE1600 does the iPad have?
USB -no
dvi -no
PCMCIA -no
SD card reader -no
microphone - 1
speaker - 1
fingerprint scanner -no
active digitizer -no
replaceable battery -no
full-featured OS -no
And yet it looks like it will cost 2/3 of the LE1600's (launch?) price. A quick google search shows an LE1600 for £750 (used. ebay).
USB - cable included in box to achieve USB.
DVI - iPad outputs at VGA so the likelihood of a cable at a later date to expand connectivity is high.
PCMCIA - I'm not sure what value this would add for me.
SD card reader - shame it hasn't got this.
Fingerprint Scanner - ... no thanks. lol.
Active Digitizer - sounds great ... what is it? :|
Replaceable Battery - Never needed to do this, ever, apart from with a torch, or a drill ...
Full-Featured OS - Part of the iPads beauty is its simplicity. 3 elderly folks in my family have put their names down for these. Girlfriend wants one as well after upgrading her phone to 3GS, she's loving it's usability and speed.
I meant USB ports on the device so you could connect..umm, I dunno, a keyboard or a mouse if needed (as well as pretty much anything else). And before you say, It's got bluetooth, even apple's own bluetooth keyboard (~£50 on its own) doesn't work with the 3gs, and since the iPad runs essentially the same OS, no bluetooth keyboard/mouse.
Incidentally, because you can't just connect any USB kb/mouse, apple will probably sell you a set for £60+. (and then you'll have to carry it around with you!). As for apple selling you adapter cables for things that should be on the device, I'll pass thanks.
Fingerprint scanners + decent software are a huge boon on this kind of device (ie, without a physical keyboard to type in your passwords for various things on). They also add a bit more security to portable devices in general (would love a fingerprint scanner on my mobile).
Active digitizers generally appeal to tablet PC users and those who do a lot of inking because of the palm rejection, smoother quality of the ink, and handwriting recognition. It does require a special pen, as you said, which makes it ideal for note-taking and for people who either prefer stylus-based (vs. finger-based) interfaces or hate fingerprints/smudges on their screens. But then I don't expect the iPad has any handwriting recognition to speak of.
Replaceable batteries are useful for people who need to make sure that their device has juice when they need it. More importantly, however, being able to remove the battery means that when it stops holding charge you can just buy one off the shelf, pop it in and off you go.
Also DVI=/=VGA, DVI>VGA http://www.thesmallest.com/lessonettes/dviandvga.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BnLbv6QYcA
Erm ...
There is a keyboard announced for it, but then you knew that? Mouse ... just touch the icon you want, just drag the screen down instead of using a mousewheel ...
I don't think that because a bluetooth keyboard doesn't work with the 3GS PHONE, I hardly think that will be the same for the iPad ...
Well ... it's more a case of you wanting to see things on the device as opposed to the device really needing those things. Personal preference.
But ... you have a virtual keyboard to type in your passwords ... not sure where the physical benefits over the virtual ... fingerprint reader - non-essential to the majority, essential to you, I respect that.
Ahh I see, active digitizer = pen tablet. You say pen tablets generally appeal to PC users ... and that being the case they don't appeal to ... non-PC users? Cannot hand-writing recognition be coded for iPad? Maybe they'll add it at a later date ... who knows ... can't say it'd bother me really because I can type faster than I write. In fact I just sat here 'writing' with my finger ... can't see any issues there.
Replaceable batteries are from a time when devices ran out of juice 30 minutes after booting up the device. I exaggerate of course, but you know what I am saying. These days, 10 hours of use-time gets a lot of things done.
Yep I know DVI > VGA ... my point being that it has an external connection for screens and projectors. Your point being that lack of DVI is a bad thing. It'll be interesting to see which tablets fulfil your need for a DVI out.
If you are going to refer to the moist expensive iPad with 3G, a fair comparison should be with the LE1700 which includes 3G also. Starting at £1600,-- (inc. vat). Then we're looking at about 50% of the price.
Now to your list:
USB -yes, actually.
DVI -yes, through an adapter cable. Not actual DVI of course, but then again it is not an HD device.
PCMCIA -obsolete. You can't find it on any laptop anymore. Irt was replaced by Expresscard but Firewire and USB devices are available for almost all functions that the PC Card interface was originally used for
SD card reader -no. The only thing I'd miss.
microphone - 1. How many do you need?
speaker - 1. Again, how many do you need? It does stereo on the headphones --where you can actually hear the difference.
fingerprint scanner -no. In practice I find it no easier than a password.
active digitizer -no. And the difference would be? Apart from needing a pen?
replaceable battery -no. When do you ever replace the battery on your laptop? I've never needed to replace mine. And at 10 hours run-time, why would you?
full-featured OS -I would like you to explain to me how that benefits a portable device specifically designed for what you'd use a netbook or tablet for. You are not a character from "Hackers", "Sneakers" or "Mission Impossible" trying to crack a Gibson from a phone booth or elevator shaft. Don't kid yourself. You use it to browse the internet, do some e-mails, write some docs (at a push) or play some media or games. You don't need a "full-featured OS" --whatever that means (if you know, please tell me. Nobody has been able to so far).
Great, a keyboard with a Dock Connector. Just what the world needed :|. It'll probably still cost £50.
Unless I missed a big announcement, the iPad will run the same Os as the 3gs, so if the 3gs can't do it the iPad can't either. Incidentally, that is probably why the iPad doesn't have usb ports or support for media cards, because the iPhone OS cannot work as a usb host.
You are right there. One could argue that these things are not essential but they do make life easier. I defy anyone to type in a secure password using the onscreen keyboard quicker than it takes me to swipe my fingerprint. (not to mention the risk of your password being seen)
They appeal to Tablet PC users... Active digitizer does not necessarily equal pen-only tablet as some manufacturers have dual digitizers that you can switch between at will. Handwriting recognition is difficult to do well (just look at how long it's taken MS to get it right) and it is aided by having an active digitizer which can differentiate between pen and hand. Also, having an active digitizer allows a device to detect "hover" gestures, which passive devices can't.
As I said, some people like to know that if their battery fails (i.e stops holding charge) they can replace it themselves without having to send the device away to the manufacturer.
The Motion LE1600 has VGA and DVI out, as a previous poster mentioned. I brought it up as a comparison point between two premium devices. I agree that it is not essential for many users. However, it's just another thing on the long list of things the iPad can't do. For £800+ this shouldn't be a device that just does the bare essentials. I just cannot see how this device justifies costing more than your average mid-range laptop, while being an oversized phone.
@Nexxo: If you think that the Motion LE1700 is a fair comparison to the iPad, you are so deluded there is simply no point talking to you. This is the Motion page for the LE1700
True it will run the same closed-OS as the iPhone, but the iPad is not limited to what the iPhone does. That would be like saying the iPod Touch cannot make telephone calls therefore iPhone will not be able to either.
Sorry, but your trying to compare a device that runs Windows 7, which, lets be honest, is a pretty power hungry OS, that is bigger than the iPad, has an ariel that sticks out so you can use it when on the go, and only has a battery life of 3 hours, that's THREE hours, unless you spend more money, that's MORE money on a second battery, then you get upto 7 hours.
It also sports a clunky old hard drive, which is slow, although, granted, a greater capacity, it also has worse Wifi, only A/B/G, the iPad has that, plus N.
Also worthy a mention is the 1.5ghz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, obviously needed to run Win 7, but, also eats your battery, as well as the two speakers you wont need, as well as the Infra Red port, and RJ45 port. The LE1700 is also over double the weight of the iPad, so makes it more awkward to hike about on the train with.
I'm sorry, i know your going to pick at that, but as far as i can see, your argument is pretty silly, it's arguing for the sake of it.
Sam
Slight Edit, i've slightly misread the page, but my comments are still valid, and Back up Nexxo's points.
And your typed password really cannot be seen that easily. ***********, remember?
If you can't keep track of even your own argument, then there is simply no point talking to you.
TBH I'll probably end up buying an iPad once it's gone through one or two hardware revisions. Right now I really want a decent e-ink reader, and the Asus Eee tablet recently anounced should do quite nicely as a travelling machine.
But i would probably wait till the second gen model. As i got the first gen iTouch, still going fine, but i miss out on the better models.
AC
i wouldnt be convinced to buy one of these if you put a gun to my head. i have a laptop, this would never be a replacement for a laptop, ive never had any need for a laptop away from home, if you didnt get a 3g version of this itll be no more use than an ipod touch, even the 3g version is just a big ipod with 3g.
im not saying its useless just saying i have no use for it and id think of myself as a fairly average consumer. im sure some people wil have use for, just dont think the average consumer will.
And no, you're not the average consumer. You're a geek. Your computing needs are more esoterical than those of the average Joe.
@eddtox: each product in the end is only worth what you are prepared to pay for it. Let the Market decide. But the reason I brought up the LE1600/1700 Tablet PCs is to illustrate that all these features that you desire come at a hefty price. The iPad is a cost-performance compromise. You may think that the compromises were made on the wrong places and hence that it does not hit your value-for-money spot. Other people with other needs/desires may think it is perfect for them at the price. As always, YMMV.
The rellies will still get them though.
highly doubt it plays anything other then mpeg 4, avi and possibly (since its running a iphone os clone) .3gp...
why are we still discussing the iFail?
But, there is also plenty of time to add features to the iPad before launch. We'll see I guess.
For the simple reason that it causes nerdrages of varying degrees, and it's extremely funny to watch them progress.
Also, I don't know if you noticed, but it's a very popular subject at the moment:p
Geek: "You have to be the worst tablet computer I have ever heard of"
iPad: "Ah! But you have heard of me"
you're all very funny. you bring me great amusement.
I like it. Nice and easy machine to catch up on periodicals, monitor experiments and generally be a useful portable large data pad with touch screen. It even had a handwriting app and as i have this touch screen compatible pencil (rrp 12p, the rubber end, just don't rub to hard) the handwriting recognition is p.good even for my dyslexic spider, who dropped acid, is drunk, cant see and has multiple learning disabilities handwriting was enamoured with this object after this.
Shame it doesn't do all i want, like watch porn on etc.. but its nice, and it has function within our everyday lives.
I wouldn't buy one still, I have different needs to the average joe, and i can see it will shake up the e-reader market due to its flexibility, developer support through the appstore and thousands upon millions of geeks hating it. Look at what that hate turned the iphone into. A complete success.
Pirates reference made me smile :)
But the Hauppauge HD PVR won't be wrapping my recordings up in a nice m4u container ... and I'm not converting everything I want to watch on the iPad. So I'll just buy whatever does the job without needing the files to be converted.
Say the people who are bitter about not having the money. If I buy a XKR or something like that, does the same still apply? Having money means getting to spend it. Get over it. FWIW, people with "more money" generally get there by having more sense then those that don't.
Oh please.... that's childish. I can afford many iPads.... I'm still not buying one.
QFT.
And.... you're the one who suggested that people are bitter for not being able to afford one, not me.
I just think it's crap, pure and simple :) I never commented on people's wealth, or lack of it.
However, my point was that the iPad is not worth what it costs, and that is why one would need to have more money than sense to buy one.
There is a difference between expensive and overpriced. My portege m200 was expensive (~£1500 at launch), but it was worth it. A tesla roadster (~£90000) or a model S (~40000) is expensive, but worth it. However, if a Renault Megane was being sold to you for £50000, that would be overpriced, and you would have to have more money than sense to buy it.
Or by having daddies with wallets big enough to sustain their egos.
It has ever been the premise of the rich to consider themselves far above the mere mortals and "commoners" of this world. It is also a well-know fact that more often than not, it is the children of those who got rich from humble beginnings that hold on to these views with such ardour, while their parents will freely admit that at least some of their success was due to being in the right place at the right time and possessed of a healthy dose of luck to complement their business acumen. It is often their children's lack of such wisdom and humility that becomes the single biggest disappointment to the parent.
Of course, I wouldn't dare suggest that such is the case with you.
How's life in the Emirates these days? I hear the recession's hit Dubai quite hard, especially the property market. Still, good to see the economy diversifying. Especially as some say Dubai's oil reserves are expected to be exhausted within 20 years...
Actually your point is not that its not worth what it costs but that its not worth what it costs to you. as seen by your other examples to me the tesla is overpriced and expensive as its not worth the cost to me. I could buy something a lot cheaper that would be faster/more comfortable/whatever else someone might find prefereable in a car.
Worth is a personal thing it is not a universal application.
Me, I just can't see my self reinstalling itunes to read books, so the iPad can stay far away from me
Partly, but the other factor I take into account is the huge (rumoured) profit margin. You are right, though, it's certainly not worth it to me, largely because of apple's draconian ways.
As for the tesla, you should check out the model S, it looks like an awesome car and it's a sedan for half the price of the roadster.
Some like the iPad, some do not. It's a matter of personal preference and wallet size.
;)
/thread
Seriously, Dont make me say it. Also, why hasnt this 404'd yet?
Main Article Here
Let more flame wars commence....
Sam
They'll still sell bucket loads of them though. :(
Yes but it doesn't make phone calls
Why not?
EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOqFEGWT0e0
http://www.boingboing.net/il_fullxfull.125952920_rect540.jpeg
'nuff said
I would be very happy to find one of those in my girls knickers ...
erm.......its not a phone.
Oh...wait.
Things are starting to look up, and i still want one, but i'm going to give it some time to mature first.
Sam
Edit:
Still wont buy one myself.
How?
Adding that ability to the iPhone would surely make it a bit more useful.
Watch porn and check your email?
Friend has one, I've used it once or twice after he got it. I honestly didn't see what the big deal was.
Apps switch almost as fast on a 3GS as they do on a friggin Nexus One. You don't need multitasking desperately if your app launch/shutdowns are going to be fast.
Then again as it was raised before I shall bring it back up, the iPad isn't aimed at "power users" such as most of us on here.
Mind you, I'm not saying that I don't want multitasking. I'm just poking holes in several common arguments that uninformed people tend to make in favor of multitasking and against the iDevices.
Looking forward to getting an iPad. I have no reason to be bothered about any of the things people are calling shortcomings (flash, camera).
It also receives and announces text messages while you are browsing, while your e-mail is checking for mail, while you are playing music, all at the same time.
I did like this sentence, made me chuckle:
Sam
Spotify while browsing? GPS tracking while using maps or while the phone is locked? Letting me stream stuff from iTunes or listening to podcasts while my alarm clock app is open?
EDIT: "You know its true, when something exceeds your ability to understand how it works.... magical"... yeah, he's really talking about how they have mamanged to flog this off so well
And perhaps it is not marketing genius at work here; perhaps just a radical insight into what most non-geek people (in a wink to Harry Potter's muggles, shall we call them luddles?) really want in a device. Do you think that Joe Bloggs cares about SIM formats? Or about codecs? And how meaningful are stereo speakers on a small portable device (I have them on my tablet --can't say I'm blown away by the spatial effects)?
Sorry dude, but you should have learned by now that what we geeks consider important is met with eye-rolling indifference by luddles.
For me the deal killer is a lack of Flash support. HTML 5.0 or not, it is still the established standard. I suspect that Apple will find a way to shoe-horn it into iPhone OS 4.0. After all, it managed to support YouTube's Flash-based playbach.
I think it's interesting that thread full of self-proclaimed tech geeks on a forum dedicated to technology could be full of so much fail. It almost demonstrates how wide the "Luddle" net should be cast. :p
It's like sitting in on meetings at work where video engineers argue all day down to the bit level about what flavor of HD video everyone should be using, while my coworker and I shrug and upload video after video to YouTube.
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/04/roundup-ipad-reviews/
eight of 'em - get 'em while they're hot. ;)
Get the tissues ready for the ones that remain unconvinced it has it's place in the world.
edit: NY Times article
Nice :)
Courier still has my absolute attention but for me they're now different concepts. There's a conveniently sized pocket in my manbag for a 10" tablet and a hole in my life for a digital journal. Who wants my money?
Definitely getting me one. DEFINITELY.
http://idisk.mac.com/bobborries/Public/iPadMusic.jpg
Though it will never be any of those things :(
Such great potential wasted. Thanks apples for making some of the most closed devices on the planet.
Why not?
:'(
There's no reason why it couldn't be, is there? Korg are actively developing (check out iELECTRIBE). I would love a Kaossilator type application.
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http://www.idsketching.com/news/sketching-on-the-apple-ipad/
Reading this site will make creatives depressed.
No intelligent user is going to use a piece of hardware with no hard wire outputs/inputs. Latency is everything.
The ielectribe isn't going to sound very good. The ipad simply isn't fast enough. One of the key items in the electribe is the tube pre-amp. The electribe can actually be had for cheaper anyways. The ielectribe seems to have about half the features of the real thing.
Yes, the iPad isn't perfect, but that amount of longevity secured it as a day one purchase for me. I really hope it inspires other manufactures to reconsider what they regard as acceptable battery performance in their portable devices.
Anyone think that the iPad can be improved upon? Let's see the alternatives: real hardware, on the shelves now.
The reason I say it's irrelevant is that I believe the iPad and Courier are aimed at very different use cases. The iPad is very much a consumption device, fantastic for video and web-browsing (Flash notwithstanding) whereas the Courier, based on the concept videos, seems to be very much a productive tool for people who want a digital organiser but aren't stationary enough to use a laptop and find smartphones too limited.
Unless Microsoft does something stupid (not uncommon unfortunately) and decides to market the Courier as some crazy multimedia iPad-killer, I can see both the iPad and Courier co-existing nicely.
Of course, this doesn't mean that Microsoft couldn't compete with Apple. All I reckon they need to do is add another hardware spec for their Windows Phone developers to play with- something more tablet oriented that will offer a similar system to the way the iPhone/iPad does.
I'm not saying the iPad doesn't warrant the praise it gets, but it all stems from the headstart Apple got with the iPhone really.
this is the part I don't get. Everybody says that but why ? What is it meant to be then ?
Another extra phat iphone to carry around.
Wait, this means that people will be walking around with an iphone, and a really expensive giant iphone with less features than the smaller counter part.
That's kind of funny.
Seriously Ghys, was it that hard to figure out?
I don't even have a smart phone, though. Nor a laptop. Nor an mp3 player... just a DSi. I'm never away from my far superior desktop for long and when I am it's not imperative that I have music and videos and internet access to be entertained. In my own life, the iPad is just a big expensive tile to worry about breaking or getting lost or stolen.
Whoa, whoa. No need to be a ***** about it.
Some people have different requirements. Heck, some people will never need a portable machine in their lives.
Microsoft could very easily compete with Apple --it has proved that with Windows Mobile 7. What it needs to do is ditch ideas of having a Tablet PC running Windows because they did not take off in 2003 and they will not take off now. The OS was not written for low-power CPUs, the GUI is not suitable for a touch screen and the battery life too short. But if they built a Tablet around a low-power Atom with nVidia Ion chipset running a bigger-screen version of Windows Mobile 7 they'd have an iPad killer, right there.
Because if eveyone is wandering around watching a portable media consumption device, conversation, interaction and hygene will immediatley improve????? People will be too busy watching videos of how people should comunicate to bother communicating. Or is this Apple's new slogan, "buy an iPad, you might get laid"?
I'm impressed that so far the battery tests are all coming back positive, I thought that would be one area it would miss the stats. Still it's a device I have no need for, and don't have any want for either. Happy that some people like it, though I do wonder how many will adapt to it rather than the device adapting to them.
Didn't I shut you up a couple of weeks ago?
Oh, yes I did. Stop being a d*ck. If you have nothing useful to contribute to the conversation, then don't contribute.
As for the iPad. I must say I love what I'm seeing with regards to battery life and I think the form factor and weight are pretty much spot on. I understand apple's decision not to stick a full-fat desktop OS on it, and I think any competitors using win 7 will have their work cut out for them to match the iPad for responsiveness without using more powerful hardware (read: more expensive, hotter, bulkier devices).
My biggest complaint about the iPad, isn't actually specific to the iPad, its a complaint about Apple as a corporate entity, it's business practice, and the direction in which it is trying to steer the industry. It is too closed a system and their products are artificially restricted, and therefore not for me. I disagree with Apple's core business ethic and therefore I will not support them by buying their products.
That being said, if another manufacturer released the same device, at the same price-point, but running a less restrictive os, I would snap it up instantly. IMO, apple's products are devalued by being so locked-down.
I think Jumeira_Johnny thinks he has outgrown the people on bit-tech and on the internet, hence why he is patronizing everyone by talking to them like they were all kids/nerds/virgins
Either that or he's just letting some steam out because has has missed the last 10 series of Top Gear since he's not allowed to have a TV at home
Pretty sure Topgear.com uses flash......
This is a point I will never understand.
Android ships pretty stupidly too, y'know. Not as locked down as iPhone OS, but whoever thinks that being 'open source' means it's a geek's dream is sorely mistaken. Take the Nexus One, for example. Unless it's rooted (Android equivalent of an iPhone being jailbroken) it's as useless as the iPhone to the 'geek crowd'
So when you say 'we are awaiting the Google tablet with open source Android goodness' you're essentially waiting for the same thing you'd get if you jailbroke the iPad (which, let's face it, is going to happen in a matter of days/weeks). The only thing that might possible differ is multitasking (not needed, IMO, after having used the iPad for ~2 hours) and x86 compatibility on the OS, which would be pretty cool to have.
If you're going to be an ass at least make sense!
That is why I chose the Nokia N900 running Maemo 5 as my smartphone. It may not be as polished as the iPhone or the Nexus but rooting it is as easy as 'sudo gainroot'.
Don't listen to him! The DayStar is evil. Evil I say! It buuuurrrrnnnssss......
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Oh.... Well, thats good to know.
At what point does and iPad become better?
Same for internetting, and I can't be the only one who likes having email, irc and internet up at the same time.
I can relate to that.
iPad is win. So many bitter and meaningless emotional responses regarding Apple/iPhone/iPad ... so funny.
One of my friends sent me this video:
pT4EbM7dCMs
In our long e-mail exchange, we were discussing how the touch interface is so intuitive.
Regarding the video, this is exactly what happened when my 2.5-year-old daughter got a hold of my iPhone for the first time -- she showed striking similarities to the girl in the video. Within seconds she had figured out how to navigate through the different menu pages, select an app (usually the doodle pad or bubble wrap popping), and start playing. When she got tired of the app, it took her all of 4 seconds to figure out that pressing the big button on the bottom brings you back to the home screen. Her favorite apps so far are the doodle pad, bubble wrap popping, marble labyrinth, and watching the "No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" video. (It's this one, in case anyone has a kid who needs to be entertained while waiting for the food to arrive at a restaurant. :p)
The guy who made the video posted a blog in which he made a few observations, one in particular that I agree with and have seen first hand, as well. Sometimes my daughter wraps her whole hand around the iPhone, resulting in multiple fingers touching the edge of the screen. When that happens, and all touch functionality is blocked, she can't figure out why an app won't load. Sometimes she gets frustrated and tries pressing harder, eventually hitting the screen with her finger. I've had to show her a couple times now that moving her other fingers off the screen makes it work again.
She loves the camera, too. She wants me to take pictures of her, then she wants to look at all the photos I have of her on the iPhone.
I believe the expression, "So simple a kid can use it," is just another way of saying, "So intuitive that it comes naturally to those with limited technology exposure."
Further, I can see where the iPad will help popularize the whole e-book thing moreso than the Kindle or the Nook. My wife was at a friend's house not too long ago. Her friend has a Kindle, and my wife was messing around with it because she was thinking of getting one. When she loaded up a book, she tried to turn the page by sliding her finger across the screen. Her friend pointed out that it was not a touch interface, and that you advance pages by pressing a button on the side. Little things like this (plus the addition of full-color illustrations) are why I think a device like the iPad will be so popular for e-book media (including e-magazines, e-journals, etc). As e-books develop and mature, I foresee integrated web content tied into the book itself. Imagine a textbook for a given technical course, with full-color illustrations, and integrated access to video content to further explain certain topics. That, and the Kindle doesn't also act as a portable media/web browsing/app device. It doesn't have to be the iPad, but since the iPad is out now and in customer's hands, and since it is built on the very solid foundation of the iTunes content delivery system, I do think its popularity will ultimately shape what the general public expects from such devices in the future.
I have no problem seeing my daughter carrying around all her school books in a single media device by the time she hits middle school, if it takes that long.
Just my two cents.
+1. I just hope someone comes up with a decent (read un-apple-ified) version.
Why? Whats wrong with an Apple version? You agree it's good, functional and easy to use, but you wouldn't buy it because it's an Apple? Quite pathetic.
Part of the advantage of Android is also its weakness. The marketplace is much less regulated compared to iTunes, there are a whole load of apps you would never get on iTunes purely because they don't measure up to Apples morality meter. The down side is there have been a couple of phishing apps and quite a lot of what is on the market place is dross, though i've never used iTunes so i don't actually know what the ratio of Gold:Dross actually is there.
I have explained (at length) what I feel is wrong with the apple version, as well as my objections to apple's business ethic and why I do not support them. If you wish to know, check out some of my earlier posts in this very thread.
Really? If you choose to not buy a product from a company you do not support, you are pathetic? I don't find it pathetic at all to not buy something based on the fact that you don't want it.
Why do i not believe those figures though? Something just didn't add up. There probably right though and i'm starting to show my love for Apple.... Oh wait?
Sam
Partly, but not only that. I dislike closed systems, and apple is about as closed as you can get. I dislike the fact that they (appear to) design an excellent product and then take bits off (cripple) it just so they can sell it to you over 3-4 generations. I dislike how litigious and patent-happy they are.
I know they are not the only company that behaves in this way, but that is no excuse.
But to praise it, then not buy it. Thing I find funny, is how some people claim how all people who own Apple are fanboys, and then to prove their point won't buy an Apple product, even though they hope another company comes out with something similar so soon because they actually want what is already on offer. I'd understand not buying a Macbook, if it doesn't fit the criteria you want, but it's just plain ridiculous. And how these people pay for Windows products, probably Inte products I assume (Who are proven to trying to stomp out their competition), but because Apple is a more mainstream, and more well known company, feel they have to stay away from it.
Technically, you don't have to buy everything you like. I loves me a 5870, and I do have the money to buy one, but I can't justify owning one.
Your sig :)
But tbh, I don't see how multitasking is critical when you speed of interaction with the device is so slow. Perhaps I'll get better at it the more I play with it, but for now, I'm just doing things too slowly for the lack of multitasking to really bother me. Not like one can alt+tab around the place and rapid-switch between movie/folders/browser.
It's getting really hard to wait for the discounts to apply, I think I might just buy the damn thing now itself.
http://www.macrumors.com/2010/04/08/apple-posts-quicktime-of-iphone-os-4-media-event/
Watch the keynote in Quicktime. I'm still watching it. If you want to get straight to the multi-tasking feature, fast forward to 10 minutes in. TBH the early stuff is for pro-Apple people anyways. Just before you hit 14 minutes the real plus of multi tasking becomes clear. Looking good from where I'm sitting ... Reckon I'll make good use of it. On a vanilla 3G I don't think the benefit may be felt necessarily due to lack of speed. 3GS and iPad will fly!!
ALL the stuff in the keynote is always pro-Apple, but even if taken with large spoons of salt, those are all some impressive numbers. Have to give 'em that.
But you never said you want another company to do a similar card to seemingly buy that.
I've gotten as far as 30 minutes in to the presentation and they've intro'd folders ... simple and very bloody useful! Overdue though, however from what I've just seen, very functional. So that is 1) multi-tasking, and 2) folders ... 2 hits so far.
A problem with really well-designed and built hardware is that you take it for granted. You don't realise what it actually took to make it work that well. The iPhone touch screen is a case in point: comparative tests by independent sites have found it to be far superior to other touch-screen phones. It is more precise and it is better able to guess the difference between a poke and a swipe, for instance. Then there is the scratch-proof sapphire glass --you don't notice the absence of scratches and scuffs but you do notice the price. The battery is again invisible, but one of the most reliable on the market.
I could go on. Most of the expensive quality stuff in a product goes unnoticed because it just works. You only notice it when it is cheap crap, because it fails to function properly. A really good OS goes unnoticed because you don't think about it. You don't have to. It is transparent. You look right past it as you're using the device. You only notice how good (or rather, bad) an OS is when you have to think hard about making it do what you want it to do.
Supermonkey is right: the Apple iPad will become a success because it is transparent and intuitive. People don't have to grok how computers work and they don't have to learn its techy ways; they just pick it up and use it. To geeks this may seem kind of irrelevant and even restrictive, but to ordinary people it is a god sent.
Of course other manufacturers could have done this, and probably have thought about it before. But Apple has actually gone and done it. The difference between a millionaire business entrepreneur and a dreamer in a dreary office job is not who had the Great Idea, but who got up and actually did something with it (cf. Xerox PARC vs. Apple and Microsoft).
Make no mistake: the future of computing is not power, not fancy graphics, not AI, but transparency. Ease of use so intuitive that it becomes second nature and an integrated part of our lives, like casually glancing at your self-winding, self-setting wrist watch to know the time.
I praise the device i.e the hardware. I dislike some of the choices in software, and I dislike the way the company does business. Surely the concept of not doing business with a company whose ethics you find objectionable isn't a new one? Ethical banking, anyone?
Btw: I'm pretty sure apple is not more mainstream and better known than intel and microsoft.
You'd say more people have heard of Intel, then they have heard of Apple? And I was only meant to imply Apple was more mainstream and well known than Intel, not Windows >.<.
Nice analogy. I like. :)
Saw the iPhone OS 4.0 keynote, by the way, and it looks slicker than a greased eel in a bucket of snake oil. You have to admit it is clever: the OS goodies like multitasking and threaded e-mails are well-implemented (and two Exchange accounts! Yay!); the media delivery system is smooth (the choice of "Winnie the Pooh" as a free e-book is clever! You can just imagine thousands of parents handing their iPhone/iPod Touch or iPad to their little kids to show it and thus automatically priming the next consumer generation for Stevie. That man thinks ahead... ) and iAd is a mountain of solid gold just waiting for a pickaxe. The Game Center is a straight competitor to Windows X-Box Live.
As I said: this is going to be a big success. The guy plans far ahead; he thinks about how the user uses the product and how to embed it in people's lives. He doesn't think in products; he thinks in strategy. Steve Jobs is an evil genius ("What shall we do tonight? What we do every night, Pinky...").
Meanwhile, another review of the JooJoo Tablet, based on the Atom and nVidia Ion chipset. Basically, it fails. Flash performance is so bad you might as well not have it; battery life gets halved to 2.5 hours in using it.
-I have to admit I'm quite tempted by an ipad. Now multitasking isn't a problem, all they really need to solve is flash support. Might wait to see what sort of apps become available. The smaller ipad rumour sounds interesting, though surely a smaller ipad is just a iphone?
Adobe really needs to pull it's finger out on this one. Flash is usually pretty decent on the n900 but we really need HW acceleration to make the most of it.
HTML5 is a good standard with plenty of features. Adobe can kiss my ass. I hate buggy flash content. I hate the constant update BS that Adobe insists we have, usually it just checks for legit versions of their software anyways ... bye Adobe
If only it were that simple. Unfortunately, the vast majority of websites hosting any sort of (embedded) video use flash to do it. While I would dearly love to see them move to HTML 5, until they do, flash is still a big player.
If true, it will force content creators to stay with a more universally accepted video format, or at least attempt to cover as much of the market as possible.
As h.264 gains further ground in the web-video codec war, the job for content creators could become easier. Just about all the major video players support the h.264 codec (or will in the near future); it just becomes a matter of which wrapper file you place around it. As one content management company explained, content creators can host a single h.246-encoded video file, and browsers can either utilize a flash player, or institute a Java-based solution to strip out the header and read the fully supported transport stream within the wrapper (much like VLC Player).
Surely that would fall afoul of anti-competitive legislation (Particularly in the EU)?
I quite like the fact that Apple aren't supporting flash with the iPad. I don't use Apple products, so it doesn't harm me, but it's forcing web developers interested in appealing to the Apple market to use a more open standard, such as HTML5, which can only be good for the industry.
That being said I doubt many people would notice or know why they should care.
Sorry for double post.
The iPad is going to become incredibly popular, regardless of how you feel about the device... as such iPad specific versions of websites, exploiting its touch-screen input will follow. Just as happened with the iPhone (and other mobile browsers), already many websites are creating iPad-specific versions of their web pages without Flash content but with added HTML5. Following that move, the next logical step will inevitably be to just ditch Flash and use HTML5 for all versions of their website.
Microsoft may stubbornly stick to Silverlight but it will be the only company doing so. Once everyone moves to HTML5 to join the iPad bandwagon, IE will have to follow because otherwise there are some really good browser alternatives out there.
The demographic that follows such a train of thought is, for better or worse, a sizable portion of the market for Apple and most mobile device manufacturers. All it takes is a little fame and a little capital, Apple has plenty of both. Not just about making your product appealling anymore, rather about making your product look like everyone already has one even on the day of release.
What, the iPhone? Takes a normal Sim Card for me.
He's talking about the 3G+WiFi iPad - it takes a microSIM card.
iPad announced - Mass excitement. I actually jumped up and down with joy.
Watched launch keynote & read detailled info about it - became extremely disappointed and angey that Apple had announced they were launching a massive iPod touch.
Apple announce iPhone & iPad OS 4.0, I watch the keynote (Apple special event April 2010) - I start to get excited again as apples mobile devices will now support multitasking along with a host of other features that were missing from 3.0. The fact that they can make this much difference in one software update now leads me to think that all the shortcomings of the iPad compared to other OS based tablet computers will slowly but surely disappear as Apple continue to release OS updates and "unlock" it's potential.
At this point, I'm all for getting one once I've played around with one for an hour or so in an Apple retail store and am sure that I will like it. Some of you may hate me for it but I think I've come around. Maybe that will change between now and when I actually go to hand a member of the Apple store staff my card. Time will tell.
Take your pick.
This sounds a bit like some religious people arguing that atheists don't have morals because you cannot possibly be capable of making moral decisions without a religious framework. Just as consumers cannot possibly make a decision about buying the iPad without commercial hype influencing that process.
;)
I wonder about battery life --the insides of the iPad are occupied mainly by the battery for a reason, but at least it looks like a real possibility now. I expect it to be pricier than the iPad however, and there is no way it will be out by the end of this year. More like middle 2011.
A lot of these upcoming tablets look great but most (if not all) suffer from the same problems - crappy battery life (what is the point of a carry-around tablet if it cant last the entire day?), mis-matched OS (Windows7, seriously?) and terrible UI/ecosystems.
I hate using buzzwords but 'lean back' computing is going to take off (as opposed to 'lean forward' computing like PC/laptops) but I just hope that other manufacturers listen to what the consumers want and stop trying to shoehorn hardware together.
Also, is anyone else really disappointed that Apple is the first to do something that by all rights should of been done by Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft years ago? I'm talking about Game Center, an XboxLive/Steam like service that acts as a hub with persistent friends lists, match making, achievements etc. Microsoft promised something like this way back at the launch of 360 but is only starting to make it a reality now (with Phone 7/Zune), Sony is completely clueless when it comes to online and can barely get it right on the PS3 (let alone the PSP) and Nintendo is still pissing around with stupid 'friend codes' that are tied to the cartridge. This is the worst kind of laziness in innovation that happens when companies like Apple *don't* come along.
It will only cost you about $1000 more than the equal alternative.
and
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20003603-248.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
and for those getting excited about the concept videos of MS Courier ...
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/38776/Microsoft-cans-Courier-tablet?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mcvuk%2FoXMK+%28MCV%3A+games+industry+news%29
And frankly, i actually don't miss Flash support on my iPhone, if i want to watch a video of sorts, it generally plays in the iPhones video player, or theres YouTube.
Sam
i still want a 16:9 ratio screen. grrr apple. grrr.
^^^ :)
Yeah, it's kinda like that. I said something similar in this thread --which did not go down too well. :p
Rules 1 and 2!
And Nexxo, I never hated on the iPad at all really. I won't buy one as my course at Uni is going to be jolly expensive anyway, and I'm fine with my Macbook/iPhone combo.
The WePad: Now that's what I'm talking about! Android tablet-adapted GUI on a realistically specced and priced device, with media delivery infrastructure, that is already demonstrably functional. It's like the iPad, but more. If only they can push the battery life up a bit...
The EEEPad: still in its prototype stage, many promises but no working model on show. Uses Windows 7 = Fail.
HP Slate axing is a rumour at present. But your right, MS have confirmed the "Courier" code-named clamshell device has ceased development. They are "Not interested in such a device at this time".
HTML5 will be a success story in a big way though.
I do agree with you on that Nexxo, the WePad does look like a very nice bit of kit. Personally, drop the screen res down to under 10", thus pushing up the Battery life, and theres a winner right there, But, having said that, the iPad is still tempting, even after using an iPhone, the ease of use between OSX and the iPhone is, well, easy.
Sam
http://forums.bit-tech.net/picture.php?albumid=606&pictureid=10118
(click for more pictures)
As for "watching HD movies on your 24inch screen", dude that's not something the 'normals' like to do or know how to do. The vast majority of people have happy watching 420p on an 11inch screen.
All of your pictures, music and movies? The storage space is sufficient for most reasonably sized legal collections.
Slide-shows or spreadsheets? All taken care of.
Anything else?
Look, I'm not saying I would do any of the above (just try parting me from Windows 7 and my 27" screen), but a lot of people would.
I know answering ones own posts is a sign of madness .. but I don't care and mostly I am. I had a debate with my other half about my problem not knowing whether to get one of these iPads for myself, wait for the next gen which will likely provide 1080P, or a subsequent gen providing 1080P, or buy a different tablet. The solution as provided by the other half is to get an iPad now and when the next gen arrives put the 1st one up on eBay and then get the next one. As she pointed out I've taken many hits over the years with PC equipment and if the next gen is worthy of upgrading then I just do it as and when. No more stressing then.
Some friends spent thousands on a home automation kit a couple of years ago and each screen added a few hundred to the total bill. If only they had waited ...
I'm sure we've had the USB debate already ... maybe not. Anyways, last time I checked it comes with a USB adapter. So it's an Apple connection to USB convert. That is how data flows between Mac/PC and iPad. Or did I get the wrong end of the stick?
I figured as much, apologies!!
That's a point I never considered needing to print photos or documents through the iPad ...
I'd assume that with the iPad specifically you can transfer files to your laptop/desktop and print from there if you really had to. Possible, but still a little cumbersome for me to feel comfortable with anyone calling it a "main" device.
A thought coming to mind, setting up a small home file/print server to wirelessly transfer files to and print from could indeed help address the issues of a tablet. Docking stations with keyboards or larger monitors are also not a bad thing as I may have made them sound in response to NuTech, the problem is the delusion that docking a tablet on a keyboard and monitor then networking with a server and sitting at your desk to use it is any different than using a desktop.
Totally agree with the cumbersome transferring.
I've just remembered my Epson SX600FW has Bonjour, that is an Apple networking thing isn't it? So surely they would inc that into the iPad features? I shall be back after seeing what the US guys are saying.
And yes, this includes the device not having a USB port. Although the article suggests that the tablet device would become the main computing tool, I like to think of it as a secondary tool for casual computing on the go.
I don't really need it to hold my entire media collection, or create PowerPoint slideshows, or write dissertations. That's what my work and home PCs are for. Instead, I can use a tablet to carry limited selections of my media collection while traveling about. When I have lunch, I can jump on the free wifi (if available - 3G if not) to browse a few websites and check my e-mail. I can even pay a few bills during my morning cup of coffee without waiting for the main computer to boot up. And before you ask, no, I do not leave my machine on 24/7. I have electric bills to pay.
Can I do all of that with a laptop? Yes. The laptop also would not have the same battery life, would be bigger, and would not have the same portability nor ease of use. A netbook offers some competition, but it's still trying to run a desktop OS on limited hardware.
As for the 1080p debate, we "normies" are happy to watch TV on our TVs. We use Blu-ray players or certain consoles to play our movies, not media hubs. Though, I have recently seen a few ads for laptop/TV/media hub combinations that come pre-configured to work out of the box.
For what it's worth, my experience in the media industry is that the general public can't really tell the difference between 720p, 1080i, and 1080p. A case in point is the recent Hubble Imax movie. Most film goers have no clue that a lot of the movie was shot with a prosumer Canon G1 camcorder, in addition to large format Imax film. To them, it's all pretty pictures. Some recent industry polls show that although the number of HDTV sets in households is increasing, a lot of those households still use an SD source (May 2009 Nielsen HDTV Report. It's a year old, but while the overall numbers have increased, the HDTV/source difference still remains). Furthermore, although satellite services may offer some channels with 1080p content, most cable sources and all the over the air broadcasts from the major networks are limited to 720p60 or 1080i60 due to bandwidth limitations. Given that, I don't think anyone is truly going to miss 1080p output on a tablet device.
This all goes back to what Nexxo and the article have been saying this whole time: geeks on a technology forum demand more from their technology, but the other 99% of the general public don't care. Some of my colleagues can't understand why anyone would want to capture video using 4:2:0 chroma subsampling when 4:4:4 is obviously preferred. I suggest that content trumps format.
Added: Interesting update to iPhone OS4, various changes, and a sort of file sharing addition ... mmm I hope I can put PDFs on the iPad and read those, I have tonnes of manuals and books in PDF format.
I think you're completely right on it being a secondary tool, at least for the present or in the way the article describes. You may use it quite often and in that regard it may be your 'main' device. Just not practical to purposefully limit a device for ease of use, then expect it to do everything at the same time. The future may hold more powerful tablets more akin to laptops with touchscreens (and shorter battery lives), but I feel it must be said that being lightweight and easy to use is mutually exclusive with being all-capable. Both have their good sides and obviously being lightweight like the iPad works for a lot of people, but to say something of that nature will be a person's primary computing device is... lofty.
You mention how a laptop could do such task as well, but with less battery life, have to agree there too: if tablets really take off I doubt there will be too many laptops anymore. Tablet+PC at home seems to cover most bases for the average user whereas tablet+laptop seems generally pointless unless you know you will need to be typing/mousing heavily on the go (such as mobile gaming). That said, having just a laptop can cover most bases as well.
For 1080p/multimedia, perhaps I put too much emphasis on the quality of the picture. The size is really the main factor, the quality somewhat of a derivative of that. It's hard to find a modern household (the kind which, even if they aren't too savvy with technology, would get a tablet) in which the largest TV is under 25". When given the choice of "here, I downloaded a movie on my iPad, let's watch it on the 9.7" screen!" or "Let's plug it into the 42" TV!" I think we all know the answer. For a device which is attempting to be one's main computing device, I think a decent quality video output is required.
http://www.macrumors.com/2010/05/07/apple-announces-international-ipad-availability-for-may-28th/
http://www.apple.com/uk/pr/library/2010/05/07ipad.html
Also, Orange has announced their iPad data plans. Quite a lot of flexibility there.
I want to get a case too, some nice ones here: http://www.griffintechnology.com/device_types/ipad
Work is flying me to New York on the 24th of this month for a couple days. If I pick up a 3G iPad while I'm there, do you guys think it will work over here (obviously using a UK sim/data plan) or will the GSM hardware be incompatible?
I don't mind getting a WiFi only iPad if I have to, but I'd prefer the 3G version.
looks great design, could totally start a whole new way of how magazine companys make money. instead of buying a mag in a shop you could buy one on the ipad and save them more easily etc.
i reackon that would be so good
It just did!
I guess if you've just read all 38 pages and you still can't be convinced that there is a market with willing consumers then you'll never be convinced.
Yes people are interested in talking about it. Apple did well there. But in reality isn't it just a big iPhone? Also I hate being tethered to iTunes. It should be like similar devices, you just plug them in and they just appear like a memory stick ready for copy & paste. iTunes reminds me of GFWL in that you don't have a choice, you're forced to use them.
I posted on this old thread the first time to make up the 20 posts you need to qualify for free delivery from scan.
Its working out quite nicely now :D
The only deal breaker is the flash thing for me, so much content out there that will be missed, but I can just about see the justification behind it. Hope to god that the internet catches up quick with HTML5!!!
Your Delivery Reference Number is blahblahblah
We expect your order to be delivered to your shipping address on or before 28.05.2010."
Mmmm tech toy goodness on it's way!
Adobe is already releasing an HTML5 add-on pack for Dreamweaver. With a million units sold so far, I think there are going to be a lot of sites creating HTML content specifically tailored to the iPad.
What is the issue with iTunes? All you're doing is dragging and dropping then syncing, it is just one more step and doesn't take any real amount of time.
I like it because i can't sort out content and things including movie folders and playlists then when i decide to plug my iPod (i have an ipt) in to my macbook it automatically does it, so i don't even have to have my device on hand to set it up for the next sync.
I kinda foresee an iPad 2 (or *hopes madly*.... an iPad Pro?) in my future.
Why do we need to write special HTML for the iPad?
That's once they can ratify the standard and even when they do, it's going to mean recoding sites.
There's a huge difference between being able to quickly access the raw file, than to have itunes catalog it in some stupid syncing format.
For those of us who like to organize our music into folders, Syncing is just awful. Not to mention most MTP devices don't support a lot of formats.
I like to have control over my device, not the other way around.
__
It looks supremely cool. But I'm a hankerer after function as well as form. The I-pad needs to majorly improve before it is anything more than a luxury.
Remember the old Mobile/Cell phones that were literally the size of bricks? That is what this I-pad is. In a few years it will be as indispensable as mobile/cell phones are now.
But this generation? It is a pretty lump and nothing more.
http://www.trustedreviews.com/editorial/2010/05/30/How-I-Learned-To-Stop-Worrying-And-Love-The-iPad/p1
Sam
First impressions; heavier than I expected, way faster and smoother than I expected, screen is really vibrant, and virtual keyboard in landscape is actually pretty good for typing emails and forum post such as this one. Looking forward to OS4.
I got the Griffin Passport folio case and am pleased with that too.
No Flash is niggling me but the benefits far outweigh the negatives. A surprising amount of videos in the Videos Of Awesome thread actually work fine, something that I was dreading to be locked out from. Surfing is a breeze and the freedom and ease to post on forums has been fantastic.
I need a carry strap because it comes everywhere with me and I can see it's lovely shiny surfaces slipping through my fingers en-route from room to room.
EDIT: OH, and OS 4 will absolutely rock!
a challenger appears!
edit:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Apad-iRobot-7-Google-Android-Mini-WIFI-Tablet-E11-PDA-/160437854904?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item255ad762b8
hmm, might get my wife one of them seens at is plays flash!
found a review too.
C4OCItW6ecc
http://gizmodo.com/5552545/smokescreen-converts-flash-to-javascript-on-the-fly
http://smokescreen.us/
:)
Fit.
Anyway, the WeTab (from Germany) looks like a promising alternative to the iPad. Absolutely love the interface.
I would have cried if it had stained the actual case of the iPad!
The ipod sells a ton but that doesn't stop it from being an overpriced piece of crap.
Popularity means quality eh?
It usually means something is being done right. Not like the whole world is a bunch of rich twats who need to burn money.
I rest my case.
So sad.
The iPad is especially great for people who have never used a computer (and don't want to), what's the point in her leaning things like mouse cursors, windows and file systems when she doesn't need to? Should she A) Sit down and spend hours at a desk learning all about the operating system just so she can use the internet and check email or B) Just sit on the sofa and start browsing?
Also, can a mod change the really obnoxious title of the thread? I think we're all past the point of bashing a piece of hardware that nobody is forced to buy.
I couldn't agree more. I could go ahead and replace her PC with a Mac mini or MacBook and support it so much better and she'd be able to browse the web and and get her emails and so on and so forth with a lot less hassle than on her Windows machine. But with an iPad, she could do all that and a whole lot more wherever she likes.
The iPad is such a wonderful device for media consumption, and let's face it, that's all people like my mum really use their computers for these days!
Have you got one? Saw these just before launch, they look really really nice!
But yeah, the Dodo is great, incredibly well made and also works as a stand. The only thing that sucked was the long wait time, apparently they're getting flooded with orders. However it is very much a cosmetic case. While it will probably protect against a bump here and there, it isn't a protective case at all. But it does feel a lot nicer to hold in your hand than a bare iPad.
I'm exactly the same. With an iMac myself and very soon an iPhone 4, I'm not sure I really need something like an iPad. Want and need are two very different things of course, heh.
Sounds really good though! I'm not a fan of the Apple or Incase ones currently available at all really.
Bookmarked. Will blow money on it once I have some to spare. New lens can wait, iPad must be accessorized first :)
+1 on a thread name change, the iPad has to be the complete opposite of fail. iSuccess?
+2
iConcur. ;)
Great bit of kit. I want one, my wife wants one and has been said, is also perfect for mums who just want to browse the internet and check their email.
The thing that has surprised me the most though is people's reactions to it. As soon as I use it at a clients or mention that I have one, they all want to have a play. Nearly all have said they wanted one. Shows just how good apples marketing is.
It shows how good the product is, even the best marketing in the world wont help a shite product. Anyone remember Virgin Cola?
We've got 3 laptops of varying sizes around the house and they haven't seen the light of day since getting the iPad. I just can't be bothered to wait for boot, constant charging, fannying around with a cursor on screen. Might chuck those on eBay and put the cash towards a beefier Mac ...
+3 for changing the name of this thread, which seems to have been conquered by common sense and an understanding of tech and gadgets as opposed to prejudice/bias and hatred of a brand ...
SAm
I kind of like the irony of the Thread title. It's like those grumpy old men of yore saying that television would never catch on. :p Except that elderly gramps and grannies are fully seeing the point of an iPad. Which makes its critics worse Luddites than people who think that electricity is the work of the devil.
Any geek could see that the iPad would almost inevitably be a success. It is the next logical step in the evolution of computer technology in our lives. It is not a computer; it is a user friendly device that let's us do things that we used to need to do on a computer. It is the commodisation of computer technology into ordinary people's lives.
Indeed that's true, but for everyone to know what it is, that's a remarkable feat.
That said a lot didn't know much about what it did.
I'm looking forward to iOS4 it's going to improve a lot of day to day things on the iphones and ipads. Not sure when we iPad owners will get it. I believe iPhone users get it this month.
Edit: Damn I meant to add this to my previous post, apologies for two posts in a row.
I was in Apple store again today and was told that i will get the update for iphone on 22nd, so fingers crossed.
I hope the iPad gets it around the same time because it'll be fantastic with folders and multitasking.
I'll be able to keep We Rule open and do other stuff ... ;)
I'm trying to decide what Network to go for:
3 Offer 1GB Usage for £7.50, while o2 and Vodafone offer 1GB for £10 per month.
What would people recommend?
Sam
Switching subjects since there's been so much talk of the dodo case, are tablet manufacturers simply unaware of the great desire (read: need, in my opinion) for cases? Since folding seems to be largely on pause with Courier cancelled and MSI's option being left out of Computex, we're all supposed to be walking around happily consuming our media and social networking and having such a great time on our little tablets without once worrying about the concept of dropping or storing our fragile 9" sheets of glass.
The trend of accessorization is leading to inferior products. With few actual products out I'll use the iPad as an example, along with the Apple case. Most importantly to me, the case provides a cover for the screen. It also provides increased functionality by acting as a stand. Apple's own website even claims it is "ideal" and "perfect". Why not include it then? And don't get me wrong, it's not just an Apple thing. MSI claim to be offering a dock with one of their WindPads, which is nifty, but ultimately there will be hundreds of thousands of people going out and buying cases and protective screen covering films for them because there is still nothing in the design to protect the screen or act as a portable stands as people are used to getting from third party accessories. I don't care if it's $549 instead of $499, just sell me a complete product!
1. It's not fragile. Furthest thing from fragile, in fact.
2. The glass is the last thing that needs protection. In fact, I'm more concerned about the gorgeous brushed aluminum picking up scratches than anything happening to the glass.
3. Cases, screen film, docks, keyboards, toilet adapters - all these are part of a massive accessories market. Companies like Apple, Griffin, Belkin and Zagg exist to make money and they will always leave something out of the box so they can sell it to you later. Think of any product and I'll bet you could come up with a stack of things that should come with it to make it 'more complete'.
If you're comfortable cutting a SIM, get a prepaid Three one from eBay. You can get 1 month/1GB for £3 or 12 months/12GB for £30. Personally I got a £3 one to check that I could cut it down OK, and when that's run out I'll get a £30.
I have heard bad things about Three coverage but I have been nothing less than impressed. On my commute to work with Vodafone it would be impossible to maintain a voice call, and you can load about 2 web pages in 20 minutes (GPRS). However with the Three SIM I'm able to watch TVCatchup without interruption for the entire duration.
Specs are also irrelevant for devices that have a specific purpose. Do you know (without peeking) what processor runs in your MP3 player, and at what clock frequency? What firmware? Of course you don't. With an MP3 player you care about three things only: storage capacity, media compatibility and sound quality.
But I digress. Apple doesn't market products; it markets a brand. If it's an Apple product you know it is likely to be well-built and easy to use. You know it is likely to be a bit different from the norm. It's like Harley Davidson and motorcycles, Audi and cars. You know what it is going to be like as soon as you see it, and you know you want one.
Apple also markets a lifestyle. Rest assured that Apple has the next 15 years already mapped out. Why do you think that the iPad comes with a free Winnie de Pooh book? Because Apple knows that the first thing mommy and daddy will do is show it to the kids. The iPad is simple and robust enough for a child to operate; now there is something on it for the child to interact with. And thus a whole new generation of potential new Apple customers are primed: children who grow up with an Apple product being part of their childhood, and remembering it was fun. It's such marketing genius it's almost evil.
The basic package exists to sell to the economy buyer and rope them into further purchases later on, that they would not have made if they had to buy at the price tag of everything added together.
Apple's iPad and iPhone, by the way, have a pretty tough screen already. The protective screen covering film is just an aftermarket money spinner.
2. I really don't mean to be iPad specific. Other devices such as a WindPad can come equipped with a plexiglass or even wooden back, supposedly, and perhaps they'll be just fine. A glass front is a common feature, one which sees a lot of use and will be very noticable when damaged.
3. An accessory market exists for many things, yes, but is a case truly an accessory? Accessories exist to fill niche markets, or for visual customization. With the number of cases being purhcased it's hard to argue that it's a niche market or simply visual customization. Mirrors used to be an accessory on cars, and for much longer time they were on motorcycles, now they're strict requirements because they're just so useful. Current does not always equal future. The iPad, specifically, gets a somewhat pardon for prompting buyers about the case (imo, should be included automatically and removed manually), yet other tablets such as the Slate, WindPad, and EeePad were distinctly lacking cases. Maybe they'll offer one on release, but it's a hindsight. A way to snag $50. So sue me for not liking companies trying to take features out of my products just because they've done it before.
I believe they said late summer for the iPad, but this month for the iPhone. Good for iPhone users, not those with both. I'm concerned I will get frustrated with the iPad until ios4 is on both.
Thing is, throw in the case, throw in the various features that adapters offer and the final price goes up. Do my elderly relatives need VGA adapters or other niche features? So the best answer is to leave them out ... and hopefully the total bill reflects those omissions.
I spent £1,600 on a proper gaming laptop and still had to buy the case. It's just one of those things. On the plus side instead of getting a crappy cheap case that companies throw in to keep consumers happy, I bought a fantastic looking case that was much better protection in the long run.
-
Friendly Advice: never buy gaming laptops. They are stupendously expensive. The resale value a few years later is a pittance. And you will be disappointed with the performance. I learnt that lesson the expensive way.
-
Just on the news, HP and Dell are apparently in talks with other OS suppliers because MS can't come up with the goods quick enough for them to stand a chance competing with iPad.
They should be talking to Google. Android is perfect for the job. Palm's WebOS is also just the ticket.
Now Android, well, this is where things get weird. During
TabletexComputex, many respected bloggers reported on Google's odd attitude regarding tablets running Android. As there is no official support for it, these devices are being made with no input from Google. Apparently there is an official Android tablet edition in the works, but until then manufacturers are under really weird restrictions - like no access to the official market place, they have to make their own if they want one.I suspect maybe it's because Google wants to stem the tide of tablets until they can figure out some sort of draft specification. Currently developers are having a really hard time making their apps work on all the various form factors and versions Android is available in, adding tablets to the mix at this stage could seriously make things worse.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is continuing to stick their head in the sand and insist that Windows 7 is the best solution for tablets while forbidding Phone7 to used in anything even resembling a tablet. My guess is that they have a tablet OS secretly in the works (Phone7 based???) and insisting on Windows 7 is just a temporary fix until they can talk about it. Obviously by then it will be too little too late as another hardware cycle completely passes them by.
Anyway, while Google and Microsoft are still dicking about Apple is cleaning up the whole market niche. By the time they get their own product off the ground, tablet standards will already be set by iPad, with thousands of iPad apps and iPad accessories and what have you, and Apple will just be releasing an even more refined iPad 2.
In order for competitors to really get some momentum, they need to show something new and appealing to the masses. As much as we, the 'hardcore crowd', like to pretend we really matter and we're trendsetters, in order for a new ecosystem to really make an impact, we need the casual market needs to buy into it - because that is where the real money is.
Take multitasking for example. I can debate anyone until the cows come home that iOS4 isn't true multitasking, but do the majority of users care? Probably not, because those seven background services will take care of most user's needs. Any competitor actively marketing their 'true' multitasking solution is just wasting their advertising budget.
Personally, I like to think Microsoft's secret tablet OS is an expanded version of Phone7. It allows me to sleep better at night, don't take that away from me. :D
But this is the company the founder of which, Bill Gates, looked at the iPad and said that it needed a keyboard/stylus and a desktop GUI. In short, he is still thinking in terms of laptops. He cannot make the paradigm shift.
Decided to go for the 32GB 3g Model.
Sam
21st in fact! If you have a 3GS it is a very nice little upgrade. iOS 4 is really REALLY nice... Although it does very little on a 3G to be quite honest. Like not even backgrounds on the home screen, no bluetooth keyboard support and no screen orientation locking. There are reasons for these quirks but it's still not as fun as you'd hoped. But if you've got a 3GS you're laughing.
I think the best thing about the iPad is that if you've already even vaguely used any of Apple's touch devices already, you already know exactly how to use it.
Sam
What are they marketing it as doing for me?
I'm afraid I'm with all the people who are characterising this as another piece of "look at me, I'm a rich moron" Apple tat. I just don't understand what its purpose is; it's neither a tablet PC nor a phone.
This says more about you than it does about myself or any of the other guys on this forum who have bought one or in fact the 1.2 million per month now being bought by people who do see value in the product.
Do you see?
What's the damn thing for?
In fact, it's just a heap of metal and glass that doesn't even turn on! But don't tell anyone, that's just between me and you. ;)
It's purely a consumer medium. It's a product designed to deliver content mostly their iTunes store content. Is that a bad thing? If you don't mind buying your stuff from iTunes, then no.
The problem is a lot of people see this thing as a computer. It really isn't. So can you blame it if it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of a full blown desktop or laptop? If all it's supposed to do is sell you books, movies, and music, then I must say it does a stellar job as it's got a great screen (if you've used one, it's size makes it much nicer than an iPhone), and balances portability with real estate.
That said, it's mostly an expensive toy, which is why I personally don't have one. I have other toys I'd rather buy for that kind of money.
I think the iPad represents an emerging optimism in new interface design. We've mostly grown up in a point-and-click mouse-cursor world some even command line based depending on your age and while it works great, I think 3D and touch are being explored more and more. While current implementations are very gimmicky and novel, it will likely improve with time.
The thing about an iPad is it does what most people want to do with their computer anyways. I am going to assume that the majority of bit-tech readers are more advanced enthusiasts, but really, most people probably just want to check their email, IM, update their Facebook status, and look at a few pictures. Perhaps write up something for school or the office. These things can all be done on an iPad, though a little clunky right now.
I think it's unfair to justify an iPad as a full-blown tablet pc, or as a phone. I would say it belongs to the netbook/netpad class a purely consumer device with a very slick UI.
Yes, it's expensive, but does it make it a piece of **** because most people aren't willing to afford it? No. It's just a cool toy I could do without, but I can see why somebody might buy one.
As for those who keep complaining about Flash, for the love of god, STFU already. It's annoying, but EVERYBODY knows it lacks Flash and people's constant whining isn't going to help. I personally would love to see a web without Flash, as Flash BREEDS bad design. Not to mention that Adobe has yet to make a competent version of Flash player for Mac OS after god knows how many revisions.
If you have to ask, then it does not meet your needs/wants. Just don't buy one.
But that doesn't mean it has no function or purpose for other people. I bought a Tablet PC back in 2005 or something --I had considered a laptop, but I decided that for the way I need to use it in my particular job, a Tablet was more suitable. I won't bore you with all the reasoning but part of it was that I needed something light-weight that I browse documents, e-mails and web pages on and take notes on (including hand-drawn diagrams), without having to hunch over a keyboard and without needing a flat surface to rest it on. It has performed just right for my needs.
However I can understand that other people just need the keyboard, do not do hand-drawn diagrams and will generally have a desk or table available wherever they are to rest the thing on. For them, a laptop will fit the bill better.
An interesting thing I have noted however that wherever I pull the Tablet out, at meetings, conferences or wherever, my colleagues look on with great interest, asking what it is and where I got it and how it would be just the ticket for their needs. They just didn't know such niche devices existed; that the laptop or netbook was all there was in portable computing devices. Price is also a big obstacle. Tablet PCs aren't cheap: they cost £1200,-- new (yes, really! ).
One thing Apple did: it put Tablets on the map of human consciousness, and made them affordable. And now many more people who would otherwise have bought and made do with a netbook, because it was the only thing they knew that existed, now realise that a Tablet is in fact just right for their needs: a lightweight, instant-on, uncomplicated media delivery and internet access device; something that you can do all that computery stuff on like e-mailing, web browsing, playing games, MP3s and YouTube videos without actually having to use something as complicated and daunting (for them) as a computer.
But, as I said, it may not meet your needs at all. So don't buy one.
One thing that I didn't think I'd be using it for when I bought it; at work we install and manage wifi hotspots, which usually involves configuring some hardware and basic connectivity testing. The iPad is perfect for this as it's instant on/off and very easy to navigate pages of settings. It's also possible to test remote connectivity via 3G.
First impressions: it is lighter than I thought (pump some iron, you wusses!) and a bit smaller, though still a good size. The case feels smooth so I can see how some people worry about dropping it. The demo model has been on all day but is not even warm to the touch. The screen does already have a scratch on it (some of the little children are really knocking them about, with apathetic patents looking on) and you can see a fine moire line across the pixel raster. So the screen is tough but not entirely unscratchable. Image quality is great but I think the resolution could be a bit higher. Four times the old iPhone (1280 x 960) would have given a better dpi visually, but also made upscaling iPhone apps smoother.
Apple missed a trick by not putting in a camera. Most people will not use it that way but as we know with the iPhone, it can be repurposed for other original uses such as image search, barcode reading etc. I'm also surprised it does not have a compass even though the 3G model has GPS and it is ideal for map navigation and sightseeing/tour guide applications.
Apps are smooth but even the Apple ones are not quite as intuitive as I'd hoped (they aren't on the iPhone). Still, they are very close. Keyboard is great and I can type at a fair clip. I note that it underlines misspelt words and it vocalizes word substitutions in a pleasant female voice.
Would I buy one? Yes, but not for the current price (or perhaps only the basic model). It is not that I can't see where the money has gone --it is a quality built device-- but I think that subjectively the price will feel too high for many of the non-techie people these devices are targeting. Once the novelty has worn off, I suspect that prices will drop closer to what I would consider the ideal price point of £300,-- for the base model to £400,-- for the all-singing, all-dancing model. I also predict that the next iPad will have a higher screen resolution and a camera and compass.
I also think that a separate telcom contract for the 3G model is madness. I think that the Spanish telcom pricing model is the way to go: one contract divided across multiple devices, with the limitation that you can only use data services on only one device at the same time (i.e. you can browse on your iPhone or iPad but not both simultaneously).
Having said all that, anyone who cannot imagine "what it is for" should have a play with it. If you then still don't get it, you should apply for a brain transplant because the one you're using is obviously not fit for purpose. It is very obvious what it is for. You may not need one, but that's a different matter. I think I'm typing on the future of personal computing devices in our daily lives.
Bullring or Touchwood? Just out of interest :)
Then there was the netbooks are underpowered laptops with no use... where did that go?
Innovation is taking something that was good, and making it better, so stop asking yourself what you can use it for, its a stupid question, apply it to situations and see how it does, personally I like the fact that its like an iPod touch but with a screen big enough to actually watch/read something on... if you want something pocket sized you'll obviously be steering clear but then again its like going to buy a cricket bat and deciding a tennis racket will do... if you know what you want buy it, stop complaining about something you don't think suits you, find something other than ranting to fill your sad life
Bullring. Lots of demo models. Can't buy one though --they're sold out. There is a waiting list. :)
I deleted a huge load of stuff from this post about what I've used it for the past 24 hours. It just seems some people aren't likely to be convinced of what the machine offers in terms of benefits to others, and I feel that is more of an attitude thing rather than an open mind willing to listen. Maybe I'm wrong. But I would like to say that using a tablet makes manipulating and navigating through web pages, photo albums, video collections, menus, gameplay, etc, really easy and it feels really natural. The best way to work out if it will benefit someone or not is to do like Nexxo did and actually get off your arses and try it out. Don't play the cool nerd and slag it off because its a 'tablet' or in the pads case an 'Apple', just have an open mind, spend some time checking it out. I'm really impressed and very attached to mine. That is not Apple-marketing brainwashing talking, I do actually know my own mind. If after using one you don't see the benefits for yourself then I am sure at the very least you will likely see the benefits for other people and not feel the need to express Apple hatred unnecessarily.
Another machine people seemed to struggle to come to terms with was the Nintendo 3DS. E3 enabled people to get a hands-on try and now the web is full of quotes like "people were blown away with how good it was".
I can't wait for that.
Ah cool. I only ask because I work at the other store! :)
Anyway, currently loving it, such a nice bit of kit. Has a solid touch to it too, which gives you the impression it can be bumped about before it dies on you.
Sam
If you get the case, the whole thing will feel indestructible. I've tossed mine around, dropped it multiple times and used it with my horrible uncut fingernails - not a scratch. The case is a real gem.
However, I'm still saving for a Dodocase, because it just looks gorgeous.
http://www.twelvesouth.com/static/assets/products/productheaderimage/image/pageHeroImages_compass3pc_comp.jpg
http://twelvesouth.com/products/compass/
And not expensive, either.
+rep
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/07/genius-fridgepad-turns-ipad-into-giant-fridge-magnet/
Nice. :)
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tuaw.com/media/2010/08/legoipadstand.jpg
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/08/16/no-comment-lego-ipad-stand-shows-ingenuity-parsimony/
to the Ridiculous:
http://www.cultofmac.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/ipad_chair3.jpg
http://www.cultofmac.com/watch-movies-in-style-with-the-ipad-chair/55002
I'm not sure if that chair will also hand out Jim'll Fix It badges as well... Maybe there's an app for that?
Sam
Sam
Installed it now, but it is for iPhone?
Sam
http://lifehacker.com/5687186/how-to-enable-ios-airprint-support-in-os-x-right-now
Copy the files, re share the printers and Robert's your mother's brother. :)
Update: it's alive!! Wifi works fine in this release, no dropouts and it seems a bit snappier too.
Taken from : Here
Sam
Crocodile snappy, or Alligator?
I've bought a 32Gb 3G iPad for MrsGOO for Christmas... I had to physically restrain myself from firing it up and having a go when it arrived last week. :)
I also got her one of these in ostrich skin leather for it:
http://shop.portenzo.com/
It's along the lines of the dodocase, but seems to have a larger variety of cover options. It's very well made, and from the video on the site, it'll stay put in there, unlike some of the reports I've heard on the Dodocase.
If I ever get an iPad myself, I quite like the old school marbled notebook look. :)