I just think it is a strange device. It is significantly bigger than the majority of the e-book reader rivals that are already in the market with the exception of the Kindle DX. The smaller screen dimensions do not hurt them while the added portability and e-ink technology are major advantages in terms of reading. The limited OS and lack of multitasking is the major killer for me. Having both is kick in the teeth to consumers particularly compared to rivals. It is something Apple needs to sort out pretty quickly and it would bring a major improvement. For a device that boasts of being able to do a variety of different things there are no excuses for preventing users from doing more than one thing at a time. Agreed but do you not think it will hurt the sales of the iPad for consumers who will be using it mainly for reading? I do not even like Flash but not having it is noticeable and can be a major hindrance. It is one of those things that should be included by default. Which makes the decision to include iWorks rather strange. It adds to the general what is this device for and who is supposed to use it questions. The hardware keyboard issue is one that I identified at the start. If you are going to be competing with netbooks as a so-called portable device for consumers who do not require or do not want to carry a laptop around then why remove something that is fundamental to their use? I am not talking about the tech crowd here but general consumers who will be looking at the device and asked to make a decision. If Apple fans are questioning where it fits in their device ecosystem, non-Apple fans are questioning the benefit over a smartphone for daily use and a netbook/ultraportable if required and the general public go for the simple option that meets their needs (keyboard, Internet and office) then who will buy it? Agreed.
Doesn't Flash really hog the processing power? I've also heard that the iPad doesn't have much screen brightness, which will render it almost useless in outdoor/bright situations, but it does mean that you'll get a lot more battery life. Still, lack of features like a camera and Flash make one think twice. Of course, the fanboys and geeks will still be lined up outside 3-4 days before the launch just to be the first to buy one. Apparently it's more of a laptop sans keyboard than anything else. I think. Even laptops allow the ability to run more than one thing at once.
give Ubuntu a go the next time. I switched to it over a year ago, and was really surprised now easy it is to install. in fact very similar to the way you install Windows. the installation DVD takes care of pretty much everything, including an easy user-friendly way of splitting the HD for dual-boot installs. it's Ubuntu's philosophy to make it accessible to non-tech people. and Dell have now started to sell PCs with Ubuntu pre-installed. having said that, Wifi cards still seem to be a bit of a problem to some people. while there are drivers available for most cards, not everyone is happy. and I wish I could use the Vista driver for my card, it's much better than the one for Ubuntu, deals better with weak signals. there is as such an easy way to use Windows Wifi drivers in Ubuntu, but since I run 64bit Ubuntu I can't run the 32bit Vista drivers. but it's not really a problem for me, the only place I get a weak signal is in one room I usually work, but it's because of interference. I use an ethernet cable here, in the rest of the house and the garden the signal strength is fine.
The Apple presentation failed in this regard as Steve Jobs was showing it as a netbook replacement, when it was designed more as a Kindle alternative. Why buy a single purpose reader for $500, when you can give up the e-ink for an LCD and get a multipurpose device for the same price? The e-reader market looked like it was really going to take off this year, and that is really who this device is for. Apple got carried away by the whole netbook replacement aspect, and are getting panned for it now. This is a potential netbook replacement only for those who don't already have one, and would buy one purely for entertainment purposes. As for them leaving out Flash, I'm guessing there were two reason for it: 1. Giving people access to Hulu, South Park Studios etc. will see a lot of their iTunes store video sales dry up. South Park Studios released an app for the iPhone to let people view the videos, and Apple rejected it. 2. ATT are barely able to sustain the current data usage on their network - I really don't think they would like having everyone watching high res video as well
One thought on the Flash thing: Apple is probably trying to do to flash what it did to the floppy disk drive: move on past it. Apple prefers HTML 4 (5?) because it's less processor intensive and more modern--Apple is hoping that they can aggressively not use Flash as a way of trying to kill it. We'll see what happens. But remember back in 1997 how everyone laughed at the iMac for not having a floppy disk drive? As for "what is the iPad?", many pundits have recalled how back in 1984 Apple (maybe it was Jobs himself) really hoped that the Mac would turn out to be an appliance, not a personal computer. Well, it seems that with the iPad Steve finally got his appliance. This is an appliance like a TV is an appliance--it's all about the delivery of content. No, it won't replace your laptop, if you use your laptop for things like video and audio editing, photoshop, CAD programs, what have you. But honestly there are LOTS of people out there for whom the iPad is perfectly suited to their needs: most people use computers for browsing the web, e-mail, and office type programs. That's it.
This is why the device was created: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntyXvLnxyXk&feature=player_embedded"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntyXvLnxyXk&feature=player_embedded[/ame]
I wish it could stream itunes content from your own network. That way I would have access to my entire audio/video library, as opposed to having to sync the content on there when I want to watch something. That's kind of annoying.
I sort of scratched my head about this too - but after watching some videos - I want to get one. Not in a must have sort of way - more like cool toy to have kind of thing. I think it would be great to take when traveling and not have to deal with a laptop - vacations, etc. - really portable, perfect for using in a small airplane seat, and good battery life (I wonder if it can charge an iphone?). It would be cool if existing iphone users can either tether or use existing data plan without adding another but I don't have my hopes up. I was skeptical, but when I think about what folks pay for a Kindle, I do think there may be a market for it. They are so far ahead because of a number of reasons, but a big part of it now is inertia more than anything. Large companies have a hard time making small upgrades to existing products much less overhauling to a completely new system. The trend seems to be to be headed more towards mobile work spaces these days and allowing employees to pick and choose their own platforms so things may be changing. Funny - but one day you will drink the Apple kool-aid and wonder what took you so long. Okay maybe not, but that's only because your livelihood I think is tied up in using Windows computers. You know you want to love Macs. That's pretty darn cool. Surely that will be in the cards down the line if not at launch - can't we stream Itunes across networks?
People want portability, ease of use and a device that meets their needs. It is why the netbook market was successful in the first place. I think you are too quick to dismiss the trade off people will be forced to make by giving up quite a bit of portability and e-ink (notably for books). By people I am obviously not talking about Apple fans or the likes of us here but the market that embraced netbooks and e-book readers. I still maintain that for the rest of us (and I include Apple fans here) will be looking at our smartphone (lite or not) then at our laptop option and then thinking about where the iPad fits in and whether we would really use on a daily basis. That is part of the problem because people either go for something simple that fits their needs (see netbook and e-reader) or they want something that enables them to do it all and merge their work and social life in a couple of devices. To most that involves a smartphone for daily use and a laptop. I know precisely why Apple wants to deny users Flash. Unfortunately for them their main competitors do not agree. Flash, despite the noted flaws, is a key component of the Internet at this point. Flash is not dead yet and will not be so long as it is widely used and adopted by competitors. This is a case of Apple protectionism at play. They can hope Flash dies off but it will not be soon and it is their users that are hurt by its absence. When Flash is superseded everyone will move on regardless. Apple will not 'win' because they will never fully embrace any standard that threatens their closed system. The iPad fails at the basics you mentioned. If you want to attract consumers from other options then you need to at least have the basics. Do you really think people are going to buy an iPad, carry an iPad daily and then subscribe to digital content just so they can replicate what happens in that video? I get digital content at the moment and will continue to do so. Unfortunately that video is the usual style over substance effort.
There is a sizable group of consumers who do just that (although with somewhat less sophisticated devices). People who have $300-500 e-readers probably already have smartphones and laptops, but still see the need for a device midway between the two.
E-readers are very portable but the same simply cannot be said of the iPad. An e-reader is a complementary device but the iPad forces the user to make a decision on what to carry around daily.
The difference in portability isn't THAT much. If you were throwing your e-reader into your bag every morning, there is no reason you won't be able to carry an iPad. In situations if you were carrying your laptop while traveling purely to watch videos/keep yourself entertained, this is a fair alternative as well. Code: iPad Kindle Height 9.56" 10.4" Width 7.47" 7.2" Depth 0.5" 0.38" Weight 24oz 19oz It's not going to replace your computer, but it will be a fairly decent, all in one entertainment device. Were there no iPad, I would probably be buying a Kindle DX or Nook in the next few weeks, and commute/travel with that and my iPhone in addition to home use when I don't want to be tied to my desk. And there is always the possibility of better games. I wouldn't be surprised if I get could get a full port of Civ 2 on the iPad. edit: Streaming games via Orb to something bigger than my iPhone will be fun as well.
We can stream a library from one computer to another, and even to an apple tv. But we cannot stream to iphones. I've looked at some apps, but there is no straightforward way to do it. Maybe in iPhone OS 4.
The Kindle/IPad difference doesn't come down to portability, but readability to me. I know the Kindle has that digital paper tech going for it. Does anyone know anything about the IPad screen? Does it have anything to reduce eye strain?
How to access your media via safari on your iphone. I'm not super sophisticated with computers, but I managed to get it to work. It's not elegant, really, but now I can access it all internally. I'm not sure about how to set it up so I can access my media from any location, though. Port forwarding and firewalls frighten me.
I've read 3 books on my eyephone and haven't really noticed eye strain - I wonder if there will be setting that will reduce this?
Interesting - but it seems easier to me to just synch what I need on my iPhone since it's quick and easy and I use my phone for this kind of media while at home pretty rarely. I guess it might be nice to play whatever the heck you want from massive music library without having to synch every time though - just hasn't been something I need much. If I'm listening to music or watching video, inevitably I'm using my computer and not my phone.
Orb You can stream anything on your computer to your iPhone. You can even stream video streams (sopcast etc.) provided you can open the program and tune it to the right channel before you leave (or use remote desktop).
Looks pretty cool, although I take it that it kills the battery, right? As someone with a laptop, iPhone, and Kindle, I probably don't have much use for an iPad at this point. But the idea is intriguing and a future update might convince me. For all the complaining about a lack of multitasking in the iPhone OS--and yes that occasionally includes me--it's not as though it's completely devoid of the ability to do multiple things at once. I can, for instance, listen to music via the iPod while reading something in Safari, or while checking e-mail, or while in Facebook or Yelp. Sure, it would be nice to not have to relaunch Safari after checking my mail, but considering the amount of time it takes to bring the apps up, it's not a huge loss. I think my main annoyance is not being able to do anything else while using last.fm or Pandora. Using Google Talk would be nice too, and while I haven't missed it a lot on the iPhone, I can see that being a crucial part of the iPad. But that's really the extent of most people's multitasking needs. Like with the iPhone, the iPad comes in as a blank slate. People will find uses for it that we didn't even see at the presentation. As much as people criticize Apple for being a "walled garden" with regards to development, no other platform even comes close to the App Store for number of quality apps. I'd expect nothing less for the iPad. Oh and just wanted to add, it's funny to read that a failure to embrace Flash is evidence of Apple being a closed shop. HTML5 is far more of an open standard than Flash ever was. With the help of YouTube, hopefully Flash will soon enough go the way of RealPlayer.
I get what you're saying. I'm interested mostly in case the iPad doesn't natively let me stream my media. Nonetheless there still have been times where this would have been useful.
I'll tell you who the market for this is: Me. I have a desktop (iMac) and an iPhone. No laptop. I also have a family of me, my wife, and my three kids, and everyone wants to use the desktop all at the same time quite frequently. For heavy-duty computing? No, for media content. The web. Music. Facebook. Etc. An iPad, which anyone can go plop down on the couch and have fun with, is the perfect alternative to someone who doesn't really have a need or a desire for a full-fledged laptop. Can't wait. And that SI demo video? That looks insanely awesome, and if you're going 'meh' at that, you are a lot more jaded than I am. I might actually consider subscribing to SI again for something like that.
Here's an interesting article from the Huffington Post, about how the original iPod was also panned after months of hype, and the "Apple acceptance process": http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/01/ipad-a-disappointment-her_n_442155.html
I have to laugh at people who say they are disappointed with a product that they have never actually seen in person or laid hands on. It's like my daughter who says certain foods are yucky without having tried them. The Apple Store at my local mall is always jam-packed with people, no matter the day of the week or time of day. Once there are iPads in there to play and fall in love with, does anyone seriously think that Apple ISN'T going to sell an absolute truckload of these things?
Some folks are the opposite of Mac fanboys - they'll find something negative to say about Apple no matter what they produce. Another idea for the iPad along those lines which I would have liked if I were younger and still reading comics: http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/23886/ MacDailyNews tracks all the folks who bashed the iPhone who look pretty ridiculous now. The iPad is going to be great for sharing photos with family and at parties, etc. So much easier than an iphone or computer for passing around and sharing.
The funny thing is that "style over substance" video from Time isn't demoed on an iPad--it's just on a generic tablet computer. The video itself is actually two months old. As I said before, already having the laptop/smartphone/e-reader combination, I don't think this would be a fit for me. But for someone who only has, say one out of those three, it might be nice to go for. It's all going to come down to what apps end up getting released for it.