iPad announced

[Lee Bartholomew]

No doubt the fruit loving ones are drooling. Already facebook statuses are saying they want one.

WHY????

Can anyone explain? I struggle with the same question for the iPhone.

The iPad:-

Looks like an oversized iPhone
Wont work on the web (no flash player)
Too small to do any computing on (photoshop, dreamweaver etc)
Too big to put in your pocket and carry around
No SD Slot, No keyboard, No USB, No replaceable Battery, No Front webcam, No Multitasking, LCD screen, has only a max of 64Gig storage.
10hr battery life (provided you dont actually use it)


What good is this? Why do people want one? Sounds like a tablet PC from 2003 to me.

[frodo]

Can anyone explain? I struggle with the same question for the iPhone.

The iPad:-

Looks like an oversized iPhone
Wont work on the web (no flash player)
Too small to do any computing on (photoshop, dreamweaver etc)
Too big to put in your pocket and carry around
No SD Slot, No keyboard, No USB, No replaceable Battery, No Front webcam, No Multitasking, LCD screen, has only a max of 64Gig storage.
10hr battery life (provided you dont actually use it)

What good is this? Why do people want one? Sounds like a tablet PC from 2003 to me.

Long overdue I reckon.

If you mostly want a device for browsing and simple apps, it will do the job. Flash isn't needed for many purposes.

An iPhone is just too small if you don't want it primarily as a phone.

Usability aside, the key difference with Tablet PCs is weight. Tablet PCs were at least twice as heavy. You'd think twice about putting it in a bag.

I wouldn't buy it for some of the reasons you've given, but I'd love to have a device of the same form factor, or a little smaller, with SD slot / USB, replaceable battery/storage etc.

[Lee Bartholomew]

Long overdue I reckon.

If you mostly want a device for browsing and simple apps, it will do the job. Flash isn't needed for many purposes.

Other than going on the web. Most pages use flash. Oh and it doesn;t support Java I have been reading. Still web pages from 1996 will be viewable.

An iPhone is just too small if you don't want it primarily as a phone.

and this is too small other than to watch videos on.

Usability aside, the key difference with Tablet PCs is weight. Tablet PCs were at least twice as heavy. You'd think twice about putting it in a bag.

Alot of tablet pc's are only 2lb compared to the iPads 1.6lb and they have larger storage, slide out keyboards, optical devices etc.

I wouldn't buy it for some of the reasons you've given, but I'd love to have a device of the same form factor, or a little smaller, with SD slot / USB, replaceable battery/storage etc.

ie a tablet pc!

[geoff332]

What good is this?

Wait and see what comes out from the Apple App Store.

Why do people want one?

Mostly because it's Apple. The media frenzy around this has been quite obscene. Why don't tech journalists do some real journalism instead of marketing for Apple?

Sounds like a tablet PC from 2003 to me.

I'm waiting to see what google come out with. The whole point of the Chrome OS (initially) is for small form-factor devices - netbooks and tablets.

At a minimum, I'd not consider a portable device unless it can:

• Let me browse the web (in all it's glory!)
• Download and view my photos (in RAW format) - which means a decent amount of storage, plus the ability to expand storage using cards and USB drives.
• Write emails and other text of more than a few lines long

But the killer tablet app for me is simple: fully featured remote desktop to a PC. At present, this means a Windows based device.

It sounds like iPad won't deliver anything I really want.

[straycat]

What good is this? Why do people want one? Sounds like a tablet PC from 2003 to me.

As a long-time foaming-at-the-mouth rabid Apple fan, I can answer thusly.

Haven't the foggiest.

It isn't a big iPhone. It's a big iPod Touch with optional 3G, and far too big to put in your pocket.

If it ran OS X, and I could plug in an external sound card, I'd get one like a shot and use it for DJing.

Since it doesn't and I can't.... it looks like a fun toy that does nothing my iPhone can't, and that I don't need - so clearly I'm not in the target market.

I shall be watching developments with interest.

[Dreadful Scathe]

If you mostly want a device for browsing and simple apps, it will do the job. Flash isn't needed for many purposes.

Not really, its under spec'd for anything other than phone apps - better using a phone for them to be honest

Usability aside, the key difference with Tablet PCs is weight. Tablet PCs were at least twice as heavy. You'd think twice about putting it in a bag.

Weight ? I have one of these I bought it ooooh 7 years ago now - and it has some better features than the new ipAd (it runs linux) its only 3.5lb apparently.

[Lee Bartholomew]

Wait and see what comes out from the Apple App Store.

Hmmmm, over priced, rehashed Java applications.

[geoff332]

Hmmmm, over priced, rehashed Java applications.

Most likely. But the real power of the Tablet is as an application device. And, knowing Apple, it'll be slick and easy to use (as long as you use it they way Apple envisage, not some other way). Plus the media fanboys will tell everyone how wonderful it is until everyone believes it.

Of course, in that size, you could buy something like the Archos 9. It's got a 9" screen, 60GB of storage, and Windows 7. It weighs 800g (about 1.2 lbs). It's even got a USB and a camera. Perhaps most importantly, the back is flat (rather than the curve of the iPad), meaning you can put it on a desk and use it. Of course, there are some big limitations (mostly because Windows 7 hasn't been tweaked properly for tablets) but, frankly, I'd take those limitations over the iPad any day.

Over the course of the year, expect to see a flurry of tablets on the market. Hopefully someone will come up with one that's a genuine killer device. In my view, the iPad is a poor choice among limited options.

Edit:
What I find really funny is this. The iPad is the third from top trending item on Twitter for the UK. Second is #HugATree. Top is #itampon.

[straycat]

In all seriousness, while I can't see myself finding a good use for it, I can definitely see the appeal. The interface looks beautiful and slick, and it's a nice size to take places where I don't want to lug a laptop around, for jobs that the phone's a bit small for (word-processing, touching up photos, etc)

I just want a bit more versatility... and I very much believe that a great multi-touch interface would be a DJs dream - if only one had enough sound outputs to preview as well as play.

While this certainly isn't the tablet device of my dreams, it's the closest thing I've seen to it yet, and I'm pretty certain that it'll shake the industry up somewhat (if not to the degree that the iPhone did)

Here's hoping good things come from that shakeup, and/or from the future directions of the iPad.

[Lee Bartholomew]

In all seriousness, while I can't see myself finding a good use for it, I can definitely see the appeal. The interface looks beautiful and slick, and it's a nice size to take places where I don't want to lug a laptop around, for jobs that the phone's a bit small for (word-processing, touching up photos, etc)

It's not even any good for that. There is no keyboard or mouse.

and/or from the future directions of the iPad.

Yep i guess they prob are holding some stuff back for atleast the 5th gen release.


I think Apple has pretty ballsed up here as even most fruit fans can see this has major faults. No doubt they will still flock to buy it though, like they did the iphone and everyone will want one becuase they are the buzz word of the day.

The marketing campain for them will make out it is the first tablet machine ever and that you can do much more with it than you can anything else.

As for DJ'ing off it, with only 64gig max internal memory (with alot taken by apps and the os, No flash memory support and no external device support, you had better choose what songs you put on there very carefully. Also I read somewhere earlier that it doesn't even have a headphone socket on it !!!!!!!

[DavidB]

http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/U...one_for_giants

[Lee Bartholomew]

"Netbooks aren't better at anything - they're slow and have low quality displays," said Steve Jobs as he announced a device with a 1ghz processor, 1gig DDR2 memory and a max 1024-by-768 resolution on a backlight LCD !!!!!!!

[David Franklin]

"Netbooks aren't better at anything - they're slow and have low quality displays," said Steve Jobs as he announced a device with a 1ghz processor, 1gig DDR2 memory and a max 1024-by-768 resolution on a backlight LCD !!!!!!!

I'm not hugely impressed with the iPad, but I'm not sure your statement holds up under examination. Taking it point by point:

Without knowing the exact details of the chip Apple are using, ARM claim an 800Mhz ARM cpu outperforms a 1.6Ghz Atom. And because it's a specialised device/OS, I expect Apple to make it "look" faster than Windows for the same CPU power. Certainly the clips I've seen of the presentation support that.

Most netbooks also come with only 1gig of DDR2. It's nice that you can upgrade the netbook though. It's having to pay Apple through the nose for flash storage that's the bigger annoyance I think.

Most netbooks have only a 1024 x 600 screen. And the iPAD screen is a LED backlit IPS, which should be noticeably better than current netbook screens. Impossible to tell until some unbiased reviews come in though. (Since one thing I want from an e-reader is ability to read in bed with the lights off, backlit is good in my opinion. YMMV).

On the other hand...

A few months ago, I bought a Samsung NC10 netbook as a "toy". But I've been surprised how capable it is in practice - I can run Visual Studio on it and compile real applications. It's not quick, but it's a lot better than nothing. It also runs Flash, which I think is going to really hurt the iPad unless HTML 5 video comes of age fast enough to make Flash irrelevant. The keyboard is amazing for such a small machine as well. As an ebook reader, it's a lot better than I expected; it's light enough that I'm not that bothered about the iPad being about half the weight. All in all, I use it as much as my fullsize laptop, and I'm *happy* using it instead for most things, which I think is astounding.

If I bought an iPad, it would again be as a "toy". Only this time, I think it wouldn't rise above that status.

[David Franklin]

It seems Hitler agrees with you, Lee:



N.B. Subtitles not safe for work.

[Simon r]

I really can not say to much on this as Nokia design are working on many other variants and technology that far out does the I pad.

It seems rushed to enter the market which is not normal for Apple as we are all working with the same drivers and screens and there are much better concepts in the pipeline for release in 6 months.

I think this is a gap filler which the apple faithfull will purchase then regret in less than 6 months.

I tried to point this out to a friend who got very upset when i suggested not to follow the herd.

It is a great brand idea and the users are so faithfull. I'm just worried some are getting blind to the use as many have pointed out above.

Interesting the target is european, middle class, female's.

[Simon r]

my other thoughts about the iPad:

This is Apples first attempt to 'dumb down' the PC/computer. Windows in the 80's had single-handely desttroyed the PC industry, by popularising hard-to-use and totally un-user-friendly machines that my grandmother used to be scared off.

The iPad is just that... a dumb PC. Why is this the right time for one you ask? Well, in one word - Content. Yes, todays content market has matured just enough to introduce such a device. 20 years ago something like this would be useless, because there was no web, there were no ebooks, there was no music/video/games on the go. Hell, there wasn't even email on the go.

But today, there is enough to justify having a machine that you would just turn on and start using, and it would satisfy 99.9% of your daily PC needs. Ask yourself, do you really want to grapple with Windows, or even Macs, just to be able to surf the web, email, listen to music, watch videos or play games? No, and the iPad is just the answer to that.

Its smarter than a smartphone, but dumber than a PC...its a dumb PC! and it will sell millions, I assure you. I can even see it eating into the PC market, let alone the netbook market.


The reason I use the term 'dumb PC' is because you dont need to use your brains too much to be able to operate an iPad, unlike the PCs and Macs of today. Flash you ask? I have a very strong feeling that the reason Apple is not allowing Adobe to get into the iPods, iPhones and iPads it because they want to come up with some revenue deal with them, which Adobe is not agreeing to. But flash on Apple is inevitable, so as you said, not a deal breaker.

[Cruella]

Interesting the target is european, middle class, female's.

Why? Our handbags aren't THAT big!

[frodo]

The iPad:-

One thing I've just noticed is that you can charge it off USB - which means no separate power brick to carry.

While an obvious thing for a netbook to support, and long overdue, I've yet to see a netbook do that.

[Lou]

Why? Our handbags aren't THAT big!

Never has a truer word been said. I know Lee goes on about all the technical spec stuff that's missing, but I simply wouldn't buy it because it's far too big to fit in my bag!

[Lee Bartholomew]

It's too big for my man-bag too!