thoughts on the ipad

[deltatahoe]

figured it would be interesting to start a thread to hear people's thoughts on the new ipad announced yesterday by apple.

my favorite quote about the media feeding frenzy surrounding the ipad was from the wall street journal: "the last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it."

anyways, i've personally gone back and forth about whether or not this is something that i would use and enjoy.

initially i was thinking the ipad could rework my thoughts on home computing. i've been expecting my laptop (an ibm thinkpad, which is now over six years old) to die on me any minute now (although it doesn't show any signs of failing -- still going strong). originally i was planning on getting a 17" macbook pro to replace my current laptop, but i was thinking the ipad could change that, substituting having just a laptop for a combination of either: i) imac + ipad or ii) mac mini connected to my 50" HDTV + ipad).

my thinking is as follows: use the ipad when at home (ie. while watching tv) to browse the web, send quick emails, etc. when i need to do some real computing, i would use either the mac mini or imac. then when traveling, i could bring the ipad instead of a macbook pro to enjoy watching movies, reading books, listening to music, etc. the thing that i can hardly believe is (from what i've read at least) the complete lack of multitasking. the idea that i couldn't listen to music from the ipad while reading a book is downright shocking to me -- how could such a seemingly powerful product not even do the simplest of multitasking. on my ipod touch i can even listen to music while writing something in "notes", browsing mail or looking at my calendar. hopefully at least this type of simple multitasking would be possible, even if the ipad couldn't use the pandora streaming music application while reading a book (commonly cited by tech blogs as an example as something that the ipad cannot do).

overall though, i think the "interactive" web browsing (ie. using multitouch to browse pages, etc) and content consumption (ala the new york times reader application they showcased), combined with full utilization of the large multitouch screen by creative application developers (in ways we can barely imagine right now), could be the real differentiator for the ipad. furthermore, i think apple is bound to eventually allow for multitasking and integrate some of the other things that people were expecting/hoping for with the ipad (ie. front-facing video camera for ichat), which should make the device even more powerful / useful.

anyways, those are my big picture thoughts; i'd be curious to hear what people think about my home computing thoughts above (ipad + either imac or mac mini as replacement for macbook pro), as well as general thoughts on the ipad. the device certainly has people talking, with (not surprisingly) the "apple fanboys" gushing about how awesome it looks while the "haters" bag on all the things it can't do. but if i were to guess, i'd say more people (including quite a few fanboys) are disappointed than excited about the ipad.

what do you think?

deltatahoe

[redwatch]

I find it intriguing. One of the rumors that was spreading around about it was that it was going to have a dock connector on the bottom and the side, so if you wanted to dock it with an accessory (like the keyboard dock) then you could use it in landscape or portrait mode. Unfortunately, they didn't do that. You can only dock it in Portrait mode. I find this very, very odd. It would have been a perfect thing for my desk if I could use it in landscape mode to watch wide screen movies, or what ever. Every computer screen on the market, whether regular or wide screen, is wider than it is tall. It will take some serious getting used to if I used it docked.

I also wonder if a bluetooth mouse will ever work with it? I realize you are meant to use it as a touch screen tablet, but again, if I'm at a desk, I would want to use it as a regular computer with keyboard and mouse/trackball.

It is a fascinating product though, and it's growth potential is ridiculous!!! I am really looking forward to the next year or so with the iPad.

[TwoTone]

It is a fascinating product though, and it's growth potential is ridiculous!!! I am really looking forward to the next year or so with the iPad.

Agreed...

I'm going to wait for version 2 [or 3 for that matter] though...

More features and flexibilities...

And the price will be sure to drop...

Double T <--- Who's well beyond the years of needing to be the first kid on the block with the new toy...

[professor_yaffle1]

Well, having bought a Macbook Pro about 3 months back, I'm now metaphorically kicking myself - the iPad would pretty much address all of my home computing needs.....I have a work laptop and vpn for all things work related.

I'll probably still buy one since it's relatively cheap, I love gadgets, and, as an iPhone user I've been banging on to friends and colleagues about how "it would be great if we could have a touchscreen computer that works like the iPhone"

Just need to time my next US business trip in with the launch......March sometime, I think?

[PeteM]

In terms of how I would use it I agree with the comments above. Its a great 'couch potato' bit of kit.

But I will go with DoubleT I will wait for the a V2 or V3. I think Apple will approach it in the same way they do the iPhone, or any other product, with upgrading cascading down as the initial interest wains.

The problem is I think these upgrades are already there ready but as with the iPhone they are being held back to maintain continuity of sales etc. The comment by Red will I am sure be adressed very soon after first release. As with other issues raised after first release.

So much as I want one and welcome its arrival I will wait... not too long but long enough to take advantage of an improved/upgraded version.

[highoeyazmuhudee]

my initial thoughts were "are you KIDDING ME!?" it's a GIANT iPOD touch, like who gives a crap, this is groudbreaking? It only goes up to 64gbs as well, and has no camera (think portable video conferencing or VOIP). You're better off saving $300 and going with a netbook with TWICE the disk space of the 64gig model. At least that way you can run flash and non Apple licensed software... not to mention wmv, wma, divx, etc etc. This product shouldnt sell well, but IT WILL because Apple has done a great job of building their brand as hip and trendy. But their is absolutely nothing NEW here, it even continues its trend of restricting access to the content you want, tablet PCs have also been around for a while now. IMO it's not worth the premium Apple products seem to demand, go for value and get yourself a netbook, it's WAY more versatile and cheaper. I never liked the restrictions apple imposes on their portable devices, the only way to vindicate your freedom is to violate their terms of use. My ipod browser crashes daily and sites with flash are useless, there is also no easy way to get your information off this device without loading it in itunes. You'd think for something debuting in 2010 it'd at least have a mini usb port for transfering your data easily and the ability to use flash interactivity...NOPE. If palm came out with this product no one would give a [censored]. So please tell me why you want to buy this for $499 for 16gigs to a laughable $829 for 64gigs with 3G, no external inputs, proprietary digital output and OVERALL mostly proprietary software use. even a $350 netbook has a built in webcam

[redwatch]

I agree about the webcam. I was really surprised that one wasn't included on the iPad. Even the iPod Nano has a video camera in it! And no flash support (STILL!) is going to be an issue for a lot of people IMO. The biggest selling point is the UI. A multi-touch screen is a superb way to navigate the web and that will be it's biggest selling point for sure. Of course, if anyone here has run RWG on their iPhone, they will know that it's not that fun. I wonder if, when you logon to RWG, the default screen will be the Lo-Fi version. How will websites see the iPad? Will it be considered a mobile device and so point you to the mobil versions of banking sites, facebook, etc?

[Nanuq]

I'd break it. Even if I didn't mean to, it would die in a week. I'd rather burn the stack of $100 bills buying watches!

[Tribal]

A nice gadget for shure but no flash support is a no go for a Internet table.

I thought they bring up a new Iphone too but this will be next year

[paneristi_man]

my initial thoughts were "are you KIDDING ME!?" it's a GIANT iPOD touch, like who gives a crap, this is groudbreaking?

LOL. It is indeed a GIANT iPOD Touch. The name sucks too, when I hear the word pad , I think of my wife's tampon!!

[Pugwash]

"If I'd asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse." - Henry Ford

The iPad is great. If you wanted a laptop without a keyboard, you're bound to be disappointed, but that's not what the iPad's about. You may not get it today, but you will soon.

And yes, it's just a big iPod touch, and that's what's good about it. It's not a faster horse; it's a car and you don't know what one of those does yet.

[jcrry2]

i think its pretty cool and will probably get one

[Mickey Padge]

Meh...

[Agrippa]

Hugely underwhelmed. The thing is severely underspecified (a maximum of 64GB storage, no USB, no Flash, no widescreen format = wtf?!) and has no unique capabilities which a smart phone and a laptop/net book can't already do much better. Total waste of money in my opinion.

[Jkay]

I had a 10" tablet for a few years (Fujitsu) but it was stylus based. No keyboard

It was freaking fantastic. I think that the iPad will be like this but 100x better.

[dluddy]

" You may not get it today, but you will soon.

Could not agree more. Have to admit, I was underwhelmed when the ipod came out. No look at what you can do with the itouch

[redwatch]

I had a 10" tablet for a few years (Fujitsu) but it was stylus based. No keyboard

It was freaking fantastic. I think that the iPad will be like this but 100x better.

There's always the Modbook Axiotron. Basically a re-packaged Macbook with no keyboard and a stylus. It's a pretty cool system, but much more expensive than an iPad. However, it has huge storage capacity, USB, Firewire, on board camera, wi-fi and bluetooth. One day I may opt to upgrade one of my Macbooks to this. If they made it multi-touch, it would be all over!

[nakortheblue]

+1

[quote name='Mickey Padge' date='29 January 2010 - 08:16 AM' timestamp='1264724184'

post='785571']

Meh...

[Ronin]

Huge let down, and I am predicting a big FAIL for Apple on this. It might enjoy the same success level as the Apple TV.

This is exactly what I was thinking as I watched live on the net. http://i.gizmodo.com/5458382/8-things-that-suck-about-the-ipad

For me the lack of multitasking, lack of Flash, no full OS-X, and a "Glossy" backlit display will SUCK for eBook reading....

8 Things That Suck About the iPad

Big, Ugly Bezel

Have you seen the bezel on this thing?! It's huge! I know you don't want to accidentally input a command when your thumb is holding it, but come on.

No Multitasking

This is a backbreaker. If this is supposed to be a replacement for netbooks, how can it possibly not have multitasking? Are you saying I can't listen to Pandora while writing a document? I can't have my Twitter app open at the same time as my browser? I can't have AIM open at the same time as my email? Are you kidding me? This alone guarantees that I will not buy this product.

No Cameras

No front facing camera is one thing. But no back facing camera either? Why the hell not? I can't imagine what the downside was for including at least one camera. Could this thing not handle video iChat?

Touch Keyboard

So much for Apple revolutionizing tablet inputs; this is the same big, ugly touchscreen keyboard we've seen on other tablets, and unless you're lying on the couch with your knees propping it up, it'll be awkward to use.

No HDMI Out

Want to watch those nice HD videos you downloaded from iTunes on your TV? Too damned bad! If you were truly loyal, you'd just buy an AppleTV already.

The Name iPad

Get ready for Maxi pad jokes, and lots of 'em!

No Flash

No Flash is annoying but not a dealbreaker on the iPhone and iPod Touch. On something that's supposed to be closer to a netbook or laptop? It will leave huge, gaping holes in websites. I hope you don't care about streaming video! God knows not many casual internet users do. Oh wait, nevermind, they all do.

Adapters, Adapters, Adapters

So much for those smooth lines. If you want to plug anything into this, such as a digital camera, you need all sorts of ugly adapters. You need an adapter for USB for god's sake.

Update: Why stop at 8? Here are more things we are discovering that suck about the iPad.

It's Not Widescreen

Widescreen movies look lousy on this thing thanks to its 4:3 screen, according to Blam, who checked out some of Star Trek on one. It's like owning a 4:3 TV all over again!

Doesn't Support T-Mobile 3G

Sure, it's "unlocked." But it won't work on T-Mobile, and it uses microSIMs that literally no one else uses. (or Verizon)

A Closed App Ecosystem

The iPad only runs apps from the App Store. The same App Store that is notorious for banning apps for no real reason, such as Google Voice. Sure, netbooks might not have touchscreens, but you can install whatever software you'd like on them. Want to run a different browser on your iPad? Too bad!

[chronoluvvv]

hmm, what happens when the battery dies ? can it double up as a cutting board ?

[Pugwash]

Huge let down, and I am predicting a big FAIL for Apple on this. It might enjoy the same success level as the Apple TV.

If you're fairly certain on this, would you consider a wager? I predict great success and would be willing to bet money it'll be a success based on any sensible metric you'd care to choose.

It's Not Widescreen

Widescreen movies look lousy on this thing thanks to its 4:3 screen, according to Blam, who checked out some of Star Trek on one. It's like owning a 4:3 TV all over again!

That was my original thought as well, but if you think about it for more than 15 seconds, you'll see why it's 4:3.

Why is it 4:3? Because it's also 3:4.

Most of the rest of the arguments are missing the point a little. However, I'll pick on one for comedy value: Lack of Flash. Did you know that well over 90% of crashes on the Mac are caused by Adobe Flash?

[highoeyazmuhudee]

it will succeed because it has Apples moniker ALL over it (think overpriced Rolex products). I think the arguments are based on what people expect or want out of a product for the average lifestyle, so who's really missing the point, apple or the public? the iphone was revolutionary (the iphone still wasnt as good as it could have been had it been opensource), but this is NOT, what IS it's point? As for flash, it's 2010, if they cant get that right (deliberately, cause if flash apps work you have no reason to shell out $$ for app store apps which could very well be made using a flash clone) Adobe makes excellent products with very low failure rates, in fact i cant even remember the last time any adobe product crashed on me. But the Apple iphone OS (used in the I-LOL-pad) cant even handle vb very well...so what is the point of this device? if you want to play mp3s while looking like Moses holding the 10 commandments and apple proprietary video formats..well yeah, it sure does that. If you must go Apple just buy the mac book air..if you must. or buy a real notebook with a user replacable battery and NON proprietary DVI out and an optical drive... plus two mouse buttons are nice when doing video editing and 3D design. Macs are odd in the sense that they remove features other people very well take for granted, repackage and sell for 40-80% more, less for more seems like backwards marketing yet apple is very successful at selling less for more. MY PC(hackintosh)runs OSX, macs use intel processors, therefor macs are obsolete.

[cornerstone]

And yes, it's just a big iPod touch, and that's what's good about it. It's not a faster horse; it's a car and you don't know what one of those does yet.

I think Pugwash is on the money with this.

I thought the iPhone looked like a rubbish 'phone', but all the apps hadn't been written yet. Now it does things that didn't exist before it.

I reckon this is aiming at doing to books and magazines what iTunes did to music, plus ramp up video sales while they're at it. If you think this is 'meh', Kindle's going to look seriously piss poor.

Definitely there are some weird things that they'll inevitably sort out. I really don't get the flash thing, I thought it was related to processing power on the iPhone / iPod.

Anyway, Stephen Fry says it's good, and there's about 0.00001% chance of him being wrong.

It'll be interesting to see how it pans out.

And once they jailbreak it - it'll be even better.

[Pugwash]

plus two mouse buttons are nice when doing video editing and 3D design.

When did Apple last ship a single-button mouse?

Every Mac of the last five years right clicks out of the box. Magic Mouse? Right Click. Mighty Mouse? Right Click. Laptops? All right-click. All macs of the last decade can take multi-button mice, too. The OS supports it.

If you're going to pick on something at least make sure it's still valid.

[fakemaster]

What is an Ipad? Wait I found it...RMFAOL...People will buy anything. I would like to see a camera on it for sure. Watching people taking pictures with it would be extremely entertaining.