Introducing: The Apple iPad

[Still BLUTANG]

Originally Posted by Xidelt

So if I buy the cheapest version that doesn't include 3G, does that mean I can only use the ipad on my wireless router at home and places in public that have wifi? I'm confused...

this is exactly what i was trying to type but i figured i was missing something. i guess not. LOL, oh well!

[DaemonSeid]

Ok...I talked to a friend of mine at AT&T and asked about the data plan and he has confirmed that if you already have a device with a data plan and you decide to buy the iTab with 3G that YOU WILL have to purchase a separate data plan for the iTab. You cannot piggyback your plan onto this device with an existing plan.

Kind of makes sense just wanted to know for sure.

[agzg]

I still want it, but I'll wait for the second generation to come out.

I'm pretty sure they had me in mind for it, right up until they named it.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

16GB is good if you are looking at this as a portable media device for that particular sized model. This is not to be looked at as a heavy duty laptop computer but moreso on side of a netbook.

Yeah . . . no.

Even the shittiest netbooks are currently rolling with 160GB of HD space, a 1.6GHz processor and RAM that can actually handle a full FSB load (i.e. "can multitask") - your netbook will be markedly more powerful than an iPad. 16GB of HD space will allow for, at most, 4000 songs or 4 movies.

The iPad is certainly not a "PC Killer" of any sort - it's really not even comparable to a netbook, it's more like an advanced version of a Kindle or iPod Touch. Cool looking technology and a step in the right direction, but it doesn't actually do anything. Yet.

[DaemonSeid]

Difference is however is you're talking about a flash drive vs a conventional hard drive which is why the iPad (and for that matter iPod touch) is slimmer and more efficient on the battery than a netbook.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Difference is however is you're talking about a flash drive vs a conventional hard drive which is why the iPad (and for that matter iPod touch) is slimmer and more efficient on the battery than a netbook.

No, trust me - I understand that it's a solid-state drive (by the way - the 'efficiency' argument is somewhat specious, since use of wifi/3g should chop battery life in half, just like with the iPhone). However, since flash memory is still very expensive for larger chips, it's another example of the iPad being hardware-handicapped.

That doesn't mean it won't work well for sitting on the couch or riding the train - but it's really, really limited, both in scope and scale.

[DaemonSeid]

Exactly...and that's why for me, it would work. I still also submit that if one was really pressed for more storage, SD cards are an easy and affordable answer...I mean on this device you aren't trying to pop Photoshop CS on here!

For instance, since I don't want to cramp my laptop with tons of movies, I have a 16GB card that I pop in the slot and voila! More music, movies and yep...photos.

Remember how much the iPod touch was a few years ago upon release...

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Exactly...and that's why for me, it would work. I still also submit that if one was really pressed for more storage, SD cards are an easy and affordable answer...I mean on this device you aren't trying to pop Photoshop CS on here!

For instance, since I don't want to cramp my laptop with tons of movies, I have a 16GB card that I pop in the slot and voila! More music, movies and yep...photos.

Remember how much the iPod touch was a few years ago upon release...

SD cards are a pretty bad solution (short version: since the technology is similar to solid-state drives, the price will scale accordingly, so by the time large-scale SD storage becomes reality, it'll be outmoded by better internal drives, and so on), but yeah - here's the thing: anybody with enough "Power User" in them to be OK with swapping a few SD cards likely requires more than this rig can provide.

And it's not just that you can't load and run CS4 or crank out Matlab data - it's that you can't type on the word processor (which will be iWork, no Office, or even OpenOffice, equivalent) and send an instant message at the same time. You can't listen to Pandora while using the GPS to find a restaurant. You can't upgrade at all - it's completely closed-box - and you're limited to mOS4 instead of an OSX shell. It's not scalable. It's a throw-away device. And HD screens are TERRIBLE for eReading - that's why the Kindle went to eInk, HD leads to eye fatigue way too rapidly for everyday use.

It's cute, but I expected a LOT more functionality than it provides. And not "Power User" functionality - every f-ing day functionality. It's not there, and it isn't eminently clear that Apple has plans to even get it there.

Sure, I'll look like a bad ass when I walk into a client meeting and plug this into the projector and run the presentation off of it. That is, until the iWork presentation software starts to puke on something as simple as vector graphics.

That's the fatal flaw in Apple's "There's An App For That" marketing machine: your hands are tied by the very apps they're propping.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Remember how much the iPod touch was a few years ago upon release...

Heck, I remember how much the regular iPod (not Touch, not Nano) was back when I bought it, in 2006. It was "top of the line" then, but not for long since Apple has a knack for constantly improving on a product to the point where a year later the iPod for sale isn't even remotely similar to the one you bought. It's still great, but I bought the actual iPhone 3 years later for half the price.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

SD cards are a pretty bad solution (short version: since the technology is similar to solid-state drives, the price will scale accordingly, so by the time large-scale SD storage becomes reality, it'll be outmoded by better internal drives, and so on), but yeah - here's the thing: anybody with enough "Power User" in them to be OK with swapping a few SD cards likely requires more than this rig can provide.

And it's not just that you can't load and run CS4 or crank out Matlab data - it's that you can't type on the word processor (which will be iWork, no Office, or even OpenOffice, equivalent) and send an instant message at the same time. You can't listen to Pandora while using the GPS to find a restaurant. You can't upgrade at all - it's completely closed-box - and you're limited to mOS4 instead of an OSX shell. It's not scalable. It's a throw-away device. And HD screens are TERRIBLE for eReading - that's why the Kindle went to eInk, HD leads to eye fatigue way too rapidly for everyday use.

It's cute, but I expected a LOT more functionality than it provides. And not "Power User" functionality - every f-ing day functionality. It's not there, and it isn't eminently clear that Apple has plans to even get it there.

Sure, I'll look like a bad ass when I walk into a client meeting and plug this into the projector and run the presentation off of it. That is, until the iWork presentation software starts to puke on something as simple as vector graphics.

That's the fatal flaw in Apple's "There's An App For That" marketing machine: your hands are tied by the very apps they're propping.

All the things that you said makes my argument. So I think we are in agreement. This is not a heavy duty box and it wasn't built to be a heavy duty box. It's only good for portable media. And also yes, while you pointed out some of those very same negatives that the press has been quick to also do, in a generation or 2 Apple will find a way to improve upon it.

As far as SD cards go, it's a short term affordable alternative solution until SSDs become an affordable standard.

Now you made a statement about using Pandora and a GPS simultaneously.

Good point but really who uses a GPS on an iPhone? It IS doable but I don't see too many people who uses it as a dedicated GPS. I know for myself that I wouldn't but understand I have never really been a big advocate for trying to put too many things in one box.

As a sidebar: I did try the AT&T GPS app on my phone along with listening to music with no problem but paying $10 bucks a month for their service as well as reading that small screen ALONG WITH draining my battery wasn't worth it so I bought a dedicated GPS.

Now also who is to say that within a few months when the OS X 4.0 upgrade comes out that won't change.

I will state again, when I first heard rumors about this machine, I already expected that this wasn't designed to be a 'power device' or a business user device.

Let me also add in too...while people bemoan that right now you can't multitask, what does multitasking on a portable device do? Drains batteries and slows down performance.


Just like I see the same with netbooks. When we do merit review meetings I am utterly amazed at how many reviewers struggle to get the same things done on those small underpowered systems (like loading up the gov't review page) that the rest do on a laptop and then winding up the next cycle bringing in a full sized laptop so they can keep up.

You also say that HD screens are horrible for e reading. What device have you seen has an HD screen and an e reader because I would like to see it for myself.

I don't disagree with you on some of your points, I just disagree if you was hoping for a heavy duty device.

KSig... say it "I HATE Apple!!" hehhehehehehehe!!!

j/k !

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Now you made a statement about using Pandora and a GPS simultaneously.

Good point but really who uses a GPS on an iPhone? It IS doable but I don't see too many people who uses it as a dedicated GPS. I know for myself that I wouldn't but understand I have never really been a big advocate for trying to put too many things in one box.

I do! I used the GPS when the boyfriend and I went on a cross-country road trip. It worked pretty well. I also use an application to track the distance, location, and pace of each run. That uses GPS and it's a pain in the a$$ not to be able to change songs mid-run without turning off the GPS. I have to start the music before I turn on the GPS. Craziness.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

I do! I used the GPS when the boyfriend and I went on a cross-country road trip. It worked pretty well. I also use an application to track the distance, location, and pace of each run. That uses GPS and it's a pain in the a$$ not to be able to change songs mid-run without turning off the GPS. I have to start the music before I turn on the GPS. Craziness.

Sigh! Why do you have to be one of those minority people that actually used the GPS?? LOL

[DaemonSeid]

K Sig

this is probably what you are looking for.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

And also yes, while you pointed out some of those very same negatives that the press has been quick to also do, in a generation or 2 Apple will find a way to improve upon it.

Will they? Because these flaws seem endemic in the design - not in the idea. The execution.

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Now you made a statement about using Pandora and a GPS simultaneously.

The point is that multitasking is important - the iPhone can get away with it because anything beyond the 'normal' phone (the Smartphone part) is essentially value-added, because it's a phone. This is . . . not.

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Let me also add in too...while people bemoan that right now you can't multitask, what does multitasking on a portable device do? Drains batteries and slows down performance.

... but it doesn't HAVE to, and that's my point. Why doesn't this use OS X (or really any architecture that would allow for multitasking)?

Well, the cynics would say that making it app-based means Apple gets a cut of every piece of software sold for it, regardless of distributor. I'm inclined to agree with that. It provides no value to the consumer, and is generally a pain - it's the opposite of the Apple ethos!

And that's where you're doubly wrong: I'm not an Apple hater - in fact, in a lot of ways, I'm an aficionado.

I just expected more than this. Well, not "more" - just better.

You also say that HD screens are horrible for e reading. What device have you seen has an HD screen and an e reader because I would like to see it for myself.

There's a reason why you don't see them - they performed miserably in testing, to the point where Amazon actually sponsored research to develop something completely new instead. This is not opinion - there's a lot of hard research and focus grouping.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

K Sig

this is probably what you are looking for.

I'm a huge fan of the Lenovos in general, although I'm not sure who is the target audience there either - it's presumably me, but I don't see it replacing my current travel setup (a Dell super-widescreen workstation laptop and a 12" ASUS mini). Sort of a "rock and a hard place" spot in the market maybe?

Still, when you combine that stuff with the iPad, there's definitely cool stuff on the horizon.