iPad

"That's funny right there. I don't care who you are that's funny right there!"

Edcculus said:

Great post DRoy. The more I read about this, the more I realize how awesome it will be. Whenever Apple implements a new device, people yell and scream about how it doesn't have this, and I want that. To be honest, I don't want full blown OSX in a tablet. Thats why I never bought a tablet PC. Some functionality of Windows just doesn't work well in touch screen.

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My problem is, I don't see where I would use this. I have an iPhone, so if I'm out somewhere, I can use that to check email, make calls, etc. If I'm at home, I have a laptop sitting in the living room already. So if I need to surf the web, I can already do that on my laptop. Furthermore, my laptop has Flash on it, so I can actually watch Hulu, Netflix, etc. which the iPad won't do. The only possible niche I can see is as an eBook reader, and right now I use Stanza on my iPhone for that, and love it.

It's not like it will replace anything I can do for work, so I'm having trouble seeing how this can possibly fit into my life.

DRoyLenz said:

Look at the iPhone, the original version didn't have video, or picture messaging, or bluetooth, it didn't even have a keyboard. It also didn't have A LOT of things people thought they needed. But people bought the device, and people used it, and people reported back on what they really need, and Apple made it so. Apple found out that, hell, you don't really need a real QWERTY keyboard, so they left that out, and are continuing that trend here. You may argue that they did this so that current iPhone users would have to go out and buy a new one, and that may be a legitimate comment, but you can't argue with the face that the iPhone revolutionized the cell phone, and it that it is the most popular phone on the market.

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Sure, the original version didn't have those things, but people still wanted it. So they jailbreaked it (it's about 10% of iPhones that are jailbroken). Most of the things you list as missing were available on jailbroken phones long before Apple officially allowed it. The iPad will need to be jailbreaked to be fully functional.

How would you like to buy a car, but you have to take it to a place on the black market to buy a rear view mirror, or turn signals installed? Necessary? No. Maybe it's cheaper or more streamlined without. But man, those things are nice.

weirdboy said:

My problem is, I don't see where I would use this. I have an iPhone, so if I'm out somewhere, I can use that to check email, make calls, etc. If I'm at home, I have a laptop sitting in the living room already. So if I need to surf the web, I can already do that on my laptop. Furthermore, my laptop has Flash on it, so I can actually watch Hulu, Netflix, etc. which the iPad won't do. The only possible niche I can see is as an eBook reader, and right now I use Stanza on my iPhone for that, and love it.

It's not like it will replace anything I can do for work, so I'm having trouble seeing how this can possibly fit into my life.

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I doubt I'll get one either. Hell, I dont even own an iPhone. Just can't bring myself to get AT&T. I don't travel much, I'm not in school. My laptop serves all of my computing needs at home.

It's an interesting device, that's for sure. I've tried and tried to think of ways that this product could be viable outside of personal entertainment and internet access, and I just can't think of anything.

It is certainly NOT a tablet. My company uses 3 year old Fujitsu tablets on a daily basis, and this is something we'd never consider. The lack of a full OS really limits it's use, and I understand the concept of it would change dramatically once you start upgrading the hardware. Lack of stylus input is also silly, but I do think that will be added in a future generation.

What really bothers me is that all the media outlets were building it up as a true tablet. And it was a let down to many people because it's just a glorified iTouch. I was really looking forward to it, and it's places like Gizmodo and Engadget for building it up as something it is not that are at fault, as well as Apple's for being so goddamned secretive and not acknowledging and debunking any of the rumors that were coming out in the past months.

A friend of mine (Apple fanboy extraordinaire) and I were talking about it yesterday. He's all for it and thinks it's great. He said to me "I just think a lot of people are missing out on recognizing what this CAN do because of what it CAN'T." To which I replied, "I do recognize what the iPad CAN do, but what it does do CAN'T fulfill my needs." I think it's neat, but I will not be buying one. In a generation or two, maybe, or maybe it will spawn innovation in other hardware manufacturers that will come out with something even better. Whatever happens, I do think that the iPad has set the standard for general computing in the coming decades.

This guy's got an interesting commentary on not so much the iPad, but on the future of computing. He may be full of ****, but I generally agree with his ideas on the "New World" style of computing. http://stevenf.tumblr.com/post/359224392/i-need-to-talk-to-you-about-computers-ive-been

This was my favorite part of that blog:

An anecdote: When the iMac came out, Apple drew a line in the sand. They said: we are no longer going to ship a computer with a floppy disk drive. The entire industry **** its pants so loudly and forcefully that you probably could have heard it from outer space.

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The best review of the new iPad ever.

weirdboy said:

My problem is, I don't see where I would use this. I have an iPhone, so if I'm out somewhere, I can use that to check email, make calls, etc..... The only possible niche I can see is as an eBook reader, and right now I use Stanza on my iPhone for that, and love it.

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You're right, you CAN do those things on your iPhone, but it won't be as enjoyable of an experience, and it really depends on how you value that experience. And I cannot even imagine reading an entire book on an iPhone, but then again, I love having a hard-copy, so I may not even use the eReader part of the iPad, assuming I get one.

weirdboy said:

It's not like it will replace anything I can do for work, so I'm having trouble seeing how this can possibly fit into my life.

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And this is ultimately what it boils down to. If your life does not fit the application, there is no reason to get one.

jamesnsw said:

Sure, the original version didn't have those things, but people still wanted it. So they jailbreaked it (it's about 10% of iPhones that are jailbroken). Most of the things you list as missing were available on jailbroken phones long before Apple officially allowed it. The iPad will need to be jailbreaked to be fully functional.

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But people still bought the iPhone, for the same reason they'll buy the iPad. If the functionality that people really needed didn't come on the iPhone, yeah, they jailbroke it, but if it was really necessary, Apple put it in the later releases. If they shoved everything in there at once, it wouldn't work well, which is why Windows machines are so clumsy and sluggish.

Glasfeena said:

It's an interesting device, that's for sure. I've tried and tried to think of ways that this product could be viable outside of personal entertainment and internet access, and I just can't think of anything.

It is certainly NOT a tablet. My company uses 3 year old Fujitsu tablets on a daily basis, and this is something we'd never consider. The lack of a full OS really limits it's use, and I understand the concept of it would change dramatically once you start upgrading the hardware. Lack of stylus input is also silly, but I do think that will be added in a future generation.

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Sorry dude, but there is not a chance in hell of them ever putting a stylus on this thing. Stylus pointers are a thing of the past. I can see a potential use for them on the iPhone, but they never made that standard, and this screen is bigger, so it is even less necessary. I may be wrong about the success of this device, but I guarantee you will never see a stylus built in to this device, it just contradicts everything Apple is trying to do with the user interface.

No, it's not a tablet, and it doesn't have any computing application outside of personal, everyday use. Things like the calendar, email, internet, music, videos, pictures, books. But IT department in their right mind would ever sanction these, which is fine, because that is not the target market. I think once everyone gets it out of their mind that this is supposed to be a computer, they'll start to see why it is what it is. If it was full tablet computer, it would be bigger, heavier, more expensive, with less battery life, less longevity, and it wouldn't be as fast or convenient. This is supposed to be a simple device that only does the things that you need it to do for it's application. I would love to carry this around as my personal planner, amongst the other things it does.

DRoyLenz said:

Sorry dude, but there is not a chance in hell of them ever putting a stylus on this thing. Stylus pointers are a thing of the past. I can see a potential use for them on the iPhone, but they never made that standard, and this screen is bigger, so it is even less necessary. I may be wrong about the success of this device, but I guarantee you will never see a stylus built in to this device, it just contradicts everything Apple is trying to do with the user interface.

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Exactly.

The iPad is obviously an output device. Period. Yea, you can type. But not like on a real keyboard (although the swype app might help with finger fatigue). No real voice input (maybe you can dictate?). No camera input. This thing is made to display things to you. Period. Therefore it's not going to get used in a big business, because they typically need to input data into a computing device. It's for someone whom wants stuff shown to them. Not really my market either, but to each their own.

DRoyLenz said:

Sorry dude, but there is not a chance in hell of them ever putting a stylus on this thing. Stylus pointers are a thing of the past. I can see a potential use for them on the iPhone, but they never made that standard, and this screen is bigger, so it is even less necessary. I may be wrong about the success of this device, but I guarantee you will never see a stylus built in to this device, it just contradicts everything Apple is trying to do with the user interface.

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You may be right that a stylus may never be added, but I do think it would probably make it more marketable. That same friend I mentioned in my previous post would be thrilled with a stylus input. He draws web comics as well as other graphics, and would love to be able to take this thing to the park and work on his drawings, he says. Solely using your finger to draw pictures would be a major hindrance. A stylus would be far more precise. I'd imagine with just a stylus input, the market for this would expand greatly into the graphic arts/designer segments. And since Apple touts itself at being the best with graphical arts, then I'd think it would try a little harder to tap that market.

kaiser423 said:

The iPad is obviously an output device. Period. Yea, you can type. But not like on a real keyboard. ... This thing is made to display things to you. Period. Therefore it's not going to get used in a big business, because they typically need to input data into a computing device. It's for someone whom wants stuff shown to them.

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Then why the big presentation of iWork? I think they want people to think of it as a general purpose computer that does all the basics, and that's fine. I think without another form of input (keyboard dock, stylus with handwriting recognition, etc), iWork will be virtually useless.

Again, it is what it is, and that's a personal entertainment and internet device. The applications that are created for it will determine it's viability and lifespan.

So I have praised this thing up and down so far, and y'all are probably sick of reading my long a$$ posts. But I will now tell you what I do NOT like about it, and that I hope Apple will change in future releases.

1) No camera. I would really like to see a front-mounted camera (and MAYBE a rear-mounted one as well). I'm really getting in to VOIP/Video conferencing, and I think it would be really fresh if I could use Skype Video on this, especially considering the keyboard will be a bit less convenient to use than a standard one.
2) AT&T, nuff said...
3) Flash would be nice, but I understand why Apple isn't using it

I WAS bothered by no multi-tasking, but the more I think about it, the less bothered I am by that. The only thing I would want to do simultaneously is something like Pandora while checking email or something, but I'll very quickly get over that.

Glasfeena said:

You may be right that a stylus may never be added, but I do think it would probably make it more marketable. That same friend I mentioned in my previous post would be thrilled with a stylus input. He draws web comics as well as other graphics, and would love to be able to take this thing to the park and work on his drawings, he says. Solely using your finger to draw pictures would be a major hindrance. A stylus would be far more precise. I'd imagine with just a stylus input, the market for this would expand greatly into the graphic arts/designer segments. And since Apple touts itself at being the best with graphical arts, then I'd think it would try a little harder to tap that market.

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Again, what you're talking about is the function of a real computer. Yes, that capability would be nice, but the resources required for graphic arts/designer applications would require a lot more computing power, and again, you would lose the convenience, performance, and price tag that comes with this if you add the necessary hardware. If he wants to work on his web-comics, he's better off with a computer, which is fine, because like I've said, this is not intended to replace your computer.

Glasfeena said:

Then why the big presentation of iWork? I think they want people to think of it as a general purpose computer that does all the basics, and that's fine. I think without another form of input (keyboard dock, stylus with handwriting recognition, etc), iWork will be virtually useless.

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You're right in one respect. You're not going to be doing a lot of design and development of iWork documents or anything, but if you think about it, (at least for the type of work I do) a large majority of my use of things like Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Publisher, etc. are display only. Look at the success of Adobe Acrobat. You have to drop a small fortune to be able to design your own PDF files, but EVERYBODY has a reader. For me, iWorks would be great (if anybody I knew actually USED iWorks) because I could go, sit at the airport, check my email, check the latest data cleansing status report and scorecards, then sign on to the call and discuss those things. I seldom create or edit those things.

Again though, this really comes down to personal needs. So far, I've found a bunch of ways this will make my life easier, and even more ways it will make it more interesting. If you have no need for it, then you would be a fool to waste your money. (I do feel though that most people don't think they could use something like this, but in time, more and more people will be coming around the more they see how other people use it)

DRoyLenz said:

3) Flash would be nice, but I understand why Apple isn't using it

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To me this is a bigger oversight than it would be nice. A pretty large portion of what this is useful for is the internet. 75% of all internet videos and 70% of internet games require flash. Not to mention tons of websites out there that are built in flash.

I realize this thing has its own games but you have to pay for the ones that are any good. Just seems to me like a big part of what makes a bigger ipod touch desirable is a significantly better internet experience and this thing cant deliver that.

There is a link a few pages back that explains why Apple doesn't support Flash. Its not really an oversight, its Apple flexing their corporate muscle against Adobe, who owns and controls Flash. Flash is also reported as the #1 cause of browser crashing on OSX. They've worked around it by sandboxing Flash so it doesn't crash the entire browser.

Is it right? not sure. Apple holds pretty hard on not letting 3rd party applications access deeper levels of their hardware, so I doubt any Apple handheld device will ever support Flash unless Adobe gives in and plays by Apples rules.

I'm not disagreeing with you at all, DRoy. I just think stylus compatibility would have added quite a bit of functionality to the device without much cost. Of course I haven't tried one out yet, but being someone who works with tablets on a daily basis (and admit it, Apple is trying to tap the tablet PC market with this thing), I would find a stylus to be incredibly helpful, even with day to day use. Even if it's just an aftermarket input device.

Apple seems to want to bridge the gap between computers and mobile devices. And do I think they will be extremely successful with this product. But it really isn't a real computer at all (I mean semantically it is, but you know what I mean). It's a whole new class of device. As many people have already said, it's something we never knew we needed. It's something I don't think I need, at least not yet.

Edcculus said:

Apple holds pretty hard on not letting 3rd party applications access deeper levels of their hardware, so I doubt any Apple handheld device will ever support Flash unless Adobe gives in and plays by Apples rules.

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But I wonder if Apple will support Silverlight ever? A few posts back someone mentioned they wouldn't be able to watch Hulu and Netflix on the iPad. I do believe that Netflix Watch Instantly is powered by MS Silverlight(?). And there's always been at least some level of cooperation between Apple and Microsoft, despite all the negative advertising.

Maybe Apple is just waiting for HTML 5 to mature.

Glasfeena said:

Maybe Apple is just waiting for HTML 5 to mature.

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I think they are waiting/trying to force HTML 5 to mature. I bet it is years until flash is over taken by html 5.

Well since PeeWee Herman has one I guess I'll have to change my mind.

[ame="http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/f7a03edbd7/pee-wee-gets-an-ipad"]Peewee gets an iPad[/ame]

Cmon man, if you don't have anything constructive to say stop posting all this BS.

weirdboy said:

My problem is, I don't see where I would use this. I have an iPhone, so if I'm out somewhere, I can use that to check email, make calls, etc. If I'm at home, I have a laptop sitting in the living room already. So if I need to surf the web, I can already do that on my laptop. Furthermore, my laptop has Flash on it, so I can actually watch Hulu, Netflix, etc. which the iPad won't do. The only possible niche I can see is as an eBook reader, and right now I use Stanza on my iPhone for that, and love it.

It's not like it will replace anything I can do for work, so I'm having trouble seeing how this can possibly fit into my life.

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Yeah, that's pretty much how I see it. What would I do with a giant iPod? It's not like I'm going to carry that thing around, at least not for the limited additional functionality that it provides compared to my iPhone that fits in my pocket. It almost seems as if the iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch were released in the wrong order. The iPad should have come first, then the compact versions later. Things are supposed to get smaller and more portable, not larger and more cumbersome.

I'm sure it'll sell well though. To quote a line from the "MacBook Wheel" video, "(People) will buy anything as long as it's shiny and made by Apple."