The new ipad?

[ST^]

unique? what a fucking joke. It does nothing a netbook can't, and netbooks do lots that the ipad can't.

 

[ford prefect]

Ford, what does it accomplish that your other tech can't?

That's the big point which manufacturers often don't address.

Honest question btw, no insinuation or such.

It's not so much a question of what it does, but how it does it. It gives you flawless tactile interface which just makes everything effortless. Video looks stunning on it, the battery life is exceelent (around 7 hours playing hd video or 10-11 hours just surfing).

Then you have got the actual app's which have been limited to mobiles until now. These are becomong much more advanced on the ipad and with the bigger screen and extra grunt a lot more impressive. Some of the newer augmented reality apps are especially impressive.

To be honest to narrow it down to one or two specific things is really difficult, it is the overall experience that is so impressive rather than it does XYZ which a notebook or mobile phone doesn't.

 

[old.Tohtori]

So it doesn't bring anything new to the table?

Because a high price should bring something you can't get elsewhere.

Working interface, battery life(seems short actually for a "full wireless") and applications are EXPECTED from a device like that.

Hell, those are corner stones of any mobile phone already.

I can see the appeal of a Stargate style touchy pad, hell, with a blue interface etc it might be really fun to mess around with, but when it comes down to the core if the big thing is the "wireless everything", HOW much everything is it?

If it had a solar panel that charged it 24/7, massive storage for data transfer and tools that could only be achieved with it, user made content and tools for your own modifications from one button to full itnerface change and the possibility to merge with any known usb device without a lenghty install hazzle... then i could say "sign me up".

Is it an innovation, or is it a laptop with a touchscreen and a device based UI?

So far what you've described is marmite, if you like it, it's nice.

 

[ford prefect]

I agree to a certain extent. Nobody needs an ipad. There I have said it.

Equally the Ipad makes the web experience what everyone should want it to be i.e. fun and not bogged down by a mouse. You can't explain just how good the interface is, it is something you need to experience for yourself.

Is it a netbook/notebook killer? of course not, it isn't meant to be. Sure you can edit documents on it, but thats not what it is for anymore than a blackberry or iphone is. The thing that makes the Ipad different are the apps. It gives App designers a whole new raft of portable technology to write for and as I said, some of the augmented reality stuff is just jaw droppingly good.

I'm not saying it is for everyone, my initial point was that most people on here are judging it without having so much as picked one up and they are also assuming that it is just a netbook, notebook or broken iphone, when really it is none of the above.

 

[old.Tohtori]

I was mostly looking for a pitch of sorts, some reason to consider one over a laptop.

For example, is the writing on that thing a pain? Should one wait a few generations before getting a pad of some sort?

Good to hear from an actual user as you answer questions the manufacturers don't, such as "Not for everyone".

It's kinda hard to explain the question, but maybe it's as simple as "who is your ipad and what does he do?"

 

[Sparx]

The thing that makes the Ipad different are the apps. It gives App designers a whole new raft of portable technology to write for and as I said, some of the augmented reality stuff is just jaw droppingly good.

Just what i need the fart button in a larger format

 

[ford prefect]

I only have the wifi one at the moment, but I was impressed enough to order the 3g one too and that one will go everywhere with me.

As for typing, obviously it isn't going to be as easy as an actual keyboard, having said that I have never used a better touchscreen keyboard.

You can get USB adapters and SD card adapters for ipad, but if you want them built in you are probably better off waiting a generation or two. Having said that, and yes this will cause an uproar too, the ipad doesn't have a print function, so the USB adapter is only of use for pen drives ect.

I suspect the inevitable 4g verion of ipad will be geared towards skype video conferencing and will have much more connectivity and will address more office based concerns like printing/scanning ect, but that is just rumour I have read on various apple blogs, would make sense though.

So my advice is if your unsure, wait and see what the next gen brings and equally what alternatives come out. As I said a windows 7 tablet wouln't be the same thing at all, but it wouldn't suprise me if someone like google jumped in on this market.

 

[ST^]

The thing that makes the Ipad different are the apps.

This is hilarious. Are we really going to pretend that Windows or Linux netbooks can't download/install/buy applications for all kinds of things?

 

[ford prefect]

This is hilarious. Are we really going to pretend that Windows or Linux netbooks can't download/install/buy applications for all kinds of things?

Errm, no they can't, netbooks and don't generally have GPS and accelerometer's /shrug

 

[ST^]

Yeah, I forgot that those are required to access the interwebs.

 

[ford prefect]

Yeah, I forgot that those are required to access the interwebs.

Ermm, I thought you were talking about apps and yeah, for the apps I am talking about, they are required as is the built in digital compass for for many ipad apps, specifically the augmented stuff like sky voyager for example.

I do find it very odd how dismissive people are of new things sometimes having never tried them.

 

[ST^]

I've got a HTC Desire. I know fully well what is possible with GPS and accelerometers and all that jazz. I mean sure, it's fun to make shotgun pump+shoot noises, or pretend that you're actually going to use your expensive phone/tablet as a spirit level, but you're delusional if you think that kinda stuff justifies the price of an ipad.

 

[ford prefect]

I've got a HTC Desire. I know fully well what is possible with GPS and accelerometers and all that jazz. I mean sure, it's fun to make shotgun pump+shoot noises, or pretend that you're actually going to use your expensive phone/tablet as a spirit level, but you're delusional if you think that kinda stuff justifies the price of an ipad.

I'm not delusional (I'm actually qualified to judge that) and if you bother reading back through the thread you won't find me saying that anywhere. What I said was that the over all experience of the ipad probably does justify the price in my view and the future development potential off the apps for it are at least noteworthy.

To be honest I don't think it is especially expensive, but thats my view. If you don't share it fine, don't buy one. Before assuming that it is a ripoff, or a overpriced netbook, I'm simply suggesting that you try one and gain an informed opinion rather than making assumptions or judging others for buying one (in my case two).

 

[PLightstar]

Random question as someone who doesn't use Apple products, do you have to pay for Apps or are they all free? If they are free, then having a high price to pay for all of them could bee seen as worth, as long as you download and use them, or is it a case of paying for them? The Nokia app store you get some things for free like spirit level and candle etc, but you have to pay for games music etc.

 

[ford prefect]

do you have to pay for Apps or are they all free?

Like everything else, some are free, some cost a few quid.

 

[soze]

I am lucky work had them on trial and i played with one for a while. I see it as pointless it is basically an iTouch with a bigger screen. I see your point you like the apps so this is a worthwhile investment. But to me its a gimmick and a toy, a slightly bigger screen same pointless apps.

 

[ST^]

Before assuming that it is a ripoff, or a overpriced netbook, I'm simply suggesting that you try one and gain an informed opinion rather than making assumptions or judging others for buying one (in my case two).

My phone and the ipad:

Both have touchscreen-only input.
Both have GPS, accelerometers, 3G and wifi.
Both have an app store.

I think I have a pretty good idea of how the experience is. Not that a bigger screen isn't a benefit, but it doesn't change the core experience enough to say that my opinion isn't an informed one.

Btw, if you want to sell people on the unique apps, you probably shouldn't mention something like Sky Voyager that is a useless gimmick to 99.9% of the population.

 

[ford prefect]

My phone and the ipad:

Well at least we moved past the, it doesn't do anything my netbook doesn't do stage

I'm not really interested in selling anyone on it, I just gave an opinion as an ipad owner on a thread about ipads. The key word here is opinion. For example, I could give an ill informed opinion on your phone and tell you that you made a mistake and should have gone for the nexus one, but as I have used neither, I don't have an opinion worth a damn on either of them.

The bottom line is that for some reason, you (and others) seem to have automatically taken against the ipad because of its badge and its price without actually using it. Soze has used one, he didn't like it and thats fine, but at least try it before dismissing it completely. It's not like this is another Newton, I mean they have already sold 2 million ipads, we can't all be wrong can we?

 

[Lamp]

I miss my Compaq tablet TC1100

give me a modern day version of that with all the bells & whistles

u can keep your touch screens

 

[Turamber]

I thought it looked very pretty, and it would certainly have cache to pull it out and use it in public. But just how does one carry it, or hold it for a length of time? If Captain Kirk and his boys had used those instead of tricorders they'd have been dropping them by the dozen running from the Klingons.

 

[Fast]

This guy found a use for his.

YouTube - iPad magic

 

[ford prefect]

Incidentally, if anyone is interested, Steve Job's explains the decision not to include flash on Iphone, Ipod and Ipad.

Although there is an obvious element of sour grapes, he does make some very valid points.

 

[soze]

YouTube - Will It Blend? - iPad

 

[Lamp]

ROFL. Gotta love that blender

 

[ST^]

Incidentally, if anyone is interested, Steve Job's explains the decision not to include flash on Iphone, Ipod and Ipad.

Although there is an obvious element of sour grapes, he does make some very valid points.

I love how he mentions rollovers not working with touch screens, even though HTML5 has exactly the same problem.