iPad

[Atelier]

http://www.apple.com/ipad/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8483654.stm

I'm rather disappointed with Apple's new iPad. It's let down the skeptics, offers nothing revolutionary, and goes for $499. The screen resolution on the iPad is a mere 1024x768, not even the size of Full HD video. Have you seen the app pages? The text is huge and the bar at the bottom is an inch tall! It only needs to be half a centimetre.

I'm unsure whether it will ever take off.

[Mr Jake]

I hear you can CHANGE THE BACKGROUND IMAGE TO ANYTHING :O

[Cabbage]

I agree. Tablet PC's have been around for a while now, they have proper resolution screens... I certainly agree with you on the humongous size of the icons and bar and things, http://www.apple.com/ipad/app-store/ those screenshots are HUGE. It less of a tablet more an iPhone, at least with a normal tablet you can install a proper OS like Mac OS or Windows 7. Then you can use your tablet to draw in Photoshop, watch HD movies, and have a tactile keyboard that you can swivel flat to be a "clipboard shape" or fold out so you can put it on your lap. How are you supposed to hold this thing anyway? It doesn't look as good as the concept images about "iSlate" either, iPad? why iPad?? It sounds like the iPod and it's too obvious... Many people were expecting it to have features like a front facing camera and things, but it seems really "cheap" with not many features. It's an oversized phone. I still cant get over 1024x768, I cant browse safari on that!

[Chicky]

Doesn't do anything that my current setup can't and looks just like the top half of my mac. Bit of a let down i think, is there even pressure sensitivity?

[InCreator]

Sure. I've always wanted a monitor in my pocket.

[monkey0506]

I agree with the cabbage patch kid...it looks like an unimpressive oversized iPhone. Or rather, considering you can't place phone calls...it's an oversized iPod Touch.

[Adrian  ]

Assuming it comes with a usb type plug for charging it would be a good computer for "the less computer literate" I know certain people who struggle using hotmail, not falling for ebook type scams etc who could probably use this as their computer.
Maybe this is Apple's angle with this device try and build a device solely for non-tech people.

[buddha]

GOOD:
-capacitive touch-panel
-9.6inch screen
-'low' entry price (barely)
-0.5 inch thick
-10hrs battery life
-unibody sturdy construction
-no keyboard

BAD:
-no multi-tasking
-no SD or CF or USB integrated
-no webcam
-no magnetic power connector
-low powered processor
-no 'real' HD video
-apple controlled apps
-drm
-no keyboard

It's more an 'appliance' than a 'computer'. In that sense it might indeed appeal more to the less computer literate.

[Khris]

And it doesn't have USB/Firewire jacks.
All this is is an attempt to extend the app market to people who want a big screen.

The on-screen keyboard is as annoying as the one on the iPhone; and if you use the dock or a wireless keyboard, the iPad immediately looses it's IMO greatest appeal, holding it or having it in your lap while operating it.

And again, the pricing policy is as ridiculous as with the iPod/iPhone.
An extra $129 for a 3G modem?
An extra $100 for 16/32 GB of basically HD space?
Come ON.

It's a nice toy for douchebags to impress other douchebags; in no way will it even remotely take over the tablet market (although they didn't say it would).

[Matti]

I prefer the MacBook Wheel. Now that's revolutionary. No keyboard and only 2,599 $ for an 8 GB one.

[Cabbage]

I prefer the MacBook Wheel. Now that's revolutionary. No keyboard and only 2,599 $ for an 8 GB one.

lol I saw that a week ago, some people on youtube commented thinking it was real xD

[Anian]

Assuming it comes with a usb type plug for charging it would be a good computer for "the less computer literate" I know certain people who struggle using hotmail, not falling for ebook type scams etc who could probably use this as their computer.
Maybe this is Apple's angle with this device try and build a device solely for non-tech people.

It just isn't fair that people who can't learn to check their email online make enough money to buy this. Not saying all "basic computer literacy deprived" are dumb or anything, but reading and trying to think in this day and age is a really useful skill to have.


On another note: nothing says progress like more than 2000 years of technology from a stone tablet full of information into a tablet that is about the same wieght and size, but plastic, need to connect ot something else to get information on it and you have to recharge it...plus anyone can make a stone tablet and write on it - so if you're one of the "less computer literate", that's the way to go.
And you can modify it and be like the cool hipsters and get the newspaper!  

[Privateer Puddin']

While the iPhone / iPad OS is far from perfect, I much prefer this approach to the tablets which merely have Win7 shoved on them. I think a custom OS, or a damn good customisation of Win7 is the way to go for tablets.

[Darth Mandarb]

I am totally under-whelmed with the iPad (stupid name in the first place... but ... but it's like iPod with an A!!  Dumb).

I have an iPhone and I love it (AT&T aside).  It's a great gadget/toy that put some incredibly handy "tools" at my disposal. (Nacho, Lore, Sven and I made it from Zakopane Poland to Vienna using its GPS).  But this larger version just isn't worth it to me.  16gb is totally useless and forcing people to pay large sums of money to upgrade is a scam.  No memory slots for adding your own swappable memory, lame.  No camera, lame.  Less than HD resolution, lame.  I don't know ... it seems like a fail to me.

Don't get me wrong ... I love touchscreen technology.  I think it's just swell.  I do not, however, feel that it is the "way to go" in the future.  Putting everything on-screen has it's place but to those of us who develop on computers; can you imagine doing what you do without input devices like the mouse and keyboard? 

The iPad, to me, seems FAR more useful as a plug-in monitor for kiosks and the like.  Powered by a "base" computer someplace else but just a super-slim and sleekly designed touchscreen monitor.  Or "surface" technology like Micro$oft Surface (which, for WHATEVER reason, uses cameras rather than a capacitive touchscreen... why the holy hell they went that route I'll never know).  For now, I think this will fall on it's face.  But, if there's one thing Mac/Jobs is good at is marketing to the stupid people (IE hipsters) and making everybody think they need this thing. 

[giddy excitement]

Can you just imagine sitting in starbucks with your collar popped sippin' your mocha frappuchino with your legs crossed intentionally in the aisle so you can read your fancy iPad in plain sight of everybody that enters while you casually mention to anybody that's boring enough to listen that you went to Europe last year?

[/giddy excitement]

[Disco]

As someone who does not have or even want an iPhone, this product actually somewhat appeals to me in a strictly mobile sense.

I have never in my life owned any kind of mobile phone, never felt the need to be on the grid all day every day. Mobile internet would be handy though for traveling and just to not leave my addiction at home. Any kind of smartphone (which I would only ever use for mobile internet) would cost $70 at the very bottom of the monthly plan list, often with 2 year contracts. So $30 a month with the option to cancel with no penalty is really appealing for my [wants].

That said I believe I will skip this generation and wait for the inevitable versions with a webcamera and expandable memory, which going by some of these and comments on other sites it might be sooner than later.

[Evil]

Don't get me wrong ... I love touchscreen technology.  I think it's just swell.  I do not, however, feel that it is the "way to go" in the future.  Putting everything on-screen has it's place but to those of us who develop on computers; can you imagine doing what you do without input devices like the mouse and keyboard?

I think the iPad is horribly designed, and not well thought out. But I have to disagree with Darth in saying I think removing input devices is the way of the future. There are plenty of ways to make touch screen keyboards work, they just haven't made it there yet, IMO. The dual touch sensitivity is phenomenal, and the only thing that is missing is a design where a keyboard is executed well enough to be used for standard typing.

It would have to have a stand of some sort built in to angle the pad so you could type on it comfortably, while still being able to see the screen. My idea is that they should divide the lower half into the key"pad" and the upper half would be the screen, but the bottom edges of the screen could be sized with a slider, so that when the pad is lying on your lap and you're typing, the screen looks normal, square instead of a trapezoid. Sure it would be small, but it's way more practical than the current iPad design.

[i stole your car]

Completely undeserving of the hype.

What a waste of time.

[Vince Twelve]

I'm in with the underwhelmed crowd.  Stick a webcam, multitasking, and at least one stinking USB port, and you'd have a product I'd be interested in.  (Webcam alone might do it for me.  Ultimate video chat device!  I use video chat a lot since my family is split over continents.)

However, if I were interested in an eBook reader (which I'm not) it would be hard to justify buying a kindle with the iPad's competitive pricing.  The Kindle's eInk might be easier on the eyes though; I haven't really tried.  So in this regard, they look like they could really take over the eBook market.

[buddha]

If it's just for ebooks, there are several cheaper e-readers than the Kindle available. The makes the difference quite a bit bigger. Plus, there are several new ones being released this year, along with a cargoplane of tablets .

Also, reading with an e-ink device (like the Kindle or Sony reader) outside, on a sunny day, is a total different experience than it'll probably be on the iPad. Better try both before you buy.

[FSi++]

Just passing by with a picture I found, don't mind me.