As An Aside: If any of you iPad owners gets an opportunity to install Dragon Dictation, prepare to be truly impressed with its accuracy and speed.
I was writing rough draft of Monday's lecture and decided to try it out, and simply could not believe how remarkably efficient this app is... and it's free!
This does almost nothing. It's pointless unless you're REALLY REALLY into reading e-books, which I'm not.
The iPad is superior to the iPhone for surfing the web because of its large screen. It really does make a huge difference. It is inferior to the iPhone only because it is less mobile. Most people will not carry it with them everywhere they go, so it is exactly how you described it above: a convenient home surfing solution. This happens to be something I do a lot, so that is perfect for me.
The iPad is superior to a computer (even laptop) for surfing the web because of the touchscreen OS, the lightweight form factor, and the speed of all interaction. The iPad is (currently) inferior to a computer for web surfing because of lack of "Flash", something which doesn't bother me much and will become OBE in time anyway.
The conclusion is that, for me anyway, the iPad strikes a perfect balance between iPhone and laptop. It is certainly not a useless device in my opinion. I understand that how its features intersect with your value system and use patterns may yield a different conclusion. Peace.
So who here thinks there will be a new iPad in the fall? If 4.0 were coming to the iPad at the same time as the iPhone, I'd suggest we wouldn't be seeing one for a while. But since it isn't coming until the fall, there would be enough time to put out a second revision. I was planning on getting a first gen one because even if the second gen one is much better, you don't gain the benefit of having an iPad for the 6 months prior (or whatever), and you can always buy the new one and sell the old one. Now I'm wondering if I'd be more satisfied with the iPad or annoyed that my phone had multitasking and it didn't. I'll probably still end up getting a first gen one anyway.
Thank you for all the hard work that went into this review.
A couple of notes. I have found that the iPad WSJ and NYT Editors' Choice apps as well as the Thomson/Reuters iPad app will cache content. So fire up the apps right before you leave for a non-wifi location, let them load (WSJ is too slow but it gets there) then you can read content merrily offline. All three are beautifully implemented but the NYT needs to get with the action and move the whole paper there and start charging for it if it hopes to survive, just like Murdoch does for the WSJ.
Also, I recommend using the '+' key in Safari to create screen icons for sites like NYT.com - then you can access them with one click, sorry, one touch (duh!), without going through the Safari UI.
As regards iBooks, it is superb in every way. Shipping Winnie the Pooh with the iPad could not have made our 8 year old happier as he rediscovers the magic of this classic book which we take turns at reading when he goes to bed. The fun of racing him to mess with the page turning magic makes book reading so much more fun - for both of us!
As both a consumer and creator of content I suspect there are two populations out there - those who get it and those who will be left behind. We are enjoying our Unfair Advantage, to use the words of the great American racing driver Mark Donohue.
Probably the best review of the ipad on the web. Great job, as per usual, Danny.
I agree. Usually there are plenty here that say he ignored the negatives and over embellished the positive and I definitely see that in other reviews, but this review was exceedingly fair and balanced.
So who here thinks there will be a new iPad in the fall? If 4.0 were coming to the iPad at the same time as the iPhone, I'd suggest we wouldn't be seeing one for a while. But since it isn't coming until the fall, there would be enough time to put out a second revision. I was planning on getting a first gen one because even if the second gen one is much better, you don't gain the benefit of having an iPad for the 6 months prior (or whatever), and you can always buy the new one and sell the old one. Now I'm wondering if I'd be more satisfied with the iPad or annoyed that my phone had multitasking and it didn't. I'll probably still end up getting a first gen one anyway.
Thoughts?
No.
I think it's simply because iPhone OS for the various devices has multiple source trees (at least partially). They got the iPad out the door with 3.2. Now they need to get the next iPhone out the door, and 4.0 will be needed to support that, so it gets first priority, probably in the July time frame. After that, the focus will shift back to getting the iPad up to 4.0, which it will be in the Fall.
None of this heralds new iPad hardware in the Fall. Simply a matter of development schedules.
EDIT: Also, there will likely be new iPod Touches in the Fall, which will take additional resources, making new Fall iPads even more unlikely.
last night i had the opportunity to try the new iPad that a friend brought over.
I'd have to say that i am on the fence about this device. there are many great things abotu it and some that just don't make sence.
1. consistancey with app features seems to be a spotty at best. The iBooks app allows you to "flip" pages, however the Contacts and Calander apps look like books but you can't "flip" them the same way. this is nit-picking of course, it would be nice to be consistant with the UI. Don't make it look like a book if you can't flip the pages like a book.
2. safari changes. I know Apple might think that makeing the browser look like full Safari is better but I really liked all the hot buttons at the bottom of the screen. since you hold the iPad towards the bottom of the display, it seems even more obvious to place hot buttons, like the iphone/touch, at the bottom of the screen.
3. keyboard. as much as SJ says the keyboard is confortable to type on, it really isn't. Sitting it on my lap i felt very cramped when typing (no way to rest my wrists on my lap comfortably. it's too heavy to get a comfortable angle while typing and it slides down my lap to my croch constantly. it's not a full size keyboard and not an iphone sized one...so it's difficult to find the sweet spot between one two finger typing and 10 finger typing. Additionally, with the screen realestate that the keyboard takes up, why not just put the number keys on the primary screen with symbols as a shift function. the keyboard takes up about 40% of the screen in landscape mode anyway. i would have sacrificed key size for more keys on the home keyboard layout.
4. info bar. I'm sure this is an app developer thing, but i'd really love to have the home status bar at the top and visible in all apps. if i'm working on a game or in a book reading, or any app in general, i'd love to see my battery display and time show up.
5. aluminum back. I just can't seem to hold this thing in a way that feels comfortable, or doesn't feel nails on a chaulkboard. the aluminum uni-body is cool and sleek, but i'd much rather have the polycarbonate of the iPhone body. it's much more comfortable to hold and has a nice soft feel to it. Additionally, a pound feels a lot heavier than i thought while holding this in one hand. Of course i'm a weakling geek but two hands or resting on the arm of my sofa seem to be the best positions.
6. No calculator? Uhm, why not? and why not update it to have graphing functionality? I'm sure there's a Trig/calc/physics Student out there that would love to be able to have this as a all-in-one device. I guess i'll have to download a non-native buggy app for that.
7. still need a computer. I know SJ wants this to suppliment a computer, but for people like my mom, a child, a grandparent or just someone that only uses internet, email and music/videos/games...this device is REALLY all you need. Why not offer a base station (like the time capsule) that you can connect a network jack from a modem and keep that as the storage device to sync from? Forget the idea of syncing to a computer. This device has enough functionality for the average person to use AS a primary device. I ask WHY NOT?
8. Home/office networking. Why can't they just put "Finder" on as an app? You have sync to a WiFi network anyway, why not allow us to see other devices on the network? I know at work, this is WAY better than emailing myself a file from the iPad and then going to my computer and downloading that attachment and saving it to the local network. Same thing at home. This is just stupid if you ask me. Same thing with Printing. I can print to a wifi printer from my MBP, why not allow the iPad to as well?
7. Drawing. I KNOW THERE ARE TONS OF 3rd PARTY SKETCHING APPS FOR THIS. But, you still can't use a stylus. WHY NOT be able to scribble in the Native Notes app like a real notepad? Of course i'm an architect and i'm precices about my drawing, for good reason, but sketching with my finger is like the difference between drawing with a pencil and a sharpie. you just can't get precice enough without zooming and it's tough to draw precicely when you finger is covering up lines you need to see. But that's just me. For an architect, this would be the perfect device to take on construction administration, the problem is you have to take notes on your drawings. Handwriting recognition would be so much better in that scinario. and a full version of Acrobat on the device.
8. magazines and other periodicals. I REALLY hope magazine publisher don't jsut create "APPS". PLEASE make them available as single issue downloads from the iBookstore or subscription services.
anyway, i'll probably still end up buying one, because the alternatives are very slim and at this point, it's the best we've got, at least for the next 5 or so years. Apple will add new features, but most of what i've described above will probably never happen. And i don't want a laptop to just check email on the couch, and my iPhone is too small to do any real web browing, so it's the best we've got.
Wow!
This is actually the best set of cons on the iPad I've ever seen!
Even though I love the iPad (oops..i don't even have one yet..but anyways) I really understand how those cons can annoy you!
You didn't even bring the usual, stupid "no flash, no camera, no actual usb"-cons!
Thanks for the insight!
About the actual review:
It's really good. Makes me feel like I already have my iPad. Very deep. Someone really thought about every detail reviewing this amazing device. Thanks.
ps.: I love how the author mentions that the article was written on the very device it was about.
And I have a question to all iPad users who read this: Did you, at some point, miss having a mouse/cursor e.g. while typing in Pages using the physical keyboard? Or did it just feel natural?
I would not get your hopes up for using the iPad with ATT EDGE... last summer we had our iPhone on the East Coast, from Vermont to Maryland and found that 4-5 bars of EDGE service = glacially slow email, times when the weather app would not even load, and only rarely would Safari load!
EDGE network is hardly better than a paper cup on the end of a string! Sure did not find many places back there with 3G service either! Some of our strongest connections came over the border from Rogers in Canada! (don't ask what THOSE charges cost!)
I think your best bet in EDGE country will be finding WiFi hot spots.
Just got a friend to buy an iPhone 3GS because he wanted to tether his Macbook Pro. Had looked at the service up near Bancroft Ontario and the Rogers map only showed 2G Mobile Internet (EDGE) available and it was "variable"*. Told him not to be too upset if it didn't work well.
Well he stopped at a Roger's store, picked up an iphone and 3 hours later called to say that he tried to tether his laptop but got a message to call Rogers. Asked him what data plan did he get. When he answered that it was for 500 MBs, I told him that he needed 1 GB. Bottom line, an hour later I get an email, "Fantastic. Its faster than my 10 MB high speed at home."
That's not a stylus, it's just a substitute finger.
Seriously, that thing is possibly the best stylus out there right now, but when people who want to draw say they want a stylus, they mean they want something that will draw a 0.01 line like a Rapidograph or a felt pen or an ink nib.
That thing just turns my fat adult finger into a slightly more svelt little girl sized finger. I'm not sure what the design problems are exactly, but until you can draw a fine line, one might as well use a finger.
I think it's simply because iPhone OS for the various devices has multiple source trees (at least partially). They got the iPad out the door with 3.2. Now they need to get the next iPhone out the door, and 4.0 will be needed to support that, so it gets first priority, probably in the July time frame. After that, the focus will shift back to getting the iPad up to 4.0, which it will be in the Fall.
None of this heralds new iPad hardware in the Fall. Simply a matter of development schedules.
EDIT: Also, there will likely be new iPod Touches in the Fall, which will take additional resources, making new Fall iPads even more unlikely.
I was thinking the iPad might actually become part of the annual iPod refresh, but what you are suggesting does make sense.
That's not a stylus, it's just a substitute finger.
Seriously, that thing is possibly the best stylus out there right now, but when people who want to draw say they want a stylus, they mean they want something that will draw a 0.01 line like a Rapidograph or a felt pen or an ink nib.
That thing just turns my fat adult finger into a slightly more svelt little girl sized finger. I'm not sure what the design problems are exactly, but until you can draw a fine line, one might as well use a finger.
It's actually not just a substitute finger. I bought one for kicks because I actually saw it in a store. That stylus allows you to place and adjust its placement on the screen without registering a touch. The screen doesn't register a touch until you press down, so it kind of mimics the performance of a resistive screen. I haven't played around with it enough to really see how well it performs, but I don't think the wide tip is as bad as one would expect.
Seriously, that thing is possibly the best stylus out there right now, but when people who want to draw say they want a stylus, they mean they want something that will draw a 0.01 line like a Rapidograph or a felt pen or an ink nib.
That thing just turns my fat adult finger into a slightly more svelt little girl sized finger. I'm not sure what the design problems are exactly, but until you can draw a fine line, one might as well use a finger.
I would think the line width would be a software (app) issue, not an issue of how big the stylus tip is.
This is actually the best set of cons on the iPad I've ever seen!
Even though I love the iPad (oops..i don't even have one yet..but anyways) I really understand how those cons can annoy you!
You didn't even bring the usual, stupid "no flash, no camera, no actual usb"-cons!
Thanks for the insight!
About the actual review:
It's really good. Makes me feel like I already have my iPad. Very deep. Someone really thought about every detail reviewing this amazing device. Thanks.
ps.: I love how the author mentions that the article was written on the very device it was about.
And I have a question to all iPad users who read this: Did you, at some point, miss having a mouse/cursor e.g. while typing in Pages using the physical keyboard? Or did it just feel natural?
U R welcome!
I had one other beef about the OS as well...PLEASE GIVE US MULTIPLE ATTACHMENTS FOR EMAILS WHEN USING PHOTOS FROM OUR LIBRARY! So if i take a bunch of photos, i can send them all in one email! PUT A DAMN ATTACHMENT BUTTON IN THE EMAIL APP!
I would think the line width would be a software (app) issue, not an issue of how big the stylus tip is.
my issue with the stylus tip size is more in that if you're doing poche' lines or fine linework, i want to see the lines around what i'm drawing. that fat ass tip covers them up, justlike a finger would.
Autodesk Sketch and Sketchbook Mobile are probably the best Apps for the Phone and Pad but i want a pointier tip for a stylus.
Note that the WiFi iPad, like the iPod touch, does not have real GPS; it uses WiFi triangulation for Location Services, which is less accurate. The 3G version of the iPad will provide GPS just like the iPhone, because this feature is related to the mobile chipset (the 3G mobile network is used to assist the calculation of GPS information).
Are you sure about that? The tech specs list Assisted GPS for both the wifi and 3G models, which is also what they list for the iPhone (although they also list "cellular" under Location specs for both iPad versions, which I can't understand).
Please hyphenate "fence-sitting". I was reading along and stopped dead in my tracks wondering about the lack of a fence "sitting about the ipad". Brain Freeze!
I'm confused about the composite/component video adapters, originally for iPod but compatible with iPad. They don't specify a voltage for the charger, is it 10V or just 5? And if it's only 5, then isn't it silly to force iPad users who just want video output to buy a charger that doesn't really support the device?
Comments
Drawing. I KNOW THERE ARE TONS OF 3rd PARTY SKETCHING APPS FOR THIS. But, you still can't use a stylus.
What's keeping you from using a stylus?
Just go buy one and use it: http://tenonedesign.com/products.php?application=iPad
I was writing rough draft of Monday's lecture and decided to try it out, and simply could not believe how remarkably efficient this app is... and it's free!
I have yet to walk into an Apple store to check them out. I fear if I do that, I'll succumb to the pressure and walk out with one before I was ready.
This does almost nothing. It's pointless unless you're REALLY REALLY into reading e-books, which I'm not.
The iPad is superior to the iPhone for surfing the web because of its large screen. It really does make a huge difference. It is inferior to the iPhone only because it is less mobile. Most people will not carry it with them everywhere they go, so it is exactly how you described it above: a convenient home surfing solution. This happens to be something I do a lot, so that is perfect for me.
The iPad is superior to a computer (even laptop) for surfing the web because of the touchscreen OS, the lightweight form factor, and the speed of all interaction. The iPad is (currently) inferior to a computer for web surfing because of lack of "Flash", something which doesn't bother me much and will become OBE in time anyway.
The conclusion is that, for me anyway, the iPad strikes a perfect balance between iPhone and laptop. It is certainly not a useless device in my opinion. I understand that how its features intersect with your value system and use patterns may yield a different conclusion. Peace.
Thompson
Thoughts?
A couple of notes. I have found that the iPad WSJ and NYT Editors' Choice apps as well as the Thomson/Reuters iPad app will cache content. So fire up the apps right before you leave for a non-wifi location, let them load (WSJ is too slow but it gets there) then you can read content merrily offline. All three are beautifully implemented but the NYT needs to get with the action and move the whole paper there and start charging for it if it hopes to survive, just like Murdoch does for the WSJ.
Also, I recommend using the '+' key in Safari to create screen icons for sites like NYT.com - then you can access them with one click, sorry, one touch (duh!), without going through the Safari UI.
As regards iBooks, it is superb in every way. Shipping Winnie the Pooh with the iPad could not have made our 8 year old happier as he rediscovers the magic of this classic book which we take turns at reading when he goes to bed. The fun of racing him to mess with the page turning magic makes book reading so much more fun - for both of us!
As both a consumer and creator of content I suspect there are two populations out there - those who get it and those who will be left behind. We are enjoying our Unfair Advantage, to use the words of the great American racing driver Mark Donohue.
Thanks again.
Probably the best review of the ipad on the web. Great job, as per usual, Danny.
I agree. Usually there are plenty here that say he ignored the negatives and over embellished the positive and I definitely see that in other reviews, but this review was exceedingly fair and balanced.
So who here thinks there will be a new iPad in the fall? If 4.0 were coming to the iPad at the same time as the iPhone, I'd suggest we wouldn't be seeing one for a while. But since it isn't coming until the fall, there would be enough time to put out a second revision. I was planning on getting a first gen one because even if the second gen one is much better, you don't gain the benefit of having an iPad for the 6 months prior (or whatever), and you can always buy the new one and sell the old one. Now I'm wondering if I'd be more satisfied with the iPad or annoyed that my phone had multitasking and it didn't. I'll probably still end up getting a first gen one anyway.
Thoughts?
No.
I think it's simply because iPhone OS for the various devices has multiple source trees (at least partially). They got the iPad out the door with 3.2. Now they need to get the next iPhone out the door, and 4.0 will be needed to support that, so it gets first priority, probably in the July time frame. After that, the focus will shift back to getting the iPad up to 4.0, which it will be in the Fall.
None of this heralds new iPad hardware in the Fall. Simply a matter of development schedules.
EDIT: Also, there will likely be new iPod Touches in the Fall, which will take additional resources, making new Fall iPads even more unlikely.
last night i had the opportunity to try the new iPad that a friend brought over.
I'd have to say that i am on the fence about this device. there are many great things abotu it and some that just don't make sence.
1. consistancey with app features seems to be a spotty at best. The iBooks app allows you to "flip" pages, however the Contacts and Calander apps look like books but you can't "flip" them the same way. this is nit-picking of course, it would be nice to be consistant with the UI. Don't make it look like a book if you can't flip the pages like a book.
2. safari changes. I know Apple might think that makeing the browser look like full Safari is better but I really liked all the hot buttons at the bottom of the screen. since you hold the iPad towards the bottom of the display, it seems even more obvious to place hot buttons, like the iphone/touch, at the bottom of the screen.
3. keyboard. as much as SJ says the keyboard is confortable to type on, it really isn't. Sitting it on my lap i felt very cramped when typing (no way to rest my wrists on my lap comfortably. it's too heavy to get a comfortable angle while typing and it slides down my lap to my croch constantly. it's not a full size keyboard and not an iphone sized one...so it's difficult to find the sweet spot between one two finger typing and 10 finger typing. Additionally, with the screen realestate that the keyboard takes up, why not just put the number keys on the primary screen with symbols as a shift function. the keyboard takes up about 40% of the screen in landscape mode anyway. i would have sacrificed key size for more keys on the home keyboard layout.
4. info bar. I'm sure this is an app developer thing, but i'd really love to have the home status bar at the top and visible in all apps. if i'm working on a game or in a book reading, or any app in general, i'd love to see my battery display and time show up.
5. aluminum back. I just can't seem to hold this thing in a way that feels comfortable, or doesn't feel nails on a chaulkboard. the aluminum uni-body is cool and sleek, but i'd much rather have the polycarbonate of the iPhone body. it's much more comfortable to hold and has a nice soft feel to it. Additionally, a pound feels a lot heavier than i thought while holding this in one hand. Of course i'm a weakling geek but two hands or resting on the arm of my sofa seem to be the best positions.
6. No calculator? Uhm, why not? and why not update it to have graphing functionality? I'm sure there's a Trig/calc/physics Student out there that would love to be able to have this as a all-in-one device. I guess i'll have to download a non-native buggy app for that.
7. still need a computer. I know SJ wants this to suppliment a computer, but for people like my mom, a child, a grandparent or just someone that only uses internet, email and music/videos/games...this device is REALLY all you need. Why not offer a base station (like the time capsule) that you can connect a network jack from a modem and keep that as the storage device to sync from? Forget the idea of syncing to a computer. This device has enough functionality for the average person to use AS a primary device. I ask WHY NOT?
8. Home/office networking. Why can't they just put "Finder" on as an app? You have sync to a WiFi network anyway, why not allow us to see other devices on the network? I know at work, this is WAY better than emailing myself a file from the iPad and then going to my computer and downloading that attachment and saving it to the local network. Same thing at home. This is just stupid if you ask me. Same thing with Printing. I can print to a wifi printer from my MBP, why not allow the iPad to as well?
7. Drawing. I KNOW THERE ARE TONS OF 3rd PARTY SKETCHING APPS FOR THIS. But, you still can't use a stylus. WHY NOT be able to scribble in the Native Notes app like a real notepad? Of course i'm an architect and i'm precices about my drawing, for good reason, but sketching with my finger is like the difference between drawing with a pencil and a sharpie. you just can't get precice enough without zooming and it's tough to draw precicely when you finger is covering up lines you need to see. But that's just me. For an architect, this would be the perfect device to take on construction administration, the problem is you have to take notes on your drawings. Handwriting recognition would be so much better in that scinario. and a full version of Acrobat on the device.
8. magazines and other periodicals. I REALLY hope magazine publisher don't jsut create "APPS". PLEASE make them available as single issue downloads from the iBookstore or subscription services.
anyway, i'll probably still end up buying one, because the alternatives are very slim and at this point, it's the best we've got, at least for the next 5 or so years. Apple will add new features, but most of what i've described above will probably never happen. And i don't want a laptop to just check email on the couch, and my iPhone is too small to do any real web browing, so it's the best we've got.
Wow!
This is actually the best set of cons on the iPad I've ever seen!
Even though I love the iPad (oops..i don't even have one yet..but anyways) I really understand how those cons can annoy you!
You didn't even bring the usual, stupid "no flash, no camera, no actual usb"-cons!
Thanks for the insight!
About the actual review:
It's really good. Makes me feel like I already have my iPad. Very deep. Someone really thought about every detail reviewing this amazing device. Thanks.
ps.: I love how the author mentions that the article was written on the very device it was about.
And I have a question to all iPad users who read this: Did you, at some point, miss having a mouse/cursor e.g. while typing in Pages using the physical keyboard? Or did it just feel natural?
I would not get your hopes up for using the iPad with ATT EDGE... last summer we had our iPhone on the East Coast, from Vermont to Maryland and found that 4-5 bars of EDGE service = glacially slow email, times when the weather app would not even load, and only rarely would Safari load!
EDGE network is hardly better than a paper cup on the end of a string! Sure did not find many places back there with 3G service either! Some of our strongest connections came over the border from Rogers in Canada! (don't ask what THOSE charges cost!)
I think your best bet in EDGE country will be finding WiFi hot spots.
Just got a friend to buy an iPhone 3GS because he wanted to tether his Macbook Pro. Had looked at the service up near Bancroft Ontario and the Rogers map only showed 2G Mobile Internet (EDGE) available and it was "variable"*. Told him not to be too upset if it didn't work well.
Well he stopped at a Roger's store, picked up an iphone and 3 hours later called to say that he tried to tether his laptop but got a message to call Rogers. Asked him what data plan did he get. When he answered that it was for 500 MBs, I told him that he needed 1 GB. Bottom line, an hour later I get an email, "Fantastic. Its faster than my 10 MB high speed at home."
*https://www.rogers.com/web/content/w...kYourCoverage#
What's keeping you from using a stylus?
Just go buy one and use it: http://tenonedesign.com/products.php?application=iPad
That's not a stylus, it's just a substitute finger.
Seriously, that thing is possibly the best stylus out there right now, but when people who want to draw say they want a stylus, they mean they want something that will draw a 0.01 line like a Rapidograph or a felt pen or an ink nib.
That thing just turns my fat adult finger into a slightly more svelt little girl sized finger. I'm not sure what the design problems are exactly, but until you can draw a fine line, one might as well use a finger.
No.
I think it's simply because iPhone OS for the various devices has multiple source trees (at least partially). They got the iPad out the door with 3.2. Now they need to get the next iPhone out the door, and 4.0 will be needed to support that, so it gets first priority, probably in the July time frame. After that, the focus will shift back to getting the iPad up to 4.0, which it will be in the Fall.
None of this heralds new iPad hardware in the Fall. Simply a matter of development schedules.
EDIT: Also, there will likely be new iPod Touches in the Fall, which will take additional resources, making new Fall iPads even more unlikely.
I was thinking the iPad might actually become part of the annual iPod refresh, but what you are suggesting does make sense.
That's not a stylus, it's just a substitute finger.
Seriously, that thing is possibly the best stylus out there right now, but when people who want to draw say they want a stylus, they mean they want something that will draw a 0.01 line like a Rapidograph or a felt pen or an ink nib.
That thing just turns my fat adult finger into a slightly more svelt little girl sized finger. I'm not sure what the design problems are exactly, but until you can draw a fine line, one might as well use a finger.
It's actually not just a substitute finger. I bought one for kicks because I actually saw it in a store. That stylus allows you to place and adjust its placement on the screen without registering a touch. The screen doesn't register a touch until you press down, so it kind of mimics the performance of a resistive screen. I haven't played around with it enough to really see how well it performs, but I don't think the wide tip is as bad as one would expect.
Seriously, that thing is possibly the best stylus out there right now, but when people who want to draw say they want a stylus, they mean they want something that will draw a 0.01 line like a Rapidograph or a felt pen or an ink nib.
That thing just turns my fat adult finger into a slightly more svelt little girl sized finger. I'm not sure what the design problems are exactly, but until you can draw a fine line, one might as well use a finger.
I would think the line width would be a software (app) issue, not an issue of how big the stylus tip is.
Wow!
This is actually the best set of cons on the iPad I've ever seen!
Even though I love the iPad (oops..i don't even have one yet..but anyways) I really understand how those cons can annoy you!
You didn't even bring the usual, stupid "no flash, no camera, no actual usb"-cons!
Thanks for the insight!
About the actual review:
It's really good. Makes me feel like I already have my iPad. Very deep. Someone really thought about every detail reviewing this amazing device. Thanks.
ps.: I love how the author mentions that the article was written on the very device it was about.
And I have a question to all iPad users who read this: Did you, at some point, miss having a mouse/cursor e.g. while typing in Pages using the physical keyboard? Or did it just feel natural?
U R welcome!
I had one other beef about the OS as well...PLEASE GIVE US MULTIPLE ATTACHMENTS FOR EMAILS WHEN USING PHOTOS FROM OUR LIBRARY! So if i take a bunch of photos, i can send them all in one email! PUT A DAMN ATTACHMENT BUTTON IN THE EMAIL APP!
I would think the line width would be a software (app) issue, not an issue of how big the stylus tip is.
my issue with the stylus tip size is more in that if you're doing poche' lines or fine linework, i want to see the lines around what i'm drawing. that fat ass tip covers them up, justlike a finger would.
Autodesk Sketch and Sketchbook Mobile are probably the best Apps for the Phone and Pad but i want a pointier tip for a stylus.
Note that the WiFi iPad, like the iPod touch, does not have real GPS; it uses WiFi triangulation for Location Services, which is less accurate. The 3G version of the iPad will provide GPS just like the iPhone, because this feature is related to the mobile chipset (the 3G mobile network is used to assist the calculation of GPS information).
Are you sure about that? The tech specs list Assisted GPS for both the wifi and 3G models, which is also what they list for the iPhone (although they also list "cellular" under Location specs for both iPad versions, which I can't understand).