iPad: Verdict

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
Netbook Killer



iPad will spawn a category of lightweight tablet computing devices that will slay the market for netbooks, IMHO.



Apple must stay ahead of these new tablets to maintain iPad's lead. New developments can include a non-tethered OS, sub pound weight, decrease in thickness, a smaller (more portable) screen and bezel, higher screen resolution, handwriting recognition, a front-facing video camera, and more storage and faster CPUs.



Sight unseen, iPad's weight, size, and user interface are already known (1.5 lbs entry level, 9.56 in x 7.47 in x 0.5 in, iPhone OS).



iPad's weight and size will be the biggest issues IMHO. 1.5 lbs is light by netbook standards, but not handheld standards (eg, 0.3 lbs iPhone, 0.7 lbs Nintendo DSi XL, 0.9 lbs Canon Powershot G11). Tabletop use will be common I suspect (eg, 1). And iPad's screen size and bezel can shrink without decreasing (and perhaps increasing) usability.



Bob Iger, president and CEO of Walt Disney, called iPad a "game changer," and I agree, but vigilance for Apple is in order.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    s4mb4s4mb4 Posts: 267member
    i would stand in line for a 6 inch iPad.

    i love my iPhone. i use it all the time for admin work via logmein ignition. i just wish the screen were a "bit" bigger. 9.7 is too much. 6 would be perfect.



    i will wait and hope. of course, i will have to live with the 9.7 inch version until then.
  • Reply 2 of 17
    aizmovaizmov Posts: 989member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by s4mb4 View Post


    i would stand in line for a 6 inch iPad.

    i love my iPhone. i use it all the time for admin work via logmein ignition. i just wish the screen were a "bit" bigger. 9.7 is too much. 6 would be perfect.



    i will wait and hope. of course, i will have to live with the 9.7 inch version until then.



    I agree. I think there is room for an iPad mini.
  • Reply 3 of 17
    Guilty.
  • Reply 4 of 17
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    Sure, netbooks and the iPad are roughly the same size and price... but are they really competitors?



    Netbooks are standalone computers bought primarily because they are inexpensive. The iPad is an auxilary device targeted at people who generally aren't looking for the cheapest solution possible. One is a slow but full featured productivity tool. The other is a limitted functionality device not intended to be the totality of a user's computing tool set.



    Netbooks and laptops are directly competing products, and to some extent, desktops as well. The iPad is off to the side, intended as an auxiliary computer to supplement the computers that people already own and will continue to use.
  • Reply 5 of 17
    cycomikocycomiko Posts: 716member
    ipad doesnt compete with a netbook, the only thing killing netbooks are themselves.
  • Reply 6 of 17
    Don't agree with this thread at all! Netbooks are really underrated IMHO and the iPad is NOT in anyway a netbook killer. Steve saying that they were "not good for much of anything" is nonsense. I have a Dell 10 inch netbook right here set up to dual boot Win 7 and OS X and I LOVE it. It's not blazing fast, but does everything I need to do on the go just fine with no noticeable slow down. I can use the net, check email, watch video (without having to convert it to the iPad format), use flash sites, ect. The iPad on the other hand doesn't do much of anything that I can't do on my iPhone. If I've already got my iPhone on me, the iPad really doesn't add much value other than a larger screen. I've been using my iPad since yesterday and think it's an amazing device, but it's in no way a replacement for a netbook or laptop. I feel the PC market gave up on tablets too easily. They need to come up with a good netbook tablet that runs the full OS when in laptop mode, and a simplified touchscreen OS when in tablet mode. Make it light, with good battery life and they'd have a winner.
  • Reply 7 of 17
    josh.b.josh.b. Posts: 353member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by CU10 View Post


    Netbook Killer



    iPad will spawn a category of lightweight tablet computing devices that will slay the market for netbooks, IMHO.



    I disagree. The iPad is a different beast. The netbook is a small computer, limited in power, but not in functionality. For example, the new netbooks will easily play high-def YouTube videos, they will easily run Excel or Word, but with only 2 gigs of RAM, they won't do these things at the same time, and with larger spreadsheets, they will be slow compared to a more powerful computer.



    The iPad will do none of these things. It is not designed to. It will not download stuff in the background while you surf, nor will it run multiple programs at the same time (with limited exceptions).



    Instead, it will do some things well. It is NOT a laptop replacement. Therefore, it is not a netbook replacement.



    Those who think that the iPad is a notebook replacement will be disappointed. It is a new category of device, not suited to many notebook tasks.



    A netbook, OTOH, is well suited for all but the most processor- and RAM-hungry tasks. It will do most all of the same tasks as a notebook, albeit more slowly.



    The iPad is no substitute for a netbook. It is a different beast altogether.
  • Reply 8 of 17
    josh.b.josh.b. Posts: 353member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dfiler View Post


    Netbooks are standalone computers bought primarily because they are inexpensive. The iPad is an auxilary device targeted at people who generally aren't looking for the cheapest solution possible. One is a slow but full featured productivity tool. The other is a limitted functionality device not intended to be the totality of a user's computing tool set.



    Netbooks and laptops are directly competing products, and to some extent, desktops as well. The iPad is off to the side, intended as an auxiliary computer to supplement the computers that people already own and will continue to use.





    Yes. The iPad is not a netbook; it does not have the range of uses that a netbook has. It is not designed to be a standalone anything, and certainly is not adequate as a standalone computer.



    However, there are charms to netbooks in addition to price. They are small. They can be transported VERY easily. The batteries last all day. They are perfect for teenagers who are out and about with their electronics.



    Cheap, yes. But small too. And some of them are not SO cheap - look at some with the Atom N450 processor, HD screens, big batteries, GPS, built-in TV tuners, etc. They can easily overlap with the price of a full-fledged notebook. So some people buy them for factors other than price.



    They buy them to have a tiny real computer that lasts all day.
  • Reply 9 of 17
    josh.b.josh.b. Posts: 353member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cycomiko View Post


    ipad doesnt compete with a netbook, the only thing killing netbooks are themselves.



    You may not have noticed, but netbook sales are not only growing, but the growth is accelerating.



    Neither the iPad nor netbooks themselves are or will be doing any killing. Sorry.
  • Reply 10 of 17
    ivladivlad Posts: 742member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Josh.B. View Post


    I disagree. The iPad is a different beast. The netbook is a small computer, limited in power, but not in functionality. For example, the new netbooks will easily play high-def YouTube videos, they will easily run Excel or Word, but with only 2 gigs of RAM, they won't do these things at the same time, and with larger spreadsheets, they will be slow compared to a more powerful computer.



    The iPad will do none of these things. It is not designed to. It will not download stuff in the background while you surf, nor will it run multiple programs at the same time (with limited exceptions).



    Instead, it will do some things well. It is NOT a laptop replacement. Therefore, it is not a netbook replacement.



    Those who think that the iPad is a notebook replacement will be disappointed. It is a new category of device, not suited to many notebook tasks.



    A netbook, OTOH, is well suited for all but the most processor- and RAM-hungry tasks. It will do most all of the same tasks as a notebook, albeit more slowly.



    The iPad is no substitute for a netbook. It is a different beast altogether.



    So you're saying that people do actual work on Netbooks? RIIIGGHHHTTT



    People buy those things to surf the web and do some emails, that's it. iPad kills netbooks.
  • Reply 11 of 17
    donlphidonlphi Posts: 214member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Aizmov View Post


    I agree. I think there is room for an iPad mini.



    I would actually like to see one that is a bit larger (8.5x11 at least if not bigger) for music reading purposes. As it stands now, music is practically unreadable unless you have your face plastered against it or you have the notes enlarged only showing about 2 lines per screen.



    Here's to hoping for different sizes in the future.
  • Reply 12 of 17
    mac voyermac voyer Posts: 1,294member
    It is too early to say what the iPad will replace. It is a new paradigm that will take a while to be sorted out. I would wager that the vast majority of iPad owners did not see the keynote and have no idea who SJ is. They do not know what the iPad is supposed to be; they only know they want, and possibly need it. The impulse to own and use this thing is visceral and hard to deny. People are inventing excuses to buy these things. Who are we to say what it will be good for.



    On the last Macbreak Weekly, Leo suggested that the iPad would definitely be a notebook replacement for a certain class of user. That is the key. I'm not sure it is there yet, as I am not that class of user. Having said that, my MBP has sat plugged in on a desk ever since I unpacked my iPad on day one. Since upgrading to the 3G version, I have taken to wearing a man purse just so that it can be with me at all times. I commute to and from work everyday on the bus. Once at work, I set it up on the desk beside my phone and check in on my favorite websites throughout the day. I have a stylus, and use it to take notes throughout the day. Unlike paper notes, I can email these to myself and coworkers. When I have read all the days news, I open a chess game to play between calls. I can't believe how this thing has insinuated itself into my life.



    This is month two of version one. The really good apps have not even been made for it and the bookstore is still anemic. Yet, it has already outgrown Apple's vision for it, IMO. As a sometimes musician, I even use the thing as an external DAW controller. All I am saying is that we have no idea what it will be. The revolution has begun, and the competitors are just scrambling to carve out a place for themselves in this brave new world. If Apple is not completely sure about what this thing is, you can be certain that the competitors have no idea. They just know they have to have one, or quickly fade into irrelevance.
  • Reply 13 of 17
    spotonspoton Posts: 645member
    The iPad, hardware speaking, is below a netbook on the computer scale of things.



    Ergonomically speaking, tablets suck big time.



    Sure Apple came out with the first, widely selling tablet device, thus claiming a premium price and all, but when the copycats get their copiers going, we will see something like a Windows 7 Lite for Tablets (finger based GUI) type tablets eventually going for about $300-$350 each once the initial hype is over. Why? No keyboard and less hardware features, less powerful processors. They will also be standalone devices most likely, something the iPad isn´t.



    I predict netbooks will be bumped up to about $400-$450 instead of the $300-$350 they are at now, reason for this is their margins are pretty thin and a introduction of Win7 Pad will give a excuse to raise those margins. A netbook would look like a premium device next to a keyboard less Win 7 Pad.



    Apple has a head start, as usual being innovative, taking the initiative and controlling both the hardware and the software.



    The problem the PC industry faces coming out with their own Pad device right now is figuring out how to stick a hard drive in a thin form factor and the OS needed for it to work, thus waiting for Microsoft.



    HP is looking like it´s going to use the Palm OS for theirs, trying to beat Microsoft to grab market share.





    iPods of various types (excluding the iTouch) have a computer user adoption rate (PC and Mac) of 36% because it´s chiefly a music playback device. People consume a lot of music, often listening to it all day.



    The iPod Touch has a adoption rate of only 9%, it´s chiefly a gaming device. It has less storage and a higher price than iPods. Most kids game as they have a lot of idle time on their hands.



    The iPad is even higher priced than the iPod Touch and has about the same amount of storage and performance, just a larger screen.



    It´s still up in the air exactly where the iPad will land as it´s chief function and it´s adoption rate, it´s predicted by Apple to be a e-reader/media consumption mainly.
  • Reply 14 of 17
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    The verdict?



    Thrilled. 1.5 lbs of portable delight. Best monitor in my home. Web browsing experience is very nice and photos pop.



    Everything if fluid and fast, initial app crashes due to 3.2 not being widely tested but stability is improving. Wifi issue seem dependent on router used. I've had problems at home but not over at friends homes.



    The fun starts this fall when 4.0 hits for the iPad and more apps with custom UI are out but right now there's a lot of good stuff available.



    Streaming options are insane. ABC, Netflix AirVideo.



    Haven't really missed not having a camera and there's that app that let's you use your iPhone to snap some shots. That should really come in handy for iPhone 4th gen users.



    I predict that in a couple of years there will be so many cool peripherals that your iPad docks into and delivers some really cool features. I also hope that there's an iPad mini for those who want something under a lb and smaller screen.



    No doubt about it the iPad is a runaway success. Sure there will be cheap Android based knockoffs coming but the end game in this biz is to make money and Apple's doing that with ease.
  • Reply 15 of 17
    Isn't it called an iPhone?
  • Reply 16 of 17
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Aizmov View Post


    I agree. I think there is room for an iPad mini.



    Isn't it called an iPhone?
  • Reply 17 of 17
    cu10cu10 Posts: 294member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Aizmov View Post





    I agree. I think there is room for an iPad mini.


     


    I had to see it to believe it, but it's finally here!  The new iPod Touch 5G threw me off because it would serve as the iPad Nano had Apple delayed releasing it.

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