Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gazoobee 
Yeah, put me in the extremely underwhelmed category as well.
All that talk about futuristic devices and how Apple was going to "solve" the tablet problem were misplaced it seems. I think this thing will sell like hotcakes at the price they are giving, but technologically speaking there is literally nothing new in this at all.
The bezel is just a joke. If they couldn't produce a device with a smaller bezel, then what's the point at all? They haven't "solved the tablet input problem" if you have to lay this silly thing down on an table top and peer into it like a wishing well to type.
The bezel makes the device just barely wide enough so that thumb typing is not an option. It's awkward keyboard typing on your lap or nothing. Notice how Jobs needed to be on the couch for it to work? Notice how they didn't even mention the portrait mode keyboard because if they did, you'd want to type on it and you'd immediately see the device is too wide for that.
It's
literally a way to "couch surf" and not useable at all as a computer without the combo keyboard/dock. You can't effectively type on the thing standing up. You can't reasonably use it on a bus or a train. What's the friggin point of that?
Giant. iPod. Touch.
(with better apps).
yawn.
Think of a grid where on one axis is usage occasion/location (e.g. couch, kitchen, office desk, travel, vertical specific (hospital/warehouse etc.), school/college, etc.) and on the other axis, think use/application e.g. reading, viewing movies, email/chat, taking notes, creating content, productivity apps etc. Then start putting in where smartphones, netbooks and laptop do the best job in each cell of the grid. It is personal opinion of course but as I go through these, many are very poorly filled by these traditional appliances, and many are much better filled with an iPad.
Most of the reading uses in most locations are better with an iPad - laptop/netbook too big and cumbersome or screen too rubbish, iPhone/touch too small
Most of the uses at the couch or in the Kitchen or in hand at a business (not at a desk) will be delivered better with an iPad.
an Ipad and keyboard dock will work well in school for note taking (like a laptop) but the iPad will be a vastly better reading/annotating device for text books etc.
Travelling - for business, take a laptop, but for pleasure, the iPad may be all you need - reading/replying to email, updating social media, uploading photos etc (as long as you have the accessory for bringing photos across without iTunes), reading, surfing, light gaming etc.
Bottom line - the iPad fills in many gaps in usage and location that are poorly served by existing devices. It will NEVER replace those devices where they are strong (e.g. the iPhone in your pocket, the laptop at your desk doing large spreadsheets or Video editing etc.) but it has a ton of good uses. I for one will stop using the iphone on the couch to surf/read/play/watch etc. and avoid the RSI and eyestrain I currently get. My mom will get one to use in the kitchen for media, recipes, music etc. NOTE: docks, stands and accessories will be vital to success in many of these use cases but the Apple ecosystem will be on that in a heartbeat.
You won't buy it instead of a Macbook or an iPhone but as an addition to both - hence the 3rd category - Steve expects people/families to have all 3 - he hasn't been wrong so far
PS I agree with all those complaining about the lack of camera(s), gps (though it probably has faux-gps like iPhone 2G) and multitasking. Multitasking will hopefully come in 4.0, cameras and gps in v2 one would hope...
PPS The fat bezel is required to hold the damn thing - you can't hold it at the edges like an iPhone with one hand!!
