Apple iPad to arrive in U.S. on April 3, preorders begin March 12 - Page 4

Somehow I wouldn't be surprised if teckstud was a teabagger (in the political meaning of the word), even though his grammar makes me suspect he is an ESL person who would have nothing in common with the predominantly white grievances of that group.

I am a technician/writer/designer/artist myself so I understand the creative process well. I am looking forward to getting a hold of one of these iPads just to play around with, but I also hope it will be useful.

My only quibble with the design of it, is the disappointingly large bezel which likely won't allow for thumb-typing (crucial to my intended uses), and is I feel a sort of sop towards the lower end users who might inadvertently pick it up wrong and open an app by mistake. It's also a bit big for me as I have great eyesight.

My ideal iPad would be halfway between this and the iPhone in size, with a bezel designed more like the iPhone than the iPad. That way it's more easily stowed in a purse or big pocket instead of having to carry an extra bag, and is still easily big enough to read and (more importantly), the perfect size to thumb type on like the iPhone.

I am constantly surprised that Apple makes all of it's products the same size or only makes one size of each type given the fact that humans come in sizes ranging from 1 to 2.5 metres tall and hand sizes range wildly. I'd like to see them manufacture two or three sizes of all the iProducts and pay much more attention to the ergonomics, but this is something Apple has historically never been very good at. Probably because it destroys the impression of the product as being "perfect" if one size doesn't fit all or one ergonomic decision isn't perceived as right for everyone.

So will Apple have demo units in stores as of March 12th to help pull in more pre-release sales?

Gotta love the way people have bought into the media's total co-opting of what used to be a constitutionalist movement, and is now a way to demonize anyone who disagrees with corruption.

If I had to guess, not a flippin chance in hell.

Damn good question.

More like they're libertarian wanna-be's - but they even do a pale-job at that. First they don't like Ron Paul and shove him aside - then they're "just like him".

Sure Fox whatever. Keep whacking those trailer parks for cash like a white-trash pinata. No one ever went broke selling to the lowest common denominator.

Like Microsoft.

I'd say also very doubtful. They didn't do this with the iPhone, did they?

As we all seemed to expect, I was just informed that stores will most likely not have any demo units until launch day.

Good point. Besides, I think it would burst the bubble of all those people hoping for some surprise features at release. If they're not on the demos, then they'll most likely not be on the release product.

Selling AAPL stock at a profit, then use profit to buy AAPL products!

Dude, TEACH ME.

they might. if they want to spread the wealth, which is not totally crazy on their part. Say 2 per customer/address. at least online. reserving for instore might be a little higher.

especially if the rumors of limited stock are even close to true.

we will see on march 12

no i don't.

Sounds like you're a jack of all trades and a master of nothing- especially Apple design. Apple doesn't design products like shoe sizes- who does? and the thought that you would even think they should is more than disturbing.

does it really matter if you get that email tomorrow since the orders don't start for a week. all you need to know is the start date early enough to do it as quickly that day as you can so you will be guaranteed release day delivery


well the guy that got your place in line will be happy. cause it fits his needs and he got the last one in the size he wanted (rather than being one too late).

You both have fun

Apple's international websites have just been updated... Apart from the countries listed above, all availability information has been taken out from the rest of the world... No more Hong Kong iPad late March, not even April. I guess I should lower my expectations and prepare myself to wait until the 2nd semester.

Are other Apple products distributed to most other countries at the same time, or is there a stepping method that they usually follow?

well some countries don't allow sim locks. so yes for those.

as for the rest, I suspect yes. it is likely a pain dealing with making all the various iphone setups. unlock the ipad and it doesn't matter what box you send to where.


general market improvement, the date announcement and perhaps the demo by Penguin. but in the end, as long is it is going up that's good. this gal still has a few shares bought at $70. kaching


My daily bus runs down a major street in an area of LA that decided last year to put up city wide free wifi. a block after I get on I"m online and running for about 2 miles. very nice


I don't see the wifi only dropping. but the 3g perhaps.


it's unlocked. all T-Mobile has to do is start printing microSims and you've got another choice. and I'll be that they have and it will be good to go by early summer


a lot of folks don't mind. let Hulu charge if they take the ads off. if we have to pay and it's the same schtick, forget it.


And by THEY you mean Adobe. Because that's the issue. Crappy software they cobbled together and refuse to fix.


Nope. The site likely doesn't even accept foreign addresses. but if it does you can bet it will be cancelled within the hour


i disagree with the day 2. the majors will have it ready on release day. if not sooner.


I wouldn't be surprised. given all the "starting march 10th rumors". i bet that someone saw an internal notice that units would start arriving on the 10th (for an after hours set up on the 11th to unveil on the 12th) and assumed they were training units or some such.

although in a way they are. the staff will be playing with them also. just out on the floor with the customers.

can't wait! i'm getting 2 iPads myself.

With the WiFi+3G hardware being released in Canada, which Canadian network will support it? Does Rogers or Bell / Telus support the Micro SIM hardware?

I haven't seen any announcements from them on supporting the iPad 3G.

One major caveat. While it's unlocked T-Mobile USA's 3G spectrum is atypical and not an included frequency on the iPad. You'll be able to get GPRS and EDGE data, but not 3G, which pretty much makes the reason to lock anything to AT&T pointless.

Plus, you can cut a microSIM with scissors. The data connect is the same as the regular SIM cards.


PS: I really hate all current SIM technology. It take up a considerable amount of space while having one function that requires much less data storage than the space would indicate. I suggest a very simple screw SIM with the flat bottom of the plastic screw contain the very simple metal contacts. Below is an image of the current SIM space taking up a huge portion of the current iPhone (I'm sure they'll be using the microSIM in the next iPhone but is it enough? Can't we do better?

http://s1.guide-images.ifixit.com/ig...I2UNWjYJ.large (image)

I realize you are being purposefully obtuse to make your point but
1) We have already seen movies on the iPad in the various demos and they look pretty good/large even with the letterboxing. At the distances you or I will be watching from it is patently fine (~2ft). The only HD anyone should worry about is its output to a device where it matters (HDTV etc.) which I believe it can do full 720p
2) As a multipurpose device its aspect ratio is designed for other uses too - books - better in the paper 4x3 ratio, web pages also better
3) Most netbooks (the unnatural competition) have 1024x600 - some of the worst screens I have ever seen and an absolutely horrific ratio for looking at anything except a widescreen movie

Netbooks FTF

Order column by 'Technology', then eliminate any that don't list GSM or HSPA. If it's just GSM then it's likely only '2G', assuming the info is accurate. If it lists HSPA then you'll get '3G', assuming the info is accurate. You'll also have to make sure the frequencies are supported, just to be sure.

Wikipedia List of Canadian cell phone companies

I guess they have some stepping method as you said. In Brazil there was a time when we had to wait for more than 6 months for the updated products or new releases to arrive. Things have greatly improved over the last couple of years, though. They've finally launched their local Online Apple Store this year (had to use resellers before, as there's also no Apple Retail Store), and now it never takes more than a month for being up-to-date. For reference, the 27" iMacs have a 1-month delivery delay here now, just as they've become 24h at the US. That's acceptable.

But other places like Hong Kong (where I'll be from late April on... \), Korea, most european countries other than the ones cited and even Mexico usually get new products and updates no more than a week later than the US release date. This means the iPad is another story... They either chose to only test demand at a few markets first, or they really had production issues. As was stated before, even in Brazil the iPad had a late March announcement, and now all information is gone, which makes me think it's the second.

Oh, well... it took an year for the iPhone to come to Brazil, or Hong Kong for that matter. So I guess I'll have to do the same I did in 2007: go to the US and get it. Only this time I won't have to jailbreak and unlock!

While you personal opinions are your own, the bezel thing has to have been designed for the averages - average users from their research - non-techies for whom thumb typing is an alien skill, who would constantly foul the screen with their fingers while holding it etc.
Apple pays more attention to ergonomics than most companies but also tempers that with aesthetics. The also realize that it leaves a massive market for cases/holders etc. which will drive a supportive eco-system for the iPad.
Overall - there is not so much diversity in the middle 80% of humanity that making 3 versions makes any sense economically or for marketing. I could easily imaging people will buy the one they like the look of (smaller bezel), then hate the screen fouling, return it etc. Thumb-typing freaks/geeks like you or me will never drive an Apple design decision and that is as it should be. The bell curve of humanity drives the optimal size choices more than most things.
Anyway, we have no idea how good the virtual keyboard will be - the demos make it look quite good.

Nope, in fact the original iPhone launch, most stores did not even get display models for several days after it went on sale.

They did have the giant mockups in Apple store widows starting a few days prior, if I remember right.

Any bets/thoughts on it making an Oscar appearance?

My guess: Initialy I thought 'Yes,' but then concluded 'No,' since that would be too obvious!

I had the pleasure of seeing the store at fair oaks mall at iphone's launch. They had signs bigger than a hotel room.

It's not that they are "not good" at it. In-fact it's their self control to NOT release a barrage of varying devices that makes Apple what they are.

There are a few good reason for Apple's design philosophies, but one of the main ones is that with multiple sizes comes a headache of software testing, not just for Apple but for third party developers. I spent all this morning checking the compatibility with Apples 'limited' range of devices, I would hate to think what it's like to dev for a platform such as Android.

Standardisation of parts = cheap/more reliable products.
Familiarity and consistency also play a role.

The other side of that is the HW. People complained that Apple used the exact same size dimensions between the 3G and 3GS which, I guess, I affected their status since people wouldn't know they had the newest one, but this surely makes the accessories companies and consumers who but a new device happy. At some point, they have to update to stay modern, but going two years with the same design and 8 year(?) with the same 30-pin connector is pretty awesome for CE.

I would tend to disagree both on the philosophy you are talking about and the nuts and bolts of the particular device.

It has nothing to do with self-control IMO because that implies there is a down side to having multiple sizes of devices to fit the multiple sizes of the humans using them. Other than slightly increased manufacturing costs overall (and it would be very slight indeed), I don't see such a downside.

The major downside of software testing headaches you refer to on multiple size devices presumes (incorrectly), that I was talking about multiple screen resolutions, when it should have been clear I was talking only of multiple sized devices.

I'm not talking about them releasing multiple iPhones all slightly different from each other in the same sense as Android, but in them releasing multiple sizes of the exact same phone. The software isn't at issue at all here.

Apple's computers and devices are basically just wrappers for the software, which is typically central and dictates the hardware design to a great degree. What I'm arguing is that the physical hardware part of the design (the "wrapper" if you will), should take into account the fact that one human hand may be quite literally twice the size of another human hand even if you don't take into account mutations.

The same goes for everything they make, including things like earbud cords, which are sized to be "just right," but for the average sized person only.

Well I guess we just disagree. I don't find any of these arguments convincing.

You say they temper the design with aesthetics, but my artist's eye sees the giant bezel on the iPad as remarkably ugly, and many many people had that same initial reaction. Opinion on the subject was only tempered by the argument that there was a *practical* reason for the bezel. The argument seemingly being that "okay, it's ugly, but there is a reason."

I also disagree that thumb-typing is a "geek thing" or for "techies" only. The iPhone, which is of course hugely popular has portrait style thumb typing as it's default and preferred method of text entry. Several studies have shown that the portrait oriented keyboard is usually faster overall than the landscape orientation.

The iPad is also by default supposed to be used in the same portrait orientation as demonstrated by no less than Steve jobs himself. When in landscape mode, the keyboard on the iPad is slightly smaller than a full-sized keyboard, enough to make it difficult for touch typists. In portrait mode it's even smaller than that. So I would argue that this keyboard is also really intended to be used as a thumb typing board, even though the fat bezels on the side make it just wide enough to be very awkward indeed from all accounts I've read.

Lastly, the iPhone itself is a much smaller device than the iPad and it has very narrow bezels on the sides. To argue that a larger device needs wider bezels seems a bit off to me. The idea that it works on the iPhone (and it does quite handily), but that scaling the device up to twice it's size leaves the side bezel as "too small," and necessitates making it wider doesn't make a lot of sense IMO.

The only possible argument in favour of that I can think of is that the weight of the thing precludes holding it in a similar manner to the iPhone (using the edge of your thumb), but it simply isn't that heavy. In fact it's one of the lightest computers out there. About half as light as the MacBook Air which is easily held in one hand in the exact same manner as my iPhone. Remember too, that if you are thumb typing you are actually holding it in two hands, not one.

Upscaling. Not native HD resolutions.

Erm .. the media didn't co-opt it, the teabagger movement did.

Also, for most of us the "constitutionalist movement" you talk about is just a slightly different shade of wacky from the current tea-baggers, and it was actually more Libertarian, than constitutionalist.

Heck it wasn't even traditional Libertarian but simply modern economic Libertarianism. Try telling the average modern American "Libertarian" that true libertarianism involves embracing people's right to be gay, do drugs, and opt out of military duty and see what happens.

Well said, even if off-topic.
It reminded me of how some so-called old friends of mine informed me that I should not have had the right to vote in the last presidential election. Their reasoning was that I had just sold my older home, and had not yet moved into my new place, as it had not been built yet. I was renting, and therefore not a landowner with residency status.

And they were not kidding!

Like i said, they were friends of mine... So hard to tolerate that kind of small minded mentality.

In the iPad's case, downscaling.

God I am fed up with all this BezelBullShit!



And have you even taken your "artist's eye" to an art gallery? Ever seen an oil painting in a big frame? Or a framed photographic print surrounded by ivory coloured mounting board?

I don't think the bezel is ugly. And the "practical" reasons for it far outweigh some people's artistic sensitivities.

How are you going to hold it? Remember, the screen is basically one giant button! How are you going to hold it when you turn it around? When you pass it to someone? When you pick it up from the coffee table?

How much "stuff" is inside an iPad. How much "stuff" will you have to remove if you lose 20% of the space by knocking a few millimetres from every side?


Are you making this up as you go along? The iPhone fits in one hand. In fact it' fits in the just the palm of your hand. It's really easy to hold the iPhone in one hand and not even touch the black bezel. Portrait and landscape. Try that with an iPad!

But the iPad isn't twice the size of the iPhone. It's about 6 times the size.... and 5 times the weight. It's a completely different ergonomic problem.

TRY THIS.

Hold an iPhone in both hands.
Landscape format with one thumb over the home button... and the other over the earpiece.
Hold it away from you... normal reading distance.
Now take one hand away.....
How far is your skin from the touch screen?

Now imagine your iPhone is much bigger and heavier.


In defence of the bezel police... I think people will need to hold the damn thing before they can understand what's going on. The pictures don't tell the whole story.

Now look what you made me do! \

Rarely is the most functional design also the most aesthetically pleasing design. And in the case of the iPad, it's beauty stems from it's functionality, which is most often the case with Apple products in general. Remember the lamp iMac? goofy-as-all-hell, but unbeatable in functionality until screens above 20 inches became the norm on consumer desktops.

Very well done. Puts the bezel in perspective. I didn't realize how close the bezels were.