This thing has one of the highest quality displays going - IPS. So why not include an SD card slot and make it incredibly useful for digital photographers in the field?
But I guess that would make it just so much easier to put your own non-revenue-generating content on it?
lol - yes, and why not a CF slot? Oh wait -there is one available as an adapter. A case by case personal requirement does not make something a necessity. Apple have already spotted this use, and you can connect your camera or an SD card via a small adapter. Simples.
This is a device for a casual home user of music, video and the net. That is has the potential to do more is fantastic, but not the primary niche that this device fills.
You want something more powerful for graphics, buy a cintiq, you want something to make calls? Get an iPhone. Wanna browse the web, check yr email, listen to music, read books and watch videos from the comfort of your seat - get an iPad.
iPad? Who were the geniuses that came up with that name? Did they not know that millions of women refer to their tampons as pads? Does the iPad have wings? Can you swim in it? WTF!?
And just a minor correction...women do not call their tampons pads...tampons are inserted into the *ahem*...pads are applied as a sponge/liner outside of the *ahem* and called pads for short instead of "sanitary napkins". (My ex-wife used to send me to the store for them..LOL)
Missing a few things - most important being a usb port. I'd like to be able to connect my digital camera to it.
Was also hoping for iChat features.
By the time Rev 2 comes out... I'm sure there will be a growing ecosystem around it with apps and 3rd party items (oh someone please design a hand strap so you don't have to hold it).
They have an adaptor so you can connect a digital camera. I'm also looking forward to rev. 2
Yeah, put me in the extremely underwhelmed category as well.
Notice how Jobs needed to be on the couch for it to work?
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?
yawn.
so how many laptops/tablets do you type on standing up? You have a third appendage capable of holding up a such a device while you freely type with your other two hands?
There is plenty you can do with it while holding it with one hand...so i guess you are disappointed that it does not magnetically levitate in the perfect position in front of you at all times...
Crap or not, there are a zillion sites using the plugin, and it's the best option available for 2d based webgames or interactive presentations. The only reason uncle Steve doesn't want Flash, is that he knows that a lot of videos and games will be available, bypassing his AppStore.
And who makes the Flash plugin?
And do you think Adobe would stand by and let SJ and Apple reverse engineer it so it would actually WORK on the iProducts?
And do you know (positively!) that Adobe isn't working on a version for Apple's devices?
Possibly as a stand-alone app just in time for the actual retail release?
Hey... if Adobe can pull off making a Flash plugin that dosn't suck the battery dry in an hour... I do believe Apple just might let it on the iPhone and iPad. 'Til then.... Fo-GET-a-boud-it!... and I agree with that decision.
ipad ?? weird name ??? i wonder what we will really call it ??
peace
9
Grand slam is yet to be seen. No one's been able to get their hands on it for a full review until it goes on sale (April?). There's just as much of a chance it'll end up being a "meh" device as it will be a "grand slam".
It's almost like when the first iPhone was released. Missing a lot of features, but people still bought it. Because there was nothing like it when the iPhone was released in 2007. However, this time around, we already have great devices (iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch) in many people's hands. We'll see if the millions of iPhone owners will be willing to part with $800+ and another $30/month for something they pretty much already have.
And do you think Adobe would stand by and let SJ and Apple reverse engineer it so it would actually WORK on the iProducts?
And do you know (positively!) that Adobe isn't working on a version for Apple's devices?
Possibly as a stand-alone app just in time for the actual retail release?
Hey... if Adobe can pull off making a Flash plugin that dosn't suck the battery dry in an hour... I do believe Apple just might let it on the iPhone and iPad. 'Til then.... Fo-GET-a-boud-it!... and I agree with that decision.
Apple games are all C/ObjC/C++/ObjC++ with OpenGL. What part of "Flash" do these games need?
My first reaction was 'ZOMG look at the bezel'... but only took 1 second to realize the importance of it.
Won't buy rev 1. Never buy rev 1 anything is my motto.
Missing a few things - most important being a usb port. I'd like to be able to connect my digital camera to it.
Was also hoping for iChat features.
By the time Rev 2 comes out... I'm sure there will be a growing ecosystem around it with apps and 3rd party items (oh someone please design a hand strap so you don't have to hold it).
With 144,000 current apps to draw from the ecosystem already exists. The 3rd party devs will want to price for pre-existing iPhone/iPod Touch owners of their apps who buy the iPad an upgrade path to their new Universal app for all 3 devices.
If you want a full-function computer, they make those. They're called laptops. They work rather well and people like them. There was no need for a re-imagining of that mature, well-thought out form factor.
This device will be very good for what it is designed to do. Kudos to Apple for not making the mistake of trying to get the device to awkwardly perform tasks for which it's not suited.
That's the sort of foolish path the competition has travelled on and look where it got them.
Keep in mind that price is a big factor in all of this. I'm sure Apple could have imbued this device with some very revolutionary technology but then the price would have gone north of $1,000 and absolutely no one would buy the thing. What would be the point?
I think you've missed my point entirely. I have a computer. I don't need a laptop because that's a fully functional computer that you can carry around. What I want is a mobile that I can sync with my main computer and use to create and peruse documents of various types. Basically a second computer much like a netbook.
The iPhone allows for that, except for the "creation" part, and excepting the small size. What I was expecting here (and I don't think by any means I am alone in this), was a device like the iPHone, but bigger, and with content creation abilities. The iPad attempt to be that, but it fails technologically IMO. Needless to say later versions will do what I want, I think they could have done it with this version however instead of focussing on the media consumption angle. Selling devices specifically to passively consume media obviously is "the thing" lately, and obviously will make them a ton of money. I was merely hoping for a bit more, or in fact, *anything* that used technology to solve some of these problems.
What we have is a big iPod, with *no* new technology, that solves none of the problems associated with tablet computing and on top of that, eschews the use of some previously discovered solutions, like a stylus.
Why leave out a stylus, if what you have without it is not as good? I was assuming they would leave out the stylus, but have some cool method that replaced it. Instead they just left it out.
Why leave out thumb typing (which works so well on the iPhone), when they have nothing to replace it with?
The main physical design problems with tablets always have been input related. The biggest one of all has always been, .... how do you type on it without putting it down? The idea being that if you have to put it down on a surface to type on it, you might as well be carrying a laptop.
The most often proffered solution to this problem has been pen input, and either holding the big tablet in the crook or your arm, or making the tablet smaller. Apple has made it smaller and lighter, but they've taken away the stylus and replaced it with basically nothing at all.
Apple's solution is that you simply don't type on it without putting it down or you type on it like all tablets in the past by poking at a virtual keyboard with one finger at a time. This is seriously lame, and worthy of criticism.
There are some things I like about this, but the lack of multi-tasking is just a total deal breaker for me.
I sit on the sofa browsing the web, and at the same time, using an IM client, and at the same time checking my email etc. Nothing complex, but it requires multi-tasking and the iPad can't do it. It's just bizarre, what a staggering omission.
Add to that the lack of flash, the lack of a camera (have Apple never heard of Skype?!), and the odd screen aspect ratio (didn't we ditch 4:3 YEARS ago? All video content is at least 16:9 now) and it just doesn't add up.
All good points. I think so many people were expecting a $999 device laden with all conceivable bells and whistles that they overlook the basic fact that Apple might have hit a sweet spot for price and functionality.
I agree, a really sweet starting price. This is only v.1 too, down the road I can see later models getting more bells and whistles such as camera behind the screen etc..
And just a minor correction...women do not call their tampons pads...tampons are inserted into the *ahem*...pads are applied as a sponge/liner outside of the *ahem* and called pads for short instead of "sanitary napkins". (My ex-wife used to send me to the store for them..LOL)
We of advanced age (over 20), thank you for your discreet lesson on female hygiene for all of the "snicker-giggle" juvenile crowd here today.
Carmissimo, most newer netbooks today have full 720p LED, but the IPS in the iPad will obviously have far better color and viewing angles. It's a trade-off of resolution versus quality, but the iPad's res. is about right for a multi-touch 10" LCD.
Also, the iPad's CPU is not higher quality than the newer Atom chips and certainly not the AMD Neo with integrated ATi graphics. The latter will actually do basic 1080p and modern gaming (at lower res.).
Processing power is a minor issue considering that I don't think either this device or a netbook should be expected to handle the sort of demanding tasks that should be done on a desktop or decent laptop. And it should be noted that if the display on the iPad is just shy of 720P, trying to run a 1080P file on the thing is kind of pointless.
Mainly, it's about the quality of the experience and I suspect the iPad will be a lot more enjoyable to use than your typical netbook. It isn't a laptop wannabe. It is a device that doesn't pretend to be suited to full-fledged computer use. Knowing Apple, it will do what it does very well and will not be set up to disappoint by way of permitting uses to which it's not suited. To those who require a device that performs tasks the iPad will not perform, I suggest looking elsewhere.
Apple games are all C/ObjC/C++/ObjC++ with OpenGL. What part of "Flash" do these games need?
Plenty of websites out there with fun Flash-based games to kill a little or a lot of time. You wouldn't need to buy a game from the App Store. Just point the browser to one of these many free sites and play away.
Guys! It's an awesome device! Just buy it and spend you money in App Store buying more application! I'm as an iPhone developer will be glad to get your money
There are some things I like about this, but the lack of multi-tasking is just a total deal breaker for me.
I sit on the sofa browsing the web, and at the same time, using an IM client, and at the same time checking my email etc. Nothing complex, but it requires multi-tasking and the iPad can't do it. It's just bizarre, what a staggering omission.
Add to that the lack of flash, the lack of a camera (have Apple never heard of Skype?!), and the odd screen aspect ratio (didn't we ditch 4:3 YEARS ago? All video content is at least 16:9 now) and it just doesn't add up.
I really can't see this taking off.
The screen size is for reading and you can fit a wide screen movie in easily with letter boxing. It is a lot nicer that way rather than trying to squeeze a newspaper into the 16:9 which sucks either way you turn it. Why force a whole world of apps into the size that just happens to be for one use i.e. watching a movie?
The apps I suspect will be exactly where you left off if you change apps and come back so if it is fast it is almost as good as multitasking. I assume it has copy and paste too.
Good that there is no Flash.
A camera behind the screen would be nice, perhaps on a later model. A camera on the back would make this one very unwieldy camera, no thanks to that.
You want to go on record saying this won't take off? Wow,
Comments
Missing a few things - most important being a usb port. I'd like to be able to connect my digital camera to it.
There is a dock to usb adapter that will be available.
This thing has one of the highest quality displays going - IPS. So why not include an SD card slot and make it incredibly useful for digital photographers in the field?
But I guess that would make it just so much easier to put your own non-revenue-generating content on it?
lol - yes, and why not a CF slot? Oh wait -there is one available as an adapter. A case by case personal requirement does not make something a necessity. Apple have already spotted this use, and you can connect your camera or an SD card via a small adapter. Simples.
This is a device for a casual home user of music, video and the net. That is has the potential to do more is fantastic, but not the primary niche that this device fills.
You want something more powerful for graphics, buy a cintiq, you want something to make calls? Get an iPhone. Wanna browse the web, check yr email, listen to music, read books and watch videos from the comfort of your seat - get an iPad.
iPad? Who were the geniuses that came up with that name? Did they not know that millions of women refer to their tampons as pads? Does the iPad have wings? Can you swim in it? WTF!?
And just a minor correction...women do not call their tampons pads...tampons are inserted into the *ahem*...pads are applied as a sponge/liner outside of the *ahem* and called pads for short instead of "sanitary napkins". (My ex-wife used to send me to the store for them..LOL)
Missing a few things - most important being a usb port. I'd like to be able to connect my digital camera to it.
Was also hoping for iChat features.
By the time Rev 2 comes out... I'm sure there will be a growing ecosystem around it with apps and 3rd party items (oh someone please design a hand strap so you don't have to hold it).
They have an adaptor so you can connect a digital camera. I'm also looking forward to rev. 2
Yeah, put me in the extremely underwhelmed category as well.
Notice how Jobs needed to be on the couch for it to work?
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?
yawn.
so how many laptops/tablets do you type on standing up? You have a third appendage capable of holding up a such a device while you freely type with your other two hands?
There is plenty you can do with it while holding it with one hand...so i guess you are disappointed that it does not magnetically levitate in the perfect position in front of you at all times...
Please stop that idiotic posting with center-aligned text.
Sadly, he utterly refuses. It gets him attention. Best to just put him on ignore.
Crap or not, there are a zillion sites using the plugin, and it's the best option available for 2d based webgames or interactive presentations. The only reason uncle Steve doesn't want Flash, is that he knows that a lot of videos and games will be available, bypassing his AppStore.
And who makes the Flash plugin?
And do you think Adobe would stand by and let SJ and Apple reverse engineer it so it would actually WORK on the iProducts?
And do you know (positively!) that Adobe isn't working on a version for Apple's devices?
Possibly as a stand-alone app just in time for the actual retail release?
Hey... if Adobe can pull off making a Flash plugin that dosn't suck the battery dry in an hour... I do believe Apple just might let it on the iPhone and iPad. 'Til then.... Fo-GET-a-boud-it!... and I agree with that decision.
wow
i was busy all day
and just peeked in here
WOW
another grand slam by apple
the desk top line dies and the ipad takes over
ipad ?? weird name ??? i wonder what we will really call it ??
peace
9
Grand slam is yet to be seen. No one's been able to get their hands on it for a full review until it goes on sale (April?). There's just as much of a chance it'll end up being a "meh" device as it will be a "grand slam".
It's almost like when the first iPhone was released. Missing a lot of features, but people still bought it. Because there was nothing like it when the iPhone was released in 2007. However, this time around, we already have great devices (iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch) in many people's hands. We'll see if the millions of iPhone owners will be willing to part with $800+ and another $30/month for something they pretty much already have.
And who makes the Flash plugin?
And do you think Adobe would stand by and let SJ and Apple reverse engineer it so it would actually WORK on the iProducts?
And do you know (positively!) that Adobe isn't working on a version for Apple's devices?
Possibly as a stand-alone app just in time for the actual retail release?
Hey... if Adobe can pull off making a Flash plugin that dosn't suck the battery dry in an hour... I do believe Apple just might let it on the iPhone and iPad. 'Til then.... Fo-GET-a-boud-it!... and I agree with that decision.
Apple games are all C/ObjC/C++/ObjC++ with OpenGL. What part of "Flash" do these games need?
This is not intended to be a sole computing device, it's a niche device.
Wow! At least one person here gets it... It's like the time a forum member was complaining that he couldn't use an Air as a gaming machine.
It's not meant to replace your computer, Einstein.
I agree, excellent post.
My first reaction was 'ZOMG look at the bezel'... but only took 1 second to realize the importance of it.
Won't buy rev 1. Never buy rev 1 anything is my motto.
Missing a few things - most important being a usb port. I'd like to be able to connect my digital camera to it.
Was also hoping for iChat features.
By the time Rev 2 comes out... I'm sure there will be a growing ecosystem around it with apps and 3rd party items (oh someone please design a hand strap so you don't have to hold it).
With 144,000 current apps to draw from the ecosystem already exists. The 3rd party devs will want to price for pre-existing iPhone/iPod Touch owners of their apps who buy the iPad an upgrade path to their new Universal app for all 3 devices.
If you want a full-function computer, they make those. They're called laptops. They work rather well and people like them. There was no need for a re-imagining of that mature, well-thought out form factor.
This device will be very good for what it is designed to do. Kudos to Apple for not making the mistake of trying to get the device to awkwardly perform tasks for which it's not suited.
That's the sort of foolish path the competition has travelled on and look where it got them.
Keep in mind that price is a big factor in all of this. I'm sure Apple could have imbued this device with some very revolutionary technology but then the price would have gone north of $1,000 and absolutely no one would buy the thing. What would be the point?
I think you've missed my point entirely. I have a computer. I don't need a laptop because that's a fully functional computer that you can carry around. What I want is a mobile that I can sync with my main computer and use to create and peruse documents of various types. Basically a second computer much like a netbook.
The iPhone allows for that, except for the "creation" part, and excepting the small size. What I was expecting here (and I don't think by any means I am alone in this), was a device like the iPHone, but bigger, and with content creation abilities. The iPad attempt to be that, but it fails technologically IMO. Needless to say later versions will do what I want, I think they could have done it with this version however instead of focussing on the media consumption angle. Selling devices specifically to passively consume media obviously is "the thing" lately, and obviously will make them a ton of money. I was merely hoping for a bit more, or in fact, *anything* that used technology to solve some of these problems.
What we have is a big iPod, with *no* new technology, that solves none of the problems associated with tablet computing and on top of that, eschews the use of some previously discovered solutions, like a stylus.
Why leave out a stylus, if what you have without it is not as good? I was assuming they would leave out the stylus, but have some cool method that replaced it. Instead they just left it out.
Why leave out thumb typing (which works so well on the iPhone), when they have nothing to replace it with?
The main physical design problems with tablets always have been input related. The biggest one of all has always been, .... how do you type on it without putting it down? The idea being that if you have to put it down on a surface to type on it, you might as well be carrying a laptop.
The most often proffered solution to this problem has been pen input, and either holding the big tablet in the crook or your arm, or making the tablet smaller. Apple has made it smaller and lighter, but they've taken away the stylus and replaced it with basically nothing at all.
Apple's solution is that you simply don't type on it without putting it down or you type on it like all tablets in the past by poking at a virtual keyboard with one finger at a time. This is seriously lame, and worthy of criticism.
I sit on the sofa browsing the web, and at the same time, using an IM client, and at the same time checking my email etc. Nothing complex, but it requires multi-tasking and the iPad can't do it. It's just bizarre, what a staggering omission.
Add to that the lack of flash, the lack of a camera (have Apple never heard of Skype?!), and the odd screen aspect ratio (didn't we ditch 4:3 YEARS ago? All video content is at least 16:9 now) and it just doesn't add up.
I really can't see this taking off.
All good points. I think so many people were expecting a $999 device laden with all conceivable bells and whistles that they overlook the basic fact that Apple might have hit a sweet spot for price and functionality.
I agree, a really sweet starting price. This is only v.1 too, down the road I can see later models getting more bells and whistles such as camera behind the screen etc..
And just a minor correction...women do not call their tampons pads...tampons are inserted into the *ahem*...pads are applied as a sponge/liner outside of the *ahem* and called pads for short instead of "sanitary napkins". (My ex-wife used to send me to the store for them..LOL)
We of advanced age (over 20), thank you for your discreet lesson on female hygiene for all of the "snicker-giggle" juvenile crowd here today.
Carmissimo, most newer netbooks today have full 720p LED, but the IPS in the iPad will obviously have far better color and viewing angles. It's a trade-off of resolution versus quality, but the iPad's res. is about right for a multi-touch 10" LCD.
Also, the iPad's CPU is not higher quality than the newer Atom chips and certainly not the AMD Neo with integrated ATi graphics. The latter will actually do basic 1080p and modern gaming (at lower res.).
Processing power is a minor issue considering that I don't think either this device or a netbook should be expected to handle the sort of demanding tasks that should be done on a desktop or decent laptop. And it should be noted that if the display on the iPad is just shy of 720P, trying to run a 1080P file on the thing is kind of pointless.
Mainly, it's about the quality of the experience and I suspect the iPad will be a lot more enjoyable to use than your typical netbook. It isn't a laptop wannabe. It is a device that doesn't pretend to be suited to full-fledged computer use. Knowing Apple, it will do what it does very well and will not be set up to disappoint by way of permitting uses to which it's not suited. To those who require a device that performs tasks the iPad will not perform, I suggest looking elsewhere.
Apple games are all C/ObjC/C++/ObjC++ with OpenGL. What part of "Flash" do these games need?
Plenty of websites out there with fun Flash-based games to kill a little or a lot of time. You wouldn't need to buy a game from the App Store. Just point the browser to one of these many free sites and play away.
There are some things I like about this, but the lack of multi-tasking is just a total deal breaker for me.
I sit on the sofa browsing the web, and at the same time, using an IM client, and at the same time checking my email etc. Nothing complex, but it requires multi-tasking and the iPad can't do it. It's just bizarre, what a staggering omission.
Add to that the lack of flash, the lack of a camera (have Apple never heard of Skype?!), and the odd screen aspect ratio (didn't we ditch 4:3 YEARS ago? All video content is at least 16:9 now) and it just doesn't add up.
I really can't see this taking off.
The screen size is for reading and you can fit a wide screen movie in easily with letter boxing. It is a lot nicer that way rather than trying to squeeze a newspaper into the 16:9 which sucks either way you turn it. Why force a whole world of apps into the size that just happens to be for one use i.e. watching a movie?
The apps I suspect will be exactly where you left off if you change apps and come back so if it is fast it is almost as good as multitasking. I assume it has copy and paste too.
Good that there is no Flash.
A camera behind the screen would be nice, perhaps on a later model. A camera on the back would make this one very unwieldy camera, no thanks to that.
You want to go on record saying this won't take off? Wow,