Apple releases iPad...

[Below500k]

You are right about the iPod however. I know a number of people who are on their third or fourth or even fifth iPod. Not because they really want to keep buying them, but they're locked in to iTunes with hundreds and in some cases thousands of dollars of purchased music that they can't access with any other device but an iPod.

If you want to help out your friends, do a quick google on how to get the tunes out of any iPod, it is pretty simple.

The version 2 is a long Apple tradition, typically it is 8 months, sometimes as quick as 5. There have already been some (unofficial) images of the interior of the iPad that show the space in the frame with the forward facing camera slot - empty for the time being. Apple will not be eating it's own lunch by making the device cell capable, any more than the phone was to the iPod. They are two different (with some overlap) markets, at two different price points. Again historically, they are pretty good with these types of things. Technically, the device is already capable, it is running the same cell module as the phone (including the gps module), and it has a mic, and is bluetooth capable. I would be very surprised if within a week or two of release there was not an (unofficial) cydia app that would make it possible.

As for people who loose interest because they would need a $30 usb cable/dock whatever, well not much I can say there except ya, ok.

As for the Flash, well it is what it is. Being an open source advocate, I cannot totally blame Apple for sticking to their guns as I do know that flash not done well is a hog. On the other hand, the amount of video's that use flash for a wrapper in web pages is so widespread that it is hard to fully understand their decision.

Anyways last post for a bit, don't want to hog the thread.

 

[Techman]

As for people who loose interest because they would need a $30 usb cable/dock whatever, well not much I can say there except ya, ok.

People who work on the road have a habit of either forgetting adapters or losing them. And they shouldn't have to carry a dock around or an adapter cable for things that could have, and should have, easily been built into the thing in the first place. Adapter for a camera, adapter for USB, and so on... starts to get ridiculous after a while. At least include them in the box and make them pay to replace them.

Oh yeah, I do know how to move audio files out of iTunes but I don't have the time to babysit all my friends and their computer systems. Besides, some people are a bit scared of breaking copy protection and don't want to mess with it.

 

[metoo4]

http://blogs.zdnet.com/gadgetreviews/?p=13326&tag=content;wrapper

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Before I get to my message, I want to let all know that Techman is a friend of mine. At the occasional GTs at the HDLM, he’s one of the first people I seek out, and, I believe, vice versa. The post that got me banned the other day was meant good naturedly; I regret that the moderator didn’t read it that way. I suspect that Techman himself did. My apologies, Mod 11.

There are three fairly new consumer products on the market, very different to be sure, but in some competition with each other: the netbook, the Kindle, and the iPad. For some reason, Techman seems insistent in comparing capabilities and functions of the iPad and the netbook, while ignoring the Kindle. In fact, the iPad has far more in common with the Kindle than it does with the netbook. I’d almost call the iPad a Kindle on steroids.

Pricewise, the netbook and Kindle, each around $300, compete, while the iPad, in its most popular version, runs $500. The netbook is basically a small laptop, the Kindle is a reader, the iPad is a reader with considerable laptop functionality.

The iPad is more expensive for very good reason. I’ve read several analyses of the iPad’s hardware and all estimates are that the parts alone cost Apple between $240 and $270. That’s without considering all of Apple’s overhead: marketing, research and development, software, etc.

So, to sum it up, here's what I'm looking for:

I want something I can hold and read like a book. My choices are an iPad or a Kindle.
I want something that can run a spreadsheet and a word processor. My choices are an iPad or a netbook.
I want to be able to surf the net and check my email. My choices are an iPad or a netbook.
(If I want to be able to surf and check my email from anywhere, my only choice would be an iPad with 3G.)
I want something that weighs less than 2 pounds. My choices are an iPad or a Kindle.
I want a touchscreen. My choices are an iPad or a Kindle, though the Kindle's touchscreen pales in comparison.
I want a spreadsheet and a word processor that I can buy for less than $10.00. My only choice is an iPad.
I want something that's no more than 1/2 inch thick. My choices are an iPad or a Kindle.
I want something on which I can watch Red Sox games when traveling. My choices are an iPad or a netbook.

I've listed 8 criteria here. Only one product on the market meets all eight.

 

[Techman]

I hope that everything you want to read will be on Steve Jobs' approved reading list. It seems that most adult content will most likely be blocked from access on the iPad as well as the iTouch and iPhone in the future. No matter whether it is accessed via Amazon's Kindle app for the iPad, or Zinio or Barnes & Noble, all content for the iPad and other devices will have to be approved by Apple's censorship committee. This includes magazines at the moment but may extend as well to video and books in the future. I wonder how long it will take for any content that is not flattering towards Apple to be blocked as well?

What sort of titles are we talking about here? Well, let’s start with the obvious. The domestic and all 16 international versions of Playboy, special editions and sister magazines thereof. The same goes with Penthouse Magazine.
But it’s not just soft-core porn. We’re also talking about fairly benign and nudity-free titles like MAXIM and FHM (now published only in France and Spain) which depict women in suggestive poses and wearing skimpy outfits. Vogue France has apparently been blacklisted for US-based consumption, much in the same way that Wal-Mart removed it from its shelves due to its artistic and occasional use of nudity.
These publications are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of Zinio titles that are perfectly acceptable for foreign consumption but apparently are verboten in the US because Apple has now decided to become our Content Nanny.​

http://government.zdnet.com/?p=8356&tag=content;wrapper
http://blogs.zdnet.com/perlow/?p=12357&tag=content;col1

http://government.zdnet.com/?p=8177&tag=col1;post-12357

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Techman, as long as you're going to quote selectively, I guess I can do the same. From the same article you quoted above, "if Apple decides certain titles that Zinio carries are unfit for a particular regional market — in this case, the United States — it will censor and/or prohibit those titles from being viewed on an iPad, iPhone or iTouch."

What part of the word "if" are you having trouble with? Meanwhile, Apple stock is up 17% since the announcement of the iPad and you can no longer order it for delivery this Saturday. Seems the demand is outstripping the supply.

Here's a quote from appleinsider.com, dated March 26, "Apple launching iPad with explicit content in App Store

After nearly two years of criticism of its censorship of adult content in the iPhone App Store, Apple appears to be gearing up to sell explicit content for both the iPad and the iPhone and iPod touch.

Links to new "explicit software" categories in iTunes indicate that Apple plans to finally deliver adult content for both the iPad and for existing iPhone OS devices, segregated from other content with parental controls in the same way that iTunes has long sold music with explicit lyrics.

Over the last year, Apple refined a ratings system for App Store software titles that enables users to restrict the level of software that can be downloaded through their copy of iTunes."

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Just received an email from Apple that my iPad has shipped and will be delivered by Saturday. They've also added quite a few "Guided Tours" to its features to the Apple website. I must say that it looks extraordinarily cool.

 

[metoo4]

Just received an email from Apple that my iPad has shipped and will be delivered by Saturday.

Maybe not.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Elan-Sues-Apple-Tries-to-Block-iPad-Arrival-488486/

 

[Below500k]

Of good news for early adopters, there are some major media players who've made the decision to go all in on HTML 5, and who are already in the conversion process.

For the non-techs, that means the current video content that is currently in Flash (that is not supported by the iPhone and iPad - it's biggest shortcoming) will indeed be coming, *maybe* sooner than expected. I hope this trend picks up more steam.

 

[Techman]

There's nothing they can do about the iPads that have already shipped unless they are all being held in a distribution center until delivery in which case the shipments can be halted. But considering the constant lawsuits that Apple is always launching, including the latest against HTC, it's nice to see Apple getting a taste of it's own medicine.

Rumples, yes...I'm aware that Apple may be setting up a protected section of the App store but that will in no way help the independant vendors such as Amazon, Zinio and Barnes & Noble who will be selling their books and magazines through their own stores which will be accessed by an App which will still be censored.

[UPDATE: It appears the content controls WILL be in the iPad. However, this doesn't adequately explain the Regional Content Review policies and why certain content from 3rd parties, such as Zinio's adult magazines, will still be blocked. It still might not have API control over the 3rd-party content, and doesn't detail what the raw boundaries for "explicit" actually mean yet.]

http://blogs.zdnet.com/perlow/?p=12464&tag=content;col2

Anyways, none of this really matters and the Apple faithful will be getting their new toy sooner or later and they'll also buy the next version, which will include a couple of features that should have been included in version 1, when it comes out in 6 to 10 months.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Anyways, none of this really matters and the Apple faithful will be getting their new toy sooner or later and they'll also buy the next version, which will include a couple of features that should have been included in version 1, when it comes out in 6 to 10 months.

Actually, I expect the current one to satisfy me for a couple of years. And I should note that I wouldn't have bought the thing had it been closer to the $1000 originally projected.

I'm up nearly every weekend these days. We should meet up for a beer next weekend (that is, the one after this) and I'll let you explore it a bit. Given that it won't be sold in Canada for another month or so, we might draw a few interested looks, hopefully from some rather fetching females considerably younger and better looking than either of us.

 

[Techman]

Sounds good to me. Just let me know when you're in town and we'll get together.

hopefully from some rather fetching females considerably younger and better looking than either of us

It would be pretty hard for them not to be! The thought of older and worse looking women that us is terrifying!! LOL

 

[Special K]

The thought of older and worse looking women that us is terrifying!! LOL

Yes, yes it is!!! Lol.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Game Changer

Walt Mossberg has been called a kingmaker. In a bio piece about him in Wired in 2004, they wrote, "Walt Mossberg makes or breaks products from his pundit perch at a little rag called The Wall Street Journal," where Mossberg has worked since 1970, taking over the technology beat in 1991.

Mossberg just got a iPad and spent most of his waking hours playing with it before writing his review, which he titled, "Apple iPad Review: Laptop Killer? Pretty Close." To sum it up, he thinks the iPad could change the way most of us use computers. "After spending hours and hours with it, I believe this beautiful new touch-screen device from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly, and to challenge the primacy of the laptop. It could even help, eventually, to propel the finger-driven, multitouch user interface ahead of the mouse-driven interface that has prevailed for decades."

Here's a link to the review, which includes an 8 minute video presentation as well. http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20100331/apple-ipad-review/

And, before Mr. Naysayer checks in here with all the shortcomings, let me add that Mossberg does not think the first generation iPad is without flaws.

Two days and counting.

 

[Techman]

I agree that the iPad COULD be a game changer, but seeing as it's totally controlled by Apple, I don't think it has a chance. What I think it might do is open the market up to similar devices that have user replaceable batteries, more connectivity, expandable storage and more freedom of software availability. People who require what a laptop provides will never change for an iPad because it really isn't any more portable - a bit smaller and definitely lighter, yes - but the limitations in storage, processing power and software availability will be handicaps that I do not see it being able to overcome.

To me, this quote says it all...

But first, it will have to prove that it really can replace the laptop or netbook for enough common tasks, enough of the time, to make it a viable alternative. And that may not be easy, because previous tablet computers have failed to catch on in the mass market, and the iPad lacks some of the features—such as a physical keyboard, a Webcam, USB ports and multitasking—that most laptop or netbook users have come to expect.

As far as the multi-touch capabilities, well Windows 7 is also multi-touch capable and touch screen computers have been on the market for a couple of years now from HP, and they haven't caught on with home users who find using a mouse and keyboard to be much more productive and faster.

To me, I just can't see people carrying these things around in their daily life any more that they would carry a laptop everywhere. Those who need such portability probably already own a laptop and a smartphone and those who don't who do end up buying an iPad will find they rapidly tire of carrying the thing around with them all the time. It might end up being more popular with women who carry a purse large enough to slip it into, but women tend to be less gadget oriented and most could easily find more important things (to them) to spend the money on.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

People who require what a laptop provides will never change for an iPad because it really isn't any more portable - a bit smaller and definitely lighter, yes - but the limitations in storage, processing power and software availability will be handicaps that I do not see it being able to overcome.

This is the primary point of our disagreement. My laptop weighs 5.5 lbs, the iPad 1.5. That's a weight reduction of 72%. My laptop is 1.5 inches thick, the iPad .5. I travel a lot and ride my bike a lot. Carrying an iPad will be immeasurably easier. (I never carry my laptop on my bike; I will carry my iPad.)

It will never replace my work computer as it won't run Photoshop and Illustrator, but for my home and travel use, where I use Microsoft Office, which will be replaced by Numbers and Pages, and surf the web, it will be more than sufficient. It won't replace my laptop for storage of my music files, but for most of what I do, even the 16 gb version will be quite satisfactory. As for processing power, according to Mossberg, it has more than enough for the tasks most people perform, including all of those I mention as its primary functions for me.

Remember, TM, most people do not play sophisticated games, edit video or do other tasks that require the kind of performance capabilities that are beyond what the iPad will do.

 

[Techman]

Actually if you read the review, Pages is barely compatible with Word and has very bad formatting problems. Unfortunately you can't load something else, like Open Office, on it. And to use either of those programs you mention with any efficiency you will need to carry the keyboard dock around with you as the on screen keyboard is pretty useless for more than jotting down a quick note. It would be great if you could carry one of those 'roll up' USB keyboards that could fit easily in your backpack or fannypack , but...no USB port. Bummer. But basically what you're saying is that all you need is a larger iPhone or iTouch, which is really what the iPad happens to be. And there's nothing wrong with that if that is what you need, but please, really, seriously...can Big Brother Steve stop referring to it as 'revolutionary and magical' when it is really neither of those?

By the way...your favourite reviewer, Mossberg along with David Pogue of the NY Times, is a well known FOA in the tech press, in other words...a Friend Of Apple. He's one of their biggest supporters in the press and if he was posting escort reviews here on MERB, he would have long ago been dismissed as a shill. There's a reason that these guys get their hardware early for review, it's because a good review is all but guaranteed. I'll wait for the reviewers who actually had to buy their iPad with their own money, and who are known to be respected and objective, to weigh in.

As for the other 'shill', David Pogue, you can read his 'review' here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/technology/personaltech/01pogue.html?ref=technology

I like the way he splits his reveiw in two parts...one for those who are at least a bit tech aware and a second for those who are basically 14 year old boys. At least it seems that way from the tone of this small quote:

but wow — can you imagine? A thin, flat, cordless, bottomless source of free, great TV shows, in your bag or on the bedside table?

Techman

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Interesting review by Pogue and I do like that he split the review into "Techies" and "Everyone Else." For me, here's the most salient point, "And the techies are right about another thing: the iPad is not a laptop. It’s not nearly as good for creating stuff. On the other hand, it’s infinitely more convenient for consuming it — books, music, video, photos, Web, e-mail and so on. For most people, manipulating these digital materials directly by touching them is a completely new experience — and a deeply satisfying one.

The bottom line is that the iPad has been designed and built by a bunch of perfectionists. If you like the concept, you’ll love the machine. "

Actually, that's not the most salient point for me only. Since "Everyone Else" outnumber "Techies" by about 1000 to 1 in the general population, most people will love the machine as they love their iPods. Meanwhile, Apple stock, which was at 9.5 when the iPod was introduced, and at 197 when the iPad was introduced, is now at a new high of 238, up 20% since Jobs took the stage in San Francisco.

 

[Below500k]

[can Big Brother Steve stop referring to it as 'revolutionary and magical' when it is really neither of those?]

Of course it is marketing hype (which is his job as the face of Apple). The shills are the shills, as in any industry, or segment thereof. PC Mag has a good article/video on it for a more objective view. And in that review, as I suspect will be the case with most that follow, you can easily hear how pleasant of an experience it is to use in his voice, and I think that that is all Jobs means - as nauseating as it may be to some.

The biggest thing that it will do by way of its success will be to bring that form-factor/platform into the marketplace, just as the pod and phone did before it. The size, touchscreen and micro app/cloud concept used in this way, for this device is very forward thinking. They did not invent any of it anymore than they invented mp3 players. But like any scotch drinker will tell you, it is in the blend.

I'll give my first hand impressions next week, a friend of mine (a real for-true apple nut) will be in NYC tomorrow to pick his up.

 

[Techman]

This is the most telling statement for me:

it’s infinitely more convenient for consuming it — books, music, video, photos, Web, e-mail and so on

Other than the Web mention, which is very limited due to the lack of Flash and java, this is a perfect consumption device. It is designed to get people to spend more money for content that can only be purchased from one source, Apple, who will get their 30 percent cut of everything sold through this device. It would be like selling televisions that could only access programming from one cable provider and the TV maker gets 30% of all programming sales. It's a great scam if you can get people to buy into it and Apple has been able to do exactly that.

Why do you think it has no USB ports or card reader? Because if it did, they could only really offer two models, one with and one without 3G. The storage capacity would be irrelevant because people could just connect a flash drive, insert a memory card or plug an external hard drive to it. Limit the connectivity options and you can sell more models and the sheep will still line up to give you their money.

It's genius really. On the seller's part that is. On the buyers' part...well, sheep wil be sheep.