Apple releases iPad...

[rumpleforeskiin]

The first reviews are in...

Everyone's impressed...

http://www.pcworld.com/article/193104/apples_ipad_the_first_reviews_are_in.html

Walt Mossberg, The Wall Street Journal, "Apple iPad Review: Laptop Killer? Pretty Close"
Ed Baig, USA Today: " Verdict is in on Apple iPad: It's a Winner "
Andy Ihnatko, Chicago Sun-Times: "iPad is Pure Innovation -- One of the Best Computers Ever"
Xeni Jardin, Boing Boing: " Apple's iPad is a Touch of Genius "

 

[Techman]

A more objective view of the early reviews:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=32648&tag=wrapper;col1

You have to understand that these early reviewers are all considered FOA and none of them have ever said an unkind word about any Apple product, which is why they were picked to be given these first iPads to review. Mossberg is regularly quoted in Apple press releases and Ihnatko is a writer of Apple books and how to guides. It's obvious that these 'unbiased reviewers' would write glowing reviews of the iPad. As I said above, I'll wait for the reviewers who actually paid for their iPad, and have lived with it for a number of weeks, to review it instead of the shills who got one for free.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

FOA, my sweet Irish ass. Please note that the article that I quoted did not appear in Macworld, it did not appear in MacUser, it did not appear in MacAddict. It appeared in PCWorld, that noted Apple FOA rag. LOL. Please, Techman, relax. You'll feel a whole lot better. Maybe, just maybe, all these people reviewed the iPad the way they did because they really liked it.

 

[Techman]

First off, the link you posted doesn't even contain a review, it contains links to reviews made by the above mentioned well known Friends Of Apple, in other words journalists who have always printed or posted nothing but good things about any and every Apple product and never reported on any of their failures or problems. You can't do a proper review of something like the iPad until you've lived with it for a few weeks and then see if you still use it as much as when you first got it or if the thing is left at home after the novelty of having a giant iPad touch has worn off and you've gotten tired of lugging the thing around.

You know...like meeting a hot babe in a bar, having a great weekend in bed and then finding out that she's shallow and only wants you to spend all your money on her.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

You are correct, Techman. It's a representative sampling of reviews linked to by PC World, which chose to only represent Apple shills. Gimme a break.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

The raves keep coming...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100402/ts_alt_afp/usitcompanycomputerappleipadmedia_20100402084053

And they're lining up outside Apple stores two days in advance of the iPad going on sale.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...ueues-form-outside-Apple-stores.html?ITO=1490

 

[Techman]

Oh goodie! Another page that reviews the reviews! I guess that this guy wasn't 'blessed by Apple' as he puts it...

The few blessed by Apple to receive review copies of the iconic California firm's latest creation were clearly smitten with the notepad-sized gadget.

You could probably give these 'reviewers' an empty box with an Apple logo on it and they'll piss themselves in anticipation! And Disney gives it a huge thumbs up! WOW, What a SURPRISE!!! I'm sure it has absolutely nothing to do with Jobs being Disney's largest share holder. Gimme a break already.

As for your previous post...

You are correct, Techman. It's a representative sampling of reviews linked to by PC World, which chose to only represent Apple shills. Gimme a break.

Well when the only people to have gotten pre-release product to review were Apple shills, what other reviews are you going to quote? It's amazing that they give it such glowing reviews when they list all the things it's missing but even that doesn't take away from the almost perfect scores they give it. How will they rate the 2nd generation? Give it 7 stars out of 5 because it includes things this version left out? These reviews read like a 14 year old girl reviewing a Twilight movie.

I have no doubt that it does what it does very well, but that doesn't change the fact that it's nothing new, it's just bigger. I guess some people are very easily impressed.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

...but that doesn't change the fact that it's nothing new, it's just bigger.

You are apparently the only person on planet Earth who seems to think that it's nothing new. Pray tell, where has something remotely similar been seen before? The rest of the world would like to learn what only you seem to know.

 

[Techman]

I guess you don't read very much... reomtely similar? How about the iPhone and particularly the iPod touch which the iPad is a jumbo version of. I don't see anything new. The tablet form factor has been around for years and that's also nothing new.

Look, Apple is a great marketing company. They know how to hype their products and get people to want them. i give them credit for that and they do it better than anyone else. But this thing isn't 'magic' or 'revolutionary'. I look at it as flawed and limited and simply a content delivery system, a way to get people to part with more of their money. It does nothing that other products don't already do and they do more than the iPad is capable of doing. I don't carry a laptop around with me, and I wouldn't carry this thing around with me. I don't even carry a smartphone or a MP3 player and probably never will.

I would never watch movies on something so small, I can't even watch them on a computer display which is many times larger. I prefer my books to be made of paper, I stare at a display screen more than enough each day, don't need to look at one when I'm reading a book.

So basically, this thing does nothing for me. It serves no new purpose that I am interested in and cannot fill the needs that I do have for a portable device.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

I guess you don't read very much... reomtely similar? How about the iPhone and particularly the iPod touch which the iPad is a jumbo version of. I don't see anything new. The tablet form factor has been around for years and that's also nothing new.

I have an iPhone. It is not remotely similar to the iPad. For starters, the screen is in the vicinity of 10-15 times bigger. The iPad will run a spreadsheet and a wordprocessor, the iPhone will not. The iPad will serve as a reader for downloaded books, the iPhone will not. The iPad has a much stronger processor and will surf the web at a rate that will make it a satisfying experience; the iPhone surfs very slowly and is really not designed as a everyday web browsing unit. If you don't see anything new, it's because you aren't looking. Or perhaps you have blinders on.

The tablet form has been around for years? Can you cite one remotely similar example?

 

[Techman]

Please, I hope you're not trying to say that Apple invented the tablet now are you? I have one client that has been using Tablet PCs for about 8 years now and the auto dealerships I service have also been using tablets for many years. For that matter, just do a search on the net for tablet computing and you'll see that this is nothing new. But of course...I forgot that something doesn't exist until Steve Jobs and Apple claim to have invented it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tablet_PC

The iPad may do some things better than the touch and iphone but not really anything different or new. Sure it has an e-reader, but that's nothing that doesn't already exist on PCs or Macs and then there's the Kindle which is much better if you plan on spending the day reading outside in the park. Like I said, nothing new. Except a new way for Apple to make money off the sheep.

As for surfing the net, many of the sites I visit use Flash, which the iPad doesn't support. Yes, yes...I know that some sites have been modified but they are a very small percentage of the sites that do use Flash and the majority of sites will not change for years to come.

Look, I have no interest in this kind of product no matter what company sells it. It serves no purpose that my home system and my laptop don't surpass in every way. It's too small to watch movies on and it's the wrong aspect ratio besides. It's too big to be truly portable and I could never see myself carrying one when I go to a club or bar or out to dinner. It serves no purpose for me at home as I have a computer as well as a 50 inch plasma for watching movies. My Blu-ray player even connects to the net to watch Youtube if I want to bother doing so. And as I said, I like reading real books after a day spent in front of a computer display.

To be honest, if someone gave me one or I won one in a contest or something I'd either give it away or sell it on ebay.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

I have one client that has been using Tablet PCs for about 8 years now and the auto dealerships I service have also been using tablets for many years.

True, they're nothing new. Apple didn't invent the tablet, they merely brought it into the 21st century. And PCs have been around since the late 1970s. The tablet you linked to compares to the iPad in much the same way that an Apple //gs compares to a Macbook Pro. It's nothing more than a big Palm Pilot.

The iPad may do some things better than the touch and iphone but not really anything different or new. Sure it has an e-reader, but that's nothing that doesn't already exist on PCs or Macs and then there's the Kindle which is much better if you plan on spending the day reading outside in the park. Like I said, nothing new..

Your bullheadedness is overwhelming. Having already refuted this quite handily in my last post, which you clearly didn't read, I won't bother to repeat myself. If you have a new argument, lay it on me.

 

[Techman]

What Your iPad Will Really Cost You - Hope You're Sitting Down

Here's a great article that breaks down the total cost of ownership of the iPad. I especially enjoy this quote:

"You can count on Apple making it very easy for consumers to part with their money," Rob Walch, host of Today in iPhone, told MacNewsWorld.

http://www.macnewsworld.com/rsstory/69679.html?wlc=1270222347

By the way...I linked to an article about tablets in general, not any specific device. And after all, the iPad is really nothing more than a big iPod Touch.

 

[Dee]

Might there be some value in letting those who like the iPhone just enjoy it without trying to convince them that they are wrong to find pleasure in it?

 

[Techman]

Might there be some value in letting those who like the iPhone just enjoy it without trying to convince them that they are wrong to find pleasure in it?

I have no problem with anyone who enjoys their iPhone or any other piece of equipement.

But back to the iPad...It's just that comments like 'it's the greatest thing since sliced bread', it's 'magical and revolutionary', it's 'going to save the publishing industry' and on and on and on tend to get a little tiring to read. Let's get real here. The iPad isn't going to be any industry's saviour. It won't make the slightest difference in the bottom line of the newspaper business or the publishing business. What it will do is make more money for Apple from it's already established customer base who tend to buy each new product they come out with, whether they need it or not.

In fact, most of my customers and other people I know don't give a damn about the thing one way or the other. Those I know who were interested in it because of the advanced rumours, 95% of which turned out to be FUD, lost interest when they saw the final product's specs and frankly, no one I know is willing to pay the asking price for something that they aren't sure they have any use for. At least not the US price and the Canadian price is yet to be announced, at least I can't find it on the Apple site. But I figure that the lowest priced model, once you add a couple of adapters, a case and the keyboard dock, and taxes, will be over $700 Canadian. That's a lot to pay for a toy you aren't sure you really need for anything.

I hope that the people who do buy this thing actually find themselves using it often and that it doesn't end up sitting on a shelf collecting dust or used as a digital picture frame. I hate to see people wasting their money...even rumples!

 

[Techman]

I find that this is a much more interesting article about the iPad, also from the New York Times which captures my feelings about the device and reflects the reactions that I've received from my clients and friends.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/02/technology/personaltech/02gadget.html?src=me&ref=technology

This quote is priceless and describes the prototypical Apple fan and iPad buyer...

“It’s a want, as opposed to a need,” said one of those Apple fans, Ryan Kenney, 29, describing his nascent desire for the iPad in New York this week. “You don’t really need it. Between a smartphone and a laptop, that covers all the bases.”
“But I’d wear their underwear if they made it.”

Oh yeah...just a little background on two of the reviewers that rumples says are so 'objective' when it comes to Apple products. Here's David Pogue and Mossberg's reviews of that fantastic, magical and revolutionary product called the Apple TV from 2007. When I read them it was almost like they were interchangeable with their iPad reviews, a different product name but the superlatives and the overall tone of the 'reviews' are just about identical.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/22/t...458d6ae4e&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117443716237743525-AC8bUe8X978hZmC7A85mAccsld8_20080320.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/22/t...458d6ae4e&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

And after all, the iPad is really nothing more than a big iPod Touch.

Having already explained to you several times how the iPad has very little in common with the iPod touch, I see no sense in continuing this conversation. Clearly you hear only what you want to hear and what you want to hear is the sound of your own voice. I wonder now if you've even read what I've written.

Enjoy your blinders.

 

[Techman]

Very little in common" Really? OK, here's some quotes from the reviews you are so fond of:

Pogue:

The Apple iPad is basically a gigantic iPod Touch.

Mossberg:

And it’s far more than just a big iPhone, even though it uses the same easy-to-master interface, and Apple (AAPL) says it runs nearly all of the 150,000 apps that work on the iPhone.

Baig:

The device resembles an iPhone on growth hormones. It shares many of the smaller handheld's design elements, down to the lone home button below the display. As on the iPhone, you can have up to 11 screens of icons.
IPad has the same kind of smart sensors that change the orientation of the screen from portrait to landscape, depending on how it's rotated. (It's always right side up.) And, like the iPhone, it takes its cue from your fingers, whether you pinch to zoom in or out on Web pages, location-based maps and pictures — or flick to scroll up or down a page. You can easily search across all content.

Yes, it has a faster CPU and a bigger screen and runs a newer version of the iPhone OS, but it is basically the same technology in a bigger package. The new applications are totally dependant on it's increased size. It's quite obvious that a book reader would be useless on a small screen like the Iphone or touch and video would be better on the Pad than the other two devices, again due to it's size. But it shares the same limitations - lack of multi-tasking and Flash support - that the other two devices have. Bottom line is that it's more like an iPhone and iPod touch than it is different from them.

And yes, I have read your posts, I just disagree with them other than where you stated that what the iPad provides serves your needs. If that's the case, I'm sure you'll enjoy owning one and I wish you well with your new purchase. But considering it's limitations and focus on being primarily a consumption device, it suits none of my needs and from reading the article I posted above, which I doubt you read, I am not alone in my feelings.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

...basically the same technology in a bigger package.

Same technology, yes. But that's where the similarity ends. Again, the iPhone is not a reader, doesn't have the processing power to surf the web on a regular basis, doesn't offer word processing or a spreadsheet. I've seen demos of the iPad; you can surf all day. It moves.

So it doesn't suit your needs. It does about a zillion things that are of value to me and the hundreds of thousand of people awaiting delivery or already standing in line. I know how painful this is to you. Sorry.

 

[Techman]

Not painful to me at all. Makes no difference to me if people buy it or not, they aren't spending my money. I'm just trying to inform people of the limitations of the device and hope they think before spending their money. Many people may think that this can replace their laptop when it really can't and from reading all the hype, some people may think this thing can do everything short of cooking breakfast for them in the morning.

But then they could probably sell it to some Apple fan on ebay really easily so no big deal.

And so they sell a couple hundred thousand of the things, even a million or 5 million by the end of the year. Big deal. Windows 7 has already gone past the 90 Million sales mark in 4 months of release and is forecast to top 300 Million copies by the end of the year. The iPad is small stuff compared to that.