Apple releases iPad...

[rumpleforeskiin]

Well, I'll bring it to town next week and let you play with it. Unfortunately, since Cleo's probably doesn't have wireless we'll have to meet up in one of those coffee joints where all the young women are working on their Macs.

And by the way, I'm not usually an early adopter of things Apple. I never owned a first gen iPod, though in retrospect, I don't know why. I live by the thing. I just got an iPhone about a year ago. I did get an Apple //e when they first came on the market in 1983, but didn't make the move to Mac until 1989.

And also, I don't expect the iPad to replace my laptop, but I do expect it to make the laptop unnecessary when I travel. I do see it replacing the laptop for many people though.

 

[Techman]

Sounds good. I'll check to see if I can find a decent place with free WiFi, there should be somewhere around with a comfortable lounge. If we're lucky the weather will hold up and the girl watching will be decent too!

Oh by the way...I have a dirty little secret...I have a Mac Color Classic buried in the closet somewhere. Still works too!

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Talking with a friend tonight and I realized that one of the things that really appeals to me is the touch screen. The one on the iPhone is extraordinarily responsive and I'm really looking forward to the big screen. I have this sense that the mouse and the trackpad may become obsolete technology, their end hastened by the iPad.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Well, the thing is lightning fast. What it has in common with the iPod touch and the iPhone is the interface and the operating system. That's it. The keyboard is considerably better than I expected. You can touch type with the thing, even in Page view.

As I suggested yesterday, the mouse and trackpad are obsolete technology.

 

[CaptRenault]

You're Both Right!

Looking at the iPad From Two Angles
New York Times
By DAVID POGUE
Published: March 31, 2010

In 10 years of reviewing tech products for The New York Times, I’ve never seen a product as polarizing as Apple’s iPad, which arrives in stores on Saturday...

...The haters tend to be techies; the fans tend to be regular people...

...Therefore, no single write-up can serve both readerships adequately. There’s but one solution: Write separate reviews for these two audiences.


Read the first one if you’re a techie. (How do you know? Take this simple test. Do you use BitTorrent? Do you run Linux? Do you have more e-mail addresses than pants? You’re a techie.)


Read the second review if you’re anyone else...

 

[bond_james_bond]

People Going Crazy for IPads

http://www.wjactv.com/money/23043501/detail.html

Canadians cross border to buy Ipad! People camped outside Apple stores!

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/ipad_goes_on_sale_qc4PMS6xc9ugmeFQRWVLlN

Not a real need-to-get item, imo. A nice luxury, if you the cash.

 

[Techman]

New review...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36179255/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

I saw this yesterday; it's mostly bullshit.

1. It's awkward. Or so it seemed for the first hour or so. That's about how long it took for me to get used to it. How long did it take to get used to a mouse? A trackpad?
2. It's heavy. This doesn't even warrant comment. I read in bed, holding it with one hand. Perhaps this reviewer is handicapped.
3. It's slippery. There's some truth to this. It doesn't sit well on the lap.
4. It has too much glare. Yup, just as much as any glossy screen on any PC or Mac. This is nitpicking at it's worst.
5. Forget reading in the sun. Haven't tried, but seeing as it has about the same screen as any glossy PC or Mac, I suppose the same would apply to any laptop.
6. Fingerprints are annoying. So is your head up your ass, but if you write this kind of shit, you deal with it.
7. It does not multi-task. True, but the thing is so fast, that moving from one app to another is nearly instant.
8. The browser is limited. So it doesn't do Flash; Flash will be gone in, what, a year? 18 months? The browser is lightning fast, the resolution blows away anything I've seen on any Mac or PC.
9. I type 80 words a minute on a standard keyboard. I'm probably good for about for about 50 on the iPad. I'm good with that. It did take about an hour or so to get used to it. This poor guy's a moron.
10. True. It should have a USB port. Glaring? Puhleeze.
11. iPhone apps look horrible. They don't look great, but considerably better than horrible. Any of value will be replaced by native apps by summer. This is weak, terribly weak.
12. Price too high. Not for the 700,000 people who have already bought one.
13. True, it doesn't replace anything. It's something brand new. Actually, it does replace something. When I travel, I'll no longer have to carry a laptop and several books. Doesn't replace anything. Jeezus. Tell me, Techman, when you bought your first PC back in 1982, I'll be it didn't replace anything either. Is this really the best this poor schmuck can do?

This is about the lamest attempt to downplay the iPad I've seen yet. In fact, I'll bet the guy wrote it to discredit the doubters. Thanks for posting this garbage, Techman.

For the record, I thought I'd use the iPad just for travel and reading. I now find myself using it instead of my laptop when I'm online because it's a more efficient machine for browsing. The interface is nothing short of brilliant. As a means of moving information, it's nothing short of revolutionary.

 

[Techman]

I see you take honest criticism really well! I know, the iPad is PERFECT!!! It can be nothing less because it's from Apple!

By the way...where do you get your sales numbers from? 700,000? Really? Not according to Apple themselves. They claim 300,000 sold, including pre-sales and shipments to partners like Best Buy. That's a long way from 700,000!!

12. Price too high. Not for the 700,000 people who have already bought one.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_gadg/ytech_gadg_tc1458

So, who exactly were all those people who waited in line for an iPad on launch day? Big surprise: It appears many of them were MacHeads. A survey in New York and Minneapolis (which was issued, as reported by Fortune's Apple 2.0 blogger Philip Elmer-DeWitt, by Piper Jaffray's Munster) found that about three-quarters of them were Mac users, and two-thirds owned an iPhone. Also interesting: Only 4 percent planned to replace their desktops and/or laptops with the iPad. Seventy-four percent planned to use the iPad for Web surfing; just 34 percent said they'd use it for e-mail (perhaps leery of the iPad's on-screen keypad).

The big question is whether iPad sales will hold up in the ensuing days, weeks, and months. Shortly after the iPad was announced, Wall Street predicted Apple might sell about a million iPads in 12 months; as the hype began to grow, though, so did the predictions, with estimates now (according to the Journal) ranging from 3 million to 5 million in a year. Apple is off to a solid start, but whether iPad sales will remain at lofty levels remains to be seen.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

I see you take honest criticism really well! I know, the iPad is PERFECT!!! It can be nothing less because it's from Apple!

I have no problem with honest criticism, but this shit was really weak, TM. If that's the best the poor slob can come up with, it must be a pretty fine machine.

"According to Bloomberg, sales of iPad in its debut weekend is likely to be double what was originally estimated.

Piper Jaffray predicted 200,000 to 300,000 units would be sold. Sanford C. Bernstein & Company predicted 300,000 to 400,000. However, the first day has seen an estimated 700,000 of the tablets out the door. (See ReadWriteWeb's ongoing coverage of the iPad launch.)"

 

[Techman]

What you posted just goes to show how much FUD there is floating around. Apple's own press release states:

CUPERTINO, Calif., April 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Apple® today announced that it sold over 300,000 iPads in the US as of midnight Saturday, April 3. These sales included deliveries of pre-ordered iPads to customers, deliveries to channel partners and sales at Apple Retail Stores

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/apple-sells-over-300000-ipads-first-day-89904642.html

It isn't the first weekend's sales or even the first week's sales that will determine whether the iPad will be a success or not because these sales were mainly to the Apple fans who were drooling over it. What really matters will be the sales over the first month or two to the average consumer once the Apple nuts have been taken care of.

If you have firm confirmation of your numbers, say an Apple press release, post the link so we can all see it.

Now when it comes to some of your arguements regarding the faults found by the reviewer, I've seen similar comments on Apple fan sites but of course they, like you, are willing to live with them because the thing is from Apple. If it came from Microsoft, the Apple fans would be all over those shortcomings.

A couple of things in point...

Multitasking has nothing to do with speed, the reason it's importand is to use two different apps at the same time. Having to save your work in one app, close it, open another app do a bit of work, close it, open the first app again, etc...isn't exactly convenient no matter how fast the system is. My i7 is a god compared to the iPad in speed and I wouldn't want to have to constantly be doing that.

The reflectivity of the screen is a huge problem when it comes to using it as an ebook reader. Especially when compared to the Kindle which is the main competition in that area.

Typing speed...every article lists this as a drawback saying that it would be impossible for anyone to type at a rapid speed with an onscreen keyboard because it, like all such keyboards, does not permit touch typing which is required to type with any accuracy. If you think you could type 50 words a minute on it, you seem to be the only one in the world who does.

Every honest review I've read, including Apple sites, mention the problem with smudges on the screen. they also mention many if not all of the problems mentioned in my linked post.

Apple fans will ignore or forgive all these problems. The average user won't.

Here's some quotes from Macworld's review:

"With most movies and TV shows these days shot in 16:9 (and more extreme) aspect ratios, the iPad’s 4:3 screen means most video content will display with large letterbox bars at top and bottom."

"At a certain angle I could also see an array of fingerprints—and boy, does this screen collect them"

"This is not to say that it’s a suitable equivalent for a hardware keyboard—it’s not"

"A year ago, when I bought my Kindle 2, I cancelled my print subscription to the San Francisco Chronicle and replaced it with a Kindle subscription to that newspaper. If I decided to stop using my Kindle tomorrow in favor of the iPad, though, I would actually be taking a major step backward when it comes to reading that particular paper."

"So can the iPad truly replace a laptop? It all depends on what you use your laptop for. The iPad isn’t going to replace a MacBook Pro anytime soon."

"The iPad has only the one plane, which makes things trickier. In some positions on a couch or in bed, I felt uncomfortable with the iPad, and had to keep shifting until I found ones that worked for me."

"Reading with the iPad also seems to me to be more of a two-handed activity. Without a case, the iPad is heavy enough and slippery enough that I found it difficult to hold in one hand."

http://www.macworld.com/appguide/article.html?article=150330

And there are many posts on sites about people buying a base line iPad at Best Buy and leaving with a bill of over $1000 once they add a couple of adapters, a case, extended warranty ($280!) and taxes. That's a hell of a lot of money for this thing.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Multitasking has nothing to do with speed, the reason it's importand is to use two different apps at the same time. Having to save your work in one app, close it, open another app do a bit of work, close it, open the first app again, etc...isn't exactly convenient no matter how fast the system is. My i7 is a god compared to the iPad in speed and I wouldn't want to have to constantly be doing that.

Thanks, pal. You've just thrown me a couple of batting practice fastballs and now I'm going to post my final comment in this thread. This comment reveals that you have no idea what the iPad is or what it's supposed to do. The simple fact that it doesn't fit into the narrow little box that you think a computer is supposed to be that it's a worthless piece of junk. The iPad isn't a working computer like your i7 or my Macbook. What it does do in spades well better than either machine is deliver content. When I'm working on my computer at work, I'll have 5-8 applications open. When I'm on the iPad, I'm doing one thing, be it reading or watchiing something or browsing.

And there are many posts on sites about people buying a base line iPad at Best Buy and leaving with a bill of over $1000 once they add a couple of adapters, a case, extended warranty ($280!) and taxes. That's a hell of a lot of money for this thing.

Yup, and you can spend $3000 on a Dell notebook if you buy an extended warranty for 15 years at $2,500. That's a hell of a lot of money for that thing. Is that really the best you can do?

 

[Techman]

Actually I think the iPad itself fits in a very narrow usage category. As you said, it's a delivery device. You can't copy existing video that you might own to it because it doesn't play avi, MKV, WMV, divx or xvid files. So you can't rip your own movies to watch on it. Whatever movies you want to watch, you have to pay for. Just about anything you do on it will cost you money. That's great for Apple but not so much for the average consumer. If I buy a book, I can always give it away when I'm done with it or sell it to a used bookstore. Same thing with magazines.

As for the cost of the extended warranty, I agree that it's expensive. But that's Best Buy's price, and even with the high cost it will be worth it to anyone who buys this thing and lets their kids play with it because it also covers accidental damage, such as damage from dropping it or damaging the glass screen. But at the price being charged, the basic adapters should all be included. Expecting customers to pay extra for these things is unfair since most people will require them. Besides, they'll probably break or lose at least one and have to buy a replacement somewhere down the line.

And by the way...I can get any content for my PC that you can get for the iPad. Music, movies, magazines, newspapers, books...anything other than the little Apps from the app store that I have no use for anyways. And I can transfer it all to my laptop or netbook. And I can actually access the entire Internet, including Flash and Silverlight embedded sites that are not viewable on the iPad.

Like I said, it's a nice expensive little toy, but that's about it.

 

[Merlot]

Actually I think the iPad itself fits in a very narrow usage category. As you said, it's a delivery device. You can't copy existing video that you might own to it because it doesn't play avi, MKV, WMV, divx or xvid files. So you can't rip your own movies to watch on it. Whatever movies you want to watch, you have to pay for. Just about anything you do on it will cost you money. That's great for Apple but not so much for the average consumer. If I buy a book, I can always give it away when I'm done with it or sell it to a used bookstore. Same thing with magazines.

As for the cost of the extended warranty, I agree that it's expensive. But that's Best Buy's price, and even with the high cost it will be worth it to anyone who buys this thing and lets their kids play with it because it also covers accidental damage, such as damage from dropping it or damaging the glass screen. But at the price being charged, the basic adapters should all be included. Expecting customers to pay extra for these things is unfair since most people will require them. Besides, they'll probably break or lose at least one and have to buy a replacement somewhere down the line.

And by the way...I can get any content for my PC that you can get for the iPad. Music, movies, magazines, newspapers, books...anything other than the little Apps from the app store that I have no use for anyways. And I can transfer it all to my laptop or netbook. And I can actually access the entire Internet, including Flash and Silverlight embedded sites that are not viewable on the iPad.

Like I said, it's a nice expensive little toy, but that's about it.

Hello Techman,

I have to agree with Rumples on points 1-7. I read the report, and as I was reading I was thinking the first several reasons were some of the most irrelevant nit-picking anyone could put into a serious review. Most of the points made would be the same with pretty much any computer or high tech device. In fact, the first several point in the report seemed almost like kids nonsense.

However, I've been doing some research reading of my own, talking to local professional computer technicians whose job is to know all about and fix these tech machines, and computer store salesmen have advised me about options of comparable sophistication and price while I only told them what I needed out of a device and was careful not to target any device negatively to avoid indicating where their best sales opportunity might be. In sum, I just can't see why it's necessary to have the Ipad at all. If this was the first device to perform these functions it would be perfectly understandable. But anyone who has been accumulating computer related technology in the last 15 years most likely already has something that does just about everything this device does. If there is something very specific an Ipad does far better than something else that would warrant spending $500 or more I have not found it yet.

Frankly I think both of you are too one-sided about your views on the Ipad. But I have to agree, I don't see any need for it that can't be overcome by something most people probably already have. There are light-weight portable cheaper options out there that cost about half of what an Ipad does and do significantly more than an Ipad. But, if you have money and have got to have it...then enjoy. Everyone buys things they don't need...and sometimes often. So why worry about it.

Cheers,

Merlot

 

[Special K]

Rumples,

Send me a message on MSN messenger from the ipad and we'll chat, oh yea, you can't, you have to use your laptop next to your ipad for that.

 

[Techman]

Merlot, when you're dealing with a device that's supposed to be portable and hand held, the size, weight and how hard it is to hold securely are of high importance. do you really want to see this thing go for a tumble on the floor or sidewalk? As well as the glare on the display which makes it difficult to read in any area with strong backlighting, especially outdoors. Don't forget that one of this things most flaunted points has been the quality of the screen when it comes to reading books. It's main competition in this area, the Kindle, is perfectly readable in such conditions and just as easy to read as a paper book if you're outdoors in the park. The only advantage for reading ebooks that the ipad has over the Kindle is the fact that it's backlit, but then again, I don't usually read books in the dark so...

The other thing that bothers me is that any review that doesn't declare the iPad to be a perfect, magical device, rumples declares to be bullshit. But the reviews from known Apple shills he treats like they were written by god. Look, I know that some people will buy this thing and love it. Great! I hope they're happy with it and that it doesn'e end up as a dust collector or a picture display frame. I just think that people who are considering buying one should know the drawbacks to the product before spending such a large amouont of money on a delivery system.

And considering the amount of money that Apple will make from the content sold for this device, I think it should be sold at a high discount in much the same manner that companies sell inkjet printers. They lose money on the main device but make it up a thousand fold with the sales of ink and paper. Or the way cell providers sell cell phones.

As for you, Dee, i'd like to remind the mods that I was banned for making an off topic remark in this thread. I hope they apply the same rule that was used to ban me to your post. Not to mention that I consider your post to be a personal attack and insult.



Techman

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Two simple facts:

1. Techman is massively invested in hating this machine that he doesn't understand and has never laid his hands on and has an enormous hair across his ass about it to the point that it's dominating his life.

2. Rumpleforeskiin has been enjoying the hell out of his iPad for the last four days.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Merlot,

I repost for you something I put up several pages ago:

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.

For me probably the critical piece is that it weighs less than half of what the lightest Netbook on the market weighs. And it's not just what it does, it's how it does it.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/06/the-ipad-in-the-eyes-of-the-digerati/?hp

An interesting article in the New York Times today giving reviews from a very diverse group of technology experts. The consensus seems to be that the iPad is new, revolutionary, but transitional.

Here are a few quotes:

The End of the PC Era
Tim O’Reilly is the founder of O’Reilly Media, computer book publisher, conference producer and technology activist.
“If you’re old enough to remember the original 128K Macintosh, underpowered, not expandable, and soon-to-be obsolete, you know that the iPad doesn’t need to be perfect to be the harbinger of a revolution.
If the iPhone didn’t tell us that the 25-year reign of the mouse and windows user interface popularized by that original Macintosh was soon to be over, the iPad shouts it loud and clear. Accept it.”

The Future Beyond the iPad
David Gelernter, a professor of computer science at Yale University
“The iPad (though it’s beautifully designed and lots of fun) is transitional, like vinyl LPs (but likely to be much shorter lived), for two reasons.
First: in the future you’ll have a small computer to take with you and a large-screen computer to leave in one place. The iPad is neither
Second: future touch-screens will be designed to show you a slice of time, not (like the iPad) an old-fashioned slice of space.”
Liza Daly is a software engineer who specializes in applications for the publishing industry.
“The shape and size of the iPad is appropriately personal, and its uni-tasking connectivity allows for the cacophony of the Web to be just slightly dampened. It’s an attractive platform. No e-reader software fulfills this vision just yet, but the stage is set.”

Art That Moves
Craig Mod is a computer programmer, designer, publisher and writer.
“The iPad is essentially a 10-inch, high-resolution screen held intimately close to your body, housing content you manipulate by direct touch. Is this a new medium? Absolutely.”

An Intimate Computer
Emily Chang and Max Kiesler are co-founders of Ideacodes, a design consultancy in San Francisco that specializes in the design and user experience of Web applications, smart devices, digital products and networked communities.
“Part of Apple’s success is its ability to create products that don’t fill an obvious need, but through attention to design and user experience, produces something that delights users and challenges conventions. This was the case with the iPod, iPhone and now the iPad.
Whether everyone needs a tablet is debatable, but it’s a natural progression from desktop computers to laptops to smart phones. As the Internet becomes more ubiquitous, our devices are becoming more mobile and connected. The iPad exemplifies the further shift toward simplicity.”

 

[Doc Holliday]

PC World's iPad stress test:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i5i3ozyPS8