Mash link funny!
It looks like a giant digital picture frame.
I'm sure it'll be lovely and super duper to use, but reading more it does seem quite restricted in what it can do.
reading more it does seem quite restricted in what it can do.
The first iPhones were slammed because they were 2G, had no copy and paste, no GPS, limited tarrifs, etc., etc., etc. I'm sure the iPad will fade into obscurity just like the iPhone did.
People will buy it as it looks 'fashion'.
I had an apple pad about 10yrs ago. Obviously it wasnt that portable and it wasnt a phone but it was cool!
My boss used to have an iPad last time they launched it
http://oldcomputers.net/apple-newton.html
Have to say I was hoping for a bit more, features wise, but I'm sure it'll be a joy to use, I'm not sure I'm going to want to be seen out with one though. Are they for home, coffee shops, the pub?
Sent from my iPad
reading more it does seem quite restricted in what it can do.The first iPhones were slammed because they were 2G, had no copy and paste, no GPS, limited tarrifs, etc., etc., etc. I'm sure the iPad will fade into obscurity just like the iPhone did.
But a 4:3 screen, no stylus input, no multitasking, no flash?! You're right I'm sure, they'll bring out the upgrades. I just want something now that will last at least 5 years. I'm not interested if it's another apple product with the magpie upgrade path.
As some have already said, I can definitely see the market for this. It's a coffee table gadget that fits somewhere between a proper laptop and a PDA. There's quite a few horrible little netbooks selling out there and if I wanted something I could just browse the web and email on, I'd rather use one of these. Plus you know once version 2 comes out (inevitably with flash) and the app developers have really got to grips with it, there'll be a lot you can do with it. Personally, I have a macbook and an ipod, so I don't feel I need an ipad.
I know there's plenty of irritating Apple fanboiism out there, but there's just as many anti-Apple zealots that have to jump all over anyone who says they like anything Steve Jobs made. It's just a gadget!
But a 4:3 screen, no stylus input, no multitasking, no flash?! You're right I'm sure, they'll bring out the upgrades. I just want something now that will last at least 5 years. I'm not interested if it's another apple product with the magpie upgrade path.
A 4:3 screen makes sense to me, when it's dictating the shape of the device so much. Using a widescreen in portrait move would feel 'wrong'. If the touchscreen is good enough, I don't see the need for a stylus. No multitasking is a pain, and would put me off, though the iPhone's doing ok without it. Flash is dead and/or dying anyway.
The multi-tasking is, has been said above, fully expected to be included in the software upgrade due in the summer.
But a 4:3 screen, no stylus input, no multitasking, no flash?!
4:3 screen, makes sense for a roughly A4 size tablet. I think wide-screen would be a bit odd as a tablet.
No stylus, don't need one for the much smaller iPhone so can't see why I'd need one for the iPad.
No multitaking, agree this does seem like a very odd omission given it is one of the commonest complaints about the iPhone.
No flash, yeah bit rubbish, result of Adobe vs Apple dispute. Adobe have a version of Flash ready for iPhone and iPad but toys are out of prams and won't be back in them for a while.
Flash is dead? It's bloody everywhere.
4:3 may work, but more & more content is 16:9. If it's 1024 x 768 then a film will be about 560p. And waiting for multitasking? Honestly seems a bit poor that, for the sort of money this will cost.
It looks like a device more for consuming rather than creating.
Personally the Microsoft Courier concept seems much more interesting to me, but I want something for sketching on and doing detailed stuff.
I think a tablet netbook with W7 will be perhaps more useful.
Then again Cpt Picard always seemed quite productive with his 🙂
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It looks like a device more for consuming rather than creating.
Agreed. If I wanted to seriously "create" then I'd use a proper computer, not sit in front of the telly with this (or any other portable device) that has a low res, uncalibrated screen.
Then again Cpt Picard always seemed quite productive with his
Indeed and he didn't need a stylus!
Engage!
the best thing about apple hardware is how much it annoys non-apple users.
a bit like why i buy rapha cycling clothing, it's the consternation from non users that's the attraction.
Flash is dead? It's bloody everywhere.
Not for me it's not 😉 Unfortunately web designers still seem to love it, and there are some things which don't work without it, but the sooner it gets killed the better IMHO. Apparently at least one site has had Flash removed after the company boss found he couldn't access it from his iPhone, so a big thumbs up to Apple (even if the rest of the iPad looks rubbish).
Flash sucks if the entire website is written in it, but it is also very useful for certain tasks. YouTube and iPlayer were both built on flash.
And there are a ton of flash games (and game programmers) out there. If it ran flash then all of those could be playable and the bar for entry would be lowered as existing flash programmers wouldn't need to go learn the considerably more involved XCode and iPhone SDK.
The first iPhones were slammed because they were 2G, had no copy and paste, no GPS, limited tarrifs, etc., etc., etc. I'm sure the iPad will fade into obscurity just like the iPhone did.
Well when Apple re-release the iPad having fixed all the things wrong with it I might be a bit more enthusiastic. Excuse me for not getting that excited about something which has features which "will be included in a software update".
Starting from $500
For the bottom of the range version nobody will actually buy because it's crippled.
Not that I'm really the target market for this sort of thing even if it was perfect. The thing is, for all you saying it will be great to sit in front of the TV on the internet - where do you go and what do you do on the internet? How much fun will it be using the STW forum without a proper keyboard?
Flash sucks if the entire website is written in it
Flash sucks if any unnecessary part of the website is written in it (or the site hosts ads using it). The thing is I'm still very unconvinced that it's even that efficient at what it does in things like iPlayer (which could work without it). Maybe I'm just prejudiced because it comes from the same company as the single worst piece of software you use regularly when browsing the web.
The way I see this device succeeding is for the female market (small generalisation there), all my wife uses her laptop for is facebook, youtube, email and Lolcats. This device is perfect for that type of market seeing as she doesn't have a smart phone, or use her laptop to its full potential.
But like I'm sure has already been said (not read all pages sorry), I can't see there being a significant enough gap between my Palm Pre and Macbook.
The thing is, for all you saying it will be great to sit in front of the TV on the internet - where do you go and what do you do on the internet? How much fun will it be using the STW forum without a proper keyboard?
Well outside of work hours, 99% of my posts on STW are currently made from my iPhone while sat in front of the TV on the internet.
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The thing is, for all you saying it will be great to sit in front of the TV on the internet - where do you go and what do you do on the internet? How much fun will it be using the STW forum without a proper keyboard?
I often use my Nokia for STW, and usually for Twitter and Facebook. I'll take a touch screen keyboard over a diddy thumb keyboard any day. For reading forums, Facebook, Twitter, RSS reader, news websites, watching iPlayer, etc. the tablet form factor makes a lot more sense than screen+keyboard+trackpad.
It's not 1999 anymore, so I don't go to sit at a desk to use the internet.
iPad has multitasking for Apple apps only, 3rd party ones are limited to single tasking. e.g on iPhone I can start music off and then switch to C25k and have a music based workout or use trailguru over top of music on a ride.
It's not 1999 anymore, so I don't go to sit at a desk to use the internet.
Me neither.
Seems a rather disappointment price looked ok until it turns out it can do less than a notebook or a laptop that costs less. As always with Apple stuff it looks very nice.
I can't quite work out whether you need a PC or Mac to connect your iPad to - it seems a shame if you do, because otherwise it would be ideal for people who don't really want / need / know how to use a computer but do want to do some simple web surfing, email, sort out their photos and music (i.e., about 90% of computer users).
Bang on, this is for that 90% who want to do that with the minimum of fuss. I'm sure it will be very succesful in that (very large) segment.
No stereo speakers though! I'm very surprsied by that.
For all the Flash lovers, I hate to be the bringer of bad news but in 5 years Flash will be pretty much gone. It's about to get its ass kicked by the combination of HTML5 and h.264, aided and abetted by the fact that there is a large section of users in an (on the whole) desirable, fairly affluent demographic (i.e. iPhone users and pretty soon iPad users) who can't see Flash content and aren't going to use your website (and give you ad revenue) if it relies on it. Apple won't ever put Flash on the iPhone OS, because the Flash plugin is so crashy on OS X (they said as much at last year's WWDC). As well as that, rightly or wrongly, they have said they want to control every aspect of the technology in their devices and that means no third-party runtime environments (i.e. no Flash). That means lots of websites dropping Flash and going with HTML5. If I were Adobe I'd be quite worried right now.
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I expect 'The Emporer's New Clothes' will be expurgated from any editions of Hans Christian Andersen's fairytales that are sold through iTunes. Equally, I'm sure that there will be a market for big, unwieldy iPhones that won't display iPhone apps properly and that you can't make phone calls on. Admittedly the iPhone may be useful for people learning to squint given that it's ereader function hasn't got anything approaching the Kindle's digital ink.
Still, the world of commerce is no doubt grateful for the market segment allegedly identified by PT Barnum as being born every minute.
A real pity as I hoped that this would be a mould-breaking bit of kit but it's a huge step backwards, for shame.
it's ereader function hasn't got anything approaching the Kindle's digital ink.
True, but show me a digital ink ereader that can display movies. Different segment (for now at least).
I'm not the first to say this but one of these would be good for having on the coffee table to mess around on the internet during the ad breaks, or showing people photos, or watching movies in bed etc.
But if you already have a laptop which will do this (albeit in not quite such a slinky way) plus a lot more besides it's not obvious that you'd pay £500 for one.
But if you already have a laptop which will do this (albeit in not quite such a slinky way) plus a lot more besides it's not obvious that you'd pay £500 for one.
And given that most of its target punters already have a laptop which will probably be less ugly than the pad I really can't see the point of it. Sorry for beating the same drum again but I was hoping for so much more than an Everything-Lite™.
I want a see through one for version 2.
Sent from my iPad
You'll all be wanting one come Christmas! 😉
On the 'sitting on a coffee table' idea. If Apple or a 3rd party launched a universal remote app then that would add to the value. A Logitech Harmony remote are quite pricey just on their own.
Edit: Assuming it has the technology in it tho. Guess it would need infrared?
I want a see through one for version 2.
You want the moon on an iStick.
or a 3rd party launched a universal remote app
If it's a 3rd party the pad won't let you multitask. Which would be a pain.
Ach, anyway, I'm off to read a book.
given that most of its target punters already have a laptop which will probably be less ugly than the pad I really can't see the point of it.
That really is the crux of the matter. The question being whether there really is a new market for this amongst people who don't already have such technology - or are there enough people into new gadgets happy to pay that much money for a slightly different form factor which is actually worse for some things than what they already own? I'm not convinced - you can't extrapolate from the iPhone, as there wasn't anything quite like that before, and it did enable people to do new things. Is that really the case for the iPad?
it'll sell millions, thats a fact. never underestimate the power of the geek
Sounds like a hi tech sanitary towel to me 😳
Agree with the sentiment, but "ugly" is rarely a good description of Apple devices. The one thing they almost always do well is design, even if the functionality lacks.
It reminds me of Dom Joly's oversized mobile phone.
[i]For all the Flash lovers, I hate to be the bringer of bad news but in 5 years Flash will be pretty much gone.[/i]
Ah so in 5 years time the iPad will be more practical, that's good to hear.
Re universal remote - if you use Apple TV you can use one of these on the coffee table to control your iTunes and all the media on your Mac.