Heaven in a touch screen pad!

[Miyabi]

So Apple has recently announced the iPad!

I will be making sure I have enough money to purchase one the day they are up for pre-order.  (I also still need to buy a macBook which I have yet to do.)  But still.  The tech specs on this thing are freaking awesome.  It's like . . . the Kind of the internet.  A little bit smaller than a piece of paper.  About the same thickness as your iPhone.  Weighs less than 2 pounds.  It's like ultimate internet surfing ability for that lounging around on the internet without having to be tied to a desk or a laptop. 


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I really really really want one.

[Eerongal]

it's a giant ipod touch with 3G thrown in. No thanks. I'd rather buy a real PC for the price (500, 630 w/ 3G). I'm also not too keen on the monthly fee (if i want internet mobile, i'll just tether my phone to whatever)

in fact, the processor is only marginally better than 3rd gen ipod touches. They have 833 mhz ARM processors, this is apple's new 1 ghz ARM processor. Though ipod touches are underclocked to 600 mhz.

[mtlhddoc2]

Im with Eeron. I thought Apple was actually going to release an actual tablet computer, not an oversized iPod.

by years end, the knock off MP3 companies will release their own version. For $100 or less.

[Eerongal]

heh, just found this and thought it was funny, so figured I'd share:




Also: Since it's running the iphone OS, that means it won't have flash, extensive HTML5 support (i think it's supposed to be limited support right now, may change in the future), or JAVA (unless you jailbreak it). If you ask me, these are very important to ANY internet enabled device.

[Peter Ahlstrom]

Actually, Webkit has pretty much the best HTML5 support there is. So the iPad is covered there.

Nonetheless it seems a bit underwhelming to me. Perhaps a later iteration will be better.

[Eerongal]

Actually, Webkit has pretty much the best HTML5 support there is. So the iPad is covered there.

Nonetheless it seems a bit underwhelming to me. Perhaps a later iteration will be better.

Oh? i was under the impression it was lagging behind, though i dont pay much attention to it.

Honestly, i think the kindle is a much more slick device than the iPad, its small, good at what it does, has free unlimited internet, cheaper, and the screen is specially made not to strain your eyes

[ryos]

The Apple-designed CPU is the most interesting part of this announcement for me. I can't wait till we get performance/watt numbers on that sucker. The PA Semi guys (the company that Apple bought in order to build that processor) have a great track record, and I'd put money on that processor beating the best figures from other ARM processors of the same class.

The worst aspect of this device is the fact that it uses the iPhone development model. In other words, the device is closed (no tinkering allowed) and all apps need to go through Apple's ridiculous approval process. If Apple ever tries to impose that model on the Mac I swear to Jobs I'll jump ship to Linux or something, painful as that will be for me.

Also, I can't resist this one:

Im with Eeron. I thought Apple was actually going to release an actual tablet computer, not an oversized iPod.

by years end, the knock off MP3 companies will release their own version. For $100 or less.

I'm not sure what you think an iPod is. The iPod Touch was already the closest thing to a computer designed to be a tablet than any other tablet computer on the market. Simply running a desktop OS on a tablet computer doesn't give a very good experience; that interface was designed to be used with keyboard and mouse. By any definition but openness, the iPad is an "actual tablet computer".

And if you think the knock-off companies can buy the same quality hardware for $100 or less, you're kidding yourself. That's completely ignoring the software, which is actually everything. I repeat, software is everything. Your $100 iPad look-alike would be an unusable turd, like every other copy-cat piece of crap those people have put out.

[mtlhddoc2]

I guess you are in the business then ryos? You have executives trying sync iPhones and iPods with network related software every day like I do too? Well, then  you would have found that, aside from being able to run only applications specifically designed for it, the iPod touch and the iPhone dont really do anything. They are junk. I know dozens of people with them, heck, i even own a touch. It is a nice little mp3 player. But I bought a touch knockoff too. It is faster, better sound quality, runs more apps, has HTML support built in and it was only $50. The touch has slightly better video quality.

all the Jumbo iPod will do that the regular one does not is books. It is going to attract the Kindle market. I am sure it will sell rather well, but then it will fade and a company that puts out a REAL tablet computer will sell millions of them.

[ryos]

I guess you are in the business then ryos? You have executives trying sync iPhones and iPods with network related software every day like I do too? Well, then  you would have found that, aside from being able to run only applications specifically designed for it, the iPod touch and the iPhone dont really do anything. They are junk. I know dozens of people with them, heck, i even own a touch. It is a nice little mp3 player. But I bought a touch knockoff too. It is faster, better sound quality, runs more apps, has HTML support built in and it was only $50. The touch has slightly better video quality.

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make. The best I can make out is that because your business had trouble using iPhone OS devices for your specific use case then they must not be "real computers". Doesn't really compute for me.

Also, I'd like a link to this knock-off touch MP3 player. What software does it run? How could it possibly "run more apps" than the iPhone? Granted, "number of apps" is a very poor metric (by all accounts, a large number of iPhone apps are crap), but I don't think you can slight iPhone OS on it however you try to slant it.

all the Jumbo iPod will do that the regular one does not is books. It is going to attract the Kindle market. I am sure it will sell rather well, but then it will fade and a company that puts out a REAL tablet computer will sell millions of them.

Not to be asinine, but the iPhone and iPod Touch have "done books" for quite some time. There's even an Amazon Kindle reader for the iPhone. And since the devices (as you so readily point out) are so very similar, the built-in book support will surely trickle down to the smaller touch devices in short order.

As for your prediction of doom, I simply ask: where is the MP3 player that has displaced the iPod? Companies have had nine years to produce it, so where is it? Where is the mobile OS that dominates the iPhone? You've all had two years to get your acts together. That's how long Apple spent on the original iPhone. Android and WebOS are solid competitors, but the iPhone is still so far ahead in the market that they can't even touch it.

What company is going to release a "real" tablet computer? Microsoft? Google? Palm? They might eventually make a compelling product, but if you think they're going to dwarf the iPad's sales you haven't been paying attention. And what constitutes a "real" tablet computer to you, anyway, if the iPad isn't it? What is it that you want that the iPad can't do?

[Patriotic Kaz]

If you want to get into sales, discuss marketing not technology. I'm not a computer geek, don't wish to be and a basic PC is all I will ever need. But with I-pod's versus MP3's on a sales chart is based on business not tech. Under the previous assumption apple would sell more computers than HP, Dell, etc. but they don't. I-pods dominate the market for a variety of reasons, the fact that everything is designed for i-pod/ i-phone helps (I work for Brookstone and customers discuss the pro's and cons of i-pods and their accessory market ALL the darn time, and I'm paid to know the products out their).

[ryos]

Under the previous assumption apple would sell more computers than HP, Dell, etc. but they don't.

If you look at price categories, they do. Apple sells 91% of all computers that cost more than $1000.

Apple doesn't really compete with HP and Dell. If you want a cheap computer, you can't buy it from Apple. If you want an expensive computer, on the other hand, 9 out of 10 people go to Apple for that.

(Why would anyone want an expensive computer? Apples are for people for which "good enough" isn't good enough. That's not meant to be elitist or snobby, it's a simple statement of fact. I spend all day in front of my computer, so it's worth it to me to pay the Apple tax to get a computer that I can love, instead of one that merely works.)

[ryos]

This blog post sums up my feelings about the iPad beautifully.

[Miyabi]

I do agree that the fact that they close the source is lame, but how is that different from most other products?

The thing is Apple is the only group that has something like this in the market and it will be a while before anyone else puts anything out.  By that point Apple will know what works and what doesn't work and will have already fixed a lot of their problems and be way ahead of anyone else.

Also it's not meant to be a "computer."  It's meant to be able to surf the internet quickly in a comfortable format as well as play with apps.  

The iPad will have the same advantage the Kindle does.  It was built amazingly and when copy-cats started coming out they didn't have the experience so they were behind and will always be left behind.

And like Ryos said.  People who want a computer that will truly perform well over the top, they buy a Mac.  I've known at least 5 or 6 people who were total WoW-heads that bought top end Macs so they could run WoW faster and better.

Plus it's not the exact same OS that the iPhone/iTouch run, it's based on the same concept, but it is different.  It's optimized for the larger screen and the better hardware.  I'm really excited to get one.  Also, $500 seem extremely cheap.  Especially for Apple.  I mean, my 3G was $400, and it can't do as much as the iPad will do.  I think Apple cutting down their prices like that is going to be a really good thing for them.

[Eerongal]

I do agree that the fact that they close the source is lame, but how is that different from most other products?

Most other companies allow open development, which I think is where that previous point was going. (which isnt the same as open source)

that is, you don't need (insert owning company)'s go ahead to make and sell your program.

Also it's not meant to be a "computer."  It's meant to be able to surf the internet quickly in a comfortable format as well as play with apps.  

Well, since tablet is short for tablet PC, i quite expect it to be something meant to be a "computer", and that is exactly what i want from a tablet (note: i dont actually *WANT* a tablet)

And like Ryos said.  People who want a computer that will truly perform well over the top, they buy a Mac.  I've known at least 5 or 6 people who were total WoW-heads that bought top end Macs so they could run WoW faster and better.

Generally, if you pay attention to benchmark tests and such, mac v. PC is relatively close with mac having a slight lead in performance, it's never been as crushing a defeat as some people make it out to be (and usually not noticeable enough to your everyday consumer). And of course you can always find highly skewed views in favor of each side, but most reputable sources i've seen usually break close enough to even that it isn't a huge deal (however, this isnt what the topic is about, so i dont wanna derail it. If you wanna discuss this, go elsewhere, make another topic, or whatever)

Plus it's not the exact same OS that the iPhone/iTouch run, it's based on the same concept, but it is different.  It's optimized for the larger screen and the better hardware.

You're right, it's not the exact[/b] same OS, it's Iphone OS 3.2, the iphone is at 3.1, and apparently 3.2 is going to be only for the Ipad right now. Assumedly, it'll get pushed to phones/pods eventually.

[Patriotic Kaz]

I don't remember mentioning a price range of over $1000.00, and I do believe i said apple makes a better machine than most of the competitors, and i have no use for the extras. What I was trying to get across is the fact that the i-pod does so well isn't that it is superior (my zen vision m came out at the same time as the original I-pod video was more than $50.00 cheaper and had pretty much the same specs in every regard) but the marketing. People (general statement on mob mentality not meant to say people here follow this train of thought) rarely buy things because they are better, but rather do to marketing. If it was based on quality no one would buy a sleep number which cost the same as a tempurpedic they'd buy the tempurpedic.