Apple Tablet Media Event Today: 'Come See Our Latest Creation'

Eric S. said:

Right.



Steve Jobs, earlier today:

The problem is, this isn't better than either of those.

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I'd say that it's better than either of those for reading ebooks. It's better than an iPhone for web browsing, if only because of its size.

Videos up

http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/1001q3f8hhr/event/index.html

Just like I said it would be... nothing revolutionary, just a big iPhone.

Oh well, I know there are some people who would like to buy a big iPhone.

I've seen the videos, kicked back, thought about it and conclude:

It is a glorified tablet for browsing the 'net, doing e-mail, and a bit of word processing. Oh, and reading books/magazines.

What it isn't:

A serious piece of computer technology for doing business srtuff with.

Personally speaking I was hoping for a MBP 13" in a tablet, with the iPhone touch screen.

I need full OS functionality for my work (software dev) and this just isn't going to cut it. Not by a mile! My NetBook is here to stay, and a MBP is on order.

There is also a trend that if it retails at $849 in the USA, it will be £849 here. The exchange rate doesn't exist where technology is concerned so we are paying currently 1.4 times as much.

Very expensive indeed.

Big flop Apple.

Best regards,
BigCatX.

Disappointed. Definitely just a big iPod Touch, and yet another gadget designed to make Apple richer whilst leaving them in total control over how we use it and what we do with it. The iPhone OS works on a small form factor device but seems limited when scaled up.

Needs to run OS X, simple as that IMHO. My MSI Wind hackbook is more useful to me.

How hard is it to understand Apple.

I don t want to have a device that LOCKS me into your business model of being forced to go through itunes.

I want to install apps that are not forced to be put on itunes store. I want to build my own apps for myself and my clients and not have to have them go through you.

I want the OPTION to either run it as an ipad or as a toned down osx and be able to install my own apps. Lock me again into itunes for anything and I will stay with my airbook

Apple didn't create this for the Technorati, this is for a completely different group who don't care about the things it CAN'T do, but will focus on the things it CAN do, and how that will help them.

Another poster waaay earlier maybe (2000 comments ago!)commented about how these could be used in hospitals. Which totally makes sense.

I see another application. Schools. Both Colleges and High Schools. Think about having all your texts loaded, taking notes either on the virtual keyboard on the dock keyboard. You can search, online research etc... You know someone will be creating a notebook app of some kind. You can already get Pages. For a student, especially those who are worried about weight as they move across campus, this would be ideal. I wonder though, if you can print wirelessly from it? I imagine you should be able too if you can download the driver. If not, sync to your laptop/desktop and you'll be good to go.

I think the price point is about right compared to other products, but I'll probably wait to gen 2. I thought about getting one for my wife, who just surfs/facebooks and emails at home. This would be ideal...except for the no Flash... which would kill her Farmtown/Farmvillage/Mafia wars...

Will Apple address the Flash issue in the future?

My .02¢

Coachingguy

If £663 = $800 then the exchange rate is £1 = $1.20 not the $1.61 currently listed.

I was close.

If not, sync to your laptop/desktop and you'll be good to go.

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I think this is the main problem. It relies on having other computers. It should be *the* computer, IMHO. Apple missed the moment to make tablets mainstream. I know I'd buy one if it did everything a full computer could do.

If they did MBP 13 in a tablet format, it would have been a winner I think, and you could still do all the iBook things with it too, just without all the limitations.

Best regards,
BigCatX.

OllyW said:

That's not true. The nearest priced item in the US Store is the mid model mini which sells for $799. It is £663 in the UK store which means the $849 iPad will probably sell for around £700.

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But what are they smoking if they think £700 is good value for something that isn't as useful as a laptop (or it could be argued even a netbook)? £700 will buy you a pretty decent laptop, especially if it's for everyday use rather than pro stuff.

I think the concept is weak....There's folks on forums all over saying things like "I can imagine this would be useful for when I'm on the sofa and can't be bothered to get up and use my real computer". In other words you have to justify it by thinking of niche uses rather than "Wow, how have I functioned without having one of those".

It just doesn't grab me like a Mac in a tablet form would have done. It needn't be a high performance chip, in fact probably the one that's in it already would be ideal.

I'm not a big fan of the mac computer, fan of the iPhone and the iPods. I was really looking forward to the iPad. Now that I see that I already have the iPad mini (that has a phone) why would I want the iPad. I was hoping for a stand alone device that had full OS X, that didn't need iTunes. I just don't see the point.

BigCatX said:

What it isn't:

A serious piece of computer technology for doing business srtuff with.

Personally speaking I was hoping for a MBP 13" in a tablet, with the iPhone touch screen.

I need full OS functionality for my work (software dev) and this just isn't going to cut it. Not by a mile! My NetBook is here to stay, and a MBP is on order.

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Well that's ok, because it wasn't meant to be that in the very least. It is intended to be just the exact opposite. If you were hoping for a MBP, then they do indeed offer the very MBP you're referring to; and bought. A 13 inch "tablet" would no longer be a "tablet".

BigCatX said:

There is also a trend that if it retails at $849 in the USA, it will be £849 here. The exchange rate doesn't exist where technology is concerned so we are paying currently 1.4 times as much.

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Well that's good, because the cheapest model is $499. Have someone buy it for you in the U.S., or come buy one if you take a trip. Worst case, pick one up on eBay for an inflated price - but probably one still less than the $849 you're referring to.

After much thought I can see where this thing is geared. It is a great product for those that travel and want something more capable than a watered down netbook with a 10 year old processor. It is great for the college student looking for an elegant way to make quick documents, take notes, browse the web and not carry around ten 500 page college text books. I have an ebook on my macbook that I purchased from mcgraw hill and use adobe reader to review it and its miserable. This device will revolutionize the carrying load of your average student. For the hardcore work like long papers, extensive reports, CAD software etc. I will use my macbook or possibly purchase an iMac but honestly you must admit this is quite a device for the simple user. It does everything an iphone, macbook, ebook reader and netbook can do in one simple device. What else do you all want? Full OS X would be too clunky in tablet form and the iphone OS is too basic. The only thing I hate is the screen layout. Looks tacky with a non functional dock at the bottom.

oban14 said:

Just like I said it would be... nothing revolutionary, just a big iPhone.

Oh well, I know there are some people who would like to buy a big iPhone.

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Dude, haven't you heard? There's no more iPhone, it's now called the iPad mini.

New Apple homepage up, featuring their "most advanced technology."

Wow, what the hell has Steve been smoking since his transplant? Whatever it is, it's obviously affecting his sense of "wow".

I'm not wowed by the iPad. In fact, a year from now we'll all be calling it iDud. What a joke!

I seriously think this will be one of those devices that has the potential for a pretty strong paradigm shift, but it needs some work to get their like all of their products have.

Gomff said:

I think the concept is weak....There's folks on forums all over saying things like "I can imagine this would be useful for when I'm on the sofa and can't be bothered to get up and use my real computer". In other words you have to justify it by thinking of niche uses rather than "Wow, how have I functioned without having one of those".

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I got a similar response from my coworkers. They enjoyed the Joy of Tech comic I showed them and the Jobs holding a duct taped iPhones as the iPad.

I followed up with what they would buy instead and it was either a netbook or an iPod Touch. They didn't really know what purpose a bigger iPod/iPhone really served and balked at $499 for one.

NT1440 said:

I seriously think this will be one of those devices that has the potential for a pretty strong paradigm shift, but it needs some work to get their like all of their products have.

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I'd have to rate this as a negative mindshare maker for Apple. I think it'll end up like the Macbook Air or Apple TV but it's not total disaster.

What boggles me is how it got this response even with all the infrastructure Apple has put into place.

This device would be truly revolutionary if they could make it small enough to fit in your pocket, and maybe give it a camera and the ability to make phone calls.

.......oh.

Multitasking
Flash
Front facing camera

Three things Apple could have easily included (please don't tell me Apple engineers could not) that would have made the iPad a game changer. Apple will slowly add these features into future updates of the iPad like they always do. Intentionally do not include key features only to add them in slowly and hope the user upgrades.

I would have been happy with just multitasking alone.

3N16MA said:

Multitasking
Flash
Front facing camera

Three things Apple could have easily included (please don't tell me Apple engineers could not) that would have made the iPad a game changer. Apple will slowly add these features into future updates of the iPad like they always do. Intentionally do not include key features only to add them in slowly and hope the user upgrades.

I would have been happy with just multitasking alone.

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You mean 3rd party multitasking?

It's absolutely perfect...

...for my purposes! It has everything I need. I don't have an iPhone and I don't have an iPod Touch, so I can't claim (or complain) like others that already have either of these gadgets that this tablet won't be useful to me. I really, really appreciate the larger screen.

My purposes are simply:
Read e-books, PDFs, mags, newspapers (I know without a doubt that my favorite mags will available here.
Browse the web
Email
Some music
Photos
Calendar
iWork - doc viewing and editing capabilities (you can't beat that price!)
Occasional movies (taking advantage that it CAN do that)

I'm sold.

I'm not much into games, music, movies and all the other fluff apps out there. I know I'm probably in the minority, but I'm sure I'm not the only one. For students, this is one of the best inventions! I'm glad I wasn't all over this forum reading everyones' expectations (many unrealistic). Mine, was something with more functionality than a $500 Kindle, which is what I was planning to get until I heard the Tablet rumors several weeks ago. This surpasses my needs, so in my book: Way to go, Apple!!

This is just the beginning... you'll see how much better this precious tablet will be within a year or two (I'm NOT a 1st gen. buyer! )

The iPad is gonna be a HUGE flop. I can feel it. I don't see a lot of ppl buying it.

Prof. said:

The iPad is gonna be a HUGE flop. I can feel it. I don't see a lot of ppl buying it.

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Isn't that what most people here said about the iPhone when it was announced? Critics were saying, "it's missing", "it's missing that...", bleh, bleh..." "My Nokia is better and can do more", "it's too big", "too small", "Yuk, no hardware keyboard? this SUCKS"

Look at it now!

The first gen iPod? Hello! There were far better MP3 players than the iPod out there... look at it now.

The Kindle, with its limited capabilities, has sold MILLIONS, the number ONE selling product in all of Amazon.com. And mind you, the software is available for FREE for the iPhone, iPod Touch, PCs, and soon Macs and BlackBerries. But why is the actual Kindle hardware selling so much?? If people were so happy to read their e-books in a 3.5 inch screen, Kindle should have failed as soon the software became available as a freebie to other hardware.

Your vision is so limited! This tablet is a gem. I'm not even a developer but I see the possibilities with this. They are endless!

ISMPlus said:

The first gen iPod? Hello! There were far better MP3 players than the iPod out there... look at it now.

Your vision is so limited! This tablet is a gem. I'm not even a developer but I see the possibilities with this. They are endless!

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We're already at the top with this product though. Where do we go? We're not climbing out of the just another MP3 player wasteland. We have content store galore and an application repository.

Blue waters aren't made by taking the iPhone and making it bigger.

ISMPlus said:

Isn't that what most people here said about the iPhone when it was announced? Critics were saying, "it's missing", "it's missing that...", bleh, bleh..." "My Nokia is better and can do more", "it's too big", "too small", "Yuk, no hardware keyboard? this SUCKS"

Look at it now!

The first gen iPod? Hello! There were far better MP3 players than the iPod out there... look at it now.

The Kindle, with its limited capabilities, has sold MILLIONS, the number ONE selling product in all of Amazon.com. And mind you, the software is available for FREE for the iPhone, iPod Touch, PCs, and soon Macs and BlackBerries. But why is the actual Kindle hardware selling so much?? If people were so happy to read their e-books in a 3.5 inch screen, Kindle should have failed as soon the software became available as a freebie to other hardware.

Your vision is so limited! This tablet is a gem. I'm not even a developer but I see the possibilities with this. They are endless!

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I agree I don't like it that much
that said, this thing is going to skyrocket and sell like crazy... for 499? hellz yeah