Steve Jobs at Apple Town Hall Meeting, Google, Adobe, Next iPhone, 2010 Macs and More

[ViViDboarder]

Being able to play it is one part of the puzzle, if it can't display any of the image benefits of Blu-Ray, you might has well have bought the DVD for the trip and saved $700+ for by not buying that player.

Then just buy a Sony (or Toshiba, etc) laptop and use that instead of bringing a Mac or buying that turkey. For what it's worth, I've considered buying a Blu-Ray laptop, that Panasonic thing is just a waste of money in comparison.

I'm sure you can plug it into a TV though too... If not then you're absolutely right. What's the point of having HD media on a VGA screen?

 

[DoFoT9]

Don't you mean iWork?

yes lol i do! always get them mixed up!

 

[megadon]

interesting. im not arguing with you by any means, but the features of the ipad will basically mirror that of the ipod touch (apart from iLife etc).

i only hope that apple will release some REAL features for the ipad - e.g. control your mac, create a movie on the fly (press and drag etc) for simple movies, and lots of other things.

dont get me wrong though! i will be purchasing the ipad for writing uni note (the 10hr battery life is more attractive then my 2hr mbp battery life lol).

youve nailed it on the head there though, its the form factor and convenience for sure! sure, it wont fit in my pocket, but i always have a backpack with me anyways - no drama!

Remember, it's all about marketing, so when you watch the video about the ipad and it says "10 hrs" you have to pause and read the fine print which says battery depends on usage and settings.

If you don't own a laptop, I understand why you want one. But if you own a laptop and an iphone, why would you want to lug something around in a bag, when you can do the same thing with your lap top and have a real keyboard? and when you need quick internet, you got your iphone.

And typing for university?, not sure what you're taking, but taking notes on a real keyboard will be much faster than anything else..

personally, I have a macbook air, and if I need to lug something around with a bag, I rather it have a real OS, be able to run more than one app at once, have a web cam, and a real keyboard. And I live in Canada, where I can tether legally, so I would never need another apple product with a 3G data plan. (other than my iphone)

Mind you, these are all personal reasons that I don't need one, and I'm sure there are many people who would like one, so I can't knock them for that. I just don't understand why anyone who currently owns a decent laptop and an iphone (and I'm sure thats a lot of people) would ever need an ipad that does less, but it's still too big to fit in your pocket.

 

[FightTheFuture]

So... You're saying that it's bad to say it's like an iPod touch only because of it's physical similarities, while in the next sentence you say that the major difference is it's physical differences, like the form factor being bigger...

They took a device that has more features than the iPad (iPhone) and then made it bigger and took some of the features away (Camera, phone...). If you think that's innovative great. I haven't seen very many Apple Mac updates that were much more innovative either.

some of the features on the iPad will be exclusive to the device, while the iPhone will have it's own features. i'm even willing to bet the iPhone OS 4.0 update will divide the two even further. this is what i mean by just excusing it as an "oversized iPod Touch." the numbers spreadsheet demo simply can't be done on the iPhone because of the size of it's screen, and reading eBooks on the iPhone isn't as nice as something the size of a kindle.

for instance, i went to recipezaar.com the other day on the iPhone and since they dont' have a mobile site, navigating the page was a pain. just because of the size of the screen, the iPad will be easier navigate.

...if you own a laptop and an iphone, why would you want to lug something around in a bag, when you can do the same thing with your lap top and have a real keyboard?

being that the iPad is smaller than an issue of Time Magazine and only 1.5 pounds isn't exactly something you'll 'lug around.' it'll be a lot easier to throw an iPad in your bag then pack up your Air.

don't get me wrong, the iPad is definitely not for me. it's not for 3/4 of the people on this site. but i see where it fits in portable computing. for the rest of us, megadon had the solution since 2008. the MacBook Air.

 

[xbjllb]

Being able to play it is one part of the puzzle, if it can't display any of the image benefits of Blu-Ray, you might has well have bought the DVD for the trip and saved $700+ for by not buying that player.

Then just buy a Sony (or Toshiba, etc) laptop and use that instead of bringing a Mac or buying that turkey. For what it's worth, I've considered buying a Blu-Ray laptop, that Panasonic thing is just a waste of money in comparison.

I have over 100 blu-ray discs in my collection I will NEVER duplicate by buying on DVD for my 65" plasma and I want to watch them on the go.

Furthermore, I need to show Blu-rays I've burned to clients, anywhere. Like it or not, newest technology impresses in the business world whether or not the display itself matches or not. A laptop in that case is overkill and needlessly complicated. And my clients will take my Blu-ray home and watch them on their 65" plasmas. Some highend clients I will actually gift the Panasonic, earning even more money for them and not Apple.

You get the best you can get to do the job, at the best price. Apple has not been the best I could get for years now, and I will never trust them again to deliver cutting edge workstations.

 

[xbjllb]

I'm sure you can plug it into a TV though too... If not then you're absolutely right. What's the point of having HD media on a VGA screen?

Panasonic's NEXT portable player will have an HD screen after this one succeeds in the marketplace, and then THEY will get my money AGAIN, not Apple.

I reward companies that give me what I need with my hard-earned money, and deprive those who will not.

 

[DoFoT9]

Remember, it's all about marketing, so when you watch the video about the ipad and it says "10 hrs" you have to pause and read the fine print which says battery depends on usage and settings.

as i said, 10hrs is better then 2 - even if it ends up being 5 in real life! the thing cant multitask though, which annoys me.

If you don't own a laptop, I understand why you want one. But if you own a laptop and an iphone, why would you want to lug something around in a bag, when you can do the same thing with your lap top and have a real keyboard? and when you need quick internet, you got your iphone.

i dont have an iphone, i have a nokia e63. its pretty slow/lame on internet use, sure it works fine, but the screen isnt really big enough to make for an efficient/effective web browsing experience. this is where the ipad comes in i dont have to whack out my heavy MBP (i probably wouldnt even take it with me!), and worry about putting the brightness on the lowest settings just to get though ONE lecture. i have 8hrs in a row on fridays, no time to recharge batteries or anything. ipad = win in this situation.

And typing for university?, not sure what you're taking, but taking notes on a real keyboard will be much faster than anything else..

as somebody who can type 80wpm accurately, you're right. the ipad will be slower and whatnot, but that doesnt really bother me. as long as i can get the main points out. i figure that i could type around 50wpm on the ipad.

personally, I have a macbook air, and if I need to lug something around with a bag, I rather it have a real OS, be able to run more than one app at once, have a web cam, and a real keyboard. And I live in Canada, where I can tether legally, so I would never need another apple product with a 3G data plan. (other than my iphone)

fair call, i would LOVE to be able to do that with the ipad - but it wont happen. i can tether too (free in aust). but around uni i only seem to download at 6KB/s. (that ISNT a typo). so yea, tethering is a no go. the ipad will connect to the uni internet and it will be all fine and dandy.

Mind you, these are all personal reasons that I don't need one, and I'm sure there are many people who would like one, so I can't knock them for that. I just don't understand why anyone who currently owns a decent laptop and an iphone (and I'm sure thats a lot of people) would ever need an ipad that does less, but it's still too big to fit in your pocket.

decent laptop? i wouldnt call my laptop decent. its the original MBP that came out. its slow and it drives me up the wall. multi tasking is a whack in the nuts, and the battery life is the real killer for me.

there are other reasons for it though, i would get a lot of usage around the house - watching movies in bed (my gf and i do a lot of that, it puts us to sleep after a long day of study), sitting on fb/IM around the house, maybe even skyping my friends around the world (if a camera ipad comes out eventually haha).

overall though, i think its more for the fun of it - its a brand new device in the market! a new era of technology and im positive it will change how we use/interact with both technology and each other. i no longer have to be sitting down to type a message, or view an email (i.e. laptop) - i can (with some training) read an email and reply to it one handed whilst walking. yea, anyway you get the picture.

p.s. i really dislike the iphone as a business tool, great as a toy!

 

[charlituna]

Uh... because I can't play them on my Mac. Duh.

Blu-ray is all about having the movie theatre experience at home. It's a tech designed for 50" and up screens. Not a 15" laptop. It's overkill.

Even the blu-ray creators know this and many titles now have not only the blu-ray AND the dvd but a digital copy included in the package. For those "I want to be take it on trips and such" folks.

So for many, myself included, the lack of blu-ray in the Mac isn't that major a deal.

The reason Apple will not be able to sustain the current level of growth is due to the fact that each year, they have to introduce a new product to get higher and higher earnings.

We will see if you are right or not. But my gut says you are not. Apple's growth, it seems to me, is as much about being computers to the masses, particularly masses that are 'afraid' of computers as being big bang professional machines. So things like their personal training program (which is unmatched and has been since they started it) are pushing sales as much as the new products.

Remember, it's all about marketing, so when you watch the video about the ipad and it says "10 hrs" you have to pause and read the fine print which says battery depends on usage and settings.

That's the same for all devices from all companies. But the fact that it is 'up to 10 hours' and not the 'up to 5 hours' that was standard before Apple's last round of laptops is pretty amazing.

And typing for university?, not sure what you're taking, but taking notes on a real keyboard will be much faster than anything else..

I suspect that someone right now is working on a dictation program and maybe even an external mike for students and also perhaps a handwriting notepad app. So that students can have different ways to take those notes.

And you might be surprised at how fact some folks, especially kids, can type on that little iphone screen. They wouldn't have any trouble with the ipad keyboard

personally, I have a macbook air,

It's great that the Air works for you. But a lot of folks around me feel that it's a joke. It's too slow, etc. It's basically really only good for the same things the ipad is good for (email, light word processing, playing music, etc) but at several times the price.

 

[AidenShaw]

Blu-ray is all about having the movie theatre experience at home. It's a tech designed for 50" and up screens. Not a 15" laptop. It's overkill.

You'd prefer to upscale a 300Kpixel (or less) DVD image to your
1.3 Mpixel laptop display, instead of downscaling a 2 Mpixel
image?

To me, it's not overkill to want to play the BD in the laptop,
it's common sense.

By the way, that 50" rule for home theatres to see the
1080p difference is based on the distance from the eyes to the
screen. It's meaningless unless the distance between the viewer
and the screen is included.

Your 15" laptop screen at arm's length is visually as large as
a 72" screen that's about 9 feet away. (THX says that the
recommended viewing distance is 1.37 times the screen
diagonal - SMPTE says 2 times. See this article on HDTV viewing distance
for more details.)

Click to enlarge

 

[appleseed76]

Great way to back up files, if nothing else.

True, but so are wireless external harddrives and cloud-based backup services. Of course I can't always find what I want to watch online (I like Anime in its original Japanese with English subtitles), at least not legally, so I buy the DVD, rip it, and watch it on my TV via my iPhone and the Component Cable Adapter. Pluses: no optical drive, or fan noises. Minuses: Time it takes to convert a DVD.