Apple Announces April 3rd Launch Date for Wi-Fi iPad in the U.S.

[Arran]

If I was an iPhone developer I would be extremely hesitant about porting any of my applications to iPad. The market is going to be tiny (a fraction of the size of iPhone) and without significant hardware improvements to the device it will remain that way indefinitely.

You hypothetical opinion is noted. Here's mine: If I was an iPhone developer (desperately racing to outsmart the competition and be first to market with my iPad app) I'd likely say the same.

Much like Steve declared that, "nobody wants to watch video on a tiny screen", and "nobody reads books anymore", and ...

 

[notjustjay]

i agree. my desktop calculator is a computer also. so is my vacuum cleaner and my electric toothbrush.

I don't believe any of those support Turing complete instruction sets, though (well, the calculator might, depending on the sophistication) so I don't know if we can technically call those computers.

 

[jeznav]

So it compiles differently and creates 2 separate apps then? I think most people would expect a single version of the app that self configures itself at run time, so that they could have a single app on multiple devices.

It can compile to a Universal Binary.

 

[Eso]

Have you even seen the version of the iWorks apps on the iPad or even just the new Calendar app? Do you really think these things would be possible on an iPod Touch?

It baffles me how people have such a hard time seeing how much better of an app experience is possible on the iPad.

It's not just about the apps. Sure, the apps will be more capable than on an iPhone... so what?

People call it a big iPod Touch because it uses the exact same OS. It wasn't scaled up for a larger screen and no features were added that would make sense on a tablet form-factor. There still must be solutions for general OS deficiencies on a per-app basis. Hell, it embarrassingly uses the same grid of icons and the 2" slide-to-unlock tab.

They could have added some simple features to really expand the usefulness of the device, more broadly bridge the gap between smartphone and laptop, and take advantage of the screen real estate. Instead, they rebuilt a few apps. It could have been so much more.

You can't print.

You can't view any media beyond the limited formats supported by an iPod (no automatic updates to codecs).

You can't access files on the device.

You can't attach files from the email client.

You can't plug in any USB devices beyond a camera - most notably thumb drives.

You can't open more than one app at a time.

You can't receive an mp3 from email/IM and play it.

You can't say, "There's an app for that" because it's a limited work-around, not a solution. For example, there are apps that support printing. That doesn't give the iPad the ability to print, however. It just means you can print from within the app.

The most popular printing app quadruples as a file-storage app (required to print files you cumbersomely load in the app over WiFi), an email client (after you set up your accounts independently within the app), a web browser (to print web pages), and a photo viewer (to print photos synced through iTunes).

Really, that's the best printing method they can devise on the iPad? Even then, it's limited to printing over WiFi because you can't plug in a printer (through USB, a standard fare these days).

Now, I just took printing as an example, but these are the kinds of solutions for many types of apps.

 

[dejo]

...no features were added that would make sense on a tablet form-factor.

Nonsense. We now have split-views and popovers!

 

[jeznav]

I don't think of it as a giant iPod Touch. More a giant iPhone, with no phone, no compass and no camera, but with the added bonus of an XGA screen resolution of 1024x768, just like cutting edge technology in 1990.

It has a compass.

 

[phpmaven]

Posts such as these on every thread are simple tiresome.
Apple is a big company and working on many things at the same time - not every announcement is an indication that "your desired product" is being ignored.

Besides, I love my 17" unibody MBP... summer '09 model. Nothing wrong with it.

Off to the iggy list for you!

And to make a comment on the actual article... this is just in time for my birthday - sadly I'm in Canada.

Remember, other countries have their own regulators - FCC approval means nothing in Canada nor in the UK. Apple has lots of hoops to jump through for such regulatory approvals for a worldwide launch.

I totally agree. What is this fascination with a supposed imminent update to the MPB? My late 2008 15" is an awesome machine, once I replaced the pokey original HD that is

 

[racer1441]

what about the people that don't have apple stores? And don't want to order online what gives

How do you get anything if you don't order online?

I haven't bought a single local thing, other than food, for years.

 

[Lepton]

If I was an iPhone developer I would be extremely hesitant about porting any of my applications to iPad. The market is going to be tiny (a fraction of the size of iPhone) and without significant hardware improvements to the device it will remain that way indefinitely.

Not me, I'm working hard to get my apps TrackinU, Myallo HotList, and Airmote, ready in universal versions that will work on the iPad as well as the iPhones. Making an app into a universal version can give all current owenrs of the app a free update to a version they can load on their iPad as well. TrackinU should have its update ready on day one (i.e. as soon as Apple lets us get them on the store). I don't think I'm alone wanting to get in there fast.

There should be a second gold rush, as the iPad part of the App Store is allegedly going to be front and center, and new owners will presumably want to grab some software specially set up for their new toy.

Only problem is I don't have an actual device to test on! We have to develop exclusively in the simulator environment for now. It makes me a little nervous to release something that has never been on a device, though it has been done before. Apple should give developers the ability to go to the head of the line to get a (single) device, don't you think?

 

[gohanmzt]

Nope, this is the usual line the slammers use, but it's just not true.

Then what is the difference (at the moment) other than size and the iwork touch apps? the thing even runs the same OS version as the ipod touch as far as I know.

 

[hoover86]

eBaying iPad?

So this is my little entrepreneurial idea...reserve an iPad to pick up, and then throw it on eBay for a profit.

Will this work? Is it legal to sell it on eBay (I'm thinking international stuff).

 

[admanimal]

Only problem is I don't have an actual device to test on! We have to develop exclusively in the simulator environment for now. It makes me a little nervous to release something that has never been on a device, though it has been done before. Apple should give developers the ability to go to the head of the line to get a (single) device, don't you think?

I think Apple is going to delay when we can submit apps until after the device is available.

Then what is the difference (at the moment) other than size and the iwork touch apps? the thing even runs the same OS version as the ipod touch as far as I know.

It does not run the same OS version as any current device.

 

[dejo]

Apple should give developers the ability to go to the head of the line to get a (single) device, don't you think?

Would be nice if developers had access to pre-release devices to test on. I'm not holding my breath though...

the thing even runs the same OS version as the ipod touch as far as I know.

No, it doesn't. iPad runs iPhone OS 3.2. iPod touches only run 3.1.3.

 

[Eso]

It does not run the same OS version as any current device.

Because the iPhone or iPod Touch will never be updated to 3.2 (or 4.0 along with the iPad)...

Nonsense. We now have split-views and popovers!

Oh, well then, my mistake!

Those may be new API's, but they don't expand the functionality of the OS. Pop-overs are nothing special, just the iPad version of menus that pop-up from the bottom (like in photos).

I don't know what split-views are, but that sounds a lot like frames in a browser, and I don't see how that is much different that what developers could already do. The month view in the built-in calender app, for example, shows a grid of squares on the top portion and a scrollable list on the bottom.

 

[neoark]

Busy day adding to my iggy list...

I think they were thinking that announcing a sales date for their hot new product would generate buzz.

Maybe start a new thread or post to one of the dozens about "new" MBP's instead of polluting this thread with off topic crap.

Heh .... doesn't it make sense to announce product that has already 50% market so they don't loose out on customers then take a risk promoting new product which has high chance of failure? Or probably they are appealing to apple fan boys zombies?

 

[Lepton]

Then what is the difference (at the moment) other than size and the iwork touch apps? the thing even runs the same OS version as the ipod touch as far as I know.

There are a few differences, like those 'popover' windows, but they are not huge. The thing is, the size of the screen itself makes a really big difference.

Take iWork. You can't do that on the phone, it would be painful (and they did add some stuff to allow handling "rich text"). On Pages for iPad you've got a screen you can really read, room to fit a chunk of text, rulers, an almost full size keyboard, ability to use a real Bluetooth keyboard (also new for the pad) and so on. The size makes a word processor possible. Same with Numbers and Keynote.

And, its the same with many apps. Two of my apps feature maps. Wow, there is a huge difference between the cramped way they look on the iPhone and the big/full screen maps on the iPad. Just check out Google Maps on the iPad when you get a chance, you see a big chunk of real estate in amazing detail in the satellite view. I can't wait to see TomTom-like navigation apps on the iPad.

I think for app after app, the larger screen will make a surprisingly big difference, games, productivity, readers, on and on. The pad can really replace a netbook for many. People disagree, but I'm sure of it. We will see loads of these on planes, in conference rooms, libraries, schoolrooms.

Size counts.

 

[shakenmartini]

It's not just about the apps. Sure, the apps will be more capable than on an iPhone... so what?

People call it a big iPod Touch because it uses the exact same OS. It wasn't scaled up for a larger screen and no features were added that would make sense on a tablet form-factor. There still must be solutions for general OS deficiencies on a per-app basis. Hell, it embarrassingly uses the same grid of icons and the 2" slide-to-unlock tab.

They could have added some simple features to really expand the usefulness of the device, more broadly bridge the gap between smartphone and laptop, and take advantage of the screen real estate. Instead, they rebuilt a few apps. It could have been so much more.

So navigate away from MacRumors and go to a discussion for one of the MANY devices out there that has the features you want. If you don't like the iPad, don't buy it.

You can't print.

wrong, the frameworks are there, but I'm not sure if it will be ready at launch

You can't view any media beyond the limited formats supported by an iPod (no automatic updates to codecs).

Codec support is just fine for most people, if not is is easy to convert since most "formats" are just containers. Plus for battery life reason putting into a native codec is desireable

You can't access files on the device.

This is handled in a really elegant manner. People will be pleasantly surprised about how files are handled.

You can't attach files from the email client.

See above, handled very elegantly, I can't say more until the NDA is lifted

You can't plug in any USB devices beyond a camera - most notably thumb drives.

Apple views thumb drives as they did floppy disks for better or worse. The problem with full USB is that they have to write a driver for all the devices and it leads to insecurity. This is the Apple way. If you don't like it, I suggest MacRumors and the iPad are not the place you should be hanging around. Dell should have a really interesting entry in this space so go and hang out at Dell forums, Archos forums or what have you. You'll just be a happier person.

See the macbook air, they are aggressively trying to move everything to wireless. I assume there is a technical hurdle that prevents wireless syncing of iPhones and iPods, but very soon I predict all iPhone OS devices will sync wirelessly.

You can't open more than one app at a time.

Just wait, this is changing. Frameworks are already in place to allow 3rd party apps to run at the same time.

They seem to be waiting for a way to allow this, but I think they they are waiting because there needs to be significant App QC to have a good user experience. I also think they are waiting for garbage collection memory management to be implemented before allowing 3rd party apps to run in the background since the hardest part of coding for the iPhone OS is memory management with limited memory. This isn't a desktop app, memory management is the most challenging part of coding for a mobile app.

From jailbreaking we know that it works right now, but is not a great user experience in all cases

The iPhone dev team claims a jailbreak is possible on the iPad, so I suspect you can background apps via jailbreak very close to release

You can't receive an mp3 from email/IM and play it.

Yup a problem, not a game changer

You can't say, "There's an app for that" because it's a limited work-around, not a solution. For example, there are apps that support printing. That doesn't give the iPad the ability to print, however. It just means you can print from within the app.

The most popular printing app quadruples as a file-storage app (required to print files you cumbersomely load in the app over WiFi), an email client (after you set up your accounts independently within the app), a web browser (to print web pages), and a photo viewer (to print photos synced through iTunes).

Again, in the iPad, the iPhone paradigms change considerably to allow these. iPad uses the same core OS, but has a different GUI layer and a superset of API's that allow for features better suited to the iPad. I don't know if some of these features will be allowed on iPhone/iTouches, but I suspect they will.

Really, that's the best printing method they can devise on the iPad? Even then, it's limited to printing over WiFi because you can't plug in a printer (through USB, a standard fare these days).

Now, I just took printing as an example, but these are the kinds of solutions for many types of apps.

 

[DaveSW]

Interest in Amazon Kindle wanes after Apple iPad unveiling

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...dle_wanes_following_apple_ipad_unveiling.html

 

[tkermit]

i agree. my desktop calculator is a computer also. so is my vacuum cleaner and my electric toothbrush.

My point is, yes, the way a modern Macintosh or Windows computer presents itself is only one of endless possibilities for a computing device. There are many functional ways in which devices like the iPod touch and the iPad lag behind a wider purpose device in the form of a Mac, but I couldn't think of specific omissions that would justify calling only a Mac but not an iPad a computer.

Computers are no doubt here to stay, but whether that will be largely in the embodiment of a Mac or Windows machine is to be doubted. A general purpose computing device might still be needed by a small group of users but I think, for the majority of users, an iPad-like device is more appropriate for their use cases.
Certainly, visible file and folder symbols, Flash playback and an open, unregulated application market are not part of any useful definition of a computer?!

 

[shakenmartini]

I don't know what split-views are, but that sounds a lot like frames in a browser, and I don't see how that is much different that what developers could already do. The month view in the built-in calender app, for example, shows a grid of squares on the top portion and a scrollable list on the bottom.

Mac OSX, iPhone OS and iPhone/iPad OS 3.2 are the same OS.

The only major difference between the OS versions are
1) Memory management
2) API set available and which API's are "finished"
3) GUI layer on top of the OS

Interestingly, Apple apps "multitask" in nearly the same way they do on their desktop OS. The way in which processes are handled by iPhone OS is basically the same as Mac OSX. The difference is that Apple coded their mobile version much more carefully to manage memory and CPU use in the background much more effectively. But they had to because the hardware specs of the iPhone and iPad are significantly less than that used by their desktop OS.

The only other difference is that 3rd party devs must exit their program when the home button is pushed, while Apple allow most of their apps to remain running in the background to some degree or the other.

 

[sharkinfested]

Interest in Amazon Kindle wanes after Apple iPad unveiling

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...dle_wanes_following_apple_ipad_unveiling.html

Yup, I fall in this category. The wife has a Kindle and loves it but doesn’t let me touch it. I was seriously considering getting the DX until Apple announced the iPad for about the same price.

 

[dejo]

Those may be new API's, but they don't expand the functionality of the OS. Pop-overs are nothing special, just the iPad version of menus that pop-up from the bottom (like in photos).

I don't know what split-views are, but that sounds a lot like frames in a browser, and I don't see how that is much different that what developers could already do. The month view in the built-in calender app, for example, shows a grid of squares on the top portion and a scrollable list on the bottom.

Well, maybe you shouldn't be guessing what these things are and how they expand the functionality. As a developer with a knowledge of them, I strongly feel they do.

 

[pmz]

Well, maybe you shouldn't be guessing what these things are and how they expand the functionality. As a developer with a knowledge of them, I strongly feel they do.

They are great things, indeed. You're talking to people (trying to) who have no imagination, whatsoever.

 

[mrgreen4242]

I guess iTunes and the App Store are apps...It would be kind of nice if there was some more apps in the wings (Calculator, Clock, Voice Recorder, Stocks).

I still think that we aren't seeing these sorts of "widget" apps because OS4.0 will add some form of Dashboard like widget layer.

 

[DaveSW]

Yup, I fall in this category. The wife has a Kindle and loves it but doesn’t let me touch it. I was seriously considering getting the DX until Apple announced the iPad for about the same price.

yeah show her who's boss.