And who's fault was that? Apple never advertised or promised any features, nor did they even advertise that they were releasing a tablet. That hype was created by people on the internet.
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Apple Tablet Media Event Today: 'Come See Our Latest Creation'
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And who's fault was that? Apple never advertised or promised any features, nor did they even advertise that they were releasing a tablet. That hype was created by people on the internet.
No, it's not the exchange rate and thats EXACTLY the point... The exchange rate is something around £1=$1.60, but when it comes to IT stuff we end up paying more or less £1=$1. So for a item that sells for $1000 in the US (shipped from Taiwan), instead of paying about £625 that should be the price according to the exchange rate, we end up getting charged about £1000.
Of course, many UK people don't realise that US prices usually don't include tax whereas UK prices normally do, but even with US tax added there's still a big difference between the exchange rate and what we end up paying compared to you.
Im not sure what true media device is? It has same browser also without flash, doesn't play any audio/video iphone doesn't unless i've missed something, and doesn't have the portability of the iphone.
Id much rather have updated iPhone and laptops
It is better than an iPhone at many apps. If those don't mean anything to you then it isn't a product for you.
Apple is going to do updated iPhone and laptops when they would have done updated iPhones and laptops anyway!!!! That was never going to change.
Apple delivers but it is usually just once a year. If you are a update 2-3 times a year junky then you are buying from the wrong folks.
[ the computers usually get a minor speed bump inside of a year, but that is about all you can expect. ]
iPods and Touch will update in September time frame.
iPhone in June/July timeframe.
I don't see Apple getting off of those dates. They are predictable and there is little real need to make them come any more frequent.
laptops on the same frequency as they have been for many, many, many years .... see the mac rumors buyers guide.
This announcement has very little to do with those update windows.
More thoughts on "professional" GPS apps (police, delivery, etc.):
I suspect for any serious professional GPS app, they would want an external GPS receiver anyway. Probably with an external antenna, as well.
This already exists for the iPhone - the Garmin $99 kit, etc.
It does appear that the iPad has USB through the dock, and this is what the Garmin kit uses. I suspect the existing Garmin kit would work, though obviously the iPad wouldn't fit in the Garmin dock (would need a cable).
I could easily see a $100-$200 accessory for these apps, with a cable to a receiver with a rooftop antenna.
Since the 3G model does have assisted GPS built-in (just HOW "assisted" it is is irrelevant to this particular discussion) this allows developers to noodle and demonstrate apps. Somebody big like FedEx gets with the program, and the external products will appear.
No idea if they will have a 3rd-party hardware program that allows dock devices like with iPhone but suspect they would. They did say that all iPhone apps will work as-is. That would seem to point to "yes".
The omissions from the presentation are curious, but a lot of the "missing" stuff is right there on the spec page and a little reading between the lines. The presentation ran long, and I guess they didn't want it to run even longer.
These kind of applications are probably a drop in the bucket overall for Apple. It's more exciting for the professional mobile location market than for Apple. More important to the bottom line of FedEx, UPS, local police departments, etc. than for Apple. But it's one more thing that could push it to ubiquity.
I suspect for any serious professional GPS app, they would want an external GPS receiver anyway. Probably with an external antenna, as well.
This already exists for the iPhone - the Garmin $99 kit, etc.
It does appear that the iPad has USB through the dock, and this is what the Garmin kit uses. I suspect the existing Garmin kit would work, though obviously the iPad wouldn't fit in the Garmin dock (would need a cable).
I could easily see a $100-$200 accessory for these apps, with a cable to a receiver with a rooftop antenna.
Since the 3G model does have assisted GPS built-in (just HOW "assisted" it is is irrelevant to this particular discussion) this allows developers to noodle and demonstrate apps. Somebody big like FedEx gets with the program, and the external products will appear.
No idea if they will have a 3rd-party hardware program that allows dock devices like with iPhone but suspect they would. They did say that all iPhone apps will work as-is. That would seem to point to "yes".
The omissions from the presentation are curious, but a lot of the "missing" stuff is right there on the spec page and a little reading between the lines. The presentation ran long, and I guess they didn't want it to run even longer.
These kind of applications are probably a drop in the bucket overall for Apple. It's more exciting for the professional mobile location market than for Apple. More important to the bottom line of FedEx, UPS, local police departments, etc. than for Apple. But it's one more thing that could push it to ubiquity.
Yes, I knew the Tablet PC existed yesterday but it didn't revolutionize anything.
Hah, the Tablet PCs didn't "revolutionize" anything because Apple didn't make them. If Apple made the exact same tablet as the Thinkpad X200 tablet but with Snow Leopard, all of you fanboys would be rushing to buy one and be in awe at how well it recognized your handwriting.
Don't deny it.
Or you can buy Lenovo IdeaPad U1 (Google it) for $1000 and will give your both laptop and the pad. Two CPUs (ARM and Intel) better resolution, real OS (Linux + Windows 7) and so much more.
It's probably just a bug. Application was coded for iPhone resolution and does not understand coordinates greater than that
if the exchange rate was constant it would be less of an issue. When the exchange rates are more volatile a risk buffer is often stuck into the foreign prices so that don't get hiccup in the corporate balance sheet numbers (which are reported in dollars). Apple isn't going to flip prices on a weekly/monthly basis of where the rates are at.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
No doubt that any company would like to find a cheaper way to deliver their products. i completely agree that every publisher would like to go digital. I disagree that college textbook publishers who know the kid has to buy THEIR book will choose to discount and/or pass along the savings of printing on paper to that student. They'll just pocket the difference.
It is a kind of monopoly. If the kid takes the class they MUST buy the book at whatever price the publisher & (colluding with the) school want for it. The lessor option is to buy last year's used versions, but that's why the books are updated (and related materials updated) so often (not to stay on the cutting edge of knowledge... but to obsolete the used book market).
Don't get me wrong. I'm all for the dream of all schools having to select mainstream books that cover the same subject just about as well, but priced at dirt cheap prices (for our mostly poor students). That's just not the world we live in.
Are movie media in iTunes cheaper than their "printed" DVD versions? Are TV Shows cheaper than their "printed" DVD versions? Is music cheaper than their "printed" CD versions? But these textbooks locked in a lucrative monopoly are somehow going to be different? Keep dreaming.
I think people complaining that this is more an iPhone and less a Macbook are missing the benefits of a focused computing environment and (more importantly) the sorts of uses to which this device will very likely be successfully put. It's not supposed to be a full PC - that's what the Macbook is for. It's a specialized, elegant solution for a handful of common uses, far more elegant than a netbook, if narrower in focus. I think once dedicated iPad apps start coming out we're going to see the full potential of the device - much as we did with the iPhone.
WHen you have so many haters on here saying you don't get much of anything from the iPad for $500, it makes perfect sense to bring people into reality that the Kindle is basically a book reader for the same price. The iPad could be the ultimate handheld gaming device alone.
Nail. On. Head.
Multi-tasking will come - it's inevitable. I'm sure Apple just want to do it in a way that it doesn't detract from the current simplicity and user experience. This is just the start - the o/s will evolve as the iphone has.
Whats the big deal?
I have to admit, it looks awesome! And after reading about it I totally wanted one, but after I calmed down and took a breath, I realized that this is just a large iPhone/iPod touch! It doesn't have flash, multitasking, and you sync it like an iPod. There is nothing new except for the screen, and at 20 years of age I can still see my iPod screen...I would have hoped for something in between the iPhone and full sized computer, but this is just a big iPod touch(no camera).
Its too big to carry around in your pocket, but not something you can take to school and take notes on...so I beg the question, after one calms down and thinks reasonably, whats so great about it? What does it actually do that you can't already do? I will buy one when it becomes its own computer and not a big iPhone/Touch, or at least has some features of a full sized computer...
I have to admit, it looks awesome! And after reading about it I totally wanted one, but after I calmed down and took a breath, I realized that this is just a large iPhone/iPod touch! It doesn't have flash, multitasking, and you sync it like an iPod. There is nothing new except for the screen, and at 20 years of age I can still see my iPod screen...I would have hoped for something in between the iPhone and full sized computer, but this is just a big iPod touch(no camera).
Its too big to carry around in your pocket, but not something you can take to school and take notes on...so I beg the question, after one calms down and thinks reasonably, whats so great about it? What does it actually do that you can't already do? I will buy one when it becomes its own computer and not a big iPhone/Touch, or at least has some features of a full sized computer...
Agreed, and I've used the same argument myself previously, but such a buffer is going to be +/- 5%, not 40 odd percent, even in today's financial climate. On iTunes Apple's still happy to say $1 = 60p.
I think you misinterpret the situation. Look at dedicated iPhone applications. There is nothing special there. PC counterparts for most of them existed for years. The difference there is that iPhone is a mobile device. Having those apps in your pocket does make a difference. It's not the case with iPad. It's too big for carrying out around.
You are delusional if you think Apple didn't stoke this hype wave around the iPad and that all of the hype was totally grass-root based. No way, no how. Yes sites like macrumors have made a mint off of the the rumors but Apple was down there stoking the fire too.
Apple in part built this monster. To extend folks also have themselves to blame because many too the vagueness and injected their own wants/desires as opposed to what was more deducible from the few facts that leaked out.
Exactly. All of the techies bombarding the nets with their fail/epic fail/eh/meh posts because the iPad is missing this feature or that feature are missing the whole point. This is pitched as a consumer electronics device, not a general computing appliance. The audience for consumer electronics is more about doing specific things well, not putting up with bugs and half-baked features that fill a checklist but aren't useful for much else. For now, the iPad has a narrow focus as a media device with about 140k apps available to use on it out of the box.
The true test of the iPad's impact will be felt when the platform and the ecosystem of apps, accessories, and other connectivity tools get more fully developed. The iPod didn't hit its stride until about the third year, and it took more than a year before the iPhone .
Long feature lists might impress lazy tech reviewers and techies who obsess with the size of their object-of-fanboy-worship's spec sheet, but for the average consumer it's about accessing their content with the least amount of hassle.
Look, it ISN'T just the exchange rate. We can understand mathematics and currency fluctuations. Even with UK sales tax (VAT) added and allowing for import duties and some leeway for currency fluctuations - Apple is one of the worst offenders for price ramping in the UK.
Base MacBook = $999 (UK equivalent £618)
plus VAT @ 17.5% = £726
Actual price in UK Apple Store £816 ($1,317).
Not true, there are very successful book publishers like Modern Book and Phaidon who specialize in art and photography books. I highly doubt even the biggest gear head would get much enjoyment out of a kindle version of Nachtwey's "Inferno".
Not everything in life should be digital nor can it be...thank god!
Shiiiii, I paid $499 for a 1st generation iPod (10gb). $499 for what this thing does is an excellent deal.
Why on earth not? This is a perfect device for note taking. It has a near-full-size keyboard, iWork, and no doubt 500 other note taking apps soon to be available in the App store. Given its great battery life and portability, I'd say this beats pretty much any MacBook or netbook for that task.
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