Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Tablet Media Event Today: 'Come See Our Latest Creation'
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
- Status
I am gonna buy it
Yes the lack of camera is disappointing and the battery life could be longer but this is exactly what I have been waiting for and I will buy one.
I think people are complaining now but after they calm down the iPads are going to sell like hot cakes and we will all come back to this thread one day and wonder what people were thinking.
-
fanboy
Yes the lack of camera is disappointing and the battery life could be longer but this is exactly what I have been waiting for and I will buy one.
I think people are complaining now but after they calm down the iPads are going to sell like hot cakes and we will all come back to this thread one day and wonder what people were thinking.
-
fanboyBut it doesn't do what a computer does, which is why it sucks. I don't want a giant iPod Touch. I already have an iPhone. I'd be happy if it ran full Mac OS X Snow Leopard and was truly a portable computer, not a giant iPod.
What it really needs is multitasking for things like online radio and instant Messaging and stylus and handwriting recognition for note taking.
The device Ive wanted at the price I wanted
This is exactly the device Ive been wanting at the price Ive been hoping for.
I love my iPod Touch, but the one thing I have always wished for was a larger, high-rez screen so I could use it to read books and PDFs. 1024x768 is high enough resolution for me to work comfortably.
If the on-screen keyboard works, the iPad will replace my laptop in my daily school routine. It is 25% the weight, far less voluminous, and with iWork will satisfy my major computing tasks: notes, email, internet. At night, I will be able to use it to comfortably browse my blogs, chat for a bit on IRC, and post on the MacRumors forum. I still have my MBP, but if anything, this device will allow me to space out my upgrades a little more.
And for $499. Holy cow. Its a no-brainer. The only thing it needs at this point is seemless integration with TimeCapsule for NAS.
This is exactly the device Ive been wanting at the price Ive been hoping for.
I love my iPod Touch, but the one thing I have always wished for was a larger, high-rez screen so I could use it to read books and PDFs. 1024x768 is high enough resolution for me to work comfortably.
If the on-screen keyboard works, the iPad will replace my laptop in my daily school routine. It is 25% the weight, far less voluminous, and with iWork will satisfy my major computing tasks: notes, email, internet. At night, I will be able to use it to comfortably browse my blogs, chat for a bit on IRC, and post on the MacRumors forum. I still have my MBP, but if anything, this device will allow me to space out my upgrades a little more.
And for $499. Holy cow. Its a no-brainer. The only thing it needs at this point is seemless integration with TimeCapsule for NAS.
Education, Education, Education
I agree with your sense of direction for the iPad. I don't think the iPad is geared toward a general audience at all, but rather for specific groups of people who need to access files, papers, books, etc., but don't want to carry around the heft of the actual books and papers and files. As you suggest, doctors, educators and students, even lawyers(?)
. The use of the iPad by special groups will drive innovation and the desire for e-content which will eventually transfer over to more traditional notebook and desktop users.
From an education perspective, I can see a shift in books over the next ten years, from books to books with e-book copies (like some books now) to interactive e-books. I envision movie files and audio files being embedded in e-books to complement the text and pictures. While the additional content is interesting to ponder, I still love and prefer the feel and experience of reading a book with paper pages. My eyes do too.
I also think this could be sold to publishers as a way to make more money. Imagine selling texts with DRM (yuck!) that cannot be transferred or resold. Now, instead of needing to publish a new edition every year to force students to purchase the latest books rather than buy a used edition, every student every year will need to purchase a textbook file. Or imagine every student will be charged automatically for the textbook file(s) associated with the class(es) in which s/he is enrolled. The files could be downloaded (repeatedly) by a student from the school's servers but only those files made available via the student's ID, password, etc.
I agree with your sense of direction for the iPad. I don't think the iPad is geared toward a general audience at all, but rather for specific groups of people who need to access files, papers, books, etc., but don't want to carry around the heft of the actual books and papers and files. As you suggest, doctors, educators and students, even lawyers(?)
. The use of the iPad by special groups will drive innovation and the desire for e-content which will eventually transfer over to more traditional notebook and desktop users.From an education perspective, I can see a shift in books over the next ten years, from books to books with e-book copies (like some books now) to interactive e-books. I envision movie files and audio files being embedded in e-books to complement the text and pictures. While the additional content is interesting to ponder, I still love and prefer the feel and experience of reading a book with paper pages. My eyes do too.
I also think this could be sold to publishers as a way to make more money. Imagine selling texts with DRM (yuck!) that cannot be transferred or resold. Now, instead of needing to publish a new edition every year to force students to purchase the latest books rather than buy a used edition, every student every year will need to purchase a textbook file. Or imagine every student will be charged automatically for the textbook file(s) associated with the class(es) in which s/he is enrolled. The files could be downloaded (repeatedly) by a student from the school's servers but only those files made available via the student's ID, password, etc.
According to you it isn't a good move, but why not??
When the iPhone came out, people wanted the same but without the phone feature. They got it - the iPod Touch. When the iPod Touch came out, everyone was wondering if they could make it bigger, like, hey, maybe the upcoming iMac be like a gigantic iPod Touch. Many drooled about it. Then now we have the iPad. Okay, so is not an iMac tablet. But look at the way Apple's products have grown. Again, my example, the iPod, the simple now-boring looking 1st gen iPod, look at what it became today over the years. Uh, it became better and a phone! The iMac, look, again over the years. Look at the G4 and PowerMac towers are now the almighty MacPro... iBook, those horrid clam shells... the Powerbook... you see a pattern here?? In just two years look at what became of the iPhone!
The iPhone and iPod Touch are clearly very successful products (no one can't deny that!), so why not build up on it? Everything people have complained about that's missing could be added on later. You guys are just too impatient!
For christs sake, virtually every single device nowdays has built in USB ports. Every new TV has a USB port. Even recent fridges that have displays / screens built in has a USB port in it. USB 2.0 was released in 2000, 10 years later, this "revolutionary device" doesn't even have it built in, it has an adapter for 1port. What an absolute joke.
While I am a big Apple fan, I was really let down by the new iPad tablet. Most of it has already been said about the negatives so I won't rehash it. However, one thing that I have not seen brought up is the fact if you want a data plan it MUST be GSM with no support for CDMA like Verizon. The reason I mention it is there is no ATT/GSM coverage in our area and it is all CDMA service. So, that means it is WiFi only with no data option here.
Also, I see nothing at all that makes this non tablet like. This could have been done easily back in 2007. One other area is the memory. At just 64GB for a device like this, even at the high-end, just is not enough. I thought for sure there would be a BIG "cloud" type of announcement about iTunes and iLife that would allow you to stream all your content so it would not eat up all your storage and give you access to all your files that way.
Maybe it will improve in future generations like the iPhone, but no way the 1st gen will be for me. Also, I agree with others, where is the support for a BIG Mac Pro refresh. It seems they are moving away from the ultra high end desktops into more these niche markets.
Also, I see nothing at all that makes this non tablet like. This could have been done easily back in 2007. One other area is the memory. At just 64GB for a device like this, even at the high-end, just is not enough. I thought for sure there would be a BIG "cloud" type of announcement about iTunes and iLife that would allow you to stream all your content so it would not eat up all your storage and give you access to all your files that way.
Maybe it will improve in future generations like the iPhone, but no way the 1st gen will be for me. Also, I agree with others, where is the support for a BIG Mac Pro refresh. It seems they are moving away from the ultra high end desktops into more these niche markets.
If you want all the goodies in the ipad, then get a macbook and stop complaining! Do you expect apple to outfit all your expectations into an ipad for a mere $499.00 Get real!
I feel vindicated. Everything I said about the tablet, my skepticism about it, as paid off. It is exactly what I thought it was. A tablet PC with iPhone OS, with all the disadvantages of a laptop and all the disadvantages of an iPod Touch but with none of the advantages of either.
Essentially, it'll go the way of other tablets. If it doesn't, oh well, some people think they need 2 computing devices too much. I doubt many will have this as their only computer.
Hospitals have had access to Tablet PCs for quite a while. Specialized software on a Tablet PC or Specialized software on this doesn't make much difference.
It's not like this is the first ever tablet.
Fail.
You're telling me you're going to drag a keyboard, a dock and this thing to school ? Talk about fashion gone wrong. You've just killed the little edge in portability the thing had vs a traditional laptop and you've just created a nightmare in your bag.
Do yourself a favor, use a laptop for school. It can do eBooks on a high res screen, it can do note taking with a physical keyboard and it probably can run much more adapted software (which we either will never see or will take time to appear on the iPad).
This is something that comes up a lot yet is patently false. People don't just surf and e-mail on their computers. Not even the average joe. People do a lot of document creation, be it letters and resumes. They use their computers to download photos out of the cameras and arrange and print them. They do their taxes using tax software. They do their budget.
iWork isn't going to cover all of this, and it's going to be ergonomically challenged enough to make it not worth your while if you're even near a computer. Not to mention this thing still requires a full blown computer to operate.
The 999$ Macbook is still going to be their best seller. It's small enough, light enough and it does everything perfectly. There's a reason Tablets aren't taking off, and lack of iPhone OS UI is not it. It's the form factor. It's just not comfortable.
Essentially, it'll go the way of other tablets. If it doesn't, oh well, some people think they need 2 computing devices too much. I doubt many will have this as their only computer.
Hospitals have had access to Tablet PCs for quite a while. Specialized software on a Tablet PC or Specialized software on this doesn't make much difference.
It's not like this is the first ever tablet.
Fail.
You're telling me you're going to drag a keyboard, a dock and this thing to school ? Talk about fashion gone wrong. You've just killed the little edge in portability the thing had vs a traditional laptop and you've just created a nightmare in your bag.
Do yourself a favor, use a laptop for school. It can do eBooks on a high res screen, it can do note taking with a physical keyboard and it probably can run much more adapted software (which we either will never see or will take time to appear on the iPad).
This is something that comes up a lot yet is patently false. People don't just surf and e-mail on their computers. Not even the average joe. People do a lot of document creation, be it letters and resumes. They use their computers to download photos out of the cameras and arrange and print them. They do their taxes using tax software. They do their budget.
iWork isn't going to cover all of this, and it's going to be ergonomically challenged enough to make it not worth your while if you're even near a computer. Not to mention this thing still requires a full blown computer to operate.
The 999$ Macbook is still going to be their best seller. It's small enough, light enough and it does everything perfectly. There's a reason Tablets aren't taking off, and lack of iPhone OS UI is not it. It's the form factor. It's just not comfortable.
LET'S SUM UP THE NOs...
LET'S SUM UP THE NOs...
NO Camera
NO Teleconferencing
NO Stylus
NO Multitasking
NO Flash support meaning tons of websites won't work at all
NO GPS
NO USB or Display Out built in
NO Mouse Input
NO full version of Mac OS X
NO VERIZON, hence not really unlocked
Maybe I bought into the hype too much?
I really thought this was going to be some device that could actually replace like a Powermac G4 or G5 but be portable as like a Touchscreen Powerbook or iBook or like the equivalent of a portable touchscreen Mac Mini and render all other Netbooks obsolete.
Was I expecting too much?
1Ghz CPU seems capable of doing what I was expecting to me.
But I'm left scratching my head at who will want this thing, especially if you already have an iPhone or an iPod Touch. It's just so underpowered and offers little more than the iPhone or Touch, even less really.
My iPhone can take pics!
It doesn't run Mac OS X programs so it lacks so many things that Windows netbooks can do.
The only way I can think to describe it is it's like a funny Conan O'Brien "If They Made It" skit...
Kindle does it with iPod Touch = FUGLY
And there are so many more powerful devices available that can do all this stuff, there's nothing revolutionary here. It's like Apple is just pushing out another iPhone-esque product to the Apple fan-boy lemmings knowing they'll be stupid enough to bite once again at the apple like a trained pet.
Finally, I've about HAD IT WITH APPLE and FLASH. Either work something out with Adobe or stop these buggy FLASH releases for Mac OS X from being released onto the Mac masses like viruses. I'm tired of Safari crashing every other day and I'm tired of the blame game and I'm tired of losing important data due to a web browser issue.
FIX THE PROBLEM APPLE OR COME TO A DEAL WITH ADOBE. JUST DO SOMETHING! THE CURRENT SITUATION WITH FLASH, CRASHES SAFARI CONSTANTLY, NON-EXISTENT ON IPHONE, IPOD TOUCH, & NOW IPAD IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!
PS: Someone should start a petition on this, seriously.
LET'S SUM UP THE NOs...
NO Camera
NO Teleconferencing
NO Stylus
NO Multitasking
NO Flash support meaning tons of websites won't work at all
NO GPS
NO USB or Display Out built in
NO Mouse Input
NO full version of Mac OS X
NO VERIZON, hence not really unlocked
Maybe I bought into the hype too much?
I really thought this was going to be some device that could actually replace like a Powermac G4 or G5 but be portable as like a Touchscreen Powerbook or iBook or like the equivalent of a portable touchscreen Mac Mini and render all other Netbooks obsolete.
Was I expecting too much?
1Ghz CPU seems capable of doing what I was expecting to me.
But I'm left scratching my head at who will want this thing, especially if you already have an iPhone or an iPod Touch. It's just so underpowered and offers little more than the iPhone or Touch, even less really.
My iPhone can take pics!
It doesn't run Mac OS X programs so it lacks so many things that Windows netbooks can do.
The only way I can think to describe it is it's like a funny Conan O'Brien "If They Made It" skit...
Kindle does it with iPod Touch = FUGLY
And there are so many more powerful devices available that can do all this stuff, there's nothing revolutionary here. It's like Apple is just pushing out another iPhone-esque product to the Apple fan-boy lemmings knowing they'll be stupid enough to bite once again at the apple like a trained pet.
Finally, I've about HAD IT WITH APPLE and FLASH. Either work something out with Adobe or stop these buggy FLASH releases for Mac OS X from being released onto the Mac masses like viruses. I'm tired of Safari crashing every other day and I'm tired of the blame game and I'm tired of losing important data due to a web browser issue.
FIX THE PROBLEM APPLE OR COME TO A DEAL WITH ADOBE. JUST DO SOMETHING! THE CURRENT SITUATION WITH FLASH, CRASHES SAFARI CONSTANTLY, NON-EXISTENT ON IPHONE, IPOD TOUCH, & NOW IPAD IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!
PS: Someone should start a petition on this, seriously.
Okay, to respond to these nos...
NO Camera - So what? I don't want to be holding this up to take a photo and I never use video chat.
NO Teleconferencing - See above
NO Stylus - Seriously???
NO Multitasking - Yep... I'll agree... bit of a pain potentially although I cant say it's been an issue for me personally on the iPhone so far.
NO Flash support meaning tons of websites won't work at all - I honestly cannot recall this being a big issue for me on the iPhone in something like 2 years of owning one. Honestly. Plus I'm hoping it'll help the push to html5.
NO GPS - See here: http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/ It has Assisted GPS... Just the same as the iPhone.
NO USB or Display Out built in - Maybe an issue but there is a solution for it.
NO Mouse Input - shrugs... not something I'd even considered that I'd want when I can just press the screen.
NO full version of Mac OS X - not expected to see this having read the rumours for the last 12 or 18 months.
NO VERIZON, hence not really unlocked - not an issue for me personally
Seriously, I accept that this is not what you wanted out of the iPad (is it mandatory to giggle like a schoolgirl at that name? Jesus) but it doesn't make it a bad product. It does everything *I* wanted it to do so I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Why would you think that?? Really?
I like the concept of the iPad, but I wasn't expecting, or even wanting a tablet computer, I wanted a media device that was better than my iPod
Touch. The iPad addresses all the stumbling blocks that keep me from optimally using my iPod Touch as a media device (mainly screen size), plus it allows me to do real work with iWork as well as interface with XGA projectors.
Anyway, it's not about the device itself, it's about the content. This opens a new horizon for convenient media access, and likely a whole new subscription paradigm. I have no interest in reading the New York Times or Sports Illustrated, print or online, but there are a lot of people who do, and they'll pay.
My only regrets are lack of front camera for video conferencing and the fact that it can't use CDMA data services (Verizon). My only decision relative to buying the thing is whether to buy it with or without data plan. Had they provided a Verizon option, it wouldn't have been a question. Now I have to evaluate whether the ATT option is worth the $130 to me. The "no-commitment" policy makes it easier for me, and I'll probably go for it.
Touch. The iPad addresses all the stumbling blocks that keep me from optimally using my iPod Touch as a media device (mainly screen size), plus it allows me to do real work with iWork as well as interface with XGA projectors.
Anyway, it's not about the device itself, it's about the content. This opens a new horizon for convenient media access, and likely a whole new subscription paradigm. I have no interest in reading the New York Times or Sports Illustrated, print or online, but there are a lot of people who do, and they'll pay.
My only regrets are lack of front camera for video conferencing and the fact that it can't use CDMA data services (Verizon). My only decision relative to buying the thing is whether to buy it with or without data plan. Had they provided a Verizon option, it wouldn't have been a question. Now I have to evaluate whether the ATT option is worth the $130 to me. The "no-commitment" policy makes it easier for me, and I'll probably go for it.
No, they won't :
http://www.einnews.com/pr-news/6937...1-subscribers-a-month-for-paid-online-edition
The web is the best delivery method for news. It's open, it's accessible. No need for locked down content, and people are voting with their wallets on this one.
If you look at this device from the perspective of a "BIG iPHONE", then guess what?
You'll be very impressed, it's really BIGGER (but shhh, it's missing the camera)! HAHA!
If you compare the iPhone to other smartphones when it came out, the iPhone had unique advantages that most other smartphones didn't have at the time. I was able to do things I never thought I'd ever be able to do on my phone before when I got my iPhone.
If you compare the iPad to netbooks and cheap laptops, let's face it, this product is seriously underwhelming and underpowered and does much less. Comparing it to the iPhone and its success and translating that into huge success is just ridiculous. This is a different product category.
Look at the comments here if you don't believe me.
The iPhone was like The Holy Grail of smartphones, I had to have one the first week!
This product bores me. I already have an iPhone and iWork and plenty of Macs.
A netbook may be an underpowered computer, but the iPAD isn't even a computer at all.
Think about it. If you own a Macbook and an iPhone or iPod Touch, what purpose would this device solve for you? What added advantage does it offer?
I honestly cannot think of any. I guess maybe people who don't own any Macs, iPhones or Touches might want it, but if you own a netbook already, you'll be losing features.
I own a Macbook Pro and an iPhone. My partner has a Mac Mini hooked up to the TV, a Macbook and an iPhone. So quite a lot of Apple tech in one household.
With all that, I use my iPhone a lot at home for browsing the web and emailing and even using Facebook because it's quick, simple and I like how it works. I just wish it was bigger/easier to see and had a few more features.
Now there's the iPad.
I respect that this isn't what you wanted it to be but it's exactly what I wanted out of it.
The iPad is mostly a child of iTunes and the App Store.
A truly revolutionary UI would've scared off millions of buyers. "Simple and familiar" is its mantra, and its main "magical" quality is making money:
By being a blank slate (pun intended), Apple can sell apps and content.
A truly revolutionary UI would've scared off millions of buyers. "Simple and familiar" is its mantra, and its main "magical" quality is making money:
By being a blank slate (pun intended), Apple can sell apps and content.
No, but I want a real "revolutionary" device and I would be willing to pay $800-$900 for it.
I never asked them to meet that price.
Count me in as being super-interested in this. It is almost exactly what I've been wanting for about 5 years now. As much as I liked the iPod Touch and was impressed with what they did with the small screen real estate, it always felt a bit cramped.
To me, this is an extension of a desktop. You do your serious processing work on the desktop, and this is the part that comes with you for mainly browsing, reviewing, brainstorming, communicating, relaxing. I see it as a portable brain extension.
Moreover, I think for a lot of creative-type work, where there's more thinking than processing, this will be MUCH better. You can take it where you want, sit and move where you want, collaborate MUCH easier (projector and a long flexible cable).
Looking at the device by itself, it doesn't seem like that much really. It's a pretty screen with nice multitouch. However, it's like a chess piece - the moves it makes are simple, but the ways it can be combined and utilized make basically infinite strategy. One isn't really going to fully appreciate this until you see people using it in specific circumstances.
I understand the "too big to fit into a pocket" angle, but you'd just carry it around the same way people carry around their day planners, and there's lots and lots of people that do that. A well-designed shoulder bag makes it easily portable.
This would replace a computer for an awful lot of people as well. I have 8 members in my immediate family that this would probably be a better choice than a traditional desktop for. It's a computer that stays out of the way. If it would back up automatically to Time Capsule, that's all that's needed, I think.
My biggest concern about it is the DRM on the content. eBooks is a HUGE part of why I want something like this, but I'm not about to start spending mega-$$$ on content that I can't take with me if Apple ever stops being the best. For videos, I don't use the iTunes store for the same reason - I either use eyeTV or rip DVDs, convert them to mp4 and bring them that way.
A camera would be cool, and I'm sure one will show up at some point.
To me, this is an extension of a desktop. You do your serious processing work on the desktop, and this is the part that comes with you for mainly browsing, reviewing, brainstorming, communicating, relaxing. I see it as a portable brain extension.
Moreover, I think for a lot of creative-type work, where there's more thinking than processing, this will be MUCH better. You can take it where you want, sit and move where you want, collaborate MUCH easier (projector and a long flexible cable).
Looking at the device by itself, it doesn't seem like that much really. It's a pretty screen with nice multitouch. However, it's like a chess piece - the moves it makes are simple, but the ways it can be combined and utilized make basically infinite strategy. One isn't really going to fully appreciate this until you see people using it in specific circumstances.
I understand the "too big to fit into a pocket" angle, but you'd just carry it around the same way people carry around their day planners, and there's lots and lots of people that do that. A well-designed shoulder bag makes it easily portable.
This would replace a computer for an awful lot of people as well. I have 8 members in my immediate family that this would probably be a better choice than a traditional desktop for. It's a computer that stays out of the way. If it would back up automatically to Time Capsule, that's all that's needed, I think.
My biggest concern about it is the DRM on the content. eBooks is a HUGE part of why I want something like this, but I'm not about to start spending mega-$$$ on content that I can't take with me if Apple ever stops being the best. For videos, I don't use the iTunes store for the same reason - I either use eyeTV or rip DVDs, convert them to mp4 and bring them that way.
A camera would be cool, and I'm sure one will show up at some point.
I'd call them, "people who are satisfied with the current product". Believe it or not, there are probably a good number of them out there.
- Status