Cosmetic Differences in iPad 3G vs iPad Wi-Fi

[garty]

I was thinking to buy the iPad after various rumors on it! Now I think for sure I will not!
Why? No front camera for chat, no multitasking, no phone, no removable HD card or slots for other cards....
In time until March to include at least, some of them?

Really? You won't buy it because it's not a phone? How big are you?

 

[diamond.g]

They'd have to wait until late in the year (like November) to even announce updates. If the iPad isn't even available until April for the 3G unit, it would look bad updating it 2-3 months later with the iPhone. Many people would see that making their current iPads obsolete too soon & there would be a big uproar. Remember when Apple first released the iPhone in 2007 & cut the price by $200 (or roughly a 1/3) & the big fuss people made? I could see the same thing happen again.

I remember the iPhone price cut pretty well.

Really?
I preordered ATV.3 months later new model with bigger HDD.
Preordered Airport Extreme.A few months later they added Gigabit ethernet.
And the iPhone had a memory bump(2X)months before June the first year.
Then of course we have the famous iPhone 1G price drop after six weeks(yep,me too!).

So I agree with the first point.I'd be a little less gun shy if I knew it would really be a year before they drop the price or add a camera.

The hardest part would be the waiting...

 

[bbtrinet]

I don't understand all this negativity about the iPad.

If my wife or kids go with me on a trip, what they want a device to do:
a) be portable
b) battery life lasts a plane flight
c) able to watch movies, read books, listen to music or play games while on the plane
d) able to surf the internet without worrying about a wifi spot
e) something to do at night in the hotel room after a long day - play games, read a book or watch a movie, or surf, or listen to music
f) Maybe check in on email, and use facebook to chat with friends.

The iPad does ALL this.

Is it a better experience than a laptop or a phone for doing all this? YES.

For me, if I want to do some 'work', like coding or creating a presentation, or word processing on my business trip, I'll take a laptop.

If I want to google something when I'm out-and-about, I want my phone, as it's more portable.

But this replaces the following items for my kids:
1) Nintendo DS
2) DVD player
3) iPod music player
4) Kindle
5) Phone with internet

Now, my kids can have just this device in the hotel room or on the plane (down time), and when walking through the city/disneyland/etc, just carry a phone.

This is so much better for my lifestyle.

 

[Primejimbo]

It seems like the only people who will not get one of these are either Iphone haters or people who don't have the money for one. I am getting one. It will make watching movies, web surfing, and reading books while traveling a lot of fun!

Not true. I love my iPhone and I can buy one with no problem. With a comment like this you sound like a snob. I just see no point in this, because it does basically the same as my iPhone (my phone can take pictures at least) and I rather read a book, not a screen. If it was running OSX on it, then I would think about it. As of now it's just a big iPod Touch.

 

[dbalone]

I for one will be interested in one.

I can see the future here. Arriving at home after work, picking up the device, turning on and adjusting my lights in the house with it, then adjusting my thermostat, turning on my home entertainment system and then sitting in my recliner with it to surf the latest news, reading my newspaper and at the end of the night turning everything off with it. The possibilities here are endless. We may be talking a 2nd generation or so before all of this is possible but I doubt it. With all the success from the App store developers including me, will get these things into the iPad to make money as quickly as possible.

As for flash it is old school. Apple is forcing developers to "think" and use other possibilities. Choices are out there just need to get past old thinking. The only other thing that would be nice is the camera. Video chatting will be nice. I think it is only a matter of time for this.

 

[Journojulz]

I doubt if many people with both a macbook and an iphone can see the benefit.

But then it wasn't really designed for you

 

[Primejimbo]

As for flash it is old school. Apple is forcing developers to "think" and use other possibilities. Choices are out there just need to get past old thinking. The only other thing that would be nice is the camera. Video chatting will be nice. I think it is only a matter of time for this.

Flash may be old school, but it's still being used by a lot of people.

 

[Journojulz]

Flash may be old school, but it's still being used by a lot of people.

Most of them though are advertisers.
And I don't miss them.

There will be a few sites you can't enjoy anymore - but i haven't lost anything i haven't found a better version of.

 

[cocky jeremy]

No, you are entirely wrong. They do it out of sound and very well understood business principles. A clear, simple offer will sell better than a complicated futuristic gadget with lots of options because a) people can understand it and b) they aren't confused about which model to choose (in the case of different models having different features).

Why did iPod do so well? Because it's message was crystal clear: 1000 songs in your pocket. It had less features and cost more than the other MP3 players of the day, but it still won. It didn't win because it ticked technical boxes, it won because it fulfilled a much more fundamental need. That's what the iPad will do and what netbooks don't do. Geeks want laptops and features, normal people want functional devices that are both easy and fun to use.

If you want an explanation, of sorts, see the Simpsons episode where Homer designs a car. That's what you seem to want Apple to create, because you are a geek. Luckily for us, Apple seem to know what they're doing.

How is a camera, iChat and multi-tasking too "difficult" for normal customers to use? It isn't. They just want to dumb down the iPad 1.0 so 2.0 will be much easier to add features to and look like they're actually improving it, when in fact, they're just adding what easily could have been added to begin with. Like i've said to my friends, it's really say when even i bash an Apple product. I defend everything they do but this is just a pathetic device.

 

[bacaramac]

It would be a great "slave" graphic tablet for photoshop,
OR as a tiny extra monitor for Logic Plugins or Final Cut pro,
OR it could be application aware and support programmable shortcuts and macros for any osX application.

Sadly, it wont do any of that.

People just don't get it. I agree that it is not as open as OSX, but really this thing can do most of it. It just requires the dev like adobe to roll out the app via the app store. I think the trade off is price as OSX apps seem to run a lot more then app store prices. If they truly have file sharing as an open folder for this device and devs can access it with their apps, then you have OSX do you not? At least from an app perspective, which seems to be what people want.

Think of it this way, people are complaining that you can watch any movie but MP4. Couldn't a dev create a VLC type app and allow it to read from File Share folder if Apple allows this? I imagine they will, but who knows.

 

[renoapple]

So the wifi model has a compass but not GPS? So why does it have a compass but not GPS. Is the compass just added for game play? I have a 3g iPhone without a compass so I'm not sure why it's important. Thanks

 

[diamond.g]

I doubt if many people with both a macbook and an iphone can see the benefit.

But then it wasn't really designed for you

I can see a benefit (saving battery life on both devices). I just wonder, like a few here, if they aren't telling us everything.

 

[thecartoonguy]

Yeah like the lump adds character to Quasimodo

LMAO. That was awesome

 

[carmenodie]

Its still a mystery to me what this thing is really good for....in the way i can not already do it

didn't you see the presentation or do you think being naive is cute?

 

[thecartoonguy]

How is a camera, iChat and multi-tasking too "difficult" for normal customers to use? It isn't. They just want to dumb down the iPad 1.0 so 2.0 will be much easier to add features to and look like they're actually improving it, when in fact, they're just adding what easily could have been added to begin with. Like i've said to my friends, it's really say when even i bash an Apple product. I defend everything they do but this is just a pathetic device.

I'm trying the remember the cost of the camera when I working at Apple as a genius, and the number of 80-90 dollars for the part is ringing a bell. This would just add that much more to the device and basically kill it since you could be a macbook for a few dollars more. Not 100% sure but this would be my guess.

 

[carmenodie]

I love the iPhone. I love my iMac. I'll love the MacBook Pro i buy soon. I love most things Apple makes. Hell, i even have an Apple logo tattoo.. but this thing just plain sucks. I won't be buying one. No way. Second gen.. we'll see. But this one has nowhere near enough features to make me want it. Add a camera, multi-tasking and Flash.. and i'd buy one in a heart beat. iChat wouldn't hurt, either. Even if it were wifi only to avoid crushing AT&T's ****** network more than it already is.

\
you sound like every one else on then net. do you have an original idea.?
Sony has a video camera costing well over $40,000 and hey, that ain't for me. For your information, the smart folks know what they need. So they buy within that mindset. How many sony products on their site? You dun no! LOTS. Apple is a product company. P R O D U C T company.

 

[-=XX=-Nephilim]

How is a camera, iChat and multi-tasking too "difficult" for normal customers to use? It isn't. They just want to dumb down the iPad 1.0 so 2.0 will be much easier to add features to and look like they're actually improving it, when in fact, they're just adding what easily could have been added to begin with. Like i've said to my friends, it's really say when even i bash an Apple product. I defend everything they do but this is just a pathetic device.

I agree 100%

I love my MBP and iPod Touch - in fact - am even thinking of expanding my Apple range of hardware very soon indeed...

I just love everything they do - or almost everything...

iPad has huge potential and I am sure it will be reached eventually - however, current version of it is truly beyond the disappointment...

Perhaps V2.0 or 3.0 will get there - until then, one big massive mega PASS!

 

[kernkraft]

To buy or not to buy - that is the question

Interestingly a few friends who were going to update their macbooks are moving to the iMac and iPad way of thinking too, previously they had the macbook so it could travel with them, but underused in travel and too big/bulky. This is a real big shift to quite a few people I believe.

That's me! My MacBook Air has already been sold, I might keep a 15" unibody MBP or a 13" MBP, but otherwise, one iMac and a tablet for me.

One more thing... my iPhone 3G has to go. I might buy one in the future, but there are some great smartphones on the market. Apple's so-called 'ecosystem' and 'user experience' are getting small. Or I'm getting claustrophobic in this small walled garden.

It seems like the only people who will not get one of these are either Iphone haters or people who don't have the money for one. I am getting one. It will make watching movies, web surfing, and reading books while traveling a lot of fun!

Stupid statement. You will not be able to fully enjoy those functions.

100% trolling.. I've checked your posts, you are just here to stir.. stir.. stir. Grow up.

You checked his/her post and he/she has to grow up. Right...

Well....is it? Laptop sits on your lap; the screen supports itself at a good angle. You can watch BBC iPlayer programmes without holding up the screen or using an extra accessory. You can type (a Pages document if you really want to) with two hands, not with your thumbs...I'm just not convinced that the iPad will be all that ergonomic for long periods of use. For shorter web browsing/emailing my iPhone seems OK to me.

I completely agree about the short-long period of ergonomics. But isn't iPlayer Flash-based?

Don't forget that the 3g model has GPS. For some reason EVERYONE forgets this. I don't need 3g, but would like GPS.

The iPhone 3G also has GPS. I tried it, but now I am completely back to my old dedicated Garmin GPS navigation unit. GPS is definitely an area, where there is room for improvement. I don't know the 3GS, but I cannot imagine that the iTab would really succeed as an in-car unit. Or as a trekking aid, for that matter.

Fail. I'm on my fourth iPhone (8GB, 16GB 1st gen, 16GB 3G, 32GB 3G S) and I could buy iPad no problem but I won't since its just one of these "jack of all trades master of none type of devices". Its not good for web browsing (no flash, limited video format support), its not a good ebook reader (lacks eInk type colour display so its heavy on the eyes and battery life is poor when compared with ebook readers), totally closed system (I think its OK with phones but not with computers), limited video format support in general (not your ideal video player), no iChat / video, no multitasking, non pressure sensitive screen etc. etc. I think its just objective consumers who don't like it.

You made such a good point that now I am getting confused about whether I REALLY need an iPad. Probably not.

I love the iPhone. I love my iMac. I'll love the MacBook Pro i buy soon. I love most things Apple makes. Hell, i even have an Apple logo tattoo.. but this thing just plain sucks. I won't be buying one. No way. Second gen.. we'll see. But this one has nowhere near enough features to make me want it. Add a camera, multi-tasking and Flash.. and i'd buy one in a heart beat. iChat wouldn't hurt, either. Even if it were wifi only to avoid crushing AT&T's ****** network more than it already is.

May I ask, which part of your body have you got your tattoo on?

 

[azentropy]

I'm trying the remember the cost of the camera when I working at Apple as a genius, and the number of 80-90 dollars for the part is ringing a bell. This would just add that much more to the device and basically kill it since you could be a macbook for a few dollars more. Not 100% sure but this would be my guess.

That might be what Apple charges for a replacement, but the module used in the iPhone 3GS according to the appleblog cost breakdown wholesale is about $10.

 

[caffeinejoe]

It seems like the only people who will not get one of these are either Iphone haters or people who don't have the money for one. I am getting one. It will make watching movies, web surfing, and reading books while traveling a lot of fun!

I realize the iPad is currently getting a great deal of criticism from tech savvy people. But consider the hundreds of thousands of non-tech people that have been "afraid" to use or buy a computer (senior citizens, disabled people for example). With this device, all they have to do is simply press the power button, and this thing instantly comes to life.

And if they simply touch the little pictures (icons) they can read online magazines, follow websites devoted to their hobbies, view pictures of their grandkids, listen to music, read books etc. All without having to deal with malware, ad-ware, viruses etc., or wondering if they have to left click or right click.

I think it's brilliant, and as it evolves, it will change the face of computing for all of us. No more external input devices. It will all be touching and gesturing.

 

[Lesser Evets]

This one just looks bloody ugly

Oh, yeah. I KNOW! When I saw this black strip on top, I doubled over and vomited until I was dry heaving blood. It's insane how they can make something so dreadful and unsightly! If I am seen with that black strip in public, everyone will just laugh endlessly at me. This is terrible. Terrible.

I'll just stick with the good looking stuff...

 

[mrboult]

Not that it matters one bit but the opinion of this big Apple fan is. . . . .

I was very excited to see what was coming with this device. Owning an iPhone and mbp I could not imagine why I would want one but felt sure that once I had seen this "game changing" "revolutionary" device from my favourite computer company I would want one badly.

However despite it's WOW factor and the suprisingly low price I honestly don't know why I would want it. I would much rather have a laptop sat on my LAP than have to hold this thing upright for hours.
Seriously to watch a movie on this thing you have to HOLD it upright for 2 hours! How is that better than a laptop?
I suposed that it is a less expensive apple product to watch a movie on decently than their laptops but other than that I'd rather a movie on a laptop.

I have an OS X netbook that cost half as much and does a whole lot more.

THE MOST EXCITING THING was the iWork and the drawing program. As an artist I liked the idea of sketching onto the screen. I think productivity apps is the area this device may shine the most. But that depends on the developers. Also the fact that it can take 'external input' like the keyboard dock may lead to some interesting 3rs party ideas.

Is there no Usb also? Because a device like this could really do with the ability to import photos/files without the need to sync to iTunes. Without this ability it will fail as a productivity tool for many people.

I love apple but at this point I am finding apple's revolutionary device rather underwheleming.

I guess I'll "watch this space" and if I eat my words once they're up and running.

My 2c. (this must be my longest Internet post ever)

 

[Nausicaa]

The more I see this the more I want one. I do worry though, like many others, that the 2nd gen device will provide more features at a possibly lower price. But I don't think there are many features missing that will seriously hamper the experience like some others are saying. This is a pretty complete device considering what it sets out to do.

I've already ranted about the front facing camera, and how 99% of people with webcam enabled macs rarely use them. I think the complaints about multitasking are similar. Aside from using a music streaming app like Pandora while you do other stuff, I can't think of a single time I've needed to run more than one app at a time. Mostly because apps start up almost immediately, and often right where you left off. For instance, if you have to close Safari to go check your email, when you go back to Safari your last webpage opens up right away. Go back to Mail and it will open up whichever window you closed out of. Multitasking has always seemed to me an unneccesary complication of the iPhone OS interface.

 

[Thex1138]

The chicken that layed that thing must be hurting!

 

[Journojulz]

IWith this device, all they have to do is simply press the power button, and this thing instantly comes to life.

Completely forgot how that simple little feature so impressed me when i got my first palm!

Its the little things that make the big difference.