Hands-On Impressions of Apple's New iPad

[BigMacIain]

Don't see the need for iPod app

Very interesting device and the apple.com video certainly suggests how it can be used as a mobile media hub. However, I don't see the value of the iPod app. Listening to music while hanging onto the player doesn't seem likely. It's not a use-on-the-go device like an iPod is and if listening to music in the home, I'd be using my hi-fi.

 

[oldwatery]

You may have noticed that absolutely no one anywhere agrees with you.

Actually, if you read these posts you will see that most people do agree with him.
This thing completely underwhelming.

 

[Sir Cecil]

Am I the only one who feel pity for these people? Wake up! Apple produces these things for the sole purpose of making money. There is nothing wrong with that. You feeling some attachment for Apple (or any company to that matter) is very wrong.

What do you think branding is about? Securing brand recognition and brand loyalty is a laudable and key aim of every reputable product manufacturer in the history of the industrialized world, and you tell us it is "very wrong"?
It is perfectly normal for consumers to feel a positive and enduring reaction towards a product or service that has a particularly positive influence on their lives.
You should keep your pity for those with genuine problems, like those who spout nonsense in public.

 

[oldwatery]

This device is a real game changer.

Those of you failing to see how this fits into Web 3.0 must not be content producers, or at least not content producers who intend to be employed much farther into the future.

This is a big deal.

Once again, the UI carries the day.

The rest is and will be secondary.

So Mr Clever Pants.
Why don't you explain to all of us ignorant people who make a living doing something other than "content production" why this is such a Big Deal and Game Changer.
What the hell has this got to do with Web 3.0 that makes it so special...or you for that matter

 

[puppyflightclub]

been posted already?

 

[MakGeek]

So Mr Clever Pants.
Why don't you explain to all of us ignorant people who make a living doing something other than "content production" why this is such a Big Deal and Game Changer.
What the hell has this got to do with Web 3.0 that makes it so special...or you for that matter

I see his point, not sure why you don't. This is a step in a whole new way to compute, how we interact with the device, how it flows, how it integrates into our life.

This device may not be perfectly demonstrating those things but it's obvious thats where we are headed. This is the first step.

 

[Padriac]

There are a number of positive things about the iPad, but using it as a reader replacement is not one of them. The kindle, and other e-ink based readers are the single best thing to happen to books in a long long time. i will take the 2 week battery life of my kindle over 10 hours any day of the week. The kindle, any flavor, is a single purpose device and it does it VERY well. Play your movies, watch your TV, read the news online, but dont compare it to the kindle because its a loss for the iPad.

Thousands of books all the time, cheaper, in an easier to read format (screen), and free wireless to obtain them is wonderful thing.

I own a Kindle. It's fine, but the only real benefit of the thing over an iPad is the e-ink display. The interface, as spartan as it is, sucks. The little nub for getting around sucks. The tiny keyboard is less useful than an iphone keyboard, let alone an iPad. And of course the thing can't be used in the dark, can't browse the proper internet, can't do color anything which limits the types of books that can be read (goodbye art and graphic novels). Etc.

The iPad, while trading off a few things, is at least as good if not better, and can do so much more. eInk and an even more ridiculously long battery life is not enough of a selling point to combat the iPad's features for most.

 

[trauma62]

iPod touch on steroids

What a disappointment . I have been a happy Apple supporter since 1982 when I bought my APPLE IIe. Since then I have had about 20 different macs, numerous iPods, 3 iPhones and counting. However I was expecting more from this device. I am so happy with my Mac Book air, that I do not think I will buy one of this.
No web cam...??WHAT??????? Media device w/o WHAT?????
New unknown Apple first processor, no way,, I will let them iron out the bugs and get the second generation.... with perhaps a camera.
NO FLASH SUPPORT ????WHAT????????? MEDIA WHO??????
Sorry but I am very upset. An iPod touch on steroids, let McGwire , Bonds and the other steroid users have it first.

 

[msduncan]

Maybe I'm missing something, but this thing definately appears to meet my expectations.

1. It's not a phone. I didn't expect it to be a phone.
2. It's not a video phone (no camera). I didn't expect it to be a video skype device
3. It appears to be good at doing high quality video at full screen. This sort of thing kicks my current gen EEE machine's ass. I've always wanted a netbook type device that could really deliver my multimedia to me so I can watch when I travel or show people good quality YouTube videos without studder. This appears to do it based on hands on videos I've seen.
4. 64GB is way way more space than my iphone has.... and yet I have music and several movies on it. This will allow for me to have multiple movies on it at a time (5 or more) with all my pictures, music etc.
5. Other than flash -- it looks to be a real slick internet browser. Again this is what I use my netbook for, and I'll sell it to help pay for this. It replaces my netbook with better multimedia tech. Sounds good to me.
6. The ebook reader is a plus. Saves me from buying another ebook reader for myself since my wife already has the Kindle.


So I was looking for a more multimedia savy netbook -- this thing seems to fit the bill. Am I missing where it doesn't?

 

[puppyflightclub]

What a disappointment . I have been a happy Apple supporter since 1982 when I bought my APPLE IIe. Since then I have had about 20 different macs, numerous iPods, 3 iPhones and counting. However I was expecting more from this device. I am so happy with my Mac Book air, that I do not think I will buy one of this.
No web cam...??WHAT??????? Media device w/o WHAT?????
New unknown Apple first processor, no way,, I will let them iron out the bugs and get the second generation.... with perhaps a camera.
NO FLASH SUPPORT ????WHAT????????? MEDIA WHO??????
Sorry but I am very upset. An iPod touch on steroids, let McGwire , Bonds and the other steroid users have it first.

all those extras = more cost..

 

[msduncan]

And I am also very serious in my question about when we can preorder? You guys are more familiar with Apple than I am.... how long after announcement do they typically get it up on their store?

 

[puppyflightclub]

And I am also very serious in my question about when we can preorder? You guys are more familiar with Apple than I am.... how long after announcement do they typically get it up on their store?

well all they have is the Notify Me option..

 

[SteveAbootman]

Had a shot at greatness...

This thing really had a chance to revolutionize how people consume content. Imagine a device that could wirelessly stream content to your TV, or share music from your iTunes library on your iMac. Instead we got a large iPhone that has no support for Flash, and no multitasking.

I'd rather have a device that gets 5 hours of battery life and lets me multi-task than one that gets 10 and only lets me surf the net and view my mail by closing and re-opening the apps.

very disappointed right now.

 

[Padriac]

This thing really had a chance to revolutionize how people consume content. Imagine a device that could wirelessly stream content to your TV...

very disappointed right now.

How exactly could it do this without some sort of receiving device hooked up to the TV itself? Most TVs don't have WiFI built in. Apple already makes a device to wirelessly stream content to a TV. It's called AppleTV.

 

[msduncan]

This thing really had a chance to revolutionize how people consume content. Imagine a device that could wirelessly stream content to your TV, or share music from your iTunes library on your iMac. Instead we got a large iPhone that has no support for Flash, and no multitasking.

I'd rather have a device that gets 5 hours of battery life and lets me multi-task than one that gets 10 and only lets me surf the net and view my mail by closing and re-opening the apps.

very disappointed right now.

Can they software update multitasking into this device later? Or is this a chip limitation?

 

[noodle654]

I am very excited about this, and I will most likely buy one. But, I am torn between if I want to drop the extra $130 on a 3G version. I like being able to cancel the plan at any time, which is great because I already am paying $30 on the iPhone. Buying the 3G seems like a better plan. But, I am concerned about the battery life. 10 hours is not a lot of music. I would have loved an SD slot built in so that I can have more space, 16GB is unacceptable, probably gonna have to get a 64GB.

 

[ipadsad]

Game-changer. Period. End of story.

Developers will cream themselves over this. Apps will be much more powerful, intuitive, and capable.

It's missing a couple of things. Like every hit Apple product. Butt that's not what sells it. It's the overall experience.

We're looking at the future here. It's getting rave reviews from the industry. And the price is right, and not only that, these will be even cheaper in due course, a la iPhone.

Tablet-makers, start your photocopiers. Apple just hit another one out of the park.

I'm an apple fan... and this is the biggest letdown I've seen apple produce.

 

[SteveAbootman]

How exactly could it do this without some sort of receiving device hooked up to the TV itself? Most TVs don't have WiFI built in. Apple already makes a device to wirelessly stream content to a TV. It's called AppleTV.

They have 3 accessories to go with the iPad now. Could have developed a simple HDMI connector that converted a wifi signal from the iPad. I'm not a hardware guy, so don't jump all over me if this isn't possible. I'm just trying to think outside the box - AppleTV isn't exactly the most used or pronounced Apple product.

Just seems to me like there was some real potential with this device, and they elected instead to capitalize on the technology they put into the iPhone. It's totally fine, and a great device; but if you have an iPhone already, it's a bit underwhelming.

 

[noodle654]

I'm an apple fan... and this is the biggest letdown I've seen apple produce.

I find it strange that your name is ipadsad and that you are a noob?

I smell a troll.

 

[*LTD*]

★ The iPad Big Picture
There was a meta-message in today’s Apple event, not about the iPad in particular, but rather about Apple as a whole. Jobs’s brief preamble included a bit of extra emphasis on the fact that the Apple now generates over $50 billion per year in revenue. (Apple also emphasized this $50 billion revenue thing in their PR two days ago announcing their Q1 2010 financial results.) He also said that when you consider MacBooks as “mobile” devices, that Apple generates more revenue from mobile hardware than any other company in the world; the three competitors he singled out were Sony, Samsung, and Nokia. The adjective he used was “bigger”.

Lastly, there’s the fact that the iPad is using a new CPU designed and made by Apple itself: the Apple A4. This is a huge deal. I got about 20 blessed minutes of time using the iPad demo units Apple had at the event today, and if I had to sum up the device with one word, that word would be “fast”.

It is fast, fast, fast. The hardware really does feel like a big iPhone — and a big original iPhone at that, with the aluminum back. (I have never liked the plastic 3G/S iPhones as much as the original in terms of how it feels in my hand.) I expected the screen size to be the biggest differentiating factor in how the iPad feels compared to an iPhone, but I think the speed difference is just as big a factor. Web pages render so fast it was hard to believe. After using the iPhone so much for two and a half years, I’ve become accustomed to web pages rendering (relative to the Mac) slowly. On the iPad, they seem to render nearly instantly. (802.11N Wi-Fi helps too.)

The iPad hardware is exactly what you think. It looks great, it feels great. It’s very nice to hold. (People are complaining about the wide bezel around the display, but without that, where would your thumbs go? You don’t want your thumb that’s holding the device to cover on-screen content or register as a touch. Trust me, it’s just right.) Just like with the iPhone, it’s all in the software. And the software is obviously marvelous in many ways. It is clearly the result of deep thought and hard work.

But: everyone I spoke to in the press room was raving first and foremost about the speed. None of us could shut up about it. It feels impossibly fast. (And our next thought: What happens if Apple has figured out a way to make a CPU like A4 that fits in an iPhone? If they pull that off for this year’s new iPhone, look out.)

Apple doesn’t talk much about the technical details of the iPhone. They never talk about CPU speed or the name of the chip being used. They don’t tell you how much RAM is in there. Part of their vision for moving computers from technical culture to popular culture is about getting away from defining these things by their technical specs. So the prominent talk about A4 is telling. This is something they want us to notice.

I mentioned this year-ago quote from Apple COO Tim Cook the other day, but it’s apt here, too. Cook told BusinessWeek, “We believe in the simple, not the complex. We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products we make, and participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution.”

Apple now owns and controls their own mobile CPUs. There aren’t many companies in the world that can say that. And from what I saw today, Apple doesn’t just own and control a mobile CPU, they own and control the hands-down best mobile CPU in the world. Software aside (which is a huge thing to put aside), it may well be that no other company could make a device today matching the price, size, and performance of the iPad. They’re not getting into the CPU business for kicks, they’re getting into it to kick ass.

They’re Microsoft and Intel rolled into one when it comes to mobile computing. In the pre-taped video Apple showed, Bob Mansfield said of the iPad, “No one else could do it.” Only Apple.

And so my takeaway from this — with the bragging about making their own CPUs and their annual revenue and their size compared to companies like Sony, Samsung, and Nokia — is that this is Apple’s way of asserting that they’re taking over the penthouse suite as the strongest and best company in the whole ones-and-zeroes racket.

Daring Fireball 10-01-27 10:40 PM John Gruber http://daringfireball.net/

 

[Eidorian]

*LTD* I was about to reply to your post as if you wrote it.

Otherwise I'm not sure what new insight our friend gave us.

 

[oldwatery]

I see his point, not sure why you don't. This is a step in a whole new way to compute, how we interact with the device, how it flows, how it integrates into our life.

This device may not be perfectly demonstrating those things but it's obvious thats where we are headed. This is the first step.

I'm all ears.
So tell me how exactly?
So far all I'm hearing is rhetoric.
Whole new way to compute?
How we interact with a device?
How it flows...flows?????
Integrates into our lives?

Yep...those are some facts I can sink my teeth into for sure

 

[ozcanfm]

slightly dissapointed. I dont really see new technology in this device that Jobs was raving about. It looks like a big iPhone. I love apple but this time I think they got it wrong. Yes it will sell and people will use it but the guys sitting next to you with a netbook will have a smirk on his face.

Netbooks are the latest thing and Apple wanted a slice of the pie. They innovative but with only what they had today which was an iPhone. They tried and history will tell us if they failed.

What was the incredible interaction/input thing people were talking about? multi-touch? This would have been great for students but it needs a pen to take notes. What about voice control? wireless syncing? how do i print my docs/notes?

The tablet could have been sooo much better. I'm slightly dissapointed.

 

[Enzobot24]

I don't know about that COO's quote.

Apple just needlessly jumped into the a few markets. eReaders for one (with a daftly chosen LCD display too - when people know e-ink is infinitely easier to read).

I loved Apple for quite a while - still love Macs - but I can't justify $500 for a glorified iPod touch.

It's essentially a netbook that needs to be synced. I'd rather buy a 13 inch Macbook Pro.

How can Jobs say "this is the best thing we've ever done"?

 

[msduncan]

slightly dissapointed. I dont really see new technology in this device that Jobs was raving about. It looks like a big iPhone. I love apple but this time I think they got it wrong. Yes it will sell and people will use it but the guys sitting next to you with a netbook will have a smirk on his face.

Netbooks are the latest thing and Apple wanted a slice of the pie. They innovative but with only what they had today which was an iPhone. They tried and history will tell us if they failed.

What was the incredible interaction/input thing people were talking about? multi-touch? This would have been great for students but it needs a pen to take notes. What about voice control? wireless syncing? how do i print my docs/notes?

The tablet could have been sooo much better. I'm slightly dissapointed.

Yes... but as a netbook owner (a high end EEE netbook) I'm telling all of you that it is garbage for watching videos or movies. The netbook studders unless you go at the lowest resolution. I've struggled to watch movies on the thing.... it's really only good for surfing and word processing, because multimedia is secondary.

This thing looks to do multimedia WAY WAY better than any netbook out there. I'm the one that is going to be smirking sitting next to a netbook owner when I pull up a HQ Youtube video or a high quality movie on my iPad and flip it around to show it to him. He'll wish his netbook didn't studder on videos at that point and his smirk will go away fast.