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I just have to say that i think this will be the right product for most people who are looking for a good computer but don't want to spend much money. If apple were to find a way to get multitasking for certan apps then it would be great, but right now I don't care. I just wish I could get one so I could use it instead of my laptop. would feel much better to use in my opinion.

And this is what still puzzles me.
I personally cannot see how this is a 'Computer".
While I'm sure it will be fine for people who under use a computer to surf the web, get mail and gain access to media of most (no Flash) sorts. It just ain't a computer.
You can't do computer things with it like sort files, save and export stuff, paint, edit video, etc, etc.
When it does all of that then it's a computer, until then it's a device yet to be categorized.
As some other poster stated, this is the future. That's as maybe...but of what?
 
It is amazing how many people on here are saying I am so disappointed that there is no front facing camera, no multitasking, no voice control, no this and that. This is a first generation product people!! If Apple gave you everything in the first gen, what would they sell you in the second or third gen. Come on! Think business sense!!

Anyway, for a first generation product, this thing is AMAZING. It totally brings the multitouch interface to a whole new level. Apple will add all the features that people are complaining about, eventually, hold your horses. This is for sure a success product line. Can't wait to see what amazing apps will be developed!!!!
 
Glimpses of Marble?

As I watched all these demos, I said to myself, "why aren't my full versions of mail and safari and iWork as cool and multitouch useable as this?"

Seriously. Kind of annoying to have the cheaper newer device have cooler, slicker apps than the expensive desktop. And that just won't do.

I think we have just seen a glimpse of Marble. If you look at the new interface elements of snow leopard, QT player, contextual menus on the dock, etc. I think you'll see that Snow Leopard was heading this direction, but just as Leopard was delayed by the iPhone, I think Marble in Snow Leopard was delayed by the iPad.

The scaleability for one would be awesome. And with the magic mouse (they love that word magic now don't they?) with the touch gestures, all the touch functions would be available.

The tech is already there. Safari already zooms in via cmd+. Make the whole system do it. I can currently zoom with ctrl+scroll wheel, but it's just an enlarging. It doesn't rerender. It's not scaleable. But perhaps with a desktop in the background, you'd want all the scaling to occur within the app window anyway, like Safari does now. And that's what the pad and phone are doing since all apps are fully scaled up anyway.

What's up with no camera? Stick it in the expensive one at least. Geez.

Multitasking will come, but it's not really needed imho. I'm sure it's like the original iphone and iTunes and mail will keep working. But it's not like a desktop app for multitasking. In a desktop you've got two apps open and you're dragging files between them or copying and pasting. I think with this, the apps are full screen so no need to drag and drop. And they launch nearly instantly and at the spot you left off. So it's really pretty much the same thing. You'd copy, close the apps (which like I said is really more akin to minimizing on the mac), then open and paste. Now if you were planning on running some sort of rendering app in the background while you surfed and checked mail, that's REAL multitasking and I just don't see that being a need.

And I'd love to see it work as a multitouch wacom bamboo device when docked. With screen sharing for painting and such. Throw in a stylus from a 3rd party that works with it and just damn! Cool.

Does a bluetooth wireless keyboard work with this thing?
 
From Apple's SDK Page: "Developers can now start planning for universal applications, allowing them to take full advantage of the technologies found on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch with a single binary."
Does the new SDK have features for resolution independence? If it doesn't, then this quote is grossly misleading.
 
The biggest things I'm hearing from people in terms of complaints are:

1. It looks like an ipod/iphone. This is a dumb complaint.

I'm not sure that it's dumb. I believe that when it comes to technology the general trend is shrinking products. If we had the iPad first and then shrank it down to iPhone-size, all would be well. The other way around just produces a negative reaction to the device.

This was a sensibility that already surfaced when the first reports emerged that it just would be an "over-sized iPhone." Because Jobs never listens to anyone's input, he brazenly ploughs ahead despite intuitive red flags among his hard-core constituency.

We've been there many times before. You don't need replaceable batteries, FireWire, Blu-ray, SD slots, more than two USB ports, matte screen. What you want is a Cube, MacBook Air, AppleTV...iPad. ;)
 
It is amazing how many people on here are saying I am so disappointed that there is no front facing camera, no multitasking, no voice control, no this and that. This is a first generation product people!! If Apple gave you everything in the first gen, what would they sell you in the second or third gen. Come on! Think business sense!!

Anyway, for a first generation product, this thing is AMAZING. It totally brings the multitouch interface to a whole new level. Apple will add all the features that people are complaining about, eventually, hold your horses. This is for sure a success product line. Can't wait to see what amazing apps will be developed!!!!

The bar has been raised by apple itself in regard to first gen products... the iphone 3g is a good measure (when jailbroken). I expected as much from this thing. The software will be great and it will be hacked into a better device, but the hardware won't be. I guess i was expected two cameras and got none... and I tend to hold a grudge. It's not like I thought there would be an OLED screeen, that would have been silly. But there are cameras in the small ipod, skips the ipod touch, and in all their notebooks and imacs... just hard to believe they left it out of this.

Probably because after the dev teams hacks it, it would stream vid. over 3g, and ATT would have refused their $30/no contract plan... crap like that...

...and a shout out to the ATT bungholes... I'm tired of getting raped on my iphone voice plan. There is a hell, and if you work for them, it's your final destination....
 
It is amazing how many people on here are saying I am so disappointed that there is no front facing camera, no multitasking, no voice control, no this and that. This is a first generation product people!! If Apple gave you everything in the first gen, what would they sell you in the second or third gen. Come on! Think business sense!!

Anyway, for a first generation product, this thing is AMAZING. It totally brings the multitouch interface to a whole new level. Apple will add all the features that people are complaining about, eventually, hold your horses. This is for sure a success product line. Can't wait to see what amazing apps will be developed!!!!

Yep. Leave it to Apple to think outside the box on the multitouch. PC makers are making all these touch screen products, but all they do is operate the same old Windows OS's. The OS has to be designed for touch and has to be designed for that particular sized machine. Otherwise your finger is just a very inefficient mouse. Ever try to use a big Wacom to navigate? Your arm gets tired moving 12 inches for every command. Using your finger as a mouse on a huge 24" lcd is twice as tiring, plus it's vertical! Apple has this touch thing down. They're so far ahead of the game. Even if this isn't THE complete breakthrough device, the new innovations in touch OS design is just leaps ahead in useability that will no doubt port to the next iphone, and the next desktop os.
 
Yep. Leave it to Apple to think outside the box on the multitouch. PC makers are making all these touch screen products, but all they do is operate the same old Windows OS's. The OS has to be designed for touch and has to be designed for that particular sized machine. Otherwise your finger is just a very inefficient mouse. Ever try to use a big Wacom to navigate? Your arm gets tired moving 12 inches for every command. Using your finger as a mouse on a huge 24" lcd is twice as tiring, plus it's vertical! Apple has this touch thing down. They're so far ahead of the game. Even if this isn't THE complete breakthrough device, the new innovations in touch OS design is just leaps ahead in useability that will no doubt port to the next iphone, and the next desktop os.

It's the same multitouch that's on the iphone 3gs, with some additional add-ons... nothing that changes anything. Again, the hardware specs are the main problem with this thing (and the fact that it will have to be jailbroken to run like a true computer). If you never jailbroke your phone, you have no idea what it can do, but most of you are too chicken...

Anyway, I guess nobody really expects that much from apple anymore. If it weren't for the dev teams jailbreak, I would have thought both my iphones were crap... so apple isn't that great... they just tend to make great initial products that can be liberated. Maybe someone will liberate this thing, give it cameras, FLASH and SILVERLIGHT support, handwriting recognition, and all the things that would have made it truly EXCITING... and when they do, I'll buy one... until then... I'm not reading anymore of this garbage and I'm going to bed....
 
The bar has been raised by apple itself in regards to first gen products... the iphone 3g is a good measure (when jailbroken). I expected as much from this thing. The software will be great and it will be hacked into a better device, but the hardware won't be. I guess i was expected two cameras and got none... and I tend to hold a grudge. It's not like I thought there would be an OLED screeen, that would have been silly. But there are cameras in the small ipod, skips the ipod touch, and in all their notebooks and imacs... just hard to believe they left it out of this.

Probably because after the dev teams hacks it, it would stream vid. over 3g, and ATT would have refused their $30/no contract plan... crap like that...

...and a shout out to the ATT bungholes... I'm tired of getting raped on my iphone voice plan. There is a hell, and if you work for them, it's your final destination....

I don't think it's that. I think they focus grouped what they could get away with leaving out to get a product under $500 and still make enough profit that they don't care if it eats into the macbook sales. And it will. A little. So if they can make $200 profit on this, and $175 profit on a macbook, who cares, right? And it really is cutting edge for a "netbook" type product. Which is really is. Same market I believe. Those things have 160gigs on the low end. But the bloated OS and drivers take up a bunch of it.

What would've been killer would be two of these hinged together. They could act as one huge tablet, or a folded keyboard and screen, or maybe fold it completely around and be a single screen, but with touch and keyboard on the backside. Imagine how much fun to work in the ideas dept of Apple and just come up with prototypes and sketches all day long?

This thing isn't shipping yet. I didn't even see ichat on it at all. Maybe they could still add a higher end option with camera. Does it have bluetooth?
 
As others have mentioned, I think part of the debate is in the way they are marketing this thing. If it was merely touted as a iTouch DX (a larger version of the iTouch like the kindle dx), it would make sense and the features would seem appropriate. But when they are pushing it as a new class of device and implying it trumps netbooks, people are going to expect more features. As it stands now, seems too crippled as a true revolutionary product. What made the iPhone successful was how the OS was optimized for that device and its use.

With this device, doesn't seem as tailored as everyone expected. With a larger screen, shouldn't there be widgets as it's an always on device (would be nice to have a weather or news ticker on the homepage, etc), where's the printing capabilities if you are "experiencing" the web and want to print something? Another thing that seems to be overlooked is just using wireless capabilities more. I understand the want for simplicity, so there is only one port, but then why not have itunes capable of syncing via bluetooth? Maybe there is something I am overlooking, but don't see how bluetooth syncing is still not a feature. Instead we get more dongles in the sake of aesthetics.
 
And it really is cutting edge for a "netbook" type product. Which is really is. Same market I believe. Those things have 160gigs on the low end. But the bloated OS and drivers take up a bunch of it.
I have a bloated OS, my iTunes library, and about a dozen games in about 140 GB. What's the problem again?
 
It's the same multitouch that's on the iphone 3gs, with some additional add-ons... nothing that changes anything. Again, the hardware specs are the main problem with this thing (and the fact that it will have to be jailbroken to run like a true computer). If you never jailbroke your phone, you have no idea what it can do, but most of you are too chicken...

Well yeah, duh, but on a different scale. Look at things like the photo app. Does it operate like a great big iphone app? Peeking into stacks and zooming back with a pinch. Ditto with mail. I'm talking about the innovation on HOW they implemented the gestures into the apps directly for this form factor. When rotating does something different and yet intuitive, etc. This is the key to always being ahead of the game with good design. After the iPhone came out a zillion companies came out with similar looking touch and gestures and screens and icons. They touted that hey we can do that too. That's not so innovative. You can't patent that. Blah blah blah. So why didn't they do it first? MS has even bought their own touch tech like apple did. Ok, where's their new touch based OS? Why didn't Nokia or PALM have this kinda thing a long time ago? I mean, the basic concept was there with the Newton, and then Palm copied that and in many ways made it better and more affordable.

Ah well. The thing is cool. But I'd rather buy a 42" LCD for the house. :)
 
I don't think it's that. I think they focus grouped what they could get away with leaving out to get a product under $500 and still make enough profit that they don't care if it eats into the macbook sales. And it will. A little. So if they can make $200 profit on this, and $175 profit on a macbook, who cares, right? And it really is cutting edge for a "netbook" type product. Which is really is. Same market I believe. Those things have 160gigs on the low end. But the bloated OS and drivers take up a bunch of it.

What would've been killer would be two of these hinged together. They could act as one huge tablet, or a folded keyboard and screen, or maybe fold it completely around and be a single screen, but with touch and keyboard on the backside. Imagine how much fun to work in the ideas dept of Apple and just come up with prototypes and sketches all day long?

This thing isn't shipping yet. I didn't even see ichat on it at all. Maybe they could still add a higher end option with camera. Does it have bluetooth?

can anyone explain to me how a lenovo netbook or dell mini inspiron netbook is better than this iPad?

I can see how this will make taking notes in class REALLY easier, and its a planner in 1, along with a calculator, I probably can put information in class from sites, to reference to and everything.

this iPad, which i call pady, is coming home via WiFi soon, and ill do a review on it on youtube and let you guys know how it is :)
 
You can't do computer things with it like sort files, save and export stuff, paint, edit video, etc, etc.

Who the hell wants to sort files or save and export stuff?

Those are all mundane file management tasks that most of us have to do in order to use our computers effectively.

In a perfect world, our devices and applications would save our progress automatically without interaction, know where the files we want are stored and how to deal with different file formats.

I’ve frequently wondered why Microsoft Word doesn’t just automatically search my hard drive for .DOC or .DOCX files and present me with a list (same with Apple’s Pages). There’s system-wide file indexing on both Windows and Mac now. What’s the deal?

These new type of “appliance” devices are a step towards fixing that. File management is done automatically by the device. Your iPad’s eBooks are contained in a directory where the iBooks app expects them, same for your Mobile Pages, Keynote or Numbers files, etc.

It’s an interesting proposition.
 
I have a bloated OS, my iTunes library, and about a dozen games in about 140 GB. What's the problem again?

No problem. I'm just considering why they went this way. Form factor eliminated a moving drive. And then flash memory price put a hinderance on storage, when then forces a new OS and app platform that is super efficient. Which probably makes everything be rebuilt from ground up which will save space too. So, like the iPhone, a little storage goes a long way. And since it's designed to sync with another device, it doesn't eat into laptop or desktop sales. It's an add on to which of those you have. Years ago laptops were kind of the add-on to your desktop. Now, few are buying desktops and many are buying laptops as their main computer. I'm guessing that like an iPhone, this could be an add on to someone's PC netbook even. If for nothing else than mobile mail and media consumption. If office came out on it then there ya go. Of course iWork does all that.

So I dunno. Just musing on things in real time.
 
No problem. I'm just considering why they went this way. Form factor eliminated a moving drive. And then flash memory price put a hinderance on storage, when then forces a new OS and app platform that is super efficient. Which probably makes everything be rebuilt from ground up which will save space too. So, like the iPhone, a little storage goes a long way. And since it's designed to sync with another device, it doesn't eat into laptop or desktop sales. It's an add on to which of those you have. Years ago laptops were kind of the add-on to your desktop. Now, few are buying desktops and many are buying laptops as their main computer. I'm guessing that like an iPhone, this could be an add on to someone's PC netbook even. If for nothing else than mobile mail and media consumption. If office came out on it then there ya go. Of course iWork does all that.

So I dunno. Just musing on things in real time.
I feel that an HP Mini 311 and an iPod Touch would be a better pair.

The iPad is noticeably speed optimized and uses such as a selling point. Sadly it falls into the gray area of companion device. It's outright bizarre you can get a full blown desktop OS on something that's cheaper than the iPad itself to manage the iPad.
 
Here is what I have for devices:

-20" iMac
-15" Lenovo Notebook PC
-12" HP EliteBook 2730p Tablet PC (Supplied by the school where I teach.)
-32 GB iPod Touch (I also have an 80GB Classic, but that is just a music player for me.)
-Motorola Droid

Now how does the iPad fit into this equation? Can someone here explain why I would need this device or why anyone who owns the same sort of devices that I do would need it?

That is what I am struggling with. Maybe I just don't get it.
 
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.

The fact of the matter is that none of the current technology actually offers a truly compelling alternative for actual books anyway (outside magazines and newspapers, that is). The Kindle is a nice device into which the designers put a lot of thoughts, but clearly it will NOT replace actual books in any foreseeable future. It can't as it is. The technology is simply far from being there yet. e-ink is just an improvement over the traditional LED, and hardly the answer, and it's still too uncomfortable an experience for too many of the people who actually read quite a lot.

It's pointless to compare iPad to the Kindle, really. BOTH still "suck" as a book reader, and the difference isn't that drastic in the big scheme of the thing, which Apple knows, and that's why iPad isn't really a dedicated e-book reader. You simply can't have a GREAT e-book reader with the current technology. Your device would be bound to be half-baked no matter how hard you try.
 
can anyone explain to me how a lenovo netbook or dell mini inspiron netbook is better than this iPad?

I can see how this will make taking notes in class REALLY easier, and its a planner in 1, along with a calculator, I probably can put information in class from sites, to reference to and everything.

this iPad, which i call pady, is coming home via WiFi soon, and ill do a review on it on youtube and let you guys know how it is :)

It's ok... it just could have BEEN SO MUCH BETTER.... SO MUCH... IT COULD HAVE BEEN "MAGICAL," INSTEAD OF THE LIE...

Who the hell wants to sort files or save and export stuff?

Those are all mundane file management tasks that most of us have to do in order to use our computers effectively.

In a perfect world, our devices and applications would save our progress automatically without interaction, know where the files we want are stored and how to deal with different file formats.

I’ve frequently wondered why Microsoft Word doesn’t just automatically search my hard drive for .DOC or .DOCX files and present me with a list (same with Apple’s Pages). There’s system-wide file indexing on both Windows and Mac now. What’s the deal?

These new type of “appliance” devices are a step towards fixing that. File management is done automatically by the device. Your iPad’s eBooks are contained in a directory where the iBooks app expects them, same for your Mobile Pages, Keynote or Numbers files, etc.

It’s an interesting proposition.

Like driving an automatic as opposed to stick. I prefer stick... more control. The best would be having the OPTION of both...
 
It is amazing how many people on here are saying I am so disappointed that there is no front facing camera, no multitasking, no voice control, no this and that. This is a first generation product people!! If Apple gave you everything in the first gen, what would they sell you in the second or third gen. Come on! Think business sense!!

Anyway, for a first generation product, this thing is AMAZING. It totally brings the multitouch interface to a whole new level. Apple will add all the features that people are complaining about, eventually, hold your horses. This is for sure a success product line. Can't wait to see what amazing apps will be developed!!!!

It's a computer (of sorts). To claim that it's so lame because it's just a first generation is so lame.
 
Once again, it's better to wait a year for the 2nd generation before dropping the money. There are a lot of obvious omission that will definitely be fixed next generation since there are so many complains.

-Multitasking (could be done through software updates?)
-Video/Camera (I bet 2nd gen will have it)
-Double Memory at same price (16GB for a multimedia device the scale of this? Are they kidding?)
-and more

This definitely feels like a first gen product, very unpolished with a lot of questionable choices.

People Have been wanting a front facing camera for the iPhone for a while now.......not going to happen
 
You got to be kidding, Apple

I am not going to purchase itampon, I mean ipad, from Apple without webcam or mulit-tasking. Sorry I will stick with good ole macbook and Iphone.

Do better next time, Apple!
 
When LTE is fully rolled out, then maybe VZ can have Apple products.

LTE is no panacea. The rest of the world will not be using the same frequencies that are going to be used in the US for 4G/LTE. GSM isn't completely uniform worldwide either.

Nevermind the dubious notion that cell providers are going to instantly drop their 3G and previous implementations once start rolling out LTE.
 
The only consumers who will buy this (other than Apple enthusiasts and people with $500 to blow during a recession) will be people who do not own a single Apple product and more importantly, do not already own a netbook or laptop.



-Eric

I have owned just about every Apple computer (except for the mini) over the last two years and will be buying this iPad. It's everything I was thinking it would be.
 
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