iPad Camera Connection Kit Shipping in Late April

[PinkyMacGodess]

Actually my order status says my case ships "by April 3" even though the item listing says "ships mid April".

Guess I'll have to wait and see what actually happens.

Mine shows shipping the 15th for delivery by the 20th but it could change.

I do see some room for comments about the timing of these accessories. Would someone think that an iPad purchaser wouldn't want a case since one doesn't come with it out of the box? Some accessories are even expecting later ship dates which is hopefully embarrassing for someone at Apple... I mean, the iPad was delayed because of supplier delays already because of screen availability so it's not like they planned to have these accessories available at the release of the iPad. It just seems like someone missed the boat...

 

[deconstruct60]

.... No card reader and no usb port are design/business choices and they have nothing to do with size, weight and cost.

What is design if doesn't include choices on size , weight, and materials ?

Likewise what is a business choice that doesn't include cost ?

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Of course. But then Apple would not be able to charge you $100 for 16GB (or 32GB) extra storage. The lack of ports on Apple products is just ridiculous. They are starting to behave worse than Microsoft. I will leave the sick Apple ecosystem as soon as I can.

Oh, the most important thing is that "anything that does not need to be there is not there"... together with all the things that need to be there.

Well gee guy, maybe it's also because not everyone uses SD cards. The one one I use any more is in my Wii. All my cameras use CF cards (including my PnS). So to me, adapters are a better choice. A built-in USB might have been nice, but not a SD slot (I'm still fuming that they put one in the MBPs.)

Oh, and BTW... how is Apple like Microsoft when it comes to the ports issue? Microsoft is a SW company, not a HW company (unless you are refering to the Xbox or Zune.)

...and don't let door hit ya on the way out of the "Apple Ecosystem."

 

[SLBear]

Another?

Does anybody really want another $29 Apple adapter? I have one for my macbook, one for my macbook pro, and one for my old G4 tower. That's just to connect them to displays. Are any of them interchangeable? No. They are all the same. Cheap, easy to break white plastic. 2 of them have been replaced at least once and the other one is held together with duct tape.
Since the very first iphone, Apple has been missing an sd card slot. I still use my 5 year old Motorola because it has an sd card slot. It also has usb and bluetooth tethering in 3g for my laptop. Anyone willing to shell out bucks for a crippled device is insane. After all the ugly attachments you're likely to have what looks like a Franken-Pad or iUgly.
I'm an Apple fan. But there are two Apple products I won't buy and they seem to be the hottest topics. If your digital camera will not just plug in to your iPad, then obviously it doesn't just work out of the box.

 

[deconstruct60]

More than you think. Say it's a 10 cent connector (probably more).

Apple generally gets from 25-40% profit margin on the products they sell.
(overall corp average is 40% but sofware is major contributor to that). On a $500 device 20% is about $100. Put in perspective another way $0.10 is about a 0.02% you could 5x that and it still won't make a difference in Apples profit margin percentage. Apple is out for money but they aren't that cheap.

Adding a SD Card would probably cost more in design & support costs than some small dollar fraction swing in component costs.

Surveys say that most customers won't use it, or even notice it missing when they buy one.

That is more inline. However, the percentage is high enough to build/sell an accessory. So it is not insignificantly small. The disconnect is whether it is significant enough to make the trade-offs to put it in.

 

[diabolic]

That is more inline. However, the percentage is high enough to build/sell an accessory. So it is not insignificantly small. The disconnect is whether it is significant enough to make the trade-offs to put it in.

Doesn't Apple take risks making trade-offs like this all the time? It usually works out the way they planned.

 

[fifthworld]

What is design if doesn't include choices on size , weight, and materials ?

Likewise what is a business choice that doesn't include cost ?

Funny, you totally toke my comment out of contest and make sound the opposite of what I was saying. OK, here I go again: iPad size, weight and cost are carefully designed by Apple, but the exclusion of a card slot and an usb port has nothing to do with the size, weight and cost of them. in other words the set of features that iPad includes or not includes are design/business choices, not impossibilities. Better now?

 

[Padriac]

Number of people complaining about wanting a camera on the iPad: many.

Number of people who wouldn't do more than take a few token pictures with their iPad camera and then not really ever use it again (just like the webcam on laptops now): many.

 

[marksman]

A SD card is what? 1.5mm thick

Sorry I don't buy the there is not room theory.
They managed to fit a big connector in the base, there could have been a SL slot next to it.

I am not sure you have a clear understanding how electronics work.

An SD port, for example is not just a decal you stick on the outside of the case.

 

[lilo777]

I am not sure you have a clear understanding how electronics work.

An SD port, for example is not just a decal you stick on the outside of the case.

Don't be ridiculous. Apple does not have SD slot in MB notebooks even though most competitor notebooks have it. Does electronics work differently for Apple than for everybody else?

 

[AidenShaw]

I am not sure you have a clear understanding how electronics work.

An SD port, for example is not just a decal you stick on the outside of the case.

Right, that's why cell phones like the 4.45" x 2.19" x 0.51" Droid Eris have SD slots, but Apple can't fit one into the 9.56" x 7.47" by 0.5" Ipad?

(For the mathematically challenged, the Ipad is about 7.2 times larger than an Eris, and almost exactly the same thickness.)

It has nothing to do with technology, and everything to do with the fact that Apple doesn't want you to buy 16 GB or 32 GB memory from someone else. The garden's walls are very high.

 

[Richard Kimball]

Not that I don't agree with you, however, it does seem as if Apple is going after the professional market in a stealth mode... by the time the competition catches on, they will realize the boat has left the dock.

Not to worry. Apple will have a dongle to connect them up.

 

[johnnyhow]

30 US Dollars? What a filthy rip off on apple's part. These things should have come built in, and now they want consumers to fork out $30 for something that should cost no more than $5. Bring on third party competition!

 

[ugp]

I just ordered my Kit. Should come in handy especially when I have a new baby on the way and will give me a way to upload photos while I am at the hospital from my Digital Camera. Any pictures I wanna keep I will always take with my Digital Camera. A camera in an iPad to me I would just never use. I hardly use the camera in my iPhone now.

 

[TEBnewyork]

And most pro-level cameras use Compact Flash, not SD. I'm disappointed they didn't offer a CF option if they were going to have a card adapter. With an CF-to-SD adapter, a camera connector with a CF slot would've covered the vast majority of cameras out there.

Of course that's the same thing I said about the SD slots in the newer MBPs. I keep forgetting that "Pro" is now being used as a marketing term by our favorite company rather than an indicator of the target audience.

However I expect it's all academic - as others have noted, the third-party manufacturers will likely fill in this gap.

I haven't read every response yet but two comments:

1)a pro level camera is going to have big enough files (especially RAW) that you aren't going to want to dump a full card of stuff into the iPad anyway
2)the camera connection kit comes with two pieces so if you have a camera with only CF, connect with camera and USB connector if you have the need.

 

[friedmud]

I wonder about RAW support. Even if there is no editing ability... I wonder if it will at least show a preview of a RAW file... and hopefully at least allow copying them off of an SD card / camera.

I'm mainly interested in using the iPad to get a larger "preview" of images while I'm in the field... so if there is no RAW support I suppose I'll just shoot RAW+Jpeg and preview the jpegs... but that is certainly not ideal.

I guess all will be answered shortly...

 

[SandynJosh]

30 US Dollars? What a filthy rip off on apple's part. These things should have come built in, and now they want consumers to fork out $30 for something that should cost no more than $5. Bring on third party competition!

I don't know... putting two more holes in the product and Letterman might be tempted to see if "Will it float?"

"The iPad, does seven things better than other products and functions as a flotation device. Can your netbook do that?!"

 

[cwlaw84]

Any chance the iPad will interface with Eye-Fi SD cards one day? That would get round the crappy, small camera problem.

I like the idea of a note taking app that allows you to import pictures & pdfs and write over them. Some sort of wireless print-to-iPad function like the iPhone already has (with a third party app) + camera import would be neat.

myPaint Free and PhotoForge both allow you to take an image stored on the iPhone or iPod touch and use a pen tool to mark all over them. You can then save and e-mail the marked photo. Both of those Apps should work for the iPad, and PhotoForge should wind up with an iPad specific version as it gets updated regularly.

 

[marksman]

Right, that's why cell phones like the 4.45" x 2.19" x 0.51" Droid Eris have SD slots, but Apple can't fit one into the 9.56" x 7.47" by 0.5" Ipad?

(For the mathematically challenged, the Ipad is about 7.2 times larger than an Eris, and almost exactly the same thickness.)

It has nothing to do with technology, and everything to do with the fact that Apple doesn't want you to buy 16 GB or 32 GB memory from someone else. The garden's walls are very high.

You really don't get it.

Every decision has a multiple of costs.

It doesn't matter if it exists on another device. It matters what it would cost on this device. Besides the cost of the part, you have to integrate it into the device, so you have a development cost, plus you have a repair/replacement cost and support cost. All of those things exist for each one of this little things people want.

Add them all and you easily add $100 of just COST to each device over its lifetime.

The idea is to provide as useful and beneficial product as possible, but also keeping in the cost of all the steps along the way for every decision you make.

At the end of the day I don't want my $499 iPad costing me $699 at the lowest price point because you want a built in sd slot.

Heck factor in all the things people think this thing must have, and the device would have to sell for $999 at the lowest price point.

 

[deconstruct60]

Right, that's why cell phones like the 4.45" x 2.19" x 0.51" Droid Eris have SD slots,

the Eris has a micro SD card ( not full size SD card ) and you can't get to it without removing the back cover of the phone. It is not on the edge of the device. You also need an adapter to put the card into camera ( just swapped which device requires you to carry around an adapter. )

The eris is also much box/rectangle shaped in 3 dimensions. (i.e., not tapered, only rounded edges. )

but Apple can't fit one into the 9.56" x 7.47" by 0.5" Ipad?

The edges of the iPad are not 0.5" thick since the device is tapered. There is also no "cover" to take off.

The iPad also has a screen that is 6" diagonally larger and a far bigger power consumers. So large fraction of internal volume is devoted to battery. Even so the "talk time" (usage) of the Eris is 3.5 hours and the iPad is 10 hours ( again about 3x as large. )

It has nothing to do with technology,

This specific aspect is correct. But this never was about technology it is really about design and priorities. If changed the design critieria for the iPad one could be put in. This issue is with the design they have how do you put it in.

Battery life , relatively large screen , how it feels in your hand are all higher on the design priority list than SD Card slot.

 

[huntercr]

Power adapter is not shipping until May? Does that mean you're stuck with charging through your computer ala iPods? Lame_ass!

Even more lame... why is there even a seperate power adapter? Shouldn't it just use the standard ipod USB brick one?

 

[macrumorsMaster]

I don't see people using the iPad as a Camera. That's what people have Cell Phones or actual Cameras for. I could see a forward facing video cam for chat/conferencing being useful.

lol, I'm sure that's what people said about cell phones when they first got cameras as well(the resolution sucks on cell phones). Why not use it as a camera? You'd have a much bigger screen to see the shot than with a cell phone?

 

[lilo777]

This specific aspect is correct. But this never was about technology it is really about design and priorities. If changed the design critieria for the iPad one could be put in. This issue is with the design they have how do you put it in.

Battery life , relatively large screen , how it feels in your hand are all higher on the design priority list than SD Card slot.

Typical argument from Apple apologists. When do you start being such suckers? Is not it obvious that Apple does not put SD slot, USB connector etc. in the iPad because it wants you to buy the content from iTunes? Well, it is obvious but people are still trying to find nice excuses.

 

[troller]

there was already place for a built in solution and dont tell me they didnt think about that. This is just one big ripp off again.

 

[DMann]

Right, that's why cell phones like the 4.45" x 2.19" x 0.51" Droid Eris have SD slots, but Apple can't fit one into the 9.56" x 7.47" by 0.5" Ipad?

(For the mathematically challenged, the Ipad is about 7.2 times larger than an Eris, and almost exactly the same thickness.)

It has nothing to do with technology, and everything to do with the fact that Apple doesn't want you to buy 16 GB or 32 GB memory from someone else. The garden's walls are very high.

Mathematically challenged, you say?

This is quite the condescending statement, especially coming from someone who extolls characteristics of being technically challenged.

the Eris has a micro SD card ( not full size SD card ) and you can't get to it without removing the back cover of the phone. It is not on the edge of the device. You also need an adapter to put the card into camera ( just swapped which device requires you to carry around an adapter. )

The eris is also much box/rectangle shaped in 3 dimensions. (i.e., not tapered, only rounded edges. )


The edges of the iPad are not 0.5" thick since the device is tapered. There is also no "cover" to take off.

The iPad also has a screen that is 6" diagonally larger and a far bigger power consumers. So large fraction of internal volume is devoted to battery. Even so the "talk time" (usage) of the Eris is 3.5 hours and the iPad is 10 hours ( again about 3x as large. )


This specific aspect is correct. But this never was about technology it is really about design and priorities. If changed the design critieria for the iPad one could be put in. This issue is with the design they have how do you put it in.

Battery life , relatively large screen , how it feels in your hand are all higher on the design priority list than SD Card slot.

Seems he prefers to rant on about specs which he has little to no knowledge about, for the sake of dishing his usual misinformed drivel.

You really don't get it.

Every decision has a multiple of costs.

It doesn't matter if it exists on another device. It matters what it would cost on this device. Besides the cost of the part, you have to integrate it into the device, so you have a development cost, plus you have a repair/replacement cost and support cost. All of those things exist for each one of this little things people want.

Add them all and you easily add $100 of just COST to each device over its lifetime.

The idea is to provide as useful and beneficial product as possible, but also keeping in the cost of all the steps along the way for every decision you make.

At the end of the day I don't want my $499 iPad costing me $699 at the lowest price point because you want a built in sd slot.

Heck factor in all the things people think this thing must have, and the device would have to sell for $999 at the lowest price point.

Clearly, he doesn't get it.

He'll bitch and moan about the iPad not being a Swiss Army knife, while quite recently, whining about Apple selling products with added features which people might or might not want nor need.

Rich.