More iPad First Impressions and Discussion

[HyperZboy]

Can you multitask?

It's amazing how easy it is to tick off the fanboys here.

Just saying I'm waiting until certain features I want causes a firestorm of hatred! LOL

And I've been an Apple user since 1983 and a Mac user since 1987!
To say the Apple fanboys will easily eat their young would be a huge understatement!

Too funny

 

[Mr. Gates]

I got it and I'm just waiting for easter to be over and I'm returning it. It sucks. QuickOffice is so buggy on it it's unusable. Numbers is a total joke and PDF files load so slow its a painful experience. this thing is a toy for silly games and people who don't need to do any substantial work. I was excited about the idea of having a color eReader, but even the iBooks app is slow and you have to wait to turn pages.. Who says this thing is fast? yeah the Internet is fast but the serious stuff is ridiculous..

Just my experience.

Ok fanboys,.......let me have it


EDIT : I forgot to mention that I have have an iPhone 3GS and love it, none of my programs are buggy on it and I am able to work with excel. The one thing I do like is the iPad version of LogMeIn Ignition. But its not why I got the thing in the first place so ...Return

 

[Meduolis]

It's amazing how easy it is to tick off the fanboys here.

Just saying I'm waiting until certain features I want causes a firestorm of hatred! LOL

And I've been an Apple user since 1983 and a Mac user since 1987!
To say the Apple fanboys will easily eat their young would be a huge understatement!

Too funny

Too funny indeed. The fact that you whine since Apple said that Snow Leopard will not support PPC (i read a lot) Macs tells me more than enough about your Appleism. I don't care who made the device if it meets my needs i buy it, if not i don't buy it. I'm not crying everytime i get the chance as you do all the time. Move on. I heard HP Slate is much better and it multitasks.

 

[SteveSparks]

I got it and I'm just waiting for easter to be over and I'm returning it. It sucks. QuickOffice is so buggy on it it's unusable. Numbers is a total joke and PDF files load so slow its a painful experience. this thing is a toy for silly games and people who don't need to do any substantial work. I was excited about the idea of having a color eReader, but even the iBooks app is slow and you have to wait to turn pages.. Who says this thing is fast? yeah the Internet is fast but the serious stuff is ridiculous..

Just my experience.

Ok fanboys,.......let me have it

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Hal Itosis]

BS.

Ipad way: you're working on a 20-page report, a word processing document. You need some information contained in a 200-page pdf. So to get the info out of the pdf, you close your Pages document. Then open the pdf, search what you are looking for. Cut and paste. Then reopen your word processing document, find the spot you were last working in,

Bzzzt. No soap, radio. (Pages doesn't lose our place, so we don't need to "find" it).

http://ihnatko.com/2010/04/03/ipad-and-multitasking/

--

Here's another way to look at it...

In a sense, it's like spaces for OSX, with fullscreen apps so each app gets its own space. The apps in other spaces don't actually have to be running, so long as they resume their state quickly.

 

[Bigonapple]

Why I purchased a iPad.

I looked at all of the thing's (toys) that I was looking to buy; an ebook reader, a digit photo frame, a net book or a portable computer to watch movies and surf the net, a hand held game station, and the cost was going to cost me over $1400. Plus a the fact that I was able to get this all in one from a company that has alway keep it's word on being something for the rest of us, it was a no brainer. Glad to be at the start of another revolution.

 

[HyperZboy]

Too funny indeed. The fact that you whine since Apple said that Snow Leopard will not support PPC (i read a lot) Macs tells me more than enough about your Appleism. I don't care who made the device if it meets my needs i buy it, if not i don't buy it. I'm not crying everytime i get the chance as you do all the time. Move on. I heard HP Slate is much better and it multitasks.

Who's whining? I just stated why I'm waiting on the iPad.

It's the fanboys that are whining because there's some dissension in the ranks. We can't have that! LOL

I still think it will be a success for Apple and meet many peoples' needs.
It just doesn't do what I want it to do, at least not yet.
Someone asked if I knew about OS 4.0, and the answer is yes, I do, but those features are not set in stone until 4.0 is released.
The majority of people on this site are techie types and they know about all this. However, the average iPad buyer might not be the same demographic as this site. Hence, they might not know about Flash or other missing features or about 4.0.

I want it to surf the web and the iPad doesn't properly do that without Flash.
Too many websites I go to daily (news, information, entertainment, you name it) all use Flash.

I'm all for Steve Jobs killing Flash, I just don't want to be the unintended victim in the battle buying something that doesn't do properly what it's advertised as being very good at. I'm very happy with my iPhone and the lack of Flash does not bother me at all. But on a larger tablet or netbook type device, I know it will so I'm waiting. That's not whining. I'm just stating it doesn't meet my needs right now. It doesn't do things that I want it to do and it doesn't replace anything I already own, at least not yet.
It's just that simple, no whining. I can't wait to play with one though.

 

[greenmeanie]

I hate this kind of attitude!
You're no better than the haters. You're acting like everyone has to agree with you and apple and act like none of their products can suck.
We don't like Nazi's.

Hater's need to leave.

I am testing Keynote right now to prepare a presentation for a major NBA team on Tuesday. Cost me $9.99 one time only fee and it's working great.

So I am accomplishing something, and I can do this over and over again, without any added fees. This is just one example.

I can use my $9 a month Netflix accounts to stream video into my iPad which I can easily connect to my TV -- No more hauling the fragile laptop to the basement.

 

[YayMayorBee]

One thing that I noticed is I wish it was a little longer so I could hold it on the inside of my forearm while standing.

Another disappointment was the lack alarm clock

 

[greenmeanie]

My laptop screen stays up without me having to prop my legs up.

You have to leave the desk with one -- sit on the sofa with it -- to really grasp how it will begin to change lifestyles.

So much more enjoyable than a laptop/netbook.

It just changes the whole experience. I am hooked.

Going to have a hard time producing client content today -- I want to CONSUME it.

The YouTube iPad interface is beautiful

 

[greenmeanie]

So I hope you're not preaching how nice your Imac is then? Or should I look through your threads to see?

Clearly you are not using one.

Just benchmarked same website on new iMac i7 Quad with 8 gig ram, no other open apps, and iPAD -- iPAD loads same site considerably faster.

Get the experience to speak in an informed manner.

 

[Dooger]

Hater's need to leave.
I am testing Keynote right now to prepare a presentation for a major NBA team on Tuesday. Cost me $9.99 one time only fee and it's working great.

So I am accomplishing something, and I can do this over and over again, without any added fees. This is just one example.

I hate this kind of attitude!
You're no better than the haters. You're acting like everyone has to agree with you and apple and act like none of their products can suck.
We don't like Nazi's.

I think he just wanted to tell us what a big shot he is. Doing presentations for a Major NBA team on an iPad he's just bought? Love your half-assed commitment there dude! Oh and watch those pesky apostrophes Dante, you might look a little silly if you start talking about "Hater's" in your big keynote.

 

[Rocketman]

I still think it will be a success for Apple and meet many peoples' needs.

However, the average iPad buyer might not be the same demographic as this site.

There is another factor we are not discussing yet. When you buy an Apple product you are buying a piece of electronics with high resale value. This is very rare in the electronics world. The things that cause one to buy one on day one are still in place on day 1000. People will be buying Week 1-10 iPads 3 years from now as a low cost way to buy into the larger screen TOS ecosystem plus iTunes.

Look how much a used MacBook costs still. About $700 for a C2D style, and even a G4 Mac-Mini is about $300-$400. All these years and generations later.

So one can buy an iPad, try it out for a year, resell it for a large fraction of the original purchase price, and have no regrets whatsoever.

Or not, but it is simply a matter if what it offers interests you or not. When you consider the round-turn cost of ownership, it is on the order of $10 a month or less. That is literally amazing for a primary mobile compute device with bleeding edge network and software access.

Rocketman

 

[Rot'nApple]

Ipad way: you're working on a 20-page report, a word processing document. You need some information contained in a 200-page pdf. So to get the info out of the pdf, you close your Pages document. Then open the pdf, search what you are looking for. Cut and paste. Then reopen your word processing document, find the spot you were last working in, and paste in the info. Need something else from the pdf? Have fun doing that 20 times in a row.

Obviously you have no conception of what the iPad is and what it is not!

I can say my new car is snappy but you'd look at it and say something to the effect... 'don't take that thing to the races!'...

I wouldn't get a 30" Commercial Grade $500.00+ dollar professional gas powered hedge trimmer to 'cultivate' a Bonzai tree but maybe I would if I had to care for a hedge maze...

And I can post other metaphors to debate your ridiculous thesis regarding this "new toy"!

I'm purchasing a 3G iPad knowing that it is a mobile device that won't have the ability to work on a 20 page word processor report and if I need info in a 200 page PDF document that I have to search and cut and paste and go back and forth because I don't have multi tasking capabilities and when done with the report can't even hook up the device to my laser printer to print out my document because there are no ports. I know it can't do that! Those are not my desires. Do you get it now?!

I'm getting an iPad so I can go onto the web to show potential clientele of what goods and services my company can offer and to see what is on special at the time. I'm getting an iPad so that when I hit the road to visit grandma, the kids will have a video game player / movie theater to pass the time, and when they go into 'rest' mode, the wife can browse the web at sites she enjoys or maybe read a e-book and then go on to google maps and tell me I'm lost. I'm getting an iPad so that I can view my business e-mail account, orders received from our online order form and e-faxes received. I'm getting an iPad so that I can open the Bible app when congregating with fellow worshippers and then restaurant browse after the sermon. I'm getting the iPad so that I can do all these things, which are things that can be done by a 'laptop', but are things that I can do and look good doing them versus having to lug around a laptop looking like an "old school" tech geek that can't be away from his laptop for more than two minutes.

Want to try again?

Do you?! And I'll repeat, 'do you get it now?!'

 

[Hal Itosis]

However, the average iPad buyer might not be the same demographic as this site. Hence, they might not know about Flash or other missing features or about 4.0.

Actually, the lack of Flash is a feature!

I want it to surf the web and the iPad doesn't properly do that without Flash.
Too many websites I go to daily (news, information, entertainment, you name it) all use Flash.

I name it? Okay: pr0n & advertising. There's 90% of Flash right there.

I'm all for Steve Jobs killing Flash, I just don't want to be the unintended victim in the battle buying something that doesn't do properly what it's advertised as being very good at. I'm very happy with my iPhone and the lack of Flash does not bother me at all. But on a larger tablet or netbook type device, I know it will so I'm waiting. That's not whining. I'm just stating it doesn't meet my needs right now.

Heh, you can bet Flash will be drying up sooner rather than later (once these large iPad sales take their toll). After all, advertisers don't want to miss out on potential customers who so easily spend their cash on such (purportedly) frivolous devices.

 

[pruhawk]

My impression - iPhone Killer

The good, I can see how the next generation iPad, the one with more memory, a faster OS, and running on 4G, could very well be an iPhone (read smart phone) killer for me. The iPad is a far better platform for apps, the ibook reader, web surfing, movie watching, photos, email, and iwork, etc and is still portable. Additionally, I could then save some money and go “back to the future” and get a good solid voice and text phone (with good – not ATT service).

The bad, after using the current version of the ipad for about 20 minutes last night at BB, I was not as wowed as I expected. For me, the apps and websites were slow to load (maybe that will be better on the 3G version) and the fingerprints, the bigger screen is a true fingerprint magnet (a big time distraction, at least for me).

 

[HyperZboy]

Bzzzt. No soap, radio. (Pages doesn't lose our place, so we don't need to "find" it).

http://ihnatko.com/2010/04/03/ipad-and-multitasking/

Before a fanboy starts an iPad shrine to Ihnatko, let's not forget this line from Ihnatko...

"More of a problem: the iPad is, by its nature, a “one window” interface. You can’t open a movie and have it playing in a corner of the screen while you write. If you want to instant message people, it won’t be a little sidebar that you keep an eye on; it’ll be the whole screen. This is another defining difference between the iPad and a notebook. It’s the same amount of power, but applied with different intentions."

I would replace the phrase "different intentions" with "a major limitation."
The sad part is the device clearly has the power to do multiple windows & apps.

For those who think this is not a limitation or never do 2 things at once on their netbook or laptop, well, you'll be very happy with the iPad as a more single purpose device.

 

[WilliamLondon]

Who's whining? I just stated why I'm waiting on the iPad.

It's the fanboys that are whining because there's some dissension in the ranks.

All the labels, I can't keep them straight. Maybe you can help me. There are the techies, and they don't like the iPad, right? What is a techie? I think I'm one, but I like the iPad, so I'm not sure what a techie really is. Then there are the fanboys (or fanbois or fanboyz) - who are they? Are they the ones who own Apple kit? Or are they the ones that desire to own Apple kit decide Apple kit isn't up to snuff, so never buy it? Oh, no, those are the fanboy haters, or are they the trolls?

All these labels are so confusing, I'm not really sure where I should put myself. Of course, you've already put me in a category so perhaps I should just ask *you* where I am. Who am I?

 

[WilliamLondon]

There is another factor we are not discussing yet. When you buy an Apple product you are buying a piece of electronics with high resale value.

Excellent point. Someone pointed out that even though v1 doesn't have the camera and multitasking and whatever the trolls decide are the features it lacks which makes it worth attacking, that you can still buy this version and enjoy it for a year (or however long the next big release is) and resell it for near purchase price at that time and buy the new version is a good reason not to wait till v2. Why wait till the next version and miss out on enjoying it v1 for x time instead of waiting for perfection (which never, btw, arrives).

Imagine you pay $499 for an iPad today, wait a year for v2 with x features you really want, sell iPad v1 for $300 and buy the new one. That's a rental charge of $17/month - is it worth it? I would think, yes, it's worth it. Enjoy today, enjoy tomorrow!

 

[HyperZboy]

I name it? Okay: pr0n & advertising. There's 90% of Flash right there.

Heh, you can bet Flash will be drying up sooner rather than later (once these large iPad sales take their toll). After all, advertisers don't want to miss out on potential customers who so easily spend their cash on such (purportedly) frivolous devices.

Almost every major newspaper, TV station, and news site uses Flash.
Obviously, you don't hit local or national news sites very often.
As well as non-porn entertainment & media sites.
Do I have to list them all to make my point? I don't think I have to, it should be obvious considering the mistake Apple made showing The New York Times playing a video on the iPad w/ Flash video.

You and Steve Jobs can wish death on Flash all you want.
From your mouth to god's ear.
The fact of the matter is the news media industry (TV, radio & newspapers) is in serious financial distress and will not be investing in huge changes to their websites as quickly as you suggest just for the iPad.
Maybe ultimately, Steve Jobs will win this battle, that's why I'm waiting.

 

[WilliamLondon]

Almost every major newspaper, TV station, and news site uses Flash.

Is that the only reason you don't like this device now? I realise you're waiting till it's improved from v1 (though I had to glean that from information you post), but if that's the only reason there are other ways to get the information you require.

RSS readers are great, and provide you with all the news you could ever require.

So, what else is it?

Websites around the world are changing for this device - ffs, Google changed YouTube to work on the iPhone! There are a raft of sites changing, it's happening. The rest, they're coming. If they don't then visit them on your other machine - this doesn't replace *any* machine, that's been the message from Apple day 1.

What else, and please be constructive - otherwise, you're not here to discuss, and this is a discussion forum after all.

 

[I WAS the one]

ok. I was playing with it for an hour in an Apple Store here in Tampa Bay. I like it and I don't like it. I like it because it is a really portable computer with the ease of use as the iPhone. I don't like it because Apple doesn't want you to use it as a portable computer. You can't add anything by your own, evrry file needs to be add with iTunes. Even the Photo uploading dungle needs to be first paired with iTunes (Apple Employee explain to me that one) All the apps needs to be buy or download thru App Store. I ask seven times if the iPad was like a mini computer, and all employees was screaming NOOOO as if I was asking something bad. They don't know how to sell it. I was explaining a lady what it was outside the store then she returned and buy one. I feel it needs to be more open to the user. If they keep controlling their devices like that the future is very uncertain... then again I'm waiting for the 3G

 

[Garion]

The fact of the matter is the news media industry (TV, radio & newspapers) is in serious financial distress and will not be investing in huge changes to their websites as quickly as you suggest just for the iPad.

I see two problems with your assertions:

1) The news media industry have already begun doing exactly that - changing their websites and content delivery to play well with the iPad. Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN, Reuters, CBS, People Magazine etc. And that's even BEFORE the iPad was available in the stores! Check back in six months from now, and that list will have grown very big!

2) The fact that the news media industry is in financial crisis is perhaps THE single biggest reason why they WILL take a big interest in adapting it's content for the iPad. Take the newspapers. None of them ever managed to find a way to make real money on the internet. They basically ended up giving their content away for free, (smothered in banner adds) while they could watch their daily sales plummit and subscribers disappering. What they see in the iPad is the possiblity for a New Deal. A new electronic platform for distribution of their news. One that can be managed and monetized. I think you'll see that the big news organisations will be among the first to make Flash-free content for the iPad. They need something like the iPad, if they want to survive.

 

[Hal Itosis]

Before a fanboy starts an iPad shrine to Ihnatko,

You lose merely by pulling out the "f-word" without so much as a clue. (In case you ever want to learn how to properly criticize Apple, maybe I'll give you some lessons one day).

let's not forget this line from Ihnatko...

"More of a problem: the iPad is, by its nature, a “one window” interface. You can’t open a movie and have it playing in a corner of the screen while you write. If you want to instant message people, it won’t be a little sidebar that you keep an eye on; it’ll be the whole screen. This is another defining difference between the iPad and a notebook. It’s the same amount of power, but applied with different intentions."

I would replace the phrase "different intentions" with "a major limitation."
The sad part is the device clearly has the power to do multiple windows & apps.

No... the sad part is you still don't grasp that what you're holding on to is an illusion. I don't have the patience for any more hand-holding or spoon-feeding. Maybe tomorrow you'll understand that the 2-window trip isn't all that necessary. [specifically for the copy/paste matter, which is what i was addressing there.]

And much of this will surely be nullified by the time July (iOS 4) rolls around.

For those who think this is not a limitation or never do 2 things at once on their netbook or laptop, well, you'll be very happy with the iPad as a more single purpose device.

None of which come close to contradicting anything I said, or (more importantly) supporting that FUD which i highlighted in pink. Thus, perhaps your brain has a little trouble with multitasking as well.

 

[Eric5h5]

You cannot run 2 apps at the same time. If you want to restrict the definition of multitasking to backround tasks only, fine, but as a whole, the device is not a fully multitasking device and it runs iPhone OS, not MacOS X, so I am in fact correct.

You're not correct; everyone already explained to you multiple times how you're wrong. Multitasking is running multiple processes simultaneously (well, technically, rapidly switching between them, but it seems like they're running at the same time), which the iPhone OS, since it's OS X, has been doing since day 1. Not allowing more than one third-party app to run at once is purely an arbitrary decision on Apple's part which they can choose to lift at any time, and has no bearing whatsoever on the OS's ability to multitask. My iPod touch can play music, download apps, and browse the web at the same time (and so can the iPad), which is the definition of multitasking. End of discussion.

--Eric