Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The point of us "iPad haters" coming here is to explain to people why they're making a mistake. It seems everyone has fallen into the "if-Apple-makes-a-portable-device-that-isn't-a-Mac-then-it-must-be-good" mentality, which is not a good way of thinking. People need to know that there are devices that have the same form factor as an iPad (tablet, not necessarily the same screen size though), but do everything the iPad does-- plus more-- better. And then there's netbooks, which would fit most iPad users' needs.

No one who is interested in an ipad is going to change their mind and buy a cheap clunky netbook. Get real.
 
This is what separates us from 99% of the world. More than 99%, in fact. They don't WANT a real OS. It does nothing but get in their way while they try to work and make them make decisions about things they don't understand. My refrigerator doesn't nag me about tuning the freon recirculation when I add more beer to it. Computers, 35 years into the PC revolution, have stayed fairly ridiculous.

When will people realize SIMPLE is not necessarily EASIER?

This may be a great appliance for parents and grandparents (In fact, I will be buying one for my Dad) but it is utterly useless even compared to a net book for me. From my perspective it is many steps BACKWARDS in usability.

The thing that worries me is that this is the future of Apple. Apple is a gadgets company now. They seem less and less interested in their computers. For those of us who want the best user experience when we are actually doing productive or slightly complex things with our computers, I think we are out of luck.
 
I don't think Apple worries too much about product cannibalization of their more expensive products. They probably make about the same amount of profit from an iPad as a Macbook, if not more. The profit margin is certainly higher.

Of course there will be cannibalisation. X% of all potential MacBook buyers will instead buy an iPad. And X% of all potential buyers of non-Apple laptops will instead buy an iPad. If we assume that 10% of all laptops sold are MacBooks, then Apple will have 10 iPad sales won for every MacBook sale lost. I think Apple won't be unhappy with that.

And later on, when people with both a "real" computer and an iPad have to replace their "real" computer, maybe in three years time, they will be more likely to buy an Apple computer.

Not exactly surprising. Cannibalization will happen when you introduce a product halfway between two existing products that gives you less functionality than either.

One rule for good marketing: If you don't cannibalise your product, someone else will. Apple has never been afraid to compete with its own products.
 
And what might those needs be?

A quality eReader that fits the Apple ecosystem better than a Kindle or a netbook. Who wants to read on a netbook? The screen is terrible for reading, and you still have to awkwardly hold it like a laptop. The iPad is way better than the Kindle. As a PhD student reading tons of pdfs for my research, the iPad is ideal.
 
Sorry but you are lying to yourself. What doesn't it do that the average customer may need:

-They cannot backup their files with something as easy to use as Time Machine. You can't even hook up an external hard drive because it has one proprietary port and Apple is seemingly cashing in on it with expensive cables that are at least 5x the price.

-It doesn't have Office. The average person may not use most of the features but compatibility has always been it's biggest strength.


Isn't syncing to the host computer a "backup as easy as Time Machine?" It almost guarantees that the user will back up at all, which is a good thing.

And, I think a lot of people will be satisfied by the level of compatibility they get with iWork- and of course if the iPad sells like crazy the MacBU will be silly not to put out an M$ office for it.
 
iPhone had 14.4% market share among smart phones in 2009 which probably translates to less than 0.1% market share for all mobile phones worldwide. I'd say those developers have a lot of work to do before they should look at iPhone customers ;)

Smart phones = 14% of the phone market, tendency increasing, which means iPhone has 2.0% of the phone market _in unit sales_. Since that phone market includes all those people buying the cheapest phone for $20, the iPhone ends up having about 20% of revenue in dollars of the total mobile phone market. However, the actual number of units capable of running iPhone software is about twice the number of iPhones.

However, when you count actual number of applications sold, the iPhone beats the crap out of any of its competitors. That is because iPhone and iPod Touch are usually bought with the intention of buying applications; most other phones aren't.
 
And what might those needs be?

1) Writing a document without getting neck strain
2) Wring a document at a decent words per minute
3) Multitasking
4) Flash (though I don't mind this one!)
5) Connecting a peripheral divice
6) Video Chat
7) Customize your experience to the way you like it
8) Watch HD movies without letter-boxing

What it does do, it seems to do extremely well. But lets not kid ourselves, this thing is a very limited device, even compared to a net book.
 
I think dejo's question was a somewhat rhetorical one aimed at the person who said netbooks fit most people's needs.

1) Writing a document without getting neck strain
2) Wring a document at a decent words per minute
3) Multitasking
4) Flash (though I don't mind this one!)
5) Connecting a peripheral divice
6) Video Chat
7) Customize your experience to the way you like it
8) Watch HD movies without letter-boxing

What it does do, it seems to do extremely well. But lets not kid ourselves, this thing is a very limited device, even compared to a net book.

At least half of those things (especially #7!) are not things that a truly average computer user cares about.
 
At least half of those things (especially #7!) are not things that a truly average computer user cares about.

I think you might be dumbing down the average user. Most people do more with their computers than Facebook and browse the New York times.
 
To all the naysayers... I'm going to go out on a limb and say that people who post on computer geek internet forums (like this one... like me)... people who know the difference between a file and a folder... people who care about GHz and RAM and Firewire... are absolutely 100% NOT the audience for the iPad. Get over yourselves.

Speak for yourself. The iPad is that device that will allow me to get full control back of my MacBook :D (while the other computer user in the house will happily play with her new iPad).
 
iPhone had 14.4% market share among smart phones in 2009 which probably translates to less than 0.1% market share for all mobile phones worldwide. I'd say those developers have a lot of work to do before they should look at iPhone customers ;)

Boy have you got a comprehension problem! First off, the iPhone had a 14.4% share of SALES in 2009 of smart phones (based on OS). Secondly, what difference does it make what percent of all mobile phones worldwide are iPhones when many low-end mobile phones can't access the web, and if they could, couldn't run Flash or other animations anyway.

What is significant is that 25 million NEW iPhones were snapped up by buyers last year alone. That number is largely on top of the previous years of sales. Furthermore, there is an affluence among smart phone buyers that doesn't exist among the low-end mobile phones. Does an advertiser, or a site administrator want to lose having a full effect on those potential customers?

Not for long, I'd think.
 
The point of us "iPad haters" coming here is to explain to people why they're making a mistake. It seems everyone has fallen into the "if-Apple-makes-a-portable-device-that-isn't-a-Mac-then-it-must-be-good" mentality, which is not a good way of thinking. People need to know that there are devices that have the same form factor as an iPad (tablet, not necessarily the same screen size though), but do everything the iPad does-- plus more-- better. And then there's netbooks, which would fit most iPad users' needs.

Thank you for saving us from our great mistake.
 
When will people realize SIMPLE is not necessarily EASIER?

This may be a great appliance for parents and grandparents (In fact, I will be buying one for my Dad) but it is utterly useless even compared to a net book for me. From my perspective it is many steps BACKWARDS in usability.

Usability and features are two separate things. You're conflating them.

The thing that worries me is that this is the future of Apple. Apple is a gadgets company now. They seem less and less interested in their computers. For those of us who want the best user experience when we are actually doing productive or slightly complex things with our computers, I think we are out of luck.

This is exactly what misses the point. The iPad *is* a computer. It's a user's computer, not a tinkerer's computer. I can handle mail, run SSH sessions, produce presentations and meeting minutes, ramp up a webapp...etc on an iPad, while not worrying about anything extraneous. With half the weight and a quarter of the thickness (so it doesn't take up my bag all on its own) and a better interface than a netbook.

I humbly submit that unless you want to tinker with your computer--not get work done with it--or require an app that isn't available through the store, this may well be MORE productive than other options because of its much better marriage of portability with interaction. THAT is usability.
 
I think the whole neck strain thing is a non-issue. We do lots of things that don't involve looking straight ahead. Reading comes to mind.
 
I think dejo's question was a somewhat rhetorical one aimed at the person who said netbooks fit most people's needs.
My question was aimed at the person (lifeinhd) that said netbooks fit most iPad users' needs. I'm more curious to know how they think they can know what most iPad users' needs are.
 
A real Desktop OS can handle more than 1 thing at a time. This piece of crap only handles 1... Laughable.

You want a tablet with a real desktop OS? Well, you're in luck. They've been around since 2001, running various flavors of Windows.

You'll probably have to look around a bit to find a shop that sells them though. They never became popular in the consumer market. Go figure :rolleyes:
 
One of the first replies I received in this forum was something like:

"It's all about being dead sexy..."

After a few hours of trying to figure out whether that term actually meant (jk) I finally understood that's what actually convinced me to buy an iPod instead of something else--you hold the iPod in your hand, you feel something different--I can't really explain it beyond that.

If the iPad makes me feel the same way, then I'll probably succumb to it as well. Holding an Eee PC just doesn't do it for me.

But that's me, I'm irrational.
 
those with an imac at home might not feel they need a REAL computer for the occasional out of town trip, the commute to work etc. All they need is something for email, watching a movie or the last ep of Lost etc. video takes up a lot of space.

This is exactly the reason why I'd be looking for one, as long as it plays my 720p rips my netbook chokes on.

not everyone is a computer geek who feels that it's a toy/piece of junk if you can't run World of Warcraft and CS4 on it.

That's what a powerbook is for :rolleyes:
 
1) Writing a document without getting neck strain
2) Wring a document at a decent words per minute
3) Multitasking
4) Flash (though I don't mind this one!)
5) Connecting a peripheral divice
6) Video Chat
7) Customize your experience to the way you like it
8) Watch HD movies without letter-boxing

What it does do, it seems to do extremely well. But lets not kid ourselves, this thing is a very limited device, even compared to a net book.

1/ Use Apple's keyboard dock connector or any third party equivalent which will work even for an easy "on the go" use, for sure.

2/ See 1/

3/ How many times are we gonna have to say that iPhone OS is capable of multitasking. It is a matter of allowing it, which will come along OS4.

4/ Helping killing flash is an asset for me

5/ Use the dock to USB connector available

6/ I think video chat has been left out of the presentation on purpose, and that it will make its way into the shipping version

7/ If you mean melting purple windows with yellow text, i'd rather not... Don't know what you meant though... OSX is not that customizable anyway

8/ I'm with you on this one, but i guess they went with letter boxing because this is not "only" a device to watch movies, and the latter may be better for the other tasks

--
Help make the internet better, faster, broader and slave free :
Join YouTube's HTML5 beta (youtube.com/html5) and on vimeo click the "Switch to HTML5 player" link below any video.
 
I think you might be dumbing down the average user. Most people do more with their computers than Facebook and browse the New York times.

I think you are sprucing up the average user. Most people don't even know that you can use a browser besides Internet Explorer, much less how to install it. I would wager that on 95% of computers the only interface option that has been customized is the wallpaper and what applications they keep on their desktop. Both of those things are customizable on the iPad. Computers are pretty complex for people who don't use them all the time or who haven't grown up using them and are now starting to use them more and more. These people benefit a lot from being "hand held" through experiences like iPhone OS. They can't d/l a virus, can't get spyware by accident, don't need to worry about screwing up file directories, don't have to worry about how to install or uninstall an application, don't have to zip and unzip files, etc. All of these tasks are simple for your tech consumer who is familiar with how a computer and its os works, but your average consumer DEFINITELY does NOT know much about a computer and obviously does NOT care about having features crippled as long as their phone or computer just works. How many times do you hear people complain that their computer is broken? Ask what's wrong and you almost always hear "I don't know, it just doesn't work" or "It's broken" People don't understand bits and bytes, ram and ghz... they just want something that works that they don't have to fuss with.
 
The point of us "iPad haters" coming here is to explain to people why they're making a mistake.

This is pretty much an admission that you have no idea of what other people's needs are. You're starting from a position that other people are stupid and only you are smart.
 
8) Watch HD movies without letter-boxing

Can someone explain the letterboxing fetish to me?
If you want the same height as the iPad has (in landscape), then to eliminate letterboxing, the device would have to be about 2 inches longer, at which point the critics would scream that its too big.
The iPad's ratio provides usability in both orientations. A 16:9 device would be either too big, or too narrow in portrait mode. Movie viewing is not the primary use case for the iPad. It's only one of many.
 
Good thread this. It starts with a report from a reputable firm of analysts suggesting that the iPad might be a huge success.

Yet STILL hordes of iPad haters are on here saying how bad/wrong the iPad will be. They're like the little boys marching with the band - they're in step but all the other members of the band are out of step.

What will they do when the iPad sells in huge numbers? No doubt they will be on here still telling us how bad the iPad is.

I'll wager $1 that the iPad outsells all the netbooks that are praised here, the Zune, the Modbook.....
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.