The iPad

[Good Old Neon]

All 7 of them?

 

Hey – you can count me among those seven, though, it’s Amazon’s best selling device, so there are probably a few more of them out there. I own the original Kindle, and couldn’t be happier with it – as someone who reads a lot, it is the best gadget I’ve ever owned.

[explodo]

The iPad makes no sense. No e-ink screen means that reading on this thing is just as terrible on my eyes as reading on my laptop. As for the rest of the stuff, we all have devices that do these things if we're the kind of people that want to do any of these things. And those devices do them better.

 

The Kindle, on the other hand, is awesome.

[DrNo]

Get ready to start seeing alot of iPads on stage. There are alot of promising synth programs for the iPhone, but it's really hard to play on such a tiny touchscreen keyboard--the iPad will change that, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Mikael Jorgensen playing one at a Wilco show in the near future. Just a hunch.

[The High Heat]

MLB.COM has already started advertising using the iPad for watching live baseball games, made it their "top story" actually.

[Good Old Neon]

The lack of multitasking is an absolute killer – for roughly half the price of the starter model, one could score a decent netbook that does everything the pad can do, plus a good deal more. Apple doesn’t fumble too often, but I think they really dropped the ball on this one.

[OOO]

The lack of multitasking is an absolute killer – for roughly half the price of the starter model, one could score a decent netbook that does everything the pad can do, plus a good deal more. Apple doesn’t fumble too often, but I think they really dropped the ball on this one.

 

I'm fairly perplexed by the decision to leave out multitasking myself. The device certainly has the hardware (battery/processor) to support multitasking, and it's such an obvious oversight that they must have had a long discussion about not including it.

 

What I gather from early hand-on reviews of the device is that the decision to do this was based partially on saving battery life, since if it wants to be an alternative to the kindle at all, its got to have pretty darn good battery life. But mostly, the decision was about processing power. Early reports are that the iPad is extremely snappy and responsive and generally does things super fast, which makes the overall experience "feel" awesome. If Apple allowed multiple tasks running at the same time, suddenly the processor is dividing up it's work and when people start IMing you or some other task is happening in the background, you can't flick around the new york times quite as fast and it doesn't feel quite as cool.

 

Steve made some disparaging comments about netbooks, and his basic thesis was "they do lots of stuff, but they do lots of stuff poorly." Apple would rather do one or two things and do them very well, because if the device is going to eventually succeed (and I think it eventually will be a big hit) its going to be mostly because the experience of browsing the internet and checking your internet on the little device is so fluid and natural that it's a lot more enjoyable than something like a netbook.

 

I suggest readingSteven Fry's initial reactions to getting to use the iPad; he seems convinced that once people hold the thing they'll understand.

 

Steve's mantra of "doing one or two things and doing them right" has worked out good and bad in the past, though it obviously alienates segments of consumers who want to get the most features per dollar. And they've certainly been flat out wrong about it in some cases, like sticking with the one-button mouse for all those years. But I think there will be a lot of people who buy the device just to email and browse the web and it will do those things really well (except for not including Flash in the browser....) And once the apps start coming out for it (DJ set ups, innovative games, etc) it'll really start to take off.

[Good Old Neon]

I'm fairly perplexed by the decision to leave out multitasking myself. The device certainly has the hardware (battery/processor) to support multitasking, and it's such an obvious oversight that they must have had a long discussion about not including it.

 

What I gather from early hand-on reviews of the device is that the decision to do this was based partially on saving battery life, since if it wants to be an alternative to the kindle at all, its got to have pretty darn good battery life. But mostly, the decision was about processing power. Early reports are that the iPad is extremely snappy and responsive and generally does things super fast, which makes the overall experience "feel" awesome. If Apple allowed multiple tasks running at the same time, suddenly the processor is dividing up it's work and when people start IMing you or some other task is happening in the background, you can't flick around the new york times quite as fast and it doesn't feel quite as cool.

 

Steve made some disparaging comments about netbooks, and his basic thesis was "they do lots of stuff, but they do lots of stuff poorly." Apple would rather do one or two things and do them very well, because if the device is going to eventually succeed (and I think it eventually will be a big hit) its going to be mostly because the experience of browsing the internet and checking your internet on the little device is so fluid and natural that it's a lot more enjoyable than something like a netbook.

 

I suggest readingSteven Fry's initial reactions to getting to use the iPad; he seems convinced that once people hold the thing they'll understand.

 

Steve's mantra of "doing one or two things and doing them right" has worked out good and bad in the past, though it obviously alienates segments of consumers who want to get the most features per dollar. And they've certainly been flat out wrong about it in some cases, like sticking with the one-button mouse for all those years. But I think there will be a lot of people who buy the device just to email and browse the web and it will do those things really well (except for not including Flash in the browser....) And once the apps start coming out for it (DJ set ups, innovative games, etc) it'll really start to take off.

 

At 10 hours vs. 10 + days on the Kindle, they’ve already lost the battery usage war by a huge margin. Given that they’ll never rival an e-ink device where battery life is concerned, I think it would have made more sense to focus on other attributes, by and large, multitasking. As a (happy) itouch owner, I just don’t see a strong need for a much larger, less portable, in some ways, less functional version of a device I already own. I’m also sort of flabbergasted by the continued lack of Flash support. There’s a lot of talk surrounding HTML 5, but it will probably be quite a while before it is widely adopted.

 

Fry makes some decent points, but on the whole, his piece sounds a bit too, I don’t know, promotional?

[Guest Speed Racer]

I'm with GON. Shell out the money for the dock with full keyboard, a case, 64GB and 3G speed, and you have yourself a portable desktop for the price of a MacBook that is, quite frankly, a lot more versatile. Even dial down to 32G and Wifi, and then you just have a really overpriced, oversized iPod Touch.

[MattZ]

Why dont you guys give it a try before dismissing it?

[Guest Speed Racer]

Why dont you guys give it a try before dismissing it?

 

For starters, it doesn't compel me to. The iPod, iPod Touch/iPhone, and all of their new laptops call out for me to grab them and play with them; this doesn't do that for me. I understand what it does and how it works - and lord knows I'd like a bigger screen to read the paper on my iPod Touch - but I don't see where in my life this mobile device would fit in, where my mobile needs (and wants) aren't already being met. All other Apple products I love either filled a need or created a need and filled it. This one doesn't.

[Guest Speed Racer]

Another thing - will it ever come with a remote? If a friend and I decide to watch a movie, we might decide to prop up the Pad with its dock, and we might do that on my coffee table, which would mean I'd have to get up to stop the movie - and then get my greasy pizza fingers all over the screen to pause the damn thing. So not only did my mother call to interrupt the movie, but I had to stand up to pause the damned thing, then clean the screen. Or am I visualizing my life with the iPad all wrong?

 

ETA: In general, I think tablets as a genre are pretty ridiculous - I don't want you to think I'm just hatin' on Apple with this.

[OOO]

Another thing - will it ever come with a remote? If a friend and I decide to watch a movie, we might decide to prop up the Pad with its dock, and we might do that on my coffee table, which would mean I'd have to get up to stop the movie - and then get my greasy pizza fingers all over the screen to pause the damn thing. So not only did my mother call to interrupt the movie, but I had to stand up to pause the damned thing, then clean the screen. Or am I visualizing my life with the iPad all wrong?

 

ETA: In general, I think tablets as a genre are pretty ridiculous - I don't want you to think I'm just hatin' on Apple with this.

 

It's bluetooth compatible so it would be trivial to make software to control the device. I wouldn't be surprised if apple released an iPhone/iPod Touch app that can control some of the iPad functionality, but in general I would imagine steve jobs imagines you'd want to watch movies on your 15 inch macbook pro or 52 inch TV if you are sitting at home on the couch. The tablet is designed to be held.

 

 

At any rate, I don't really disagree with any of the criticisms volleyed at the device, but if it ends up being a device that does email/books/videos/music/web surfing really well (read: much better than iPod/iPhone) and nothing else, there will be people who want it. Not me, but there will be people. I'm happy with my iPhone/Macbook Pro combo at the moment.

[Guest Speed Racer]

The tablet is designed to be held.

 

Which is why they included as accessories a case that can prop it up, a docking stand, and a dock with a keyboard? For reading, for surfing, it is practical to hold it, but Jobs referred time and again to how well it streams video, leading some people to believe that it is designed to stream video as well. MLB.com is going to stream baseball games on it. Are you going to hold it to watch the Twins play the Sox? I'm not going to hold that thing to watch Die Hard on my flight to Tokyo, am I?

[Preferred B]

ETA: In general, I think tablets as a genre are pretty ridiculous - I don't want you to think I'm just hatin' on Apple with this.

Tablets are actually extremely useful in hospital settings, for physicians doing patient charting especially and going from room to room. (Hospitals using a computerized system, that is, of course.) I reeeally don't think that's the market Apple is necessarily after with the iPad; I'm just saying.

[OOO]

Which is why they included as accessories a case that can prop it up, a docking stand, and a dock with a keyboard?

 

Exactly. If Apple thought that it was essential to use these things with the iPad, it would have included them. They are however, accessories that in some situations enhance the way you want to use it. But they aren't part of the core design of how the device is meant to work. There are multiple pictures of people sitting with the device in their lap watching video on it and if you're on a flight you can set it on the fold out meal tray thing. When I'm reading a book on a flight, I usually set the book on the tray and tilt my head down. It seems to work fine.

[Guest Speed Racer]

Tablets are actually extremely useful in hospital settings

 

Thanks for the clarification; that aspect of them hadn't occurred to me.

 

There are multiple pictures of people sitting with the device in their lap watching video on it and if you're on a flight you can set it on the fold out meal tray thing.

 

Reading or watching things that way on a plane really hurts my neck; that's not a natural position for me, and I doubt I'm alone in that regard. Either way, I get what you're saying, but the fact remains that streaming anything longer than a sitcom my lap would quickly be a pain. This probably falls into the "doing a few things well" category, but its amazing screen and video capabilities were emphasized multiple times in the presentation, and its interface doesn't seem enjoyable for that, to me.

[OOO]

Yeah, and just to reiterate - I'm an Apple fanboy going out of my way to try and convince MYSELF why the device is awesome, so we should be taking anything I say with many grains of salt. I think everything you've said so far have been very valid concerns and stuff that makes me not feed as bad for not rushing out to get it.

 

It would be interesting if it ended up being a niche product for hospitals and universities - the kindle is definitely better for reading normal books, but for a textbook with charts, pictures and graphics I would imagine an iPad would be the way to go. Especially if you can just be reading the text, click on a word, and a video explaining the concept pops up. Add to that some cool 3rd party collaborative learning software for teachers, and I won't be surprised when some hoighty toighty private school orders an iPad for every student.

[Guest Speed Racer]

It would be interesting if it ended up being a niche product for hospitals and universities - the kindle is definitely better for reading normal books, but for a textbook with charts, pictures and graphics I would imagine an iPad would be the way to go. Especially if you can just be reading the text, click on a word, and a video explaining the concept pops up. Add to that some cool 3rd party collaborative learning software for teachers, and I won't be surprised when some hoighty toighty private school orders an iPad for every student.

 

If anything, this will usher in a revolution for textbooks. I wonder if they will be able to include any sort of highlighting feature? (OMG, it would be amazing if they could create a software that could lift what you highlight - including text, charts and graphs, photos - from text books and place them into a Keynote document, sort of a make-your-own study guide.)

 

ETA: If the iPad could do that, I would not only buy one, I would go back to school to use it.

 

Several professors from my alma mater have already indicated on Facebook that they are working to create e-book versions of their textbooks for use on the iPad.

[bjorn_skurj]

Why dont you guys give it a try before dismissing it?

If somebody wants to buy me one, I am all for it.

[cryptique]

Pee Wee Herman gets an iPad