iPad

[explanade]

What kind of cases are you guys using?

I think I want one of those with the keyboard so that you can set it up like a regular clamshell for doing a lot of typing when necessary.

[explanade]

BTW, Apple got some adverse publicity this week with the NY Times story about working conditions at the factories which make iPad and other products and the components which come from the thousands of suppliers throughout China.

Interesting timing for those stories. Apple reports a record quarter, making money like oil companies, announces some educational products and services and are on the verge of announcing the new iPad.

[braumeister]

I use my iPad2 about 5X as much as i ever expected to. When I travel now, I take the pad and an Apple wireless keyboard, leaving the laptop at home.

DW has been watching me with the iPad, and has decided to get one when the next model comes out (soon, I hear).

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade BTW, Apple got some adverse publicity this week with the NY Times story about working conditions at the factories which make iPad and other products and the components which come from the thousands of suppliers throughout China.

I'm glad the story about the "social cost of cheap goods" is coming out, though I see no reason why Apple should be singled out here. Virtually all manufacturing companies use foreign sweatshops to make their goods all because of our relentless pursuit of the cheap and Wall Street's shareholder demands to squeeze every cent out of potential earnings.

Then again, my wife just got an iPad last week; it was part of the deal when she secured a ministry gig (she wants to use it for sermons). Seems pretty neat.

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade What kind of cases are you guys using?

I have tried several cases, but I always come back to the basic Apple case for iPad 1. I also like my Dodocase (bulkier but much better looking). I have an external keyboard for the iPad, but never use it. If I have to type something, I find that using the iPad's virtual keyboard while propping it up with the Apple case works pretty well.

[explanade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ziggy29 I'm glad the story about the "social cost of cheap goods" is coming out, though I see no reason why Apple should be singled out here. Virtually all manufacturing companies use foreign sweatshops to make their goods all because of our relentless pursuit of the cheap and Wall Street's shareholder demands to squeeze every cent out of potential earnings. Then again, my wife just got an iPad last week; it was part of the deal when she secured a ministry gig (she wants to use it for sermons). Seems pretty neat.

You can't focus on one company, though when that company has $100 billion in cash and threatens to have the highest market cap, they're going to be under the microscope.

It really goes to issues of global trade, the prodigious amount of consumption the industrialized world has and so on.

Though the working conditions are rough at those plants, apparently it's a great opportunity for a lot of low-skilled workers, many of whom come from families which survive on subsistence farming.

I can't imagine rising to the middle class working at the factory but if the alternative is to be migrant laborers ...

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade What kind of cases are you guys using?

I got the regular apple smartcase (or is it smartcover? the one below) for my iPad2. It seems to be pretty well designed, and can either prop the iPad up for typing, or just open and fold back flat behind the back (which is how I use it). It is reasonably priced. It shuts the iPad off when closed, and turns it on when opened, a nice idea IMO.

[Brat]

NIKE was hit with bad publicity about working conditions a few years ago. Because their customers could easily switch to other products, and in fact they cared about working conditions, they applied pressure to their sub contractors to shape up. What most consumers don't realize is that their competitors used the same sub-contractors because of the patents held by the contractors. Conditions from one factory to another for a sub-contractor aren't significantly different.

IPad customers won't buy another similar product because there are no comparable products at the moment so, short of shame, there is little incentive for them to address sub-contractor working conditions.

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ziggy29 I'm glad the story about the "social cost of cheap goods" is coming out, though I see no reason why Apple should be singled out here. Virtually all manufacturing companies use foreign sweatshops to make their goods all because of our relentless pursuit of the cheap and Wall Street's shareholder demands to squeeze every cent out of potential earnings. Then again, my wife just got an iPad last week; it was part of the deal when she secured a ministry gig (she wants to use it for sermons). Seems pretty neat.

iSermons?

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade What kind of cases are you guys using?

I have the Apple magnetic cover (in dark blue leather) which is very versatile (it's amazing how it almost never falls off) and also bought this Incase neoprene sleeve in bright pink! I like it because I can put the iPad with its magnetic cover, my charger, stylus, and earbuds all in together. I took it on vacation this way and it worked great.

Neoprene Sleeve Plus for iPad by Incase

[Ally]

I use my iPhone 4s constantly and want an iPad soooo much. However, I find it almost impossible to buy something fun for myself like that. I always feel guilty. If a new retina display model comes out though, I will be sorely tempted.

[bltkmt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade What kind of cases are you guys using?

I am using the Smartcover and a Waterfield Travel Express which holds the iPad, charger, wireless keyboard and a bit more. Very nice quality.

[Midpack]

Here's mine https://goincase.com/m/#product/cl57924. Lots of protection...if that's what you want.

[explanade]

Thing about the Smart Covers is that they leave the back exposed. And that back seems slippery.

Of course if you cover it up, it makes the whole package thicker.

[RockMonkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brat IPad customers won't buy another similar product because there are no comparable products at the moment so, short of shame, there is little incentive for them to address sub-contractor working conditions.

I have to disagree there... There are now excellent Android tablets on the market. I have owned an iPad since about page 1 of this thread. In December I was given a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and I have found it at least "comparable". I actually like it considerably beter than the iPad. I now use the Galaxy Tab almost exclusively, and DW has taken control of my neglected iPad. The far too frequent browser crashes on the iPad were my biggest complaint, but Android also offers so much more flexibility than Apple will ever give you. Don't get me wrong, theiPad is a fabulous device, but saying there is nothing else comparable is incorrect.

[M Paquette]

For folks concerned about subcontractors involved in manufacturing, you should be aware that Foxconn manufactures tablets, smart phones, and other gadgets for a few other companies besides Apple:

Acer Inc. (Taiwan)
Amazon.com (United States)
Apple Inc. (United States)
ASRock (Taiwan)
Asus (Taiwan)
Barnes & Noble (United States)
Cisco (United States)
Dell (United States)
EVGA Corporation (United States)
Hewlett-Packard (United States)
Intel (United States)
IBM (United States)
Lenovo (China)
Microsoft (United States)
MSI (Taiwan)
Motorola (United States)
Netgear (United States)
Nintendo (Japan)
Nokia (Finland)
Panasonic (Japan)
Samsung (South Korea)
Sharp (Japan)
Sony (Japan)
Sony Ericsson (Japan/Sweden)
Vizio (United States)

There aren't a lot of different sources for things like Gorilla Glass capacitive touch screens, ARM or Tegra processors, or the radio chips, so there's a large overlap in supply chains. A few more companies like Apple putting pressure on suppliers would be a good thing.

[arebelspy]

Relevant article to Apple / Foxconn working conditions:
http://www.geardiary.com/2012/02/01/...me-apple-only/

In particular, the infographic on top is very interesting:

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by arebelspy Relevant article to Apple / Foxconn working conditions:

Good article. There is so much hypocrisy in bashing non-US manufacturing, this isn't said often enough in our culture.

Quote:

If we want to get to the root cause we need to look in the mirror. WE are the reason all of our electronics are made in China, WE are the reason all of our clothes come from India and Pakistan and Bangladesh, WE are the reason all of our glassware is made in either China or a third world country like Mexico, WE are the reason that Wal-Mart has decimated all other retailers with a low-cost at all costs policy. We are unwilling to pay what it costs to make things here, and unwilling to accept the infrastructure that allows things to be so rapidly advanced elsewhere.

Same phenomena in politics? The mainstream populace expects way more government bennies than we'd willing to pay for, yet we blame politicians for the resulting debts/deficit.

[explanade]

I wouldn't blame solely the consumers. Bean counters and Wall Street would no doubt have pushed for offshoring regardless of the level of demand.

Most of the profits from this activity went to the upper tiers (as most of the GDP gains have in the past decade or two). So while it's true that offshoring manufacturing has helped workers in other countries, it's obviously hurt American workers who lost jobs. The profits from the cost-cutting went to shareholders and executives of those firms.

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade I wouldn't blame solely the consumers. Bean counters and Wall Street would no doubt have pushed for offshoring regardless of the level of demand.

If we as consumers collectively decided to pay more to buy goods made in countries that give labor a decent deal, Wall Street would have no choice but to respond to consumer demand. It is primarily our "relentless pursuit of the cheap" which has contributed to this death spiral. And it feeds on itself: the more we are strapped with unemployment, underemployment and wages not keeping up with inflation, the more we have to seek the lowest price *by necessity*. And when that happens, manufacturers respond by sending even more jobs to the lowest bidder -- and making our jobs and our pay even worse, making our need to find the lowest price even more necessary. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Much of the problem is that none of us feel like we can make a difference alone, that if we pay more for "made in USA" instead of "made in China" it won't matter unless everyone else does, too. So we don't do it, no one else does, and all our jobs go to China. There is a "tragedy of the commons" aspect there.

If even a significant minority of consumers were willing to pay 20-30% more for a product made by workers getting a decent deal, there would be options on the shelves to do so. And if consumers won't pay $120 for "Made in USA" because they can pay $100 for "Made in China" -- assuming we had that choice -- they'd have little moral authority, IMO, to bash others about the offshoring of jobs. They are much of the problem themselves, to the extent they see it as a problem.