iPad

[Tesaje]

I don't get what all the hoopla is about. I had a tablet laptop years ago. It was great for taking notes and still having all the computer stuff on it. It is old technology that Apple is finally producing when every one else faded away.

The name is a bad joke. Really opened the door on that one.

 

[ziggy29]

The name is a bad joke.

That's what I thought at first, too. But everyone is talking (okay, cracking feminine hygiene jokes) about the name. And thus the iPad is already known by name to a lot more people than it otherwise might have been.

So maybe it wasn't a marketing mistake -- maybe it was marketing genius in sense that everyone is talking about it even before paying a cent in advertising beyond the initial product launch announcements.

 

[Zathras]

I had an old tablet pc as well.
Heated up far too fast (although we have yet to see if this is an issue with the iPad), was slow, very short battery life.
And, ebooks weren't really around at that time, no touch screen controls available.
No, the iPad isn't revolutionary, but it has enough evolutionary qualities to succeed where the tablet pc's failed (IMO).

 

[Rustic23]

Nord,
I doubt I would pay. I find it useful, and I keep it bookmarked and look at it every week or so, and pickup on some articles in magazines I don't normally follow. However, if it goes to a pay site, I will go directly to the magazines I want to follow. I may have to go through their list of magazines and bookmark a bunch I don't normally track.

 

[Johanna]

I love my Kindle DX. It would be nice to have a color screen to look at the covers, but that's a pretty minor part of the reading experience. Digital Ink screens are very easy on the eyes for long periods of reading and I can read in bright sunlight on my deck or (inside a bag to protect it from water and sand) on the beach or poolside. For avid readers a dedicated reading device makes sense.

 

[Midpack]

I wasn't planning on buying one, but maybe I heard a reason here to buy.

I've owned iPod's since they came out, adore them and use mine everyday for music. Also do some wi-fi and movies while traveling occasionally. I think there are still quite a few people who don't realize what an iPod Touch can do, it's way more than music now. I have a 32GB Touch right now, and I am out of space. The screen is small, but still serviceable for movies, e:mail, surfing, etc.

The iPad looks like a big Touch with a few more bells & whistles for the most part, everything but a phone. I was leaning toward a 64GB Touch, but the iPad with 3G service contract is making me think twice. If I can get internet access for the iPad at $15/month - I may drop my $47/month Comcast cable modem on my desktop. Would have internet access anywhere I go essentially, instead of only at my PC and wi-fi range.

Hmmmmmmmm...

I don't see it replacing a laptop as others have said here, the iPad doesn't have a lot of storage capacity compared to a laptop and can't read discs.

 

[audreyh1]

Yeah, it's not designed to replace a laptop. I see it more as a "full-sized" iPod Touch. I don't imagine doing much typing on the thing - just emails and occasional web-page entry. And a good way to show off some of our photos and videos (need decent memory for that).

That $15 or $30/month data connection - that is really appealing. Way better than getting an iPhone just for the data connectivity.

Audrey

 

[REWahoo]

Edit to add: I wish CFB was here to provide his insights on this device. Would be interesting!

I wonder if he had anything to do with this review?

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

 

[W2R]

I wonder if he had anything to do with this review?

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

Totally!

 

[kyounge1956]

I was discussing the ipad yesterday with some more tech-savvy types who were thinking it might be possible to use it for a phone too, with Skype + a bluetooth headset.

What I really want to know is, can you draw on it? I frequently write myself little notes and make sketches with ideas for things I want to make or do or snippets of information. Then I lose track of what I did with the paper. I'd love something I could carry around with me all the time, pull out when inspiration strikes, draw the sketch or write the notes, associate a couple of keywords with it so I can find it again later, and have all my ideas in the same device. Are there apps that can turn an ipod or ipad into a virtual "back of an envelope" for that sort of thing?

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

I was discussing the ipad yesterday with some more tech-savvy types who were thinking it might be possible to use it for a phone too, with Skype + a bluetooth headset.

MagicJack requires that some driver software gets installed on the computer; I think skype requires the same. I don't see why that can't be done since there is an iPhone version for the latter.

 

[FIREd]

I was discussing the ipad yesterday with some more tech-savvy types who were thinking it might be possible to use it for a phone too, with Skype + a bluetooth headset.

What I really want to know is, can you draw on it? I frequently write myself little notes and make sketches with ideas for things I want to make or do or snippets of information. Then I lose track of what I did with the paper. I'd love something I could carry around with me all the time, pull out when inspiration strikes, draw the sketch or write the notes, associate a couple of keywords with it so I can find it again later, and have all my ideas in the same device. Are there apps that can turn an ipod or ipad into a virtual "back of an envelope" for that sort of thing?

Yes there are such apps. One of the apps I am familiar with is called "Whiteboard". You can write/draw and save your creation as an image. There are others as well, such as "Scribble" and "Notes".

Here is an example of what you can do:

 

[audreyh1]

Not only that but the iPad is designed to hook up to a display, and you can use your finger to highlight or circle things during a presentation.

Audrey

 

[Peter]

I was discussing the ipad yesterday with some more tech-savvy types who were thinking it might be possible to use it for a phone too, with Skype + a bluetooth headset.

You can use Skype with the ipod touch, so I'm pretty sure it would work with the ipad as well. The Skype app is quite nice, actually a better UI than the PC version in my opinion. Don't know about the bluetooth headset; I use the Apple earbuds with built in microphone.

There's also an app, Textfree, that allows you to send and receive SMS messages to any GSM phone.

Of course, both of the above require you to be within WiFi range, which is a bit of a limitation.

Peter

 

[Katsmeow]

It is very appealing to me and I may get one. I thought about getting a netbook (DH has one) but I didn't like the lack of connectivity (except WiFi or getting an air card). Also, I tend to like my computers fast and powerful and the netbook isn't.

I do have an iPod Touch which I find very easy to type on and love the features but dislike the WiFi limitation. Am actually planning to get an iPhone in 6 months or so.

But the iPad really does address a lot of the limitation of the iPod Touch such as small screen and the data plan seems reasonable.

I don't really want it as a computer substitute. I already have a desktop computer and notebook for when I travel and need a real computer. But what I would love this for is running errands and when DH is driving being able to check email and so on. Also to be able to sit on the couch and watch something on TV and have internet access. Yes, I can do that know with my laptop but that is too big and clunky to really cart it around the house. Or to put recipes on it and use in the kitchen, etc.

Not totally decided but leaning to getting it. (Now, if they would just make it where you could play World of Warcraft on it, I would buy in nanosecond as it could then entirely replace my notebook computer when I travel).

 

[explanade]

Name is unfortunate but one theory is that it would be better for non-English speakers.

Name is short and easy to remember, easy to pronounce, etc., like the "iPod" and "iPhone" were/are.

 

[FUEGO]

What I really want to know is, can you draw on it? I frequently write myself little notes and make sketches with ideas for things I want to make or do or snippets of information. Then I lose track of what I did with the paper. I'd love something I could carry around with me all the time, pull out when inspiration strikes, draw the sketch or write the notes, associate a couple of keywords with it so I can find it again later, and have all my ideas in the same device. Are there apps that can turn an ipod or ipad into a virtual "back of an envelope" for that sort of thing?

Google Docs has a "draw" function where you can create a document, and insert a drawing.

Here's an example:

https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AdARjq-6X5eJZGM3OTNuNDZfMzFjcDh2eDJmMg&hl=en

Took under a minute. When I tested it, it didn't show up in Microsoft internet explorer, but it works in Firefox all the time. You could put text in the word document and then search your google docs for the doc w/ the drawings.

And your drawings are accessible from anywhere on the internet and without having to install any new software. Neat!

 

[FUEGO]

The DW saw the ipad last night and had basically the same comments as here. Poor keyboard interface (how do you hold it, type on it, and look at the screen at the same time??). The video advertisement we watched from apple had a guy sitting in a convoluted position with his legs propped up on an elevated surface such that his knees were pointed way into the air (45 degrees from horizontal, away from him).

When I told the DW that it was also $500-800, she laughed and said she prefers the netbook since it costs a third or a quarter of the cost.

I also found out it has no USB connectivity. Kind of limits what kinds of peripherals can be hooked into it. Probably intentional so apple can sell proprietary products to "dock" with it through the proprietary connector.

One way of looking at this from a financial perspective is that Apple is charging you $500 to buy an electronic catalog of content you can then purchase from apple. They make money when you buy songs, videos/movies, books, apps, etc.

 

[explanade]

I've had the iPhone a couple of years and I've not bought a single thing through the iTunes store.

Only free content or free apps. Plenty of useful and entertaining apps. without having to pay a cent.

You should be able to use the iPad without paying for any content too. You can get podcasts for free, your own music (ripped from CDs), you can convert video to work on the iPad using free software like Handbrake. Obviously you could load photos that you take with your camera and that would be free as well.

I don't know much about eBooks but there is a Stanza app. on the iPhone which has access to a lot of free classics books. Supposedly there is other content in the ePubs format, which is not proprietary.

So you can get a lot of content on it without paying a cent to the iTunes store.

 

[audreyh1]

I also found out it has no USB connectivity. Kind of limits what kinds of peripherals can be hooked into it. Probably intentional so apple can sell proprietary products to "dock" with it through the proprietary connector.

The iPad has a camera connectivity kit that lets you connect through USB or an SD card reader. But it's a big iPhone, not a laptop, so it's not designed to connect to every computer peripheral. In fact, the iPad itself is the peripheral that connects via USB to your computer. And as you sync this device to your main computer for data transfer etc., just like with the current products, so direct peripheral connectivity should not be a major issue.

I guess the question is - why would someone want a big iPhone (data only) or iPod Touch? Well, there are lots of ways this would be useful to me - areas in which the iPod Touch is too limited due to it's much smaller size.

Sure, we Apple product users pay some extra $$$ for the privilege of using Apple products! Great products, and they keep getting greater! They don't seem to have trouble selling their stuff.

Audrey

 

[tulak]

You can use Skype with the ipod touch, so I'm pretty sure it would work with the ipad as well. The Skype app is quite nice, actually a better UI than the PC version in my opinion. Don't know about the bluetooth headset; I use the Apple earbuds with built in microphone.

There's also an app, Textfree, that allows you to send and receive SMS messages to any GSM phone.

Of course, both of the above require you to be within WiFi range, which is a bit of a limitation.

Peter

I believe the WIFI limitation is gone. You should be able to use VOIP over 3G now:

Apple backs VoIP calls over 3G networks for iPhone - Boston.com

I don't have an iPhone, so I can't try it personally, but what I've heard from others, it works.

Now the only problem is that you can't run 3rd party apps in the background. This means you have to always have a VOIP app loaded in order to receive calls. So if you check e-mail, web browse, you couldn't receive a call. If Apple eventually allowed 3rd party apps to run in the background, then you could use Skype/Google as your voice solution over 3G (no more voice plans!).

That would be sweet.

 

[tulak]

I guess the question is - why would someone want a big iPhone (data only) or iPod Touch? Well, there are lots of ways this would be useful to me - areas in which the iPod Touch is too limited due to it's much smaller size.

The smaller size I can handle. It's the lack of always available internet connectivity with the iPod Touch that I find limiting.

I was thinking about this the other day: If I could by an iPod touch with 3G, would I choose it over an iPad?

I have an iPod Touch and it's great, but I'd really need to have internet connectivity everywhere for it to be really useful. This is what's most appealing regarding the iPad.

I keep looking at the iPhone, but I don't use that much voice and I don't feel like paying an extra $40/month for voice and signing a 2 year contract just to have a portable device that has internet access everywhere I go.

The iPad solves this problem nicely. Still undecided though...

 

[audreyh1]

Right - that is where I am coming from - limited by WiFi. But personally, I find the iPod Touch way too small for web, and barely acceptable for showing my photos/videos.

So to me it's the large screen as well as the reasonably priced no-contract internet connectivity/data plan that is very appealing. I don't care above voice - I'm still happy using my old fashioned cell phone for talking to people.

Audrey

 

[harley]

I personally have no interest in the device, but I'm a little surprised nobody has pointed out the pricing scam that Apple pulled with the Iphone. Remember? It came out at $599. Then something like 6 months later they dropped the price to $399. No way I'd buy this thing until it had a little time on the market. I tend to be a late adopter, anyway. At least with my own money. I did enjoy having access to all the new tech back when I worked in the lab. Probably the only thing I miss from the old job. (Sorry, team)

 

[Zathras]

...
When I told the DW that it was also $500-800, she laughed and said she prefers the netbook since it costs a third or a quarter of the cost.

I am guessing she also laughs at the Kindle DX?
If you are not interested in an ebook reader, or extremely small footprint, then I don't see why you would give this a second look.
However, at $10 more than a Kindle DX, I can get a much improved ebook reader, which uses an open format for ebooks, which also has much more room and can browse the web and do a number of other things.

It isn't a replacement for laptops, it is a niche product designed to fit inbetween smart phones and netbooks. And I think it will do well in that niche.