The iPad....

[Zythryn]

Idk, it still seems like a novelty gadget more than a real tool at this point. The inability to multi-task and play Flash are two major strikes against it, imo. As an e-reader that can do more than books, it's a winner. As a notebook, or netbook, replacement, it falls flat on its face.

 

Good thing it isn't supposed to be a replacement for a notebook or netbook:)

Is Flash a resource hog and buggy? If so, I could see why you wouldn't want it in a system built around low energy requirements. Frankly, I haven't missed it yet.

 

For me, I had been lugging my laptop around to different places in the house, to the car dealer, etc.

Now, I can more conveniently bring along the iPad to those places, and more. Reading a magazine or book at the dentist, I have it with me. No need to bring along a power brick to charge up my laptop. The touch tech in the iPad works very much better than the laptops built in mouse 'pad' or notebook's little mouse control (at least the ones I have used).

 

Again, this won't be the case for everyone. But for me, it is a perfect replacement for what I HAD been using laptops and netbooks for.

[Buffy]

Idk, it still seems like a novelty gadget more than a real tool at this point.

"Wrong thinking will be punished." :hihi:

 

No seriously, while it's still a long way from replacing my laptop, it embodies everything that the various PDA's I've gone through over the years failed on. I'm still going to "wait for 3.0" but I'm definitely going to get this for one reason only: it will put an end to the vast majority of my *magazine* subscriptions. The iPad is to the magazine what the Kindle is to the book (and come to think of it, I think I'd rather read books on the iPad too). Boy think of the tree's we'll save just by not printing the September issue of Vogue! And do you know how much space it takes up in my bag to lug W, Vanity Fair, Cosmo, People and SciAm when I go on a plane? Jeez, I'm feeling positively green already! :cheer:

 

Until I can run Photoshop or Gimp, Visual Studio and Eclipse, and some real standalone database engine, it's not going to replace my laptop. As a netbook replacement, it requires "reeducation" on the keyboard, but for iPhone people, this is already last year's issue: we know and like "virtual keyboards." But it will handle my calendar, my contact list, my email, social networking, Hypography, my phone (although instead of putting 3G in it, they should have just enabled tethering to my iPhone!), my portable DVD player, etc, etc, etc.

 

The inability to multi-task...

...fixed in 4.0 which the iPad will get when it comes out....

and play Flash...

Flash is dead. All hail HTML 5! :)

 

With the development headaches I've had in the last few months with Adobe dropping support for all kinds of app integration in Acrobat, I've been starting to hope one of those planes on the landing approach to San Jose that goes right over their headquarters doesn't quite make the end of the runway. No not really, but that's how mad I am at them. Death by a thousand HTML5 cuts to the Adobe management team! :)

 

(I know you said all this freezy, but I think the glass is half full! :shrug: :cheer: )

 

One hundred thousand lemmings can't be wrong, :phones:

Buffy

[Tormod]

Idk, it still seems like a novelty gadget more than a real tool at this point.

 

What? It's got SEVEN strings? Heresy! How can you do any real work with that.

:eek2:

[alexander]

I also prefer supporting companies that build products/use technologies that I like, rather than buying a product that does something I don't like and then try to 'fix' it.

i agree and disagree. I prefer to support open products, ipad and kindle are in no way open, touchbook is open. I don't mind getting a product that's good hardware that is not currently 100% stable and functional, but i am getting it as a project to help make it cool and functional. I do sometimes want a stable product, but an e-book reader hardly qualifies as such, i can always read it on my computers or iphone or droid. I don't however like buying a product with no real use. Sure ipad is a great toy, it succeeds as an e-book reader in darker environments (as long as you don't have a lamp behind you, because the glare off that screen is horrendous) but other then an e-book reader the ipad has no other defined useful applications. It may work great in the medical field, it may work great as a control surface for smart homes, but neither of the technologies have been developed for the ipad, and if i had to develop it, i would take the ability to develop it using python or php or c++ or ruby on the ridiculously open touchbook, knowing full well that i have full control over the hardware, versus the closed hardware and ridiculous iphone/pad SDK, especially with the intermittent WiFi problems... I still state that ipad is cool hardware, with no real usable application, and nothing that it really excels in, and until apple defines a niche, like they did with the iphone and the ipod, it won't justify the tag to anyone other then the apple fanboys.

[Jay-qu]

So who actually went out and got one? or is planning to in the near future?

 

Im not getting one. Instead I am going to spend about half the money on an eeePC and get a 250Gb hard drive and real web browsing :(

[Zythryn]

... I still state that ipad is cool hardware, with no real usable application, and nothing that it really excels in, and until apple defines a niche, like they did with the iphone and the ipod, it won't justify the tag to anyone other then the apple fanboys.

 

I respectfully disagree. I understand that you are a tinkerer and want to have direct input in making a cool product and therefore like the freedom you get from open source stuff.

However, I am no apple fanboy:naughty:

And they HAVE defined a very nice niche, the ultimate in mobile computing/media.

This is what a tablet computer should have been when they first hit the market.

 

Jay, as you may have guessed, I bought one. I use it all the time:)

I spend $20 more than an Amazon Kindle to get full color, and a ton of more functionality. However, knowing what I do now, even if I didn't want a book reader I would be happy with the iPad.

Personally, if I am browsing, I would rather do it on the iPad (or if I am browsing while on the couch, outside (in the shade though), in my favorite chair, in bed, watching TV, surfing through photos/videos, using a map (road, weather or other).

If you are typing a lot though, working and need a printer (and don't want to get the app for that), need to use 250Gb files then the eePC is probably a better bet.

[Zythryn]

So who actually went out and got one? or is planning to in the near future?

 

Actually, I suppose I should say yes to both, as it is looking more and more likely we will be getting a 2nd:)

 

If anyone else has one I highly recommend an app called 'eyewitness'. I suspect it is available for the iPhone as well. It is a collection of "the world's most distinctive and provocative photographs from the most popular digital newspaper in the U.K." (from the about page). I usually am skeptical of claims like that, but the photos you download each day are stunning. Spanning a wide variety of subjects.

Magic Piano is pretty amazing too.

And my favorite game has got to be Plants vs Zombies (although Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution is pretty darn close).

[alexander]

This is what a tablet computer should have been when they first hit the market.

I respectfully disagree, the iPad is not a tablet computer, i've discussed it before, it just is not a "computer", i would agree if you were talking about an Air that had a touch screen, but an ipad is no such thing. It's not a full OS, you can only use an SDK, there's no real processing power behind it, there are no real graphics behind it, you can't change/replace/upgrade anything.... it's just not a computer, a tablet it is, but again with very limited uses...

 

And no, it's not an ultimate in any kind of computing media. Like i said, i disagree that there is any unique use of the ipad yet that makes it useable for anything other then a glorified toy. I could see it in healthcare field, put a class c bluetooth transmitter in every room in the hospital, create an app that will securely pull records on the person who's in the room, and now you have a mobile clipboard for doctors that they can use to link to all the info about the person inside, and even look and zoom into xray scans and all that, THAT would be a cool and really good use for the iPad. Or as a control surface for a smart home, i walk in, my pad links me to my house, i can turn on/off lights, control temperatures and colors, lock/unlock doors, even log in remotely when i'm grocery shopping to see if i have milk in my fridge. But once again, there are very few smart homes, and no such apps for the pad quite yet.

 

If you are going to argue that, please come up with an actual uses of the ipad, uses that cant be satisfied by an e-book reader or a smart phone...

[alexander]

Aah i have just come up with another one, another use for an ipad, it would be good to teach kids to think creatively, various drawing programs, various pattern programs, puzzles, creative thinking things, i'm not sure that ipad can actually stand up to kids abuse, but it is another possible useful use for such device.

[CraigD]

Aah i have just come up with another one, another use for an ipad, it would be good to teach kids to think creatively, various drawing programs, various pattern programs, puzzles, creative thinking things, i'm not sure that ipad can actually stand up to kids abuse, but it is another possible useful use for such device.

That is, essentially, the mission statement of an OLPC XO- computer.

 

The latest OLPC XO “specification”, the XO-3, is a tablet about the size of the iPad. Unlike the iPad, however, it’s just a specification. The hardware doesn’t exists.

 

Pictures and discussion of the XO-3 are all over the web, such as this google-search-topping [/url]. Interestingly, the wikipedia article for “tablet computer” pictures the non-existent XO-3.

 

I’ve seen tablet computers of various sorts, major manufacture produced to hobby-built, popping up for over a decade, seemingly poised to take over the market, then vanishing. AFAIK, the iPad outsold all previous tablet to date in its first day of shipping. My hope is that this will establish the tablet market, and a profusion of look-alikes and variants will soon appear, some of them with real, owner/developer-friendly OSs (eg: Linux).

 

It it’s not a hoax, deemed trademark infringement, or both, one of the first may be the WePad, a few months from now.

[freeztar]

Yep, it's not a tablet PC, for the reasons mentioned.

 

It may well be that the ipad sees a lot of competition in the coming months/years. The verdict is still out. (hopefully they are nix-based)

 

It's a great E-reader+, but it's mainly a novelty. When they stop making computer desks and chairs, I'll pay more attention. :Exclamati

[maikeru]

So who actually went out and got one? or is planning to in the near future?

 

Im not getting one. Instead I am going to spend about half the money on an eeePC and get a 250Gb hard drive and real web browsing :Exclamati

 

No plans for an iPad. btw, like you, I seriously considered an EeePC, but opted for something a little larger. :Exclamati

[alexander]

freezy actually its not a great e-reader, its only great in some situations, the screen is so glossy that the faintest light behind you makes it nearly impossible to read...

 

Yes, eeepcs are really awesome, if i wasnt working on my new stunt bike, i would totally be getting an eee :Exclamati

 

XO3 looks interesting, actually they dont have to do a hell of a lot to make it happen, they can go the touchbook hardware way, which makes it nice and slim, the only thing is the screen, which on the touchtook is resistive, if they were to change it to capacitive that can do multi touch, and tune their distro around it, change the wifi adapter, and fit a better battery, yeah, i think they can build something like that (in numbers) for very cheap, it will be open, and they will have a much larger community developing for/with them...

[Zythryn]

Well, in the technical definition, it IS a machine with computing power. So yes, it is a computer. And yes, it isn't a notebook computer, nor a desktop computer. Just as a notebook computer is not a desktop computer.

 

I know you have a bias against anything not open source, or that allows you to get down the the nitty gritty 0s and 1s in programming (yes yes, that was an exaggeration:)).

I use the ipad for games, I use it for browsing when I want to be outside in my yard enjoying the spring. When working on my ipad programs (if they ever get to the point of being good, I will post a link:)).

I use it as a TV, to remote into my desktop, to track my blood sugars trends (although I am hoping to build a program specifically for this purpose, right now just using a spreadsheet).

I use it as a music player or listening to NPR around the house.

I find the ipad the best resource for these things. Is it the only device capable of these things, no. But a netbook offers ZERO unique capabilities, so I don't see that a device needs unique capabilities to be useful.

[Zythryn]

freezy actually its not a great e-reader, its only great in some situations, the screen is so glossy that the faintest light behind you makes it nearly impossible to read...

 

Have you actually tried?

What about a candle?

In my experience with actually reading on one, I have had no issues in normal lighting. Reading outside in the sunshine is virtually impossible.

Reading outside in the shade works nicely, and I have not found an issue with reading inside in any lighting.

[alexander]

I don't own an iPad (no moneys for it, and i would get a notebook, like the EEE tablet over the ipad anyways) but it doesnt mean that i havent actually played with one, my boss has one and i know a couple of apple fan-boys with them so i have played with it, and my boss is as good of a tester for these things as anyone else, he reads a lot, he's also a writer, and he's online all the time, so he has a lot of experiences in terms of actual use of the ipad, especially in terms of it's internet connectivity issues, in terms of typing on it, which stinks, in terms of reading on the ipad in various lighting conditions, and it's comparison to the Kindle DX. From his experiences, kindle screen is way better in bright light and with a light behind you, especially light that is not diffused, the ipad is on par in moderate light, normal room light, and way better in no to very low light...

[Zythryn]

... From his experiences, kindle screen is way better in bright light and with a light behind you, especially light that is not diffused, the ipad is on par in moderate light, normal room light, and way better in no to very low light...

 

That is, in my opinion, far more useful to people seeking information about the iPad, than your earlier comment of:

freezy actually its not a great e-reader, its only great in some situations, the screen is so glossy that the faintest light behind you makes it nearly impossible to read...

(bold mine)

Thank you for loosing the extreme exaggerations and posting a bit more objectively:)

I would agree that in my experience the kindle screen is way better in direct daylight or with someone shining a light directly at it. In moderate light I would contend the ipad beats the kindle IF viewing in color is important to the reader.