On April 07 2010 10:03 Spartan wrote: The Slate is going to be far better than the iPad; USB support, SD card support, and many other essentials. However, the rumor is the battery life is about half, which makes me sad.
But, for the more journal/creative-savvy, the Courier is going to blow everything else out of the water. :D I'm so stoked for it.
He believes it will sell more than the ThinkPad and calls it a powerful computer?
With a 1GHz processor?
One version of the slate will run the Atom, and another some ARM processor, iirc. Anyway, a 1ghz processor for x86 is very different from a 1ghz processor for ARM. People tend to forget.
On April 06 2010 06:03 Neo7 wrote: If you're one of those that reads e-books and a lot of websites and blogs and stuff then the iPad might be something to look into since it's huge and lightweight for that kind of stuff. Otherwise you might want to invest in a netbook or full blown laptop. The iPad could have been so much better if it had a more complete OS on it like a slimmed version of Mac OS X.
As with most Apple Products, I wouldn't put too much faith into the battery power of an iPad.
I'm actually looking forward to the competitor responses to the iPad, especially the ones with Android/Win7. I'm actually impressed that by all accounts, Apple included a mostly decent productivity suite on the thing, but it's clearly held back by a lack of things you'd find on a real operating system, like file structure, multitask, etc.
When other companies jump on the bandwagon, just as they've done for phones and mp3 players, and start delivering superior products, just as they've done for phones and mp3 players, then we'll really get some good stuff.
For now, I'll stick with my phone.
Same, Asus might yet surprise me. For now though I want to see how Apple can sweeten the deal on the media front, that should be their prime concern too.
On April 07 2010 10:03 Spartan wrote: The Slate is going to be far better than the iPad; USB support, SD card support, and many other essentials. However, the rumor is the battery life is about half, which makes me sad.
But, for the more journal/creative-savvy, the Courier is going to blow everything else out of the water. :D I'm so stoked for it.
He believes it will sell more than the ThinkPad and calls it a powerful computer?
With a 1GHz processor?
Does it needs to be any more?
Processor clock speeds can be very misleading once you start comparing different architectures, software stacks, and software/hardware/compiler optimizations.
Have you tried it? Scrolling and every response to input is incredibly smooth. It certainly does *not* feel like an underpowered computer.
I am not implying that more processing power may not be welcome or that future versions won't need the extra clock cycles. All I am saying is that at this point, having "only" a 1GHz arm processor is not a limitation to the user experience.
iPad has really impressive reviews, the word is that its interface makes it a totally new type of computing device that is way more intuitive and natural than a laptop, PC, or phone. Initially I thought I'd never buy one, but now I think that my ideal setup would be a powerful desktop, an iPad, and a cheap phone just for SMS and calling.
"Most of all, though, it’s cool to consider that as one of the new Children of Cyberspace, her expectations about computing will be shaped by the fact that she’s growing up in a touchscreen world."
I was fascinated at how natural she seemed to scroll photos, and how fast she picked up doubling the screen size of iPhone apps.
Doesn't really do anything that a laptop couldn't do, and a laptop is cheaper and can do alot more than an Ipad. I really don't see who this appeals to except SOME apple fanboys.
On April 07 2010 14:16 Katsuge wrote: uh wads the difference btwn a iPad and a iTouch...from the way i see it iPad's just a larger version of iTouch....
Though if they make anything I could play Aion or Starcraft on (though both would be amazingly hard without a keyboard, haha) then I'd jump on that boat.
I'm waiting for the notion ink adam, it's some crazy 11.6 inch tablet with a tegra2 SOC running android, a pixel qi screen that goes between color backlit mode and black and white e-inkish mode, and supposedly going to retail for around $300 (I somewhat doubt this, but if it's true, it'd be amazing)
"Most of all, though, it’s cool to consider that as one of the new Children of Cyberspace, her expectations about computing will be shaped by the fact that she’s growing up in a touchscreen world."
I was fascinated at how natural she seemed to scroll photos, and how fast she picked up doubling the screen size of iPhone apps.
I wouldn't expose my child to the internet and/or such electronic devices at such a young age.
It's worth for people who trade in cool. Like a fashion photographer, who can whip it out of his coat pocket and showcase his portfolio in person, and the fact that it's the cool gadget everyone is talking about can make a difference.
Although I've had a negative image initially, I've been looking at some iPad videos and I've completely changed my mind about it. I think by comparing it to a laptop, one's completely missing the point of the possible uses because the iPad definitely has its own niche.
One is of course the ease and convenience of the ebook/web browsing feature. Of course a PC or a laptop lets you read the same document or browse the same newspaper websites. But the iPad's portability and visibility just far exceeds the capacity of a laptop/iphone. Think of it as an upgrade to the newspaper. You can wake up in the morning, instead of shuffling through newspapers or booting up a laptop and sitting down to read the news, you can turn your iPad on, catch the latest BBC news video while brushing your teeth, eating breakfast etc. Hell, you can even use it when taking a dump. You simply can't expect to lug around a laptop around your house or office and expect to be exposed to information as efficiently.
Second reason is the unparalleled expandability of the appstore. The iPad is simply a platform that lets you run limitless possibilities. It's the reason why other touch screen phones can't compete with the iPhone despite touting more intelligent OSs or having higher specifications. The availability of innovative apps, the ease of updates simply cannot be surpassed. Sure, you can get useful programs on PC's and most programs have update features. However, since a lot of PC based programs are costly, most people don't really experiment or have to hassle on pirating these programs. With the appstore, you can legally own a solid app, hassle free, with constant updates often times at under $5 (realistically they're mostly $0.99-$1.99) and if you don't like it, you can just download a competitor's app for just as cheap.
Third reason is the expected technological advancements of the next generation of iPads. People complain about the lack of multitasking but it's not hard to expect it being available through firmware upgrades or even for iPad 2nd gen. I don't even think I have to elaborate on this. People couldn't understand why the iPhone couldn't record video when ALL other phones could; well, now it can. It's just smart marketing.
The iPad isn't a phone and it definitely isn't a laptop/PC replacement. However, it wasn't even designed to be a replacement. Sure, it doesn't have a physical keyboard but if you need to type, the option is right there for you to use. If you need to do heavy keyboarding, you better sit down in front of a computer and get to work. But for everything else, you can just get all your information from the iPad because it complements PC activities so effectively.
It's not hard for me to imagine teenage girls picking up the iPad just to get their fix of facebook. It is hard to justify buying a laptop when all they want to do is get on their facebook, browse the internet or play the odd puzzle games. With the iPad, you can spend half the money, snuggle into your couch, do your social networking and have access to videos, music etc. Not to mention the ability to share your media with people immediately surrounding you. No more crowding around the desk to see those youtube clips with your friends. Find a couch, get comfortable, and you can even pass the device around very easily.
There will be competition, but even though other devices may be more powerful, they simply will not be able to compete unless they create their own version of the appstore.
And by the way, ever since the iPod came out, I've always been a skeptic of Apple, with the constant recycling of the same design and whatnot and I'll most likely stay away from the macbooks because I love my custom built PC. I've always used Samsung cellphones and went with iRiver or Cowon for my mp3 players; in that sense, I've never considered myself an Apple fanboy. But as years went by, for some reason or another, I now own an iPod nano as my mp3 player and have an iPhone as my cellphone. I still fucking hate having to use iTunes because syncing is a pain in the butt and I prefer just drag-and-drop 'mass storage' type music transfer. However, despite all of the criticism, Apple's doing smart business and they're always managing to get my attention. Personally speaking, getting away from the desk and browsing TL on my couch or in the bed in itself is already a very appealing idea.
That little girl is SO cute!!! I can't wait to have kids, it will be epic to show them the world :D. And in response to the guy who talked about showing tech to kids. I give you a big meh...because when I was a kid about 4-5 I spent some of the best times of my life playing DOOM and then later Duke Nukem 3d with my dad. I was the shooter who pressed CTRL and he was the mover.
On April 07 2010 13:17 JWD wrote: (Latecomer to thread)
iPad has really impressive reviews, the word is that its interface makes it a totally new type of computing device that is way more intuitive and natural than a laptop, PC, or phone. Initially I thought I'd never buy one, but now I think that my ideal setup would be a powerful desktop, an iPad, and a cheap phone just for SMS and calling.
I think the initial reviews were a bit over the top. What bugged me is that the first set of reviews, and the ones that were the most ecstatic were 1) by the people who are hoping to be saved by the iPad (WSJ, NYT, etc.) and 2) by 60 year old men telling us what we should be excited about. It's like seeing their impressions of Twitter all over again.
I think most of the important reviews are forthcoming, aside from Engadget and a few others.
Sulli, the lack of multi-tasking (which is honestly a very big deal, much bigger than not having it on a phone) has nothing to do with hard limitations, it's simply a design choice. I honestly wouldn't expect it out of the next iteration, given Apple's record with the iPhone. It doesn't multitask because they don't want it to.
EPT
