On January 28 2010 15:33 mahnini wrote: you lose a lot of functionality with a tablet and you don't gain that back in price. you could argue that the price is a premium for portability but honestly is it that much more portable? how usable is it going to be without a tactile keyboard? not to mention you have to take up 50% of your screen when you want to type. at $700, you get less functionality than a $300 netbook and slightly more portability if only because you can use it while moving more effectively.
granted if it were the same price as a netbook or maybe $100 more i could see why people prefer it.
Well, the more I think about it the more I dislike the comparison to the netbook, device wise I think a much better comparison would be to the larger Kindle (the price looks a lot better when you start to look at it that way, actually). Even if we use the netbook for comparison though, we should keep in mind that this will be infinitely faster at the tasks that it does perform than a netbook well. There are those who feels that the experience is worth paying for, and may of those already buy Apple.
A lot of what you bring up against tablets in general accounts for why I like the Microsoft Courier (too bad now practically vaporware) and the old rumors of the Asus dual-screen tablet so much. Personally I am rather happy about the iPad pushing this area, making it harder for other companies to ignore a potential market. The device itself though, imo, unfortunately, is the usual apple crap.
On January 28 2010 15:33 mahnini wrote: you lose a lot of functionality with a tablet and you don't gain that back in price. you could argue that the price is a premium for portability but honestly is it that much more portable? how usable is it going to be without a tactile keyboard? not to mention you have to take up 50% of your screen when you want to type. at $700, you get less functionality than a $300 netbook and slightly more portability if only because you can use it while moving more effectively.
granted if it were the same price as a netbook or maybe $100 more i could see why people prefer it.
Well, the more I think about it the more I dislike the comparison to the netbook, device wise I think a much better comparison would be to the larger Kindle (the price looks a lot better when you start to look at it that way, actually). Even if we use the netbook for comparison though, we should keep in mind that this will be infinitely faster at the tasks that it does perform than a netbook well. There are those who feels that the experience is worth paying for, and may of those already buy Apple.
A lot of what you bring up against tablets in general accounts for why I like the Microsoft Courier (too bad now practically vaporware) and the old rumors of the Asus dual-screen tablet so much. Personally I am rather happy about the iPad pushing this area, making it harder for other companies to ignore a potential market. The device itself though, imo, unfortunately, is the usual apple crap.
well, i'd say the main point of a netbook is portability + just enough productivity. the idea of a tablet kind of throws the productivity out the window. i don't know much about the kindle but i can see the preference if the price is close there as well.
the problem i guess is it does nothing extraordinarily well. netbooks found a huge market because students loved that it provided all the aspects of a laptop they actually needed while on the go and was light and cheap. smartphones have a market because they are extremely portable used mostly for very light browsing but mostly because you have it around 24/7 anyway. a tablet has less usability than a netbook and less portability than a smartphone. on top of all this it is more expensive than both combined.
do you really see yourself having a tablet in class taking notes or casually pulling it out to look up directions when you're lost? the hype for tablets seem like an industry response to the low profit margins of netbooks.
On January 28 2010 14:16 Loser777 wrote: I think you are trolling us, VManOfMana. You claim to be a "software geek". Software geeks are not blind to horrendous flaws in any device.
Have you heard of something called a netbook? It's something along the lines of $200 with more than triple the storage and a processor that actually runs software. 140,000 apps? How many do you think have been developed for windows?
It doesn't try to fill the role of a computer. With a 9.7" screen? Seriously, what are you going to do, throw it in your backpack before you go to the library? I guess you can't do that with a laptop, wait.
Tell me, what market is this device targeting? Those who want to read books on the go and watch movies? The screen isn't any more suitable for book reading than a laptop is, and it doesn't even support 1080p video.
You probably haven't even seen the comparison charts that have been floating around.
Not really. I am just trying to explain the reasons why I see myself as a potential iPad owner. Obviously I don't see things the same as most people here. But the fact you don't agree doesn't mean I am trolling.
At 9.7" I doubt many people will notice the difference between 720 and 1080p. Besides, if I want to watch 1080p, I'll certainly won't do it at less than 24".
I have heard of netbooks. Tried them. Don't like them. To me, they are just a shrinked version of computers I don't like using in the first place. I have never felt comfortable working on Windows. No matter how fast the computer is, I find the OS to be cumbersome and annoying to use. Its little things here and there, but it builds up. You put that together in a smaller screen and a smaller keyboard and touchpad, and it gets worse (especially with my big hands). They do the job for some people, but not for me.
What I am looking for is not a portable computer, but a satellite of my computer. Something that I can use short-term, on-the-go, with data synced from my main computer. This is the market the iPad is going for. So yeah, the main competition is netbooks. The twist here, is that unlike netbooks, Apple has a different approach than further shrinking a laptop.
Being a "software geek" means that to me, specs are a secondary factor. I don't care for the capabilities of the system or how many things it can do as much as:
1. *how* it lets me do it. 2. it does what I want it to do
It just happens that in terms of software design, Apple does things in such a way I feel comfortably working with. That is something I discovered with my mother's iMac, after my years of OS/2 and Windows.
Thats why I don't find the comparison sheet too relevant. The only things that I care for in that list are:
* resolution, but I'd consider the screen size and DPI to be more important. * OS, I actually liked many design elements of the modified iPhone OS. There are drawbacks (mainly multitasking) but not much of an issue consider what I would use an iPad for. Multitouch is used more extensively than the iPhone, not limiting your fingers to be a replacement of a mouse. This is a good thing. * Weight/physical size. They affect how easy it is to carry. I don't go to school anymore so I seldom carry a backpack when I am not at work. * Wifi, well, I need to connect to the internet.
As of the rest:
* I dont care for CPU and memory as long as they can carry the OS and applications. I don't even remember the speed and memory on my laptop. * storage, considering I am looking for a satellite of my main computer, I only need to put the data I will use short term. Certainly less than 250 GB. * bluetooth, rarely use it * USB ports, convenient but I don't find them essential, since syncing will be the main form of data sharing * Audio/video: I rarely watch fansubs (MKV, etc) anymore. For everything else there is AAC, Apple Lossless and H.264. If needed I can fallback to using Handbrake. * Price: I actually don't mind dishing the extra money for something I like that much better. I did it on the iPhone, I did it on the MBP. For me, the OS and convenience are the most valuable things I can buy. Not the hardware specs.
Yes most of this is subjective, but to each their own.
By the way, I doubt I would get an iPad if I was still in college.
On January 28 2010 15:33 mahnini wrote: you lose a lot of functionality with a tablet and you don't gain that back in price. you could argue that the price is a premium for portability but honestly is it that much more portable? how usable is it going to be without a tactile keyboard? not to mention you have to take up 50% of your screen when you want to type. at $700, you get less functionality than a $300 netbook and slightly more portability if only because you can use it while moving more effectively.
granted if it were the same price as a netbook or maybe $100 more i could see why people prefer it.
Well, the more I think about it the more I dislike the comparison to the netbook, device wise I think a much better comparison would be to the larger Kindle (the price looks a lot better when you start to look at it that way, actually). Even if we use the netbook for comparison though, we should keep in mind that this will be infinitely faster at the tasks that it does perform than a netbook well. There are those who feels that the experience is worth paying for, and may of those already buy Apple.
A lot of what you bring up against tablets in general accounts for why I like the Microsoft Courier (too bad now practically vaporware) and the old rumors of the Asus dual-screen tablet so much. Personally I am rather happy about the iPad pushing this area, making it harder for other companies to ignore a potential market. The device itself though, imo, unfortunately, is the usual apple crap.
well, i'd say the main point of a netbook is portability + just enough productivity. the idea of a tablet kind of throws the productivity out the window. i don't know much about the kindle but i can see the preference if the price is close there as well.
the problem i guess is it does nothing extraordinarily well. netbooks found a huge market because students loved that it provided all the aspects of a laptop they actually needed while on the go and was light and cheap. smartphones have a market because they are extremely portable used mostly for very light browsing but mostly because you have it around 24/7 anyway. a tablet has less usability than a netbook and less portability than a smartphone. on top of all this it is more expensive than both combined.
do you really see yourself having a tablet in class taking notes or casually pulling it out to look up directions when you're lost? the hype for tablets seem like an industry response to the low profit margins of netbooks.
The Kindle (dx, was it?) is like $10 cheaper than the cheapest model I believe, since that has no expansion either iirc, I think it compares to the iPad much better.
I suppose that at the moment tablets are generally less usable than a netbook, but that shouldn't be an issue for long. Their portability...well, I can't say, don't own a smart phone, someone donate to the poor one here please Though with the likes of the HP slate, I really don't think that functionality wise tablets are going to lose that badly, especially if we give it more time. Netbooks will pretty much end at ION 2 hardware wise, the growth in the 3rd party apps for Android is starting to shore up the differences on the software end. Intel pushing into the territories previously held by ARM processors as well as existing multi-core ARMs show that we can have a lot of raw power in the future.
I don't see myself wanting a smartphone anytime soon, I've used netbooks in class, so yeah. I'd probably put up with a tablet like that, it just so happens that I still carry a bookbag of some sort with me every occasion that allows for it.
On January 28 2010 16:10 VManOfMana wrote: Being a "software geek" means that to me, specs are a secondary factor. I don't care for the capabilities of the system or how many things it can do as much as:
1. *how* it lets me do it. 2. it does what I want it to do
It just happens that in terms of software design, Apple does things in such a way I feel comfortably working with. That is something I discovered with my mother's iMac, after my years of OS/2 and Windows.
You sound like someone who should see Linux... Where you decide *how* it lets you do it and does what you want it to.
Edit: After all, OS X is just a dumbed down version of Linux (I might've gone a bit overboard here, hehe).
I don't get it. It looks and sounds like an Ipod Touch with bigger screen for larger resolution media files and e-books, but what everyone really wants is a next generation keyboard-less laptop with standard laptop functionality, 3G (4G) internet, full OS X or Win 7 support and a set of established features, nothing out of the ordinary.
On January 28 2010 16:10 VManOfMana wrote: Being a "software geek" means that to me, specs are a secondary factor. I don't care for the capabilities of the system or how many things it can do as much as:
1. *how* it lets me do it. 2. it does what I want it to do
It just happens that in terms of software design, Apple does things in such a way I feel comfortably working with. That is something I discovered with my mother's iMac, after my years of OS/2 and Windows.
You sound like someone who should see Linux... Where you decide *how* it lets you do it and does what you want it to.
Edit: After all, OS X is just a dumbed down version of Linux (I might've gone a bit overboard here, hehe).
I should be more specific.
Point 2 refers that I can do the tasks I want to complete.
Point 1 refers to how I interact with the system to complete the tasks. The simpler and more straight forward the better.
Linux's advantage is that you can pick many ways to do what you want. The options are endless. But the disadvantage is that going thru so many options add overhead to the final objective, which is getting stuff done.
BTW, OS X is built on top of a BSD variant. And I find it impressive how they managed to abstract all the complexity of working with Unix. OSX feels "dumbed down" because it won't let you pick the steps to get stuff done (often, but not always). But once you get over that, the convenience of less complexity to use the computer is not a bad thing.
"FSF's John Sullivan launches the Defective by Design campaign and petition to rain on Steve's parade, barely minutes out of the starting gate. "This is a huge step backward in the history of computing," said FSF's Holmes Wilson, "If the first personal computers required permission from the manufacturer for each new program or new feature, the history of computing would be as dismally totalitarian as the milieu in Apple's famous Super Bowl ad." The iPad has DRM writ large, you can only install what Apple says you may, and "computing" goes consumer mainstream — no more twiddling, just sit back, spend your money, and watch the show — while we allow you to... what say you? Are you happy that you can't load "open source" ebooks on the new must-have gadget?"
apples never made anything that is legitimately worth the price they charge for it. every product they sell is available in better quality performance and build from another company for a far lower price.
On January 28 2010 06:02 floor exercise wrote: This thing is fucking hilarious
Huge bezel and ugly design No front camera No flash No handwriting recognition No multitasking/Same old iPhone OS No removable storage support No native PDF support
It's literally just a big Ipod touch, it's the dumbest thing I have ever seen