back to article Apple uncloaks deep details of its 11 iPad apps

Apple's iPad won't be available in the company's brick-and-mortar stores until this Saturday, but on Monday Cupertino added a series of videos to its website that provide more detail on the device's "magical and revolutionary" capabilities - and The Reg sat through each self-congratulatory video to give you a deep-dive preview …

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      1. The Other Steve
        Grenade

        Oh you handsome rogue, you

        "See, this is the sort of argument that triggers derision."

        No, this one is ...

        "This isn't about a person using more than one thing at once but having the ability to choose that option that suits them."

        And if that person chooses of their own free will to use, say, the iPad because that option suits them? Are you saying that their choice is invalid because you disagree with it ?

  1. TeeCee Gold badge
    Stop

    That's handy.

    In future it'll be easy to tell the mere berks from the complete arsehats:

    Mere berk: Sharp-suited git who spouts a load of cobblers to the accompaniment of a PowerPoint slide deck.

    Complete arsehat: Sharp-suited git who spouts a load of cobblers to the accompaniment of a presentation from his iPad. This peppered with such phrases as "I'll just connect your projector to my iPad", "I'll just open the presentation on my iPad", a learned discourse on how much better / easier / more cool than PowerPoint it is and a certain amount of foot shuffling when someone asks for a copy of the presentation....

    1. Anonymous Coward
      WTF?

      @TeeCee

      Since most employers don't buy Apple kit, replace the word "iPad" in your post with "2nd rate tablet PC" and add a sentence at the end that says:

      "because the WiFi card has a config clash with the projector interface and no-one can print. Hold on while we phone Microsoft".

      Then you'll have hit the nail right on the head!

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Dead Vulture

    Point of order

    Quote: "Searching for mail - including messages stored on the server - can be done in the app itself, another step up from the iPhone."

    Um, you can do this in the iPhone Mail app too, so that isn't a step up for the iPad version.

  3. SuperTim
    Jobs Horns

    Wow. I am impressed.....

    They managed to get ALL that functionality into a device the same size as a netbook.

    I am gobsmacked. It is just a stunning achievement. well done the boys at cupertino. I doth my cap to thee.

    right, have they gone?

    What a load of cobblers...... I thought it may fall between two stools and seems to have firmly done that. There is very little to attract people to it (and ebooks isnt enough i am afraid).

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Great...

    ...so you get.

    Powerpoint ...yawn.

    internet browser

    photo arranger

    email client

    pdf sorry ebook reader

    and some basic MS clones...

    Blimey lets hope someone invets a fart machine.

    That reads like an a-z of boredom, and most things would be better done with a mouse.

    Still enough dumb asses will rush out and buy it, without any idea of what it is capable of...what you mean they have already sold out? Oh well, they'll be the same muppets that moan when an updated one is released in six months time for 30% less....

    Still as it's the darling media lovies that will buy it, it will be all other the news (no doubt front page & headline news on the BBC)

    1. The Other Steve

      Rodent averse

      "That reads like an a-z of boredom, and most things would be better done with a mouse."

      How do I use a mouse on the sofa with my feet up? What if I want to surf the web in bed ? Keyboard and mouse (and stonking great hot bastard of a laptop contra indicated).

      Don't mistake your computing use case - sitting at a desk all day - as being the only one.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Research says touch is better

      "most things would be better done with a mouse."

      Actually IBM did a whole lot of research in this area (they sell touch screens with their POS systems) and the speed and accuracy is greatly improved on a touch system. It has to do with the fact that you touch what you are looking at, rather than having to move a separate device to manipulate a cursor on the screen to a location where you are looking.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    RE: Speaking of batteries

    Apparently you need to return the iPad to Apple, pay $105, wait a week and then get, not your original iPad back, but another refurbished unit.

    Don't like the sound of that. If I were foolish enough to buy one in its present form, I'd want mine back. After all, that's the one I paid for.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      yes but...

      Presumably you'd remember to sync your iPad before sending it off to Apple and getting a replacement. Hard to see what you're complaining about, tbh.

      1. DrXym

        AC

        It's hard to see what someone is complaining about?

        Other devices accomplish the stunning technical feat of providing removable batteries. Yet Apple alleged masters of usability merely require you to back up all your files, pay $100, send your device off for the best part of a week, and finally get back some iPad in god knows what state and restore your files.

        Of course Apple would prefer you just bought a new iPad which is why they seal their batteries in in the first place and have ensured their replacement service is such a joke.

    2. Giles Jones Gold badge

      Yawn....

      I think you'll get about 3 to 4 years out of the battery (my iPhone 3g is 18 months old and showing no signs of battery issues). You really think you'll be using something that old and be thinking about having the battery replaced?

  6. Andy 73 Silver badge

    Low resolution

    For an ebook in particular, and for web browsing when you're not just staring at you-tube cat videos, the resolution remains disappointing. Fine for a throwaway consumer device, but a bit of a barrier to more serious use. Beautifully implemented, and it'll sit nicely on a designer coffee table, but it does appear to promise slightly more than it delivers.

  7. Marc 25

    RE: So...

    Stated on the Apple site there's a 10 hour battery life. This is probably at lowest use. So i should imagine that once you turn on your wireless and start actually using it...like any device... the battery life is going to decrease.

    My real world expectations are around 6-7 hours of light use...which lets be honest... is what this is designed for.

    1. bygjohn
      Stop

      Bzzzt

      If you read carefully, the 10 hours is for video playback. They quite 30 hours for music playback (screen off) and 30 days in standby. I'd expect gaming to be in roughly the same ballpark as video, general use for mail/web etc somewhere between the 10 and 30 hour figures.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Ummm

    ..even the iPod touch already offers Genius on the device already.

    1. Jerome 0
      Thumb Up

      Already?

      What, already?

  9. Lord Elpuss Silver badge
    Welcome

    Déjà Vu

    Seems to me the arguments against the iPad are just as numerous, but the naysayers are becoming a little less sure of themselves. Comments like "Only a retard would buy one" used to be accompanied by a full-on belly laugh, now it's more of a nervous chuckle.

    Slowly but surely, the value proposition of the iPad is becoming more concrete, and the hitherto undecided amongst the great unwashed are beginning to drift to their chosen camp.

    Much like the iPod and the iPhone - if there's one thing Apple has in spades, it's marketing psychology.

    1. Gulfie
      FAIL

      There is only one argument...

      "I can do all this on a netbook or laptop that costs about half what Apple want for the iPad. Oh, and that will let me view Flash web sites and won't try to tell me what I can and cannot install".

      Now, give me a decent counter-argument to that.

      iPad is a rich man's coffee table book. A nice piece of technology with no unique selling point, but looks good to have one lying around.

      1. The Other Steve
        FAIL

        Easy

        ""I can do all this on a netbook or laptop that costs about half what Apple want for the iPad."

        Two things, firstly I have a touch screen netbook that cost almost exactly the same as what Apple want for the iPad. You can buy a keyboard only netbook for half, but not a touchscreen model, not yet. Secondly, not everyone is so price sensitive, and not all buying decisions are made as a result of comparing only the proce, other variables, like perceived quality for instance, come into play.

        There are many others, but that's enough to put that one to bed.

        "Oh, and that will let me view Flash web sites and won't try to tell me what I can and cannot install". "

        You assume that all consumers have exactly the same values and requirements as you do, this is wrong.

        See, I told you it was easy.

      2. Rolf Howarth
        Thumb Up

        Coffee table books

        "iPad is a rich man's coffee table book. A nice piece of technology with no unique selling point, but looks good to have one lying around."

        As some level you're absolutely right. The iPad *is* just a rich man's coffee table book (or rich woman's, as I suspect it will appeal to female purchasers just as much as to men), if by that you mean it's something that most of don't need and could get by with perfectly ok without.

        Don't confuse need with want. We live in a consumer society. Sure, marketing has a lot to do with that, but what's wrong with marketing, just because Apple are better at it than most?

        I think HD is overrated and I don't need a Freeview HD PVR, but I'll probably get one anyway when they become available. I certainly didn't need my laser mood light thing that projects pretty patterns on the ceiling but it's great fun at parties and I don't regret my purchase one bit.

        I'll probably replace my car at some point in the next 12 months too, not because there's anything wrong with my old one but because I want to. When I do I'll probably buy a VW or Honda rather than a BMW or Mercedes, despite the glossy brochures they keep sending me, but that doesn't mean I think Mercedes owners are retarded for wasting their money. Why should the rules be any different for the iPad than they are for every other consumer product out there?

        1. chr0m4t1c
          Joke

          You're new here, aren't you?

          Here are some of the guidelines for comments:

          1) Everything that Apple makes is overpriced rubbish that is only bought by fanbois and idiots

          2) Everything that Microsoft makes is bloated rubbish full of security holes.

          3) Linux is the bestest and most securest OS ever. Honest.

          4) Google are evil. Unless you have an Android phone.

          5) Bittorrents are only used by people illegally downloading music or movies. These people are thieving scum who would happily pinch anything that isn't nailed down and would never dream of paying for anything. You may use the word "freetard" as a shorthand for them.

          6) If you purchase an Apple product you can only buy media and software from Apple via iTunes. And everything you buy from iTunes is full of DRM that prevents you from using it anywhere.

          7) Climate change is real, we're all going to die if we don't do something now.

          8) Climate change is not real, calm down.

          9) When anyone releases a security patch it's taken them way too long and that just proves that they don't take security seriously enough. Everyone should use whatever I use instead.

          10) Opera is a much better browser than all of the others put together.

          11) Adobe Flash is terrible, I'm glad Product X (usually an Apple product) doesn't support it.

          12) Adobe Flash is brilliant, Product X is useless rubbish because it doesn't support it.

          13) The moderatrix loves us all with a deep and slightly pervy passion.

          I think I covered the usual ones, but you can probably get an idea if you have a look at other threads.

          You may notice that many of these statements are sweeping generalisations that do not stand up to any kind of scrutiny, but that doesn't stop many of us using them on a regular basis, so don't be deterred.

          And if your keyboard develops a fault that means you end up with randomly capitalised words, odd punctuation and iffy spelling you might even make the coveted "Flame of the Week" slot.

          Happy commenting!

          1. Ian Moffatt 1
            Thumb Up

            You're new here, aren't you? Oh very yes

            Excellent work.

            Carry on.

  10. Ian Chard
    Thumb Up

    Who cares if it's any good

    when it's that shiny?

  11. Grumpytom
    Coat

    More vitriol

    What is it with these muppets who can see no reason to change or invent or improve, Every time Apple get a mention off they go; everything from battery life to only one browser (so Windoze don't you think)

    Look fuckwits, Apple have done this to make money, they make money by selling products, they make more money by selling more products to more people than before. How they do that is called marketing, or in economic terms creating an incentive, their chosen route is ease of operation, not battery life or whatever you can do with your dell dongle thingy from the local PC warehouse (another great retail experience!).

    So when your business, or the one you're in, has been as inventive, creative, as self assured to do something like launch a paradigm shift product - stop bitching stand back and see if it flies. If it does - great, if not no whining lets see if new wings will fix it.

    No wonder the UK's up shit creek if the IT industry is full of these underachieving navel gazing wankers.

    F in luddites one and all...... I'm sick of 'em.

    I'll get my coat - the one with the can do attitude.

    1. RegisterThis

      I'm starting to understand ...

      the vitriol ... its caused by the opposite of what you say i.e. the wait and see if it flies ... its the 'its already stratospheric' that gets people ire.

    2. Professor Tinklepants
      Thumb Down

      @Grumpytom

      "What is it with these muppets who can see no reason to change or invent or improve"

      Fair enough - just do me favour and point out for me what, exactly, Apple has changed, invented or improved with this lacklustre, plastic money-magnet?

      I get that it's supposed to make money - unfortunately, it's going to do that in spades - but to claim that Apple have been creative or have launched a "paradigm shift product" (btw, you should be imprisoned for making me quote such an hateful phrase) is to just blindly buy in to the marketing bullshit that Apple and the fanbois are dishing out.

      So, as far as making money and pleasing their shareholders, Apple = success.

      But as far as producing another truly innovative technology product that will dominate an as-yet un-tapped niche? FAIL!

      1. The Other Steve

        It's the UI stupid

        "Fair enough - just do me favour and point out for me what, exactly, Apple has changed, invented or improved with this lacklustre, plastic money-magnet?"

        It's the best touch screen UI that exists right now. Period. Others are catching up, but they aren't there yet. MS have been out of the UI game for so long it's not even funny, note their recent rush to catch up, which as a sometime WinMo dev I applaud, but with some lacklustre, because it's taken them so long to pull their fingers out..

        Android is coming, and we'll probably see some Android flavour tablets with some good shiny soon. But Apple got there first, love em or hate em, So swallow your bile.

        Right now the iPad is the ONLY tablet with a UI and software designed specifically around touch metaphors that you the consumer can buy. Well, order.

    3. Dan 10
      Thumb Up

      Bravo!

      That's some rant you got there - I like it.

      Kinda reminds why I need to get out of the corporate world and back to an innovative tech start-up. Whether I'll buy an iPad or not is unknown, but the Apple has managed to go from niche tech manufacturer to the premium maker of consumer electronics devices, I bet it would be cool to work in product management or something at Cupertino.

    4. The Other Steve
      Thumb Up

      Most definitely what he said

      "No wonder the UK's up shit creek if the IT industry is full of these underachieving navel gazing wankers."

      Great big round of applause to that, couldn't have put it better myself. The IT industry is indeed so stuffed, and you'll notice that instead of deciding that Apple at are shit at marketing, have missed their niche and running out and starting their own companies to fill that niche, they are instead sitting in their cubicles whining about it.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    Remote Storage

    OK, so they've added a spreadsheet and presentation apps. Nice. But, does that imply that there is some sort of file based access to my Wireless Network and thus Windows shares?

    Even if it is only from within Pages?

    As a previous commenter stated - potentially killer apps, but for the business domain and iTunes does not play nicely in the business domain.

    1. dave 93

      theres an app for that...

      ...dozens of them, in fact, including Apple's own MobileMe service.

      iTunes is free and cross-platform, so why is that business unfriendly?

  13. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

    It's looking pretty tempting

    I'm still not sold, but I'm very tempted. My tablet PC's too heavy to read ebooks, I borrowed a Sony reader which was OK, but I'd like to try this with white text on a black background (if it does it). Even if I don't buy (m)any ebooks, there's a lot of free stuff on Project Gutenberg, as well as efforts from individual authors, like http://www.closed-circle.net/, in this case a few SF authors banding together.

    The iWork apps all look pretty good, and so long as everyone doesn't want to charge $10 for their fart apps on the iPad, the rest of the AppStore should be good too.

    I'm not sold on using it to view films though. Sure I could pay to download from iTunes stuff that I've already got on DVD, but I'm not going to. So how do I get my DVDs onto it? I know it's possible, but it's a lot more of a hassle than ripping CDs to mp3. So if I can't easily get the content on it without huge amounts of effort, or being ripped off, then this looks like something for long flights only.

    I've switched Flash off on my tablet PC to see if I can cope with the interwebs without, and I've survived, so I'm more convinced than I was before that this is worth it for what I reckon is its main role - i.e. sofa-surfing.

    When it comes to my decision, I'm still not convinced it's better than a real book, without Flash it doesn't do the internet properly, I don't buy it as a movie player, the apps will be good though, but I'm going to get ripped off for all the extras (docking station, $29!!! VGA connector, keyboard, case etc.). But it is shiny, and I reckon it'll end up being 'good enough' to beat my too heavy tablet PC. Oh, plus instant on, which is great for a sofa-surfer machine.

    I wish one of the PC boys would show us some details of the forthcoming slates, so we'd know what the alternatives are. Win7 with multi-touch should be pretty nice, given how well Vista works on my single-touch tablet. But as they don't seem to be making much effort, it looks like Apple will get my cash.

    1. chr0m4t1c
      Happy

      Easy

      "So how do I get my DVDs onto it?"

      Download Handbrake (http://handbrake.fr), put DVD in computer, select the preset for your target device, drag and drop ripped/converted file into iTunes, sync with device.

      Sequence shortened for time.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Go

      DVDs into iPads

      "So how do I get my DVDs onto it? I know it's possible, but it's a lot more of a hassle than ripping CDs to mp3."

      Not a direct answer, but handbrake on the Mac did the trick for me. I've just ripped some DVDs I own to watch on the iPhone on long, boring bus trips. I'd guess when the iPad is out handbrake (yup, it is free) will have an option for it.

      Not a lot of hassle, but took some time.

  14. B_K
    Grenade

    Target Market

    I think some of you guys are still missing the point; It's not aimed at us, and the interface just happens to be one that some 50 Million people will know instantly..

    There will be 2 of them destined for BK towers; one for my parents, who will finally be able to get online without having to learn how to use a damn computer and giving me support headaches. One kicking around the lounge/wherever when you need to check something and can't be arsed to walk upstairs to boot up the stuff in the office. It'll also make a handly little terminal for stuff like VNC or SSH.. (which I also use on my iPhone - I just wish sometimes the screen was a little bigger... Oh, wait...)

    Keynote is indeed superb to use and present with, and my other half is already sold on the iPad pages app..

    1. ian 22

      Support headaches

      My wife now has an iMac, after I decided my time was worth more than the bloody iMac. And she loves it. And I'm impressed by the well-designed GUI.

      But will I buy an iPad? Dunno, must wait and see if does anything I need at a price I can afford.

  15. Doc Spock
    Stop

    Something, Something, Dark Side

    From the article:

    "Bookmarks can also be placed in folders in the bookmarks bar, as they can be in Safari for the Mac and PC."

    Given the preceding bad-mouthing of Safari on the iPhone, this reads as if suggesting that Safari on the iPhone does not have this capability. It does. For as long as I can remember.

    And to everyone who is bemoaning the "average" or "boring" feature set: like the iPhone, the iPad is about _useability_. In other words, you may well be able to do more with a netbook/tablet PC/N900, but the comparable features will be significantly easier (for most people) on the iPad.

    P.S. I'm still not getting one though!

  16. dave 93
    Grenade

    I hear the sound of frantic back-pedalling!

    El Reg, like all the other 'Bad Apple' pundits seem to be emulating idiomatic rats and donning swimsuits!

    The clever money is betting on another Apple success, esp. now we see the apps in action.

    Surprise, surprise - Apple software has a good UI, nice looking templates and the whole shebang is 'instant-on' with little danger from virus/malware thanks to the cursed 'closed ecosystem'

    For $500 it's a no-brainer for ordinary folks who like to get stuff done on the move, but in style.

  17. Michael Parker
    Boffin

    yeeah, but...

    ...will it blend?

    1. Player_16
      Headmaster

      yeeah, but...

      ...will it fit in the blender?

  18. Eradicate all BB entrants

    Dont see the PC world coming up with anything?

    They did, been selling for six months now. Called the Archos 9. Not the prettiest machine in the world but it works just as well as most netbooks on the market.

    Remember, Apple didn't develop better products when Jobs came back, they just got a better marketing department.

    1. The Other Steve

      Archos 9 is horrid

      Underpowered and ugly, it also runs a crippled version of an OS that isn't designed with a touch screen in mind. There are far better examples than the Archos, but they all suffer from at least the second problem. Win7 is not a happy touch experience. It's usable, sure, though you'll be reaching for a stylus more often than you'd like, but for Jane Average User, it's to fiddly by half.

      "Apple didn't develop better products when Jobs came back"

      Yes, that's right, Apple are still selling the same strange beige boxes as they used to, we only believe that they're actually entirely different.

    2. Giles Jones Gold badge

      Windows + touch = FAIL

      Haven't you worked out yet that Windows 7, XP or Vista simply aren't touch capable? by that I mean every single aspect of the OS isn't designed for a touch screen.

      Read the article "Microsoft's creative destruction" (google it), you'll see how attempts within Microsoft to create a touch screen version of Office and other apps were thwarted by childish project managers who as they put it "preferred to use a keyboard and mouse".

      Windows + touch = bad user experience = failure. Windows tablets have been around since 2001 and they're a flop. Even Bill Gates was wrong saying they would be the most popular mobile PC device in a few years time (back in early 2000s).

  19. Barracoder

    Oh bloody hell

    Here I was hoping the iPad would be the final smidgeon of hubris before the great Jobsian fall. Grrrrrrrr!!! Damn you, Steve Jobs (praise be his name)!

    I was determined that I wasn't going to get one of these oversized iPhones but now I have no choice - my Need Gland is priapic with desire to own one.

    1. M Gale
      Badgers

      Plus One

      ..simply for usage of the word "priapic".

  20. Stu
    Alert

    I can see a point...

    ...I can personally see how photographers like me could take advantage of the 9.7inch display. Its an IPS LED backlit, very high quality, and although its only 1024x768, it must still be a damned nice way of reviewing DSLR photos using the SD Card dongle (wasn't it announced at $29.99, must be 30 quid in the UK then!). You can (hopefuly) zoom right to 1:1 pixel ratio into a 12megapixel photograph, discern the fine detail and general suitability of photographs right after taking them.

    I know the iPhone knocks the resolution down of photos - if you copy over a 12mp photo to an iPhone you can't zoom in to see the whole 12mp. If the iPad has the same limitations then I'd be a bit disappointed and won't be as well inclined to go for it.

    But so far nobody has mentioned this aspect of the iPad photo viewer app! I suppose we'll see some time after Saturday.

    Honestly, guys, this whole 50-50 swing of Apple fanbois and Apple haters is getting quite tiresome.

  21. The Vociferous Time Waster
    Flame

    If you hate apple...

    Don't buy it. They are appealing to idiots with money, not the mom's basement dwelling "I configure GNU as a hobby" gimps.

    Also, while you're at it, don't comment about it either. Apple cares even less about your opinion than they do about the opinion of their paying customers.

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    An Iphone fan not impressed-yet

    http://www.reghardware.co.uk/Design/graphics/icons/comment/pint_32.png

    I am a regular Apple Fanboi, but I really can't see getting one of these. I do think that comments that are vitriol are unnecessary and objections could be thrown with the wind of intelligent conversation and not raving and ranting.

    I am at the "wait and see" level of interest. I simply LOVE my Iphone because it is so darn easy to operate and that is what it is all about, as a few have mentioned.

    Again, I say that if you don't like it, then either build something better or keep quiet and DON'T BUY ONE! It's pretty simple.

    A pint of Bass because it is good.

  23. The_Police!
    Coat

    Drooling...

    over the IPad?

    There is an app for that!

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