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 …
Irrelevant ... I think Jobs already declared that nobody would read for long enough for that to become an issue. Apart from the fact that that comment misses a whole lot of points regarding battery life and comparitive advantages of say Kindle as a reading device akin to a book that can be flung in a backpack and caried around ona roadtrip for 'the right moment' - it is also a sad comment on the fact that while aiming to capture a share of the ebook market, Jobs will probably do a good job of part killing it by 'weaning' readers off and onto other forms of entertainment ... pull my finger ... again ... again ...
Per testing, with backlight at sufficient levels to use the device for watching a movie in a bright room (backlight up at least half way), and watching that movie streaming over WiFi, more than 10 hours.... playing music with screen off was measured in days, not hours.
Standby time (on with screen off, as your phone does), is 30 DAYS. it has a hell of a battery. This is not a concern.
So you can connect to a projector for $29 - My Tablet PC can do that for free.
You can upload photos to it for an, as yet, undisclosed sum - My Tablet PC can also do this for free.
Is Safari the only browser you can have?
So WTF is the point of this piece of kit.
Only a retard would buy this.
"So WTF is the point of this piece of kit. Only a retard would buy this"
That's about as sensible as saying "So an EOS 7D shoots video? What's the big deal. My phone can shoot video for free. Only a retard would buy a 7D".
You're talking about completely different devices, aimed at very different markets and different purposes.
As it happens, I don't think I'd ever buy a 7D. I'm perfectly happy with the pictures I can get with an Ixus that fits in my pocket. If I did decide I want a 7D that certainly wouldn't make me a retard though.
So far, the examples here don't see too terribly tablet-centric. H*ll, they look like they could be implemented on an Archos if you just applied the programming talent and "polish" that the guys in Cupertino have to the current Archos hardware.
When I first heard the details of the iPad, I started shopping the competition. That hasn't changed. As I suspected, it seems that much of the usefulness of multi-touch is in dealing with the screen size limitations on the smaller Apple devices.
I pretty much agree with your sentiment ... but let's just remember that as long as there are multiplte tastes, needs, wants etc. in the world - there will be multiple products pandering to different tastes and I suspect that there is a market where the iPad makes the most sense.
Note to Apple Fanbois ... if you were not so smug about everything Apple and remembered that Apple PC's, phones etc. are still the minority of 'gadgets' in the world and and that because YOU like Apple kit, it does not represent an objective benchmark, then you would not be called 'retards' as in the above post.
"Note to Apple Fanbois ... if you were not so smug about everything Apple and remembered that Apple PC's, phones etc. are still the minority of 'gadgets' in the world and and that because YOU like Apple kit, it does not represent an objective benchmark, then you would not be called 'retards' as in the above post."
Umm but he was calling anyone who thought they might like an iPad a "retard". That's not just drooling fanbois that's all potential customers.
...and if you suspect that "there is a market where the iPad makes the most sense" then presumably that makes you a retard too!
Never seen a Tablet PC that cost $499 - in fact given that most cost over $1000 and are twice, maybe three times as thick as the iPad then yes, I'd damn well expect it to connect to a projector for free.
Uploading photos? You can upload for free via your PC, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth; it's only the SD adaptor that'll cost extra.
As of a week ago, you can also get Opera for iPhone (and presumably for iPad) - and if Opera comes then the rest will follow.
Ohhhh I get it - the last comment "Only a retard would buy this" is an satirical, tongue-in-cheek poke at your whole post - guess I missed that you were just being ironic with the whole thing.
Sorry about that.
"Uploading photos? You can upload for free via your PC, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth; it's only the SD adaptor that'll cost extra."
Not Bluetooth. Bluetooth is still a no no in terms of general connectivity. You can only communicate with other iPhoneOS devices via bluetooth, not with anything else. This is one of the most annoying limitations of the iPhoneOS*, and one which no amount of enhancement requests has managed to alleviate. You won't be able to tether your iPhone with it, either.
For some reason, Jobs, or whoever is calling the shots hates Bluetooth. But then IIRC Job's used to hate all networking and Apple engineers had to sneak the capability into their products without him knowing.
*Non Jailbroken.
"Bluetooth is still a no no in terms of general connectivity. You can only communicate with other iPhoneOS devices via bluetooth, not with anything else."
Sorry but I've had several people link their ipods and iphones, via bluetooth, with my cars head unit to stream audio and the last time I checked my sony xplod wasn't running iPhoneOS. What you mean by general connectivity is there is no BT sync or file transfer but then why would you with WiFi on board? Yes I know, like everything else, you need an app for that and in this case one is called Air Sharing. Jailbreak not required but money is.
Yes, I do find it a tad ironic that Apple historically was first in including the nice features, e.g. CD/DVD burning, in the desktop OS and yet they leave so many basics out of the handheld OS. It's funny what competition, or a lack thereof, will do.
Yes, that's why I said "general connectivity", meaning that you can't arbitrarily connect to other devices and send them arbitrary data. Perhaps I should have been clearer. This is simply not an option for iPhoneOS developers. Apple of course can do what they like, but that doesn't include OBEX, or anything else other than the very limited audio/video functionality.
If you want to do general BT connections from an App, you can connect to two things (I missed one possibility, duh) iPhoneOS or a device that carries Apple's ID chip.
So color me an eejut for not saying "People who aren't Apple do not have the option to connect ..." etc, quite correct, well spotted, etc.
Fingers engaging before brain, because I'm still peeved by that particular limitation
While I agree that the iPhone Bluetooth implementation is limited (though they have added facilities over time, eg wireless audio), I'd disagree about Apple hating Bluetooth per se. To the best of my knowledge, all the Macs currently available have an excellent Bluetooth implementation and it's used for all Apple wireless keyboards and mice. "Excellent", as in it works, unlike the Bluetooth on my sister's Toshiba XP laptop, which after about half an hour had steadfastly refused to transfer a photo from her phone (Moto Razr), whereas the whole thing worked in about a minute using her husband's iMac. And FWIW I read somewhere that the iPad supports Bluetooth keyboards, which the iPhone doesn't, so far.
"So WTF is the point of this piece of kit.
Only a retard would buy this."
So your argument against it is that you don't understand it?
Since we've been round this argument about a hundred times already in the Register comments on other iPad articles, I can only assume you haven't read them and that this is a completely uninformed opinion.
"So you can connect to a projector for $29 - My Tablet PC can do that for free."
"You can upload photos to it for an, as yet, undisclosed sum - My Tablet PC can also do this for free."
You can upload photos to an iPhone for nothing, so I'm guessing that it's going to be free...!
Here's the real question though - can you (easily) ensure your Tablet PC is virus free?
you bought a tablet PC and have the audacity to comment on other people's choices?
really?
I guess it makes a change from your usual running from dark shadow to dark shadow avoiding the daylight
(ps - this is a joke... yes, it's at your expense... yes, it'll probably make you angry.. but it's still just a joke)
Dock connector to VGA and doc to progressive cables can easily be found for as little at $10. Also, your netbook that can do that free didn't come with the cable either... and it can't do 720P h.264 video either, which is kind of a drawback for any real presentation nowadays, where the inclusion of video clips is merely assumed.
The battery is of course built-in. If it dies within a reasonable period of time Apple will give you a new one. If it dies outside of the reasonable period of time or if the battery has reached its recharge capacity then Apple will sell you a replacement battery as a service .. you give the ipad to them and they give you a new one (new battery and new casing, possibly old mainboard etc).
See here for full details ...
http://www.apple.com/support/ipad/service/battery/
The powerpoint clone is probably the killer app here.
It can allow 2-4 people to sit down and has out an idea without having to fight for a keyboard and mouse or having to shell the crazy amount of money for ideas like the interactive table (was that Microsoft who did that one).
The funny bit is that this is a business killer app, while the device is oriented towards consumer space and I have yet to see a convincing reason to buy it as a consumer.
Keynote is a powerful app for the iPad, I'm not disagreeing. however, its not the "one" killer app, it's just one of many. The real killer app for most people is simply that it can plan H.264 720P video (and per the chipset specs 1080p, though there's no HDMI connector to support it yet). No netbook under $699 can do that, let alone one with a touchscreen, 10 hours of video playback on the battery, and as thin and light, and of course, no portrait mode.
Then there's the simple idea that is requires no software licenses of it's own. multiple iPads and iPhones can all share purchased apps. There's no AV to buy, no $149-399 Office license, and more.
Oh, and it plays GAMES, lots and lots of glorious 3D games that cost $0-10 that 2 years ago cost $30 on the Nintendo DS, and they look better on the pad than on the DS and approach that of the PS2.
Oh, and MY personal favorite: like a phone, it's ALWAYS ON, always in touch with notifications, and has near zero boot time when i want to look up something quick i just saw on TV or heard in a discussion. For me, no boot time is the killer app!
(I'm still not buying one until at least Christmas though, as awesome as it is, i have other priorities).
"Oh, and MY personal favorite: like a phone, it's ALWAYS ON, always in touch with notifications, and has near zero boot time when i want to look up something quick i just saw on TV or heard in a discussion. For me, no boot time is the killer app!"
That's definitely a killer app for me, although in my specific case it will mean that the thing is actually used, rather than just left in the dev cave.
I have a tablet PC netbook type thing, which I bought partly for this very reason. That was before I added an iPhone to the dev cave. It is far quicker to reach for the iPhone than the tablet, now if only it had a bigger screen ...
Also : @ all the "my netbook can do that!" crowd. Even if your netbook has a touchscreen (mine does, neener neener) there is no touch web browser experience that is as good as Safari on the iPhone on your netbook. I can't abide it on the desktop, but on the iPhone it's very nice indeed. Nothing on my netbook is as good. FF with touch extensions, not so much, still eats CPU when you scroll, jerky, natch. Opera probably comes the closest, but still not quite as good. IE is surprisingly good, but suffers from it's general IE-ness.
What I'm saying here is that yes, your netbook can do that, but it can't do it as well. Primarily because none of the apps on your netbook were designed around a touch specific device and UI.
I still can't see a point to the iPad. The touchscreen looks nice, and as someone pointed out the powerpoint clone looks actually useful, but the big iPhone without a phone just seems kinda pointless. Maybe useful for graphic designers? Maybe useful for salesmen? Although a proper tablet pc would be better. Any other ideas, or is it just for people who like new shiny toys?
(Actually asking, not trying to start a flame war)
I think the main market is consumers, but not to say there won't be business applications too. Things like looking up recipes in the kitchen, watching a movie on a plane, keeping kids occupied in the back of car, reading your favourite blogs in bed before you go to sleep, the whole ebook thing.
Sure, you and I know there are plenty of other devices that can already do some or all of these things, but Apple's expertise is knowing how to package it all up and deliver a highly desirable and well designed consumer appliance, not just a piece of geek technology that ticks a lot of boxes on a spec sheet. I suspect the iPad is going to be phenomenally successful therefore.
Mat, I guess I am a retard.
I only use one browser. Maybe you can explain to us retards why you need multiple ones ?
An SDCARD adapter is not exactly that unusual.. many 'tablet PCs' need them too.
Maybe someone is just a bit put out that they bought a crap tablet PC ? Personally I've had 2 - a fujitsu back in 2002/3 when they came out, and an HP last year. Both have been absolute crap - I imagine something like trying to drive a car with a joystick... wrong interface for the OS.
Even with vista/win7 tablet support is pitiful.
I used to hate macs.. I now have 3 and an iphone. It took a bit of pride swallowing, but take the iphone - pick one up.. play with it for 10 mins. surf a bit on it.. I dare u to try and not find that, despite yourself you actually find it just flows.
THAT will be what sells the iPad, now whether it has an SDCARD adapter or a VGA port hardly anyone will use sticking out the side.
"THAT will be what sells the iPad, now whether it has an SDCARD adapter or a VGA port hardly anyone will use sticking out the side." *
* still to be proven ... at the moment what sells it is nothing other than the Apple brand and marketing ... what buys it is the legion of fanbois with more money than sense to whom 'retard' probably does apply given it is totally unproven, seen etc.
The discerning will wait to see proper reviews, maybe touch and play with one in a shop and then decide if they wish to part with their hard earned cash.
"at the moment what sells it is nothing other than the Apple brand and marketing ... what buys it is the legion of fanbois with more money than sense to whom 'retard' probably does apply given it is totally unproven, seen etc"
Although I think you have a point of sorts about the Apple brand and marketing, you're waaaaaay off the mark with your comment about the fanboys buying it. If you looked at the various Mac-centric forums, you're not seeing big love for the iPad - something that is wanted is an affordable mid-range tower, which ain't going to happen.
> I only use one browser. Maybe you can explain to us retards why you need multiple ones ?
See, this is the sort of argument that triggers derision. This isn't about a person using more than one thing at once but having the ability to choose that option that suits them.
It's about being able to install Picasa if iPhoto sucks, Plex if Front Row feels like a straight jacket and VLC if you would rather not dinker with Quicktime plugins to get strange and interesting video files to play.
Although this presupposes you are interested in venturing beyond the little barriers that Apple has set out for you.
If not for "rogue" developers, most of your current computing experience would not exist.
"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 ?
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....
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!
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).
...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)
"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.
"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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
""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.
"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?
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!
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.
"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!
"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.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
"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.
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..
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!
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
...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.
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.
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.
I woldn't be getting an ipad because it's not designed for aimed at me. I am somewhat technically minded and I already have a laptop and desktop computer which I am more than happy with.
The iPad has been designed for people who have had an iPod, upgraded to an iPhone and want to move to the next stage without having to purchase an expensive Mac laptop or have to maintain a netbook (update drivers, install anti-virus, install applications to use it..etc..) and want something that just works in akin to a TV or DVD/blu-ray player.
These people want to press the power button and surf the web, check email and do similar stuff you can do on netbooks but not worry about all maintenance you have to do with a netbook.
It's not aimed at people who have an interest in computers. Consider it the Wii of computers where it will bring computing to the masses.
...it's just not for you.
But well done sending a post from the year 1980, hopefully this reply will reach you somehow, you'll find that masses have access to computers well before the millennium.
Anyhow watch out for a company called microsoft, yahoo and finally google. If you follow those when the iPad is finally launched in your 'timezone' you'll think ~$700 is a rounding error.
It's for normal people who don't care about technology or muppets who do care about technology but don't care about having a modicum of control over their life. It's like buying a car that can only drive to your boss's house. Nice.
But well done you for sending a post from your asylum.
Its still going to be the HP Slate for me, the price point is good and the functionality is better than the iTouch grande. Now all i need to to is find something to do with it :) Apple once again are charging a premium for form rather than functionality.
>>>
Have you got a line to HP on what they're going to charge for their slate? Seeing as they've only given a price point of under $1,000 so far as I'm aware... Now I've got an HP tablet, and I quite like it, and it can certainly do more than an iPad, but, I'm not sure it has better functionality...
Sure I can do more with it, but not as easily. It takes a good while to wake from sleep, plus frequent reboots, and occasionally the stylus crashes. iPad is instant-on. It uses a stylus and sometimes you need that and can't get away with just using a finger. Personally I like a stylus and don't care, but a lot of users HATE them (I'm pretty certain I'm in a minority) - making Apple's design decision correct. And it weighs about 50% more, which means though it can read ebooks, my arms aren't up to more than an hour or two.
Maybe it's just that HP aren't really any good at marketing, but I'm beginning to suspect that they aren't trying to rain on the iPad's PR parade with full details of their kit, because it's either worse, or twice as expensive.
sorry, but you are an idiot.
the ipad is not form over function, it is the first device ever based on an OS built for nothing but finger input. If anything it has more function than any tablet before it because it has an OS built specifically for a tablet device with no mouse or keyboard.
What OS are you going to get on the HP? Windows XP? Explain to me how you are supposed to check email on it? Using outlook? Tell me how you are supposed to use outlook using a finger or stylus.... that sounds like a nightmare to me. Outlook was designed for keyboard and mouse input. Windows was designed for keyboard and mouse input... The iPad OS? Built for multitouch input... Mail on the iPad? Built for multitouch input. The entire iPad OS was built from the ground up for multitouch input.
Apple will sell millions of these devices, and HP's (or any other tablet with a traditional OS) tablet will fail.
of course then it's just form over function, and it was just bought by fanboys.
honestly the register's audience annoy me more and more every day.
He said he was going to get a Slate, and then you ask what OS. That would be windows 7 then wouldn't it. After all, thats what HP where showing off.
Windows 7 works quite nicely with a touch interface, I used a wacom pen and touch my self and 2 24 inch monitors, and it rocks, very very cool.
Oh, and its a proper OS. I guess the ipad has one, but its hardly fully featured now is it?
I am sure that a lot of other people will sell slates, apple will no dout sell lots of ipads to people that can't handle a real computer.
As an audiance, I think you'll find thats because most people here like proper hardware, not jumped up toys.
ok great Windows 7, I still have to check my emails using Outlook though, and Outlook was not designed for multi-touch. Does no-one understand this simple statement I am making.... Outlook, Word, whatever program you mention that's built for Windows 7 was built for mouse input & keyboard input because Windows is a desktop/laptop computer OS....
...there are many things better than Outlook! Maybe, just maybe, a mail reader will be introduced that is designed for touch? I'm using XP and at times I've done what I needed to do with a graphics tablet. It isn't entirely practical, but it works surprisingly well for an OS that started life as a windowing system that DIDN'T need a mouse - that's why we have strange hangovers like F10 going to the menu bar, and such.
So, here's a question for you in return. Page two of the review states "And like its Mac version, you can open Microsoft Word files in Pages and save Pages files in Microsoft Word format." and there is also discussion of the nifty sounding presentation slides software. And... um... you type how? An overlay 'keyboard' on the screen? What's the point of a word processor with no keyboard? Or is it simply filling a niche between high-end PDA and "real" computer?
But, "For $500 it's a no-brainer for ordinary folks who like to get stuff done on the move, but in style." I'd love to live where $500 is a no-brainer for ordinary folks. However, if "in style" means "at lower volume than used on cell phones by the folks on the bus", more power to them.
Apple do this very, very well.
"Watch All" at http://www.apple.com/ipad/guided-tours/ takes 28 mins.
If folks still don't get it after this then there's no hope but that's their choice.
Over & above all the usual stuff I can't wait to use one for golf swing analysis & chess.
Roll on UK delivery.
As mentioned at announcement we'll all have one within a year despite the negativity.
...that buying any Apple product had been made compulsory, the way some people moan about them. If you're not interested in an iPad, don't buy one and don't even bother being puerile enough to make a stupid and ill-informed comment about it.
If Apple products are so expensive and shiny, have you ever stopped to wonder why they sell by the gerzillion? Ever really used the Mac OS that you bitch about so long and loud and not just glanced at it while you drooled over the Packard Bells at PC World? Ever looked at your hideous beige box or Android phone or whatever and wondered why it looks like creativity passed their designers by? And why do so many of you prefer to lie - and even devise wish-lists of lies - to bad-mouth Cupertino's latest product?
Every PC, and these days, every so-called "smart" phone looks to Apple because Mr Jobs and his merry men really do lead the way. You think the rest of the beige box and mobile phone world isn't watching Apple's every move to see what they, the beige phone makers, are going to pop out next? Microsoft's own OS is now such a blatant homage to the Mac OS, it's embarrassing. Every new Apple product is the rest of the world's cue to make things they hope will compete. Apple didn't invent the MP3 player, but look what they did with it, fer crissake! Acer, Asus, Dell, Packard Bell and (enter name of beige-box manufacturer here) didn't actually invent much of anything, and their only innovation is to make stuff as cheaply as possible and sell it in quantity to the simple folks who don't expect quality anyway and certainly wouldn't dream of paying for it.
Will I buy an iPad? Nope. Don't need one, can't really see a use for one. Don't have an iPod or an iPhone either, and even though I won't be getting an iPad I'm not going to write to any public forum and complain that it's crap solely because I'm not getting one. Are the people who will buy an iPad sheep for buying Apple stuff, or could it be that the people who buy naff stuff from beige-box makers in such numbers are the sheep for being so... well, ordinary?
Anyway, Apple is hugely successful, but you're not.
Ill-imformed ha?
"If Apple products are so expensive and shiny, have you ever stopped to wonder why they sell by the gerzillion?" I belive a number of PC manufactures out sell apple.
"Ever really used the Mac OS that you bitch about so long and loud and not just glanced at it while you drooled over the Packard Bells at PC World? "
Yes, I have and I didn't like it. For a start I can't see why I can't resize the windows from any edge. But I have a long list of little things that peed me off for over a year. I found it better to just ssh to linux and use vi.
Oh, and so you know, packard bell are nasty. I just wouldn't buy one, and I don't think many people that know any thing about PCs would. They are just cheap.
" You think the rest of the beige box and mobile phone world isn't watching Apple's every move " This is such a fan boy statment, you do know that most PCs no longer come in beige? and they havn't for quite some time? Oh, and exactly what colour is an iMac? or an iPhone? white? humm, I can see how thats so massicely differnt to beige. My laptop is a nice kinda shinny blue,
" Apple didn't invent the MP3 player, but look what they did with it, fer crissake! Acer, Asus, Dell, Packard Bell and (enter name of beige-box manufacturer here) didn't actually invent much of anything" Ok, yes, they buddled it all togeather and marketed it better. The ipod looses out on actual sound quality but no one else spends that kind of money on tv add, so yes, Apple again sell to people that don't know any better. I'd also like to say that Asus used to make the mac book for apple. Some one else does now probably, maybe its even acer.
"You believe a number of PC manufacturers outsell Apple". Well duh! Did you actually read my post?
You can't see why you can't resize windows from any edge? I can't see why I can't get Shakira into bed, but then I'm not disappointed enough to come up with that response. Why would you need to? Did you not learn how to do it during your no doubt extensive experience with a Mac?
Of course you wouldn't buy a Packard Bell. No one sane or younger than 60 would. Anyway, don't they all come with that horrid Windows OS?
Do you know why PCs no longer all come in beige? Well, a few years back there was the first iMac and, well, even the "me-too" PC manufacturers thought it might be an idea to make their stuff in pretty colours. This was to disguise the fact that they were still producing the same old dross. And "shiny" (sic) blue is so passe, don't you think? The iMac now is a bit too aluminiumy for colours, even shiny blue.
You're right, I think, that Acer or Asus or one of the companies manufacturing Windows boxes did indeed make Macs. Fiat also owns and manufactures Ferraris, so that argument is kind of faux, I believe.
I'm too old to be a fanbois and I did say that I wouldn't be buying an iPad and don't own an iPhone or an iPod. If I were a card-carrying fanbois I would, I suspect, be waiting in line for my iPad. I can't afford a new PC every year or two, so when I do buy one it has to be good and it has to do everything I want it to do. And that means I want it to do grown-up work.
With a screen that big, I really cannot see the battery lasting as long as they claim. And word processing and spreadsheets on a touch screen? Sorry, I just cant imagine it working too well.
And just how are you meant to hold it? Its 7.5 inches wide. Balance it on one hand while typing one handedly with the other? Rest it on your lap and stare down at 90 degrees?
As for ripping dvds- I could have watched a film by the time it would take me to rip and transfer a film.
It will have great software support though, that is vital. If only my psp was given as much love.
So £500 and £30 a month for a bit of web browsing on the move, no ta.
"As for ripping dvds- I could have watched a film by the time it would take me to rip and transfer a film."
You don't have to sit there the entire time the DVD is being ripped, you can walk away from the computer, the ripping process doesn't shackle you to the desk. And when it's done ripping, you can watch it on whatever device you want, and more than once too and you can put the DVD on a shelf or in a box up in the attic and never have to worry about the media again.
And how would you describe a process, where you take a brother's family holiday DVD and transfer it with some post processing to a video file? Hm?
Now that I am thinking of it - I have no legal agreement with him concerning audiovisual works... It's maybe a strange concept to you...
Does your grandma have a valid license to view your works?
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"And you don't rip DVDs. You buy them via iTunes. Do you seriously think (insert name of any computer manufacturer that wants to stay in business) will launch a product and say 'Yeah! It's great for pirating movies - just drag and drop'?"
Don't you remember the"rip mix and burn" commercials Apple ran around 2001?
...so long is the game is watching The Big Players suing each other. I'm struggling to think if Apple has impacted my life much. I mean, yeah, I suppose it is nice for a computer to be something other than the beige box in the corner, but frankly I don't care if it is. What is inside counts for so much more than what colour the box is. Don't want nor need a phone I can poke with my fingers. I very rarely use my mobile phone, and those times I do it is usually when I'm sitting outside running Sideralis on it. iPod... mmm... I quite like my Zen. It isn't perfect, but it works well for me. Lovely display. Rugged too, number of times I've dropped the poor thing. :-(
"This will be a beautiful piece of kit for my daughter to do her schoolwork on - I'll buy one for that alone.This will be a beautiful piece of kit for my daughter to do her schoolwork on - I'll buy one for that alone." Ah, so you're a bit of a poseur? Well, if you want your daughter to actually do homework on it then do her a big favour and make sure you can whack in a USB keyboard. Or WiFi if you think wires are too passé. Because unless the game has changed since I was at school, schoolwork involved a lot of writing stuff. But, hey, in my day using a computer for nice printed results tended to get you marked DOWN as actually drawing diagrams and writing actual words on actual paper was valued more. And no, we didn't use quills and ink wells. :-)
OK, so it's a nice gadget but it's not for me. When I'm not a work (on a desktop computer) I'm at home (where I also have a desktop), and if I'm not in either of those two places I'm in the car (where I can't use anything, not even my iPod), or diving (where an iPad cannot go), or walking (where I do not want an iPad). The only possible use I can think of for this in my life would be on holiday where I don't have a computer and occasionally get withdrawal symptoms, but although the iPad is nice I don't think one 2-week holiday a year can justify that kind of expense.
One for the younger generation, I think.
is actually pretty cool. It lets anyone wander about collecting data and entering it quickly and (more) correctly. 'Soft' keyboards work in any language too, and people like to work in their own language.
Maybe it will replace the clipboard, which is no bad thing! It does need a camera though.
A humorous post of the Austrian newspaper derstandard.at explains what the iPad is all about: http://derstandard.at/1269448624253/Geek-Chic-Killer-App-fuer-das-iPad-Ein-Star-Trek-Logbuch?_seite=3&sap=2#forumstart
The english translation can be found here: http://www.ikangai.com/blog/uncategorized/the-ipad-a-tool-for-the-mating-season
Siemens tried selling Simpads largely as armchair Internet access devices about a decade ago. These ran WinCE, had the always on/fast boot feature some of the Apple fans seem to like and actually worked quite well but they never caught on. I used to use one of these as a programmable remote control for a while. I tried using one as navigator because the large screen made for a nice map display but it was a bit of a stretch for the CPU and memory.
P.S. For the Apple fan above asking how one uses a mouse from your armchair: Many folk use touchpads on netbooks and even Macbooks.
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