iPad

[sith_killer_99]

I am impressed. This is one cool mobile device.

Ten hours of life using web browsing, video, etc.

It's a lot like an iPod touch only bigger and more powerful!

Available 3G network. Familiar iPod touch OS. Awesome!

I want one!

Now I just wonder how much it will cost for the 3G service and what insane restrictions will be put on this poor device, data limits, AT&T service only, blah blah, blah.:sad:

I hope Apple doesn't drop the ball on available service like they did with the iPhone.

[Maradona]

As a high school English teacher, I can envision a day when all my course content will be delivered to students via this device or one like it.

[LTBasker]

I was highly anticipating it despite not really caring for the hype around Apple's products. Their trend ethics annoy me, and I prefer companies that strive to put out the best product they can right away, rather than holding back key features to make you buy a new version every couple of years or so. Anyways, I was looking forward to the idea of their tablet, but was pretty turned off at the name when it was officially announced. Still, I thought maybe it would be cool so I kept looking up stuff on it, but it turned out to be a pretty mediocre release. I find it stupid that the thing won't have multitasking capability, you have to buy adapters for ports like USB, it's a bit ugly, and just doesn't seem worth $500 for the horrible lack of features. It was definitely made with the ethic to sell you a mediocre product now, then get you to buy another later with implemented features that should have been there from the start. Very lame move. If this came out a few years back, it'd be understandable, but right now, for a device that size, this sort of thing is pretty low.

My anticipation has moved to the HP Slate, even though I haven't liked HP for a long time.

[JimJamBonds]

As a high school English teacher, I can envision a day when all my course content will be delivered to students via this device or one like it.

Yeah kind of a Star Trek thing. :)

Some of the features, or lack there of kinda surprise me, plus you get a product with a really stupid name. :yes:

[Darth Jax]

i'd echo what LTB said. as a proud member of the cult of Apple even i can't get excite about the iPad as is. the name is horrible iPod touch deluxe or even iTouch deluxe or iTab would've been much, much better. the lack of a camera, removable battery, multi-tasking abilities (and who knows how good of performance outdoors) need to be addressed before i'll get excited about it.

[Ando]

I think the marketing department at Apple should have spent more than 15 minutes when naming this thing...

Here's a Mad TV sketch from over 2 years ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsjU0K8QPhs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsjU0K8QPhs)

[sith_killer_99]

The name is unfortunate. They should have gone with the iSlate or iTab (iTablet).

As for data, I just read a review that claims the 3G data will cost $14.99 for 250MB or $29 a month for "unlimited" through AT&T (boo:upset:) but there will be no contract!!!:thumbsup:

In terms of multitasking, I am not surprised. This device seems more like a straight single use device. I wouldn't really expect to be running multiple apps at the same time, especially on a 10 inch or less screen. The one exception to that is playing music while editing photos or taking notes, etc. A device like this should at least be able to play music while doing other things. I suspect Apple will fix thius VERY soon.

Also, I couldn't help notice that Apple is using their own processors to power this device...interesting.

The demo seemed pretty good in terms of video graphics, though it's always kinda hard to tell until it has been torture tested by the true professional critics.

Still there are numerous weak points with the device no one has yet mentioned.

First the limited memory. I can pick up an iPod touch with 64GB of memory. Apple should have bumped it up to at least 128GB but 256GB would be much more in line with a device like this, especially since it has a bigger screen and people are more likely to watch videos which eat up a lot more space!

Truth be told I couldn't even fit my entire iTunes library on a 256GB drive! As it sits now I have a dedicated 500GB drive in my laptop for my iTunes library, with a little room to grow. With the increasing popularity of digital copy movies being bundled with new releases storage space matters!!!

E-Reader....Apple missed the point! It has been said that this new device has set it's sights on the e-readers along with it's other abilities. Apple seems to be missing the point. One of the most desirable features of an e-reader is the e-ink with a toned down background. People do not want to be staring at a harsh screen all day. E-readers are easy on the eyes and make reading much more pleasant than on a standard monitor type screen. Which is why I have always believed that e-books did not take off in their early incarnations nearly 10 years ago when they were first tried. Sure portability was a factor, but even with the advent and popularity of laytops and netbooks they didn't really come into their own until the e-readers came along.

Well, I look forward to the inevitable fixes that will come with the second generation iPad, multitasking, more memory, better features, and a lower price. Hopefully I will be able to find a refurbished 3G, 256GB, iPad with HDMI, and USB port, for less than $600.00!:laugh:

[DarthQuack]

I'm just waiting to save up for a Macbook or Macbook Pro instead.

[JediTricks]

May as well have been called iSuck. No multitasking is a huge blunder, and no Flash means a large portion of the web is kept out of its hands. I just got an iPod Touch for xmas, it's a nifty little web item but its OS is pretty feeble when it comes to full web pages. Loading a single forums page often takes half a minute or so, and keep in mind this is off the same exact wifi I am using on all my other computers which don't have this problem. Hell, even my netbook running at its lowest CPU speed (underclocked to 1.2ghz) is significantly faster than the Touch's Safari, and that's the same exact OS and browser in the iPad. $500 is a good price, but too high to be a netbook or ereader (I read books on my ipod touch, it's great because of its LIGHT WEIGHT AND SMALL SIZE... both of which are cast aside by the ipad), and too low to be a decent Apple computer, it seems.

[El Chuxter]

I was going to get an iPad today. But I decided to use the bathroom instead. I think I came out ahead.

Maybe when it gets some features, Flash compatibility, multi-tasking, etc, I might consider one. Right now, it seems about as useless as a fish bicycle.

[JediTricks]

Well, you saved yourself a wait in line and $550 minimum. Plus, regularity is important for your health.

I really don't get why Apple felt that $500 warranted a 1ghz chip that had nothing to do most of the time since it's running the iphone OS that runs easily on half that. They're not playing Flash content, so it can't be that. My netbook which cost half as much as this thing is a 1.6ghz chip and can multitask, run Flash, and for $80 I can have a touchscreen installed from the manufacturer - and then I can fold it closed to protect its keyboard and screen and make it notably smaller than the ipad! And it weighs almost the same, and has wifi N and an internal port for a wireless broadband chip, and it has a keyboard and a webcam and 3 USB ports that let me do whatever I want and an integrated SD card reader. For less than half the money.

The sad part is, I have already talked one of my friends out of buying an ipad for now by telling him how happy I am with my ipod touch, it does the same stuff but it's 4 ounces and almost 1/3rd the price.


I also figured out that the ipad's charging requirement of 10w means it cannot be charged properly via a single USB outlet because the USB design supplies a max of 5w to a single outlet, and if it's on a hub then it's only 1.25w. Apparently, Apple designs their computers with a USB port that doesn't conform to the standards behavior, allowing more wattage through their USBs, which is probably why they didn't think about this issue and design the charging cord to have 2 USB plugs to charge across 2 non-hub ports. This is beyond boneheaded, 90% of the computers out there in the world, PLUS any Mac that is using a hub, cannot charge the ipad! Is there anything they can get right with this turkey of a machine? Oh, right, marketing.

[Darth Jax]

they saw how well hasbro handled the TIE fighter. issue one little upgrade at a time and idiots will be it all over again. iPad v4 should have most of the complaints (except maybe flash) worked out.

[sith_killer_99]

Yeah, apple contends that flash is just a fad or something to that extent. They refuse to support flash on any of their devices from what I hear.

I'm sure someone will develop an app for that. lol :laugh:

Anyway, I have not gotten an Ipad, a couple generations from now I might consider it, but it will depend heavily on the available options, improved functionality, and of course price.

Still, it is a pretty cool little device. The biggest problem is that it is supposed to be something in between a smart phone and a net book, but it's still priced as high or higher than a netbook...bad move on apples' part.

[bigbarada]

I recently bought an iPod Touch and I'm just totally blown away at how cool this little gadget is. I can do everything from reading Hulk comics, to looking up Bible verses while I'm in church, to hitting zombies over the head with a hand grenade in Zombie Smash. I can even occasionally listen to a song or two when I remember what I originally bought it for. My only complaint is that it's so tiny, which I guess is what the iPad remedies. However, the OS on my iMac is about 4 years out of date (don't want to upgrade for fear of losing compatibility with my pre-Intel version of Photoshop) and it's causing a few complications with the iPod. I can only imagine that the iPad would have similar issues on my computer.

So when I can afford to get a new Mac with a new copy of Photoshop, then I will look into getting an iPad. It should be either significantly improved or have faded off into oblivion by then, either way I come out ahead.:)

[JimJamBonds]

The sad part is, I have already talked one of my friends out of buying an ipad for now by telling him how happy I am with my ipod touch, it does the same stuff but it's 4 ounces and almost 1/3rd the price.

That doesn't sound sad at all, sounds like a good move on your part to save your friends some cash and get a better product. :thumbsup:

[El Chuxter]

I finally got an iPod last year when we got a hefty discount for my wife's buying new MacBook. I went with the total no-frills Classic. I'm just weird; I'd rather have my electronics be unitaskers and be the best they are at what they do (or close). I'd rather lug around a 5-lb camera than use my cell phone, simply because the camera does that better. I also don't want internet access unless I'm at a computer. There are times when it'd be useful, but it forces me to limit myself; I could waste days on end doing nothing of any importance otherwise.

If the iPad drops in price and adds some features (Flash being one--sadly, Apple's stance on Flash could become a self-fulfilling prophecy as their products become more widespread), I could see it being useful.

At this point, though, even the Kindle is worthless to me; why pay the same price as a used book in addition to the hefty cost of the Kindle itself?

[Mad Slanted Powers]

I guess it all depends on what people want out of the device, and whether it is able to deliver. I don't really have a need for one, especially at that price. However, I was watching Huckabee tonight, and there was a guy on there talking about what a great device it was. Also, I just watched the video on Apple's site, and they do a pretty good job of trying to sell it.

[Darth Jax]

was surprised to see the lines outside the apple store featured on the news tonite. i know people wanted the iPhone, but i didn't think there was such a demand for the iPad.

[sith_killer_99]

Well, one thing they did right with the new Ipad was the data service plan. You can opt to get an unlimited data plan from AT&T WITHOUT getting locked into a contract for just $29.99 a month!!!

That's tough to beat. I don't know of any service plans for a laptop that can compete with that kinda pricing. Most plans are around $60.00 a month or more. Which means that in just 1 year you could potentially save $360 or more. So I suppose that if you are big on surfing the net this could be a money saver in the long run.

[El Chuxter]

Or you can just take your laptop to any of the five trillion Starbucks or McDonald's. ;)

[LusiferSam]

I was highly anticipating it despite not really caring for the hype around Apple's products. Their trend ethics annoy me, and I prefer companies that strive to put out the best product they can right away, rather than holding back key features to make you buy a new version every couple of years or so.
Actually Apple does put out the best product right away. When they hold back features it's because not ready for the public yet. Something Apple as done very well for the last 13 years or so is identifying the core features needed. They get these core features down and do them well. Then they move to the next of features and do those well.

Apple has a history of not doing this and it proved to be disastrous for the company. The Apple Newton and the OS code named Copland are both examples of this. The Newton had to many new and untested features and delayed by a couple of years. When it was released, it fail to deliver. Copland was a highly ambitious OS. The project was a total disaster for Apple. The highly unfocused the project was canceled without ever seeing the light of day. It was only with the release of Mac OS X did all of Copland and Gershwin's (Copland's successor) features come to the Mac platform.


No multitasking is a huge blunder, and no Flash means a large portion of the web is kept out of its hands..

There is limited multitasking, not none. One of the reasons the iPod Touch (and hence the iPad) is even close to a viably gaming platform is because of the limited multitasking. I do know that Apple is working on expanded the multitasking in iPhone OS 4.0. The Flash issue gets under my skin a bit. I understands Apple criticisms, I've seen Flash run better on my dad's old PC than my new Mac. But rather then work with Adobe to improve Flash Apple's running around pushing HTML5 which has no clear advantage and isn't as wide spread as Flash.

At this point I have desire for an iPad (I agree it's a dumb name). Then again I felt the same way about the iPod back 2001. Now I hardly leave the house without my iPod. I see where this platform goes and what it does.

[TeeEye7]

I'm glad my only vice is cameras.

I can't keep up with all of this.....

[Mad Slanted Powers]

If I already had to lug around a laptop, then having something like the iPad might be a nice alternative if I didn't need to have everything from the laptop. The iPhone and iPod Touch might be able to do a lot of the same things, but they might be too small if you want to read or watch video.

For an everyday device that I carry around with me, the iPad would be a bit cumbersome. It might be less of a problem for a woman who normally carries a large handbag with her. I have a soft leather briefcase that I carry with me when I travel, so it might be perfect to put in there.

The guy that was on Huckabee was saying it didn't cost that much more than one of the Kindles, and that it made the Kindle look like something from the 1920's. So, just as an ebook reader, it might be a good option. The fact that it can do so much more than that makes it an even better option.

So, for now, I really don't have much use for one, and it still wouldn't provide me with a cell phone. If I can ever justify the monthly expense, I'd rather just get the iPhone.

[figrin bran]

I passed by two Apple stores during my toy hunt yesterday.

At around 10 am I passed by Store #1 and 20 people were waiting to get in the store while 50 were inside the store and all huddled around the ipad demos.

Store #2 had around 20 people waiting outside as well.

Outside of store #1, I pulled out my ipod touch and checked email for a bit using the store's wi-fi. Somehow, I don't think anyone realized that I was trying to taunt them. :p

[Mad Slanted Powers]

Outside of store #1, I pulled out my ipod touch and checked email for a bit using the store's wi-fi. Somehow, I don't think anyone realized that I was trying to taunt them. :pPerhaps you should have taunted them a second time.

I was watching the videos on Apple's site showing all the different features, and it really does seem like a cool device.

[JediTricks]

Yeah, apple contends that flash is just a fad or something to that extent. They refuse to support flash on any of their devices from what I hear.It's not because they think it's a fad. Flash has been around for almost 15 years, it runs Youtube, it's a big deal. Their contention is that it has stability issues, they CLAIM that most Mac crashes are due to it (which I find ludicrous, and they haven't presented solid evidence to back that claim up). The funny thing is, every other smartphone OS now has stable Flash systems except the iPhone OS, so Apple can blow it out their bums.

I personally think Apple just doesn't like the idea of web-based access to free videos, free games, etc., when they could have a "store" that monitors and makes money off the same kinds of apps.

A fad would be Microsoft Silverlight, which is their own proprietary version of Flash, and it IS horribly unstable and has the worst security flaws, and virtually NOBODY uses it.


I'm sure someone will develop an app for that. lol :laugh:There have been many, many attempts including by Adobe who owns Flash. Apple is extremely controlling on this one. Opera has also submitted a browser for the iPhone OS that renders pages up to 8 times as fast, Apple's decision is still "pending".



That doesn't sound sad at all, sounds like a good move on your part to save your friends some cash and get a better product. :thumbsup:It makes me sad that I have to fight the tides of hype to get him to see how it is wrong for him. Plus, like a doof, instead of buying the cheapest one, he is getting the MOST EXPENSIVE ONE. :p



I finally got an iPod last year when we got a hefty discount for my wife's buying new MacBook. I went with the total no-frills Classic. I'm just weird; I'd rather have my electronics be unitaskers and be the best they are at what they do (or close). I'd rather lug around a 5-lb camera than use my cell phone, simply because the camera does that better. I also don't want internet access unless I'm at a computer. There are times when it'd be useful, but it forces me to limit myself; I could waste days on end doing nothing of any importance otherwise.The iPod is a pretty mediocre digital music player. It has nice navigation, but middling sound quality, is overpriced compared to the rest of the market, and is exceptionally intrusive on computers since it requires iTunes just to load music. What the iPod Touch does especially well is instant-on handheld internet access and access to a myriad of clever little tools (it's instant-on because you never turn it off, you just let it sit asleep and recharge it every few days, wake it when you need it, and it jumps right on wifi, but it actually is pretty slow to shut off and turn on, it's just that it's so small that it can sleep and recharge efficiently).

In this case, unitaskers would be a big mess for me, and they'd all do it at varying qualities for much more money, but now I've got tons of stuff and games in 1 little attractive unit in the ipod touch. I don't have a decent stopwatch or countdown clock, I put both in my cellphone but they're of modest quality, yet the ipod touch has both built in. I don't own a level, but now I own an ipod touch that has a free level app that really works. I don't have a handheld device for email or calendar that is web-accessible (my old PDA was great but no wifi) but the ipod touch syncs to google versions of both like a champ. I always want to look stuff up on IMDB or wikipedia but my cellphone is on slow 3g connection and my computers are all "off" if I'm not actively using one, but the ipod touch is up and on them instantly. I don't have an ebook reader, but now I can read ebooks on my ipod touch.

The iPad is just a bigger version of that, but what bugs me is that it's TOO big, it's 1.5lbs and 10", it should be the size of a paperback book and weigh about 7 ounces, that'd be perfection. Where am I going to put an ipad when I go to wash my laundry at the coin-op? The Touch slips right into my pocket, and then I can listen to music and read books inconspicuously at my leisure. When I want to type a message on it, the Touch is the right size for my fingers, but the iPad is massive and looks very difficult to actually type on.

Ironically, 99.99% of my portable digital music listening is done on a separate MP3 player. :p My Sansa Clip is 4gb and teeny tiny, can be loaded from PC without anything but drag-n-drop if I want, and is way cheaper than a comparable ipod.


If the iPad drops in price and adds some features (Flash being one--sadly, Apple's stance on Flash could become a self-fulfilling prophecy as their products become more widespread), I could see it being useful.Not a chance, they'd have to become 10 times as widespread. Mountains of ads, videos, file uploaders, etc. run off Flash very well now. Flash has become one of the backbones of the web, and no way the cult can break that with their little phones and such.


At this point, though, even the Kindle is worthless to me; why pay the same price as a used book in addition to the hefty cost of the Kindle itself?My mom is an early adopter of ebook readers. I turned her onto the concept after reading about them in Popular Science and seeing them at Fry's electronics. She has horrible eyestrain from LCDs, so no ipod or ipad will help, but e-ink is great. She also consumes massive amounts of books, and her house was FILLED with paperbacks that she had to donate to the local library because she ran out of room to keep them. Now thousands of her books are stored on 1 slim device that has a natural paper & ink-style page, and she can swap them in and out of her PC. The Kindle though isn't her thing, it's too much about buying from Amazon more than anything, and Amazon has been really sleazy buying major ebook formats and sellers and crushing them instead of integrating them.



Well, one thing they did right with the new Ipad was the data service plan. You can opt to get an unlimited data plan from AT&T WITHOUT getting locked into a contract for just $29.99 a month!!!

That's tough to beat. I don't know of any service plans for a laptop that can compete with that kinda pricing. Most plans are around $60.00 a month or more. Which means that in just 1 year you could potentially save $360 or more. So I suppose that if you are big on surfing the net this could be a money saver in the long run.It's good in theory, but with the iphone overtaxing the AT&T 3g system for the last year to the point of shutting down voice service in cities (even in San Fran, and that's Apple's home town basically!) it's a little dubious. Plus, you're shelling out $300 more for that ability, but locked into ATT for the life of the unit, right?



Or you can just take your laptop to any of the five trillion Starbucks or McDonald's. ;)Or the ipod touch, that little bugger is HUNGRY for wifi. if you leave it set on, it'll jump on the first local network it finds the second you wake it up.

My next cell will have wifi, it's just a good idea. If I had gotten the wifi blackberry instead of my samsung last year, I wouldn't have asked for an ipod touch for xmas.

Take your iPad and someone will bus it thinking it's a tray. ;)




Actually Apple does put out the best product right away. When they hold back features it's because not ready for the public yet. Something Apple as done very well for the last 13 years or so is identifying the core features needed. They get these core features down and do them well. Then they move to the next of features and do those well. Bullspit! Look at Apple halving the price on the iphone months after it came out, screwing over early adopters faster than anything ever, then dumping the smallest memory version on early adopters to boot. Compare the features in version 1 iphone or ipod touch to version 2 just a year later (sleeker, faster, better battery). Look at the ipod touch v2 compared to the 3 at the 8gb size, exact same hardware, but the v2 had the bluetooth functionality turned off! Apple is guilty of this crap too, they're just better at managing the bad press around it.


There is limited multitasking, not none. One of the reasons the iPod Touch (and hence the iPad) is even close to a viably gaming platform is because of the limited multitasking. I do know that Apple is working on expanded the multitasking in iPhone OS 4.0. The Flash issue gets under my skin a bit. I understands Apple criticisms, I've seen Flash run better on my dad's old PC than my new Mac. But rather then work with Adobe to improve Flash Apple's running around pushing HTML5 which has no clear advantage and isn't as wide spread as Flash.I don't follow you on the limited multitasking claim, how it's better for it. Yes, the iphone OS can run music, clock alarms, and mail push in the background, and the phone itself has the "talk and use systems" thing which is quite swank, but for reals multitasking doesn't exist. You can't run Pandora and anything else. You can't run chat and anything else.

The Mac is a different animal from the iphone OS, Adobe claims they have a stable release waiting to be released on it and Apple keeps saying they don't want to work with Flash ever, no claims that it actually IS a problem on the iphone OS, just that they don't like it on the Mac architecture.

HTML5 is only for the video tag. It's great for that, makes embedding video SO much simpler, but not only is it not heavily adopted right now, but it doesn't fix the issue with all the OTHER uses of Flash that aren't merely streaming video.



If I already had to lug around a laptop, then having something like the iPad might be a nice alternative if I didn't need to have everything from the laptop. The iPhone and iPod Touch might be able to do a lot of the same things, but they might be too small if you want to read or watch video.I've watched video on the iPod Touch a few times, it's kinda cool actually. The screen is high quality and can be held close enough to simulate a decent-sized 720p HDTV (1080p is possible too, but you start to see pixels). The thing is though that it's 4 ounces and even that is a pain to keep holding up for more than a few minutes of video. Holding an ipad for 2 hours would be awful IMO, and loading a full-length movie would be a pain since you can't drop an SD card in it, have to prep and load it through itunes which requires conversion and media-adding.


For an everyday device that I carry around with me, the iPad would be a bit cumbersome. It might be less of a problem for a woman who normally carries a large handbag with her. I have a soft leather briefcase that I carry with me when I travel, so it might be perfect to put in there.Totally agree, it's my chief issue with the device!


The guy that was on Huckabee was saying it didn't cost that much more than one of the Kindles, and that it made the Kindle look like something from the 1920's. So, just as an ebook reader, it might be a good option. The fact that it can do so much more than that makes it an even better option.I don't buy that claim they made then. The Kindle though weighs 1/3rd the weight, has WEEKS more reading time on a single charge, and a page that looks like natural ink on paper rather than a glossy LCD.



I passed by two Apple stores during my toy hunt yesterday.

At around 10 am I passed by Store #1 and 20 people were waiting to get in the store while 50 were inside the store and all huddled around the ipad demos.

Store #2 had around 20 people waiting outside as well.

Outside of store #1, I pulled out my ipod touch and checked email for a bit using the store's wi-fi. Somehow, I don't think anyone realized that I was trying to taunt them. :pHaw! That's awesome, I hope you got loud about how you were able to do all that, then slip it in your pocket and be ready to walk away, and you saved $300+. :D

[El Chuxter]

The iPod is a pretty mediocre digital music player. It has nice navigation, but middling sound quality, is overpriced compared to the rest of the market, and is exceptionally intrusive on computers since it requires iTunes just to load music.

I should say that I try to get something that's the best or close to it at what I want it to do. But in this particular case, after the discount, it was pretty tough to pass up 120 gigs for music. I think it came out to $45 after all was said and done.

[JediTricks]

Oh, you're one of those "gotta carry everything I own" folks. I'm not one of those, I like to keep my music limited to around 4gb when I'm mobile. The idea of losing that much music if something goes wrong, or even making sure nothing goes wrong on files I haven't heard in months, is too daunting. I guess that's what the Genius system is for, someone who has so much media they can't manage it all.

[LusiferSam]

Bullspit! Look at Apple halving the price on the iphone months after it came out, screwing over early adopters faster than anything ever, then dumping the smallest memory version on early adopters to boot.

Does somebody need a hug because the all mighty micro Shaft can't come out with anything with this level of 'coolness?'


I don't follow you on the limited multitasking claim, how it's better for it.

It has to do with system resources. I'm not claiming it's better, just why. Currently all multitasking is done with Apple's software and not any third party. Apple doesn't trust the third party software to play nice with each other. As such games get the full level of system resource, which are limit when compared to a full sized PC, and don't have to share with another app. Again I'm said it's right or wrong, just the why.

[JediTricks]

Does somebody need a hug because the all mighty micro Shaft can't come out with anything with this level of 'coolness?'You enjoying your Apple-flavored kool-aid, sport?

I love how Applogists will take shots at anyone claiming Microsoft doesn't have something. A) Microsoft has been touting the tablet PC as hot spit for the last DECADE. I didn't care then, I don't care now. B) I've been espousing the quality of my iPod Touch on this very thread even, so I'm not exactly what you call a loyalist to Redmond. C) If you measure a product by its "coolness" alone, then the luster will wear off quickly if it can't live up to the hype. The iPod Touch earns its "coolness" because it's great for its price and its form fits its function, but the iPad doesn't look like it lives up to its price, and it doesn't seem as well thought out since it's just a way-too-big iPod Touch starting a $500. But hey, enjoy your Newton!


It has to do with system resources. I'm not claiming it's better, just why. Currently all multitasking is done with Apple's software and not any third party. Apple doesn't trust the third party software to play nice with each other. As such games get the full level of system resource, which are limit when compared to a full sized PC, and don't have to share with another app. Again I'm said it's right or wrong, just the why.It runs a 1ghz chip, that is enough to run the iPhone OS twice over, or to run the OS and then simultaneously run a virtualization of a different OS, even Windows XP. That means it's not a good reason why it can't multitask, just because Apple is a control freak (if that's the reason, which I'm not entirely sold) doesn't mean it's an acceptable reason for a machine to be even more limited than it has to be. Apple's $10 apiece iWork apps can't multitask either, and they're in-house programs designed specifically for the singular unit, not even for the rest of the OS. My non-smartphone cell can run multiple programs in the background and it's just a near-entry-level Samsung. And you know what happens with my apps on my phone when I bring up the GPS, the only app that is too big to run in the background? The other apps stay in the background not bothering it, and it runs only in foreground. Not complex. Yet Apple didn't put it into the iPad because they are aimed only at getting people to buy a giant iPod Touch that doesn't have as functional a keyboard, doesn't have HDMI or USB, doesn't have a camera, refuses to run Flash, doesn't read SD cards which is probably for the best since it doesn't have a file handling system, doesn't transfer iWork data to your computer except through iTunes in the clunkiest manner possible. But good news, it will blend: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAl28d6tbko

[LusiferSam]

Applogists? That's sweet. I'm really more a cultist. As far as I know Jobs hasn't ordered the kool-aid yet. If he did and I missed it, I'm just going to kill myself.

Ok I just read Apple is release iPhone OS 4.0 on Friday. It's suppose to have full multitasking. I'm not sure what systems this will run on. If it's iPad compatible I'll be the first to say they screwed that one up. If not, they still screwed up. I totally understand the need to multitasking on a device like the iPad, one of many reasons I'm not sold on the item. I don't see the major need to have full multitasking on the iPhone or iPod Touch. It would be nice, but it's hardly a deal breaker for me. Any way I thought iPhone OS 4.0 was going to be released this summer, not this week. If that was the case Apple should have delayed the iPad launch by a few days and shipped running OS 4.0, not OS 3.2 (if OS 4.0 can run on the iPad).

When I said system resource, you're only looking at a tiny part of the picture. The iPhone/iPod's chip and OS kernel both full capible of full multitasking. Ever wonder why you're iPod can play 40 hours of music and only 6 hours video? Power is everything. The more tasking you have running in the background the more juice you suck. It all goes back to gaming. Apple is trying to push this as a gaming platform.

[JediTricks]

Applogists? That's sweet. I'm really more a cultist. As far as I know Jobs hasn't ordered the kool-aid yet. If he did and I missed it, I'm just going to kill myself.I think it's green and supposedly tastes like the money that used to be in your wallet. ;)


Ok I just read Apple is release iPhone OS 4.0 on Friday. It's suppose to have full multitasking. I'm not sure what systems this will run on. If it's iPad compatible I'll be the first to say they screwed that one up. If not, they still screwed up. I totally understand the need to multitasking on a device like the iPad, one of many reasons I'm not sold on the item. I don't see the major need to have full multitasking on the iPhone or iPod Touch. It would be nice, but it's hardly a deal breaker for me. Any way I thought iPhone OS 4.0 was going to be released this summer, not this week. If that was the case Apple should have delayed the iPad launch by a few days and shipped running OS 4.0, not OS 3.2 (if OS 4.0 can run on the iPad).I haven't heard anything about iPhone OS4 except rumors and expectations. But if it supports multitasking, you can bet your sweet bippy (who uses that expression anymore?!?) that the iPad will be part of it. I don't think it'll be a huge revolution in the OS though, that's a very big one, they released 3.2 just for the iPad a month or so ago, releasing 4 with a mass of changes now for that would be a mess.

EDIT: Ok, I see what you mean, Endgadget is saying that the multitasking concept was in the 3.2 code and just not used. This is a blunder on Apple's part, just as you said, and no matter how they cut this they are going to look bad.

I have heard rumors that v4 will not be a big change to the OS, but will be opening the iPhone up to other carriers now that they're not locked into AT&T's contract anymore (which would be another move that screws iPad users, since ATT's 3g is mediocre compared to Sprint's and Verizon's, and Sprint is rolling out WiMax faux-4G right now in major metro areas).

Multitasking on an iphone or ipad or Touch would be useful for listening to streaming music while playing a game, or switching between an IM window and reading emails, or copy-pasting multiple fields' material from 1 app to another without having to boot-shutdown-boot-shutdown over and over. There are plenty of uses for multitasking on the device. And the iPad is especially bad for this since it's all about sitting around watching videos in the house or surfing the web, which many folks do while having an IM window open, it practically begs to have multitasking for casual computing needs.


When I said system resource, you're only looking at a tiny part of the picture. The iPhone/iPod's chip and OS kernel both full capible of full multitasking. Ever wonder why you're iPod can play 40 hours of music and only 6 hours video? Power is everything. The more tasking you have running in the background the more juice you suck. It all goes back to gaming. Apple is trying to push this as a gaming platform.The iPad is being pushed as a content-consumer machine, it is pushed under the ideas of web access, buying books, renting videos, buying music from itunes, accessing apps from the App Store (most of which Apple gets paid on) and playing games is part of that. But it's not chiefly a gaming machine.

You don't need to explain to me why playing music saves batteries, but at the same time, you need to consider that when Steve Jobs is marketing the iPad as a netbook-replacement and pimps it as a machine that does wifi web access for 10 hours, that they are directly inviting comparisons to netbooks and laptops which can do the same thing and multitask and give access and freedom to their users. The Asus Eee line can run 10 hours on some of their batteries while light multitasking with wifi, around the same size, only about a pound heavier, less fragile, and yet they're $100 or more less and are real computers where the iPad ain't.

[Mad Slanted Powers]

According to the guided tour videos on Apple's site, the iPod app can play in the background while you are doing other stuff. It will accept SD cards with an optional connector.

Also, I am wondering how a tiny keyboard on the iPod Touch could be better than the larger keyboard on the iPad.

[JediTricks]

According to the guided tour videos on Apple's site, the iPod app can play in the background while you are doing other stuff. It will accept SD cards with an optional connector.

Also, I am wondering how a tiny keyboard on the iPod Touch could be better than the larger keyboard on the iPad.Yes, we mentioned that you can use the music aspect while doing other stuff. Except for that and email push notices and clock functions though, no multitasking.

The SD card adapter won't be out until the end of the month, it'll be $29, and it'll be a download-from-source-only device, you can't transfer your photos up onto the card from the ipad, and you can't use the card for any data storage whatsoever - unlike my netbook which has an integrated SD card slot flush with the body.


The iPhone / Touch keyboard is sized like many other phone qwerty designs, it's meant to be used with either a single finger or 2 thumbs at once. The keys are close together so less motion is required to type. On the iPad though, the virtual keyboard is meant to represent a full sized standard keyboard: the keys are much larger and span the width of the much wider device. But it's called "touch typing" for a reason, you have a specific tactile sensation for each individual key. There's none on the ipad, and you are holding the device in at least 1 hand (which at 1.5 lbs is probably quite tiring in a short time), so you can't use both thumbs because the keys and your hands are too far apart, and single-finger typing would take longer since the keys are further away and you can't cradle the device in your palm the way you can the touch / iPhone. You could set it down, but that'd be awkward to view and to rest on its curved back while you attempt to hit a large, smooth glass surface. Also, the iPhone / touch keyboard pops each hit key up as you hit it so you can see that you've hit the right key, while the ipad doesn't.

This post written on an iPod touch. :-D

---

Addendum from the land of my keyboard. Something else the iPad doesn't have: a find-in-page function in the web browser. Yes, Safari in the iPhone OS still doesn't have this oh-so-basic function unless you use a halfway decent workaround. Apple has been kind enough to officially allow the App Store to sell a 3rd party developer's find-in-page Safari bookmarklet though, so it'll cost you $0.99 to add that feature to your iPad.


Find is something they should definitely add to the iPhone OS 4, along with multiple accounts in the Safari password manager for a single page (is there a password manager lock on it? I don't remember, but there should be). And the ability to bypass mobile site headers would be nice, maybe I don't want to look at CNN's scrawniest site on my Touch. Oh, and approve Opera iPhone with its vastly superior rendering engine (I don't trust Apple to build mobile Safari's rendering engine any better than the existing one, which is decent but not outstanding - as a webdev, that stuff matters to me). And a better battery meter, especially on the Touch which doesn't have the iPhone version.

[bigbarada]

I think Apple will fix the size issue when they release the iPad Nano in a couple of years.:)

What's the battery life on the iPad? Could I watch an entire 3 hour movie on one charge? Does it have enough memory to even store that much DVD quality video?

[Mad Slanted Powers]

I guess in the videos it shows them using the keyboard like a normal keyboard. So, yes, it would be difficult to use if you are standing, but if you are sitting down, you could put it on your lap or a table if one is available.

[JediTricks]

I think Apple will fix the size issue when they release the iPad Nano in a couple of years.:)Yeah, people are waiting for similar from the iPhone, rumor has it the one that leaves ATT will be it.


What's the battery life on the iPad? Could I watch an entire 3 hour movie on one charge? Does it have enough memory to even store that much DVD quality video?10 hours of wifi web browsing, video I think is half that but still enough to watch a movie. The starting version is 16gb, so that's enough for a few movies, though I don't know if that's HD or not - it plays HD, but since it's 4:3 rather than 16:9, movies are letterboxed on it. I think it uses the mpeg-4 h.264 compression which should make it possible.

[El Chuxter]

Oh, you're one of those "gotta carry everything I own" folks. I'm not one of those, I like to keep my music limited to around 4gb when I'm mobile. The idea of losing that much music if something goes wrong, or even making sure nothing goes wrong on files I haven't heard in months, is too daunting. I guess that's what the Genius system is for, someone who has so much media they can't manage it all.

I put as much on it as I can (it's still not quite full, since I've never sat down and dedicated a few days to importing stuff) because I pretty much use it to replace the shoddy radio offerings in SoCal or on road trips.

Isn't Genius just recommendations for most stuff? I've never turned it on.

[Mad Slanted Powers]

Isn't Genius just recommendations for most stuff? I've never turned it on.There are different parts to the Genius thing. If you select a song and choose Genius, it will create a playlist of similar songs from your library. The Genius sidebar offers suggestions from the iTunes store based on the selected song. Genius mixes will create "stations" that play music from your library of similar genres. At least it tries to. Sometimes there are songs that don't quite fit.

[figrin bran]

The ipod touch is also not chiefly a gaming machine and yet every print ad I see for it depicts it as such. Just saying.

[El Chuxter]

There are different parts to the Genius thing. If you select a song and choose Genius, it will create a playlist of similar songs from your library. The Genius sidebar offers suggestions from the iTunes store based on the selected song. Genius mixes will create "stations" that play music from your library of similar genres. At least it tries to. Sometimes there are songs that don't quite fit.

Interesting. I kinda like things being mixed up and random, though, so I'll leave it off. Something about John Williams, Metallica, Billie Holiday, Run-DMC, the Beatles, Weird Al, Loretta Lynn, Radiohead, and Robert Johnson, in that order, rather appeals to me.

[JediTricks]

So, the iPad seems to be having a problem with wifi. My ipod touch works fantastically with my wifi, but if I put it on a flat surface or put my finger over the antenna (it's a black plastic oval on the back), it does lose 1 antenna bar. The descriptions of problems with the iPad seem to be much worse though, and ones that the ipod touch doesn't have.


I put as much on it as I can (it's still not quite full, since I've never sat down and dedicated a few days to importing stuff) because I pretty much use it to replace the shoddy radio offerings in SoCal or on road trips.I do that too, but it's no more than 3gb. I don't include EVERYTHING, I am selective of stuff that doesn't work on the road. I only have about 12gb total of MP3s though.


I've never used Genius, but I hear if you keep feeding it seeds for your playlist, it's not just genre-specific, it'll get as eclectic as you seed it.

[El Chuxter]

Then why wouldn't I use the shuffle, and not send any more of my information to Apple than is necessary? ;)

[JediTricks]

Because it's eclectic as you tell it to be, not totally random. It's supposed to fit the styles specified by you, not just everything hodgepodge. That way, you don't have to spend all your time making your own playlist (which can take a long time) for a specific mood or theme or style, it does it for you without being "everything" (nothing like Cheech & Chong tracks following your Star Wars music). If you've used Pandora, it's supposed to be like that (so I'll assume that, like Pandora, it's not terribly effective :p).

[Mad Slanted Powers]

I click on Genius Mixes, and it has the following 12 "stations" that come up, each represented by an icon made of four album covers:

Indie Rock Mix - The Rogers Sisters, Pixies, Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse
Punk Mix - Pearl Jam, Green Day, Alice in Chains, Bush
Alternative Pop/Rock Mix - Smashing Pumpkins, The White Stripes, Cake, The Cranberries
Classic Rock Mix - Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Who, The Rolling Stones
New Wave Mix - Pat Benatar, The Boomtown Rats, The Go-Gos, Devo
Adult Alternative Pop Mix - Dido, 10,000 Maniacs, Nelly Furtado, The Tragically Hip
Brit-Pop & Rock Mix - Radiohead, U2, Muse (the 4th cover is the MTV2 Handpicked compilation)
Electronica Mainstream Mix - Tuu, Honeyroot, Omnimotion, The Avalanches
Soft Rock Mix - Fleetwood Mac, Seals & Crofts, Sweet, Gary Wright
Folk Rock Mix - Elton John, Crosby Stills & Nash, Elvis Costello, Crosby Stills Nash & Young
New Age Mix - Enya, Ray Lynch, Erik Wøllo, Soulfood
Metal Mix - Black Sabbath, Metallica, Anthrax, Dio

Some of those don't make much sense, such as Sweet in the Soft Rock Mix, and Elvis Costello in the Folk Rock Mix. I'm going to play the Folk Rock Mix and see what it actually plays.

[El Chuxter]

Elton's not very folksy, either. Funny that the only two that came up for that that aren't disputable are essentially the same band.

[Mad Slanted Powers]

Well, it probably has something to do with the fact that I don't have much folk in my playlist, but there are better choices. I do have a couple of Bob Dylan songs in my library.

I listened for about 45 minutes and this is what it gave me:

Immaculate Machine - "Jarhand"
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - "Woodstock"
Crosby, Stills & Nash - "Helplessly Hoping"
Cream - "Badge"
Neil Young - "Heart of Gold"
The Doobie Brothers - "Black Water"
The Yardbirds - "For Your Love"
Donovan - "Sunshine Superman"
The Zombies - "She's Not There"
The Animals - "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
Canned Heat - "On the Road Again"
Jefferson Airplane - "Somebody to Love"

[El Chuxter]

Cream, the Animals, Canned Heat, Jefferson Starship, and the Zombies? Man, Genius has a funny definition of "folk rock."

[Mad Slanted Powers]

Cream, the Animals, Canned Heat, Jefferson Starship, and the Zombies? Man, Genius has a funny definition of "folk rock."

Perhaps iTunes should have labeled it, "Freedom Rock (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eGWW8KOQio)."

[JediTricks]

Well, looks like Apple realized how stupid it was to leave out multitasking, and the iPantiliner will be getting it in a few months, as will the top-end iPhone - the ipods and 3g iphone and regular iphone could also run it, but they are a little slower and have less RAM, so they'd run a little slower and Apple feels the user would blame the company for that - I think they're selling their audience way short, instead controlling what the user thinks rather than letting them make that determination for themselves. On the flip side, they're trying to force App developers to use only the Apple app builder rather than another brand, rumor has it this is meant to keep people from using the Adobe one specifically.


I was watching videos of the iPad being tested at typing against a keyboard, most of the times were double and they were using a rig to hold it at an angle rather than flat. I also watched separately someone holding it typing, and it was really slow.

[Mad Slanted Powers]

Seemed to be a bit of a crowd around them at the Best Buy yesterday. As I walked in the building, I heard someone say that TD Curran wasn't selling them. That is a local Apple dealer. I haven't been there since they've been released so I don't know what is up with that.

[JediTricks]

Something I noticed today. The iPad TV ad doesn't show anybody typing on it or really holding it at all. There's one shot where someone is ABOUT to type on it, but they cut away.

[Mad Slanted Powers]

I was reading the latest issue of Mac|Life, and the editor's article at the beginning of the magazine was titled, "Why The iPad Might Not Be For You."


Are you ticked off because the iPad doesn't run OS X? Do you roll your eyes at the closed ecosystem that Apple's creating on its tablet–just like it did on the iPhone? Well, don't get too bent out of shape. Apple isn't especially interested in selling you an iPad anyways.

Dont' get me wrong. They'll take your money and even be glad to have you. But we've been talking to a lot of app developers about their iPad projects, and one of the most interesting and resounding messages we're hearing is that these devices are not intended for techies. Sure, we'll enjoy them, but Apple is really hoping to sell one to your mom and the other tech-challenged people in your life.

It goes on to say that Apple is encouraging developers to prioritize mass-market accessibility. Once there are enough well-designed apps for the iPad, he believes it will start to take off.


Imagine getting those millions of people who struggle to merely cope with technology hooked on iPads. These folks won't give a hoot that their iPad's OS is a closed system. They'll just be thrilled to encounter a device they can use for email, web surfing, and more without needing to collar the nearest nerd for help.

He says "Apple is trying to do for computing what iPods did for music."

At the bottom of the page, they have the "Overheard at Mac|Life this month" section. One of them is:

"It's hard for us to think like non-computer people. But, you know, try." –Susie, on the difficulty of getting her fellow tech journalists to consider the iPad's lack of Adobe Flash from a non-geeky point of view.