Other The iFail- wait sorry, iPad, is officially out

Another extra phat iphone to carry around.

Wait, this means that people will be walking around with an iphone, and a really expensive giant iphone with less features than the smaller counter part.

That's kind of funny.

 

A media/content consumption device that is touch-operated.

Seriously Ghys, was it that hard to figure out?

 

You and me both.

I don't even have a smart phone, though. Nor a laptop. Nor an mp3 player... just a DSi. I'm never away from my far superior desktop for long and when I am it's not imperative that I have music and videos and internet access to be entertained. In my own life, the iPad is just a big expensive tile to worry about breaking or getting lost or stolen.

 

You need to get out of your parents basement more often. Sunlight won't kill you and interaction with real people will make you shower more often, which is a good thing. You might even get laid.

 

I just remembered I have a library card. Yay, just saved myself almost $800.

 

Whoa, whoa. No need to be a ***** about it.

Some people have different requirements. Heck, some people will never need a portable machine in their lives.

 

Apple has been doing some serious long-term planning for years. That is why Jobs is heralded (somewhat hyperbolically, perhaps) a visionary. The iPad is just another piece of a big puzzle, and it is shaped almost perfectly.

Microsoft could very easily compete with Apple --it has proved that with Windows Mobile 7. What it needs to do is ditch ideas of having a Tablet PC running Windows because they did not take off in 2003 and they will not take off now. The OS was not written for low-power CPUs, the GUI is not suitable for a touch screen and the battery life too short. But if they built a Tablet around a low-power Atom with nVidia Ion chipset running a bigger-screen version of Windows Mobile 7 they'd have an iPad killer, right there.

A portable PDA, media and internet communications device. It's does specific popular things traditionally done on computer, which is like using a military off-road vehicle to do some shopping and commuting), without you needing to use a whole big, heavy, energy-sapping computer. Think of it as the 'supermini' car equivalent of computers.

You need some coffee. And perhaps to get laid. You are testy today.

 

Because if eveyone is wandering around watching a portable media consumption device, conversation, interaction and hygene will immediatley improve????? People will be too busy watching videos of how people should comunicate to bother communicating. Or is this Apple's new slogan, "buy an iPad, you might get laid"?

I'm impressed that so far the battery tests are all coming back positive, I thought that would be one area it would miss the stats. Still it's a device I have no need for, and don't have any want for either. Happy that some people like it, though I do wonder how many will adapt to it rather than the device adapting to them.

 

Didn't I shut you up a couple of weeks ago?

Oh, yes I did. Stop being a d*ck. If you have nothing useful to contribute to the conversation, then don't contribute.

As for the iPad. I must say I love what I'm seeing with regards to battery life and I think the form factor and weight are pretty much spot on. I understand apple's decision not to stick a full-fat desktop OS on it, and I think any competitors using win 7 will have their work cut out for them to match the iPad for responsiveness without using more powerful hardware (read: more expensive, hotter, bulkier devices).

My biggest complaint about the iPad, isn't actually specific to the iPad, its a complaint about Apple as a corporate entity, it's business practice, and the direction in which it is trying to steer the industry. It is too closed a system and their products are artificially restricted, and therefore not for me. I disagree with Apple's core business ethic and therefore I will not support them by buying their products.

That being said, if another manufacturer released the same device, at the same price-point, but running a less restrictive os, I would snap it up instantly. IMO, apple's products are devalued by being so locked-down.

 

I think Jumeira_Johnny thinks he has outgrown the people on bit-tech and on the internet, hence why he is patronizing everyone by talking to them like they were all kids/nerds/virgins

Either that or he's just letting some steam out because has has missed the last 10 series of Top Gear since he's not allowed to have a TV at home

 

Pretty sure Topgear.com uses flash......

 

That's a fair criticism. We are awaiting the Google Tablet with open source Android goodness...

 

This is a point I will never understand.

Android ships pretty stupidly too, y'know. Not as locked down as iPhone OS, but whoever thinks that being 'open source' means it's a geek's dream is sorely mistaken. Take the Nexus One, for example. Unless it's rooted (Android equivalent of an iPhone being jailbroken) it's as useless as the iPhone to the 'geek crowd'

So when you say 'we are awaiting the Google tablet with open source Android goodness' you're essentially waiting for the same thing you'd get if you jailbroke the iPad (which, let's face it, is going to happen in a matter of days/weeks). The only thing that might possible differ is multitasking (not needed, IMO, after having used the iPad for ~2 hours) and x86 compatibility on the OS, which would be pretty cool to have.

 

I live on the second floor, I have a window that faces the morning sunrise, I shower daily (sometimes I skip Sunday if I'm not going anywhere, I'm sorry) and being near my desk is not mutually exclusive with getting laid. In fact, my bed is right next to my desk so if I'm going to be getting laid (for whatever reason, be it going out or not) then chances are I will be near my desktop. Even during sex my desktop is the superior media device for my lifestyle.

If you're going to be an ass at least make sense!

 

That is why I chose the Nokia N900 running Maemo 5 as my smartphone. It may not be as polished as the iPhone or the Nexus but rooting it is as easy as 'sudo gainroot'.

 

Don't listen to him! The DayStar is evil. Evil I say! It buuuurrrrnnnssss......

 

Well this is all well an good, but theres only 1 question I asked when I saw the iPad...






Oh.... Well, thats good to know.

 

Thing I don't get is if I wanted to watch a video, wouldn't it be easier to just use something I already have? If I want portable I have my MP3 player or phone, a larger screen but still portable - laptop, or a really good experience I have my desktop.

At what point does and iPad become better?

Same for internetting, and I can't be the only one who likes having email, irc and internet up at the same time.

 

I can relate to that.

iPad is win. So many bitter and meaningless emotional responses regarding Apple/iPhone/iPad ... so funny.

 

Whether or not the i(insert device here) is the inanimate incarnation of Christ, I do believe the touch interface is the next step in computing - the actual device it runs on is secondary.

One of my friends sent me this video:


In our long e-mail exchange, we were discussing how the touch interface is so intuitive.

Regarding the video, this is exactly what happened when my 2.5-year-old daughter got a hold of my iPhone for the first time -- she showed striking similarities to the girl in the video. Within seconds she had figured out how to navigate through the different menu pages, select an app (usually the doodle pad or bubble wrap popping), and start playing. When she got tired of the app, it took her all of 4 seconds to figure out that pressing the big button on the bottom brings you back to the home screen. Her favorite apps so far are the doodle pad, bubble wrap popping, marble labyrinth, and watching the "No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" video. (It's this one, in case anyone has a kid who needs to be entertained while waiting for the food to arrive at a restaurant. )

The guy who made the video posted a blog in which he made a few observations, one in particular that I agree with and have seen first hand, as well. Sometimes my daughter wraps her whole hand around the iPhone, resulting in multiple fingers touching the edge of the screen. When that happens, and all touch functionality is blocked, she can't figure out why an app won't load. Sometimes she gets frustrated and tries pressing harder, eventually hitting the screen with her finger. I've had to show her a couple times now that moving her other fingers off the screen makes it work again.

She loves the camera, too. She wants me to take pictures of her, then she wants to look at all the photos I have of her on the iPhone.

I believe the expression, "So simple a kid can use it," is just another way of saying, "So intuitive that it comes naturally to those with limited technology exposure."

Further, I can see where the iPad will help popularize the whole e-book thing moreso than the Kindle or the Nook. My wife was at a friend's house not too long ago. Her friend has a Kindle, and my wife was messing around with it because she was thinking of getting one. When she loaded up a book, she tried to turn the page by sliding her finger across the screen. Her friend pointed out that it was not a touch interface, and that you advance pages by pressing a button on the side. Little things like this (plus the addition of full-color illustrations) are why I think a device like the iPad will be so popular for e-book media (including e-magazines, e-journals, etc). As e-books develop and mature, I foresee integrated web content tied into the book itself. Imagine a textbook for a given technical course, with full-color illustrations, and integrated access to video content to further explain certain topics. That, and the Kindle doesn't also act as a portable media/web browsing/app device. It doesn't have to be the iPad, but since the iPad is out now and in customer's hands, and since it is built on the very solid foundation of the iTunes content delivery system, I do think its popularity will ultimately shape what the general public expects from such devices in the future.

I have no problem seeing my daughter carrying around all her school books in a single media device by the time she hits middle school, if it takes that long.

Just my two cents.