My thoughts on the iPad

i was hoping to get some multi-tasking. i guess that was too much to ask for. i think the memory sizes are to small for the price. i do not like the keyboard layout of my iphone so i am hoping that there is a fix to that. i was just thinking today that there was an apple device of this magnitude a while back.... oh yeah the Apple TV. how is that working for Apple? not as good as the rest of their products. AAPL is below 200 for the first time in a month and i think there will be a continuing downward trend. i am not saying it is going to plummet, just keep trekking down. i think that when they release the touchscreen iMac it will sky rocket again. but, what do i know? end rambling here.

cairopete said:

In my opinion, the iPad is a step forward. It will revolutionize the way we do computing. Apple has always been on the cutting edge of computing technology. It did so with the laptops, it did so with the iphone, and it will do so with the iPad. Being the first model, the iPad lacks some functionality, but it is a tremendous leap forward for those who need mobile internet computing without the need to zoom in all the time. The extra real estate makes a huge difference. In later models, USB ports and webcams will be installed.

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How much of a step forward is it really? To me it's basically an iPod Touch with a larger screen.

I agree. I was hoping for something more than an iPhone with a bigger screen. I love Apple, and the software. But I'm started to get frustrated with all the limitations put on the iPod touch and the iPhone. I want to be free, and have more options. I switched to Apple because I like to think outside the box and have more options. Unfortunately with iPhone, and iPod touch, we are stuck in a small little box while options for Google users seem to be a little more open. I'm not thinking of switching. But I'd really like to feel that Apple is listening to us and what we want as a consumer. I'd like to think they're interested more in us, than in trying to find ways to save the newspaper industries, and the music industry...

I will play with it at the Apple store when it comes out, but I need multi tasking and more usability with application before I can justify a switch.

A little background on me, I'm a businessman who tries to run his business on Apple products as much as possible.

You say that you want a mobile computer, but only need to do simple tasks when out and about. Why not just get an iPod touch, or an iPhone. Why carry around a large screen that won't fit in your pocket, or on your belt? Maybe I'm missing something here, but what can the iPad do, that the iPod touch, and the iPhone cannot? If nothing, then the iPod touch, or iPhone is much cheaper and much more mobile.

IMO, this is Apple's answer to the Kindle DX or any other device similar to it.

Thank about it, the Kindle DX is $430 and is basically an e-book reader. Amazon is releasing an App store for it, but we all know that will not compete with Apple's App store.

With the iPad, Apple is releasing it at a competitive price point and giving you more bang for the buck compared to the Kindle DX. Not only will the iBook app be released, allowing you to read hundreds of e-books upon purchase, but you get the same functionality of the iPhone/iPod Touch on a much bigger screen.

Not too mention the apps that will be made solely for the iPads big display screen.

I definitely see a lot of potential for this device, and while I agree that it's lacking some basic features (camera) it'll target a specific crowd and should be successful. I'm interested to see where future generations of this device go.

AaronGatesCarlt said:

You say that you want a mobile computer, but only need to do simple tasks when out and about. Why not just get an iPod touch, or an iPhone. Why carry around a large screen that won't fit in your pocket, or on your belt? Maybe I'm missing something here, but what can the iPad do, that the iPod touch, and the iPhone cannot? If nothing, then the iPod touch, or iPhone is much cheaper and much more mobile.

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It has a bigger screen. That is its main advantage and disadvantage. Yes, it can't fit in your pocke, but using the internet is likely much simpler and comfortable on a bigger screen. You can watch movies better and with a bigger keyboard writing e-mail and office-like activities with Iwork will be possible. I'd love to have a bigger Ipod.

Note: Merged essentially duplicate threads

If I want to do simple tasks like browsing the web, checking my e-mail the iPhone is more than enough for that purpose.

If the iPad was shipped with true Mac OS X I might see some usefulness with it but at the moment it is just an annoying device to me. Completly useless, but ... I havent tried one. I might change my mind when I do.

hush said:

I seriously want to get one. But waiting until April!!!! sigh!!!!

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Hush , I am in the same boat have a new 2.26 Macbook i am going to sell, and still have money left

I joined this forum just to talk about the iPad, but I'm not a troll, just here to explain what I think about it (and I'll stick around after to discuss it more ).

This thing is absolutely perfect for what "I" (keyword *I*) need.

I'm in the Air Force, been living in Japan for the last 6 years, but will be returning to the US soon to complete the last of my Pre-Med requirements, and then start medical school. The iPad fits what I want and need perfectly.

-Battery life, 10 hours is perfect, puts me through a few classes without recharging.

-Full color e-books with a great interface. All of my current school books are available in e-book format, and I would have saved $170 just this semester (and I buy as many books as I can used). I also don't have to wait for textbooks to be mailed to me and then deal with haggling to get the most out of re-selling them when I'm done.

-10 hours close to HD video for those long flights between Seattle and Japan (wife is Japanese, I'm American from Seattle, we do a lot of flying)

-cheap 3g network access so I don't have to be near a Wi-Fi spot to get internet/e-mail

-Simple touch screen interface

-Plenty of "fun" apps for when I'm taking breaks between classes

I the iPad is being marketed towards college students and more simplistic users. My mom hates laptops and computers, but she wants one of these bad, enough so that she's buying herself the standard and buying me the 3g 16GB model as a gift.

Now the complaints I am seeing from everyone are valid, and I understand them, but I think too many people are letting that blind them from seeing the good aspects of it.

-Lack of multi-tasking, it sucks, but doesn't bother me much. I hope they add it, so I can quickly switch between taking notes and reading my school book

-Screen hard on the eyes? Meh, I spend HOURS upon hours typing and reading on my laptop now, and I've still got better than 20/20 vision without glasses/contacts.

-Lack of Flash, as someone said above, not that big of a deal. It would be nice, but it's not required for my use. Although with the extra processing power, maybe Apple can add Flash support to the iPad?

-Small amounts of flash memory for the money? Meh, 16GB is plenty for everything I need.

-It won't do most of what a netbook or tablet PC will do. Ok, I don't want or need a netbook or tablet PC, and I don't want that POS Archos 9 either. I have a laptop for the rare occasion I need to do something more than the iPad can do while traveling. The touch interface on most netbooks is absolutely terrible anyways, even Windows 7 which is supposed to be great for touch is still pretty bad IMO (I've got an HP Touchsmart all in one PC).


I just basically wanted to give an opinion from the very market that I think Apple is marketing towards. I don't always buy the newest gadgets, I can't really afford it. But this iPad will pay for itself in a couple semesters worth of college e-book payments. I hope to see with this, that e-book publishers will add interactive multimedia content into the books (think demo videos of subject matter or little animations, etc).

So, talk bad about it all you want, it does make sense for some people out there. Oh, and I don't have an iPhone, I'm not a big phone user, so a basic free Blackberry will work fine for me when I get back to the US.

chas_m said:

I think my pal Andy Inhatko has written a really good summary that mirrors my feelings almost perfectly -- and unlike the rest of us, HE'S ACTUALLY USED ONE.

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Can I say I want to second his review. I really like it. Mostly unbaised and discusses well the pros and cons of the device. Which is nice to read.

I don't think anyone *hates* the ipad...people are confusing disappointment with hate.

Apple have very cleverly launched the big ipod touch. This machine is all about consuming...consuming media, ebooks, internet etc and hopeless at productivity. People who are disappointed were expecting a tool or hardware to make their productivity easier...instead they get a giant ipod touch.These are folks who care more about editing software/compiling music etc than playing 'angry birds' or 'flight control'.

Apple are aiming squarely at the netbook market, and know full well the next purchase an ipad buyer will make will be an apple macbook/pro or an imac. A nice way of 'growing' the market.

What joobie-poos casually ignored to mention in his presentation is that a netbook is a gazillion times more productive than an ipad.... and if it was such an insignificant competitor, then why even mention 'netbook'? ipad is a seed that will grow into an even larger apple user base, is all.

It's no big deal to disappoint a handful of gear heads and geeks today if it means they grow their brand by a billion users tomorrow.. all because the ipad was a nicer alternative than a netbook...

text book marketing from apple.

eliehass said:

I agree that the lack of a built in webcam hurts, but things like memory and usb ports and multitasking, these are all things that you would want to see in your primary computer. Like I said originally, I wouldn't use this as a primary device, and I don't think Apple at all intended it to be one. This device allows me to easily browse the web, handle e-mails and run apps while sitting on my couch (without burning my lap or squinting at a tiny screen) and on the go. For anything more intensive you have your main (desktop) computer.

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Yes if you have cash that is burning a hole in your pocket or are a potato this is the ideal. lol For $700 (for the good one) I can walk the 20ft to my office room. But hey, that's just me. I did buy an AppleTv so I guess that makes me a bit of a spud too.

Mac23 said:

IMO, this is Apple's answer to the Kindle DX or any other device similar to it.

Thank about it, the Kindle DX is $430 and is basically an e-book reader. Amazon is releasing an App store for it, but we all know that will not compete with Apple's App store.

With the iPad, Apple is releasing it at a competitive price point and giving you more bang for the buck compared to the Kindle DX. Not only will the iBook app be released, allowing you to read hundreds of e-books upon purchase, but you get the same functionality of the iPhone/iPod Touch on a much bigger screen.

Not too mention the apps that will be made solely for the iPads big display screen.

I definitely see a lot of potential for this device, and while I agree that it's lacking some basic features (camera) it'll target a specific crowd and should be successful. I'm interested to see where future generations of this device go.

Click to expand...

I keep seeing comparisons between the kindle and the iPad, and really they are two different classes of devices. I have a Kindle2 (not the DX) and years ago I used to use my PDA as an eBook reader-- the battery life and backlit screens were just not comfortable or particularly usable for any great length of time.

I'd like an iPad, but not for use as an eBook reader.

OK, it looks fantastic. Remember when you first saw the Air or the iPhone? Yep, that oooh feeling. We all love how it looks and we all love how it looks like its gonna perform, jadda, jadda . . . . all taken as read. You wanna buy it just on looks alone. Who wouldnt?

But will I buy one? Answer, not yet.

I only recently switched to Mac last summer (bough a MacBook) and since then have been slowly adding all things Apple to my life. The iPhone was next and then the real change, the 24" cinema display to hook my MacBook up to. Now that did it. I work from home so during the day the MacBook lived upstairs earning its keep. Come the evening it would be carried downstairs and I'd surf, do some emails, etc whilst watching TV or whilst the Mrs was reading a mag, etc. Then came the display. No longer did I want to uncouple the MacBook (hey, its more cables to disconnect, the screen is set up for the cine display, etc, excuses, etc). I wanted to stay upstairs in the office and enjoy the cinema screen experience some more! So I switched to using my iPhone for surfing and emailing etc whilst downstairs. I know thats what loads of folk do, but for me, surfing and emailing on the iPhone is for when I'm mobile and have no other option.

So for me the iPad would fill a niche. It would provide a more than satisfactory experience for 'downtime' use in the home. It would also be used mobile, in particular when traveling and when abroad and weight is an issue (especially on a long trip when these airlines continue to squeeze you for luggage allowance) and I'm counting every gram that goes in both my hold and hand luggage.

But, and hears the rub right now. It doesn't do enough yet that warrants the spend. 2nd or 3rd gen models, with increased storage, multi-tasking, stripped down office features - make it more into a 'minor' portable office for the business or pro user and not just focus on the media element for the home user, gamer, etc, and then we'll be talking. And I can then ditch the MacBook altogether and get myself a nice new iMac for the office instead.

alexsd123 said:

And to everyone that thinks the iPad is crap, I would like to remind you that this thing only weighs around a pound and is roughly the size of a piece of paper...

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Oh well, in that case...

Why is it that when it comes to computers the only fair measure of value is the basic functionality, but the same measure of value isn't critically applied to anything else?

I think it's hysterical that there's probably millions of people out there screaming "I can do everything the iPad can do on another device for half the cost" and then go out and hop into their BMW or Porsche to drive to the same places at the same speeds as some other guy in a Corolla.

dan828 said:

I keep seeing comparisons between the kindle and the iPad, and really they are two different classes of devices. I have a Kindle2 (not the DX) and years ago I used to use my PDA as an eBook reader-- the battery life and backlit screens were just not comfortable or particularly usable for any great length of time.

I'd like an iPad, but not for use as an eBook reader.

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I don't understand why people keep saying this. Maybe my eyes are less sensitive to LCD screens than others, but I have zero problem reading medical/psychological journals that I subscribe to, and those are just walls of text like many books. I spend hours at a time reading through journals, and my eyes never hurt or feel strained, and I have better than 20/20 vision. I switched over from paper journals to e-journals about 6 years ago, and been doing it ever since.

fleurya said:

Why is it that when it comes to computers the only fair measure of value is the basic functionality, but the same measure of value isn't critically applied to anything else?

I think it's hysterical that there's probably millions of people out there screaming "I can do everything the iPad can do on another device for half the cost" and then go out and hop into their BMW or Porsche to drive to the same places at the same speeds as some other guy in a Corolla.

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Maybe it makes them feel better about themselves. >_>"? I especially like the people who cut in front to drive faster because they don't like driving the speed limit. It's funny because they have to stop at the stop light ahead.

superbike81 said:

I don't understand why people keep saying this. Maybe my eyes are less sensitive to LCD screens than others, but I have zero problem reading medical/psychological journals that I subscribe to, and those are just walls of text like many books. I spend hours at a time reading through journals, and my eyes never hurt or feel strained, and I have better than 20/20 vision. I switched over from paper journals to e-journals about 6 years ago, and been doing it ever since.

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What's not to understand? That everyone is different? That what works for you, might not work for someone else?

Just pointing something out. Everyone is different. >_>"

:: Darn double post ::