Apple iPad announced

[Acert93]

You forgot to tell us how long the battery lasts, or how easy it is to rotate the screen into portrait mode to read with, or how much it weighs

3lbs, 1.2" 'thin', LED back lit. Battery life is 6hrs with most media although I have gotten over 8 with just typing away in Word.

So it is heavier, but has a Keyboard and a ton of extra features/performance. Not saying they are equal competitors, only that if this was the convertible version (soon to be released) or, better, had a rotating screen, the iPad would have nothing of interest to me. But I don't believe I am the target audiance by any means. When I read (I scan my own books with a book scanner) I take a lot of notes in Zotero with the intent of academic writing.

 

[Mize]

In theory, if it's able to run any iPhone app it should be able to run Skype (it has a microphone).

Skype (for me) means video.

When you're away for a week at a time on a regular basis it's nice to see the wife and kids, not just chat. I will be ironing a shirt in Shanghai while they're at dinner chatting with me or I'm winding down for bed in Tokyo as they're having bfast, etc. Video is nice.

 

[Mize]

You scan your own books?
Damn. I hope you don't read anything with too many pages!

 

[Scott_Arm]

They need to differentiate the functionality from the touch and iphone a bit more. It just seems too much like a big touch.

 

[Malo]

Hmmm, my wife has been bugging me to get an e-reader device for the last year or so and I was really glad the seemingly better configured Nook came out but wanted to see what Apple had to offer as well. Guess I'll probably be going with the Nook after seeing this. Different device class really.

 

[Mize]

ooooh! Me like Archos 9...webcam, skype, W7...maybe not enough umph for games?

 

[Vincent]

3lbs, 1.2" 'thin', LED back lit. Battery life is 6hrs with most media although I have gotten over 8 with just typing away in Word.

So it is heavier, but has a Keyboard and a ton of extra features/performance. Not saying they are equal competitors, only that if this was the convertible version (soon to be released) or, better, had a rotating screen, the iPad would have nothing of interest to me. But I don't believe I am the target audiance by any means. When I read (I scan my own books with a book scanner) I take a lot of notes in Zotero with the intent of academic writing.

Btw

Mendeley Desktop also can offer you the similar capability as in Zotero. ( although it crashes often--> backup is necessary when facilitating bug-unresolved mendeley desktop )

 

[Entropy]

Does it need to? If you've got no media to put on it, I'd argue you don't. And if you do, a friend could help you out I guess. Ongoing, it doesn't need a computer after that.

Exactly.
This isn't a device that tries to do everything. As Pressure said, it's an information and media appliance.
Of course there will be software that will allow it to do tons of things that lie outside its immediate scope, but if you have a very particular need, you are likely to find other devices that cater better to that need.

Yes, I have a wishlist as long as my arm for "neat stuff" that I would like to see in it.
But for $499, this does one hell of a lot of things right, not the least of which is battery life.
Nobody knows if there is a market for this thing between the iPod Touch and iPhone, and the small portable computers on the other. We'll see. But they shipped just under 9 million iPhones and 21 million iPods last quarter, so compared to just about any other entry in this market they have a HUGE advantage in terms of application support and user base. Add their deals with content providers ensuring that not only is an application development and distribution infrastructure already in place, but also content and and a content distribution model.

If the iPad doesn't succeed, no other tablet computer will.
It would mean that the utility/form factor/battery life/price balance just isn't there.
Yet.

 

[Vincent]

Exactly.
This isn't a device that tries to do everything. As Pressure said, it's an information and media appliance.
Of course there will be software that will allow it to do tons of things that lie outside its immediate scope, but if you have a very particular need, you are likely to find other devices that cater better to that need.

Yes, I have a wishlist as long as my arm for "neat stuff" that I would like to see in it.
But for $499, this does one hell of a lot of things right, not the least of which is battery life.
Nobody knows if there is a market for this thing between the iPod Touch and iPhone, and the small portable computers on the other. We'll see. But they shipped just under 9 million iPhones and 21 million iPods last quarter, so compared to just about any other entry in this market they have a HUGE advantage in terms of application support and user base. Add their deals with content providers ensuring that not only is an application development and distribution infrastructure already in place, but also content and and a content distribution model.

If the iPad doesn't succeed, no other tablet computer will.
It would mean that the utility/form factor/battery life/price balance just isn't there.
Yet.

Other factors should be considered as well.

The truth is that many e-books are distributed and shared without authors' and publishers' knowing. I always do the preview via google book or ebrary. ( Everyone can access

to John Benjamin's publications without adding the pre-paid credit on ebrary's ereader !) Many students can snag it,paste it, and combine all the files as the pdf.

 

[DemoCoder]

Think about this. No background apps mean you can't run say, Pandora, or Listen, or some other streaming radio app in the background while doing other things. You can't have Twitter, or instant messenger running while even doing something as simple as checking email or editing a calendar entry.

Does it even have a microphone? I'm wondering if even *audio* chat is possible.

 

[darkblu]

HP Slate running windows 7 is better choice than this ipad. It runs full desktop OS, has multitouch screen and you can pair it with standard wired keyboard. Everything at similar price if not smaller(not sure about this one).

i've seen this mentioned a few times today, and it baffles me each time: why would something that runs a desktop os be a better choice for a handheld?

 

[Vincent]

Think about this. No background apps mean you can't run say, Pandora, or Listen, or some other streaming radio app in the background while doing other things. You can't have Twitter, or instant messenger running while even doing something as simple as checking email or editing a calendar entry.

iPad. One program at the time. No distraction ! You are into the genius zone.

 

[pcchen]

Think about this. No background apps mean you can't run say, Pandora, or Listen, or some other streaming radio app in the background while doing other things. You can't have Twitter, or instant messenger running while even doing something as simple as checking email or editing a calendar entry.

Does it even have a microphone? I'm wondering if even *audio* chat is possible.

It has a microphone, but since it can't multitask you will have to stare at the Skype screen talking and can't do any other things at the same time. That's pretty stupid IMHO.

 

[Vincent]

It has a microphone, but since it can't multitask you will have to stare at the Skype screen talking and can't do any other things at the same time. That's pretty stupid IMHO.

Also people will have to buy into additional microphone for noise-isolation.

Etymotic's hf2 comes with expensive prices

 

[Blazkowicz]

It has a microphone, but since it can't multitask you will have to stare at the Skype screen talking and can't do any other things at the same time. That's pretty stupid IMHO.

rofl

well I hope this, er, computer will bring some light on Norhtec and Xcore86 products.
the Norhtec Info Pad looks the same but uses concepts such as connectors for peripherals, networking and storage, and an operating system.
it's planned for release at $300.
http://xcore86.com/site/node/16

 

[Mize]

meh...ubuntu isn't geared for touchscreen so much and the webcam is a USB option...wtf?

 

[Rys]

Well, are we certain that Apple won't allow multitasking in the future? It's a software limit after all, and since their main competitors offer it to good effect, it wouldn't surprise me if it showed up at some point when they've figured out the switching mechanics/mobile Expose/whatever.

 

[Carl B]

The iPad's not for me, but that doesn't mean it won't sell.

If my girlfriends starts contemplating a purchase after swearing she will never go the e-reader route, well... I'll take it as a sign.

 

[brain_stew]

It's a new product category, so will take time to take off. If you ask me, the netbooks we see today are dead in 3 years since world+dog is gonna make iPad clones. :smile:

Seems like a merger of kindle and netbooks. If it came with a cover on the other side to protect the touchscreen, it'd be cool.

Apple A4 chip, hmm, where are the first 3 chips?

I am quite sure it's a cortex A9, probably dual core as it has to run bigger apps. SGX 535 at the minimum to run 3D on a larger screen.

Its running the exact same OS and applications as an iPhone and it doesn't even have multitasking support. I'd say dual core is far from certain, unlikely even and Anandtech seem to agree, they'd have been pimping it if it was dual core as its something easy for consumers to understand.

What they've delivered is a just a big ass ipod Touch, pretty damn disappointing if you ask me.

 

[Entropy]

Well, are we certain that Apple won't allow multitasking in the future? It's a software limit after all, and since their main competitors offer it to good effect, it wouldn't surprise me if it showed up at some point when they've figured out the switching mechanics/mobile Expose/whatever.

As far as I have seen it described, the reason Apple doesn't provide access to multitasking is basically scheduling.
This is an always ready, always connected device. They want to ensure a smooth and predictable user experience to the same market that downloaded 1 billion apps last quarter. And that's not trivial with the necessary limits that power consumption dictates for memory and processor performance.
That the tech-savvy could probably manage the situation by figuring out what (combination of) apps were leeching resources or causing hickups isn't enough - the device has to work, and work well, for any customer.

It's a pretty thorny problem when you don't have an excess of memory and processor resources to throw at it. How do you prioritize, how do you block apps form causing problems, while still of course providing sufficiently good performance for all processes?

It's not an essential feature, so until the geese are in line we won't get it. That's the kind of company Apple is, and it causes those of us who are more technically minded to gnash our teeth every so often. But at some point, someone (Steve ) is going to put his foot down and say "this is working well enough", and then it's there. The major software hurdles that had to be dealt with for consumer computer operating systems isn't a problem with the iPhone OS.