Meh. It has a comparable processor to my 2-year old EEE PC, albeit with a bigger screen (I'd say less annoying interface because I don't like the EEE PC mousepad that much, but then remembered that not having actual keys to press sucks). It's also about twice the price that netbook was then. The 3G and Wifi ability is nice, but I'm pretty sure they've have wireless network cards for laptops for some time, so it doesn't seem terribly groundbreaking. When I see those pictures with Steve Jobs holding the iPad by his face, I keep expecting him to be licking it every so gently with the tip of his tongue. Nice battery life, though, I wouldn't mind 10 hours battery life in some other Apple products.
It's only the battery life that impresses me, the rest of like looks like they put an iphone on steroids. Like other mac products that have come out (i.e. the macbook air), it only really makes sense to get one if you already own a macbook / iphone. A genius marketing strategy, since apple fanboys will buy anything with an 'i' prefix but unless you *need* it for its specific use (which I'm still drawing a bit of a blank on), your money is better spent on a decent smartphone and laptop / netbook combo which would have a lot more functionality. Still, 10 hours of battery life?, I'm impressed, but dubious.
This is getting a big "meh" from me as well. I'll stick with my MacBook Pro, thanks Apple. At least the 'Book can do stuff besides being an obese iPod touch with a reading app. This was a real letdown for me. I only just got to checking it out now.
How does this enhance my life in any way? I have an iPod. I use my computer for browsing and word processing. I can use Facebook or Twitter on my Blackberry, which has a superb email client and BBM. The iPad also does not have a camera. I'll be fucked if I carry this thing with me. So it can be used as an e-reader for books and magazines? Well, I'll carry a book with me, ditto a magazine and I'll be fucked if I'm worried about getting jacked for a book or magazine on the train. Reading newspapers might be nice on this thing, so I don't have to fold it awkwardly, but again, I can deal with paying a buck or two for a WSJ and leaving it on the train or performing some origami, rather than worry about getting mugged for my iPad. There is also no internet on the subway. More than anything, the hype has already put me off this device. Why is the tech press a)given so much consideration, especially online b)such a blatant Mac cheerleading squad. Is it because if there were no hype for this thing, they would have no jobs?
Unfortunately I suppose, I agree with this. I have a first generation iPod Touch and there are really two things that annoy me about it: I can't use internet everywhere, and it's not that fast. The iPad, while having a stupid name, would do exactly what I want my iPod to do, and be faster. I like the idea of being able to use all these apps while I'm out, or even just sitting in my living room. Plus the big screen would be pretty nice. So yes, it is even more an iPhone sans phone than the iPod Touch is, but that's exactly why I want it. That having been said, Senna Vs. Prost makes a good point in that I really don't see how I would carry it around with me. Sure, I could keep it in my backpack (or briefcase, if I were a businessman) but then I might as well just bring a laptop. And it definitely will not just fit in your pocket. So yeah, possibly logistical problems. Being a poor college student, I will not be buying one of these for myself for quite some time. But, if I somehow got one for free, I have no doubt I would use it all the time.
In short, I think its a really cool idea, well executed, but with no practical use. A lot of you have been comparing it to a netbook. People buy netbooks, though, because they're a small laptop (as opposed to a big iTouch). Without a keyboard, this won't win over netbook users. Secondary to that is, as a few people pointed out, the iTouch/iPhone OS. While I understand the decision not to put a full-on OS on there, they should have split the difference. Some of you have compared it to an e-reader, most obviously the Kindle. What you have to remember is that reading books on a normal computer monitor sucks. Add to that the fact that Apple is sure to gloss the shit out of the display surface, and it becomes clear that you're going to burn your eyes out reading a whole book on this. That's why the Kindle costs so much; the screen is meant to mimic reading off paper. While I've never used one, I've heard it does a damn good job of it too. Between the locked-down OS and no keyboard, they won't get netbook users. They'll get some people who want a jacked-up e-reader and don't know any better, but I don't think that'll be many people. EDIT: Really expensive trapper keeper. Assuming the handwriting-recognition is good (it does have that, right?), the notes app could be useful, and having your Oracle or Exchange calendar with can't hurt.
I posted about this in the tech section already, but having had more time to think about it, and also more conversation and analysis to work from, I'd like to comment again. I think some of you guys are thinking of this in the wrong way. It is definitely, without a doubt, a bad laptop/netbook. But it's a pretty good mobile media device. Watching movies, reading books & newspapers, performing quick/minor word processing, games, and miscellaneous apps are what this device is for. It's powered just fine for what it's made to do. The 16gig wifi version costs less than a good number of smartphones, so I don't buy the whole worried about theft argument -- that is, if you're not worried about someone stealing your $500 Nexus One or other similar smartphone, I'm not sure how this would be any different. It's obviously not for everyone, but someone like me would get some use out of it. -I don't own a smartphone. I use a dumbphone for texts, calls, and limited mobile browsing. I would drop the mobile browsing from my phone plan. -I have a desktop at home connected to a home theatre system and a large hard drive filled with hundreds of gigs of movies, TV series, and music. -I also have an enormous library. I don't like the physical body of media products, like a CD or DVD or book. Besides the waste they create in manufacturing, shipping, and sale, the idea of taking up limited physical space (my bookself) with information that is digital anyway just seems bizarre to me. I could absolutely see myself reading a book or watching a TV show on a tablet on the bus to school or on a plane. I could see myself watching a movie on one of these things when I go camping with my girlfriend. I carry a backpack around with me just about everywhere I go, so carrying it around wouldn't be a big deal for me. I also like the idea of being able to use it with one hand. You show me how I can watch a movie on a netbook while standing on the bus home from school. If public transit takes up more than an hour of your day, I think there could be some definite appeal. And, sure, there are definitely problems. It should have a USB port to connect to a hard drive. It should have a removable battery. And so on. But I think a lot of the other problems that have been mentioned go away if you think about it in the right terms TL;DR: Don't think of it as a computer. Think of it as a media device.
Not being that much of a tech geek I'm really excited about this. Do any of you remember life before the I-phone? As far as smart phones went it was a Blackberry and that was about it. Surf the web on a phone? There really wasn't a network for it. (I could be wrong, I'm not as big a geek as some of you.) Also, this is a first generation device. Of course they could have put a camera in it so you could use skype. Would have been awesome, and what would we buy next year? As Americans we are almost built to buy (and create) the biggest, best and newest. Apple spent a whole bunch of money on making this I-pad something that other companies are going to have to top. They've raised the bar so high that everyone is unimpressed when they create something so cool and high-tech that it's almost surreal. Our toys are way more cooler than anything we could have hoped for, what they do for us is help us create. I agree with most that Apple could have made this a lot cooler with the addition of cameras, phone, range finding ability, etc. Ad Nauseum. You know that they will. It'll just be next year, when it's time to spend money on something new.
I'm a hater. Anything but Apple kind of user, although I came close on the iphone. It's comforting for Apple to finally release a product that even the big Apple fans aren't excited about. I'm sure the fire will reignite with Tar Panther or iPodMicro or the Apple Wheel they come out with in 2 months.
After reading about this for a long time today and last night I just learned this suffers from the same two problems that keep me from getting an iphone. It doesn't multi-task. I had a computer in 1993 that multi-tasked. Come the fuck on. And it only works on AT&T. Have you seen the Verizon commercials making fun of the AT&T 3g coverage map? Not to mention the fact that in many major metropolitan areas the 3g works the speed of dial-up.
It is an "unlocked" device, it uses microSIM cards for the wireless account information. Only problem is that (this might be wrong, go team Canada) some of the US carriers do not support microSIM cards on their networks. Otherwise it should be good to go with anyone else.
I read an article this morning saying even though it is an unlocked device it is rigged to not be able to work with T-mobile 3g. Which is the only other GSM carrier in the US. Sure it is unlocked, which just means no one is subsidizing this like they are the iphone.
I think that most of you are thinking of this the wrong way as well. I think Apple is being very clever and testing this as a prototype in a sense. They want to see if the computer community is ready for a touch only interface with no peripherals. Imagine their next macbook, were instead of a physical keyboard, you have 2 screens (think like a DS) with a movable touch keyboard which you can remove at a wave of your hand. I can see this being useful as an engineer for my computer modeling since I no longer have to interact with my mouse alone.
When new tech like this comes out, people tend to try and drop it in as a replacement for how their existing tech works and how they currently use it. Personally, I'll be buying a couple of these, for my parents. They can sit on the couch watching TV, and surf the net, check their emails, etc., etc., with the extreme simplicity of an iPhone interface, without worrying about the hassles of keyboards and operating systems. I can totally see this replacing newspapers in the morning, and if the newspapers had their shit together, they'd be making apps for this to do the automated, digital delivery of their morning papers to the device. Perfect size for reading at the breakfast table. I'm also looking into using it as a new input device for my LIMS software. The only thing I don't like is the tie-in and restrictions with the app store, but I think I can live with that, for now. So yeah, I've already signed up for a couple of dev boxes, and hopefully will have them by end of next month. Should be fun to try out. In the meantime, bet your ass that there are a ton of people out there working on how to make new stuff to be used on these things.
I've got an Iphone, why do I want to pay $800 for a slightly bigger one that can't make phone calls? I'm thinking i like the Slate a little better. http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1588644/hp-slate
Ive had a 1st gen touch for a while and my biggest complaint is that the screen gets fucked up within ten minutes of touching it. It really is a pain in the ass having to wipe it off with windex every ten minutes and having a bigger screen with no keyboard just means more mess. The plastic covers are more for protecting from scratches and they over charge the shit for them.
Sometimes I do wish my iPhone was bigger. The interface on the iPhone is easy as hell to use so I could see this being popular with people who don't necessarily need the full functionality of a laptop.
This might be an interesting read for some: <a class="postlink" href="http://danieltenner.com/posts/0015-ipad-an-apple-for-mom.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://danieltenner.com/posts/0015-ipad ... r-mom.html</a>
I think that while this iteration of the iPad missed the mark in a lot of places, it still has a ton of potential. As Nett already mentioned, this is a great replacement for magazine and newspapers, and it will probably kill ereaders. Now think about all the other great potential apps there could be. If the MLB is smart the will come out with an app for this that ties in with their mlb.tv subscriptions. Being able to watch or listen to any baseball game, anywhere I want would be fantastic. How about a Hulu or Netflix app so that you can watch tv and movies wherever you are. That said, I think it's very disapointing that it doesn't have USB ports, flash or multitasking. Not having these things could potentially limit early adoption. Also, I won't be buying one ever because I really don't like the policy of having to use all apple software and media formats.