iPad is here!

[tonepub]

The laptop killer thing is funny. Apple makes a pile of money selling power books. They don't want people to stop buying laptops...

 

[asindc]

I'm thinking of using it as a wireless way to remote control I-Tunes via a Mac Mini, just as an I-Pod Touch can do, only bigger. That way, I don't have to have a monitor hooked up to one of the USB ports on the Mini and I will have nice big pictures of the album covers to select for listening. Since I won't have any music loaded on the I-Pad itself, I can just get the 16Gig size.

I'm also interested in the iPad for this reason, and I would like to see Apple expand upon the Remote app to add liner notes and easy links to relevant artist and personnel info. That would be quite nice.

 

[slowGEEZR]

I'm also interested in the iPad for this reason, and I would like to see Apple expand upon the Remote app to add liner notes and easy links to relevant artist and personnel info. That would be quite nice.

I agree. I bet it won't be long before there's an app.

 

[timm]

Does ipeng work on the ipad for the squeezebox?

 

[slowGEEZR]

Does ipeng work on the ipad for the squeezebox?

I think that all apps written for the iphone or ipod touch will work for the ipad.

 

[Pcar928fan]

Jeff,

The Newton was ahead of its time in many ways... at least by the time the 2nd Gen Newton 2000 came out. The 1st gen was weak and expensive, but the 2nd gen was AWESOME! Were it cheaper it would have sold well, but it was damn expensive! More than the iPad is today actually and in 2010 dollars it would have been more than 2X the current iPad cost!

I have my 1st gen and 2nd gen Newtons still and they BOTH still work! The Palm's came out and blew them away. They were about 1/3rd the price and while they didn't do as much (and didn't do REAL handwriting recog AT ALL) they did enough to end the Newtons. The iPhone was really the follow on and it is a phone too and does WAY more stuff of course.

I'll have an iPad eventually...

 

[tonepub]

James:

I loved it when Doonesbury was goofing on the Newton!

When HP came out with the first Tablet PC I really enjoyed that computer for the same reasons as the iPad. Smaller size and the touch screen. The handwriting recognition was pretty good, but I just used it as a big notepad. Didn't even bother to use the HR. I hope some one comes out with an app like that for the iPad....

 

[David Matz]

Apple strategy

Apple actually has had a lot of failed products - not just the big ones like Newton, that everyone is aware of. When Jobs came back in the late 90's, he reduced the # of lines of computers from 15 to 3 beacause they were not selling. There were many other failed products that people are just not aware of.

All 3 CEOs prior to Jobs had a schizophrenic business strategy. They wanted innovative products, but also focused too much on cost cutting and pursuing silly collaborations like the one with IBM. The boat had a big hole and it was rowed in different directions. For a company like Apple to compete with giants like Dell, Compaq, HP, etc., in an environment of rapidly dropping computer prices and costs did not make much sense.


Jobs second stint was a clear step away from that. The blueberry colored iMac was the clearest example that Apple was going to differentiate itself by focusing on the consumer (and their traditional focus on Education and publishing segments). The iphone and ipad are further examples of this strategy.

Apple loving (buy 10!) and/ or hating (don't buy it, no gun to your head!) aside, the strategy seems to be very, very successful and proof that the hole has pretty much been plugged.

 

[Hocky]

I got to play with one of these today and while cool, it is just flat out not useful to me.... not even as a web browsing appliance. It is a big iphone to every detail. It is awkward to hold and type on for browsing.

 

[sleepysurf]

I, too, got to play with one yesterday! The display is impressive, as is battery life, and net-surfing speed is adequate, but the lack of true multitasking (even in the just-announced forthcoming iPhone 4.0 OS), and lack of a physical keyboard, would make me hesitant to buy one (at least at current prices). Will be interesting to see how well it's received by the Non Apple-lusting market!

 

[amey01]

As much as I like toys, I have to respectfully disagree. The iPad has:

* No multitasking.

* No forward facing camera and mike for Skype etc.

* No camera at all IIRC!

* No Java, no Flash (and Apple's current SDK licence actually prohibits developers from distributing them).

* 4:3 aspect ratio is so yesteryear!

* No USB connection.

* No removable memory.

I usually lust after the latest high tech toys, but I'm not the least bit interested an iPad. For me, it's a case of so close, yet so far. Apple will no doubt sell a whole bunch of them!

Haha - I'm sure Apple have iPads that solve each of these issues (one by one of course) stored in a warehouse somewhere.

 

[amey01]

You're not seeing the big picture at all...

Don't need multitasking,...............

But they've already announced it - in OS 4:

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/...to-allow-multitasking-jobs-20100409-rvhe.html

Get ready to upgrade again.......

 

[tonepub]

Just a software upgrade but I really don't need multitasking...

Not an issue for me. Sure is nice carrying five less pounds in the briefcase this weekend!

 

[JonFo]

...

I have my 1st gen and 2nd gen Newtons still and they BOTH still work! ...

James, I also have a Newton 100 and 120 in my collection, I just can't part with them. They were both so ahead of their time as well as rushed to market before really ready.

Of course, my weirdest PDA from that era is a Sony MagicLink. Talk about rare, and a massive 'fail' for Sony ;-)

Still loving the iPad, but totally lost it to the wife, who now 'owns' it

 

[Steve]

Just played with the iPad over lunch today. Very nicely done ID (as usual for Apple), however the big disappointment for me is lack of flash support. Hunt and peck browsing and facebooking would be fine (actually, surprisingly easy, more than I expected), but having the wife hitting black screens where video should be is a show stopper. I hope Jobs and Adobe resolve their differences soon. Otherwise, the wife will have to be happy with the cheap (but not as cool) laptop that runs everything on the web.

 

[RichTeer]

I hope Jobs and Adobe resolve their differences soon. Otherwise, the wife will have to be happy with the cheap (but not as cool) laptop that runs everything on the web.

It's not just Adobe that this effects. The Apple SDK licence agreement specifically prohibits the distribution of non-Apple apps that interpret scripted content. That's why there's no support for Java on the i{Pad, Phone}.

 

[Angela]

Iggy (the cat) checks out the iPad ~ he gets the hang of it at 25 seconds in

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<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q9NP-AeKX40&rel=0&border=1&color1=0x6699&color2=0x54abd6&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="640" height="385"></object>

 

[JonFo]

Iggy (the cat) checks out the iPad ~ he gets the hang of it at 25 seconds in

Oh, loved that :ROFL:

 

[tonepub]

Cat, the other white meat....

 

[DrJRapp]

Exactly. And considering an iPad costs 10 dollars more than a Kindle DX, I think it's pretty easy to make that call. I've used my Kindle 2 now for almost a year and other than the long battery life, it's a pretty limited use product.

Jeff.... does the ipad display kindle books?

Joey V...if you use ePocrates, or any of the Mediacal apps that are available for the iPhone at all the iPad becomes a great addition to the toolbox, especially near the end of a 14hr shift. My wife the ARNP is using an iTouch at the moment to replace her Palm TX and the text is way too small.