Sinfest

TIAB · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 388

There are always new gadgets being announced and I thought it was a little odd that Sinfest hadn't had a place for discussing these things in particular. Have high hopes for the iPad? Think WebOS is a joke? Looking for a new media player? Talk about it here.

Personally, I think the iPad is a bad joke and that as far as content goes, Apple is turning into Aol. "Here, play in our closed sandbox and this is your new universe. Nothing exists outside that sandbox, nope!"

Mizike · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 5084 Location: Iowa City

My favorite iPad lines:

"Are you there, God? It's me, Marketing."

"Will they call the 64GB model the MaxiPad?"
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CTrees · Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Posts: 3493

So, it's pretty, but... you're locked into iTunes, and AT&T if you want 3G, you can't multitask at all, there's no camera, no calling capabilities besides VoIP (which the apps store is stringent about killing, for... well anticompetitive reasons), only a virtual keyboard... and so on. So when they talked about it being better than both smartphones and netbooks? I see a lot of failings, and just a pretty interface, to make up for it.

WheelsOfConfusion · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 10741 Location: Unknown Kaddath

Aside from the larger screen and exclusive version of iPhone's OS, is there any real difference between this and an iPod Touch?
I would have figured that for a not-phone-not-laptop gadget to be more useful than either one, it'd have to at least have some memory card or USB ports, and launching a model without 3G means anyone who buys this will still need to carry around a phone. The keyboard dock is a step in the right direction, but those have existed for PDAs and smartphones for a while now.
Software-wise, am I right in my impression that all the Apps you want to get have to come through the App Store, or be embedded in a web page like Google Docs? Maybe that was great for smartphones, but if Apple wants to position this as something more capable than a smartphone I'd think a more open approach to software would be item one. As far as I know it can't even run Flash.

I was really expecting something more like this with a slick Apple interface. Instead what we get is just iPod Touch XXL. (Don't buy that Touchbook yet: the case is reportedly very flimsy and the software is still in beta)

Sam · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 8567

Apple's AT&T contract lock is honestly enough to make the droid a better choice than the iphone. If they do the same thing with the ipad, well, they're going to keep losing the edge they forged in the mobile markets.

this is bypassing entirely the issue of whether or not the ipad is, at present, a non-silly product proposal.

Idlethought · Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 7:31 pm Post subject:

It seems thus far to be trying to play to the "e-reader" market as opposed to the laptop market. Because let's face it, for $500 you could do a lot better. But as far as E-reader's go, it kicks the shit out of the Kindle DX and the Nook on pretty much all fronts (the price is about the same as the Kindle DX and the Nook only comes in one smaller size at $259).
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WheelsOfConfusion · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 10741 Location: Unknown Kaddath

I keep hearing from people that have used it that e-ink is still superior to a backlit LCD for readability, refresh rate and B&W aside. Also, it lacks that 3G connection the Kindles use to download books anywhere. On the other hand, color + e-Pub format are in the iPad's favor.

Idlethought · Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 7:39 pm Post subject:

I think backlit screens are hell on the eyes. That aside, the iPad still comes out on top. And apparently there will be a 3G version coming out in due time (though the price on that is still up in the air).
_________________
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration." ~Frank Herbert, Dune

Mizike · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 5084 Location: Iowa City

TIAB · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 388

Yeah, 3G is $130 extra. As far as I know, even though it supports E-Pub as a format, they still have it setup so that only books purchased through Apple's ecosystem can be loaded/viewed on the iPad. So the only real benefit to E-Pub in this case is not having to wait for publishers to migrate their books to a new proprietary format.

Yes, the iPad is a silly idea. It's too big to fit in a pocket, and too underpowered to replace a laptop. It's more complicated than an eReader while being more expensive. Frankly, I think its target market is the five people who want an eReader, iPod, and netbook, don't already own any of those items and have enough money to purchase all of them at once.

Yorick · Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 8:41 pm Post subject:

I'm sick of the iPad jokes already.
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ShadowCell · Joined: 03 Aug 2008 Posts: 4449 Location: California

MORE LIKE IFAG LOLOLOL AMIRITE

WheelsOfConfusion · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 10741 Location: Unknown Kaddath

PAD PEOPLE!

CTrees · Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Posts: 3493

Dro · Joined: 10 Jul 2006 Posts: 3763

I was sad it is a big Ipod touch rather than a tablet OSX machine. But the app market is where it is at, right now, so I can see why they did that.

It doesn't have much appeal to me. It could be used to display presentations on an external projector, so bringing that along on trips is somewhat intriguing, but a netbook is as intriguing. It would make a kick-ass textbook reader and open up the possibilities there with movies, interviews, etc. Since textbooks are hundreds of dollars, paying $500 upfront for a discounted textbook cost would make financial sense for a student.