18
   

Good god the iPad is a steaming pile of disappointment

 
 
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 04:32 pm
My current iPhone 3GS, my Macbook Pro, and even my $179 notebook all can do every single thing the "iPad" can do and so much more that it can't...

No GPS
No Camera (with LED Flash)
No Multitasking
No OLED Screen
An extremely disappointing 256 MB of RAM!
No Additional Touch Gestures
No Videocalling/conferencing/iChat
No Handwriting Recognition or Support for a Stylus
No Wireless Syncing or File Transfers
No File Management or Freedom to download files (even documents) from online
No Ability to run custom Apps not preapproved by Apple and sold via the App Store
A Very Low Resolution Display with 25% fewer PPPs than the iPhone or iPod Touch
No integrated TV antenna or Radio antenna (They even developed a HD DTV Tuner for use in cellphones to allow users to pick up OTA HDTV signals on the go! Why they didn't include this technology in this device I won't understand)
No Video Out
According to Apple's page on the product, the maximum resolution it is capable of playing MPEG4s at is 640x480 resolution at 30 fps. Not even HD! It features a 1 Ghz processor that significantly slower than just about every single notebook on the market today.
No OTA Sync With Apple TV or Servers To Stream Video
No Low Reflective Screen Mode for high contrast Ebook Reading that doesn't hurt your eyes
Only 64 mbs of HDD space
No Gamepad attachment for Gaming With Physical Buttons/Tactile Feedback
No bluetooth, or ability to connect to a bluetooth mouse/keyboard
No RFID/IR to use it as a remote, or to tag it to yourself
No Replacable/Removable Batteries
No Java or Flash support (no hulu.com)
No ability to connect to an extrernal hdd, or even to pop in an SDCard
 
Cycloptichorn
 
  1  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 04:33 pm
@Centroles,
Yes but the other Mac nerds will think you're cool if you get one. And that's what it's always about with those guys, isn't it?

Cycloptichorn
Robert Gentel
 
  1  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 04:40 pm
I don't know why you wanted gps in it, I see it as the most convenient netbook around, and what is likely to be the mainstream digital book solution. For that it will work pretty well.
Robert Gentel
 
  1  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 04:41 pm
@Cycloptichorn,
I think this one has a good chance of changing your life, whether or not you own one (similar to how iTunes did, whether or not you use it).
Cycloptichorn
 
  2  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 04:42 pm
@Robert Gentel,
Robert Gentel wrote:

I think this one has a good chance of changing your life, whether or not you own one (similar to how iTunes did, whether or not you use it).


It's just a shiny version of stuff which is all already available, that's all. Arguably superior tablets already exist.

And c'mon, no support for Flash? Please.

Cycloptichorn
Robert Gentel
 
  1  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 04:52 pm
@Cycloptichorn,
Cycloptichorn wrote:
It's just a shiny version of stuff which is all already available, that's all. Arguably superior tablets already exist.


That's exactly what you could have said about them when they launched the iPod. There had been mp3 players around for 3 years on the market but they made it mainstream. They are pushing this like they want it mainstream and leveraging their app ecosystem from iphone, so I like their chances.

And if they do make it mainstream it might do to books what kindle was trying to.

Quote:
And c'mon, no support for Flash? Please.


Very lame, this is the kind of thing I don't like about Apple, Flash competes with their app store and competes for free (e.g. there are flash games that were free online that many have paid for in the app store) so they won't let it in because its's a competing platform.

But they always has such evils (e.g. can't use your itunes music on a non-ipod) but their attention to user experience made most users forgive them.
Cycloptichorn
 
  1  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 05:04 pm
@Robert Gentel,
I dunno. When the Ipod came out, what superior MP3 players were out there? None that I can remember.

I'm sure this will do fine, though; the integrated 3g option is a good selling point.

Cycloptichorn
Centroles
 
  1  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 05:09 pm
@Cycloptichorn,
The iPod and the iPhone were actual significant leaps forward when they first came out. Everyone else followed them.

And this is why I bought both devices early on, and the reason why I, like everyone else, had high hopes that this device would do something innovative, or offer something new of value.

This thing however is like taking 3 steps back. There is so much this can't do that even the iPhone that's a fifth it's size can do, and there is nothing it can do that the iPhone can't.

Apple started the presentation by saying that for a Tablet to succeed, it has to some things better than both the iPhone 3GS and a Macbook Pro do.

Then he unveiled a product that utterly fails this test. There is nothing it does better than either device.

Seed
 
  1  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 05:13 pm
@Centroles,
I am pretty sure it allows you to read without the straining of your eyes. I like my phone, but I do not enjoy reading the tiny words that are on there when looking at websites and what not.
Cycloptichorn
 
  1  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 05:16 pm
@Seed,
Seed wrote:

I am pretty sure it allows you to read without the straining of your eyes. I like my phone, but I do not enjoy reading the tiny words that are on there when looking at websites and what not.


I've read over 100 books on my Ipod touch in the last year. Download Stanza and the problem goes away.

Cycloptichorn
0 Replies
 
Robert Gentel
 
  1  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 05:20 pm
@Centroles,
Centroles wrote:
This thing however is like taking 3 steps back. There is so much this can't do that even the iPhone that's a fifth it's size can do, and there is nothing it can do that the iPhone can't.


Yes there is: be bigger. Size matters. This is a step forward for netbooks in user experience and it introduces Apple's entry into books and magazines (these are whole industries here) in a way that the iPhone just can't.

Quote:
Apple started the presentation by saying that for a Tablet to succeed, it has to some things better than both the iPhone 3GS and a Macbook Pro do.

Then he unveiled a product that utterly fails this test. There is nothing it does better than either device.


Reading a book or a magazine is something it does better than both for. This is an entry into those markets.
Seed
 
  1  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 05:24 pm
via: http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/hold-on-that-credit-card-the-ipad-could-set-you-back-nearly-1600-20100127/
Quote:
Earlier today Apple launched its next big thing, a 9.7-inch multitouch tablet dubbed the iPad. The gadget starts at $499 and goes all the way up to $829. However, there are hidden charges so don’t grab that credit card yet before you check out the fine print.

Steve Jobs took the stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco this morning to deliver Apple’s much-anticipated tablet device dubbed the iPad. An hour and a half later, Apple’s chief executive signed off by calling the iPad “our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price” " the sales pitch also featured on Apple’s site. Hold it right there, Steve " time to decipher that “unbelievable price” claim.

Unlike Apple’s other products sold in two or three variations and price points, the iPad is offered in six price points spawning two models, in addition to an optional 3G data that costs extra. The gizmo comes in two flavors, one with 802.11n WiFi connectivity only and the other with both WiFi and 3G. Apple said that iPad supports the latest 802.11n WiFi specification, while its 3G circuitry is capable of downloading data at a theoretical maximum of 7.2 Mbps over 3G HSDPA cellular networks.

As Geek reported earlier, AT&T is in the process of upgrading its 3G network to support a speedier HSDPA devices, like the iPhone 3GS and iPad. With that in mind, here’s what the price matrix looks like:
WiFi-only iPad

* $499 for a 16GB model
* $599 for a 32GB model
* $699 for a 64GB model

WiFi + 3G iPad

* $629 for a 16GB model
* $729 for a 32GB model
* $829 for a 64GB model

iPad (price points chart)

While Jobs boasted the fact that the iPad goes bellow the $1,000 mark put forth by “pundits” total cost of ownership can be much higher. Besides a $130 premium for WiFi+3G models, don’t forget data charges because there’s no point in buying 3G-enabled models unless you plan on using 3G data, sold separately. Jobs called AT&T’s pre-paid data plans for the device “breakthrough,” noting how carriers typically charge data-only plans at $60 a month.

The AT&T deals for iPad, the CEO noted, will include $14.99 a month for 250MB of 3G data and $30 a month for an unlimited 3G data. Both plans will be offered without an annual contract, allowing you to cancel 3G service at any time directly from the device. In addition, both plans include free access to AT&T’s nationwide WiFi hotspots, Jobs said.

iPad (homescreen, front right angle)Worst case scenario puts the cost of ownership over a two-year period for the entry-level iPad at $929"$629 for a 16GB WiFi+3G iPad and $360 paid in data charges over two years. Worst case scenario means you’ll be spending $1549 over the same period of time: $829 for a flagship 64GB WiFi+3G iPad and $720 to cover unlimited 3G data service. Of course, those sums come on top of whatever monthly charges you already have for your iPhone.
0 Replies
 
Cycloptichorn
 
  1  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 05:30 pm
@Robert Gentel,
Quote:
Reading a book or a magazine is something it does better than both for. This is an entry into those markets.


Once again, dunno if I would agree, re: book. The convenience of reading a book on my Ipod is that it fits in my pocket. And this thing has a battery life which is way too low to use as a regular reader the way I would a Kindle or a Nook.

Cycloptichorn
Seed
 
  1  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 05:31 pm
@Cycloptichorn,
A 10 hour battery life is not good enough for you? That's a rather nice length to me.
Cycloptichorn
 
  1  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 05:38 pm
@Seed,
Seed wrote:

A 10 hour battery life is not good enough for you? That's a rather nice length to me.


Nah, that's nothing. A Kindle lasts far longer than that.

Of course, this device does more, but if we're talking about using as a book substitute, it's not superior to what exists out there.

Cycloptichorn
rosborne979
 
  1  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 05:44 pm
@Robert Gentel,
Robert Gentel wrote:

Centroles wrote:
This thing however is like taking 3 steps back. There is so much this can't do that even the iPhone that's a fifth it's size can do, and there is nothing it can do that the iPhone can't.

Yes there is: be bigger. Size matters. This is a step forward for netbooks in user experience and it introduces Apple's entry into books and magazines (these are whole industries here) in a way that the iPhone just can't.

Robert keeps taking the words right out of my mouth on this subject. The iPad is a giant iPod, it's as simple as that, and that's all that was needed to give Apple the product they needed to knock off NetBooks and Kindle. The iPod/iPhone was the killer device already, all it lacked was the size to allow people to work with it like a laptop.

I suspect that the reason iPad lacks the next range of functionality is that it needed to hit the market at this price-point now. Apple will reap big profits from this gadget and use it to drive development of OLEP screens at a lower price. They have to do things in sequence to gather the purchasing power necessary to incentivize manufacturers for production of the new chips and screens they need.
0 Replies
 
Seed
 
  1  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 05:45 pm
@Cycloptichorn,
what about the fact that you will be able to look at magazines? The fact that it takes what the Kindle can do and expand on it. ( I am not saying I am holding out for an iPad, I will actually be purchasing a Nook)
Cycloptichorn
 
  1  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 05:48 pm
@Seed,
Seed wrote:

what about the fact that you will be able to look at magazines? The fact that it takes what the Kindle can do and expand on it. ( I am not saying I am holding out for an iPad, I will actually be purchasing a Nook)


People still read magazines? I thought that like the Dodo bird and the Giant Sloth, those were extinct by now.

Cycloptichorn
Seed
 
  1  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 05:55 pm
@Cycloptichorn,
It's just like newspapers. More people would rather read them on line.
0 Replies
 
Robert Gentel
 
  1  
Reply Wed 27 Jan, 2010 06:05 pm
@Cycloptichorn,
Cycloptichorn wrote:
Nah, that's nothing. A Kindle lasts far longer than that.

Of course, this device does more, but if we're talking about using as a book substitute, it's not superior to what exists out there.


Kindle can't do graphs and images well, so it cuts out the very profitable textbook market. Kindle is dead in the water.
 

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