First Cynical Impressions of new Apple tablet
Quickly written, poorly edited first response to the newly unveiled Apple tablet device.
1. The Name
The "iPad"? What's up with that name? Sounds like something that Always or Tampax would market. I'm not sure why they didn't go with the infinitely more awesome "iSlate" or "iTablet".
2. Battery Life
Awesome! 10 hours of usage, up to 1 month of standby time. That's amazing. However, the cynic in me thinks, "Hmm, just like the iPod and iPhone, I suspect that the battery won't be removable, and will probably suck after about a year of ownership. Which means I can look forward to paying $99 so an Apple tech can put a new battery in."
3. Storage Space
I'm not dazzled with this feature. The base (read: most affordable) model will have only 16GB of storage. That's not great, especially if you want video. The storage space tops out at 64 GB, which isn't great for people who want to carry a lot of multimedia. I also question the storage space given that developers will likely start to develop games and apps that are larger for this platform.
4. No Flash support
Great. You've got a web browser built in, but you can't visit Flash-based sites. That means Hulu.com won't work, thus eliminating a competitor in the video-on-demand market. This means that a lot of interactive sites you might visit won't function correctly either. This is lame.
5. 3G
Available through AT&T, though it will cost you $29.95 per month for unlimited data. I like that the device can be used on other carriers, if you want.
6. Looks sexy
Of course it does. It's an Apple product. It's nothing, if not beautiful. The tablet is super light weight too - I can't wait to see how it feels in my hands.
7. New iBooks storefront
Looks pretty spiffy. Slightly higher price point than Amazon, but unsure how much extra cash that might mean for publishers. Major kudos for offering ePub format, which is an open standard.
8. Sounds a little pricey
Per Engadget.com, the price points are as follows:
"It starts at $499 for 16GB, 32GB for $599, and $699 64GB. Adding 3G costs a $130 per model, so the most expensive model (64GB / 3G) is $829."
That's.... a bit rich for my taste, especially since you need to toss an extra $29.95 per month on top of that if you want to actually leverage the 3G capability.
9. But I love to feel actual keys when I type!
note: this post may change, as more details come out, but this is what I'm thinking right now. Pic above is from the AP.
Quickly written, poorly edited first response to the newly unveiled Apple tablet device.
1. The Name
The "iPad"? What's up with that name? Sounds like something that Always or Tampax would market. I'm not sure why they didn't go with the infinitely more awesome "iSlate" or "iTablet".
2. Battery Life
Awesome! 10 hours of usage, up to 1 month of standby time. That's amazing. However, the cynic in me thinks, "Hmm, just like the iPod and iPhone, I suspect that the battery won't be removable, and will probably suck after about a year of ownership. Which means I can look forward to paying $99 so an Apple tech can put a new battery in."
3. Storage Space
I'm not dazzled with this feature. The base (read: most affordable) model will have only 16GB of storage. That's not great, especially if you want video. The storage space tops out at 64 GB, which isn't great for people who want to carry a lot of multimedia. I also question the storage space given that developers will likely start to develop games and apps that are larger for this platform.
4. No Flash support
Great. You've got a web browser built in, but you can't visit Flash-based sites. That means Hulu.com won't work, thus eliminating a competitor in the video-on-demand market. This means that a lot of interactive sites you might visit won't function correctly either. This is lame.
5. 3G
Available through AT&T, though it will cost you $29.95 per month for unlimited data. I like that the device can be used on other carriers, if you want.
6. Looks sexy
Of course it does. It's an Apple product. It's nothing, if not beautiful. The tablet is super light weight too - I can't wait to see how it feels in my hands.
7. New iBooks storefront
Looks pretty spiffy. Slightly higher price point than Amazon, but unsure how much extra cash that might mean for publishers. Major kudos for offering ePub format, which is an open standard.
8. Sounds a little pricey
Per Engadget.com, the price points are as follows:
"It starts at $499 for 16GB, 32GB for $599, and $699 64GB. Adding 3G costs a $130 per model, so the most expensive model (64GB / 3G) is $829."
That's.... a bit rich for my taste, especially since you need to toss an extra $29.95 per month on top of that if you want to actually leverage the 3G capability.
9. But I love to feel actual keys when I type!
Comes with built-in Bluetooth or you can get a keyboard dock. Either way, those of you who hate typing on the screen itself have options. Nice feature.
10. Doesn't seem to come with a camera
Frankly, that's sort of disappointing. I think this could have been a product that really made videoconferencing more mainstream. I sort of envisioned a camera on both sides of the device, utilizing technology such as Skype to handle the videochat functions.
11. Does it multitask?
If it's using the iPhone OS, it probably doesn't multitask. That's surprising/disappointing. With the larger screen, it'd be nice to have a few apps open at a time.
update #1: Engadget has an interesting price breakdown of 3G service on the iPad versus the iPhone.
update #2: No stylus/handwriting support? I'm surprised - you'd think that would be a natural addition, and would have gone a long way towards making this a Kindle-killer. I would have loved to see a demo of annotating an ePub document with a stylus.
update #3: Git yer purdy iPad pictures here at the official Apple site.
note: this post may change, as more details come out, but this is what I'm thinking right now. Pic above is from the AP.
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Comments
The iPad is not pricey at all. Since you can't get such a device with nearly these features from a Windows PC maker for less, how does that make the iPad pricey, especially when considering that all the analysts and pundits were expecting it to be $999?
I would expect Flash support, even though it's a resource hog, because I expect the Tablet to act more like a laptop than an iPhone.
It doesn't matter what you paid for a Windows netbook; it's not an iPad and it can't do what the iPad does.
It's a new product, and there's a ton of hype around it. My point is that it would have been nice to see Apple improve their OS to support a widely used technology like Flash.
It will never happen.
More battery life than I expected.
Perhaps a v.2 will appear soon to solve the problems you note. I'm never an early adopter for just that kind of reason.
Personally, I think it looks awfully awkward to carry around. Like a Flintstones version of the iPhone.
When I first read that it has an ebook app, and also runs Pages, it sounded great. I could do research, either in books or on the web, while cutting and pasting into an open Pages document. Ditto for compiling info and incorporating items into emails. But if there really is no multi-tasking, then it would be useless for any of the work I do.
this is absolutely a Kindle killer.
lack of Flash is no biggie with HTML 5.
huge win for Apple today.
When they announced the price, my jaw dropped. I'm surprised you think it's too expensive. Most of the people looking at estimated component prices spec'ed it as closer to $800. I wonder if Apple is pushing their margins well below iPhone levels to get this established.
I'll need to get one in my hands first, but I'm definitely thinking about getting one as coffee shop computer. Assuming attachable keyboard isn't too expensive, it would suit my needs better than a netbook or really cheap laptop.
There's a lot to like here, but I think that I'll wait to see what the next gen iPad has to offer. I just don't think that the iPad fills a crucial need for most people.
"I've always looked at my iPhone and wished it was bigger and didn't fit in my pocket. And sometimes I would look at my laptop and wish it had no keyboard couldn't multitask or install whatever I want and was mostly glass.
THANK YOU APPLE."
Also, for those of you wanting an alternate to the iPad, check this hotness out (and it's looking like it'll be priced at $250): http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/freescales_tablet_reference_design_looks_good_200
Mac's iPad? Really? Think about it. Awful.
That lack of space is not a good thing. I think it would have been a better choice to do some sort of iNetbook or some such thing that is thicker and runs OS X. With more capabilities including a camera and the ability to run all Internet flash.
It's understandable that someone would want to come up with a different form of computing than the laptop. But this iPad isn't even vaguely interesting. It would take a great increase in computer power, plus a great price drop, to produce a device that would really make people desire it. In a time when people are losing their homes, another Satan-inspired overpriced yuppie toy is pointless.
Now, obviously, for the increased cost, you get features on the iPad that the Kindle does not provide, including a full color screen and games, so obviously you have to consider that.
Given the state of the e-reader market, I'd almost prefer the cheaper Kindle, because I believe that in just 1-2 years we'll be seeing some amazing development on the e-reader and tablet market. And in 1-2 years I won't feel too bad casting aside my little $259 device for the latest and greatest.
Of course, I'm cheap, my netbook and paper books satisfy my reading and web surfing needs, so really... this is all theory for me, since I don't plan to buy either a Kindle (hate Amazon's DRM) or an iPad at this time. I'm going to wait and see what the market looks like in a year or so.
Obviously, the Apple congregation will stand in line for 14 days to get this. Me, I'm getting a Kindle. Or a laptop.
Its most widely cited problems are in software, and therefore will be addressed first: lack of Flash and multitasking. I can see it being used to test-market changes to the iPhone version of the software, so watch for multitasking to appear in the iPad first.
People complain that it's just a big iPhone, so? The problem with the iPhone, is that you want one that is a tad bigger.
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/01/amazon-kindle-sales-are-officially-not-embarrassing/
You know, millions of people like myself that find it neither eye-straining nor a 'toy' - if I go to a local library that is one "source" of books that has far, far less books than a Kindle does - or if I go to my local bookstore; again, far, far less books than I can get on my Kindle.
Is my local bookstore a toy? Looks like lots of people will like the Kindle. I bet many more people will like this. My mom, not computer savvy at all, is already interested in this.
Apple products just work, they're sleek, and with the 2 year full service warranty that you can get with most all of them, you have pretty much a guaranteed tech product that provides top notch quality lasting for a year.
People just hate successful products sometimes. I'll never get it. Sour grapes, or something. ;)
"In a time when people are losing their homes, another Satan-inspired overpriced yuppie toy is pointless.
tomreedtoon"
Oh, come on. Hyperbole much? Should all technological innovation immediately stop and should I donate all my income left over after food and mortgage to support other people losing their homes...?
Of course not. Like it or not, the rich yuppie class you hate pushes technological innovation that ultimately benefits the masses. A lot of poor people use iPhones now. Know why? As a PC substitute that allows them to email, text, and pretty much virtual-office for a monthly fee and a phone. You can cut out internet and landline service completely. Not a bad deal.
http://www.evildrome.com/
Personally, I think it looks awfully awkward to carry around. Like a Flintstones version of the iPhone.