iPad.

[Caucasian Asian]

Really? What's so great about this?
Anybody line up and skip a pow day to get one?

I don't get it.

[Skipig25]

posted before. needed to be done again.

reading stuff on a screen for a long time hurts my eyes. just buy the book

[BSS]

My sister bought one of those things and my first reaction was: "A thousand dollar device so you can read a ten dollar book? Wow, awesome."

My laptop does ten times more and it cost half as much. Oh, and I can even make phone calls from my 1999 cell phone. But not on the ipad.

I guess reading books just isn't "cool" anymore unless it requires batteries and wires and a special case and and a tech support number and some type of recurring payment. Whatev. Or maybe I'm just an old "fuddy duddy."

[AltaAndy]

sneak peak of the internals of the ipad

[Tye 1on]

sneak peak of the internals of the ipad

Actually, it looks more like this.



This thing is great, and going to get greater as more people get to use them. As always, first versions going to have a few bugs, sounds like USB ports on Macs can charge them, but not most PC's. Still can use the wall charger tho.

It'll never take the place of the laptop, netbook, smart phone, or PC, but it's not trying to. For kickin back on the couch surfin, emailing, and things like watching a movie on a plane, the iPad is going to kick serious ass.

[skiing-in-jackson]

Tye:

I really want to develop an iPhone App, but don't have an Apple computer. Will the special software (free from Apple me thinks) run on the iPad? I'm guessing likely not. Even the $999.00 Mac book will run the program.

[theetruscan]

posted before. needed to be done again.

reading stuff on a screen for a long time hurts my eyes. just buy the book

Kindles and other e-ink display devices are amazing. If you fly a lot, you get to carry more books and shed some weight, as well as being able to read papers and PDFs. Also, they're as easy on the eyes as books. The iPad ... isn't. Don't know what else needs to be said about it.

[Arty50]

My sister bought one of those things and my first reaction was: "A thousand dollar device so you can read a ten dollar book? Wow, awesome."

It starts at $499. Also, when the iPod came out I bet you said, "A $300 device so you can listen to a fifteen dollar cd? Wow, awesome."

Here's the key: you can store a ton of books, music, and movies all on a device that is more than likely thinner than your laptop's screen and gets way more battery life performing those tasks. For people that fly and/or travel a lot, this thing is a godsend.

I hate watching movies on my laptop on a plane. It barely fits on the damn tray table, and then where the hell do you put your drink? Also, the battery will barely make it through a whole movie. This thing can play several.

And for those saying it can't make calls...the iPad can be configured with a 3G modem and there's this little technology called voice over IP. You might want to try it sometime. The entire US phone network is going to be IP based in 10-20 years too.

Also, the entire publishing industry is gearing up for this thing. I know a senior editor at a very prominent magazine, and they're working very hard to get their mag polished up for viewing on the iPad. This type of device has the potential to save the magazine and newspaper industry. Think of the savings in printing and postage costs combined with the superior dynamics of serving up ads via the net. It's no secret that Jobs has been personally meeting with senior people at the New York Times, WSJ, etc. and they're all very stoked on this thing.

That said, I won't be buying one because I have a "free" laptop via work. If I didn't have said laptop, I would wait for two reasons: 1) it's never a wise idea to buy the 1st generation of a product and 2) Verizon and ATT will be ramping up LTE 4G service next year. I'd much rather wait for a 4G iPad.

[Hugh Conway]

It starts at $499. Also, when the iPod came out I bet you said, "A $300 device so you can listen to a fifteen dollar cd? Wow, awesome."

People said "A $300 device to listen to my 10,000 mp3s from Kazaa!!!"

It ain't going to save the publishing industry for the same reason the iPod hasn't saved the music industry people just aren't willing to pay for much of it anymore. You going to pay for a newspaper? Didn't think so.

A $250 version with more storage, USB + SD card slot and a fucking matte screen would be cool though

[grapedrink]

you know whats great about a laptop? you don't have to hold it.

[willywhit]

I trust this guy's judgement

Steve Isaacs - Buzz - Public
It would really suck to be an Apple hater.
What an unfortunate way to miss out on some of the most exciting, groundbreaking technological developments of our age, for no better reason than to be a bah-humbug for the sake of being contrary. Life is short. Jump on the great stuff when it hits, or you'll always be making up excuses for why you missed out on the fun.

nuther frend that knows his sh!t, just sayin'...

Okay, shoot me: Here’s why the iPad will be a hit…

Posted by rgarber on January 29, 2010

So being the Apple groupie that I am, I’ve been thinking about the iPad today…

I can’t help myself…. Since Apple wont let me buy one yet, I have to do the next best thing, and write down my thoughts.

I’m really curious to see that sentiment is running way negative on the iPad.
Its a dumb idea.
It doesn’t replace anything I want to get rid of.
It’s not as good a netbook.
It doesn’t have a camera.
No multitasking.
Blah blah blah … blah.

Whatever.

It feels like this is just Americans doing what we do best these days… Argue just for the sake of it.
Personally, I think there’s a high likelihood they’ll be proved wrong.
I suspect that that 12 months from now, the iPad is highly likely to be a hit.

Not just because I want it to be, either …

So go back to to the introduction of the iPhone…
Remember when the iphone came out? Well, popular sentiment was that it would be a failure.

Why ?

Because it had no physical keyboard.

Everyone thought it was a dumb idea.
The web on that size screen was way too small.
Keyboard sucked.
No native apps.
Internet access via AT&T EDGE was terrible.

Now look where we are.
It’s #2 in marketshare for smart phones, and its a ~$10B biz for Apple.

But we conveniently forget.
And the same here with the iPad.

So, whats going here then ???
Whats going on here is ‘category creation’.
My experience has been that humans HATE new categories.
They like to put things into buckets they already know.
Fork, spoon… car, bike… computer.. phone..

I’ve done category creation twice..
I was with a startup that invented ’storage management’.
For three years, everyone told us it was stupid idea. No one would want it.
There wasn’t enough data on PCs or networks to need to back it up.

Today ? Storage management is $10B-$20 Billion market.

Then Neil and I did Vignette.
We invented “content management”.
Everyone looked at us as if we were speaking Klingon.

There’s no such thing they said.
That’s document mgt.
That’s database mgt.
That’s XYZ mgt..
Something they already knew.

Today ?
No one in their right mind would do anything of any reasonable size on the web without a content mgt system.

So the same thing going on here with the iPad.
Its a new category.

And humans are being humans.

Now, with that said, I think Apple could’a done a better job yesterday with things.
They said they wanted a category between smart phones and laptops, but they didn’t name it.
They bashed netbooks, but didn’t reposition the category.

When they announced the iPod 9 years ago, the tag line was “1,000 songs in your pocket”.
No one ever cared what processor was in the iPod. Who made the hard drive.
Or what you might possibly use it for.
They totally stayed away from speeds and feeds, and kept it all about YOU and why you cared.
It was just a vastly better way to live with and love your music.

With the iPad, they got off the reservation a bit.
The tag line is “Our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price”.
I think that’s a mess. Its all about the tech, it all about some magical device that Im sure why I’d want to own.
It’s all speeds and feeds, and ‘revolutionary and magical’ is content free.

Its nothing.
I dont know why I’d want one.
So all I can do is look at the thing and say that it looks like an iPhone on steroids.

Nonetheless, category creation is a long term proposition, and these guys have a very intriguing package.

So my guess ?
In 12 months, my guess is that most of these people saying the iPad is stupid will be doing something new..
On their iPad.

PS. In the ego-stroking category, here’s what I guessed the iPad might be, back in March 2008: http://rgarber.wordpress.com/ (scroll to the third hidden announcement..) Ends up that Apple’s actually pretty predictable. They just use different camouflage than most others..

Posted in Apple | Tagged: Apple, iPad, iPhone | Leave a Comment »

[carlobee]

the moment Steve Jobs announced the iPad on his Keynote, I did not actually like the idea of it. The name itself "iPad" did not excite me.

and yeah, having an iPhone for quite sometime, i'd say the iPad is just like a bigger version of it. I think it was just meant to compete with the Kindle of which I think they would be successful.

[toiletduck]

I don't understand the point at all. How fast would your laptop hit the wall if you couldn't touch type or multi task? It's bad enough you can't run SkypeMSN and a browser or whatever on an iphone without stupid push workarounds. Seems like a bad Kindle to me.

[jibij]

disclaimer... I'm a fanboy. I'm generally in line for new Apple stuff.

I get the concept of the iPad. It's a new category. Not a laptop replacement. Not a phone replacement. It's intended for hanging out, browsing, sharing.

It was touted as being more about "experience" than anything else.
"the best browsing experience you've ever had" - Steve Jobs.

The early reports were that once you got your hands on one you'd have to have one.

I decided to wait this one out, mainly due to the price point. A $500 entry point for something that wasn't completely new (like the iPhone) was too much even for this fanboy to justify. I decided to give it a day or two. Find out if it everybody agreed it was as magical as expected, and then decide.

The reviews were all pretty good. Not a lot of ZOMG!!!, but a lot of decent reviews. Not enough to sell me.

I stopped into Best Buy for a new camera case and noticed that they had a table of iPads for demo. I was half scared to try them out, convinced that the magic they possessed would overtake me and force me to purchase one. I picked it up. I heard a little bit of the heavenly angel chorus in my head. I poked the single button at the bottom to turn it on. I fired up some of the apps. I browsed the web. I flipped through some photos.

meh.

There's no doubt that the Pad form factor is the way of the future. When we're all computing in the cloud with hyper-fast internet speeds, we're all going to have a Pad of some sort that is our link to our data and apps. The iPad is a cool look into that future. I'm probably going to give it all some more time to bake before I jump in, though.

edit... if I were a better freehand artist I'd have snapped one up in a second. The creative experience on a device like this with some of the amazing drawing apps that are already out there and the new ones that'll come will be second to none.

[Pegleg]

Seems to me that this is a very cool device for specific uses such as:

- If you travel a lot, it's perfect for watching a movie/reading a book/playing games/email/reading and proofing documents/web surfing (assuming the plane has wifi). Size is much better than a laptop for tiny plane seats, backseat of car, etc.
- A "kitchen computer" used for looking up random things, recipes, checking the weather or movie times, etc. I have a laptop we use for this and it's hugely useful, and I could see the iPad being an even better version.

As Apple points out, it's NOT a laptop or iPhone replacement - its a different thing. If you find that concept silly, then obviously you're not the target market and don't buy one. A lot of people out there do find this concept interesting.

Personally, not my thing; I don't travel enough, and I'm happy with the laptop in the kitchen. But I think Apple's probably on to something with it and it will do well.

[Buzzworthy]

Big huge iTouch or iPhone, why?

edit: Cause Apple fans will spend $500 for this device and Apple makes more money from them, for really nothing.

[f2f]

Cause Apple fans will spend $500 for this device and Apple makes more money from them, for really nothing.

and you have a problem with this because...?

ps;

[Tye 1on]

i think jib and peg have it right. There's some things that it does really well right now, that make it worthwhile for some today. Some people, myself included, will likely get one in a year or two, when bugs are worked out and features added. The haters are focused on what it can't do, not what it does and in some cases does extremely well.

Think this bit of jibij's post is particularly spot on:
"There's no doubt that the Pad form factor is the way of the future. When we're all computing in the cloud with hyper-fast internet speeds, we're all going to have a Pad of some sort that is our link to our data and apps. The iPad is a cool look into that future. I'm probably going to give it all some more time to bake before I jump in, though."

[Buzzworthy]

and you have a problem with this because...?

Don't, more power to em. Personally think it is silly, like Kindles.
One man's opinion. Carry on.

[Tippster]

Who knew that tablet computers were so new?

Oh wait, they're not. Until an iPad can do everything my notebook can I won't consider getting one. What would be cool is a MacBook Pro with a fold-flat touch screen, like the Dell Latitude XT2.

[Joey Bag O' Donuts]

you can use Skype to talk VOIP on it (same as the touch). I also understand that there are some great apps to utilize it for smart home applications. The possibility of controlling your entire home entertainment system with it, lighting, Kitchen appliances, etc.. is awesome in my mind (But you need to know how to set everything up).
Don't forget e-mail, web browsing, and all the other shit with Apps. For $499, that is a great deal!! Think of how much you would pay for a high end Harmony remote, to control home network apps, but lacks the other features of the Ipad. Also, I hate small user interfaces (Itouch, Harmony) and it can be frustrating. With the Ipad, I think it will cure that problem. Just my 2 cents

[Tye 1on]

Who knew that tablet computers were so new?

Oh wait, they're not. Until an iPad can do everything my notebook can I won't consider getting one. What would be cool is a MacBook Pro with a fold-flat touch screen, like the Dell Latitude XT2.

That is a pretty cool Dell, never knew they had such a thing, and yeah, that on a MBP would indeed rock.

For a second i thought that was Blurred neck x-ray, thinkin it's not.

[Arty50]

People said "A $300 device to listen to my 10,000 mp3s from Kazaa!!!"

It ain't going to save the publishing industry for the same reason the iPod hasn't saved the music industry people just aren't willing to pay for much of it anymore. You going to pay for a newspaper? Didn't think so.

I do pay for a newspaper. The WSJ. I'd prefer to read it on the iPad instead of having it show up at my door every morning. The iPad would also let me read it at work, where a lot of this content is blocked.

The iPad would also let me read Bon Appetit, Powder, Bike, the Atlantic, etc all on one device. Oh and last time I checked, all of their content wasn't available for free.

The publishing and music industries are both struggling with the shift to digital media, but they're struggling for different reasons. The publishing industry is tying to be a little more proactive than the music industry was. They have a chance to save themselves, but still have a lot to figure out still. The major music companies got way behind the curve though and are totally fucked at this point though.

Back to the iPad...I agree it's a little ahead of its time. But I think it's going to catch on like wildfire when people realize what you can do with one. Like Joey said, the home automation and A/V industry has just started scratching the surface of the iPod and iTouch. They're going to go crazy with this thing.

[BSS]

It starts at $499. Also, when the iPod came out I bet you said, "A $300 device so you can listen to a fifteen dollar cd? Wow, awesome."

Actually you're right, and I own three of them now. Go figure. Although I didn't buy until I could get the big one for under $200.

[jibij]

OK... this makes me want one: