iPad sucks - what am I missing?

[Core Shot]

What was all the hype for? I have spent a few hours playing with a new ipad and it is slow and kludgy.

Honestly, my new Samsung Galaxy (Sprint Epic) smartphone is
1) faster
2) more useful
3) easier to navigate
4) has more features
5) is way faster
6) is way easier to navigate.
7) is way easier to input text with swype
8) is stunning to enter text or search requests via VOICE recognition
9) is just so much faster

what am I missing??
its an advanced ipod, but it only has one speaker? WTF?
it only allows one user - so I can't share with my wife?
its great for photos and video, but not enough storage for a full library

no swype? no menus? fack

[dynodonkeyaltabird]

what am I missing??

angry birds.

[Caucasian Asian]

You forgot to drink the Kool-Aid

[theetruscan]

Brilliant idea, first generation implementation.

[bennettc14]

iPads are for telewankers and communists, Kindles are for straight people.

[m01766]

angry birds.

http://mashable.com/2010/10/15/angry-birds-android-2/

[kidwoo]

[Hugh Conway]

Brilliant idea, first generation implementation.

wasn't the Newton the first generation Apple implementation? This is like the XXth generation tablet.

[theetruscan]

wasn't the Newton the first generation Apple implementation? This is like the XXth generation tablet.

If you broaden the criteria enough, the Newton was the first implementation. But for the niche the iPad is trying to fit, I'd say it's a first generation product. I think it's a kind of small niche, but I'd say it's a first. I just have no use for a short-battery-life kindle that can also run out of batteries watching movies on transatlantic flights.

[Hugh Conway]

If you broaden the criteria enough, the Newton was the first implementation. But for the niche the iPad is trying to fit, I'd say it's a first generation product. I think it's a kind of small niche, but I'd say it's a first. I just have no use for a short-battery-life kindle that can also run out of batteries watching movies on transatlantic flights.

If you narrow the criteria to "the category Apple marketing tells you it is" sure.

same shit, different wrapper

[Eldo]

What was all the hype for? I have spent a few hours playing with a new ipad and it is slow and kludgy.

Honestly, my new Samsung Galaxy (Sprint Epic) smartphone is
1) faster
2) more useful
3) easier to navigate
4) has more features
5) is way faster
6) is way easier to navigate.
7) is way easier to input text with swype
8) is stunning to enter text or search requests via VOICE recognition
9) is just so much faster

what am I missing??
its an advanced ipod, but it only has one speaker? WTF?
it only allows one user - so I can't share with my wife?
its great for photos and video, but not enough storage for a full library

no swype? no menus? fack

Wow. You're really upset about this. Hours of your precious life wasted, but luckily you were able to rush to the forums and post a heartfelt plea for help in this time of great sorrow.

My advice is to take solace in the cel phone that seems to comfort you so much, and know that we all feel your pain and hope you can get though these troubling times.

Your situation really puts into perspective all those whiney people dealing with trivial things like cancer or the death of a family member. I mean having an Apple product not meet your lofty standards really is the ultimate tragedy.

Vibes.

[Kuruption]

Ding Ding Ding we have a winner funny shit man.

[Kuruption]

Wow. You're really upset about this. Hours of your precious life wasted, but luckily you were able to rush to the forums and post a heartfelt plea for help in this time of great sorrow.

My advice is to take solace in the cel phone that seems to comfort you so much, and know that we all feel your pain and hope you can get though these troubling times.

Your situation really puts into perspective all those whiney people dealing with trivial things like cancer or the death of a family member. I mean having an Apple product not meet your lofty standards really is the ultimate tragedy.

Vibes.

Yeah i know what you mean my house burt down but that was the least of my worries because i'm still freaking out that the ipad doesn't support flash. Got to keep my priorities in order

[cliffhucker]

why buy an ipad when you can buy a macbook pro with 10 times the capabilities?

[DHogg]

why buy an ipad when you can buy a macbook pro with 10 times the capabilities?

Ipads seem cool, but i'm with you here. I don't know why you wouldn't just buy a macbook instead.

[Core Shot]

Yeah, I have a Macbook, which is why he ipad was so disappointing.

FYI - you cannot just turn on an ipad and use it - you need to usb connect it to a pC or mac in order to load software and get the os ready? wtf? - this should be a ready to use appliance. WIFi connection should be enough.


- the point of the rant was that I was hoping I missed something and one of you Jim Jones metro kool kids could tell me what I'm missing or what cool tricks are worth the price of admission.

- and seriously - why not allow at least a few menu buttons? are they that evil?

[laseranimal]

I just don't understand why people are running out to get the ipad for christmas when you KNOW that the next version, with the forward facing camera, the retina display, usb ports will be shipping in by the middle of next year.

[advres]

I just don't understand why people are running out to get the ipad for christmas when you KNOW that the next version, with the forward facing camera, the retina display, usb ports will be shipping in by the middle of next year.

Because 6 months in tech time is a life time. Not too hard to understand.

[advres]

Oh and to answer Core Shots question with a very industry specific answer.

I turned a $500 iPad into a 'color' control surface where a hardware one can cost $1500 and up. But I can also surf the web, get my email, read books, watch Netflix, watch any movie I download, play games, listen to music, etc.

Plus it is instantly on with an insane battery life. It sits on my coffee table and if I'm doing something and need to search something online or something, it turns on instantly, has a screen built for human eyes without zooming to read.

Ohh, and more apps than you can shake a stick at. Do you know how much a digital slate costs? An iPad is much cheaper, you don't have to fiddle with dry erase markers, is lighter and has more uses.

Just because you have no use for it doesn't mean others don't. This is coming from someone who talked nothing but shit about it when it was announced and really didn't see it's usefulness until a couple months ago.

[OSECS]

I'm thinking of getting one soon. I'd like to have my portfolio available for client presentations, along with all the other great stuff it does.

I don't have a lap top. Hearing people here saying why not just get a mac book makes me stop and think a bit. I don't want to sink $500 or more into a product that won't work as well as something similarly priced that may be more versatile.

Gameface, any thoughts on the two ?? Any experience with both ??

My business partner has an i pad and loves it.

[advres]

OSECS,

I have a Macbook Pro and an iPad. No question that if you need to do REAL work with the thing, get the laptop. Since I have a desktop for my main machine my laptop is seriously just sitting collecting dust. Unfortunately I have to keep it because a couple agency clients insist I work out of their office from time to time. If it wasn't for that I would just sell the thing and use my ipad for portable and my desktop for any work I do.

A couple nice things about the ipad for you if it is seriously just for showing your portfolio to clients.
- Light and thin. My mbp is a tank comparatively speaking. (but the macbook air is light and thin and a real laptop although underpowered for the price)
- Insane battery life. You could be in a meeting for 10 hours (not gonna happen) with the thing on the whole time and you aren't going to need to plug it in.
- You could probably keep it in your bag for a few weeks and go to several meetings without having to charge it once. But I assume you would use it outside of work as well.
- Say you were flying to a meeting. Try watching a movie on the flight on your laptop and still have enough juice to do your presentation when you land.
- Say you do run low on battery and you forgot your charger. Not everyone has a specific laptop charger kicking around the office but I guarantee almost any office space you walk into in most (civilized) countries, someone will have a charge cord for the ipad since it is the same for ipods, iphones and ipads. I forgot to charge mine before I left for Thanksigiving and the train ride is long. My brothers family are all Windows people but they still had an ipod charger for me to charge it for the trip home. And BTW, since thanksgiving I have watched at least 2 episodes of X-files every night on netflix, have done countless time surfing the web and answering emails and I just had to plug it in this morning with a 5% battery warning. That's pretty dope as I am accustomed to plugging in my cell phone every night if I use it for anything other than making calls.

That being said, it is no laptop. If you have to do serious amounts of typing on it, it can get a bit daunting. There is no replacing the tactile feel of a keyboard IMHO. If you have to do design work at all on-the-go, get a laptop.

I love mine but it fits a niche market. When the ipad was announced, I wasn't in that market. Now that I work from home mostly I am in that market. If you think it will do everything you need it to do, drop in. If you even have a hint that it won't do some things you'd like to do, I would stay away for now as you will be disappointed. Maybe once it gets a USB port it will become more if a one stop shop as far as a portable personal computer but at this moment that just isn't the case.

[Tye 1on]

Good points advres i mean gatorface. V2, whenever it comes out, is supposed to have a dock on each side [landscape and portrait] and a USB port. Plus prolly more memory, the front camera, and supposedly a bit lighter. There's rumors of a more retina-like display, but who knows. I think i'm waiting til then, to either buy it or a V1 at a cheaper price...

Also, my cousin had an interesting thought when he bought his. He only uses wifi, but bought the 3G and didn't start a data plan. If on travel he's at a hotel that charges $10 for internet, he just buys one month at $15 and does it that way...food for thought.

[waxman]

battery life is good? my wifes barely lasts a 3 hour road trip with the kids playing it, what's your secret?

[advres]

^Management.
• Don't have it fetch email every 15 minutes and turn off data push.
• Don't have it constantly searching for wifi.
• If you're not using 3G turn off the function.
• Turn down the brightness of your screen. Mine is literally at its lowest setting and unless using it in the bright sun, I never have to increase brightness. I see some people use it at full brightness and for me, that is just too bright to look at for an extended period of time.
• Turn off bluetooth.
• Don't charge it until it dies (not always an option).

Do these and you should see your battery time increase significantly. If it doesn't increase, you may want to bring it to the Apple store and ask WTF is up because I get pretty damn close to what they advertise for battery life.

[nickwm21]

I find the Ipad pretty useless. My mom has one and uses it to read and play solitaire.

I could not use it for work. In my industry (construction) everything is PC based. I find it hard to type on touch screens as well.

As far as reading goes. I prefer owning an actual book, reading on paper, placing it in a book shelf, trading it with friends.

As far as games go... I think of my computer as a tool, not a toy, I have plenty of other toys.

For media... my Laptop has a bigger, nicer screen and great battery life. Plus it has better speakers.

The Ipad is a toy, it is a posh accessory, that is all..