iPad Review

This weekend saw the delivery of iPads into hundreds of thousands of filthy hands. I managed to get my hands on a 32GB unit and put it through its paces for a battery charge and a half, and wanted to take a few minutes to share some notes with you. But if you don't care to read the whole review, let me give you a hint: I am typing this review on my laptop.

The packaging is minimal and sleek. Almost nothing comes inside the box: just a cable, power cube and some minuscule documentation that nobody will read. The iPad itself arrived fully charged. It is usable out of the box without any syncing, but I chose almost immediately to pair it with my laptop just to get all my apps and data on it. This syncing process took forever. It's kind of amazing how long it takes to sync 20 or so gigs of movies and mp3s. This isn't unique to the iPad of course, but I never really noticed it on the phone since I don't sync video there.

The UI and functionality is pretty much as expected: It's a big iPhone. There are some minor differences (like being able to drag different numbers of items to the sticky footer menu). The new calendar application is nice. But the star is the mail client. Reading mail on my iPhone has been the "Last Resort," but the speed and clean layout and usability of the iPad mail app makes me prefer it to my desktop. I need a faster way to mark spam, but that's not necessarily the end of the world. Writing mail on the iPad is a different story. More on that below.

The new photo app is decent, but if you have a large number of albums and events it gets tough to find specific stuff quickly. I can't figure out why the iPhone and now the iPad don't make use of folders. Their mac equivalents both let you create nicely nested hierarchies of albums or playlists, but those both get lost on their little cousins where screen real estate is even MORE important. The video app seems to do strange things with thumbnails: it seemed to want to give videos the same thumbnail icon if they share an "Album." This means navigating my home movies category is lame because all 15 or so videos have the same thumbnail. It shouldn't be that way.

My iPad has no 3G, therefore it has no GPS. But applications were constantly asking me for permission to use my location. This seems like an oversight: if you don't have a location sensor, don't ask! Even the built-in Map app asked me for information that it could not possibly have.

Finally, time to test Safari: I tested out Slashdot first, and it renders pretty well. There are a couple of minor layout glitches and a few trickier functionality problems. The problems are mostly the same as the iPhone, but having the larger screen makes it a lot more obvious. I'll probably get some tickets into the system this week to clean up these bugs.

When I started browsing the net at large I noticed a few interesting problems: The first is that a lot of websites are serving iPhone pages to the iPad. So you get a number of ridiculously minimalistic pages on the big bright screen. It's laughably annoying to see these teeny tiny menus. Most sites seem fine, but I was surprised at the number of mainstream sites that thought I needed this. The lack of Flash is MUCH more noticeable than I thought it would be. The good news is that YouTube seems to embed cleanly and in-place, so a lot of video oriented websites still work fine. But the lack of Flash hurts. Apple has made their position known on the subject, so I'm not expecting anything to change. The lack of a real scroll bar make sites that make use of frames for navigation not really work properly. At the end of the day, I was surprised at the number of sites that actually had SOME problem with them. Most worked fine, but when something fails, I noticed more than I do on the iPhone. I think this is simply a user expectation thing: on my phone I expect things NOT to work and am happy when they do. On the iPad I expect things to work as well as they do in Safari in my desktop, and am irritated when they don't.

I tried out a good number of apps. The NetFlix app is really nice, but it doesn't let me rate selections using their little star system. Since I'm OCD about that, this bugs me. Epicurious is a fantastically elegant little recipe system that really shines on the system. ABCs app works but meh. The Weather Channel has a nice little app, and several of my old favorites have ports that make at least some use of the big screen. I suspect it'll be a few months before we really see what the unit has to offer since many of the most popular apps haven't been ported yet. I'm thinking Facebook and even the Apple Remote are very overdue. But hey, the old versions work, they just look like crap.

Let me talk about User Accounts. An iPhone doesn't have them, which is fine because one phone sits in one person's pocket. But your laptop is passed around, and the user account system on a Mac is necessary in any place where you want multiple people sharing a computer with any regularity. The iPad needs it: since this machine wants to be seen in a public place and be handed around, my wife shouldn't have to keep logging out of Gmail and Facebook. And I shouldn't have to leave my iPad on the coffee table signed into my mail. And I shouldn't have to sign out every time I put it down, leaving a brick on the table unusable by guests.

Finally let me talk about the device itself. It's heavy. I mean, surprisingly heavy. The specs say that it is 1.5lbs, which sounded very light on paper. For the first few minutes, I liked the heft; I felt that I was holding a solid, well-crafted item in my hands. But then I started trying to figuring out ways to type. I wrote a number of emails of moderate length and slowly realized that I just don't like typing on this thing. It's fine for URLs and names and passwords and a sentence here and there. But to actually sit down and write a thousand-word review well, there's just no way. I tried many different angles, but in order to hold it in your lap and type, you sorta need to prop it against your belly. Holding it up one handed made my arm kinda tired fairly quickly: unless I'm willing to squish my thumb against the center of the screen. When I do this, the center of gravity shifts and it's much more comfortable to hold, but there's a giant thumb blocking my screen, making it impossible to type. You can cradle it in your arm and type one-handed. That seems like the only way to use it while standing. But I just don't see myself writing anything lengthy. After a day of heavy usage, I felt a little sore. The size and shape is nearly perfect. But all that screen and battery sure feels heavy when it's spread out like this.

But I'll tell you what I like: Having a casual PC at arm's length for a quick lookup of something. Working within the screen size of the iPhone often makes simple internet tasks unwieldy, but provided whatever you need doesn't use Flash, this is a great little web browser. Fast and pretty.

Since the announcement of the iPad, I've wondered what its role could be. My first big question was whether it be a complete replacement PC for "Grandma." Like many of you, I'm occasionally called upon to do little tech support tasks on PCs that do very little, and I was hoping that this might be the solution. After just one day I know this is not going to work for them. The difficulty of using the keyboard. The missing Flash. And the lack of video camera for chatting with the grandkids make this device simply not ready for them.

My other big question is how much of a replacement PC it could be for a power user. Now I can work around Flash and rarely need a camera, but what is clear to me is that a huge percentage of my screen time is spent staring at iChat. While I don't usually need a camera or microphone, my iChat is connected to 4 different networks, and I simply can't do my job without the steady stream of co-worker notes and bot notifications that I rely on. I've yet to find an app that lives in the background and is capable of connecting to the 4 distinct networks that I use. (AIM, SSL'd Jabber and Non-SSL'd Jabber)

I'm not expecting a WoW client or anything, but Chat? Seriously, Apple: You're on iPhone 3.something-or-other and you can't give us a chat client? I can only hope that the end of the exclusive AT&T era means that Apple will no longer be tied to some secret back room deal that forced iPhones to try to shove users to the crap SMS network to pad a telco profit margin despite the fact that our devices are living on a Wi-Fi network.

So, what does Apple need to fix?

• Lose several ounces. PLEASE.
• Video Camera
• iChat
• User switching (or at least an Anonymous mode)

I used it for a day and a half and think that it will be an excellent couch companion PC. I'm also certain that on planes, long car rides, and vacations it will be a great little machine. The battery life is pretty dang amazing. But this is a 1.0 piece of hardware running 3.0 software. The size/shape is great. The speed is wonderful. And 2 years of Moore's law might make this a device to be reckoned with if Apple sells enough of them to continue heavy development on the software and hardware. This version isn't a replacement PC for anyone yet, but future versions might be. You probably want to save your cash until then.

Comments

CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[Space cowboy]

Considering that the last time he passed comment on an Apple handheld, his prediction was pretty lame

I don't think this is the ultimate device for keyboard-focussed nerds, but (as usual) that's not who Apple is aiming at. I guess we'll have to wait and see how well it really does, but selling 300k in one day, in one country compares pretty well to the 3G and 3GS phones (which sold ~1M in 3 days, in 21 countries worldwide).

[Aside - not directed at the review]
perhaps it's just me, but the qualifier "just" in "just a bigger iphone/ipod touch" seems somewhat questionable. Does anyone here want to trade their HDTV for an SD model ? Thought so. With a TV, all you do is view it. On an iPad you'll interact with it - that 5x screen-estate isn't a "just", it's a "crucially", IMHO.
[/aside]

Simon

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[characterZer0]

His predictions are correct. The first iPods were lame. The (first) iPad is lame.

He did not say that they will not sell well with a high profit margin.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[maxume]

Of course, the latest iPod has more space than a nomad and wireless.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[sopssa]

I don't think this is the ultimate device for keyboard-focussed nerds, but (as usual) that's not who Apple is aiming at.

But he noted that the iPad isn't usable even for grandmas. Lets face it, you have to use keyboard every now and then to use web or to do basically anything. That's not going to change until we have good speech recognition. Also if the iPad weights too much even for a guy without your hands getting sore, how can a grandma keep it in hand?

Fancy graphic designers and such that like Apple products also need Flash because thats what they develop for and is the de facto standard. But there's no support for Flash or any of the Adobe products. Therefore it's useless for that group too.

It's not good for business, as theres it weights a lot, doesn't run multiple IM and chat programs at the same time (when you want to login to MSN, you have to get off Skype), and it doesn't support MS Office.

It's not good for homes as theres no multiple user accounts.

Who is iPad aimed at then?

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[Bill, Shooter of Bul]

You know, growing up, I used to do archery a lot at summer camp. When ever we would accidentally hit the wrong target, or anything other than the target we were aiming for, we'd cry out "That's exactly what I was aiming for". It was obvious BS that was funny. But people still try doing that like the parent post. If a product doesn't suit your needs then well, it must be intentionally not aiming for you. Its not the products fault it doesn't suite you , its your fault for not being the target!

Of course, the opposite was equally practised, and even funnier. Sometimes, a friend would hit the bullseye, then it would be required to claim that he was really aiming for the tree. This is more rare to see in tech circles. People are smart enough, and don't have the same sense of humour that kids do to claim it. Usually, when people make the "aiming for" statement its of the first kind: psuedo marketing BS.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[0xdeadbeef]

Do you know what iPods have now? Wireless and more space than a Nomad! Not only was he correct about the iPod, but his comment directed Apple on the course that ultimately led to the iPhone. You fanboys owe Rob Malda for everything.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[joebok]

I'm not sure who the iPad was aimed at, but as a gadget hound I'm always an easy target.

I think that primarily the iPad offers quick and easy access to entertainment. Music, video, web, books, and games. It is good for commuting and as the "couch computer" that the reviewer stated. It is fast - click the home button, swipe the unlock, find your icon and boom - there you are, looking at your movie, checking email, or calling up a search on the web. I find it much faster than a laptop in terms of waking up from sleep mode and starting up an app that isn't already loaded.

They are an anti-laptop format: iPads are easy to hold and operate single-handed but awkward trying to work with it on a table. Laptops are great on tables but are nearly impossible to operate while holding. So when you are in a situation where you think, "man, it would suck to try to use my laptop now", I would guess that an iPad might be just the ticket.

I knew going into the purchase that the iPad is more of a larger iPhone/iTouch and that was fine with me since my only complaint about my iTouch was that it would be nice to have a bigger screen. I am not disappointed - yet neither am I thrilled or surprised. I like it and have no regrets.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[Princeofcups]

Who is iPad aimed at then?

I'm waiting for the first review of using VNC on this thing. I see it as the perfect remote console for all my "real" systems.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[amplt1337]

you have to use keyboard every now and then to use web or to do basically anything. That's not going to change until we have good speech recognition.

Which doesn't bode well for the iPad, because the last thing you want to do is go around dictating everything on a device that's meant to be used on-the-go, in public.

Who is iPad aimed at then?

Apple thinks everything it touches will become gold. So it's assuming -- like all the gushy tech reviewers -- that this is a device that will "make its own niche" or for which people will "discover needs and uses they didn't realize they had." Okay, that's possible I suppose, but people have been talking about this thing for months, and the best case anybody's been able to make for it is as an e-book reader. Seriously guys?

This device will prove to have been a mistake.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[natehoy]

Nonsense. I just finished a 14-year-old Twinkie and it was as tasty as the dayyyy it wazz maaayde.. hey, whyyy izzz Slashdohhhttt suddenly purrple? Dfggbghtz. Shakkrsnordleez. Gzzfmht.. farkle...

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[HermMunster]

I wrote several posts here on Slashdot about the usability of this device. Anyone having used an iPod or iPhone to watch a movie or type long sections of text knows that those devices don't cut it for long use. The screen size and the need to constantly hold it or hold it at a specific angle affect comfort. Various programs require different ways of dealing with the device. Software is also part of the comfort level.

I was watching a site where the publishers were demoing games. What struck me was that the person playing the games had to be quite dexterous in order to accomplish some things (might work for a youthful adult but a young child or the grand parents won't fare well). He distended his fingers and thumbs, he kept having to readjust the position of his hand to keep them on the controls.

Even the chat clients can become an issue because you have to keep switching out of them to view links that people send. A buddy sends me link to all sorts of sites while we chat, from looking up a product on ebay.com or newegg.com to articles about technology or automotive. I have to copy the link, then close out of the chat, and then switch to the browser, paste the URL (because no way on earth I'm going to type it again). It works even though it is cumbersome.

I stated that the iPad is a short use device and that it can't be anything else. Even if Apple managed to cut down the weight it would still be difficult to hold and type, especially if you are laying down on your back on the couch. There's no way around it. The weight while holding it with one hand and typing with the other is going to be too much. Laying on the couch with your legs propped up while you watch a movie won't cut it. Sitting up and staring down at it will strain the neck.

The comfort level will be tied directly to it's success. If you can't use this half-portable device for extended periods without stress then people won't adopt it. Half-portable because it isn't like an ipod or iphone.

Other things have to be taken into account too. We don't just see the glitzy gimmicky features and jump on them without evaluating the tradeoffs. Meaning that once we get it the novelty wears off and we begin to evaluate how it will impact how we function on a daily basis. A device such as this is expected to be a portable life organizer, so to speak.

My thoughts beckon from the fact that I find it uncomforable to use my iPhone for extended periods of time. I've tried to watch a few movies. I found it useful on trips or places where I had long waits. At home it was best used as a phone. The battery life on the iPhone doesn't cut it. Having both the iPhone and iPad with non-removable batteries is a complete letdown. The fact is, designing it this way is unnecessary. Considering what is inside the thing adding the ability to remove the battery wouldn't have affected the weight or design much. In fact, using it plugged in with the battery out would have increased the comfort level considerably.

The success of the device so far is based solely on marketing and frankly nothing else.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[commodoresloat]

But he noted that the iPad isn't usable even for grandmas. Lets face it, you have to use keyboard every now and then to use web or to do basically anything. That's not going to change until we have good speech recognition.

Or at least until someone invents a keyboard that works without wires, maybe through bluetooth? Nah, that will take centuries, what am I thinking....

Also if the iPad weights too much even for a guy without your hands getting sore, how can a grandma keep it in hand?

We're talking about CmdrTaco here, not a regular guy. 1.5 lbs? Get to the gym.

Fancy graphic designers and such that like Apple products also need Flash because thats what they develop for and is the de facto standard. But there's no support for Flash or any of the Adobe products. Therefore it's useless for that group too.

Yeah I'm sure you won't be able to read PDFs at all on this thing.

It's not good for business, as theres it weights a lot, doesn't run multiple IM and chat programs at the same time (when you want to login to MSN, you have to get off Skype), and it doesn't support MS Office.

Yep, I don't know how anyone can get any business work done without being distracted with multiple chat windows opening on any machine they use. Even photocopiers come equipped with multiple simultaneous chat clients these days; what was Apple thinking! And yeah there's no support for Office, that's why you can read Word and Excel documents flawlessly on the iphone.

It's not good for homes as theres no multiple user accounts.

Yes because every home user should also have leet sysadmin skills.

Who is iPad aimed at then?

Nobody, following your impeccable logic. I guess you're right, they won't sell any of these things!

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[justinb26]

Let's hit a couple points:

Touch keyboards seem a lot more limiting when you touch type 80+ wpm on a physical keyboard. Grandma's hunt-and-peck speed isn't going to be affected much. There are stands and docks available. I paired a random folding bluetooth keyboard last night with no hassle.

There are plenty of multi-IM chat programs. Most are not updated for ipad yet, but they work fine for the time being via upscaling. Keep in mind this is a device with 150k+ compatible apps on launch day, plus hundreds of native ones, and most developers NEVER EVEN TOUCHED THE DEVICE before releasing v1 of their ipad software. That fact continutes to amaze me.

How did you want it to support MS office, that you think it doesn't do so? Obviously you're not talking about file format compatibility through the iWork apps, the third party Office-compatible apps, or published apps via Citrix (not to mention VNC/RDP)? Is the problem that this thing doesn't have a native version of the MS Office suite (on day 1 no less)? Are you really surprised by this?


Now, the continued outcry over Flash support is just stupid. Flash was never a good solution for online video, it just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Flash games are not exactly crucial to my online experience, but YMMV. Most importantly, the majority of flash apps are NOT MADE FOR TOUCH INTERFACES: http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2010/02/20/an-adobe-flash-developer-on-why-the-ipad-cant-use-flash/

(tl;dr - Flash apps make heavy use of "hover", something that makes no sense on a touch UI (yes, I have a wacom-based tablet and understand how that tech works. that's a pen interface, not a touch interface).



I'm still trying to wrap my head around this fact: there is now a $500, 10", 1.5lb, .5" thick, slate formfactor, 10 hours battery life, fast, 3d accelerated, multitouch freakin' tablet on the market. It runs an OS built for multitouch. There are over 150,000 apps available on launch day.

And people are falling all over themselves to complain about it.

The iPad is something out of Star Trek or HHGTTG, the sort of thing nerds have been dreaming about for decades. Yet there are people for whom the most important aspect of this is the lack of flash (and a camera, and a desktop OS, and it's too heavy, and the bezel's too big, and the app store is evil, and, and, and)...

Way to really, really miss the point. These are most likely the same people that said the same sort of things about the iPod, the iPhone, the Wii, hell, probably the color tv and automatic transmission, too.

Bottom line is that the iPad is a glimpse at what the future of (casual) computing is going to look like. If you don't want to get onboard, that's fine, but don't cry when you realize the train has left the station without you.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[HermMunster]

He does a fine job. Better than some reviews I've read over the weekend. He addresses usability and portability which are the two key factors to the device's success. Because it isn't glowing I'm sure it will set a lot of new owners off (or even those expecting to purchase one). Hopefully they take something from what he wrote beyond the towing of the line of these Apple extended PR houses.

I read engaget.com after hearing they'd blocked all comments on the JooJoo. I didn't go there to read the comments. I wanted to see what they had said about it.

They justified taking down the comments in their own unique way. They then put a slight intro video up and basically used negative words without even having reviewed it. Taking into account the reviews they did over the weekend of the iPad, and the reviews from other sites, clearly some of the issues with the iPad were the same as those with the JooJoo, though not all.

After reviewing the engaget.com site again this morning I noticed a 6-7 articles on the iPad with no other articles on the JooJoo. The justification they made to not review it and to lock out and delete all the comments was because there was too much going on over the weekend, along with the iPad and other news so they wouldn't have time. Then I read one of the intro paragraphs to another article where the writer claimed that people had to be getting tired of reading about the JooJoo so he'd write something about the iPad. I took that as disrespect for those that posted their thoughts in the comments--that were ultimately deleted by engaget.com.

One thing to remember is that engaget.com is actually AOL. That means the they have motivation to publish positive reviews of certain products that will or do advertise for them. I always take what I read on engaget.com with a grain of salt, and have noticed over the years how they weren't always looking out for the best interest of the consumer, instead rallying behind the almighty dollar.

My point is that this review seems honest and talks about those things that people should be hearing. Right now everyone that purchased the device did so based on the merits of the PR rather than the actual usability, viability, and comfort level of the devices. Yes, the iTunes store plays a big part.

I've heard the iPad has only mono sound from the speakers. I know this is appropriate for the iPhone and iPod, but should that be the case for the iPad. I also am unsure whether I will have to pay to move my content from the iPhone to the iPad--apps and music. I'd hate to be forced to purchase them again, which would ultimately eliminate this as a purchase for me, even if I could find another use for it.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[Culture20]

Also if the iPad weights too much even for a guy without your hands getting sore, how can a grandma keep it in hand?

We're talking about CmdrTaco here, not a regular guy. 1.5 lbs? Get to the gym.

But it's 1.5 pounds spread across a large plane; it's not like a tiny dumbbell. So, you've got some torque built up from the lever-action, and you have to use a couple of your fingers to do half of the lifting. Do you regularly manipulate 0.75 pounds with a couple fingers for hours on-end? Wait, don't answer that.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[justinb26]

Just curious if you said the same thing about the ipod and iphone?

FWIW, since Saturday I've used it for:
Remote Desktop/VNC/SSH
Extra Monitor
Gaming system (most pleasant surprise: playing multiplayer games with my kids on a single screen)
Music Player
Web Browser
Television
Calendar
Ebook reader/Comic Reader/Interactive Children's Story Reader
"Interactive Educational Tool" (Exploring elements and molecules, etc with my older son)
Musical Instrument
Sketchbook

... and this is before the jailbreak is released, after which you can add "unix workstation" to that list.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[amplt1337]

None of the examples you use, with the exception of the business use case, are handled better on an iPad than a netbook. In fact, they're pretty much all handled worse, because tablet computing input still sucks. Not to mention that grandma's arthritic hands aren't going to enjoy this thing. And are you seriously telling me you want to type tricky cli commands on a no-feedback slick-surface touchscreen keyboard? Please.

The business case is irrelevant, because no business is going to spring for an iPad when they could have a Blackberry instead. It's cheaper, lighter, and makes phone calls. If even the iPhone isn't making major inroads against the Blackberry, you can bet the iPad won't.

The iPad's "killer functionality" will be mobile videos, ebooks, and generally media playback. I don't expect that to revolutionize the computing world, however. It will likely compete with existing Apple products, like the iPod Touch.

This is a device without a purpose. Many hundreds of thousands of advertising dollars will be spent to create one, but in the end there isn't really a niche for it, doubly so when Apple tries to use it to remake the web. Ultimately, it is not a computer replacement, and until it is, the kind of stuff it's good for is a niche application for people who already have a computer.

Yes, yes, change is important. That doesn't mean every change is a good idea.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[somersault]

So when you are in a situation where you think, "man, it would suck to try to use my laptop now", I would guess that an iPad might be just the ticket

iPads work in the shower?

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[somersault]

This device will prove to have been a mistake.

Apple must really stop making all these heavily profitable mistakes..

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[PopeRatzo]

I like it and have no regrets.

I've decided not to buy one, and I have no regrets, either.

I have a real need for a portable PDF reader with an SD slot and/or USB port. If Apple had included either one of those, I'd probably be looking forward to buying the 2nd or 3rd generation iPad, but now I've got to wait until the knockoffs start.

At some point, I'll want to replace my Monome for music production with something with a touch screen. However, I'll need something with an OS that is more friendly toward open source development and is not tied to a single source for apps. Also, I've got to have that USB port because bluetooth just doesn't cut it for music production controllers for the same reason that you don't use wireless mics in the studio.

To be an "early adopter" requires a constant vague dissatisfaction with the technology I currently have. I don't know why, but sometime last decade that vague dissatisfaction left me, so now I'm not so inclined to jump for some new tech item until I have a need for it, or to buy something just because it's new. This requires me to studiously avoid marketing, since its purpose is to implant in us a need that did not exist before. Plus, marketing gives me a headache. I also lost me taste for sleek and shiny. Most of the tech in my life tends to look more like mil-spec or DIY with wires hanging off it than chrome and glass jewelery that's hermetically sealed. I like it that way, but that's just the sort of hairpin I am. No knock on Apple, but I like tech that I can use without having to get permission, too.

I'm glad to hear that people are excited about their new iPads. I'm glad that they're buying iPads because I still own some Apple stock. Most of all, I'm glad that this new device will spur other manufacturers to compete with Apple and come out with their own devices, with hopefully will be more appropriate for me needs. Everybody wins, except for the people who require the validation that comes from everybody else wanting the thing you just bought.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[LucidBeast]

Do you think Apple will come up with new pad design ever? Sort of like the current one, but have a hinge at a bottom, which would be connected to an equal sized square. Then you could open it sort of like this -> \__ or close it like -> o__ Perhaps you could add some input devices to the bottom part, perhaps qwerty keyboard and a separate input pad so the screen wouldn't get dirty when it is in use. Some new catchy title could be used for this new iPad. iMaxiPad is obvious, but what is a pad? It's a thing for taking notes right? How about iNotes or since it can be closed like a book. iNotesbook or Notebook for short. Go figure.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[commodoresloat]

I get this, I really do, but I don't see how it is unique to the iPad. This is true for the Kindle, for example. And the Zune. And just about any net-aware appliance I can think of that doesn't run Linux. And the thing is, hackers who want to do something cooler with the device will figure out how, and Apple will probably mostly look the other way like they have with people putting osx on whiteboxes or jailbreaking iphones. They're not going to openly encourage hackers, but they're also not wasting their resources going after them. In the meantime they are building a device to do the things that they think are cool, and they have a really great app store model for developers to create tools to do their own thing with it. Sure, they have stupid PG-13 rules and annoying reviews of all apps, but those who want to write other apps still do, and the damn thing was jailbroken on day one, so anyone who wants a tricked out ipad with naked pics on their apps and whatever else can certainly still have it. And for the rest of us, if we like the apps that we can find at the app store, what's the big deal? Nobody is stopping you from developing anything you want to.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[Tharsman]

His predictions are correct. The first iPods were lame. The (first) iPad is lame.

He did not say that they will not sell well with a high profit margin.

That is not a prediction, that is an opinion.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[ottothecow]

Too bad he can't seem to figure out how the location thing works.

Ipod touches have had location support for a long time now (and they do not have gps or 3g chips). Google scrapes base station ID numbers from wifi points when it takes street-view photos--this was enough to put my friends dot on a map within 20-30ft of our actual room when he first got his ipod touch (it was in the right building...just not quite in the right apartment).

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[mcrbids]

The iPad has only one target: to sell.

Time will tell if it makes its target. I've seen one, and I won't be buying. It's too big for "on the go", I don't want to carry yet another gadget, and it's both too pricey to be a convenience buy, and too limited to be anything more exciting than my Android phone, except that it requires either wifi or an expensive data plan that I can't share with my laptop. It's big enough to be categorized more like my laptop since it doesn't fit into my pocket, but not capable enough to compare well. I can't use it as a remote control, so it doesn't replace my TV remote, either.

So it's an expensive, half-assed replacement for cheaper devices that do a better job in their respective areas. (But then, I don't have an iPod either. I use (and love) my Creative Zen!)

Meh.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[Darfeld]

Just wait for the iWhatever to hold your pad. Only $500.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[Kitkoan]

Well, no. But books can't give you instructional tips in audio and video on every step of what you're cooking.

Neither can the iPad since those videos online are done in Flash.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[Anonymous Coward]

WHOOSH! Did somebody get under your precious widdle skin, den? Aaoowwww how cute, hipster rage!

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[sootman]

> The first iPods were lame.

No, they weren't. No wireless and less space than a Nomad, sure, but they were physically smaller than other HDD-based players, transferring songs over FireWire was MUCH faster than USB at the time, and having an awesome UI (the scroll wheel, making it easy to quickly navigate your giant collection) more than made up for those other shortcomings. The net result was "not lame."

A lot of it is personal taste and preference, but for me (and many other people), the iPod was the first NON-lame MP3 player out there. Taco dismissed it over two small points. (And might I point out that no other MP3 player (AFAIK) had wireless at the time? Many people were hoping for it, sure, but no one else had it--so why was Apple deemed "lame" for not having it either?)

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[reidconti]

The first iPods did virtually everything I do with my iPod today: Sync MP3s from iTunes and play them thru my headphones.

Sure, now I use my 3GS at the gym since someone stole my nano. But frankly, the classic iPod interface is better than the touch interface anyway.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[thanasakis]

Wifi to location is not provided by Google. The iPhone/iPod Touch use Skyhook Wireless.

Even when GPS is available, this service is being used inside buildings etc.

Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground

[brufleth]

Some neighbors were over for dinner on Saturday who has just purchased two iPads. We were going to a movie after dinner and wanted to buy tickets ahead of time (one of those theaters with assigned seating). They were trying to do it on a netbook we have and having some trouble. It occurred to me that between their iPhones and now their iPads they weren't used to going to an actual website to order tickets. They were used to having an app for that and pretty much everything else that most PC users happily use a web browser for. My point is that there is an entire class of users out there that have become used to an app for whatever task they might regularly perform. I'm not criticizing this as the specialized apps are usually going to get the job done faster than a often clunky website.

iPad

[Anonymous Coward]

The lack of Flash is MUCH more noticeable than I thought it would be.

This is true. Just try browsing the web without plug-ins enabled; you find a need to enable them surprisingly often for Flash. You probably think that you don't visit so many video or flash game sites, but a lot of times slashdot links to articles that have videos, or you're reading about gaming news and it has a trailer or gameplay footage you want to see. However in this case you can't even turn Flash on when you want to.

After just one day I know this is not going to work for them. The difficulty using the keyboard. The missing Flash. And the lack of video camera for chatting

So basically there's no good use for iPad. No big surprise there - just blatant stupidity from over-excited Apple fanbois.

Re:iPad

[azmodean 1]

As someone who runs FlashBlock on all of my computers, I find this hilarious. I understand that some people want tiny video playing at them all the time, and that's fine, but I have NEVER wanted flash when browsing.

To be clear, I consider "watching video" to be separate from "browsing", YMMV. Same disclaimer applies for "playing flash games". All other uses of flash I have encountered have been forced on me by the page author not providing an alternative. I have never *wanted* the "enhanced flash experience", I just want the content damnit.

Also, I'm not defending the iPad, I pretty much hate Apple. I'm just responding to the comment about flash.

Re:iPad

[Toonol]

So, by redefining all the major uses of flash to be 'not browsing', you've found you don't need flash for browsing.

Re:iPad

[R3d M3rcury]

And the lack of video camera for chatting

This is one thing I don't really get--the video camera.

Let's say you've got the video camera. How are you going to position it so the camera sees you. And how are you going to maintain that position for, say, a 5 minute chat?

Put the iPad on your lap with the camera facing up and you end up with lots of light coming in. So you can't really see the face of the person you're talking to very well. Holding it out at arms length might be better, but could be tiring.

But, hey, you can always spend an extra $29-$39 for something that will hold it up.

While the idea of a video chat while on the go sounds cool, I'm not all that convinced it's going to work.

To sum it up:

[Anonymous Coward]

No Flash. Less usability than a netbook. Lame

Re:To sum it up:

[jedidiah]

How is a touchscreen input that's approximately the same size going to help?

You will have all the crampedness of the netbook keyboard without any of the tactile feedback.

It will be the worst of both worlds.

Re:To sum it up:

[bflong]

I'm 6'5" and one of my huge hands spans across the entire keyboard on my eee901. I *love* my netbook, and would never trade it in for something like an iPad.

Re:To sum it up:

[Colonel Korn]

The problem with netbooks is that they suck... unless you stopped growing in kindergarten.

Even then they suck. They're slow, and have horrible battery life.

And that's where the iPad comes in.

My eee 1005HA lasts 10 hours, loads web pages much faster than an iPad (and is able to use adblock, making the web useable, and flash, making the web...well, at least adblock is good). The advantage the iPad has in battery life doesn't mean much when the competition lasts 10 hours - that's long enough and in the same ballpark. The iPad's only advantage is form factor. For me, that's easily overshadowed by the fact that my netbook runs Windows 7 very smoothly, giving me vastly more capabilities than an iPad.

Since form factor is the only thing the iPad has going for it and it's still too big to be truly portable, I have an iPod Touch instead. An iPod Touch barely lags behind the capabilities of the iPad (unlike the vast gulf between the iPad and the netbook) but is immensely more portable. I think this is really a case where, if you can afford it, having two devices are better than the poorly designed compromise in between them.

Car analogy: I'd rather have a sedan and a pair of glasses than a fifty pound magnifying glass on roller blade wheels.

Re:To sum it up:

[toppavak]

Plus it seems the market has pretty much settled on the 10" format for netbooks which allows for near-normal sized keyboards. 4 post-docs in my lab and the PI have netbooks as their primary computer, another lab I've worked with had every lab machine replaced with 10" netbooks and a set of external monitors scattered around. They're cheap, powerful enough, fairly durable and completely usable.

Re:To sum it up:

[lupis42]

Even then they suck. They're slow, and have horrible battery life.

And that's where the iPad comes in.

What, by being slower, and impossible to type on.

How does that help?

Re:To sum it up:

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow way to generalize...

Clearly not all netbooks are created equal but...

the standard 1st gen netbook w/ atom 270 and integrated graphics kills the ipad when it comes to performance,keyboard ergonomics, and don't even get me started on the feature-set...and has anywhere from a short to extremely long (8+ hr) battery life...you can choose to buy a smaller battery, larger battery, or 50000 batteries...

the point is, your statements are flat out wrong unless you're talking about the worst netbook that came out 1.5 yrs ago...

Re:To sum it up:

[yurtinus]

Exactly - it's all about expectations. If you buy it expecting a laptop, you are bound for disappointment. Sure, it has more pixels than the first laptop I owned, but we've become accustomed to bigger screens and more space so our expectations are pretty up there.

I bought mine as an internet appliance. In a pinch I have used it for general computing (programming, office work, etc). It sucks in that role, but it's great that it can do it when needed.

I wouldn't go so far as to tie fine motor control or vision problems - there are plenty of folks who simply aren't comfortable on those keyboards or screens.

Re:To sum it up:

[ArtDent]

Huh? I can touch type just fine on my netbook (an IdeaPad S10e). They keys are almost full size, and the feel is great. I've experienced worse with some desktop keyboards. The screwy placement of the right shift key (to the right of the up arrow) took some time to get used to, but I that's not a problem with any other netbook, as far as I know.

Now if we could just convince some OEMs to replace the horrible little touch pads with trackpoints or touch screens, we'd be in business.

iNough!

[WrongSizeGlass]

Please, enough of the iPad. I'm a Mac user, and I find the iPad a potential tool for some of my clients, but enough already.

I can't think of anything that has gotten this type of media hype ... and for what? 48 hours of availability? It's going to take a lot longer than two days to decide if the iPad is well suited for its market niche or if its going to run into problems. Failure is much easier to measure, but determining success takes time.

Re:iNough!

[CdBee]

Dare I suggest it isnt a tool for potential clients, but a client for potential tools?

Re:iNough!

[voidptr]

If 1 1/2 lbs is too heavy for the iPad, the JooJoo is going to feel like a lead brick at 2 1/2.

Who has dirty hands?

[Locke2005]

This weekend saw the delivery of iPads into hundreds of thousands of filthy hands. I managed to get my hands on a 32GB unit... I take that you count yourself amongst the unwashed masses, then?

Location without GPS

[daffmeister]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure that the iPhone, and therefore most likely the iPad, can get location without GPS via Skyhook and the known locations of wireless access points. So apps asking permission to use your location is not a bug.

Re:Location without GPS

[ptbarnett]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure that the iPhone, and therefore most likely the iPad, can get location without GPS via Skyhook and the known locations of wireless access points.

You are correct. I was surprised when my iPod Touch was able to identify my location. It took some research before I figured out that it was getting it from Skyhook Wireless. It actually put my position on the street just outside the house, presumably where someone drove by with a sniffer and picked up the SSID of the WiFi AP I was using.

Re:Location without GPS

[alnjmshntr]

It's works many places. I just travelled to a bunch of countries in asia, australia and new zealand with an IPod touch and the maps app invariably gave me an exact location. In places like Singapore it was outstanding, it could give me precise location down to the street corner as I walked along.

Re:Location without GPS

[Sir Realist]

Not Skyhook; Skynet.

Location

[The Salamander]

If you don't have a GPS, it uses wifi-location. So its not ridiculous at all to ask; maybe you should
have tried it before complaining?

It works rather well, actually.

Re:Location

[WiiVault]

Yeah when I saw that I just started laughing. I'm not thrilled with the iPad, but this "review" is just lamer than a Nomad.

Good review

[dskzero]

The keyword is the point that it isn't a replacement PC for anyone. I sincerely hope people realize that, so the flame wars can move on and debate about something else.

It's not a computer, it's a living-room appliance

[daffmeister]

I don't think this ever will be, or is intended to be, a replacement computer, even for stuff as simple as writing emails. It's intended to be an entertainment device and sometime organiser. Reading the newspaper, watching TV, playing games, finding recipes. Stuff that we did before computers, just an electronic version of such stuff. If there's a big enough market for that, and I think there might be, this will do very well.

Re:You don't need 3G for GPS.

[marcansoft]

You do on the iPad, as GPS and 3G go hand-in-hand in the still unavailable 3G model. But Taco was confused by the Wi-Fi location finding system that does work on his non-3G model.

Bluetooth keyboard

[CompressedAir]

Has anyone tried it with a bluetooth keyboard? Does that integrate well?

Interesting that it gets the iPhone web pages... that would be irritating.

Also, any reports on how that second-monitor app works on it?

Re:Bluetooth keyboard

[ircmaxell]

Also, any reports on how that second-monitor app works on it?

Horrible...

Re:Bluetooth keyboard

[Altus]

While it still sounds pretty bad (and second monitor via network is a bad idea) the fact that these clowns couldn't figure out right off the bat that you have to turn off video mirroring is just laughable.

where you at

[digitalsushi]

This seems like an oversight: if you don't have a location sensor, don't ask! Even the built-in Map app asked me for information that it could not possibly have.

google wardrives everyone's wifi while they update streetview; your unique 48 bit mac address uniquely identifies your location if you are on a recorded wifi hotspot.

Re:where you at

[dlgeek]

Google drives by my house and sees a WPA2-protected wifi router. I guess they could get the MAC of the router if they want (right?). But that's all they can see.

They can also get the SSID and they know the exact location. This is more than enough to allow a wireless device to figure out its position when it sees your router.

When I go to a google.com from my wifi laptop at home, google sees the MAC of the laptop, but NOT the router.

Actually, they see neither. The MAC address is exposed on the physical layer, as your packets are routed through the internet, they take on the MAC addresses of the devices they pass through.

So how would they associate a physical location with a google user? They can see my external IP online, but they cannot see that by just wardriving. (Unless there's a way to also sniff the MAC of my laptop at the time of wardriving...now I'm paranoid.) I don't get how they could associate the two things, unless I'm ignorant on the details here.

No one is claiming that they're associating the two. Parent poster merely said they're recording the GPS location of every wifi access point they see as they take pictures for street view.

Now, the two COULD be associated on the android platform which integrates heavily into your google account, but I'm not aware of that happening.

Some might have forgotten...

[rwade]

The post behind this joke. Here it is:

Apple releases iPod

No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.

Re:Some might have forgotten...

[clone53421]

The original flaw was in assuming that nobody would want a device with “no wireless, less space than a nomad”... and it turned out that plenty of people did want a portable MP3 player that lacked wireless and had less space than a nomad.

I can’t really say I expect the iPad predictions to be very far off base, though. It’s either a large, bulky iPhone or a slim but not very usable laptop. And they didn’t sell out, which tells you something... ideally you’d want them to sell out; if the demand is high you can continue to charge similarly high prices for the next releases. If stores still have the original batch sitting on the shelves after opening week, though, you’re going to have to either drop the price to get more people to buy them or else accept the fact that you’ve found a niche market that is turning out to be smaller than you thought.

Also missing besides folders: file protocol

[WebManWalking]

I got an iPad 64GB and am using Safari a lot more. It's showing up multi-touch Safari's deficiencies.

In all other browsers, you can open a file on the device's file system. It's called the file protocol because the URL begins "file:". This allows offline prototyping of websites. I use it to define a "jump page" that's crammed full of all the hotlinks I normally use, organized to find them easily. Since we don't have the file protocol in multi-touch Safari, I have to put my jump page out to the actual Internet via iWeb and access it as an unpublished URL. In a sense, that makes sense, because I would only be able to use it if I were connected to the Internet, but it's not as private as keeping it on your own hard drive.

Also no View Source.

Also no default home page (short of saving the URL as an icon in the iPad's home).

Also no back arrow history (have to go back only one page at a time).

Also no Firefox allowed in the App store, which is what would REALLY force multi-touch Safari to get more usable.

Re:Also missing besides folders: file protocol

[jcr]

I use it to define a "jump page" that's crammed full of all the hotlinks I normally use, organized to find them easily

Yeah, I used to do that, back before bookmarks became a standard feature of every browser.

-jcr

Re:Also missing besides folders: file protocol

[bynary]

...no Firefox allowed in the App store, which is what would REALLY force multi-touch Safari to get more usable.

Hmmm...I've never used multi-touch Firefox. How is it?

Re:Pound and a half and its too heavy?

[sweatyboatman]

I suppose you're trying to be funny, but let's do an experiment.

lift your arm up and hold it there for 30 minutes.

the iPad could weigh zero pounds, but it's still a tablet and so suffers from the "gorilla arm" phenomenon of being impossible to use for extended periods.

the iPhone would have the same problem, but it's designed to be used for a couple minutes and then put away in your pocket/purse.

Would be 100% more fun with a camera

[psydeshow]

Good points, CmdrTaco.

I walked into the Apple Store in NYC on Saturday and bought one on a whim, in and out the door in 5 minutes. It's a nice piece of gear but my first thought was, holy crap this thing is heavy. From the iFixIt teardown we know that it's basically all battery under there, and the battery life is great. But if there was an 8-hour version it would balance better in your hand.

It would be 100% more fun to play with if it had a camera. There are so many photo editing/retouching possibilities already, and being able to take and then watch home movies on the iPad would be a lot of fun because of the large display. Alas, we will have to wait for that.

I thought it was okay to type on. Just small enough to use thumbs, but large enough to put in your lap or on a table and touch type. It also makes a decent remote controller (VNC client) for a living room PC or media center.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:It's not a computer, it's a living-room applian

[c 0xFF]

Reading the newspaper, watching TV, playing games, finding recipes. Stuff that we did before computers, just an electronic version of such stuff.

But we like doing those on a computer. Now Apple is trying to introduce a new paradigm that's backwards from previous trends, where daily tasks are being pushed to our home computer. No wonder many (especially geeks) are resisting.

On the other hand, smart phones are increasingly being used as entertainment devices (a concept that always seemed strange to me), so maybe this isn't quite a shot in the dark -- maybe the new paradigm is already coming, and Apple is just ahead of the game. It certainly explains the design.

Re:where you at and one more correction.

[LWATCDR]

"My iPad has no 3G, therefore it has no GPS. "... Huh?
You don't need 3G to have GPS. Heck you don't have to have any cell phone connection to have a GPS. You need a GPS to have GPS.

Works with standard iMac bluetooth keyboard

[rwade]

The original announcement said that there would be a Bluetooth keyboard available, although I haven't bothered to check if it's available now.

The standard iMac bluetooth keyboard works with the iPad.

Who would have forgotten?

[rwade]

Well, it was 2001. Some of our users were eating all their food out of gerber jars at the time.

Location

[whisper_jeff]

My iPad has no 3G, therefore it has no GPS. But applications were constantly asking me for permission to use my location. This seems like an oversight: if you don't have a location sensor, don't ask!

If you're going to review a product, at least make an effort to understand its functionality and features. The iPad (and iPhone and iPod Touch) are capable of geolocation based on your wifi connection. My iPod Touch (1st gen) is able to locate me within about 50-100 meters of my actual location just from wifi information. It's actually quite impressive.

Given that this has been the case for quite a long time and is not a new development, there is no excuse for someone reviewing the product for Slashdot to be unaware of it. Also, given that you apparently are unaware of it, it puts pretty much every one of your opinions on the product into perspective - namely, that you are not sufficiently knowledgeable to be reviewing the product.

In other words, I stopped reading at that point. If I'm going to read a review on a product, I like it to be a vaguely informed view. It has nothing to do with you obviously knocking the device - I read all of Cory Doctorow's review and he blasted the product. I disagreed with the majority of his review, but I read it because it was an informed review. I stopped reading your review because you don't know what you're talking about.

I know I shouldn't, but I expect better from Slashdot...

Not a laptop

[Jezza]

Apple don't intend this to be a replacement for a laptop. You want a nice comfy keyboard, iChat and a camera? Apple make that: it's a MacBook Pro - no, seriously, it's a MacBook Pro.

A lot of people have said it feels heavy - OK, I'll accept that, not seen one, but sure it's heavy. So why does it need a camera? What you said about it being heavy is going to count double if I'm going to hold it at arm's length in front of me. Otherwise I'm either going to be in extreme close up (and trust me, I'm not the kind of person who does well in extreme close up) or a really nice view up my nose (and even Brad Pitt can't make that look good). Honestly, I'll pass on the camera - I also do work in places where cameras aren't allowed (defence and education).

Re:iChat? Really? What about multi-tasking?

[99BottlesOfBeerInMyF]

Does gmail chat/facebook chat not work in the iPad browser? If it does, this is probably better for most than some proprietary chat client. Quite frankly, I'm inclined to place the unavailability of multi-task greater than iChat.

But what about when you want to quickly use some other app? Then you have to close your chat. It's things like this that demand multitasking.

Okay, let me provide a little clarification. The OS multitasks. Third party apps don't, because Apple has not provided an API. They have provided a push messaging API, however, so the OS can get a notification and flag a chat client so you know you have a new message, which will appear as soon as you switch back to the chat client. This is pretty much the same as Blackberry's push notification, except third parties use it, instead of just RIM. This is the right way to handle resource allocation and push notifications on devices with limited resources, limited bandwidth, and where UI responsiveness is important. So multitasking is not really related to the feasibility of implementing chat. Even if it was, that limitation has never applied to apps pre-installed by Apple.

As a side note, Apple is demoing the next version of the iPhone OS to developers on Thursday. The new version (by almost all accounts) provides third party apps the ability to run in the background, but it is questionable that Apple will accept a chat client app submission that does not use the push notification in any case.

Re:Pound and a half and its too heavy?

[tknd]

Yes. Even a magazine is too heavy, but usually you can rest it on your chair/lap until you need to turn the page. Now you have this gadget that needs lots of user input/interaction...hello gorilla arms. It isn't the ability to lift and hold the device or media, it is the need to continuously hold it and interact with it for long periods of time that becomes the problem. Sure, you can life a 20lbs or even 30lbs dumbbell a few times with one arm. But can you hold it there for 10 to 15 minutes with no effort? It is the reason why we don't have touch screen monitors for work and we continue to use keyboards and mice. Keyboards and mice simply take less muscle effort.

Now from the article:

Finally let me talk about the device itself. It's heavy. I mean, surprisingly heavy. The specs say that it is 1.5lbs, which sounded very light on paper. For the first few minutes, I liked the heft; I felt that I was holding a solid, well-crafted item in my hands. But then I started trying to figuring out ways to type. I wrote a number of emails of moderate length and slowly realized that I just don't like typing on this thing.

I saw this a mile away. The reason an "pad" device will never work is because of weight. Even a plain plastic clip board is annoying without a desk or surface to support it. Similarly it is why devices the size of a cell phone will continue to dominate. You can comfortably hold your phone in your hand and it isn't going to feel heavy because there is no lever force. All of the weight is in your hand. Now you have this pad device in your hand but you need to hit a point on the opposite side with your hand that's not holding the device. That "tap" will feel a lot heavier than it is because of physics. Now you need to do this a 100 or 200 times? 10 minutes? Nevermind, it'll be worth it to get the laptop in 1 or 2 minutes and not have to use so much energy just to hold the device.

Sorry everyone, it is going to continue to be phone size devices or laptops and full size keyboards for a while.

Of course the ipad will have a convenient stand at the Apple store so you don't actually have to hold it. You have to admit, they do know how to sell something.

But there is a solution to the ipad input, and Apple is not going to like it. It involves using your thumbs instead of your index finger similar to a gameboy. Apple is never going to like this because it isn't "friendly" enough. Just like their one-button mice and cmd clicking.

Re:More like a Starbucks appliance

[stewardwildcat]

Its perfect to embed into a table at an internet cafe.

This where I have a problem with reviews...

[jcannonb]

At the bottom he says: You probably want to save your cash until then. That is awefully confident and cocky. Like everything else in life, everyone has different computer needs and habits. I personally, love my iPad, and have convinced 2 other ppl to purchase iPads since I got mine. The iPad fits my needs perfectly. I have been waiting for an device from apple to fill the voice between the phone and the laptop, and this is it. 1.5 isn't a lot when you consider how much weight you would always be lugging around to get more functionality than your phone having to carry your full fledged laptop around all the time. Is this the best iPad that can be, hell no. Hardware revisions by Apple are always thoughtful, whether we think they get all our requests/demands in, or not. But quite frankly, if everyone found the iPad so unusable that you needed to save your cash until then, then Apple would make no money off iPad G1, and they would have no interest or motivation to make iPad G2. Apple is a company first and foremost with share holders. They have to strike a balance between what the consumers want and what the share holders want. If Apple made such bad decisions, they would not be the 3rd richest company in America currently. Apple is apparently pleasing enough ppl in the world. To think that they can do it with fewer items sold than Microsoft is quite frankly, astonishing. I personally bought the iPad G1, thinking it would be a nice toy, but wanted to support them, because I know if they are motivated to make iPad G2, G3 etc, it will get infinitely better than this first one. Do I like my iPad? Yes. Do I think it's for everyone? No. However, if I show you how I use it, and you like it to then why shouldn't you buy it? Are there things I wish were different in this iPad? Yes. But quite frankly, as human beings with our own thoughts and desires, no product is exactly the way we all think it should be. People still bitch and moan about Windows 7, they still bitch and moan about iPhone 3GS et al. If you like it, get it. If you don't like it, don't get it, but don't let someone else to tell you to save your cash. Read their (lack of) usability points, go play with one, and make the decision yourself.

Re:This where I have a problem with reviews...

[David Jao]

I personally, love my iPad, and have convinced 2 other ppl to purchase iPads since I got mine.

If you like it, get it. If you don't like it, don't get it, but don't let someone else to tell you to save your cash. Read their (lack of) usability points, go play with one, and make the decision yourself.

In other words, it's acceptable to talk people into buying an iPad, but it's not acceptable to talk people out of buying an iPad?

No, no, no, a thousand times no. You can't have it both ways. You need to either accept that people are entitled to have and express their opinions, or else do as you say and let your friends make buying decisions for themselves rather than convincing them to buy something they otherwise wouldn't have bought.

Re:Requirements defined by the user

[93 Escort Wagon]

What if you get an e-mail from a business associate asking for a price of one of your widgets? You would have to memorize what the quantity was, go to your spreadsheet app, and pull that price from the list and memorize it. Then you have to go back and write it in the e-mail. Room for error? I think so.

That might be how you'd do it. Me, I'd use copy and paste.

Re:Yes, it is nothing more than a big iPod Touch

[fred fleenblat]

Steve Wozniak has already come up with a solution for this problem. He bought 250 iPads and used a hinge on the left side to join them together. That way he can just turn to the next iPad to quickly get to the next page. Genius!

He didn't address suitability of it as a ereader

[rolfwind]

though. Many of the people into ereaders are excited about it:
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=170

I already know it's not a notebook computer. But a similiar sized Kindle DX casts $489. Yeah, it has a e-ink screen, but the contrast (dark gray on light gray) is awful. But the battery life is fabulous. This has pretty good battery life but tell me how the screen is for reading. Please.

Re:It's not a computer, it's a living-room applian

[Webz]

I've never liked being strapped to a desk. Don't get me wrong, I love technology through and through, but having to sit down to harness it is a real bummer. It's not good for your physical health to be sitting down so much! At least with the iPad there's a larger chance of tapping into some tech from a more natural position like on the couch or at the kitchen table. Or even at the john.

I'll try not to be an Apple basher

[Un pobre guey]

Look, I know we all like cool new gadgets, and certainly the iPad is the latest and greatest. As the review points out, it still isn't clear what it is for. My personal main gripe would be that you can't write on it as if it were paper, more specifically a pad of paper. What characterizes flat things about the size of the iPad that have the word "pad" in their names? You write on them with some kind of stylus, be it a pen, a pencil, a piece of plastic, a crayon, whatever. This, of course, implies robust handwriting recognition, which would be truly revolutionary in the form factor and price point of the iPad.

Watching video and listening to music are both well-covered by other cheaper (and arguably better and more convenient) devices. The author above wishes the iPad were better for email, but that will probably take a few years to get right on the iPad, if they get it right at all. I get the impression that somebody pushed the iPad through the pipeline because they thought it would be a damn cool device, not because it would be ideal for any specific, well thought out use cases. They made it because they could. That seems more like dumb and wasteful consumerism rather than intelligent revolutionary innovation.

Re:Yup.

[magarity]

no USB ports, no flash-card reader...these are things that would be very trivial to add from both a cost and engineering perspective, yet are still lacking
 
Because adding those things would prevent it from being smooth and sleek. Jobs hates ports on devices for aesthetic reasons and he has final say on design. Thus, Apple products have the bare minimum needed for the device to function. Didn't you ever wonder why so many Apple products have the batteries are sealed inside? If a battery compartment door would spoil the lines, you're dreaming if you expect something as hideous as a USB port.

Re:It's not a computer, it's a living-room applian

[znu]

But we like doing those on a computer.

You might. There are a lot of people who outright hate the way current computing platforms work. You just don't see this articulated in forums frequented by tech enthusiasts, because tech enthusiasts are, basically by definition, people who like the way computers work...

And having played with an iPad, I have to say, even a fair number of tech enthusiasts will probably find they like the way this works better. I mean, really, managing window clutter and file system hierarchies, interacting the the computer via a device that provides only a single point of interaction, messing around with software installation and uninstallation, waiting around for the computer to respond, having to sit at a desk (even with laptops) for non-akward ergonomics.

How good is the user experience with current computing devices, really? Are you sure you wouldn't rather have a little super-responsive nearly zero-maintanence device with 10 hours of battery life?

Re:Why doesn't it run OSX?

[mikestew]

My question to this whole deal is why does the iPad not run true OSX?

Do we seriously need to go through this again? I'll say what countless others have said before: "the iPad isn't for you". "Code and work", like it's a dev machine? With an on-screen keyboard? That's just a cry for help.

I would have bought one the first day if it was a real tablet that ran all of the software i need.

And I would have not bothered with a pre-order and keeping my nose pressed against the living room window waiting for UPS on Saturday morning if it were what you wanted. I've got a Macbook for when I want to run OS X. I've got an iPad for when I'm not trying to write the next great American novel (or more realistically in my case, writing the next great iPhone/iPad/Mac app).

Flash/No Flash

[Krystlih]

I recently tried to convert my main work laptop to Ubuntu, I spent a good 2 months using it before going back to Windows 7. My laptop is designed somewhat poorly in that it's heat sinks are in the armrest before the keyboard. One thing I noticed about the Linux version of flash is how CPU hungry it is, simple sites like Youtube, or any site with flash video playback would consume an entire core on my laptop. I spent some time researching why and everything I've seen so far indicates that Adobe has just implemented it poorly on Linux. Some posts indicate its implemented just as poorly on OSX, using WAY more CPU than it does on Windows. So while in Linux not only would my laptop get hot, but it would kill it's battery in a heartbeat. Considering these poor implementations I can understand why Apple has taken the stance it has against flash. Using flash or not isn't a deal breaker when it comes to the web for me, but I found it EXTREMELY annoying under Linux. I think it's actually a good thing that Apple is pushing more for alternatives away from flash.

LEAVE iPAD ALONE!!!!!!

[killmenow]

[insert crying here...]

The reason there is no camera

[lushmore]

I gave some thought to why there's no video camera. I mean, it seems obvious that this thing should have a camera, right? And the teardown shows exactly where the camera was supposed to go.

I bet the software wasn't ready yet. Apple couldn't get the software ready in time for launch so they pulled the camera out. If they had left it in then they would have to open up its functionality to Skype and every other app writer who wants to put out video chat functionality. By putting the camera (in iPad 2nd generation) and the software on the same schedule, Apple makes video chat part of the core functionality of the device and gets to lock out every other video chat app.

Now the question remains as to why the software wasn't ready, seeing as how iChat would seem to be a fairly easy port to the iPad. Maybe they have something new and cool in mind for video chat? Or maybe there were some carrier restrictions. In any case, be thankful that they couldn't include the camera or right now you'd be at Starbucks trying to read Slashdot on your laptop while listening to some hipster having a video conversation with his hipster friend at the Starbucks on the other side of the street.

Re:It's not the same size, first of all

[jedidiah]

Oh pulleeze. The keyboard on the iphones suck. I can attest to this from personal firsthand experience and really bizarre looking Slashdot posts. Citing the fact that the ipad has a keyboard much like the iphone is only going to be convincing to those that have already been completely converted.

Re:Yes, it is nothing more than a big iPod Touch

[0xdeadbeef]

I finally figured it out! You have to tap the vertical margin or the make-believe stack of pages. Tapping anywhere near the center does nothing or goes in to text selection mode. It still does the page curl.

Gotta love this "intuitive" UI.

You're the first person I've read that gets it

[swb]

Everyone wants to call it a fucking computer; it's not. It's not a laptop. It's not a replacement for a laptop or a desktop.

It's something to grab on the couch to look up a movie in IMDB, check the weather for tomorrow, send/check a simple email, play a simple game and so on. Sure, you CAN do all those things with a netbook/laptop/desktop, but not as conveniently or attractively as an iPad seems to make them.

Yes, you can even do them on phones, but the iPad makes it easier to do without going blind.

The haters seem obsessed with what it's not without seeing the value of what it is. Sometimes the value in something is not in what it is but in what it is not.

Now if I can only convince my wife it's something I need...

Weight "Problem": Battery + Glass

[calstraycat]

While I don't have any empirical data or specs to back up this claim, I strongly suspect the greatest contributors to the overall weight of the iPad are the glass screen and the battery. So, the only way to substantially reduce the weight would be to go with a plastic screen and a smaller battery. If they did that everyone would bitch about scratches and poor battery life.

Re:He didn't address suitability of it as a ereade

[Brandee07]

Taco may have skipped this issue, but other reviewers haven't:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/193389/ipad_as_ereader_glaring_problems_promising_apps.html?tk=twt_strohmy
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ipad_ebooks_kindle_for_ipad_ibooks.php

Based purely on my iPhone (also known as "the precious"), I would skip the iPad and get a Kindle if reading is your primary goal. If you want to do all sorts of stuff, and read books too, then you may be happier with the iPad.

Re:He didn't address suitability of it as a ereade

[MyFirstNameIsPaul]

I have never found back-lit LCD's to be good for reading. The Kindle battery life and comfortable reading, plus wireless that works pretty much everywhere, make it a great device for people who read. I emphasize that because few people actually read. I've read about studies indicating that only 10% of people who buy books read them to the end. I read almost all my books to the end. I like to read, thus I am in the minority of readers.

Most people like the idea of reading, but rarely actually read. These people are in the majority. They often buy books, but not in the quantity of the people who read. I certainly see them buying more iPads than Kindles, but how many books are going to actually be purchased by them? Kindle owners buy books all the time - a blog I follow linked to a short book being sold by a community member for $4 on Kindle, and a few days later the author thanked the community for downloading and reading his book in measurable volume.

I think the iPad will be similar to iTunes and the Wii. Most people store their own mp3's on their iPods and the attach rate on the Wii is the lowest of all consoles. So the hardware manufacturer will make a killing, but the content publishers are not necessarily in the same boat. That's why RIAA/MPAA focus more on P2P and game publishers invest in Xbox 360 games.

IMHO, the publishers that are working to damage their relationship with Amazon are going to be going back, tails between legs, begging for forgiveness. Meanwhile, an entirely new publishing model will be sprouting to compete with them, because the thing we people who read don't like is buying a $500 device that reduces the distribution costs for the publishers, and then still paying the same amount as the printed version. There's a whole new P2P market being created by this foolishness.

Re:He didn't address suitability of it as a ereade

[Tharsman]

Yeah, it has a e-ink screen, but the contrast (dark gray on light gray) is awful.

It also happens to not cause nearly as much eye-strain, as well as working in bright light.

I read this eye-strain justification a lot, but truth be told, at the end of a work day, there are very few people out there that feel the effects of eye-strain compared to those that don't.

Sure, there are enough to justify a product that avoids the eye-strain, but its still a minority. Most people still leave work and go home to sit in front of a computer and read blogs, watch youtube, etc for hours without suffering any eye-strain.

Re:Requirements defined by the user

[david_thornley]

Frankly, the requirements for "a device like this" are defined by the user. I would suggest that since almost every operating system on a device with a screen resolution of the iPad supports windowed multi-tasking, it's probably something that is wanted by the user.

I'll suggest that the typical user probably doesn't know what windowed multi-tasking means, and doesn't see the need for doing more than on thing at a time. Lots of people seem to maximize their apps on Windows, for example, and I've seen advice to design primarily for that.

Re:Multi-user?

[el_womble]

What is your point? There are many things in life that aren't available if you don't have the funds. This isn't the peoples pad, it is an Apple product. It is designed for elitist snobs like myself.

It has a lot of issues that could be improved

[fyngyrz]

I've written up a considerably more detailed summary of the iPad's present shortcomings right here.

But eyestrain definitely isn't one of them; the Kindle is where you get eyestrain. That screen is darned near unreadable, with its low contrast, and the achingly slow change from one page to the next; the way it completely fails in readability as the light dims; the inability to show color... the Kindle is an awful reader, with the single exception of battery life.

I can read for many hours on the Kindle *app* on the iPod touch, because the screen is so much better than the actual Kindle. The iPad is worlds better yet, and I know I'll be reading constantly on it.

Which is not to say the iPad doesn't need work. I honestly think it is the least well thought out product Apple has put out. Oh, very well marketed, of course, but it needs a lot to even begin to stay in people's hands after the "new" wears off. Right now, unless you're a reader... it's just too feature poor.

I definitely expect competition to arise from the likes of Android plus a tablet design with a decent feature set that trumps the iPad -- and that won't be difficult to do, considering that the iPad is missing quite a bit. At that point, we'll probably see a significant iPad upgrade. It's just too bad it didn't come out of the chute with a decent feature set already in place. The saving grace is, as always with this whole line of hardware, the apps. Presuming there will be as wide a selection of them as those for the iPod (which work, but look kind of poor), the software functionality of the iPad combined with the responsiveness is its one and only strength. For an iPod/iPhone owner, though... we've already got a lot of that, and it fits in our pockets. Which is why the iPad will see a lot of table-sitting time.

Re:It has a lot of issues that could be improved

[rolfwind]

Well, I owned a Kindle 2 - 6" screen. It's just that dark grey text an light-medium grey background that drives me nuts. I wish the "paper" on e-ink was white. At least newspaper have black text. (They darkened the text here a bit imo, but otherwise a good photo showing difference between white and grey):

http://www.breakitdownblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/kindle2-front-2.jpg

Re:Why doesn't it run OSX?

[am 2k]

Note that there's an X11 server available for the iPad in the Appstore. That way you can run any application you like over wifi.

Re:He didn't address suitability of it as a ereade

[snkline]

Except what you typically do at a computer isn't reading. You are typically looking away a lot, gazing at images, or gazing away from the monitor. Reading is something different. Reading is sitting there entirely engrossed in what you are reading never really looking away for extended periods of time. For that type of reading something like a Kindle is IMO far better. I have a Safari Books Online subscription, and I'll occasionally try to read extensively at my computer. Most of the time I end up just pulling out my Kindle DX and bringing up the mobile version of their site to read it on there. There is a level of distraction trying to read at my computer, and there is a level of discomfort reading on a high contrast black on white screen. Contrary to the low contrast "problem" people like to complain about with the Kindle. I find the images low contrast but still with crisp letters and very easy to read.

Re:He didn't address suitability of it as a ereade

[PeanutButterBreath]

I emphasize that because few people actually read. I've read about studies indicating that only 10% of people who buy books read them to the end. I read almost all my books to the end. I like to read, thus I am in the minority of readers.

Most people like the idea of reading, but rarely actually read. These people are in the majority. They often buy books, but not in the quantity of the people who read. I certainly see them buying more iPads than Kindles, but how many books are going to actually be purchased by them? Kindle owners buy books all the time - a blog I follow linked to a short book being sold by a community member for $4 on Kindle, and a few days later the author thanked the community for downloading and reading his book in measurable volume.

What? You read about studies. You like to read -- why not read the actual studies? Does this alleged majority that only reads 10% of books read the same number of books? Do you know that they don't read 10% of the books they start, but they start 20x as many books as people who read 100% of books and thus actually read twice as much? Were these figures adjusted for page count?

A blog you follow mentions a book that Kindle users downloaded in "measureable volume"? And this proves your point? And how do you know that the downloaders read the book. Oh wait, they are Kindle users -- of course they read it.

Y'know, most people like the idea of being better read than everyone else. . .