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Computex 2010 Tablet PC Round-Up With Video
MojoKid writes "At Computex 2010, devices like the Eee Pad and Eee Tablet were all the rage. Of course the bulk of these were Intel Atom-based systems, but there were a number of NVIDIA Tegra 2-based models in the mix as well. What is glaringly apparent on all of these tablets — and absent on the iPad — are the multitude of connectivity options built into them, like USB ports, flash card readers, and video output ports. Obviously, from a hardware perspective, the iPad is a sexy device; but Apple's true mastery is that of the user interface. The first big player that steps up with something competitive to Apple in that regard will have the pole position in 2010's race for the hot re-emergent tablet market." Reader Raikus adds an opinionated
summary of winners and losers at "Tabletpalooza," i.e. Computex 2010.
I think it would be more accurate to say that Apple already has the pole position (no pun intended), and that any new competitors would be the runner up until proven otherwise.
"The first big player that steps up with something competitive to Apple in that regard will have the pole position in 2010's race for the hot re-emergent tablet market."
Obviously, from a shiny perspective, the iPad is a sexy device; but Apple's true mastery is that of the lack of a user interface.
Fixed that for ya.
1. There is nothing sexy about a crippled CPU with no connectivity.
2. People can't handle choices. If you give them a device with only a few buttons, then it's like a microwave and they're happy.
The first big player that steps up with something competitive to Apple in that regard
Haven't prognosticators been saying this exact same thing for years about the iPod and the iTunes store?
The song goes something like this: "We've got hardware! It's got MIPS and ports and pixels and gigabytes! All we need now is easy to use software. See that word 'easy'? That must mean it's EASY to build."
As a geek, I'm not interested in an iPad because it's missing hardware options, but to the regular consumer the shiny, easy, hip user experience is everything.
Why are you letting these clowns ruin our country?
Seems to come back to a view of the world at this time.
Apples sees it as a pure content delivery device with lock down and photo usb as an afterthought.
Windows was the same with sound, video drm ect.
Your just renting time and buying products on their devices.
I hope other devices have real computer like support.
Webcam to flash to a webpage in real time, tethering, telco options, real software and media options to fit your life, not just fill Apples coffers.
Someone needs to do I am a "Ipad" and I am a Table pc" parody.
Have some fun with how limited, expensive and locked down push-centric devices are.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Considering its only June, its hard to do a comprehensive 2010 roundup.
Read what I mean, not what I wrote.
TFA talks about additional ports and card slots. Are those defining characteristics? Whether they are or not, what they symbolize is an extension of the PC-centric model of computing that the iPad does not. Many people have said, and I agree, that the iPad is a computing appliance and not a true computer. That's actually its greatest strength. In the sense that Apple has created a market for tablet devices these potential competitors are misreading that market if we see a slew of Windows 7 tablet computers come out of this. Android tablets may or may not be another story. If the market is for a simple computing appliance these vendors would do well to try to do as little as possible, not what it seems they're trying to do.
Never forget that the market for these devices isn't the just technorati. It's Homer Simpson and friends.
You must have one of those special iPads, then - the ones Steve Jobs is selling have a Dock Connector Port, though you can hang a cable with a USB connector off of that, or plug into a dock. It's not part of the tablet itself, it's an external device, so it's annoying at best if you're trying to connect things to a tablet as opposed to a desktop-mounted thing. Also, I can't tell from the documentation how many of those things you can use simultaneously - obviously you can't use the Dock-to-VGA cable and the Dock-to-USB cable at the same time, but if you've got the Dock or Keyboard Dock, can you use both the VGA and the USB at once? It doesn't look like it.
With USB, if the device only has one port (boring), you can hang a powered hub off it to support keyboard, mouse, Ethernet adapter, etc, but AFAIK there's no equivalent fanout for Dock ports. So your iPad battery had better be charged up before you use it with an external screen, and you'd better have a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and Wifi.
It's one thing for Apple to try to use proprietary connectors to keep you locked in to Apple's world. But it's another thing entirely to be Not User Friendly as a result, or to be Ugly and Klunky instead of Insanely Cool-Looking.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Is Windows purchased because it is technically the best, or because it has the best marketing team aimed at the target market?
How about neither. Windows is purchased because the majority of other people/companies also purchased Windows. It's called network effects and there is a lot of value in using software that is maximally compatible with what everyone else uses.
Of course one could make the heretical argument that for many people Windows might actually have been the best choice for their needs and budget at the time of purchase. I know, crazy world in which we live.
TFA talks about additional ports and card slots. Are those defining characteristics? Whether they are or not, what they symbolize is an extension of the PC-centric model of computing that the iPad does not.
Beyond symbolism, what they represent is an easy, simple, straightforward and tactile way for people to copy their shit from one device to another without being leashed to Itunes, or jumping through bizarre hoops. If you want to do anything other than CONsume the paid-for media that Apple has sold you, the Ipad's user itrface workflow borders on the obscene:
Prisoner of iTunes - the iPad file transfer horror
You've got to be fucking kidding me. Homer Simpson and friends want their porn on their Ipads and they don't want to have to go through this shite to get it. Give them a tablet with memory card, and they'll just copy the files onto it and swap the memory card over. It's what hundreds of millions of grandmothers have learned to do with cameras and photoframes and printers.
Da Blog
The only way a tablet will make it in the consumer market now is if it lets you watch flash-based porn on it. Soon even that will be gone, as the porn industry moves to HTML5/H264.
Basically, the rest of the market is fucked. Nobody can put out a device with the screen and build quality at the price points that Apple has, because nobody else has the volume to do it cost-effectively.
IPS screens are expensive...unless you buy them in bulk. The same goes with anything Apple is buying for their devices. Flash memory? Apple probably sells 2/5ths of the world production of flash. Crap, they must buy millions upon millions of molex connectors. How aboout glass? Yeah, it's not like anyone is opening new glass factories to make capacitive screens for these tablets. They're using what Apple doesn't want...or excess capacity run at off hours by the B team.
That's not to say tablet manufacturers won't make money. Apple makes tons of money in the PC market with a puny marketshare, relatively speaking. However, they won't make as much margin as Apple does in its PC niche because, when you come down to it, everyone else (non-Apple customers) is too cheap to buy gadgets at a price point that's sustainable.
That leaves two markets: government and verticals...the two areas where tablets actually exist in countable numbers. Verticals are soon going to be crushed by the iPad as well, unless they have odd physical requirements.
So there you go...a Q&D analysis of the 'tablet' market. Summary: go vertical now, before the iPad gets there. Or sell to governments.
I'm probably going to get modded down by fan boys for my blasphemy, but...
Lack of USB ports, card readers, and video outputs and the like are features? Seriously!?
You do realize that the reason that there are compatibility issues that exist within the PC world is not simply because of hardware options, but because of the fact that every single piece of the system is customizable. Every piece of hardware, every piece of software, and even the OS can be picked by a user. The more variables there are, the more possibility that there can be unexpected interactions.
However, if you have a locked down platform where you control the OS and the hardware that is present, then the chances of random compatibilities goes down incredibly. That's without even taking into account having control of the software too.
My XBox 360 has more hardware features than my Wii does, and amazingly I haven't had a single compatibility problem with it. My friend has no issues with his DSi, even though it has more hardware features than his old DS. I'm going to take a stab in the dark and guess that if Apple had added additional hardware features to their iPad, then the chances are they'd work without compatibility issues.
I think that one could argue legitimate reasons for exclusion of certain hardware exclusions. I might disagree, but reasonable arguments could be made. However this one just seems silly. I might have a lot of criticisms for Apple, but they seem to do well in quality control; I have faith that they could pull off hardware features that work.
There is no lack of connectivity on iPad. It has a 30-pin iPod dock connector, which is multiple ports in one, for the same reason as an iPod: it's too thin for the other ports it replaces. There is USB, video out, and a number of other cables in an iPod dock connector, so there is no lack of connectivity. A device with a micro-USB port is no better off, you still need a cable with the right ends for whatever device. iPad supports USB audio, hubs, keyboards, and card readers. It supports VGA, component, and composite video out. iPad also works with many iPod accessories, such as credit card readers, which is something other tablets can't say. iPad connects directly to iTunes, which makes it easy to transfer music, movies, books, documents, podcasts onto and off of the device. And it supports Bonjour (zero configuration networking) so it appears as "iPad.local" on the network. Bluetooth keyboards, audio, and controls. It jumps on and off Wi-Fi networks very easily as you move around. There's no shortage of connectivity.
When comparing iPad competitors, it's going to be way, way, way more instructive to compare software, which is 95% of this kind of device. Look at firmware, system, native C apps, HTML5 Web apps, and cloud services. The software that runs the touchscreen is very important to whether the device is practical. Also, usability is very important in consumer electronics.
Maybe the summary means other tablets are vying for pole position in the race to compete with iPad, but if talking about the market as a whole, iPad is way out in front by any measure. They already outsold all other tablets from the past 25 years.
What is glaringly apparent on all of these tablets — and absent on the iPad — are the multitude of connectivity options built into them, like USB ports, flash card readers, and video output ports.
Christ, whats wrong with these people? Make it *NICE TO USE*, and THEN worry about slowly trickling out new features!
Are you really going to take X over Y because it has an IR transmitter? Maybe the Slashdot audience, but certainly not the majority of consumers, you know those people whos money is just as worthy as the tech elite?
Make it nice! Make it lovely, a pleasure to use! I actually imported an iPad, without even seeing one in the metal, and ended up paying EXTRA. And yet, I am wildly happy with my iPad, cannot imagine living without it. Would I want "Tablet Y" even if it were cheaper and had a Serial port? NO! Because every other tablet SUCKS!
I actually fear for the other manufacturers, who have clung to Android. I think its bad to build Google into this all important Super-Company in every market. It means we get locked down into Android...or nothing...because theres no third option.
I hope HP does well with WebOS, the big thing with getting ANY portable computer essential is that its NICE to use! Not some hacked together lump of plastic and ports.
A man with a Netbook came into my work today, he was measuring furniture and entering it onto the HP Netbook. He was pushing a pram, AND holding this open screened Netbook down each aisle, incredibly awkward looking! I couldnt help but imagine how much better using my iPad would be for the task. I could easily hold my iPad in one hand, and tap-type with the other, instead of walking about with this big (it looked huge and flimsy) Netbook with a crappy screen. For each entry, he had to place it on something, and crouch over to type a few numbers into the spreadsheet. I'm sure I can type many times faster on a physical keyboard than my iPads software keyboard, but not in that scenario! How fast are you when crouched over, pecking out keys in a public space? Holding with one hand, tap typing with the other, I would be much more efficient using my iPad in this situation. Of course, a smartphone would have been better yet.
For the love of god Hardware Companies, make NICE products, dont just worry about what never to be used port you can slap on the ugly sides!
What an appropriate Slashdot quote "The truth of a thing is the feel of it, not the think of it. -- Stanley Kubrick"
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So you buy products because they look pretty, not because they actually do anything worthwhile? That seems to be the gist of what you wrote there, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
"iPad also works with many iPod accessories, such as credit card readers, which is something other tablets can't say."
Yeah, they're stuck with standard USB credit card readers, like you'd use with a PC or even *gasp* a Mac desk/laptop. I bet they cry at night because they can't use the cool proprietary bus.
Anyone who wants bonjour can install it on Windows machines along with quicktimes/itunes/safari, courtesy of Apple's all-in-one installer. Anyone who wants zeroconf in Maemo, at least, just installs avahi. I don't have an Android or WebOS device, but no reason avahi shouldn't work there, too; if nobody's packaged it up, it's because nobody cares, more's the pity.
"There's no shortage of connectivity." only because you spin every bit of missing connectivity as a MOTHERFRAKKING FEATURE! No, making your device too thin for standard ports is NOT a feature -- especially since that thinness does absolutely no good, you can't put it in your pants pocket or anything. And you brag about its "Bluetooth keyboards, audio, and controls.", blithely ignoring it doesn't do bluetooth file transfer? Oh, that's right, because we don't let users play with the filesystem from on the device; that would just confuse them. You have to use iTunes for that; it's a FEATURE!
Forgive me if I find it a wee bit disingenuous to call it a "feature" every time you tell me I can't do something. If Steve Jobs thinks a shiny (or style, or ease-of-use, or whatever) vs. functionality tradeoff is the right thing to do, stand up and say it, but don't pretend that killing functionality is adding functionality. If it's really the right way, YOU DON'T NEED TO LIE ABOUT IT.
Oh no, you got me!
Really, dont you want NICE looking, and NICE to use products? Have you tried say, a Windows Tablet? They are NEITHER. "five times" as thick, and buggy, unoptimised...
For the average person, why get excited about plugging in SD cards? That then require your slick looking device having a permanent gash...
I think its a simple fact, given the choice, people would rather have NICE to use devices, that look NICE, than additional features that, in my opinion, we will never use!
Hey, I hardly think every other person in the world cares what I think, then again...the market is responding. iPads sold, 2 million plus, a MILLION a month....compare that to Kindles (not even on sale in NZ), Zune HD's (not even on sale in NZ), HP Slate (not on sale ANYWHERE), Microsoft Courier (not on sale ANYWHERE)....
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I'll take something useful over something pretty anyday. Useful AND pretty is a bonus. However, like the iPad, pretty and not useful is an epic fail.
For the average person, why get excited about plugging in SD cards? That then require your slick looking device having a permanent gash...
See, in the real world, there are people who have these things called "files". A great way to transfer these "files" from one device to another is either a USB drive or a SD card. It's infinitely better than having to take your iPad, plug it in, load iTunes, and then go through it's horrific sync system that only syncs files for programs Apple chooses to let you sync from (I have an iPod and an iPhone, I'm well aware of the horrible flaws in iTunes sync). It's much easier if you can keep extra songs / pictures / movies / books / whatever on an SD card and just pop it in and read it off the card - that way if you go on a trip, you don't have to lug a laptop with you just to get more files over to the tablet.
iPads sold, 2 million plus, a MILLION a month
Yes, but they have something that no one else has! A bright shiny apple on the back! That means that the average moron MUST have it or be a social outcast, despite the fact that there are other options (well, in the case of the iPad, there soon will be) that cost less and do more - but they don't have the shiny apple on the back, so they're inferior products.
You seem to be confusing "I must have it because the TV tells me I have to have it in order to get attention and popularity" with "I really like device X and it does everything I want".
That's why I'm trading in my iPhone 3GS for an Evo - not only will I save $23 / month with Sprint vs. AT&T, but I'll have better hardware, better software, and the ability to customize my phone however I want. I'll laugh at all the trendy idiots buying the iPhone 4 that isn't even as good as an Evo, despite coming out a month later. I'll especially laugh in 3 months when the next Awesome Android Phone comes out and really embarrasses the Apple fanboys.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
I'll take something useful over something pretty anyday.
By chance, are you one of those people with a calculator watch? :) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calculator_watch Oh yes! All that SEXY functionality! :)
:) Perhaps when the new iPhone is released, we get a couple ads a day, for a week or two, but thats it. All our Apple ads, for a whole year!
:) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rk78eCIx4E
Oh, so you have a bandolier of SD cards strapped around you, and you change "mags" a dozen times a day with your phone/tablet device? Why not just get the storage space you require, INTERNALLY?
If you want a file, why not email or otherwise FTP it to where you want? Rather than carrying things about on little bits of plastic? Or...do it all..."on the cloud"!
Give me an example of an iPad competitor, thats in the market right now (pretty much worldwide too), that I could have bought instead of my iPad. Something thats as nice to use for media consumption, web browsing, games etc. I dont think theres anything really comparable. I hope the HP Slate will be the second in the same market.
In New Zealand, we essentially get ZERO Apple ads...if you hate Apple, move here
We also have no Apple Stores, those damn attractive, ultra profitable stores, damn them! *shakes fist*
I would personally assume the iPhone 4 is far better than the EVO, but I have actually used neither. Whats the EVO got? Faster network...actual tethering (although the iPhone can be tethered in basically every OTHER country apart from yours....)....what else?
The iPhone 4 will be about the same price (I buy unlocked and run on prepaid plans normally), is slimmer, I think it will have better build quality (my opinion) and definitely a better rear camera, from what we've seen. Maybe if you get your socks off over bandwidth speeds or have the absolute largest screen (with a lower resolution)...
But really, if I choose the iPhone 4, and you choose the EVO, great! Its not like we have to engage in fisticuffs with each other! We share the same biology maaaaan
Listen, I know its all cool to hate "the establishment" and all, but judge tech on its own merits, not how your peers feel. I've never seen an ad for an iPad, or my iPhone on my TV, or a bus. I pick the devices I like.
Have a great day (its 9PM Tuesday night here)
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A man with a Netbook came into my work today,
This is, of course the classic scenario for a tablet, and has been for a long time. It's why tablets are so incredibly popular in certain industries. You may also note that many of the toughbook series can operate as tablets.
SJW n. One who posts facts.
but Apple's true mastery is that of the user interface. The first big player that steps up with something competitive to Apple in that regard will have...
...an enormous lawsuit on their hands, because Apple have patented everything except your face. And Jobs is working on that, too.
I don't post AC. I like my -1, Flamebaits. Trump/Sheen 2012 on the Batshit Insane ticket!
Hi, yes I know and understand about professional use of tablets in rugged environments, its a bit like NASA space rockets being specialist, I dont expect the average GM car to fly to mars :)
:) I would have used a smartphone, or a tablet computer if possible. His netbook use was very difficult looking, needing to put it down every few metres, and bend down to it etc.
:)
The man with the Netbook was just a regular guy, buying several sideboards, cabinets etc. There was no real reason for him to have the Netbook, he was essentially typing "cabinet A, 3 Metres, $500" into a spreadsheet. A couple years ago, we might have written on a 5 cent piece of paper, with a dollar pen
I have no doubts that specific jobs have used tablets before. But, around the home, at school, at university, they have not been the whopping success Bill Gates predicted
I think the iPad is a truly "magical" device, the first of its kind, of consumer media consumption "tablet".
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Exactly. Plus, "nice" doesn't just mean pretty. Those who don't get this, consider a girlfriend. She can be pretty, but a total bitch. She can treat you like a doormat and make you feel terrible. She could be neurotic and make your life hell. But still, she could be "pretty".
In classical architecture, they talk about "commodity, firmness, and delight". You kinda need all three for any of them to be worth it. That's why Apple can seemingly make compromises but end up with a more popular product.
I know people (educated, expert, professional people) to whom you point out and name all the different ports on the side of their laptop, and they are confused. I think the confusion is actually, "I'm a respected professional in my field, and I earn loads of money, I'm qualified, I'm published, I'm intelligent -- so why am I wasting my time with all these different computer ports?"
Using the girlfriend analogy, she cooks you a nice dinner and she makes the effort to have a nice conversation with you over dinner. She is "nice". She can be good looking too. But she doesn't throw your dinner in the bin the moment you happen to make a remark that she misconstrues as being a subtle insult. That would be neurotic.
Neurotic can be exciting and wild, and have all sorts of interesting surprises, but in a long term relationship (which is what you enter into with a computer gadget that you are trusting all your information and media to) you want nice, mature, attractive, balanced, good hearted stuff.
Oh, so you have a bandolier of SD cards strapped around you, and you change "mags" a dozen times a day with your phone/tablet device? Why not just get the storage space you require, INTERNALLY?
Well, your beloved Apple limits the iPad to 64 GB (for way too much money) or a measly 16 GB which stores....well, not much. SD cards would fix that just fine - cell phones have been doing it for years.
If you want a file, why not email or otherwise FTP it to where you want? Rather than carrying things about on little bits of plastic? Or...do it all..."on the cloud"!
Once again, with your "email it" "solution", you're back to needing a second computer just to get a damn file. That's absurd and one of the major failings of the iPad. Secondly, if you want Google / MS / Apple / Other Big Company to have ALL of your personal files (pictures, home videos, word documents, everything) that not only they have access too but a mistake could mean you lose all of your files FOREVER, then to be blunt, you're a damn fool. A little extra convenience is NOT worth losing your privacy or potentially losing all of your files for.
Give me an example of an iPad competitor, thats in the market right now (pretty much worldwide too), that I could have bought instead of my iPad.
Well, you know, there's this thing called "impulse control" - you could start by learning some of that. Then you could wait a few weeks as the Android tablets flood the market. I know - researching before you buy something, it's a crazy idea!
We also have no Apple Stores, those damn attractive, ultra profitable stores, damn them! *shakes fist*
Please, go in one sometime when you're in the US. You'll never want to do business with Apple again. Everything about their stores (from the way the employees talk to customers to the giant displays they have with "tips") tells you blatantly that they think you are a complete moron. It's rather insulting, not to mention that Apple intentionally has about one store per 5 million potential customers, which ensures that you'll always have long waits.
I would personally assume the iPhone 4 is far better than the EVO, but I have actually used neither.
Making decisions about two products you've never used based purely off Lord Jobs' advertising. I can see now why you bought an iPad. I have an iPhone 3GS and I've used phones running Android 2.1. Android not only allows you to run whatever apps you want, to customize whatever apps you want, but it also adds new features at a pace that Apple can't even dream of.
Whats the EVO got? Faster network...actual tethering (although the iPhone can be tethered in basically every OTHER country apart from yours....)....what else?
More memory, expandable storage, higher res cameras (yes, BOTH cameras are higher rest), mini-HDMI port, FM tuner, a kickstand to watching movies / Sprint TV, Flash support, a much bigger screen, and other things I can't think of off the top of my head.
The iPhone 4 will be about the same price (I buy unlocked and run on prepaid plans normally), is slimmer, I think it will have better build quality (my opinion) and definitely a better rear camera, from what we've seen.
Being .1 inches slimmer is an unnoticeable difference. You're basing the "better camera" on what exactly? As for build quality, the Evo has gotten great reviews for build quality, as has just about every HTC phone.
Listen, I know its all cool to hate "the establishment" and all, but judge tech on its own merits, not how your peers feel.
I do buy based off the merits of the technology - that's what my whole disagreement with you has been about. You've been saying people should buy a device because "OMFG it looks cool!" instead of it actually DOING something useful.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
Ugh.
:) Hey, I am using most of my 64GB iPad, but if I had a 128GB iPad...I'd be using that...whatever space you have on device, it will practically NEVER be enough! So...you could...stream....to the device? Eh? Its a portable device you know! Its not meant to be connected to a massive RAID by a Fibre Channel :) You want a video? Stream it from YouTube! Or Hulu, or Netflix...or whatever you might use. I dont know your situation.
:) You have not sold me on the idea of a stack of SD cards in each pocket. I have 200 DVDs staring back at me right now, I ripped them to my computer, and I never intend to insert a single disc again, unless to, *gasp* rip it to my HDD. Why would I want to swap in my "games" SD Card, then my "photos" SD Card...? "oh, hold on, its on my other SD Card, oh, I must have forgotten that one in my other jeans pocket..." Smooth move there :)
:) My friends (in many different countries) have visited, and all mention how much they enjoy their local Apple Store. Ohhhhhh, they must be whiny "fanbois" like me, eh? Whatever I say, you're going to argue about, if Apple are too aggressive in getting "in your face", if they dont have enough wonderful Stores....
:)
:)
Last post from me, I'm sure you also have better things to do.
What size are the SD cards you are using? Oh wait, dont bother replying, better if we each end it here. 64 GB is quite a lot, especially for a removable storage card...its not like TB SD cards are a couple bucks each
Um, yes, normally when I give a file to someone else, I expect them to have a computer, or some way of using it
Oh yes, I'm sure you are very angry that there are NOT ENOUGH Apple Stores!
All I know is, when I visit a local "tech department store", it SUCKS compared to what it would be like at one of these Apple Stores I've heard so much about. I get "a long wait" here, where we have perhaps a couple iMacs and a MacBook on display, forget about a Mac Pro etc or service...
I actually like Android, and WebOS...I hope they ALL do well, I dont want to live in a monopoly! Oooooh, "Lord Jobs", yes, because I've dedicated my life to Steve Jobs, because I have an iPad, right? Yeah, meanwhile, what, you're in an open relationship with who, Eric Schmidt? Freaking Ballmer?
I probably read all the same websites as you do. I've never found myself wanting an Android App, perhaps Google Goggles, just to play about with, it might not work outside the US though? I'm not suffering from Apples "EVIL" plan to "tell me what Apps I can run"...
About the EVO...if you like it, great for you! I have no problem with what "Totenglocke", someone presumably on the other side of the world chooses to use in his or her life
The EVO cameras SUCK for quality though, who cares what resolution they claim to be. Based on the photos from the iPhone 4, it takes better footage too, and at a higher frame rate. Ohhhh, but there I go being a drooling fanboi, right? By judging from the end results, not memorising the manufacturers spec sheet!
We will soon see, hands on, which we each like better. Thats if the EVO is even sold in my country, as far as I know, it WONT. And, I'd have to import one without ever using it first. Should I take a 20+ hour (each leg) plane flight to the US just to try out Android phones?
FM tuner, boy, to listen to all those GREAT radio stations! Why would I ever want to listen to my own podcasts, or high quality music? Instead of, Leo Laporte, I can get my tech news from the local NZ "tech news guy"! "um, and theres this thing called Android, I think, and its not out here in New Zealand but..."
Many Nokias also TRANSMIT on FM, I dont know if the EVO does? If not, does that make a Nokia a better device? Hardly.
A kickstand is just hillarious to me, I imagine its like those fat people who use a mobility scoo
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30 pins should be enough for everybody.
In New Zealand, we essentially get ZERO Apple ads...if you hate Apple, move here :) Perhaps when the new iPhone is released, we get a couple ads a day, for a week or two, but thats it. All our Apple ads, for a whole year!
In New Zealand, 'essentially ZERO' is 28.
Oh, are you in New Zealand? Where are you seeing all these ads? C4? TV3? The New Zealand Herald? Or The Listener?
Hell, bring on the Apple ads I say, better than the BS from Telecom, apologising for XT.
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Define "remotely like" because there are plenty like the ipad. Another poster put forward one and how many ways can you fuck around with the look of a tablet: IT LOOKS LIKE A FRIGGING TABLET. You know, one of those things 10 commandments come on, THAT is how old that form factor is!
Of course, if you're talking about the form factor AND marketing it as "an appliance" rather than "a computer", then Apple have "innovated" there, though I don't like the direction. It's back to the old Big Iron days of "you do what we want, when we want and how we want. So help you god.".
"What size are the SD cards you are using?" Does it matter? Here's the thing with SC cards: you have SD cardS. Multiple. a lighter-sized box holds 12 of them, the internal pocket of your geek toys hold more. You know what else you can do? SWAP THEM WITH OTHER PEOPLE. You know, just like in the sneakernet days. You copied a meg or so and moved the floppy disk to another machine. Well, will you swap your iPad with someone else so they can get a copy of your stuff?
You have completely swallowed the load that Jobs left.
Has no one seen the WePad? It's an Android based tablet that gives the iPad a run for it's money. http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/04/12/the-wepad-gets-a-price-and-launch-date/
A man with a Netbook came into my work today, he was measuring furniture and entering it onto the HP Netbook. He was pushing a pram, AND holding this open screened Netbook down each aisle, incredibly awkward looking! I couldnt help but imagine how much better using my iPad would be for the task. I could easily hold my iPad in one hand, and tap-type with the other, instead of walking about with this big (it looked huge and flimsy) Netbook with a crappy screen. For each entry, he had to place it on something, and crouch over to type a few numbers into the spreadsheet. I'm sure I can type many times faster on a physical keyboard than my iPads software keyboard, but not in that scenario! How fast are you when crouched over, pecking out keys in a public space? Holding with one hand, tap typing with the other, I would be much more efficient using my iPad in this situation. Of course, a smartphone would have been better yet.
Every netbook I've seen has an open hinge, where it's possible for a right handed user to stick their left hand under the computer and have their fingers come through the hole in the hinge. (The result looks a bit like holding an artist's palette.) Then the user types with their right hand. You're less likely to drop it, you get tactile keyboard feedback, and you can transfer the data the guy was typing to an inventory system or whatever out one of the "ugly ports."
Plus, when you're not typing, you can push the pram with your right hand while still holding the netbook in your left hand. (Also, you can probably afford more furniture to measure if you're using a netbook rather than an iPad.)
hehe.
:) Our store is...basically the dimensions of a "Football" (as in the international Football) field.
:) God bless my little Messagepads :)
This man was definitely having to pick his Netbook up, and put it down every few metres to tap out "1.5M $500" etc. Very uncomfortable.
What "Ugly Port" would you use? Ethernet? USB? Firewire? Why not Bluetooth or Wifi? Or a 3G connection? You know, like those sleek and practical iPads. Much better than dragging a USB cable throughout every store you visit
Frankly, using pen and paper would STILL have been easier. Unless he had a Newton
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You can also see a video of the Asus Eee Tablet here, apparently it will be available from September for around $199, not sure how much it will be in the UK (surely be more than £140?) http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1651579/asus-eee-tablet-video
a couple ads a day, for a week or two
2 * 7 * 2 = 28
It's better than email because the bandwidth of an SDHC card is vastly superior than you get with mobile internet or even WiFi. You also don't have to have wireless internet. Just exist in a physical dimension.
I guess that dissing the idea of swapping SD cards is required because the iPad doesn't have it and it is needed, but you have to dodge and weave to avoid saying so else your i* device shows up its true colours: underperforming crap.
> This man was definitely having to pick his Netbook up, and put it down every few metres to tap out "1.5M $500" etc. Very uncomfortable.
This guy was clearly just resisting the urge to "hunt and peck" type. He putting the device down to touch type.
If he wanted to do single finger typing iPad style he could have done so. Clearly he chose not to. He would probably put an iPad down to type on it too.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
> Christ, whats wrong with these people? Make it *NICE TO USE*, and THEN worry about slowly trickling out new features!
The problem with "nice to use" is you end up with bad kludges to fill in all the obvious gaps the device is shipped with.
"nice to use" just the excuse du jour for the Apple fanboys. The problem with "nice to use" is tomorrow. All of these
"apps" are being built with some very fundemental limitations. Much like old DOS and Windows programs, they will reflect
these limitations far into the future.
Not being able to save or print makes a device "not nice to use".
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
It copies 16GB in ~2 seconds. I give them the card.
Remember too that both parties need mobile wireless bandwidth and a data plan that allows them to transfer.
"Are you actually seriously suggesting that SDHC is better, more convenient method of storage than the cloud?"
1) No, I didn't.
2) I said it was a more effective and efficient way of transferring files than email FTP or any other pisstank excuse you use to avoid going "hey, maybe it does need a reader"
3) Yes, it is a better place to store data. You have it even if the company goes titsup
You truly are enjoying the assraping of jobs so that you can feel like you're superior, aren't you?
"It copies 16GB in ~2 seconds". It doesn't. It really doesn't. You just blew any sense of credibility your prior posts had as hard as you blow on Eric Schmidt's stubby dick. Straight from the horses mouth : -
http://www.sdcard.org/developers/tech/sdhc/
You're the same contrarian asshole who I've met a million times. You'll grab on to whatever's second best so you can feel smug about not being one of those "dumb sheeples".
In actual fact you're just subjecting your self to a second rate experience and you know what? Not one single iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch user actually gives a fuck what you're using they're just tired of listening to your ceaseless whining.
Enjoy your physical media security blankie while it lasts son because, just as with the floppy in the original iMac, it's already dead. You just don't know it yet.
I feel like I'm bashing this poor anonymous New Zealander :)
:)
He was absolutely using ONE hand to type, bend over in a most excruciating fashion.
Enough about this random guy
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"I'll take something useful over something pretty anyday. Useful AND pretty is a bonus. However, like the iPad, pretty and not useful is an epic fail."
I don't think anybody can hear you, over the millions of people who are sometimes physically duking it out over places in line to buy the iPad, yelling and screaming themselves hoarse trying to buy them.
Seriously, epic fail? A million units a month, which is the kind of volume companies would probably kill for if it would help them, is an epic fail?
Can you think of another gadget that is selling like that? I can only think of a few that ever have. None at this high of a price point though.
The geekiest people I know all have iPads now, despite it being crippled. We just all paid our $99 tax to Apple and can compile and stick whatever we want on there. You get a buttload of certificates, so I can hook up people who didn't pay the tax as well.
"See, in the real world, there are people who have these things called "files". A great way to transfer these "files" from one device to another is either a USB drive or a SD card. It's infinitely better than having to take your iPad, plug it in, load iTunes, and then go through it's horrific sync system that only syncs files for programs Apple chooses to let you sync from (I have an iPod and an iPhone, I'm well aware of the horrible flaws in iTunes sync). It's much easier if you can keep extra songs / pictures / movies / books / whatever on an SD card and just pop it in and read it off the card - that way if you go on a trip, you don't have to lug a laptop with you just to get more files over to the tablet."
Too bad there is no convenient, globally addressable network that these files could travel across. Maybe someday they will invent one and then I could get files onto my ipad. I mean, there's no way somebody could email me a Pages document, and I click on the link, and the iPad automatically grabs the file, puts it in my little pages doc library, and opens it.
Damn.
See the iPad is a *networked* device and in this day and age there is really no reason to lug a whole bitchton of files with you say, when you go on a trip. And even the base model certainly has enough space to throw books and movies on there to entertain you for your trip, in lieu of a network connection.
"Yes, but they have something that no one else has! A bright shiny apple on the back! That means that the average moron MUST have it or be a social outcast, despite the fact that there are other options (well, in the case of the iPad, there soon will be) that cost less and do more - but they don't have the shiny apple on the back, so they're inferior products."
I think people are buying iPads because you can't get a well constructed, easy to use, nice to look at, tablet computer that is anywhere near as thin, that has anywhere close to the same kind of battery life, and that works nearly as well for $500 from anybody BUT Apple. My 80 year old aunt got one, and she's literally never ever used a PC in her life. She is now browsing the web, buying apps, and playing scrabble with me over the internet. She hates scrabble, by the way, but she is just tickled pink by the idea of playing scrabble over the internet with her nephew from 2500 miles away. Apple has created another product like the iPhone and the iPod, one that would literally sell itself if they stopped advertising. The reason is because it fucking works.
"You seem to be confusing "I must have it because the TV tells me I have to have it in order to get attention and popularity" with "I really like device X and it does everything I want"."
You are really being a prick. Snidely suggesting that everybody who bought an iPad is stupid and bought it solely because they were utterly beguiled isn't only rude, but you must know it's just a lie. Most folks out there use computers to do three things - read email, browse the web, and use it as a fancy electronic typewriter. We're probably talking about at least 2/3rds of the people
So once more you spout off a bunch of nonsense based on Apple's advertising. By your own admission you've never even touched one of these phones, yet somehow you're an expert on both of them.
Remember when the G1 was hot shit? Or the Droid? Or the Nexus One? They all have their month of fame. And then they drop away, to be replaced by the New Hotness. The EVO is having its fun now, lets just see how successful it is compared to the iPhone 4. I'd be highly surprised if it outsells this next iPhone, or the last iPhone, or the iPhone before that...
And your limited intelligence is showing. It's not about a particular handset, it's about the Android OS. How those phones become outdated so fast? That's called "progress". Android and the handsets it runs on are constantly improving. Apple comes up with minor updates to both the hardware and the OS once a year. Android improves the OS much more frequently and the hardware is improved every 2-3 months. Also, the iPhone has been around for 4 years - Android has been around for a year and a half, plus Android lacks the shiny apple logo and the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field. That's pretty damn impressive.
But hey, it's from Apple, so of course it's vastly superior and you just have to get one.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
In this day and age, printing is pointless especially if you have a nice tiny device that practically runs forever to read and edit documents on.
If some other douchebag doesn't have an iPad yet you can email the document to them, and they can print it. Or you can drag n drop the document from its spot in itunes and then print it yourself if you want to carry around paper for some increasingly pointless reason.
Or you can email your documents to your free gmail account and access them from anywhere that has a printer, and print them. Printers tend to actually be hooked to computers you know, where you find one the other is usually a meter or two away at the farthest.
The point of this thing is to be a portable device, that you take by itself because you don't need anything fancier at the moment. You don't throw it into a gym bag along with a printer and a raid array all hooked to a big lead acid battery to run it all for all of 3 minutes. You grab the shit you need, and leave the rest on the network.
Now that printing's out of the way, who said anything about not being able to save? I can save damn near anything I can find on the internet, to the ipad. I can then email it. Or heck, I can use my ipad to ssh into my computer here, and use wget to grab it.
It's a fucking tiny little device, designed to be mobile and thin and run a long time. If you really have a problem with the app situation, pay your $99, get your certificate, compile whatever the hell you want, and put it on the ipad yourself. Steve Jobs doesn't care what you install on your machine in this case.
I don't think anybody can hear you, over the millions of people who are sometimes physically duking it out over places in line to buy the iPad, yelling and screaming themselves hoarse trying to buy them. Seriously, epic fail? A million units a month, which is the kind of volume companies would probably kill for if it would help them, is an epic fail?
You're unable to distinguish between "useful device" and "financially successful device". There are countless cases of utter crap selling incredibly well (American Idol is a great example). I never said that the iPad doesn't sell, I said it fails as a useful device, especially since it doesn't do a single thing that an iPod Touch / iPhone doesn't do.
Too bad there is no convenient, globally addressable network that these files could travel across. Maybe someday they will invent one and then I could get files onto my ipad. I mean, there's no way somebody could email me a Pages document, and I click on the link, and the iPad automatically grabs the file, puts it in my little pages doc library, and opens it. Damn. See the iPad is a *networked* device and in this day and age there is really no reason to lug a whole bitchton of files with you say, when you go on a trip. And even the base model certainly has enough space to throw books and movies on there to entertain you for your trip, in lieu of a network connection.
Too bad that there's these things called "attachment size limits", not to mention it still requires TWO computers to get that file. Then there's the fact that not everyone wants their files put on an email server where it can be read / viewed by others.
Apple has created another product like the iPhone and the iPod, one that would literally sell itself if they stopped advertising. The reason is because it fucking works.
No, the reason is that the majority of their customer base doesn't know any better. Apple has openly acknowledged for years that they intentionally target the people who are so incompetent that they can't even read an instruction manual or figure out what the difference between "left click" and "right click" is. They exploit people who know absolutely nothing about technology and are desperate for social status.
ost folks out there use computers to do three things - read email, browse the web, and use it as a fancy electronic typewriter.
Yes, and the iPad does - well, lets be nice and round up - 45% of those three things. It lets you read email no problem, I won't argue that at all. It lets you browse some of the internet. The absurd number of sites using Flash though are unable to be viewed, meaning that you can't access large parts of the internet. Then lets look at a touch screen - I love touch screen devices, but it's horrible for typing more than a few sentences, so it fails at typing documents in anything other than an emergency situation.
I can tell you from experience that the Android phones I have used, despite their theoretically superior hardware, felt sluggish and often went all modal and would not allow you to turn the device and have the screen auto rotate.
That may have been true on old Android phones, but not new ones. I know many people with them and I had far more trouble with getting my iPhone to rotate the screen than I ever have on an Android phone.
If you are happy with the paucity of apps in the Android marketplace, then that's great but I doubt you could find many people on the street that would rather have the Droid's app selection over the App Store.
I know - I'm picking useful apps over a large quantity of garbage. Stupid me. And yes, since I've had an iPhone for a year and spent plenty of time in the App Store, I'm well aware that maybe 1% of the apps on the iPhone are actually worthwhile.
In three months, another Android phon
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
The thinness is definitely a feature. You are just a bigot.
I truly hope you die a horrible painful death and take your whole family with you.
You are filled with such hatred and contempt it's amazing you can even get out of bed in the morning.
The iPad is extremely useful if you JUST USE IT AS IT WAS INTENDED TO BE USED. Just because it's not intended to be used the way YOU want does not make it useless. You are a self-absorbed piece of shit.
I have an 8GB iPod Touch that I've never filled. Some people just don't need a terabyte in a portable device. If you do, THE iPod/iPad WAS NOT DESIGNED FOR YOU. The fact that you hate its existence proves that you are a pure bigot who hates without cause.
And because your mental capacity cannot even be measured in Planck units, you have to hate it because it comes from Apple.
Do the world a favor and leave.
Given the fact that the article is all about OTHER tablet PCs, why are all the top-modded comments here about the iPad? Maybe this is why it's doing so well-- even its detractors can't seem to talk about anything else!
Flash is dead, man. It took most of the major sites about a week to convert completely away from it, once the ipad came out. Ebay used to be a mess of flash garbage flickering on the frontier of the screen, now it is nice and simple and fast. Google has even nodded to the ipad and enhanced several of their products for it.
As far as what the ipad does, it does nearly everything I would wish it to. Sure, I could use a root shell, and it'd be nice to have background apps running all the time(which are coming in about a week or so with iOS 4).
There's a lot of shit on the app store for sure, but there is a lot of good stuff as well. For anything else, that Steve Jobs doesn't like on the app store for example, I can compile and install it myself. I'm still mystified that you are under the impression that your Android phone can magically do stuff the ipad or iphone can't, aside from multitasking. What's most baffling is that a product comes along that is literally a game changer - nothing exists as competition to it - one that's clearly going to be a tough act to follow, and one that has set the competitors ascramble, spurring the possibility of newer and better devices, and you are disgusted with Apple for even having dreamed it up. What the hell man? Without the ipad your little android or webos tablet would never happen.