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Hands On With Apple IPad 2
adeelarshad82 writes "Yesterday's announcement of the second-generation iPad showed exactly why there was so much excitment around the device. As the video hands on shows, iPad 2 makes up for all the things lacking in the original iPad. The 1GHz dual-core A5 chip does justice to apps like Photo Booth and over all user experience. Moreover, while the screen carries the same resolution, Apple was able to pack it in a noticably thinner iPad 2. Infact its dimensions, 13.4 mm to 8.8mm thick, make it 33% thinner than iPhone 4. Also while the cameras aren't HD, the inclusion itself provides an opportuntiy for Facetime, which is actually more interactive than what we've seen so far on other Apple devices."
1. It is 33% thinner than the first iPad. It is also thinner than the iPhone 4, but only slightly.
2. The rear camera is, in fact, HD.
...it inspires impartial and unbiased Slashdot articles!
What about an SD card slot or USB port?
The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
Much like the sound of the wind, I predict that joke went right over your head.
I think iPad 3.11 for workgroups will be good enough for me.
Truely, if it is perfect, we should not expect another Hitler Rant video...
ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI!?
There are certain advantages to having sealed, fixed memory, and it's a tradeoff to get them.
I absolutely agree! I'll list some for the detractors:
Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
No, but they collect membership fees and revert 70% of these to the writers. 30% agency fees, for doing exactly squat besides rebranding and reformatting the content, would be considered exorbitant and unconscionable in just about any other business.
I work with a lot of independent filmmakers and the "Readability" model has been with them for the last 10 years or so -- small fly-by-night "distributors" who take a huge cut of revenue and fees in exchange for making your movie available on their shitty burn-on-demand DVD website and offering it, with zero promotion and for bargain-basement prices on iTunes and Movielink and iFilm and all the other crap distribution channels that have come and gone the last decade. They're slimeballs and all they care about is putting themselves in-between artists and eyeballs, and doing as little as possible for their fees.
Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
You either understand why its exclusion is a good thing or you don't, so there's nothing to add there.
Wow. That's some arrogance. Did you really mean to say: "Either you agree with apple, or you are wrong."
There are certain advantages to having sealed, fixed memory
Can you actually name any that are relevant?
Not having to manipulate a file system isn't one by the way. My car stereo handles CDs, mp3 disks, flash memory, and ipods, and all the complicated file system stuff is completely invisible... I just push the source button. I guess that would be too overwhelming for an iDevice user?
Another example is the Nintendo Wii file system management which a 4 year old has no trouble with.
Meanwhile the multiple advantages of removable storage however are blindingly obvious.
Arguing about the trade-offs of expandable/removable storage its about as idiotic as as arguing about the trade offs of wearing a motorcycle helmet. (In that yes, there are circumstances where not having a helmet on would be advantageous... but the disadvantages thoroughly outweigh any advantages.)
but you're NOT going to see those in iOS products
This same arguments about how you didn't need were made about native application development and multi-tasking...
The main reason there is no expandable memory is that:
a) Steve Job's obsessively hates slots and buttons, and is more than willing to sacrifice function to get form.
b) If you can slide in your own 8GB SD card for $50, why would you pay hundreds of dollars extra for one with extra memory?
My understanding is Apple wants a 30% cut. However they don't want providers to charge extra on Apple devices - so basically publishers have two choices:
1) Keep the price the same, and if the provider was making 30% or less already per sale, potentially lose money per sale.
2) Raise the price for all and have non iOS users essentially pay a 30% tax for Apple.
3) Don't release on iOS and lose that customer base.
This is MY understanding. If I'm wrong please let me know.
The main reason there is no expandable memory is that:
a) Steve Job's obsessively hates slots and buttons, and is more than willing to sacrifice function to get form.
b) If you can slide in your own 8GB SD card for $50, why would you pay hundreds of dollars extra for one with extra memory?
Yep. Those are the two most likely reasons. Charging $40 for a video dongle is ridiculous and $40 for their magic cover is equally ridiculous.
But so what? I don't get the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth caused by Apple releases. If those prices are too high or you don't like their marketing practices or the devices don't do what you need them to do then DO NOT BUY THEM. If someone else is perfectly happy to pay said prices for said items and they do not care about expandable memory and don't have any idea about Steve Jobs' personal taste then who the fuck cares?
No one needs to own an Apple device. No one is forced to own an Apple device. No one is entitled to own an Apple device.
I have a Motorola Xoom on my desk right now as I type this.
Your long list of silliness about the "Zoom" includes: silly things that imply complexity, "25 pounds", USB port, "three 9-volt batteries".
In order:
The UI is a bit more busy than an iPad, with more little options, but I haven't found it at all hard to use.
According to specs, it is 730 grams, which is exactly the same as an iPad with 3G. Note that the second generation iPad 2 is listed as 600 grams; presumably that is not including the 3G option but it is still a win for Apple. On the other hand, an M16 rifle weighs about 8 pounds, so your innuendo is that the Xoom probably weighs three times as much as the Apple product; clearly false.
Yes, the Xoom has a USB port. That is a good feature and I like it. The iPad has a USB port, but only if you put a special dongle on the special Apple connector. But I guess your point was that it would be silly for a rifle to have a USB port. In that case, please list the actual features of the Xoom that are silly. You might, for example, mock the Xoom for having a barometer; but it adds no significant weight or cost, and it will be very useful for certain applications, and I don't see how you could claim it makes the Xoom harder to use, so perhaps it's not that silly after all.
As for batteries, the Xoom has built-in sealed battery pack, just like the iPad. The iPad claimed battery life is 9 hours for the 3G model; the Xoom claimed battery life is 8 hours, with a faster processor. The iPad 2 claims to have 9 or 10 hour battery life.
I think the actual specs show that the Xoom is not quite as slick as an iPad but it is in the ballpark, and I personally do not want to shackle myself to Apple's ecosystem. If you want a device that gives you the most freedom, then the Xoom is a worthy option. If you want the slickest device currently made, then get an iPad 2.
steveha
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely