Slashdot Mirror


What's Not To Like About New iPad?

Hugh Pickens writes "With 3 million sold over the last week what's not to like about the new iPad? Michelle Maltais at the LA Times does a good job of putting together a compendium of gripes about the new device, justified or otherwise. Most people thought that Siri on the new iPad was a gimme; instead it has a scaled back version — dictation. 'If you want Siri, buy an iPhone. Plain and simple.' The new iPad is a little heavier than the iPad 2, thanks to the better graphics processor and more powerful battery. At one-tenth of a pound heavier that really doesn't sound like much, but it can start to matter if you hold your iPad in one hand for long periods or have any kind of repetitive stress injury. Apps designed for Retina display can be up to five times bigger and it's not just a problem for owners of the new iPad. Legacy owners of the original and iPad 2 who have these apps get to feel the pain too, since updates aren't device specific." The list continues, below. "The hot-selling device can reach up to 116 degrees during intensive use, according to a test by the Consumer Reports. PCWorld tested 43 tablets and found that the third-gen iPad takes the longest — almost six hours — to fully recharge its battery. You'll love the blistering speed of the 4G iPad, you won't love blowing through your monthly data allotment in just 24 hours if you use streaming video. A number of customers have been complaining on the Apple Support page about a weaker Wi-Fi connection that in some cases will hold a connection for only a few minutes. And last, whatever you do, don't drop the new iPad. From waist height, the damage to the third-gen iPad is fairly extensive. 'Only a small portion of the screen survived.'"

32 of 617 comments (clear)

  1. News... by jhoegl · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We make drama where there is none.
    Everything is amazing

    1. Re:News... by Hadlock · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I have to agree with this.
       
      They may have paid too much for their "how to bring more traffic to your blog by creating more drama when there is none" seminar paid by Cory "World's Most Annoying Self-Promotionist" Doctorow
       
      The number of crap, negative and leading headlines, along with "the answer is no" question headlines has really spiked since Malda left slashdot. Some PHB decided that they can further monetize Slashdot as a mainstream blog by destroying what little culture Slashdot has and alienating their core long time userbase. Good luck with that, assholes. I've already started looking for a replacement to Slashdot.

      --
      moox. for a new generation.
    2. Re:News... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Unfortunately, almost everything else is worse than Slashdot. The articles are generally worthless, but the community is still worthwhile and every now and again something worth talking about actually comes up.

    3. Re:News... by Hadlock · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Louis CK's segment on that doesn't really apply here though, we're discussing the long, slow slide in to uselessness and obscurity through bad editorial management. It used to be that people would complain about the occasional duplicate story, but things have really gone down hill in the quality and headline department in the last year.
       
      It's not like Slashdot or even tech blogs are a new thing, Slashdot is well over 10 years old at this point. We aren't complaining about slashdot's loading times, we're talking about editorial standards, which are something like 200+ years old (not sure how old The Times is, but I think daily publication started before 1800).
       
      Slashdot needs a strong editorial guiding hand, and Malda did an excellent job of that for a decade, which is why the Washington Post was so eager to get him on their payroll. Slashdot was as big of a fish as this pond can really support (besides the more general Reddit type sites). Some PHB MBA saw Slashdot and, without understanding it's community or userbase thought, "we can apply some standard practices like shitty headlines to double click through rate on headlines and increase overall viewership" without thinking about how to retain their core userbase. I'm not sure what the term for this fallacy is, but it seems to happen a lot, and few companies are able to survive it and get back on track before the PHB destroys the company by alienating their core userbase.

      --
      moox. for a new generation.
  2. Everything Is Amazing And Nobody Is Happy by readandburn · · Score: 4, Funny
    1. Re:Everything Is Amazing And Nobody Is Happy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I didn't buy an iPad and I am quite happy.

  3. Coming Soon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Of course, the next yet-to-be announced version of Android, running on the next yet-to-be announced tablet, will solve all of these problems.

    Isn't that how it works?

    1. Re:Coming Soon by Jeremy+Erwin · · Score: 5, Insightful

      A bigger screen? It's only 1280x800, so what's the point?

  4. "1/10 of a pound" by DogDude · · Score: 5, Interesting

    At one-tenth of a pound heavier that really doesn't sound like much, but it can start to matter if you hold your iPad in one hand for long periods or have any kind of repetitive stress injury.

    I'm shocked at how physically inept modern people are becoming. The gnashing of teeth over ounces when it comes to gadgets is truly shocking to me. How does one become so incapacitated that an ounce or two is really worth mentioning?

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
    1. Re:"1/10 of a pound" by tmosley · · Score: 5, Funny

      Don't worry, they made it get hotter and hotter so you CAN'T hold it long enough to get a stress injury.

      This also stops you from using up the battery and all your bandwidth!

      Every bug is a feature!

  5. Best Part is.. by rykin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The best part about the new iPad is that the previous versions have gotten cheaper. So if you really want a iPad 2, you can pickup a refurb from Apple for as low as $350 (or $400 new) which makes it more competitive with some of the Android tablets out there.

    Note: I am not a tablet user.

    1. Re:Best Part is.. by readandburn · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yes, but there are probably DOZENS of Linux users that agree with him!

    2. Re:Best Part is.. by gstrickler · · Score: 4, Informative

      Apple refurb products have the same warranty as the original product, and for the iPad that also includes:

      We test and certify all Apple refurbished products and include a 1-year warranty.
      All refurbished iPad models also include a brand new battery and outer shell.

      --
      make imaginary.friends COUNT=100 VISIBLE=false
  6. Re:Fragmentation by zAPPzAPP · · Score: 5, Funny

    I know there is a windows tool to get rid of it.

  7. of any of these, only the battery thing means much by YesIAmAScript · · Score: 5, Informative

    I have one, the charge times are quite slow. To be honest, too slow. Don't get me wrong, you can live with it, but it does also matter in some situations. And on top of that if you decide to just use your buddies' iPhone charger instead of the included one, you could charge it all through the work day and only pick up 25% charge or something. With the iPad 2, the iPhone charger was an acceptable back-up plan to the stock charger in a pinch. Unless your battery was almost completely dead the iPad 2 would charge completely off an iPhone charger overnight.

    The weight isn't really any different, the reason it's so uncomfortable to hold for long periods is the same as any other iPad, there's simply no good way to hold it without blocking or touching the screen.

    The drop situation is the same for all iPads, even if you drop tested an older one and got different results, you just got lucky on the old one. The screen is a huge expanse of glass on any iPad, you have to be careful.

    WiFi has been the same on the iPad 3 as the 2. I even used mine side by side with a 2 for a bit and the results were the same.

    --
    http://lkml.org/lkml/2005/8/20/95
  8. Par for the course? by swb · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It strikes me that this is just par for the course for most Apple releases.

    iPhone 3GS, iPad 1 -- both of mine had wifi problems until software updates came out.

    iPhone 4 -- antennagate -- appeared totally fine by the time I got my 4 in March of 2011.

    iPhone 4s -- batterygate -- greatly improved in 5.01 and mostly fixed by 5.1.

    Overall, it seems like there's about 6 months after a device's release that Apple releases a serious of fixes to fix or mitigate some deficiency and that by that time the device is largely as good as it will get.

    I just wish they would add bluetooth profiles to the iPad for microphone headsets and mice, although the latter I only want with RDP apps, although I think it might be handy if you were using a full-screen editor, too.

    It kind of makes me wonder why no one has made a BT mouse adapter that plugs into the microphone port or the dock connector. With an open SDK, vendors who wanted mouse capabilities could add support for the hardware.

    1. Re:Par for the course? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It kind of makes me wonder why no one has made a BT mouse adapter that plugs into the microphone port or the dock connector.

      Because Apple won't allow it. If it doesn't fit with Apple's paradigm you don't get it, simple as that.

      Note that I'm not trying to troll here, that is simply a fact. If you wanted an open platform you should have bought one.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    2. Re:Par for the course? by voidptr · · Score: 4, Informative

      Of course there's no BT profile for BT microphone headsets and mice. This is consistent with Apple practice.

      - A microphone headset would let you make private calls with VOIP apps, which might mean less calls on your iphone, or even not need your iphone at all if properly implemented.

      Only problem with your conspiracy theory is that it's complete and utter bullshit, since the iPad 2 and up do support HFP: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3647?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US along with every other profile the latest iPhones do except Phone Book, since it can't actually dial a phone.

      You can use a BT microphone headset with Skype / Facetime just fine.

      --
      This .sig for unofficial government use only. Official use subject to $500 fine.
    3. Re:Par for the course? by macs4all · · Score: 4, Informative

      So, you honestly believe that translating horizontal (mouse on desktop) movement to vertical (on-screen) movement is more efficient and direct than just reaching out an directly touching where you want the cursor to be?

      It is for any kind of drawing/graphics app. As it stands, on the multi-touch devices, you can only 'draw' or 'paint' with the resolution of a six year old with a box of crayons. Even if you buy a third party stylus, which do exist. They have a big spongy end like a crayon.

      Granted, graphic apps are not something the Apple tablets are designed to do. But people like extensible features so they have more control over their gadgets. Apple clearly doesn't like that.

      Isn't all this Apple-Hate getting a bit tiresome?

      Actually, there are lots of styli that are finer-tipped from Adonit, Kensington, Addesso, "RooCase" (who has a cool one with a "finger-size" at one end, and a very fine tip at the other), and also ones from about a zillion nameless Chinese companies (but don't let your utter laziness in not spending the 30 seconds on Google, like I just did, stop you from spreading tiresome lies) ; but if you saw what the guy from AutoDesk drew in 90 seconds on the iPad with his finger, you'd STFU about the "six-year-old" crap.

      A poor craftsman blames his tools.

      And I dare say that, far from being "restrictive" or "controlled", the iPad has been one of the single-most "enabling" devices to come along in quite some time.

  9. Re:of any of these, only the battery thing means m by CastrTroy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Taking a long time to charge means that it must have a really big freaking battery. Apple says you can get 10 hours of use out of the thing. That's pretty good considering how fast the processor, and how good the resolution on that screen is. It take 2 hours to charge my cell phone, and it probably doesn't even have 1/10 the amount of battery as the iPad.

    --

    Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
  10. Re:of any of these, only the battery thing means m by OS24Ever · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Don't you sleep?

    That's when my iPad's charge. I lay down at 12, 1, or 2AM, plug it in, pass out, and when I wake up it's charged and if it took an hour or six to charge I give no fucks. It's charged.

    --

    As a rock-in-roll Physicist once said, No matter where you go, there you are.

  11. As if Apple products alone have "problems" by Cheech+Wizard · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It is so rare that I buy any device (or even furniture, for that matter) which is perfect that I'm surprised when I buy something, anything, which I have absolutely no "Had they...", or "They should have..." comments. I read the article before it was posted here. It's just another bit of "journalism" to fill some space. As I look around my home, there are few things I can not come up with some complaint about, no matter how small. I bought an iPad 2 but read about the "next" iPad a day later and the prediction of a better display. So - I called Apple and cancelled the order. It was too late. BUT - They paid for return shipping and refunded my money. When this iPad came out I pre-ordered. So many of my friends with an iPad liked them so much I was pretty convinced I'd like it and I do. The stuff in the article is what it is. You can't please everyone all of the time. Me? No problems. WiFi - Works fine. Charges up fine. It does everything I *expect* it to do, and does it well. It may not be *perfect*, but there are few things in my life which I have bought that were *perfect*, and being in my 60's that's saying something.

  12. Re:of any of these, only the battery thing means m by beelsebob · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's got a 43Wh battery, that's nearly twice the capacity of the iPad 2, and about 1.5 times the capacity of the 11" MacBook Air.

  13. Re:Fragmentation by Ommadawn · · Score: 5, Informative

    For me the fragmentation comes down to whether it has a camera or not. As an owner of a original iPad, I was more and more disappointed at apps that didn't include me: many photography apps, and some games just wouldn't work. GTA3 wouldn't work without crashing before I even finished the first mission.

    This will only get worse as people who are developing apps aim their performance goals at the newer devices. It's similar to when you try to put a new windows on your old machine - sure, it "works" but it is slower because you're still running on old hardware.

    --
    Restrictions are prohibited. Be well, get better.
  14. Re:Fragmentation by bluescrn · · Score: 5, Informative

    Doesn't deserve the downvotes.

    Android is a nightmare for (game) developers. So many wildly varying specs, some missing major features (no FPU, no multi-touch!)

    iOS has been a lot nicer, with only 3 screen resolutions to support, and all devices with FPUs, multi-touch, and PowerVR GPUs. But the new iPad is a big change, with it's huge resolution, making universal apps less practical.

  15. Re:of any of these, only the battery thing means m by ColdWetDog · · Score: 4, Informative

    and 1/2 the power the battery my laptop has and it operates for 8 hours on a charge and takes 2 hours to fully charge while using it.

    Using a 3 pound 'brick'.

    Physics, folks. It runs your life.

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  16. Re:Fragmentation by Flipao · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Doesn't deserve the downvotes. Android is a nightmare for (game) developers. So many wildly varying specs, some missing major features (no FPU, no multi-touch!)

    Compared to Windows it's a dream come true.

  17. Re:Fragmentation by mikael · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There is a sales term called the (Adam) Osborne effect. Based in the era of "luggage" computer where a CRY screen, twin floppy Fisk drives and a transformer could fit into something as small as a suitcase, Adam Osborne proudly announced at one new product exhibition that the next model that they were going to be selling in there months time was going to have even more features. The end result was that no-one was interested in buying or developing for the current model.

    --
    Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
  18. Re:Fragmentation by beelsebob · · Score: 4, Insightful

    When a developer targets an iPod touch, do you really think they're going to target the version 1 one which has less than 0.1% market share now? Or... Do you think they're going to target the 2 most recent generations, which covers every person who's bought one in the last 2 years? Effectively, to target iOS, you need to target an 800MHz ARM cortex A8, a PowerVR SGX 535, 512MB of RAM, and both 320x480pt and 1024x768pt. Once you've got that covered, you've got 97% of all users covered, and probably 99.9% of all users who are willing to pay for an app.

  19. Re:personally by jon3k · · Score: 4, Informative

    Foxconn has lower suicide rates than the rest of China.

  20. In practice, "zero gravity" means by tepples · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's impossible to tell the action of gravity near a planet's surface from upward acceleration of one's frame of reference. So in practice, "zero gravity" means "zero net accelerating force within a frame of reference", and this is the case inside a vehicle in freefall, be it the interior of an orbiting space station or the interior of a Vomit Comet aircraft in a parabola.

  21. part of the confusion by __aaqvdr516 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'd bet part of the confusion is people charging via the USB port on their computer vs a wall charger.

    USB ports on a computer are limited to 500mA, wall chargers are typically around 1000mA, though some I've seen go up to 2000mA.

    So, someone who is saying "gee this takes forever" is likely the person who is charging via their PC.

    The capacity I have seen listed for the iPad3 is 14000mAh. If you were to do a dead battery to fully charged via PC only, it could take almost 28 hours. (though batteries charging rates are not linear)