It becomes a problem when you have no other choice for the apps--legal choices. Once you buy the unit you are committed. You signed an agreement to keep paying for 2 years...and I bet most that signed it had no idea that Apple would act in such a deviant behavior (a-la you are locked in for 2 years, and if you want what enhanced experiences you have to accept their despicable policies--or you don't have a choice other than to use it as just a phone.) Most people were not told Apple would censor and arbitrarily reject and lock out competition--they had no idea.
It is censorship. They don't want criticism, either satirical or otherwise. And I'm sure most recognize this as a way to protect Apple and Jobs from public ridicule.
I couldn't disagree more with you. What the gp says is most likely to happen. And, not just in the Apple arena. Your attack on his informative post seems more trollesque than anything he wrote.
With those speeds there's bound to be plenty of time when the pipes nearly empty.
What guys like that moron at Verison miss is that the internet is going video. People will drop their cable/satellite TV and go with IPTV. With cockblockers like this Verison CEO we'll have the internet set back a decade.
So, countries like Japan have fewer people on a higher bandwidth network for less money. Sounds about the same for Europe.
This guy sounds like an elitist. He reminded me of some of the utter scumbags I met in business over the years.
Time to drop all Verison services, not just their internet. Anyone using their services should switch to the competition ASAP if they can.
Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground
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iPad Review
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· Score: 1
I agree. The weight of any tablet without a keyboard will affect it.
I was also trying to say that comfort is primary to grandma. Most of the pro-iPad comments that denigrate the iPad Review of this article seem to be saying that this isn't targeted at the technical crowd but at grandma. She's the one that's going to be affected by the weight and discomfort at the use of this. I was also showing that it isn't a long use device. It is short use only, so that means that grandma buying one probably will result in discontinued use sooner than later--so maybe she's not really the intended target audience afterall.
Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground
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iPad Review
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· Score: 0, Flamebait
Absolutely. I read bias in your post. The JooJoo has been in the news. It is a product just like the iPad. You honestly think that because Apple is selling something it should have more weight than another device, just because it's Apple? I'm as interested in other tablet PCs as I am in Apple's. I find your remarks condescending and impertinent.
Of course I want to read more about the JooJoo. Many of these tablets have much more than Apple is offering. Most netbooks have more to offer than this Apple iPad. Sure it has the iPhone OS. It should have OSX. So, easily I'm disappointed. It doesn't have multitasking, nor does it have the ability to customize without jailbreaking (I have an iPhone), and using it leaves the web full of holes.
Do you honestly think that because Apple's iPhone sells so well and has sold so many that I should not be interested in other phones? Don't be silly. Of course I am, and I expect to hear about them, with full reviews, honest reviews.
Let's get this clear. You have no idea how many pre-orders anyone of them has. In fact, you have no idea how the break out of the iPad sales are. Apple's first 30 hours of sales (which includes pre-order shipments and shipments to partners such as Best Buy) didn't match those of the initial sales of the 3G iPhone.
Not only that, there's a lot wrong with iPad. It is a walled garden full of DRM content. I'm not interested in buying books for it. I want a more open device where I can choose what modification to make, where the manufacturer isn't in a constant battle with the community about the sealed nature of the device that I own. Should I be interested in having a device where Apple feels that it's users don't have the intellect to change out the battery on their own? Even my great grandma (bless her heart) can change out the batteries in her digital camera.
Both the JooJoo and the iPad have a lot of work to do over the next few years to bring to market something I want to use. I want to read about all of it. The JooJoo is too expensive now for what it offers. It was initially designed as a sub $300 device. It is now approximately twice the cost of their original price target. But I want to know what I would be getting and how it performs. I know how the iPad would operate and how it performs -- I got that in the first couple reviews. I didn't need 6-7 additional reviews on engaget.com with 5-6 more on gizmodo.com and everyone else reviewing the same thing. It's the iPhone OS. Need I say more? We won't see how the iPad device performance deteriorates until some time has passed.
I read all those articles on engaget.com and gizmodo/lifehacker, as well as several other sites, and I saw no depth nor breadth. At least, not in these initial articles. Most appeared to be still caught in the distortion field mesmerized by the glitz and flash. Those were rehashes of the same old thing. Heh, what more can you tell me about a close box that runs the iPhone OS? I found the review in this Slashdot article more informative than any of those from the other sites.
Close Apple, walled garden, closed pocketbook.
Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground
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iPad Review
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· Score: 1
The JooJoo was arriving at the homes of those pre-ordering as of, I believe, Thursday.
The problem with my iPhone is that, although when I first bought it the battery life seemed long, now, after a year it doesn't appear to last nearly as long.
I bought the original iPhone a few months after it was released, just about the time they lowered the price. Then after about a year the lower part of the screen began failing to respond to my touch. It was a known defect so Apple replaced it for free, even though it was out of warranty. Pretty nice of them. But frankly I'm sure it was to keep people from flaming their product on the web...you know, known defect and all prior to shipping.
So, the battery life is relative. As the battery ages I'm sure the device will begin to wear on people who thought this "non-removable" battery would last them the life of their unit. Steve Jobs tried to head that off by claiming that he expected people to use it plugged in anyway.
I'm sorry but it's not all "tiny videos" that play all the time. Yes, there is a use for flashblock. Just as there is a use for flash.
Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground
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iPad Review
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All browsers are suited for flash. That's why flash is so widely used. That same browser on the Macintosh and Windows uses flash. Just because Jobs has some wild hair, or some long history with Adobe for which he seeks revenge, doesn't mean that flash wouldn't or couldn't be used.
I know no one that spends hours upon hours watching flash videos, except maybe on sites like hulu.com. Most people's time are spent doing many other things. When you consider the performance of a "non-multitasking" OS then the fact that flash consumes a lot of CPU resources is moot. As long as it plays the videos acceptably..and that should be up to the consumer, not up to Jobs, then there's no reason not to include it. Hence one can draw the inference that there's something else motivating Jobs.
Flash delivers over 75% of all video content of the web. That means that iPad users have to live with only 25% of the video content of the web, if that, since they won't be hitting 75% of the well established video sites. The good thing is that this tiny fraction of a percent that this device represents won't have significant impact on changing the web as we know it...not in the least.
He never implied that it would be an epic fail. His review is to let those know, who might be thinking about buying it, that there are trade-offs and that the "perceived" target audience might not want to partake of it just yet. He lists his reasons from his experience. Many of us who are going to be responsible for the purchase of these by family members need to know what the drawbacks are. If grandma hears them and still decides to purchase one, then so be it. But she's better educated.
I can only wonder how you would feel reading reviews from Consumer Reports.
Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground
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iPad Review
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· Score: 1
The point regarding grandma's typing is moot. She will know that holding the device with one hand while typing with the other is uncomfortable for her aging wrists. So, the virtual keyboard isn't the issue, it is the comfort level of holding the device, or in lieu of holding it, paining her neck while she leans her head down to view the screen.
In all likelihood these gramdmas don't use an iphone or a smart cellular phone much of their day due to eye strain caused by small screens and small type. At least not to use the web but likely as a phone. A smart cellular phone is also much lighter and easier to take out and put away.
Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground
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iPad Review
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· Score: 1
Though it sold more in the first 30 hours (including pre-orders and shipments to partners such as best buy) it didn't outsell the 3G iPhone in that same time-frame.
And, considering right now everyone is buying this device on the marketing punch time will tell whether it proves to be as successful over the long haul.
I'm sure many people view the iTunes store integration as an important factor in their purchasing decision, which gives it a leg up, or rather, depending on how far reaching the success of the item is, a crutch.
Re:CmdrTaco drags big brass ones along the ground
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iPad Review
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· Score: 3, Interesting
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
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iPad Review
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· Score: 4, Insightful
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.
I don't agree. To the average person it is about comfort. How well does it work while on the couch or bed or kitchen counter or dinner table. It is their physical comfort.
Does the charge last long enough to take me several days of trips to and from work? Does it work well when I try to use it with food on my fingers? How easy is it to prop up so I can view it while muching on a sandwich at lunch. How easy is it to type (as much as you and I have typed) with one hand holding it while the other types on the virtual keyboard. How easy is it to correct what I type. How comfortable will I be if I sit it on my lap and watch a movie? Do I crick my neck? Do I have to strain my arm holding it up at the right level? Do I need special equipment to make it more comfortable. How much extra is that? How many times do I have to go search for it because I misplaced it? How prone am I to break the adapters, etc with it connected after I return with my beer because it fell between the cushions and I sat on it? How comfortable am I going to be with using it while plugged in and holding it up while I lay on the couch because the battery wore out over time and it won't hold a charge well and I can't replace the batteries on my own?
The software aspect, including the GUI, is only a small part of it and it really only works when the comfort level is high enough that I'm not having to strain or rearrange or change my habits. If I have to spend too much time sitting up on the couch when I want to rest laying down and I strain myself then it's not a long use tool. How prone is it to problems if I fall asleep and turn over onto it or how sturdy is it if I drop it onto the floor.
The iPhone apps are generally lightweight. It has been estimated that only a small percentage of apps that are bought from Apple's store actually get used more than a few times. So, what the iPod/iPhone does bring is a plethora of apps to choose from when you get bored or feel the app doesn't entertain you any longer. You can go and get a new one because they are cheap, so cheap that often it is less than paying for a soda at the store. And, if you have an iPhone you know that having lots of apps installed on the phone causes it to take much longer to start up.
I would never buy the currently released version of the iPad. Though I am going to purchase the higher end one because I have a use for it beyond the couch potato using public.
The iPad will not have the impact of the iPhone. Current pre-orders were made strictly on marketing. When the marketing influence wears off I think there'll be a lot of dissonance. And, I don't think the iPad will have the impact that the net/notebook has had.
We are at the stage we are because the market demanded it. The non-techie accepts multitasking without knowing it is there, just as you claim they will accept a non-multitasking environment because they don't know it isn't there--they are just after the appliance. Basically that point is moot. If it had multitasking they would use it even if they don't know what it is...we know this because that's the case with every consumer level computer that is sold today.
Once the novelty wears off the consumer will most likely cease using it preferring to move back to their laptops or even their desktops where they can get more done faster without limits on how many things they do and how they interact with those things. What I hear from this thread is that people are unhappy and that only a device such as this can address their needs. What is really happening is that they see this as another choice.
We can't really compare the success of the iPhone to the iPad, except in one way..that is that iTunes will be integrated. The iPhone has a very specific purpose which is to make and receive phone calls. That it also has small apps and can do your email and browse the web is secondary to the device. The iPod's appeal is that it is a portable music player (PMP), which is also focused on a couple things. Both of those hav
You make the incorrect inference that because someone is enticed into buying an Apple product that they have plenty of discretionary income, and that will result in an impacting influence in that and other markets well beyond that of what the rest of the world's purchasing influence would be.
Few people expected their iPod or iPhone to multitask. Everyone expected their OSX/Linux/Windows computers to multitask. Few expected multitasking from their PMP. Everyone expects multitasking on their net/notebooks.
The difference here is that the iPod and iPhone are known limited use devices with a focused purpose PMP or PMP/Phone with some internet capabilities. And we all expected that the iPhone would be market changing because it should have been. It wasn't the first in a lot of areas (but it was the first to bring a lot of different things into one product), though it was criticized heavily due to a lack of Flash and multitasking. We live with that because it raised the bar. It was evolutionary with a big impact.
The iPad is not evolutionary over the iPhone or iPod, or over any computer out there including net/notebooks. The implementation is essentially the same as an iPod except it is bigger--meaning it is less portable thus making it an even shorter use product. Not giving much of anything more vs. that of the iPod (except in size and a new book reader) is a let down and being that it doesn't bring innovations of established repute such as multitasking (something found even in other smart phones) it is seen as inferior.
The criticisms are the same because the shortcomings are the same, only now they are targeting the computer market instead of the PMP or cellular phone market. Non-techies tend to be clouded by marketing and even more so by Jobs' reality distortion field. Slashdot readers seem immune to it. Non-techies are the type that accept every checked box during an install (for example, with the Apple software updater that installed Safari on every Windows machine by default because the non-techie didn't know that it wasn't important to have that).
Techies tend to clarify technologies. That's why we are here...to clarify why certain implementations are weak or headed the wrong direction or are misleading.
Are you saying that Apple is the only company out there that is correct and that their followers are the only ones with a beat on which technologies are good and world changing? There are plenty of smart phones that are very nice. Apple takes the time, sometimes, to ensure they cover the bases but they didn't invent this shit. And the iPad is a toy compared to a computer, even a net/notebook. Without supporting what we do day in and day out on the web you can't have a successful device. Jobs thinks he can distort our perspective of the beneficial affect of the device? by implying that a few hundred or even a few thousand sites are iPad ready? Or that it even matters? He thinks a few sites that chose to alter their experience and drop flash in favor of HTML5 (which is fragmented in implementation) means anything other than an attempt to cloud the contempt people have for his vocal disrespect of Adobe and their established technology? In case you don't understand this, Apple restricts certain technologies and had they opened them up on the Mac there would be far fewer complaints about flash on the Mac. Jobs and Apple are the catalyst as to why Flash doesn't perform well on the Mac.
The iPad is not a long use device. It can't ever be for the average person. And for a short use device it is extremely expensive for a device that has such limited capabilities (no flash and no multitasking).
I remember reading a recent Macworld review of the iPad. My impression was that the authors said that it was bright, colorful and responsive. Then they talked about the accessories. And it is my understanding that the initial release of the iPad doesn't even have the coverflow capabilities seen on the iPod and iPhone (they are limited or somehow crippled).
Believe me, using this device while laying on the couch will not be the same as using a device that sits in our lap. And to think otherwise is arrogance. The iPhone is lightweight, but try holding it for the duration of a movie. Try sitting with your legs up (propping the iPad up) for the duration of a movie. Try typing on it while watching a movie on your TV. You think people will switch to using this for watching movies? Not on your life. That will go over well the first few times then it will get real old. Yes, on a train ride to and from work or on the bus it is a highly useful and entertaining device. It might even be good for reading books and newspapers at the Sunday morning breakfast table.
This is not a long use device. Even my laptop with a pillow propping it up while I type with a real keyboard there's still discomfort. And typing is only part of the issue--try editing what you have already typed. Maintaining your train of thought while typing on a virtual keypad while laying down while holding the device with one hand will be painful, if not impossible.
Computers are today what they are because the demands of the consumer pushed us toward it. That means multitasking, multiple windows, and a lot of multimedia.
The iPad is a short use device--something well suited for those idle during long commutes. It is also the right size and the right weight that while sitting on BART watching a movie a thief, just as the train doors open, can grab the device from your potato chip oil laden fingers, and run.
The iPhone and iPad interface is designed for short use and to think otherwise is naive. When more people understand this is a short use device and not a replacement for a net/notebook the thrill over the ideas behind the OS in it will wane. Level heads will prevail.
The iPhone is a completely different device. It is a short use portable albeit sometimes necessary device. It's a phone! The iPad is strictly a discretionary device. It will never have the long use necessity of a desktop or laptop.
So I take issue with you implying that Slashdot readers are out of touch. I say in fact, they have an intuitive ability to understand a device's points of failure, even if some are unable to voice that in their writing.
Yes, I agree. The sale of 50,000 to 1,000,000 (initial) units is hardly enough to even make the internet blink, let alone take a dramatic turn away from a product that has been an internet changer for the past decade. Considering the lack of standard implementation of HTML 5 you won't see much impact for a long time to come. Flash has helped monetize the web and the investment is considerable. Nothing Apple will do will change that overnight, and attempts like this look shrill to the educated masses.
Any claim of an impact the iPad has (or will have for the next couple years) is an exaggeration.
Slashdot Mirror
Apples and oranges. There's no connection between your example and what he was talking about.
It becomes a problem when you have no other choice for the apps--legal choices. Once you buy the unit you are committed. You signed an agreement to keep paying for 2 years...and I bet most that signed it had no idea that Apple would act in such a deviant behavior (a-la you are locked in for 2 years, and if you want what enhanced experiences you have to accept their despicable policies--or you don't have a choice other than to use it as just a phone.) Most people were not told Apple would censor and arbitrarily reject and lock out competition--they had no idea.
It is censorship. They don't want criticism, either satirical or otherwise. And I'm sure most recognize this as a way to protect Apple and Jobs from public ridicule.
Couldn't agree less.
It does matter.
Everyone needs to talk about this vociferously.
This was done to protect Steve Jobs from ridicule. And I'm amazed they haven't patented their process for arbitrary rejection yet.
Hah, network snipes on a Novell network.
Asheron's Call came a couple years after EQ. It was Microsoft's game and it sucked bad, real bad.
I couldn't disagree more with you. What the gp says is most likely to happen. And, not just in the Apple arena. Your attack on his informative post seems more trollesque than anything he wrote.
Time to jailbreak that iPad and block the IP addresses of those sites that feed ads.
With those speeds there's bound to be plenty of time when the pipes nearly empty.
What guys like that moron at Verison miss is that the internet is going video. People will drop their cable/satellite TV and go with IPTV. With cockblockers like this Verison CEO we'll have the internet set back a decade.
So, countries like Japan have fewer people on a higher bandwidth network for less money. Sounds about the same for Europe.
This guy sounds like an elitist. He reminded me of some of the utter scumbags I met in business over the years.
Time to drop all Verison services, not just their internet. Anyone using their services should switch to the competition ASAP if they can.
I agree. The weight of any tablet without a keyboard will affect it.
I was also trying to say that comfort is primary to grandma. Most of the pro-iPad comments that denigrate the iPad Review of this article seem to be saying that this isn't targeted at the technical crowd but at grandma. She's the one that's going to be affected by the weight and discomfort at the use of this. I was also showing that it isn't a long use device. It is short use only, so that means that grandma buying one probably will result in discontinued use sooner than later--so maybe she's not really the intended target audience afterall.
Absolutely. I read bias in your post. The JooJoo has been in the news. It is a product just like the iPad. You honestly think that because Apple is selling something it should have more weight than another device, just because it's Apple? I'm as interested in other tablet PCs as I am in Apple's. I find your remarks condescending and impertinent.
Of course I want to read more about the JooJoo. Many of these tablets have much more than Apple is offering. Most netbooks have more to offer than this Apple iPad. Sure it has the iPhone OS. It should have OSX. So, easily I'm disappointed. It doesn't have multitasking, nor does it have the ability to customize without jailbreaking (I have an iPhone), and using it leaves the web full of holes.
Do you honestly think that because Apple's iPhone sells so well and has sold so many that I should not be interested in other phones? Don't be silly. Of course I am, and I expect to hear about them, with full reviews, honest reviews.
Let's get this clear. You have no idea how many pre-orders anyone of them has. In fact, you have no idea how the break out of the iPad sales are. Apple's first 30 hours of sales (which includes pre-order shipments and shipments to partners such as Best Buy) didn't match those of the initial sales of the 3G iPhone.
Not only that, there's a lot wrong with iPad. It is a walled garden full of DRM content. I'm not interested in buying books for it. I want a more open device where I can choose what modification to make, where the manufacturer isn't in a constant battle with the community about the sealed nature of the device that I own. Should I be interested in having a device where Apple feels that it's users don't have the intellect to change out the battery on their own? Even my great grandma (bless her heart) can change out the batteries in her digital camera.
Both the JooJoo and the iPad have a lot of work to do over the next few years to bring to market something I want to use. I want to read about all of it. The JooJoo is too expensive now for what it offers. It was initially designed as a sub $300 device. It is now approximately twice the cost of their original price target. But I want to know what I would be getting and how it performs. I know how the iPad would operate and how it performs -- I got that in the first couple reviews. I didn't need 6-7 additional reviews on engaget.com with 5-6 more on gizmodo.com and everyone else reviewing the same thing. It's the iPhone OS. Need I say more? We won't see how the iPad device performance deteriorates until some time has passed.
I read all those articles on engaget.com and gizmodo/lifehacker, as well as several other sites, and I saw no depth nor breadth. At least, not in these initial articles. Most appeared to be still caught in the distortion field mesmerized by the glitz and flash. Those were rehashes of the same old thing. Heh, what more can you tell me about a close box that runs the iPhone OS? I found the review in this Slashdot article more informative than any of those from the other sites.
Close Apple, walled garden, closed pocketbook.
The JooJoo was arriving at the homes of those pre-ordering as of, I believe, Thursday.
The problem with my iPhone is that, although when I first bought it the battery life seemed long, now, after a year it doesn't appear to last nearly as long.
I bought the original iPhone a few months after it was released, just about the time they lowered the price. Then after about a year the lower part of the screen began failing to respond to my touch. It was a known defect so Apple replaced it for free, even though it was out of warranty. Pretty nice of them. But frankly I'm sure it was to keep people from flaming their product on the web...you know, known defect and all prior to shipping.
So, the battery life is relative. As the battery ages I'm sure the device will begin to wear on people who thought this "non-removable" battery would last them the life of their unit. Steve Jobs tried to head that off by claiming that he expected people to use it plugged in anyway.
I'm sorry but it's not all "tiny videos" that play all the time. Yes, there is a use for flashblock. Just as there is a use for flash.
All browsers are suited for flash. That's why flash is so widely used. That same browser on the Macintosh and Windows uses flash. Just because Jobs has some wild hair, or some long history with Adobe for which he seeks revenge, doesn't mean that flash wouldn't or couldn't be used.
I know no one that spends hours upon hours watching flash videos, except maybe on sites like hulu.com. Most people's time are spent doing many other things. When you consider the performance of a "non-multitasking" OS then the fact that flash consumes a lot of CPU resources is moot. As long as it plays the videos acceptably..and that should be up to the consumer, not up to Jobs, then there's no reason not to include it. Hence one can draw the inference that there's something else motivating Jobs.
Flash delivers over 75% of all video content of the web. That means that iPad users have to live with only 25% of the video content of the web, if that, since they won't be hitting 75% of the well established video sites. The good thing is that this tiny fraction of a percent that this device represents won't have significant impact on changing the web as we know it...not in the least.
He never implied that it would be an epic fail. His review is to let those know, who might be thinking about buying it, that there are trade-offs and that the "perceived" target audience might not want to partake of it just yet. He lists his reasons from his experience. Many of us who are going to be responsible for the purchase of these by family members need to know what the drawbacks are. If grandma hears them and still decides to purchase one, then so be it. But she's better educated.
I can only wonder how you would feel reading reviews from Consumer Reports.
The point regarding grandma's typing is moot. She will know that holding the device with one hand while typing with the other is uncomfortable for her aging wrists. So, the virtual keyboard isn't the issue, it is the comfort level of holding the device, or in lieu of holding it, paining her neck while she leans her head down to view the screen.
In all likelihood these gramdmas don't use an iphone or a smart cellular phone much of their day due to eye strain caused by small screens and small type. At least not to use the web but likely as a phone. A smart cellular phone is also much lighter and easier to take out and put away.
Though it sold more in the first 30 hours (including pre-orders and shipments to partners such as best buy) it didn't outsell the 3G iPhone in that same time-frame.
And, considering right now everyone is buying this device on the marketing punch time will tell whether it proves to be as successful over the long haul.
I'm sure many people view the iTunes store integration as an important factor in their purchasing decision, which gives it a leg up, or rather, depending on how far reaching the success of the item is, a crutch.
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.
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.
I don't agree. To the average person it is about comfort. How well does it work while on the couch or bed or kitchen counter or dinner table. It is their physical comfort.
Does the charge last long enough to take me several days of trips to and from work? Does it work well when I try to use it with food on my fingers? How easy is it to prop up so I can view it while muching on a sandwich at lunch. How easy is it to type (as much as you and I have typed) with one hand holding it while the other types on the virtual keyboard. How easy is it to correct what I type. How comfortable will I be if I sit it on my lap and watch a movie? Do I crick my neck? Do I have to strain my arm holding it up at the right level? Do I need special equipment to make it more comfortable. How much extra is that? How many times do I have to go search for it because I misplaced it? How prone am I to break the adapters, etc with it connected after I return with my beer because it fell between the cushions and I sat on it? How comfortable am I going to be with using it while plugged in and holding it up while I lay on the couch because the battery wore out over time and it won't hold a charge well and I can't replace the batteries on my own?
The software aspect, including the GUI, is only a small part of it and it really only works when the comfort level is high enough that I'm not having to strain or rearrange or change my habits. If I have to spend too much time sitting up on the couch when I want to rest laying down and I strain myself then it's not a long use tool. How prone is it to problems if I fall asleep and turn over onto it or how sturdy is it if I drop it onto the floor.
The iPhone apps are generally lightweight. It has been estimated that only a small percentage of apps that are bought from Apple's store actually get used more than a few times. So, what the iPod/iPhone does bring is a plethora of apps to choose from when you get bored or feel the app doesn't entertain you any longer. You can go and get a new one because they are cheap, so cheap that often it is less than paying for a soda at the store. And, if you have an iPhone you know that having lots of apps installed on the phone causes it to take much longer to start up.
I would never buy the currently released version of the iPad. Though I am going to purchase the higher end one because I have a use for it beyond the couch potato using public.
The iPad will not have the impact of the iPhone. Current pre-orders were made strictly on marketing. When the marketing influence wears off I think there'll be a lot of dissonance. And, I don't think the iPad will have the impact that the net/notebook has had.
We are at the stage we are because the market demanded it. The non-techie accepts multitasking without knowing it is there, just as you claim they will accept a non-multitasking environment because they don't know it isn't there--they are just after the appliance. Basically that point is moot. If it had multitasking they would use it even if they don't know what it is...we know this because that's the case with every consumer level computer that is sold today.
Once the novelty wears off the consumer will most likely cease using it preferring to move back to their laptops or even their desktops where they can get more done faster without limits on how many things they do and how they interact with those things. What I hear from this thread is that people are unhappy and that only a device such as this can address their needs. What is really happening is that they see this as another choice.
We can't really compare the success of the iPhone to the iPad, except in one way..that is that iTunes will be integrated. The iPhone has a very specific purpose which is to make and receive phone calls. That it also has small apps and can do your email and browse the web is secondary to the device. The iPod's appeal is that it is a portable music player (PMP), which is also focused on a couple things. Both of those hav
You make the incorrect inference that because someone is enticed into buying an Apple product that they have plenty of discretionary income, and that will result in an impacting influence in that and other markets well beyond that of what the rest of the world's purchasing influence would be.
Few people expected their iPod or iPhone to multitask. Everyone expected their OSX/Linux/Windows computers to multitask. Few expected multitasking from their PMP. Everyone expects multitasking on their net/notebooks.
The difference here is that the iPod and iPhone are known limited use devices with a focused purpose PMP or PMP/Phone with some internet capabilities. And we all expected that the iPhone would be market changing because it should have been. It wasn't the first in a lot of areas (but it was the first to bring a lot of different things into one product), though it was criticized heavily due to a lack of Flash and multitasking. We live with that because it raised the bar. It was evolutionary with a big impact.
The iPad is not evolutionary over the iPhone or iPod, or over any computer out there including net/notebooks. The implementation is essentially the same as an iPod except it is bigger--meaning it is less portable thus making it an even shorter use product. Not giving much of anything more vs. that of the iPod (except in size and a new book reader) is a let down and being that it doesn't bring innovations of established repute such as multitasking (something found even in other smart phones) it is seen as inferior.
The criticisms are the same because the shortcomings are the same, only now they are targeting the computer market instead of the PMP or cellular phone market. Non-techies tend to be clouded by marketing and even more so by Jobs' reality distortion field. Slashdot readers seem immune to it. Non-techies are the type that accept every checked box during an install (for example, with the Apple software updater that installed Safari on every Windows machine by default because the non-techie didn't know that it wasn't important to have that).
Techies tend to clarify technologies. That's why we are here...to clarify why certain implementations are weak or headed the wrong direction or are misleading.
Are you saying that Apple is the only company out there that is correct and that their followers are the only ones with a beat on which technologies are good and world changing? There are plenty of smart phones that are very nice. Apple takes the time, sometimes, to ensure they cover the bases but they didn't invent this shit. And the iPad is a toy compared to a computer, even a net/notebook. Without supporting what we do day in and day out on the web you can't have a successful device. Jobs thinks he can distort our perspective of the beneficial affect of the device? by implying that a few hundred or even a few thousand sites are iPad ready? Or that it even matters? He thinks a few sites that chose to alter their experience and drop flash in favor of HTML5 (which is fragmented in implementation) means anything other than an attempt to cloud the contempt people have for his vocal disrespect of Adobe and their established technology? In case you don't understand this, Apple restricts certain technologies and had they opened them up on the Mac there would be far fewer complaints about flash on the Mac. Jobs and Apple are the catalyst as to why Flash doesn't perform well on the Mac.
The iPad is not a long use device. It can't ever be for the average person. And for a short use device it is extremely expensive for a device that has such limited capabilities (no flash and no multitasking).
I remember reading a recent Macworld review of the iPad. My impression was that the authors said that it was bright, colorful and responsive. Then they talked about the accessories. And it is my understanding that the initial release of the iPad doesn't even have the coverflow capabilities seen on the iPod and iPhone (they are limited or somehow crippled).
Believe me, using this device while laying on the couch will not be the same as using a device that sits in our lap. And to think otherwise is arrogance. The iPhone is lightweight, but try holding it for the duration of a movie. Try sitting with your legs up (propping the iPad up) for the duration of a movie. Try typing on it while watching a movie on your TV. You think people will switch to using this for watching movies? Not on your life. That will go over well the first few times then it will get real old. Yes, on a train ride to and from work or on the bus it is a highly useful and entertaining device. It might even be good for reading books and newspapers at the Sunday morning breakfast table.
This is not a long use device. Even my laptop with a pillow propping it up while I type with a real keyboard there's still discomfort. And typing is only part of the issue--try editing what you have already typed. Maintaining your train of thought while typing on a virtual keypad while laying down while holding the device with one hand will be painful, if not impossible.
Computers are today what they are because the demands of the consumer pushed us toward it. That means multitasking, multiple windows, and a lot of multimedia.
The iPad is a short use device--something well suited for those idle during long commutes. It is also the right size and the right weight that while sitting on BART watching a movie a thief, just as the train doors open, can grab the device from your potato chip oil laden fingers, and run.
The iPhone and iPad interface is designed for short use and to think otherwise is naive. When more people understand this is a short use device and not a replacement for a net/notebook the thrill over the ideas behind the OS in it will wane. Level heads will prevail.
The iPhone is a completely different device. It is a short use portable albeit sometimes necessary device. It's a phone! The iPad is strictly a discretionary device. It will never have the long use necessity of a desktop or laptop.
So I take issue with you implying that Slashdot readers are out of touch. I say in fact, they have an intuitive ability to understand a device's points of failure, even if some are unable to voice that in their writing.
That I utterly disagree with. Not even close. It's misleading, almost laughable.
Yes, I agree. The sale of 50,000 to 1,000,000 (initial) units is hardly enough to even make the internet blink, let alone take a dramatic turn away from a product that has been an internet changer for the past decade. Considering the lack of standard implementation of HTML 5 you won't see much impact for a long time to come. Flash has helped monetize the web and the investment is considerable. Nothing Apple will do will change that overnight, and attempts like this look shrill to the educated masses.
Any claim of an impact the iPad has (or will have for the next couple years) is an exaggeration.