# Apple's iPad in all its glory- Would you buy one? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 21, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679 "2010-01-21T18:38:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/21 "2010-01-27T20:44:50Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > but there’s not enough of a reason for someone who already has an iPhone and a laptop to buy one. That’s a pretty small market share that gets taken out to declare it a flop. Personally, I think it’s going to be huge. ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/22 "2010-01-27T20:45:29Z")
> [@valleyofthedolls](#): > > I’ve never used Apple products but the rumors about this one made me really curious. I thought Apple was going to come out with one device to rule them all, something that could conceivably consolidate all electronic devices laptop/phone/camera/e-reader etc. Perhaps this was naive of me but what they’ve released seems underwhelming at best. This is why I think it’s Apple getting a foot in the door. Later versions will build on the platform to include more of the features people might want from a device like this. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/23 "2010-01-27T20:46:30Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > I think it’s going to be a huge flop. Many people said that about the iPod, with many of the same concerns. That said, I didn’t follow the coverage to closely but no Flash is a dealbreaker on anything larger than a phone. I was surprised to see it so cheap (by Apple debut standards). I imagine the prices will drop in the next six months, at least for the 3G version. I’ll continue my futile quest to find a cheap used Macbook for the living room. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/24 "2010-01-27T20:46:51Z")
The form factor bother me too. With a hinged screen you can set it down and still view it. You’d either have to hold this thing all the time, or stare down at it from above. ETA: Or buy the dock/stand, which isn’t all that convenient if you move around a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/25 "2010-01-27T20:48:07Z")
Soooooooooooooooo tempted, but I wouldn’t buy this one. They’ll be cheaper in a year or two; meanwhile I could get more functionality from a mini-note. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/26 "2010-01-27T20:48:41Z")
I wouldn’t necessarily buy this one - if I had the money, I’d probably just replace my MacBook. But maybe if I had enough, I could replace the laptop with an iMac and use this as my portable device. I think the important thing to consider here is that this is the first generation of a new product line. Looking back on the first iPod, it was $399 for a 5 gig music player. And that was all it did. But it opened up an entire new ecosystem of portable music sales that hadn’t existed before. And I think Apple will use the iPad to do the same thing with publishing. There are missing features (no camera, no Flash, no multitasking), but think about what the second- and third- and fourth-generation iPads will look like and what kind of features they’ll have. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/27 "2010-01-27T20:51:15Z")
> [@howye](#): > > If it was slightly cheaper, yes. A tablet would be perfect for what I use a laptop for when sitting on the couch. Read books, surf the web, send some emails. But won’t get as hot or as cumbersome. That’s exactly how I see myself using it. My laptop is too bulky on the couch to the point that I default to the iPhone. This would simplify that. I honestly don’t know how much I’d use it for the newspaper/magazines. I read the Sunday paper, but browse news events as they happen on the internet. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/28 "2010-01-27T20:53:28Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > The form factor bother me too. With a hinged screen you can set it down and still view it. You’d either have to hold this thing all the time, or stare down at it from above. > > ETA: Or buy the dock/stand, which isn’t all that convenient if you move around a lot. Nope - there are shots of it standing upright (in landscape) in its carrying case, which looks pretty slick. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/29 "2010-01-27T20:53:39Z")
Without Flash it’s next to useless to me. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/30 "2010-01-27T20:53:47Z")
Yeah, I’d buy one if I had the bucks. I’d go for the 3G version and get one of the pay-as-you-go data plans. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/31 "2010-01-27T20:54:24Z")
Apple has jumped-the-shark. What a disappointment. An over-sized iPod touch that is neither as useful or practical as an iPhone and not any more portable than a Macbook Air. This device does not fill a need, nor even do anything new. What a complete waste of space–it took this this long to come up with this? Wow… ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/32 "2010-01-27T20:56:42Z")
I can’t see wanting one, myself. It seems to me to be a product that doesn’t have much of a market. If you want a product that surfs the internet and has lots of cool apps, there are iPhones and other smartphones, or you could get a netbook for half the cost. If you want to do serious computing with wireless networking, you have any number of similarly- or lower-priced notebooks that you can hook up to the same AT&T 3G network that the iPad will use. The iPad looks to me like a product that combines bits and pieces of what other products–including those already made by Apple–already do, for a lot more money. Of course it’s going to be a hit, and of course I’m going to be baffled by it. But then I’m somewhat baffled at the success of the iPod and the iPhone too. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/33 "2010-01-27T20:59:19Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > That’s a pretty small market share that gets taken out to declare it a flop. Personally, I think it’s going to be huge. Sorry, I should have elaborated: it doesn’t look to me like it has enough functionality that someone would buy it instead of a laptop or an iPhone. And once you have those things, it doesn’t bring enough to the table that people would buy it on top of those. I think it will be something that a fair number of people wouldn’t mind having, but few will be willing to shell out money for. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/34 "2010-01-27T21:05:27Z")
> [@valleyofthedolls](#): > > I’ve never used Apple products but the rumors about this one made me really curious. I thought Apple was going to come out with one device to rule them all, something that could conceivably consolidate all electronic devices laptop/phone/camera/e-reader etc. Perhaps this was naive of me but what they’ve released seems underwhelming at best. > > And the name, “iPAd”? All I can think of is whether or not it comes with wings. [Behold](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTzhXMbOWHE). ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/35 "2010-01-27T21:06:50Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#): > > I think the important thing to consider here is that this is the first generation of a new product line. Looking back on the first iPod, it was $399 for a 5 gig music player. And that was all it did. But it opened up an entire new ecosystem of portable music sales that hadn’t existed before. That’s true, and I’ll admit I pooh-poohed the iPod too. But then when you think about it, the iPod did something nothing else did at the time: it allowed you to download digitized music onto a portable player, quickly and relatively easily. Sure, there were other MP3 players out there, but they were even more expensive or difficult to use or bulky. By Apple’s own admission, they looked out in the marketplace and saw a need for a good, small, digital music player. But you look at the iPad and you think to yourself: does this do anything that isn’t already out there? Does this fill a market for a product that hadn’t existed previously? Well, honestly, I don’t think so…even Apple tried making a tablet in the past with the Newton. And the iPad happens to be coming out at a time when notebooks have gone from “expensive business toy” to “cost-effective alternative to the desktop”. We’ll see what happens, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/36 "2010-01-27T21:07:52Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > The form factor bother me too. With a hinged screen you can set it down and still view it. You’d either have to hold this thing all the time, or stare down at it from above. I was thinking the same thing. Laptops by design are ergonomically functional. A horizontal keyboard with a vertical display. I can place it on a table or set it on my lap. This i-pad is 2 steps backwards from that evolution wise. 1) Your keyboard and display are on the same plane now, and 2) When using the keyboard you lose display space. Sure you can plug in a seperate keyboard but how bulky and cumbersome is that to transport and balance on your lap? The i-phone popularity came about because of it’s function as a pocket size handheld device that had computer like functions. Why move it into territory where there is already something better? ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/37 "2010-01-27T21:13:06Z")
I’m a die-hard Apple user and I was incredibly disappointed. It’s not even a standalone — it still needs to be linked to a normal computer and doesn’t have a Finder or file manager. There are no USB ports. The OP has it right—it’s just a big, souped-up iPod Touch. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Stilettos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/38 "2010-01-27T21:14:20Z")
With an iPod Touch and a MacBook Air, I don’t see myself rushing out to buy an iPad any time soon. However, I think it would be great for people like my grandparents. Easy to navigate, relatively cheap (for Apple), and with an engaging, fun interface. It might be what finally gets my grandfather to use email. I’m not surprised by the product in the least, but I am disappointed in the name. I think iSlate sounds much better. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/39 "2010-01-27T21:16:26Z")
Zero interest - tho reading this thread has reminded me that I was planning on looking up what “3G” was. And I guess now I can add “flash”. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679/40 "2010-01-27T21:16:47Z")
I’m curious about the idea that this is intended to be a Kindle killer. With the new iBooks(?) online bookstore they are clearly trying to replicate the iTunes/iPod success. However, one thing the Kindle and competitors tried to perfect is the text display and lighting experience. I haven’t heard or read anything today that addresses this kind of capability in the iPad. Frankly, if it just gives regular laptop type display as a reader it’s going to be an issue. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-ipad-in-all-its-glory-would-you-buy-one/526679.md?page=3)