I don’t need it and I don’t want it. It’s too expensive and doesn’t do what I need it to do. If the price came down and some functions were added, I’d consider it. But as it stands now, no.
But you’re not creating spreadsheets or typing documents on your iPhone; on a machine which is unreservedly held out to be much more, is it really a good decision to not allow, say, web browsing while typing a report? I personally think it’s a dealbreaker.
I’m not too impressed as well, but I think that’s partly because of the way I’m looking at it, which is as a competitor for a netbook. We have a Windows 7 netbook that was under $400, and I don’t think I’d trade that straight up for an iPad. However, I think Apple’s idea here is the DS/PSP model, rather than the computer model.
Another die-hard Apple fan, but I’m disappointed as well.
No front-facing camera? It needs a chat client, and video-chat capabilities for me to even consider it. This seems like something that would be useful for on-the-couch, in the family room, casual type computing/browsing. More about connecting, socializing, games and reading… not really about getting work done.
But ehh. Seems like the missed out on some important features to make it worth the cost and the idea behind it. I already have an iPhone 3GS, so there’s no real need here for me. And, I just got a Kindle for xmas.
If they include a camera for iChat, a chat app, Flash support, and maybe a couple other things for the same cost next year, I might consider one.
For now, I think I’ll just upgrade my old white MacBook to the fantastic aluminum unibody one.
I think the announcement was pretty much guaranteed to be a disappointment, expectation was way to high after the iphone.
To be honest the decisive thing is going to be how well they manage the ibook store thing. One of the reasons that the app store has done so well is that they have managed to keep app prices down to a sensible level. A lot of previous ebook stuff has been stymied by greedy publishers trying to charge way too much for digital copies. Apple might just have the clout to persuade publishers that they can get a lot more sales with a much lower price point, if they can pull that off, then this thing will be huge.
I don’t get why everyone is so hung up on Flash support – it’s an annoying technology that makes browsers unstable and the only time I see it used anymore is on tacky restaurant web sites (seriously, high-end restaurants are obsessed with all-Flash Web sites) and ads. I don’t need either of those things. (I also don’t need my computer’s fans to crap out from spinning at maximum RPMs whenever an intense Flash app is running)
Even YouTube is moving away from Flash – they just launched an HTML5 beta that’s pretty impressive. (And YouTube is supported on the iPad much like it is on the iPhone.)
But, damn, that thing needs a front-facing camera. That’s all it would need to make me buy it – it would become the most awesome Skype/videoconferencing machine ever. Maybe someone will introduce a dock with a camera, but I have a feeling Apple would stop that from happening.
iPad. Terrible name. How about iTablet? Either way it’s gonna do great, it’s not $1000 like I figured it would be. Also the $30 per month 3G plan is pretty reasonable, I’d use the free WiFi option unless I was using it for business.
I’m sorta dissapointed it doesn’t run OSX, then it really would be a replacement for general-purpose notebook computers. But I guess they want something more tightly controlled for the app store and iBooks, and I think the learning curve for iPhone OS or whatever it’s called is much lower.
I wouldn’t buy one right now because I just got a 64GB iTouch for Christmas, but in the future I could see it. And I’m a PC guy.
I hate the name, and I wish it had a forward facing camera.
Other than that, I think it’s absolutely brilliant. I can see about 80% of my “computing” being a better experience on the iPad than on an iPhone or laptop. And this will absolutely kill netbooks and Kindles.
Lack of flash support is a problem, and I hope Apple leans on sites that use it heavily to switch to a nonproprietary format that doesn’t suck. Because as long as Flash doesn’t work, and as long as Apple can’t fix it (which they can’t, because Adobe controls it), it’s not going to be on the device.
No one truly does both of those things at the same time. At some point, they switch back and forth. The exact same way I switch from Safari to Mail on my iPhone. At this point (first gen), I don’t see the necessity of it.
Oh man, don’t even get me started. $499 for a 16GB iPad plus an extra $130 for 3G in a few weeks? It “features” the iPhone OS, which means no multitasking. Tablets should have a full OS on there. MS makes a tablet version of their main OS, why can’t Apple? No connectivity whatsoever, so I can’t plug USB devices in or even expand the memory myself. To get anything on there, you have to sync it with a computer anyway. Yeah, it’s pretty, but that’s about it. I love that picture of the iPad mounted on the [rickety] keyboard dock. Uhh…think I’ve seen a better solution than that. It’s called a laptop.
Obligatory Onion article. Sounds about right.
In six months, or less, everyone in the world will have the same thing for half the price - but without the Apple logo in it. The whole point of a tablet is that it is supposed to be inexpensive, not $200 bucks more than the laptop I just bought my daughter.
We’ve been having a whole email session at work about the product, but more than the product, the name.
One person just sent this link to some great commentary on the name:
I don’t want to predict this will be a flop, only to have something like “nobody will need more than 640k” attached to my permanent record.
But I have to say I don’t get it. Who would buy this over a cheaper netbook that has more functionality? It sure feels like the market would be so niche that it couldn’t be a bestseller. Adding in the terrible “iPad” name, it is hard to imagine this being incredibly successful.
I personally have no interest. Unlike the iPod, iTouch or iPhone which seem compelling but I passed on due to price, this is in no way compelling.
Because most people actually use the multimedia features available on the web, and most of that is in the form of Flash. It is a crappy technology that has way too high system requirements, but it’s pretty much become a standard for online animation, videos, games, and even quite a few interactive applications.
BTW, the reason Apple doesn’t have Flash is because Adobe doesn’t want to give it to them. The two companies had a falling quite a while ago. Even the new Flash for mobile devices doesn’t have an iPod/iPhone version.
As for the lack of software features on the iPad—it will likely be jailbroken pretty quickly. For all the lip service Apple gives against doing that, I think even they realize that it’s one of the reasons people actually buy their products over freer competitors.
ETA: The one advantage this thing has over a netbook is that it has a touchscreen. I was actually looking forward to this feature until I learned it was using the iPhone OS. Still, I think most of the things they did to it were to try and keep costs down.
YouTube video is actually Flash, and many other websites use it in a less visible way.
Quite true, I misspoke; I meant web use and not web browsing. I often stream radio from the Internet while working in productivity apps, and as I understand it, you wouldn’t be able to do anything like that.
The iPhone/iPod/iPad triumvirate do support YouTube, taking one of the huge disadvantages to not supporting flash out of the picture.
My initial reaction was something similar. But going with my DS comment from before, pretend that instead of Apple, it was Nintendo who just announced this as the successor to the DS. Or maybe better, Sony to the PSP. Most of the objections would go away. Nobody complains that the DS can’t multitask.
I was hoping for a tablet computer, and they made a console instead. That just means I don’t really want one, not that it’s a bad product.
See my point about YouTube moving away from Flash.
I hope someone kills off Flash. It’s just becoming increasingly unnecessary. If it’s Apple, so be it.
I totally don’t see the point. Why would I want a laptop with no keyboard that I have to either hold up to watch or stick in some kind of stand? And that doesn’t let me multitask?