I don’t know why I would ever feel I needed one - I could see me wanting an iPhone - it’s quite a decent phone with a lot of useful functions and features - I could see me wanting some kind of Apple laptop - they’re stylish and quite powerful computers - but I don’t feel like I was waiting for anyone to invent this.
Unless some ‘killer app’ arrives for it that I really need, but just don’t realise it, I’ll pass.
My guess is that Apple is going to introduce multitasking in iPhone OS 4.0 – this is one point where they really have no rebuttal to Android. When the iPhone first came out, it was believable that multitasking would drain the battery, but with today’s processing power, that’s just not a concern.
If Apple stays on their normal roadmap, iPhone OS 4.0 will come out in June, only a few months after the iPad’s availablility.
But I’m still waiting for a front-facing camera. Not so much because I would use it all the time (though I’d use it a lot) but because it’s so mind-numbingly obvious a feature for this kind of product.
I understand the point you’re trying to make, but let’s be fair–the DS is 130 bucks.
Well, I think the new one is $170, but yeah. 
Add a gold chain and the Flavor Flav app and I can think of at least one customer.
It’s another example of Apple only supporting things it likes (read: can make money on). I can’t really imagine ever owning a supposedly full-fledged computer that I have to ask someone’s permission to load a program onto.
Yeah, the stupid name will totally kill it.
That Wii thing, huge failure 
Since Apple is trying to push an open standard to replace the proprietary Flash, I’d say you’re dead wrong.
Too expensive for my wallet. Maybe a couple of years down the line, when the price drops.
It’d be brilliant for reading comics and graphic novels, given that the screen is roughly the same size of a typical US comic book.
One concern is in regard to the ebooks. Apple has a somewhat randomly applied rule which bars apps which duplicate standard features on the iPhone/Touch. Hopefully, they won’t lock out books bought from other vendors or third party ebook apps.
I’ll comment more later but meanwhile I have a question. What does “250MB” mean for a data plan? 250MB per month? Per day? Per hour? Because I imagine almost every one blows through 250MB really quickly.
I won’t be buying one, but not because I think it’s a dumb product. I have an iPhone and MacBook Pro and, between those 2 things, I’ve got what I need. However, because of my iPhone, my MacBook Pro stays docked and connected to an external monitor 95% of the time, eliminating the whole “mobility” factor. In a couple years when it’s time to replace my laptop, I could certainly see myself buying an iMac and iPad. iMac will stay where it’s at, and the iPad will replace my iPhone browsing while watching TV and the 5% of time I use my laptop on my lap.
Comparing it to netbooks is not a great comparison. Netbooks are total garbage. The screens are too small for the OS they’re trying to run, build quality sucks because they’re trying to keep costs down. They either run Linux which people are scared of, or XP which is 10 years old now. They’re slow, and limited in use to almost the same extent that the iPad is.
Netbooks run software that was never intended for the low-res, small screens they have. The iPad will ONLY run software that is made for it specifically, or for its little brother the iPod touch. Just like people criticized the iPhone 3 years ago for price point, features it lacked, software limitations and more, people are already criticizing this for the same reasons. Give it a few years and Apple will slowly but surely add features, software, and developers will give this thing its true value.
I want one, but I know I wouldn’t use it much because I already own too many Apple products. I also suspect that the first time I play with one in person, I’ll have to buy it right then. Apple makes great stuff, and comparing it to low-cost, race-to-the-bottom netbooks is a mistake.
I thought the same, it’s meager.
I wonder if Apple is going to make a profit on this (the actual iPad) or just make $ on the product line (ibooks, itunes, apps, movies).
$499 seems like a steal.
That part’s bullshit. Although XP is 10 years old, it’s still a perfectly competent operating system. Both my parents have netbooks and, based on what Iv’e seen of the iPad, they are vastly more useable than Apple’s pathetic offering. You can’t even listen to pandora while writing an email on the iPad–something even the worst netbook can do.
It’ll be a hit. The few preliminary reviews I’ve read from people who’ve managed to use it for a while have all been favourable, saying how much better it is to read off the screen than from the “electronic paper” that e-book readers use, and how easy it is to type on it. Further, I think it does fill a niche. Sometimes I just want to pick up my PC and lie with it on the couch to read my mail, without faffing with wires, or a heavy laptop etc.
Besides, it’s an Apple product, and it will sell on that basis alone.
The Newton says hi.
The memory doesn’t suprise me at all. They went with flash memory for obvious reasons, and that is much more expensive. It isn’t supposed to be a laptop. I don’t think the laptop is at all nicely designed for surfing while relaxing on the couch. I always have to hold the screen open while I lie back. That’s not a problem with this.
I think this type of thing could very well catch on in labs as well. If they make a version that is durable enough, I can imagine the laboratory notebook becoming a thing of the past. This is particularly good for industrial research, where record keeping is so integral to getting valid patents. Throw in some ChemDraw Apps and you have the perfect lab notebook.
sigh Apologies in advance for the hijack.
“Pad” is used — quite extensively — for items apart from sanitary napkins. I work for a female-owned business who has historically employed predominantly females and one of our key products are pads.
The promotional video features some of the key people behind the iPad’s development. Maybe it’s suspect that the people who hold these positions are men (I don’t, but whatever). But in regards to putting together a promotional video, I think that speaking to key developers is a bit more legitimate than hiring a spokesmodel or either gender from the talent agency.
</hijack>
Hey mods: can someone merge the various ipad threads?
The leather case folds back to become a stand.
The memory is flash based, no hard drive. Each increment of memory adds $100 to the retail price. But I agree, 64GB is way too low of memory. It’d be nice if it had memory card slots…
How much is flash memory at factory prices now a days?
I particularly like that they are using the non proprietary epub format rather than a proprietary one like Kindle. I think that alone will deal a fierce blow to kindle.
The ipad has special screen technology that makes for better viewing, including at angles.
iTablet will probably come out eventually. That would be more of an OSX tablet PC.
This sort of thing boggles me. I mean, when people use the word “notepad” does everyone start giggling at the thought of feminine products? “Oh he’s going to put his shopping list on a tampon teehee!”
AMEN
There’s a nearly full size on screen keyboard. What other options for watching a screen do you think there are than holding or standing it up? That’s one more option already than TVs or computers. I think it’s fast enough that it’s effectively multitasking. The only problem would be with always active apps like those that stream music in the background.
My question is what does a 250MB plan mean? Per day? Hour? Month? Upload? Download? Seems like a limit I would blow through just browsing the web in a few hours.
So you’re judging the iPad’s usefulness on one weird function that most people don’t care about? For the record, it will support “multitasking” for some functions, iPod being one of them. So you can listen to your own music while working on whatever you want.
Netbooks are also hard to use in many ways. With a screen that small and a trackpad that is miniscule, they are hard to use in ways that standard notebooks and the iPad will not be. Apple are user-interface geniuses. This will be easy to use, and pretty to look at. The hardware is nothing in the scheme of things (although the hardware is much better than all current netbooks’ hardware), the real power of this will be in software and accessories.
I’m not sure what you mean that XP is “vastly more capable”. The iPad has already been seen surfing the web (using Safari, which is superior or as good as any browser available on XP), easily emailing, watching videos, listening to music, using productivity apps, reading books, playing games, drawing/sketching… I am curious as to what you’d like to do on it that you think is impossible on the iPad but possible on a netbook? Is true multitasking the only thing you can come up with?
I’m not giggling over the name or anything, just reporting on reactions I’ve seen and heard. Things like “notepad” and whatnot are nice compound words that have no association with “pad” the sanitary napkin. However, putting an “i” or “e” in front of a word doesn’t make it a compound word. Since so many damned things are named iThis and eThat, the little "i"s and "e"s become pre-tags to the actual word. The effect is that Apple named its new product Pad. Which has a definite association with sanitary napkin.
Hence, “iTampon” is a trending topic on Twitter.
And for the record, I do like that the video features people who actually were a part of the product’s creation. But when you’re marketing something, you need to take into account gender perceptions. I think part of the reason Apple is getting so much shit about the name is that they are VERY savvy marketers, so this is seen as a blunder on their part.