[rdlomas]

Originally Posted by BuonRotto I guess for me if I can skip the sync with another device, less of an iPhone/slave device in that sense, the better. I welcome a USB plug so it isn't such a lsave to a desktop or, more strangely, a notebook.

Totally agreed.

iTunes is SO out over its skis with all the things Apple is asking our "music application" to do, it's ridiculous.

[BuonRotto]

The 3:4 proportion doesn't bother me too much. I always found the widescreen was problematic when you have a Dock or film strip under your desktop of images respectively. I like having the extra vertical space for UI, even though movies and images tend to be wider aspect nowadays. Well, and my camera takes 3:4 pictures so no cropping for slideshows.

[rdlomas]

I realize it's only a rough 720 HD screen, but are we to assume it won't choke on the higher bitrate 1080p stuff that many of us have?

It would be handy for watching movies around the house/couch/bed that are being streamed, but no way am I going to be re-encoding things just for the iPad.

[hmurchison]

Originally Posted by rdlomas I'm confused by this. What is "old world" about wanting to put some digital photos on the device? How else, besides connecting USB or a Memory Card, does "grandma" or "Dad" get pictures onto the pad? I'd hardly call that a "legacy" usage of the device, right? I just keep hearing how this is a great "simple media device", yet some strange decisions seem to have been made if that's the case. (in my opinion anyways) The case is not small. Surely a MagSafe, USB port and SD card slot could have been integrated, no?

Better solutions have been available for a while now.

http://www.eye.fi/products/sharevideo

Automagically uploads photos wirelessly to a sharing site which links nicely to Flickr, Picasa, MobileMe and others. No cables needed.

Someone who buys an iPad is going to be fairly netcentric. I really don't see newbie computing users buying the iPad in droves only to become dismayed by that their camera cannot be directly connected.

[rdlomas]

Originally Posted by hmurchison Better solutions have been available for a while now. http://www.eye.fi/products/sharevideo Automagically uploads photos wirelessly to a sharing site which links nicely to Flickr, Picasa, MobileMe and others. No cables needed. Someone who buys an iPad is going to be fairly netcentric. I really don't see newbie computing users buying the iPad in droves only to become dismayed by that their camera cannot be directly connected.

Fair enough. But why not make it even more versatile by simply integrating a MagSafe and at least 1 USB slot? Once again, not everyone wants everything in the cloud. This could be a fantastic stand alone device too!

I'm just tired of buying adapters with every new Apple product and I'm really tired of iTunes getting in the middle of everything. That's just me though I guess.

[Matsu]

30/month for 3G unlimited is a great deal IMHO. Someone ought to make a nice dock for it that acts as a wireless hub to let my other household computers share the 3G connection. I don't expect it to be blazingly fast, but it would be workable.

[thegelding]

iPad from a year ago

g

[zsummers]

Also, one thing that has strangely been left out of all of the discussion (and as far as I saw, the presentation):

MobileMe.

Is that the missing piece here? With an upgrade to MobileMe, you could presumably get file access, family activities syncing, etc. I can see a family with an iMac, 2.5 iPads for the 2.5 kids, and maybe a laptop kicking around for the parent(s). Or maybe just iPads for everyone, connected via the cloud.

[rdlomas]

Originally Posted by zsummers Also, one thing that has strangely been left out of all of the discussion (and as far as I saw, the presentation): MobileMe. Is that the missing piece here? With an upgrade to MobileMe, you could presumably get file access, family activities syncing, etc. I can see a family with an iMac, 2.5 iPads for the 2.5 kids, and maybe a laptop kicking around for the parent(s). Or maybe just iPads for everyone, connected via the cloud.

Another *excellent* point. The whole thing feels a touch off. MobileMe should have been talked about as well as (I'd hoped) some more exclusive media content partnerships.

It all just felt a bit not right overall. I really think more and more information and news will come the closer we get to actual shipping.

[hmurchison]

Originally Posted by rdlomas Another *excellent* point. The whole thing feels a touch off. MobileMe should have been talked about as well as (I'd hoped) some more exclusive media content partnerships. It all just felt a bit not right overall. I really think more and more information and news will come the closer we get to actual shipping.

Just went paid on MobileMe for the Family Pack. I just love having everything in sync because i'm OCD about adding stuff to my address book and other areas.

I think we're going to see some more major updates to MobileMe (perhaps with the next iLife upgrade) and iWork.com will now have millions of new potential users now that iWork is on a high volume mobile device.

Apple's datacenter being built may be the reason why we're seeing more affordable rates for access. Perhaps they are working in conjunction with AT&T to spread the processing costs down. Who knows?

[zippy]

Originally Posted by rdlomas Another *excellent* point. The whole thing feels a touch off. MobileMe should have been talked about as well as (I'd hoped) some more exclusive media content partnerships. It all just felt a bit not right overall. I really think more and more information and news will come the closer we get to actual shipping.

pscates talked about that earlier, and I was kinda wondering/hoping the same thing.

I find it very odd that you can't pre-order this thing online. Is it possible that they are still finalizing a few things before they can list the complete specs/features? Why else would they not let you pre-order it?

[ezkcdude]

iPad - teh new champion of internet pron devices. (Somebody had to say it.)

[Akumulator]

Originally Posted by ezkcdude iPad - teh new champion of internet pron devices. (Somebody had to say it.)

No Flash..

[zsummers]

Originally Posted by ezkcdude iPad - teh new champion of internet pron devices. (Somebody had to say it.)

As Gizmodo put it: yes, you can hold it in one hand.

I think we're going to see a lot of functionality added before release (and definitely with Rev. 2), but through software/MobileMe. They had a hands-on with the physical device, but it just defies explanation if (a) you can't multi-task (I think this gets added before release via 4.0); (b) there's no Flash ("the whole internet in your hand" includes Flash--again, maybe 4.0?); (c) there was no major magazine/textbook demo; and (d) there's no special MobileMe goodness/app.

[curiousuburb]

Originally Posted by ezkcdude iPad - teh new champion of internet pron devices. (Somebody had to say it.)

Pinch and stretch!

[ezkcdude]

Originally Posted by Curiousuburb Pinch and stretch!

Gives new meaning to two-finger gestures.

[feidhlim1986]

Any word on the video stream from Apple yet?

[hmurchison]

My life (at least for work) revolves around Contacts, Calendar and presentations. This device isn't a behemoth in those areas but it's a solid step forward.

Today Apple did the unexpected..they came in at half of what the pundits claimed they would. Even the base unit with 16GB of storage is a stalwart because I can easily buttress the amount up with much more online storage via Dropbox and Evernote.

This is going to be a beast of a product for Apple and they know the tie in with the App Store is their Coup de grace. If you're a developer on the fence about what stores to support you're thinking

iPhone/iPad = a must
Android = the next best bet
RIM = if it makes sense
Palm = Why bother
Win Mobile = why bother

[ezkcdude]

Originally Posted by hmurchison My life (at least for work) revolves around Contacts, Calendar and presentations. This device isn't a behemoth in those areas but it's a solid step forward.

As much as I use Keynote I never really was one to lug around my laptop to give impromptu presentations. But this device is obviously perfect for that. I can also imagine passing it back and forth between myself and a student and scribbling our ideas onto it. A portable whiteboard. I mean between that and the pron, I'm good to go.

[rdlomas]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Exactly. You, Dorian Gray and some others get it. I think it's gonna be huge.

Don't you think it's a touch condescending to imply that some of us "don't get it"?

Apple is far from infallible, and I think this device will need (and hopefully get) some tweaking and feature modification to really reach the sweet spot.

The media hub idea is sound, no question, but I think what most of us "get" is that the iPad, as is, may not "get it", quite yet...much like iPhone Rev A missed on many things.

[Miko]

Just browsing the gallery and the 3G version has a black bar running along the top. Which IMO breaks the clean design a bit. I thought they would try to tuck it behind the apple logo?



I do like the idea of casually using this around the house and at coffee shops/bookstores provided they have some sweet apps developed I would go in on the WiFi 16GB I have the 32GB 3GS and I'm swimming with extra storage. I really don't think I would put more music on this than my iPhone because of the iPad's size movies thou? I still wouldn't need more than what I have and use on the iPhone.

[ezkcdude]

I sort of wish I was a medical student, because I can only imagine the anatomy apps that will be developed for this. This could also have a shot at taking over the tablets being used in hospitals now.

[Miko]

Originally Posted by feidhlim1986 Any word on the video stream from Apple yet?

It's now on Apple's home page.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by rdlomas Don't you think it's a touch condescending to imply that some of us "don't get it"?

No. Lighten up.

[feidhlim1986]

Originally Posted by Miko It's now on Apple's home page.

Thanks, my cmd+r buttons were wearing thin.

[Escher]

Originally Posted by Wrao Compared to the iPad and you have a product that is not cheaper than its cousins(iPod Touch, iPhone, as well as a host of netbooks) and that doesn't really introduce any new or novel features that might offset that and give it standalone appeal.

I completely disagree, wrao. The larger, and thus more readable, touch-screen is a novel feature that will make the iPad a lot more useable than any of the other devices. Yeah, I surf the web on our iPhone when my wife hogs the iMac. But damn, the iPhone's screen is small! The iPad is going to be 100x better. Plus the "keys" on the virtual keyboard will be large enough to type on reliably, as opposed to the iPhone's tiny "keys."

I was contemplating an iPod touch. But for a few hundred bucks more, the iPad will be a significantly more ergonomic and useful device. I'd pre-order one today if I could.

[Satchmo]

For those who have been waiting to see if this tablet would be an alternative to buying a MB/MBP, has today's iPad convinced you one way or the other?

I mean it's essentially half the price of the MacBook. Does it do more than 50% of what a laptop could do? Debatable, but it boils down to what your usage.

For me, the jury is still out on the keyboard thing. I know there's the physical keyboard dock as well as bluetooth options. But do I want to lug around separate pieces? Using the screen keyboard for prolonged times, may take getting use to. The layout of the keyboard from the pics is pretty sparse. Having the ability to occasionally run MacOS apps like Illustrator on a MB, is pretty handy.
Looks like I'll have to try this iPad out first.

[ezkcdude]

Originally Posted by Satchmo For those who have been waiting to see if this tablet would be an alternative to buying a MB/MBP, has today's iPad convinced you one way or the other?

I'm pretty sure I will get this instead of a MacBook. So, yes. It changed my mind. Probably.

[ezkcdude]

Originally Posted by Wrao Compared to the iPad and you have a product that is not cheaper than its cousins(iPod Touch, iPhone, as well as a host of netbooks) and that doesn't really introduce any new or novel features that might offset that and give it standalone appeal.

It has a really big screen compared to those devices. It also has a 10 hour battery life. The other things is that everyone *in here* seems to assume that everyone *out there* either already has an iPhone or plans to get one, and is thus comparing this device to that one. So not true. Not everyone has an iPhone or plans to purchase one. I just got a Droid, as you all know. I have no need for an iPhone or an iPod Touch. This iPad can easily fit some of the needs and wants that I had for a larger portable device, though.

[psmith2.0]

I know that. But when I compliment their posts, I'm being condescending to others who don't see it that way...

I gotta cover my butt, and pretend like it's all bigger than me and beyond my grasp so I can't be held responsible for any opinions I put out. I just came by them accidentally... *shrug*

"What? I said that?! It slipped!"