I can accept no multitasking, but there is no excuse for no Flash support. Classic Apple Arrogance -- who needs software made by anybody else?
Well, actually, lots of people need Flash. And if you are consuming content on the Web it's kind of a must. Oh wait, the Web? Apple doesn't really believe in the open Web, they want their own cordoned-off mini Web.
its pretty much just a really big version of the ipod touch, it allows you to surf the web, play video games, and watch movies. but you wouldn't really want to make a call with it anyway
Don't forget that this device could become the very thing that replaces the 25+ pounds of books in your kid's oversized backpack. Interestingly enough, the FCC's national broadband crew is actually looking into this idea -- along the lines of how to increase communications and improve education.
While it might seem elitist to buy all kids an iPad or some equivalent there's a lot to be said for being able to have the latest information/version of a textbook vs. the often old and outdated ones available to many schools now. And from some perspective, buying one for every American kid seems to make more sense than throwing more "stimulus" money or "universal service" funds at big telcos who rake in billions anyway.
So -- for cats and kids -- maybe this is a breakthrough device.
Don't forget that this device could become the very thing that replaces the 25+ pounds of books in your kid's oversized backpack. Interestingly enough, the FCC's national broadband crew is actually looking into this idea -- along the lines of how to increase communications and improve education.
While it might seem elitist to buy all kids an iPad or some equivalent there's a lot to be said for being able to have the latest information/version of a textbook vs. the often old and outdated ones available to many schools now. And from some perspective, buying one for every American kid seems to make more sense than throwing more "stimulus" money or "universal service" funds at big telcos who rake in billions anyway.
So -- for cats and kids -- maybe this is a breakthrough device.
Most people are trying to position the iPad as an evolution of the iPhone or iPod and failing. While it may bear a resemblance to a large iTouch its usage will be significantly different. There are lots of applications I use that don't require a voice connection (or at least a traditional TDM or mobile voice connection) and 90% of the time I'm using my iPhone it isn't up to my ear at all.
I see the iPad being very useful for portable video, social networking, music, etc. around the house. In this sense it is more of an "on your ass" fixed mobile device which is very well suited to VoIP. How long do we really think we'll continue to pay for a separate voice and data package anyway? As soon as operators lift restrictions on VoIP over 3G we'll all skip over traditional voice and pocket significant coin at the same time.
I may be unlikely to pull it out on the subway, but I am quite likely to use it in a hotel lobby, at a Starbucks, on a plane, etc, where the small real estate of the iPhone just isn't enough. As far as netbooks are concerned I rarely find myself typing expansive documents in these fixed mobile situations anyway so having a lighter device with an optionally disappearing virtual keyboard is nice. Netbooks lack the horsepower to do anything useful except browsing anyway which is a typing-lite experience much better suited to multitouch.
For the lack of a camera, I think Apple made a reasonable choice however, given the marginal cost of a camera these days it is a shame they didn't add it just to keep the short sighted haters and exhibitionists at bay. For me video conferencing is an impractical, bandwidth hungry application that has been around for years on desktop PCs and is used solely as a complement (but not requirement) of voice or text chatting. I personally don't need a talking head to stare at when I'm chatting with a friend.
If Apple made any mistake it was positioning this with iWorks which is clearly for business users. The problem is most businesses use Office as a standard package and I don't see any typing-extensive application being well suited to the iPad. They may find some interesting niches however in medicine, manufacturing plants, etc where "on your feet" portability is useful (similar to Motion C5).
For me I see this as the perfect complement fitting between my "on my ass" work laptop and my "on my feet" iPhone. In this sense it is more of a convergence device for PMPs and eReaders with browsing being the core experience (of course without the flash support). This is inline with almost every vendor's view of cloud computing making the traditional OS as we know it with local storage obsolete. In fact over 75% of a user's time is spent within a browser anyway with web services eventually replacing almost all client-based sibling applications like IM, VoIP, office productivity, etc. 3 of the top sites in every country are Google, YouTube and Facebook. The iPad will handle all 3 nicely and in an experience superior to either a laptop or an iPhone. Perhaps Apple should have marketed this as an Internet-Pad (IPad) and its merits would be more clear.
For those worrying about having to carry yet another device when traveling I would question this logic since today I always carry my laptop, a novel and usually a magazine or newspaper when I hop on a plane. The iPad isn't supposed to replace my work laptop but it will be a welcome replacement to the 1-2 pounds of traditional print media I can go through in a day.
Finally there are the new applications which we've never seen before that will lend themselves nicely to a large general purpose touchscreen such as lighting control, virtual CDJs, fillable forms, etc.
In the end it will change the way we use our laptop (relegating it to those using it for work, hardcore gaming, or people looking for a more comfortable chair) rather than the way we use our phone.
Like the vid and the content. The cat in the background is a visually interesting touch. Does he get paid union scale?
I'm stunned that Phil would post a video where he's thoroughly upstaged by someone who's obviously a just a pussy.
I can accept no multitasking, but there is no excuse for no Flash support. Classic Apple Arrogance -- who needs software made by anybody else?
Well, actually, lots of people need Flash. And if you are consuming content on the Web it's kind of a must. Oh wait, the Web? Apple doesn't really believe in the open Web, they want their own cordoned-off mini Web.
The cat is classic
its pretty much just a really big version of the ipod touch, it allows you to surf the web, play video games, and watch movies. but you wouldn't really want to make a call with it anyway
Force Factor
Don't forget that this device could become the very thing that replaces the 25+ pounds of books in your kid's oversized backpack. Interestingly enough, the FCC's national broadband crew is actually looking into this idea -- along the lines of how to increase communications and improve education.
While it might seem elitist to buy all kids an iPad or some equivalent there's a lot to be said for being able to have the latest information/version of a textbook vs. the often old and outdated ones available to many schools now. And from some perspective, buying one for every American kid seems to make more sense than throwing more "stimulus" money or "universal service" funds at big telcos who rake in billions anyway.
So -- for cats and kids -- maybe this is a breakthrough device.
Don't forget that this device could become the very thing that replaces the 25+ pounds of books in your kid's oversized backpack. Interestingly enough, the FCC's national broadband crew is actually looking into this idea -- along the lines of how to increase communications and improve education.
While it might seem elitist to buy all kids an iPad or some equivalent there's a lot to be said for being able to have the latest information/version of a textbook vs. the often old and outdated ones available to many schools now. And from some perspective, buying one for every American kid seems to make more sense than throwing more "stimulus" money or "universal service" funds at big telcos who rake in billions anyway.
So -- for cats and kids -- maybe this is a breakthrough device.
Most people are trying to position the iPad as an evolution of the iPhone or iPod and failing. While it may bear a resemblance to a large iTouch its usage will be significantly different. There are lots of applications I use that don't require a voice connection (or at least a traditional TDM or mobile voice connection) and 90% of the time I'm using my iPhone it isn't up to my ear at all.
I see the iPad being very useful for portable video, social networking, music, etc. around the house. In this sense it is more of an "on your ass" fixed mobile device which is very well suited to VoIP. How long do we really think we'll continue to pay for a separate voice and data package anyway? As soon as operators lift restrictions on VoIP over 3G we'll all skip over traditional voice and pocket significant coin at the same time.
I may be unlikely to pull it out on the subway, but I am quite likely to use it in a hotel lobby, at a Starbucks, on a plane, etc, where the small real estate of the iPhone just isn't enough. As far as netbooks are concerned I rarely find myself typing expansive documents in these fixed mobile situations anyway so having a lighter device with an optionally disappearing virtual keyboard is nice. Netbooks lack the horsepower to do anything useful except browsing anyway which is a typing-lite experience much better suited to multitouch.
For the lack of a camera, I think Apple made a reasonable choice however, given the marginal cost of a camera these days it is a shame they didn't add it just to keep the short sighted haters and exhibitionists at bay. For me video conferencing is an impractical, bandwidth hungry application that has been around for years on desktop PCs and is used solely as a complement (but not requirement) of voice or text chatting. I personally don't need a talking head to stare at when I'm chatting with a friend.
If Apple made any mistake it was positioning this with iWorks which is clearly for business users. The problem is most businesses use Office as a standard package and I don't see any typing-extensive application being well suited to the iPad. They may find some interesting niches however in medicine, manufacturing plants, etc where "on your feet" portability is useful (similar to Motion C5).
For me I see this as the perfect complement fitting between my "on my ass" work laptop and my "on my feet" iPhone. In this sense it is more of a convergence device for PMPs and eReaders with browsing being the core experience (of course without the flash support). This is inline with almost every vendor's view of cloud computing making the traditional OS as we know it with local storage obsolete. In fact over 75% of a user's time is spent within a browser anyway with web services eventually replacing almost all client-based sibling applications like IM, VoIP, office productivity, etc. 3 of the top sites in every country are Google, YouTube and Facebook. The iPad will handle all 3 nicely and in an experience superior to either a laptop or an iPhone. Perhaps Apple should have marketed this as an Internet-Pad (IPad) and its merits would be more clear.
For those worrying about having to carry yet another device when traveling I would question this logic since today I always carry my laptop, a novel and usually a magazine or newspaper when I hop on a plane. The iPad isn't supposed to replace my work laptop but it will be a welcome replacement to the 1-2 pounds of traditional print media I can go through in a day.
Finally there are the new applications which we've never seen before that will lend themselves nicely to a large general purpose touchscreen such as lighting control, virtual CDJs, fillable forms, etc.
In the end it will change the way we use our laptop (relegating it to those using it for work, hardcore gaming, or people looking for a more comfortable chair) rather than the way we use our phone.
Steve Jobs is just thinking ahead to the day when Starfleet Command puts in its monster order. JB