iPad

[Dave]

So the Apple tablet was announced today. Quick specs (stolen from engadget and editing as I do more research):
-9.7" 1024x768 touchscreen
-Fast hardware apparently: 1gHz Apple A4 processor
-iPhone OS 3.2
-16, 32, or 64 gb storage
-3G
-ebook reading
-No camera
-No Flash
-No multitasking

I'm wondering about certain things, like why no Flash, or no Snow Leopard. They also complain about the weight, but a tablet is meant to be supported by your forearm, not held in your hand. If the price is competitive with a netbook, I would get one, but again, no multitasking. I smell good hacks in the near future for this thing. As for ebooks, I'm not too impressed yet; a backlit LCD is a strain on my eyes for reading, so e-ink is suprerior for me.

It looks like a giant iPod touch, it can play all iPhone apps (1:1 or double pixeled), syncs with iTunes

If it does as much as I'm hoping it does (albeit one at a time), I'd seriously consider it.

[Vitandus]

No Flash since it's a battery sucker, and the #1 cause of crashes for Chrome, IE, and Safari. Google, Apple, and Microsoft want to see it die. HTML 5 and h.264 are the replacements.

iPhone OS derivative ensures that UI and battery life are tightly controlled, and it's an appliance, not a netbook.

Weight is fucking silly - these same pundits love 3.5 to 5# MIDs but ~1# is "too heavy"?

I do like the ebook AND PDF functionality, as well as iWork apps. This makes it a great work device for travel - and worth ditching my Windows Mobile netbook. (I just wish there was a Ventrilo client.) I will still keep my Sony eReader, though.

[Skree]

HTML 5 isnt where it needs to be yet to just dump Flash, this severly limits web browsing, plus the lack of USB and the fact that the only software you can get is from the app store which likes to just ban apps seemingly on a whim. they are marketing it like an awesome video player, but it has a 4:3 screen, plus $500 for 16GB? and thats just Wi-Fi, for 3G its $629 you can get an HP netbook for half that with 10x the storage.

It has a place with Mac fans, just dont market it as a netbook replacement

[Vitandus]

I think that's the problem - it's not being marketed as a netbook. Watch the clip - they are marketing it as something different. I think the best term would be "appliance".

Flash kills phones/mobile devices. It's horrid. Do I miss it at times on my iPhone? Sure. Does it crashing Chrome on my Windows box? All the fucking time.

4:3 annoyed me, but it makes sense now with the books being offered. Any more widescreen and magazines and books would look horrid.

I'd like to see where you can get a 3G notebook for that cheap sans contract. ;) I have a netbook, and this device would still be good for going out and about.

[Ethics]

give it a USB and dont charge me an extra hundred bucks for 3G and ill be owning one.

[Skree]

No, Steve Jobs says its supposed to be better than a netbook/laptop
and better than a smartphone, something different

i dont see why they couldnt adjust it to a more widescreen display when its in landscape mode

and i dont think you could find a netbook with 3G capabilities without a subscription, but you can find ones with WiFi for ~$250 instead of $500

Ill admit I like where the idea of an Apple tablet is headed and i had many problems with the first generation of iPhones and now have a 3gs, and i think consumer demand will drive the necessary changes in the product to make it something id buy in a few years. Ill just have to wait and see

[Avaia]

the main problem I see with this product is that almost everyone that has posted about it online says that this item will be better in the net couple generations.   I wonder if that is apples philosophy; let the public(who will buy anything apple related with thier rabid fanbase) test it, and we will make it better in the coming years.

they did that with the iPhone, iPod, and it seems now with the iPad.  Why couldn't apple do more focus group testing, and make the product now that they will make in two years?

[Ian]

the main problem I see with this product is that almost everyone that has posted about it online says that this item will be better in the net couple generations.   I wonder if that is apples philosophy; let the public(who will buy anything apple related with thier rabid fanbase) test it, and we will make it better in the coming years.

they did that with the iPhone, iPod, and it seems now with the iPad.  Why couldn't apple do more focus group testing, and make the product now that they will make in two years?

They'd make less money, of course.

Then Steve Jobs could only wipe his ass with 10's instead of 100's.

[Avaia]

after thinking a bit more since my post.  it seems that not only apple that does it, but other companies do as well.  Cars are another example, why do companies make the first gen items feel so...uninspirational.  it seems that companies really strech thier legs in the late generations of products.  it seems very counterintuitive.

[Vitandus]

Why? It's about platform maturity, the DC, and software.

That's what people miss. Was the iPod a phenomenal device on it's own? No. Was iTunes the best MP3 album software? No. Did the two, plus the store, create an incredible vertical experience? Yes.

This is what other companies miss. The Microsoft Zune HD is an awesome device. Not allowing people to activate for two days and then gimp software? Not good. Sony eReaders are slick. Is the book buying experience good? No. You need to make the total user experience seamless.

I know the iPad is not for everyone, and you can bet Apple more than understands that. They are selling a device to people that never bought a netbook, don't know what a smartbook is, and suddenly "realize" they want an easy to use mobile device.

[wildcard]

http://www.youtube.com/v/I2EMRynZNlU&hl=en_US&fs=1

[Ian]

I never thought I'd say this.... but Hitler's got a point.

[Vitandus]

I never thought I'd say this.... but Hitler's got a point.

Like waging a land war in Asia, Hitler is miscalculating.

[Vitandus]

From the Who Can Do Something About Those Blue Boxes? post on Daringfireball:

Adobe's fear, of course, is that #4 is what will happen. And with good reason, since I think it's fair to say that we're seeing this happen already. Flash evangelist Lee Brimelow made his little poster showing what a bunch of Flash-using web sites look like without Flash without actually looking to see how they render on MobileSafari. Ends up a bunch of them, including the porno site, already have iPhone-optimized versions with no blue boxes, and video that plays just fine as straight-up H.264. iPhone visitors to these sites have no idea they're missing anything because, well, they're not missing anything. For a few other of the sites Brimelow cited, like Disney and Spongebob Squarepants, there are dedicated native iPhone apps.

Kendall Helmstetter Gelner put together this version of Brimelow's chart using actual screenshots from MobileSafari, the App Store, and native iPhone apps. The only two blue boxes left: FarmVille and Hulu.

[Vitandus]

http://www.viddler.com/player/3de77ac4