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why we need a real iPad killer and quick
IT Management earthweb ^ | May 12, 2010 | Mike Elgin

Posted on 05/15/2010 3:52:04 PM PDT by Swordmaker

I'll say it as plainly as I can: The iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad succeed mainly because of their user interface

No, it's not because of Apple hype, fanboy ,delusion, media gullibility, dirty tricks or anything else. Apple's multi-touch user interfaces are appealing to use for reasons most users, reviewers, bloggers and journalists don't fully understand.

Apple does understand. The company knows how, why, when and where to combine multi-touch, physics and gestures and an enormous repertoire of user interface design elements into something simple and exhilarating to use. They know this because they've been working on the problem full-time for seven years, guided by some very clear design sensibilities.

Any "iPad Killer" will have to at least approximate the interface sophistication of the iPad itself. So far, nobody has come even close. Quite the contrary. Competitors thus far have demonstrated a conspicuous lack of emphasis on user interface design. And that's why they fail.

A year ago, a lot of people thought a Fusion Garage tablet called the CrunchPad, now called the JooJoo, would take on the iPad with its larger screen, open and "cloud-based" approach, and low price. After a year and a half of development, the company finally shipped it. The device was panned by critics. It was an incredible market flop.

The next great hope was Microsoft's Courier project, a two-screen tablet that I knew as far back as September would never exist. They built some great mockups for how things should work.

But that doesn't count unless you can actually build a real product and ship it for a price people are willing to pay. I could build a mockup of a nuclear-powered jetpack with a built-in cup-holder. But my CGI wouldn't end the automobile era.

Some thought a project from HP called the Slate might "kill" the iPad, but that was another ill-fated attempt. Ultimately, the HP Slate was a Windows 7 PC with only 1 GB of RAM. Gimme a break. Worse, the tablet had multi-touch, but not physics or gestures. That's like making a blockbuster movie, but without sound. No wonder they killed it.

The latest "iPad Killer" is another project that doesn't exist. The Wall Street Journal this week interviewed Verizon Wireless Chief Executive Lowell McAdam, who said Verizon Wireless and Google are "working on tablets together." What does that mean?

Does that mean Verizon and Google have secretly formed a separate interface design company, and used their deep pockets to raid interface labs at universities to find the innovators in multi-touch design? Well, no. It probably means some suits had a meeting and decided to pursue some hasty product development based on the belief that duplicating the iPad experience looks easy enough.

(Google is also working with several hardware manufacturers to build Android-based tablets.)

Research In Motion (RIM) had reportedly planned an Android tablet for this year, but the company has apparently decided to do one based on its own operating system and ship it some time next year.

A universe of Chinese shanzai knock-offs, pen-based Windows-powered Tablet PC devices, no-name hardware-centric wanna-bes -- none of these are going to succeed until someone steps up and builds a sophisticated touch user interface with multi-touch, physics and gestures that thrills the mainstream public.

All the failures, and all the false hopes for those failures, are based on the flawed assumption that multi-touch user interface design isn't all that hard or important. It's based on the flawed assumption that specs -- USB ports, camera and multitasking, for example -- are more important than user interface design.

These panicked, cobbled together projects aren't going to compete. If we're serious about saving the world from the iPad, we've got to get the right people involved. Unfortunately, the interface innovators aren't working on an iPad competitor, and the iPad competitors aren't employing interface innovators, for the most part.

If history is a reliable guide, HP, Google, Verizon, HTC, RIM, ASUS and the rest are not going to build a more sophisticated touch interface than Apple.

Palm, which is now owned by HP, theoretically has a chance. The Palm Pre has a lot of very sophisticated interface design elements built in. It offers real multi-touch, physics and gestures. Transferred to a tablet with the right specs, I believe the Palm group now at HP has a shot.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: ipad
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To: Swordmaker

I have an iPad. It’s just a giant iTouch. It works fine and has a marketing niche. It synced and runs my iphone apps. Overall, it is a decent product

I used it for this message. .


41 posted on 05/15/2010 8:40:37 PM PDT by Poser (Enjoying Prime Rib for 58 Years!)
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To: Swordmaker
I was thinking of limitations I've read about such as:

No camera. Really? My 2 year old vanilla Razr has a camera. My $300 Linux based netbook has a camera.

No multi-tasking, one app at a time. Are you kidding me? In the age of multi-core cpus where even windows has figured out multi-tasking :-) a new device and new interface is limiting the user to one thing at a time? I can see that on an iPhone or iPod touch - small screens. But an iPad? No background music while doing other tasks?

Apparently no VoIP nor Skype? Not real clear on this one but really?

No USB slots. This is a joke right? Oh, yeah, you can buy an adapter and use your one hardware interface to create a USB but no "native" USB? They can't be serious.

No Flash Compatibility. Just what is the beef between Adobe and Apple anyway?

A default of 16GB? Even my low-end netbook has more flash memory than that. And you're going to pay a premium for an iPad? Why?

I've heard other things such as having to move media files through iTunes or some such. I don't remember the details, just that it seemed very limiting.

42 posted on 05/15/2010 8:57:57 PM PDT by ThunderSleeps (obama out now! I'll keep my money, my guns, and my freedom - you can keep the change.)
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To: OldDeckHand
We sat down to watch the latest Survivor episode -- recorded while we were away at my granddaughter's band concert -- only to learn that the satellite had dropped signal after a few minutes.

Went to CBS to download it. Their Flash player skipped and stuttered all through it, and when we went back to review part of the recorded video,, the #$%*& thing lost its place. Rather than replaying smoothly, it started up stutter-downloading again. Then when we attempted to re-record, it produced TWO simultaneous recordings -- staggered a few seconds apart.

Flash is trash!!!


43 posted on 05/15/2010 8:59:26 PM PDT by TXnMA ("Allah": Satan's current alias...)
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To: ThunderSleeps
I have an iPad. It's awesome. Yes, it is an overgrown iPod Touch - which was the device that nearly ended my need for a "real" computer outside of work (software engineer, quad-core dual-LCD monster on the desk), because it put 90% of my computer usage in my pocket with an interface that worked. Sure the specs seem sub-par compared to other products ... but re-read the lead article, which notes that other companies came out with "better" devices which went nowhere. It's not what you've got, it's what you do with it - and the iPad does it right.

"Going nowhere"? Apple has moved a billion dollars worth of new product in 6 weeks flat - product which other major manufactures have gone nowhere with not just for weeks, but for decades.

Stop listening to the naysayers who advocate product paradigms which have proven abject failures. The iPad, for all its real & imagined faults, is succeeding on a huge scale - and it's only been on the market for six weeks.

44 posted on 05/15/2010 9:09:04 PM PDT by ctdonath2 (+)
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To: Swordmaker

I don’t detect any anti-apple zealotry in the article. I assume that the headline was written by a different person from the article, because there’s no real relation between the two.

I agree with most of the points. None of the tablets announced so far is likely to be an iPad killer. Let’s get real. The iProducts have had more alleged killers than JFK. It’s the Archos shooting from a storm grate! The Zune in the book depository! The Palm Pre on the grassy knoll!

This author gets that Apple gets it where human interfaces are concerned, and almost no one else does. I also think he’s right that the toughest competitor looming is going to be Palm’s WebOS with HP’s resources backing it.


45 posted on 05/15/2010 9:11:34 PM PDT by ReignOfError
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To: Gator113

I have to wonder: what is Verizon demanding, or refusing, which is worth NOT supporting the iP* line? Given the runaway success of the iPhone, you’d think they’d be making any/all deals to offer the device themselves.


46 posted on 05/15/2010 9:12:40 PM PDT by ctdonath2 (+)
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To: conservatism_IS_compassion

There are a couple of hacks that add more multi-touch features to the Magic Mouse: Better Touch Tool, which I used for a while, and MagicPrefs, which I’m using now. I use a three-finger-click as a middle click, and three-finger up and down swipes to trigger Exposé.

The Magic Mouse hardware is capable of a lot more gestures than Apple officially supports. After using the hacks for a while, I understand why; it’s really easy to accidentally trigger the wrong thing. It’s a minor frustration for me, but novice users could get really put off if they expect to open a link normally and accidentally open it in a new tab (what I use middle-click for).


47 posted on 05/15/2010 9:18:13 PM PDT by ReignOfError
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To: ThunderSleeps

No camera: yeah, my Razr has a camera. It sucks. So does the $300 Linux netbook. Why allocate weight and space and money to a camera which, well, sucks? I have a dedicated camera that takes FAR better photos, which fits nicely in a pocket, and which I can easily transfer photos to the iPad from with a tiny adapter.

No multi-tasking: most people who bitch about this don’t know what they’re asking for, really. Multi-tasking is a very broad term: which subset do you really want? Most people really just want a tiny subset of the term. FWIW: iPhone OS 4 will have it; Android has it and it’s causing users problems (ill-mannered apps chewing up CPU and battery).

VoIP is available. Skype won’t offer it over 3G, but that’s Skype’s decision (seems Verizon has a controlling interest and doesn’t want the competition), not Apple’s.

No USB: the iPad’s usage paradigm is different from what USB was designed for (I was a USB product designer in a prior incarnation). Devoting weight, space & money to a USB port really doesn’t make sense for this kind of device - really. There really shouldn’t be ANY hardware interface on this thing; Bluetooth/WiFi/3G + inductive charging should be enough - really. It’s that big of a paradigm shift. Adding USB is a BIG can of worms; trust me, you don’t want it on this kind of device.

Memory size: 16GB is there if you want it, 64GB is too. This thing is built for “cloud computing” - as in if you need more space, you’re doing it wrong.

It’s an attempt at getting past the problems of the current “notebook” paradigm. Yeah some stuff is abandoned - and for good reason.

Of course, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to buy it. I have one and love it. I’m happy that I don’t have to sacrifice right-there always-on just-works convenience to crappy cameras, ill-mannered multi-tasking, soon-obsolete ports, etc.


48 posted on 05/15/2010 9:25:23 PM PDT by ctdonath2 (+)
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To: Swordmaker
HP is coming out with the Web OS-based Hurricane in the fall.
Also, I would not discount Android. In a few weeks there will be a Android Tablet on Verizon.
49 posted on 05/15/2010 10:46:18 PM PDT by rmlew (There is no such thing as a Blue Dog Democrat; just liberals who lie.)
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To: Swordmaker

ok Must have been another freeper


50 posted on 05/15/2010 11:01:11 PM PDT by dennisw (It all comes 'round again --Fairport)
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To: RightOnTheLeftCoast

Great for your friend! We moved to Arizona last year and found just a single IPhone loaded with a few apps was an indispensable tool for finding our way around the area, where to shop,eat and what to pay. It was an amazing tool and I bought my own within 2 months of purchasing one for my wife. I never thought I’d be a convert but here I am.


51 posted on 05/16/2010 12:34:07 AM PDT by Caipirabob ( Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: 2aberro
I found the lowest interest bearing account I could find to keep the tax down. Screw Obama

Never thought of it that way... that's great. Now I don't feel so bad about my 0.0000000003% CD rates.

52 posted on 05/16/2010 12:40:59 AM PDT by Cementjungle
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To: BunnySlippers

Apple owes you a commission. Monday I am going to go buy one.


53 posted on 05/16/2010 12:58:37 AM PDT by gunsequalfreedom
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To: Poser

do you have an iphone & an ipad at the same time ?,
i dont know why and i would love to know why people buy ipad. i have an iphone already. i dont even think about buying an ipad.


54 posted on 05/16/2010 1:11:49 AM PDT by ESLgirl
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To: ThunderSleeps
No camera. Really? My 2 year old vanilla Razr has a camera. My $300 Linux based netbook has a camera.

It is designed to use photographs and videos... and you can link cameras to it. More and more cameras are Bluetooth enabled... and the iPad is Bluetooth enabled. Why place a crippled, simplistic camera in the iPad when you can use a sophisticated camera from a third party and send your photos either directly or through an adaptor to the iPad? I posted an article on how to use an iPhone 3Gs as a camera for an iPad on FreeRepublic last month.

There will be more in the future. This is intentional.

No multi-tasking, one app at a time. Are you kidding me? In the age of multi-core cpus where even windows has figured out multi-tasking :-) a new device and new interface is limiting the user to one thing at a time? I can see that on an iPhone or iPod touch - small screens. But an iPad? No background music while doing other tasks?

Apple has announced that multi-tasking will be part of the next release of iPhone OS... in June... and for the iPad in September. The problem with multitasking on a battery powered portable device is the longevity of the battery. Droid users are discovering this to their dismay. Run multiple apps... and your hour long battery life suddenly can be measured in minutes. And the core functions of the iPhoneOS do multitask on the iPad and always have just as they do on the iPhone. That they don't is propaganda from the anti-Apple people. Besides, WHY do you think you need multitasking on a portable device on which mostly you do a single thing at a time for the most part?

Apparently no VoIP nor Skype? Not real clear on this one but really?

Not true. I have both Skype and iCall on my iPad. . . and there are several other free choices as well.

No USB slots. This is a joke right? Oh, yeah, you can buy an adapter and use your one hardware interface to create a USB but no "native" USB? They can't be serious.

What do you need a USB slot for??? There is one... and if you need to plug in a USB device, there is an adaptor... that plugs iPad connector that IS a USB connector as well as other connections to the device. Most people will never need it. Apple was the first computer manufacturer to make USB the standard and to drop serial and other connectors, making USB actually universal. The geeks howled then about how much they needed the old ADB and SCSI ports and cables. Now Apple is making the next logical move away from wired USB ports and cables to wireless. The iPad has both WIFI and Bluetooth. Many printers today have BlueTooth capability... and the iPad will have Bluetooth printing capabilities. So why have a wired connection? Newer cameras are going to be Bluetooth capable... again, why have a wired connection. What are you going to plug in to it? Why add the weight to support USB ports? Why add the thickness? Why add the complexity?

No Flash Compatibility. Just what is the beef between Adobe and Apple anyway?

Flash. Flash is an energy hog and CPU hog (I'm talking to a friend on Yahoo right now and she was wondering why her fans were roaring on her PC. She just checked and found that 60% of her CPU was involved in running FLASH on a simple online game in FireFox!!! GENERATING HEAT on a desk top computer... think what that would do to a mobile computer and its battery?)... and it is dependent on Mouse over event triggering. The touch screens of mobile devices do not have mouses or pointers... and as such do not support mouse over or pointer event triggering. The much vaunted demonstrations of mobile devices showing flash operating do not show mouse over or pointer event flash operations... they show special Flash applications that are NOT mouse over event flash. And even Adobe's demonstration crashed twice. Will the vast majority of Flash scripts be re-written to exclude mouse-over or pointer event triggering? No. They will not. It would not be economical for them to be rewritten. So, there will always be FLASH websites that will not work with touch screen mobile devices. The fault lies within FLASH at the core of its design. Flash is proprietary, the closed private property of Adobe. Apple is pushing the open standards that are free for everyone to use, that are not dependent on Adobe writing drivers for it to operate on every platform.

A default of 16GB? Even my low-end netbook has more flash memory than that. And you're going to pay a premium for an iPad? Why?

That's not a "default," that is just the starting entry level machine. It is perfectly adequate for many activities. The OS takes 304MB of that RAM to operate... leaving you almost 15.7GB to store your libraries of tunes, movies, books, photos, etc. That's a lot of data. The iPad is not intended as a device for mass storage... it's a device to load with what you want to take with you for the short term, use, then change for the next time... you don't keep your library of every book you own on it... because you aren't going to be reading every book every time you are out with your iPad. Your computer is your primary storage device. If you want more, buy a larger capacity iPad. I did.

I've heard other things such as having to move media files through iTunes or some such. I don't remember the details, just that it seemed very limiting.

Limiting???? Content media file providers such as Netflix, ABC, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, TV.com, YouTube, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Pandora Radio, Zinio, and a host of other content providers would disagree with what you heard rather vehemently. Yes, you can buy media files through iTunes... but there are many other sources, including your own, that you can provide. I have one free app, called "Free Books" that has 28,000 free titles... all out of copyright... including all of Mark Twain's works, All of William Shakespeare's plays, all of the classics... etc. Barack Obama has tossed his inaugural Speech in there too... ugh... trust him to think it qualifies as a classic.

55 posted on 05/16/2010 2:16:39 AM PDT by Swordmaker (Remember, the proper pronunciation of IE isAAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!)
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To: ReignOfError
I don’t detect any anti-apple zealotry in the article. I assume that the headline was written by a different person from the article, because there’s no real relation between the two.

The anti-Apple zealotry is a decade long career... this article is more balanced than usual.

56 posted on 05/16/2010 2:32:04 AM PDT by Swordmaker (Remember, the proper pronunciation of IE isAAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!)
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To: Little Pig

Those are some great pics


57 posted on 05/16/2010 5:09:27 AM PDT by Verbosus (/* No Comment */)
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To: Crolis
My guess, since Apple seems headed toward consumer products, is an internet enabled, flat panel TV which can function / be controlled with touch or remote control.

Watch TV, read your email, surf the web, stream video, grab netflix or youtube content, display pictures, run apps which give you weather, news, or a stock ticker. That technology could go in many directions.

A merged TV/PC is something that many would like these days. Be able to watch cable, Hulu, YouTube, etc on the same big screen.

58 posted on 05/16/2010 5:29:14 AM PDT by PapaBear3625 (Public healthcare looks like it will work as well as public housing did.)
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To: rmlew

Love the Palm OS.

Bought an iPad. Got a bad one. Wifi conks out every 10-15 minutes.


59 posted on 05/16/2010 6:12:26 AM PDT by whitedog57
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To: ESLgirl

Yes. iPhone and iPad. I also have beer and wine, a touring Bike and a sport bike, salt and pepper, sheets and blankets, beef and pork, a driver and a putter, and a laptop and a desktop.


60 posted on 05/16/2010 6:42:22 AM PDT by Poser (Enjoying Prime Rib for 58 Years!)
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