Posted on 04/05/2010 1:11:49 PM PDT by Touch Not the Cat
It's Awkward You can't carry it on your hip like a phone, so it presents the same portability issues as any laptop - you'll need a case of some sort to protect it and carry the power cable.
It's heavy To be sure, at 1.5 pounds and with all this functionality, the iPad is an impressive feat of engineering. But it's simply not light enough
It's slippery We might ignore the awkward size and weight, but the iPad is also slippery, and its aluminum back is ever-so-slightly slightly concave.
The screen has too much glare The iPad has the same glossy screen as Apple's Macbook Pro laptops and iMac desktops. Unless you're reading in a very dim room, the glare will be noticeable and can be distracting.
Forget reading in the sun If you thought to take your iPad along for an outing in Central Park or at the beach, forget about it.
Fingerprints are annoying
It does not multitask The iPad runs the same operating system as the iPhone, and as a result has all of the iPhone's limitations.
The browser is limited The iPad also uses the same limited Safari browser that's found on the iPhone
The virtual keyboard stinks
There's no USB port
iPhone-only apps look horrible Apple boasts that many of the 150,000 apps already available on the iPhone will also work on the iPad
The price is just too high
$499 is just the beginning, a low-memory model that will fill up too quickly for anyone with a big music library and/or an appetite for video.
It doesn't replace anything
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Played with one at the Apple store today and ordered it an hour ago.
Good for you! You'll never regret it. Especially when Apple does upgrades for it just like they've done for the firt iPhone out, making it as good with all the latest features as the newer iPhone models, by their software upgrades... it's great.
You are so right! I put together a slide show from iPhoto, selected the music I wanted, and tucked it under my arm. We went off to the family gathering for easter dinner. It was so quick and easy to do.
I will still use my MacBook Pro, of course, for productive work, creating content. I design Aran sweaters, and how wonderful to be able to put the pattern charts into iPhoto, and take along with me. The iPad fits neatly into my knitting bag, and I can refer to the chart when needed. These were always too small on the iPhone.
I also do presentation drawings for an architect. I can do these on my MacBook Pro, and then take them to a meeting on the iPad for discussion and display. WONDERFUL not to have to lug the Pro around, and so much safer, too.
For traveling, I can put only the Audible books, Kindle books, and eReader books that I am presently reading. No need to haul the whole library, which stays at home on the Pro.
The more I use the keyboard, the more I love it.
I am an Apple geek and I was blown away and still am by this iPad.
BUT, But, but... what about all the problems that it has, that we keep hearing about from the "nattering nabobs of negativity??!
LOL ...
I know. It seems everyone wants wither an app or a fully viewable Web site. Seems like Apple’s refusal to play with Flash will actually speed up what would have otherwise been a very slow process.
How's your floppy use going these days? LOL ...
I quit using floppies when the first iMac came out and have never touched one since... :-)
Could you explain,”it’s a USB device, not a host?”
There are lots of apps for the iDevices that are not created by Apple. I have many on my iPhone and now iPad. Now apple does review them. For the iPhone it was more a matter of making sure the phone’s primary functions were not interfered with and making sure you didn’t suck down the battery in an hour.
As for Flash, flash does suck. I have problems with it all the time, mostly when watching video. And talk about resource hog. Oink oink.
ABC already has and iPad app. I finished watching “V” on the iPad. Looked great. CBS is starting to offer some non flash, H.264 video, but full length videos are not there yet. The worst website I’ve visited was NBC.com. Their site sent me to their mobile version, which might look okay on the iPhone, looks terrible on the pad. Not only that, but most sane web designers will give you the option of visiting the full site. No such luck there. I’m not broken up over it; we all know NBC sucks so it was no surprise. I only went there out of curiosity.
FWIW, Apple’s coming out with a USB dongle. It will plug into the synch and charging port. As to the shape and slipperiness, shape seemed fine to me, didn’t notice it being slippery, but there will be a couple of zillion cases for it, including some with a rubber coating that will be sticky enough to adhere to a wall.
As to synching, you can plug it into a Mac desktop and synch. I don’t know about Windows, except for media and content through iTunes.
HP is coming out with the Slate, which will run Win7. Some Windows fans are already calling it an iPad killer, but I’m wondering about several things on it. Win7 will require stronger processing, and is primarily a mouse driven OS with some touch capabilities. Can they keep the price down, battery life up, and make it useful enough that you don’t end up hauling a mouse, keyboard and prop up stand everywhere (basically making it a three piece laptop.)
It’s also going to weigh in at around a half pound over the iPad.
It is set up to be plugged into something else via USB, not have USB devices plugged into it.
Kind of like plugging a USB camera into a keyboard with USB ports, or a USB mouse into a USB printer port. Can’t do anything.
The Microsoft Courier looks cool, but maybe too many moving parts( for a klutz). I get the idea that it may just be a short-lived dream, anyway.
I didn’t like the Pre, took it back, so now questioning my early adopter status.
BTW, I have not looked at the specs to see if it can serve as a host. However, if there is going to be a USB dongle (as another poster stated) then the ability must be there to allow it to host USB devices.
partial answer to my own question:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9174834/Apple_slates_iPhone_4.0_preview_for_Thursday
multitasking upcoming
Glad you are happy with your iPhone. In a couple of years we will look at AT&T again. Their prices vs Sprint’s for unlimited data were just too high for us to consider.
I never knew how many people loved Flash until Apple came out with the iPad.
JK. I think the people upset about the lack of Flash fall into three categories:
1. People who really want Flash.
2. Developers who want to use Flash, and don’t want to transition.
3. People who are looking for something to complain about on the device.
I use browser add ons to block all the wonderful Flash advertisements. I really miss those flashing green and red vibrating ads and the flash ads that expand and cover content if you accidentally mouse over them. Not to mention the talking Flash ads that congratulate me for being the 1 millionth person to see the ad.
On your point with the Flash being used to make an end around, possibly true, but my biggest problem with Flash is that 99% of all Flash content is annoying advertisements or a 10 megabyte intro file to a web site that loads then follows with some crappy animation of a bunch of still photographs sliding across another photograph and then the web site title dropping in one letter at a time like an amateur Power Point transition.
Security issues with Flash also are quite common. It will not stay in the sandbox.
The aftermarket will kick in, and there are going to be so many vendors offering creative add-ons. I have a few I could forsee (anyone want to make money...feel free to explore...:)
A thing you can put around your neck that will hold the iPad about a foot away from your face and off your chest a bit, to watch a movie.
Or a holder for the iPad that straps onto your forearm so you can just put your arm down and work with your hands.
A small row of controls that fits onto the docking port and attaches securely to the side of the iPad, so that when you hold it, your fingers come up from underneath and rest on the row of buttons or controls that can be programmed to do various things.
I think it has a lot of potential. I had not seen one yet, and last night, I decided to pre-order a 3G model.
I came into work today, and I ran into two people who actually had iPads with them. A very, very cool device.
It is not designed to be a “standalone” computer for running all kinds of specialized software. You plug it in to your computer, like you would your iPhone, and then sync your stuff back and forth between them.
I really do not get the need for plugging stuff into the iPad. That isn’t the point, in my opinion. People just do not understand that it isn’t comparable to a laptop or an iPhone.
The need for 3G would be very important to serious road warriors, who travel to remote areas. I suspect most people aren’t out of wifi reach on a daily basis, at least not enough to justify the extra cost.
I posted a little about the Courier on another thread. There are two things that bug me about it. First, none of the videos actually show it working. They’re animations of how it’s supposed to work. I’ve seen MS put together some fantastic demos for upcoming items, and have a lot of trouble delivering. Example, the MS Surface was supposed to be cheap enough to be a consumer device by 2010, but still runs around 15K, runs Vista, and is still using Core 2 chips.
Second, it looks like a closed system, where it functions as a dedicated device for the installed software. I could be wrong on that, but in the demos the only stuff they show are items directly related to the installed software. It looks to me like a dedicated device for notetaking, emailing, and a glorified version of paint. There was no mention of using something like Word, Excel or a keyboard or mouse with it.
I played with the iPad and think it’s cool, but am not contemplating getting one.
ipads are more hype than hoopla, hows that for a fact
While your list is interesting its hardly the same category as the real list. The lack of USB support and application performance are biggies.
I’ll tell you where I’d love to go with the iPad. College textbooks. Students are plunking down $800 to $2000 a semester for textbooks. A college trig textbook can run close to $200. Imagine putting together a company that could sell books for generic 1st and 2nd year college course and selling them through iBooks for $40 instead of the $200 many companies are demanding.
How's your floppy use going these days? LOL ...Great; the Sony FD77 (FD Mavica) camera just won't die ... it's got a great macro lens and documenting 'stuff' (little gizmos, defects, circuity etc) ... for serious use/outdoor use there is the Canon S3 IS ...
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