iPad

[Burble]

Of course.

Shall I bring the eBook reader too?

</predictable comment>

[Kitten]

[petemc]

Originally Posted by LeperousDust

But when have Apple done that before?!

Who doesn't Cameras are upgraded every 18 months. Nintendo made the DS which was fugly compared to the current DS. You can't really blame Apple for doing something that most electronics companies do too.

Gotta love Stephen Fry http://www.stephenfry.com/2010/01/28/ipad-about/

I also like this guys point. I'm sure my Dad is thinking of getting another Macbook soon as his current one is a little slow. But part of me wonders if he should just get an iPad for the same price. All he does is web n email. Would a netbook be better? Maybe. But I can really see him sitting there on the couch browsing my photos on my site and showing them off to my Mum, or to anyone who visits.

Surely if this thing is running the iPhone OS then the point about multitasking becomes mute as you could just jailbreak it.

Daring Fireball on the CPU. Makes a point. Apple always talk in consumer language. Bigger HD, better battery life or smaller form factor. Why discuss the CPU at a consumer event? If the current 3Gs is running well enough why go to all the trouble of designing an entire new cpu just to run the iPad? Are they laying the foundations for proper multitasking?

Derek Powazek who works in print makes another good point. Magazines and newspapers find it hard to charge for online editions. We all know its getting harder and harder for print to commercially compete with the web. Newspapers are restructuring, firing photographers and staff all the time. MEN doesn't have any staff photographers. Liverpool Echo can't afford to pay for freelance photography usage. Maybe what the iPad will do is bridge the gap between print and web allowing these people to publish in this way and make money. Content is king. Give them something they can't get via the website for free and can't get in a print issue and they'll buy it if its good. The Guardian app is apparently selling well. Why? Can't they just visit the website in Safari? There is something there I think. Give it time.

http://lonelysandwich.com/post/35661...e-aspect-ratio

[Feek]

In my limited experience of Apple, I've noticed that they tend to upgrade features and stuff in later models but not increase the price. So the next rev has more shiny stuff but costs the same.

[Jonny69]

Is it 'instant on'?

Is that the innovation that a Windows tab pc can't do? I'm guessing by the memory sizes it's solid state and it's not big enough to replace a laptop.

[petemc]

Is it meant to replace a laptop? I think people are looking at it as that and missing the point. I have a high end digital camera but I just bought a compact to use as my day to day camera. Its a high end compact. It doesn't do everything my DSLR does but its smaller, lighter and lets me get great photos. Its not a replacement. Jobs said it himself. Its a third category. Fits in between the iPhone and Macbook Pro.

My gf and I both have laptops. We sit at the kitchen table browsing, twittering, doing emails. Kitchen table isn't big and we're hidden behind laptops. Maybe its good marketing but I'm already picturing a nice relaxing kitchen table with an iPad on. No bulky laptops. Its not a replacement.

I do wonder about the usb camera connection. In theory you could make an app that imports photos from a camera and allows you to then ftp them. It could be a very good device for photojournalists. The GF1 I have is easily good enough for photojournalism. Small and light. That + iPad would be quite nice.

[Glaucus]

Originally Posted by Feek

Snip

Hopefully though it won't be long till other manufactures copy it.

[divine]

Originally Posted by petemc

Who doesn't Cameras are upgraded every 18 months. Nintendo made the DS which was fugly compared to the current DS. You can't really blame Apple for doing something that most electronics companies do too.

Difference being when Canon released the 5D and Nikon released the D300 for example, you got the feeling that was the pinnacle of what they could offer. Sure it'll get replaced but currently it's the best they have to offer, primarily due to the competition.

With Apple though, I look at this iPad and like the iPhone there are things that should be (and could be) in it that have been excluded, like a proper widescreen. There is no technical reason it couldn't be 16:9/16:10, it just smacks of withholding features for an easy future release. Get everyone to buy a £500 tablet now and then in 12/18 months get them all to buy it again now it has a 'revolutionary HD screen' or something.

I think personally i'd rather wait for the Android based tablets which will likely be half as pretty but far more feature packed and usable. That's if I wanted a tablet anyway

[petemc]

Originally Posted by divine

Difference being when Canon released the 5D and Nikon released the D300 for example, you got the feeling that was the pinnacle of what they could offer. Sure it'll get replaced but currently it's the best they have to offer, primarily due to the competition.

Not with Canon you don't. 5D with 3fps. 5D2 with 3.9 fps. 5D2 limited by AEB compared to the D700. All companies do this.

If it had come out with a widescreen people would moan about how impractical it is to watch video on anyway. If it had a 16:9 screen how would that be for photos? They're 3:2. Its current screen is 4:3 which is technically good for neither. That said. Photos look perfect on my iPhone. Maybe its screen is designed more for photography than video? On a day to day basis people are probably going to look at photos more than watch widescreen movies.

[Desmo]

Originally Posted by petemc

My gf and I both have laptops. We sit at the kitchen table browsing, twittering, doing emails. Kitchen table isn't big and we're hidden behind laptops. Maybe its good marketing but I'm already picturing a nice relaxing kitchen table with an iPad on. No bulky laptops. Its not a replacement.

We both browse at home too, usually over breakfast and then again in the evenings and sometimes in bed. The iPad would be useless over breakfast and in bed. Why? At breakfast I need a more upright screen and one hand free to navigate via the keyboard and trackpad. iPad wouldn't be good for this as it lays flat and having to use the screen to navigate just wouldn't work all that well over breakfast. Same kid of thing in bed. At least with a laptop I can lay it on me and adjust the screen to what ever angle I want. The iPad would need to be held where I want it.