The iPad

[dazzybee]

Mines preordered. Can't wait to get it, really wish I had it before I came to Cannes though, showing stuff at meetings would have been very useful (and will continue to be useful in future). Pretty excited about it actually.

 

Tapedeck, how much data usage do you have? Still working out what data plan I'm going to get!

[Cube]

App store is now live in the UK' date=' some apps still being held back for the actual product launch but it makes it a bit easier to spend silly sums of money on things for it.

 

Still agree with what I said above, this is possibly my all time favourite gadget.[/quote']

 

I take it that anything you've purchased on the iPhone/iPod Touch will be free on the iPad?

[Will]

Yes, everything you've already bought can be put straight onto the iPad. To be honest though unless it has native iPad support it really isn't worth it - the iPhone apps are horrible on it. Some developers have chosen to make the apps separate, Angry Birds for example you have to buy again to get the iPad version which is a bit crappy.

 

There's a lot of good stuff on there already. The difference between the iPad and the iPhone is massive in terms of app usability.

[tapedeck]

Agree with you on the apps thing will. Would have been good to have got discount on iPad apps if you owned the original iphone app or something.

Real racing HD for instance looks incredible next to Real Racing but it is essentially the same game with a few added tweaks for the iPad.

 

I bought Bruce lee HD, it is incredible graphically and lies somewhere between an advanced PS2 game and a Top tier Gamecube game IMO.

 

Dazzy: I have the wifi only version. Oh, and I can now type faster on this device than on my very own laptop. Woot!

 

And will I agree with you about this being your favourite gadget, that's probably the best way to look at things.

[dazzybee]

Okay. My ipad has arrived, but it says it need OS X 10.5 to run. But I have 10.4.11 and can't seem to find any update on the apple store. Everything above 10.5 (including 10.5.1) says it needs 10.5 to run. WHAT THE HELL DO I DO!??! Haven't heard of anything like this about it before!!

[Will]

That's a bit of a bugger. Guess you need to upgrade your OS with a Leopard purchase in that case.

[Caris]

This is one of the best things I have ever bought.

[dazzybee]

Yeah it wont work. Dammit! a £130 software purchase is in order. In the mean time I've synched it with a works computer and got it up and running; have to say that I think it is incredible. A complete luxury but incredible. Everything on it just work flawlessly. Downloaded PAGES and that looks great, bargain for £5.99, will download the rest. The most impressive thing though is probably WIRED magazine; not a massive fan of the mag but thought I'd give it a go, if all magazines were as well designed as this then I really think it could take off in a big way.

 

On a negative, the books, like films and music, are INSANELY over priced. It's bizarre. I chose a few books at random in the top 10, and most are half price on amazon for the actual book. Crazy. Shame as the books are really nice.

 

Ooh, one more. I bought the £30 hard case thing. It is possibly the worst thing I have ever bought, the ipad barely fits in; it doesn't close properly and wouldn't protect it at all...

[Shorty]

That seems a bit odd that you need a new version of OSX, I mean presumably you could just sync it on a Win XP machine as long as it has the latest iTunes

[Will]

Apple generally only support the latest 2 versions of OSX, keeps people on the upgrade ladder.

[Cube]

Okay. My ipad has arrived, but it says it need OS X 10.5 to run. But I have 10.4.11 and can't seem to find any update on the apple store. Everything above 10.5 (including 10.5.1) says it needs 10.5 to run. WHAT THE HELL DO I DO!??! Haven't heard of anything like this about it before!!

 

Can't you just not sync it and re-download any music/videos you need through the iPad's iTunes store?

[Charlie]

I had a play on one in the Apple Store in Glasgow today. After having used it it doesn't really make me want to get one at all, in fact the total opposite. It does just seem like a big iPhone to me. I've really got no need for it whatsoever.

[Will]

I can understand that view, at it's core it IS just a big iPhone. With extended use though you soon see that the extra screen space multiplies it's practical use by way more than you would expect. Apps are far more akin to something you'd find on a desktop than a phone, it really is a joy to use. My iPhone never got much use outside of commuting due to just not being very good once in the home, the iPad on the other hand has been with me constantly since I bought it and I'm using it for something or other pretty much all e time.

 

It's a shame people can't borrow one for a weekend or something, i really think it's a device that needs time for people to really grasp just how special it is.

[Charlie]

I can understand that view' date=' at it's core it IS just a big iPhone. With extended use though you soon see that the extra screen space multiplies it's practical use by way more than you would expect. Apps are far more akin to something you'd find on a desktop than a phone, it really is a joy to use. My iPhone never got much use outside of commuting due to just not being very good once in the home, the iPad on the other hand has been with me constantly since I bought it and I'm using it for something or other pretty much all e time.

 

It's a shame people can't borrow one for a weekend or something, i really think it's a device that needs time for people to really grasp just how special it is.[/quote']

 

Yeah I know what you mean, but to be honest, what I use my laptop for and would want to use the iPad for just wouldn't really work.

 

I tend to sit on the sofa with the laptop either next to me on on my lap and I'm always signed onto MSN and Facebook Chat, talking to people etc. It just wouldn't work with an iPad to do that along with webbrowsing at the same time etc.

[Daft]

I tend to sit on the sofa with the laptop either next to me on on my lap and I'm always signed onto MSN and Facebook Chat, talking to people etc. It just wouldn't work with an iPad to do that along with webbrowsing at the same time etc.

 

Yeah, I'm the same and if I really need to move around the house my iPod Touch gets its WiFi switched on and I'm off.

 

I still can't get over the £100 difference with the memory size. Daylight robbery if ever I saw it.

 

If it were £150 I'd get it but as it stands, it seems to want to fix a problem that doesn't exist. It's a real shame Apple didn't have a go at a netbook. I would have snapped that up. Disposable computing ftw.

[dazzybee]

Can't you just not sync it and re-download any music/videos you need through the iPad's iTunes store?

 

You need to hook it up to rven get the thing going. Also, I haven't downloaded any music from iTunes. All sorted now though.

 

 

Yeah, I'm the same and if I really need to move around the house my iPod Touch gets its WiFi switched on and I'm off.

 

I still can't get over the £100 difference with the memory size. Daylight robbery if ever I saw it.

 

If it were £150 I'd get it but as it stands, it seems to want to fix a problem that doesn't exist. It's a real shame Apple didn't have a go at a netbook. I would have snapped that up. Disposable computing ftw.

 

£150? Are you joking? Why should it be that stupidly cheap?

 

I don't think the device is trying to fix a problem, but actually just provide a new format. Personally I think it is the future of computing. It's much better than having to have a laptop etc. And the apps are just amazing, in general I think apps are absolutely amazing and usually better than websites, here they're even better.

 

Even the software is really good, hope we see lots more. Final draft please!!!

 

The size, the interface, the permanently online, the apps. It's not essential, but it is incredible.

[Ashley]

I don't think he's trying to say "its worth that price based on the technology" but rather "its worth that price based on the functionality". How I interpret Daft/my own feelings on the iPad.

 

Lets face it at the moment I have Opera, Photoshop, Spotify and Vuze ticking away. I don't think I can live without multitasking. In any aspect of life for that matter :p

 

As has been said many times - perhaps in a few generations time (if/when I have money).

[Daft]

I don't think he's trying to say "its worth that price based on the technology" but rather "its worth that price based on the functionality". How I interpret Daft/my own feelings on the iPad.

 

Exactamundo.

[Dyson]

 

I don't think the device is trying to fix a problem, but actually just provide a new format. Personally I think it is the future of computing.

You think a large touch screen that can only run one process at a time is the future of computing? Why do people not realise this is a huge step back? Sure, it's a new way of interacting with your media - but not really. The iPhone/iTouch was doing exactly the same thing on a smaller scale before the iPad. This has just supersized it and that is it. It's not adding anything else revolutionary.

It's much better than having to have a laptop etc.

How? This equated to having a netbook. Had you said netbook I'd agree with you but saying the iPad is better than a laptop is stupidity. Closed hardware vs Open - open will win every time.

And the apps are just amazing, in general I think apps are absolutely amazing and usually better than websites, here they're even better.

Most apps that replace websites are just cut down versions of the website. Take thetrainline for example. All it does is let you use the timetable function that the website has but "Apple" it up. I've yet to see an app that does something better than a website.

 

The size, the interface, the permanently online, the apps. It's not essential, but it is incredible.

Possibly the smartest thing you've written in this post - it's not essential because it doesn't really fit any sort of gap in the market. But it sure is incredible how much people are willing to put down for one of these devices.

 

I'll stick with my desktop PC and iPod Touch thanks.

[Nintendohnut]

You think a large touch screen that can only run one process at a time is the future of computing? Why do people not realise this is a huge step back? Sure, it's a new way of interacting with your media - but not really. The iPhone/iTouch was doing exactly the same thing on a smaller scale before the iPad. This has just supersized it and that is it. It's not adding anything else revolutionary.

How? This equated to having a netbook. Had you said netbook I'd agree with you but saying the iPad is better than a laptop is stupidity. Closed hardware vs Open - open will win every time.

Most apps that replace websites are just cut down versions of the website. Take thetrainline for example. All it does is let you use the timetable function that the website has but "Apple" it up. I've yet to see an app that does something better than a website.

 

Possibly the smartest thing you've written in this post - it's not essential because it doesn't really fit any sort of gap in the market. But it sure is incredible how much people are willing to put down for one of these devices.

 

I'll stick with my desktop PC and iPod Touch thanks.

 

I'm not going to reply to all of the above point individually (sorry) but I think the general point within this thread as a whole is that people who have used the iPad for any length of time 'get' it as a product but those who haven't used it don't really understand the point of it. You could say this is the same as any apple product - people who haven't used an iMac (for example) don't understand why people love them so much but try them for any length of time and you can see it. It's just one of those things with these products.

[Cube]

Possibly the smartest thing you've written in this post - it's not essential because it doesn't really fit any sort of gap in the market.

 

There are a couple of good uses for a Tablet PC. It would be great for watching films in a car (with a case that straps to the back of one of the front seats) and for looking through pictures from a camera before they get stored on a desktop and forgotten. It's just unfortunate that the iPad had no 16:9 screen or a SD Card/USB slot.

 

Something I find ironic is that web versions of software are looking to be a big thing for desktop computing - it's a big point of the next Microsoft Office (and should be a massive relief for students and parents as the online version with all the functionality you need is free). To me, this (along with something like Google Gears) is something that should also be a big thing for mobile devices, yet they're taking the opposite direction.

 

Another strange thing for mobile devices in general is the need for using a cable to sync (and having to connect it to a computer to set it us is a retarded idea). Spotify has a brilliant feature - if you have any files stored on computer added to an offline playlist on your phone then it will sync those when it's simply connected to the same WiFi network as the computer storing them. This should be doable with more things.

 

Anyway, as long as I can quickly access the internet on my phone while on the move, and that it takes me 40 seconds to boot up my laptop and start browsing I see that I have no need for a tablet PC of any kind.

[Jon]

I'm sure many people's views will change once they release the new OS. Which in my view, it should have had from the start.

[Cube]

I'm sure many people's views will change once they release the new OS. Which in my view, it should have had from the start.

 

It would have made too much sense to delay the iPad for the new OS.

[Dyson]

There are a couple of good uses for a Tablet PC.

 

Absolutely. But not an Apple Tablet that performs like an iTouch rather than an iMac.

Edited May 30, 2010 by Dyson

[Daft]

I'm not going to reply to all of the above point individually (sorry) but I think the general point within this thread as a whole is that people who have used the iPad for any length of time 'get' it as a product but those who haven't used it don't really understand the point of it.

 

You could also point that people who've used it 'for any length of time' are early adopters and are more sympathetic towards it. I can't see a lot of people spending over £400 then criticizing it objectively. Just look at Dyson's dissection of Dazzy's post.

 

Also, I'm still amazed that people slammed the price of the PS3 in retrospect when looking at the iPad.