I Pass on the Apple iPad (and You Should Too)

I had a Toshiba tablet back in 2003... and from what I've seen here it was more capable than the iPad will be. It's not like tablets are new technology... I wonder what they were thinking.

Humm, seems short sighted to me. You do realized that they had the main goal of keeping this under $500? It's so that they can compete with other netbooks which is the market they're addressing. Perhaps you should compare the iPad to other netbooks in the $500 range rather than some male fantasy tablet device from the future. It would then be a fair comparison.

I bought my wife a $275 netbook for Christmas. It can multitask, run pc software, has three USB ports, a wide screen, a webcam, and runs flash just fine...

"you mean you want to check your email and listen to music at the same time? What about run an instant messenger program while you browse the web?"

You can run any iPhone apps in the background, so you CAN check your e-mail and listen to music at the same time.

And if your IM program is a web app (or gmail, or something similar), there's no problem there, either.

I'd like to see a source that says you can run any iPhone apps in the background.

Here's a link from the Wall Street journal that says you can't.

(3rd paragraph)
"For example, the iPad, like the iPhone, doesn't allow applications to run in the background so users can't perform several activities at once—as they're accustomed to on a laptop."

Also running an App in the background is not the same as multi-tasking but from everything I have read, the iPad can't run anything in the background except for a few official Apple Apps.

I would expect (hope) that Apple changes this in the future without the need for a Jailbreak which they still claim illegal.

First off, I'm not an apple fanboy. That being said, I think the ipad is a cool device, though overpriced. Sure there is no 16:9 aspect ratio, but thats not really a big deal unless you were able to hook it up to a tv. TV shows and movies are still going to be beautiful on this thing. Its a good sleek size, much nicer to take with you then a netbook. I can just imagine how sweet this thing would be on a flight.

I think of the iPad as the kindle killer. Kindle runs for 260 where as the ipad is 500. Kindle is ugly. Black and white screen. Hardly any other function then reading Kindle content...oh i guess its a PDF reader....HA. Come on. Ipad will dominate kindle. I think thats what apple set out to do. Sure, no hdmi, 4:3 ratio, lack of connectivity, but you don't really need any of that stuff for what the ipad is going for. Its not a replacement for a laptop or desktop. In my opinion, just the bridge for one you aren't near your pc.

I think the debate is why ipad over an Itouch. And for many, I believe ipad will be a much better fit. The sure size will be better for people who have trouble reading the small text on the iphone or simply users who'd rather not be bothered with multitouch to zoom into that text. The larger screen will be better for watching movies or tv shows as well as games and apps...over 100,000 of them.

I think for a kindle killer this device is both sexy and functional. It offers 100 times more then Kindle, but for pretty much twice the price. With wifi being everywhere, including planes, I can't imagine a gadget I'd like more with me to entertain myself at this form factor.

I'm also going to go ahead and assume that like the itouch/iphone, users will be able to play music while using apps. But don't quote me on that =)

bax

I think the Kindle has a few good points going for it. The text is clear and easy to read. It certainly isn't as fatiguing to the eye as staring at an LCD display (IMHO) for long periods of time. Also, the battery life of the Kindle is amazing. I would expect the Kindle to have a wider variety of titles available to it as well, but, that may well change if a Kindle to iPad app. is released.

My Kindle does exactly what it was advertised to do, read ebooks and limited web browsing.

And the after buy cost of operating my Kindle is exactly ZERO dollars. Except for my Analog SF magazine subscription, which, technically, isn't a Kindle cost.

I have a wireless phone for talking (when I remember to turn it on) and a laptop and desktop computer for everything else (including downloading gobs of free ebooks to my Kindle thru a usb connection).

I don't want or need an "all in one does everything under the sun" device. The iPad is not gonna kill the Kindle.

Hooker

Grrr. Working from home today and forgot to log in.

Hooker

What? No rotary dialer for my telephone?

I have a cell phone and a laptop. I NEED both... Both do whatever I need to do...

Why would I need to spend this extra $500 for????? Oh, maybe so I can lug something else around with me? Maybe so other people who watch me pull it out of my bag can be in awe of my greatness????

Apple started the industry, but they still don't get it...

From my experience with Iphone the only app you can run in the background is ipod.

Kindle and Ipad have the same operating coast unless you want 3g. Otherwise it uses WiFi just like kindle.

Kindles battery lasts for days, while ipad only lasts for 10 hours.

My personal preference would leave me with only one option if I was in between Kindle and Ipad.....Ipad. Sure for e-books you don't need all the extras of Ipad, but if you haven't experienced the app store or your movie/TV/music collection all at your fingertips, you are truly missing out, especially if you plan on throwing 260 at a kindle.

That being said, I won't be getting either product. Iphone fits all my needs. I was lucky enough to be gifted an Iphone with a broken screen from a buddy who replaced it with a 3gs anyway. I was able to replace the broken glass in under and hour, but being a Verizon customer I can't use it as my phone. Even without 3g coverage I've been able to fall in love with this product, now I just need Verizon to step it up.

The Kindle doesn't do WiFi. It has Whispernet, a currently no cost link to the Sprint 3g Network.

Thus, no operating cost for its network.

Hooker

Wow I thought it just used Wifi. That's pretty sick though that it uses Sprints 3g.

It works perfectly for me where I live, except inside my office in a steel building where only Verizon signals sometimes penetrate.

Typically less than 30 seconds download time from pushing the buy button on Amazon whether ordering either from the Kindle or a computer web browser.

But the vast majority of my reading comes from free ebooks downloaded from various websites to my home or office computers, then downloaded thru the usb port on the Kindle.

Hooker

What web sites do you suggest for free Ebooks?

Thanks.

I think the Kindle is excellent as well!

I am wary of any Apple product. They invariably want a locked in monopoly with no choices except theirs. This means Apple has both a high purchase price and they are a constant money leech, month after month, year after year, as they do with music and applications. Right now they are coming down off the success of the Iphone and others are making better phones month by month. Unless they repeat, they will fade with time. Apple fears competition. They have patents on linked touch screen gestures, where you spread two fingers to zoom etc. I am not sure these will stand up, as MIT labs has been doing that for many years.

Are you talking about Apple, or Microsoft? Seems like your complaints apply equally to both. But Microsoft does Apple one better- they claim they have the right to review whatever you have on your computer. Sort of like Kindle having the right to take away the books you have already purchased (interesting, it was 1984 that they pulled, isn't it?)

true, they are both software monopolies and hated by all.

So let's see...

I take my $300 netbook and delete its ability to multitask, which I find essential. Then I throw out all three of its USB ports. Next, I ditch both SD card ports. Then I smash its 120G hard drive and replace it with only 16G! I duct tape over part of my wide screen to make it look old. Scrap the Flash support, because flash is only used on half the websites I use. Tape over the camera lens -- who needs a camera? Finally, break off the keyboard, so that I can't touch type reliably, so that half my already tiny screen is used up with a fake keyboard, and so the screen is unprotected. I'd have less than $25 value left.

Price it at $500, and it should sell like hotcakes.

Hmmmmm..... I think that many are missing the point here. To have a device like the iPad, which can do many of the same things that a laptop can do, but which is little bigger than a magazine, seems to me to be a delightful thing.

Do I like the fact that it has no USB port, a maximum memory of 64gigs, or any of the other complaints regarding it? No, but expect these complaints to be addressed as time goes on. Furthermore, if this thing takes off, expect other makers to step up to the plate and offer their own versions.

The point is that the iPad, or something like it, will be a wonderful thing to have in my laptop bag for when I don't need the full capabilities of my ThinkPad and/or it would be inconvenient to pull it out anyway.

The real beauty of this thing is that it's a lot smaller and lighter than the tablet computers of the past, and a heck of a lot more capable than the Kindle. Stand by for further developments!

Oh, and as for downloading free e-books, check out Demonoid and the Pirate Bay. I have thousands of titles on my hard drive.

I might be interested in something like the iPad when it starts offering the same capabilities (or, preferably a few more) as my old Palm Tungsten E-2, in a larger form factor (my eyes aren't what they used to be...)

Seems like, years ago, when I bought the Palm, I paid less than $250 for it. From what I read, it is still much more capable than the iPad...

Note also that Palm had their version of the "App Store" and a pretty good community of developers for the device, long before Apple...

Hmmmmm..... I think that many are missing the point here. To have a device like the iPad, which can do many of the same things that a laptop can do, but which is little bigger than a magazine, seems to me to be a delightful thing.

The problem is that the IPad cannot do many of the same things a laptop can do, nor can it do many of the thigs a netbook can do. A netbook, on the other hand, can, and is no less portable. If a computer is a big as a magazine or paperback, then it does not fit in a pocket, so it has to be carried in a hand (or in a case). At that point the slightly thinner form factor of the IPad has no value, and the screen, the single most expensive component is unprotected, unlike in a netbook.

The netbook I am using to type this has all the things I mentioned in my previous post, but costs a fraction of the iPad price. If I started with the $700 64G IPad, and add memory at their price of $200/32G, then a basic, stripped IPad without the key functions of a real computer would cost $1100, for a 128G version comparable (in that respect) to my netbook. At Apple's astronomical prices, I'd then have to add another $1100 in accessories to get to basic, bottom of the line netbook functionality, once those add-ons become available, if they ever do.

But for me, the basic $700 model has no utility: no keyboard, no USB , no SD ports, no built-in screen protection, no camera, etc. I can't see how this misses the point. Many people expect utility for their money spent.

Again my friend, I believe that you are missing the point. I do not believe that the iPad and whatever comes afterward are replacements for the laptop or netbook, but are additional to them.

If I am on an airplane for example, and merely wish to read a book, a magazine or my email, I would much rather pull out something like an iPad than my ThinkPad. And, the keyboarding capabilities of the iPad are perfectly acceptable for typing the occasional address string while surfing the net. If however, I am going to be doing something like writing a comment such as this, frankly, I'd much rather do it on my ThinkPad than on the diminutive keyboard of a netbook. I do not see this thing as a replacement for the laptop any more than I see these do-it-all PDAs as replacements for my cell phone, camera and laptop.

As for the iPad being rather costly, yes, it is. This has always been an issue with Macs. However, consider some of the technology involved. An LED back-lit IPS screen, and solid state storage for example. Both of these things are very costly as is. Furthermore, Apple has a history of building their machines with the very best components available which, while it does add to the cost, also insures that they tend to live a lot longer than the average consumer-grade laptop or netbook. There are a lot of first generation iPods and PowerBooks still out there, which is more than I can say for most old laptops.

Now, all of this being said, I will admit that I am unlikely to rush right down to the Apple store to buy the very first available iPad, any more than I am likely to buy a MacBook Pro, no matter how much I admire and respect the marque. However, you may believe that when Lenovo releases a ThinkPad version, that I will be very interested in. All a matter of personal preference.

And, please keep in mind that the iPad comes with a folder-like cover which does in fact protect the screen.

Correction. The iPad cover is at this point at least, an optional accessory.

I think that you are missing the point.

If i want to read a book or magazine / paper then i will get out the relevant publication. I dont read ebooks i prefer to have the piece of paper in my hands added to which if i drop it or spill something on it then it doesn't matter too much!

If i want to read email then my laptop / blackberry does the job.

The ipad seems to me to be an overpriced toy for show-offs to say look at me i have more money then sense!

I am not anti apple (i have an ipod which i think is fantastic - tho i am not sure about the update of itunes!) but it does seem that the ipad is just a large ipod touch.

However, you may believe that when Lenovo releases a ThinkPad version, that I will be very interested in.

Then you would have, by your logic, the crippled functionality of an iPad, and the bad quality of a non-Apple product. Perhaps Lenovo will be able to price their iThinkPad at $3500 to highlight the synergistic desirability of low function and low quality.

Now, if Lenovo can figure out a way to connect up a cassette tape drive for storage, they'll have a winner. Low function, low quality, low performance and retro! all in one.

That must be why my 7 year old T40 is still going strong. Show me a Dell or Compaq that old and I'll show you a paperweight!

In fact, I am something of a hardware geek, and Apple and Lenovo are the only two marques I will personally recommend. If you read the reviews, these two machines, the Mac and the ThinkPad, have battled it out for top of the heap status for the last ten years consistantly, and no other marque has even come close.

My Dell is 8 and a half years old and is still going strong!

My Del desktop is 10 years old, and still going strong, running Windows 2000 from day one.

In fact, I am something of a hardware geek, and Apple and Lenovo are the only two marques I will personally recommend. If you read the reviews, these two machines, the Mac and the ThinkPad, have battled it out for top of the heap status for the last ten years consistantly, and no other marque has even come close.

What are the MTBF figures for those two brands compared to Dell and Toshiba?

I fear I can not tell you what the MTBF is for a ThinkPad or MacBook Pro. What I do know is this. These have been the top rated laptops in virtually every review I have read, for as far back as I have read. I also know that these machines are consistently built with the very highest quality components, and tend to live longer than any other marques. They are also extremely tough, which makes sense with the kind of abuse laptops almost invariably suffer. Which is probably as much of the reason why they tend to outlive most other marques as the quality of the components used.

Now, I see no reason why any other marque, if set on a desk and left there, lovingly cared for, dusted out regularly, etc, cannot live a long and productive life. I do in fact have a Dell e1505 that is nearly 4 years old and quite trouble-free. In fact I just installed Windows 7 on it. However, when I go out into the field, it is my T61 that I take with me, and before that my T40.

Now desktop machines are a different matter. For one thing, they sit on a desktop, and just don't suffer the abuse that laptops take as a matter of course. But even there, cheaply made machines do not live as long as top quality workstations. And of course it does make a difference if you take the time to dust them out periodically. I've seen some very well made machines that died long before their time because they were clogged with dust.

Still, the bottom line is that you get what you pay for. If you buy a cheap laptop or desktop you simply cannot expect it to last as long as a top quality machine, nor to be as powerful.

Dr.Moose-

Some information to add to your database. Old IBM Thinkpad MTBF was 11 years, based on two samples (actually purchased used, MTBF calculated from original manufacture date). Rough life- lots of airline flights (small commuter aircraft- great multifrequency vibration testing), jungle environment (humidity generally >80%, temperature 70-95 degrees Fahrenheit). No special care. One failed due to hard drive failure- could find no one that could get me a replacement. Second one died due to screen loss- I suspect, due to the nature of the failure, that the problem was the flex cable between the screen and the computer body. Gave both machines to a local to see if we couldn't put together one complete unit. The local disappeared with the computers. I don't know if he was able to put something together...

I have no experience with the Lenovo ThinkPad- last laptop I bought I was a bit strapped financially, and went for a Toshiba. Toshiba seems to be consistently in the top tier, as well...

My friend, I had a Toshiba Satellite 1800-100 that, to the best of my knowledge is still in service today. It had a sticker on it which said "Built for Windows 95"! Tough little machine, but slower than Christmas. Take good care of your Toshiba, and I have no doubt it will give you many years of good service.

As for the new ThinkPads, Lenovo has done nothing but make them better. Since the T60s for example, Lenovo has built them with a die-cast magnesium framework in both the base and top cover. The hard drives are shock-mounted and they are equipped with a free-fall sensor that instantly parks the hard drive's read/write head if the machine is dropped. The keyboard is the best there is, period.

My T61 is a superb little machine. It is not perfect, and it is ugly as a brick, but it is quite powerful and incredibly tough. I have every hope of getting many years of service from it.

If I tip my laptop on its side it is little larger than a magazine, but it acutally can do all of the above and has 3 USB's to boot! It is a little heavier, but I need the exercise anyway.

I agree that the Ipad is a larger Ipod touch, but think about why that would be beneficial. Larger screen that would actually load websites without having to use multi-touch to zoom into where you want to read. Larger screen for movies/tv/apps. All 100,000 plus apps work on this guy.

I don't really understand why this keeps on going into a netbook debate though. I really don't think apple was trying to compete so much with netbooks as they were with Kindle with this device.

I agree ipad is overpriced as apple products always are. I also think it has a trendy factor to it. But I'm also confident that this product is a perfect bridge for those looking for a device that keeps them connected while away from desktops/laptops and don't want to squint, deal with browsing/reading on a mobile phone or media device of a similar form factor.

I can't really comment on the Kindle as being from the UK i have never heard of it tho i am assuming it is some sort of e-reader type device.

I think that the comparison with a netbook is being made because a netbook can do a lot of things that an ipad can't for a faction of the price. Alright it might have a slightly smaller screen but i am willing to go for that. The ipad might have an app for that but do you really need that app?

The ipad will be compared with netbooks of that i am sure and am also sure that until some of the major issues are fixed those comparasions will not be favourable!

Well, I don't see why everyone thinks the iPad is intended to compete only with the Kindle. The Kindle is billed pretty much ONLY as an ebook reader. Jobs presented the iPad as much, much more than that (as well as an ebook reader). The Kindle can surf the web but those of us in the know that can appreciate the machine know not to bother with anything but certain mobi enabled websites. It's not worth the effort. I (and I think most Kindle users) certainly didn't buy it for web surfing.

Hooker