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iPad Reactions

ponderingturtle said:
I would wonder how much smaller you could make one, I wouldn't like a smaller screen. So you would have to move all the interface onto the side/back. Seems awkward.
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All the functionality would be moved right onto the screen if it was touch sensitive. Turning the page would just be a swipe on the edge of the screen, menus would be navigated in obvious ways, etc.
 
I just showed my 11-year-old daughter the video posted on the Apple website and she drooled over it (not that she's getting one, mind you.) The sweet spot for her was the media-capabilities - that it would work with iTunes, the iTunes store, iPhoto, and the e-reader capabilities. She is not one to swoon over laptops or netbooks or anything really computer-y - it just looked like a device that was aimed straight at her.
 
grunion said:
I just showed my 11-year-old daughter the video posted on the Apple website and she drooled over it (not that she's getting one, mind you.) The sweet spot for her was the media-capabilities - that it would work with iTunes, the iTunes store, iPhoto, and the e-reader capabilities. She is not one to swoon over laptops or netbooks or anything really computer-y - it just looked like a device that was aimed straight at her.
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I think we've stumbled upon Apple's new advertising campaign:

"The iPad...If you have a sixth grade education, you'll think it's great!
 
StanUpshaw said:
I think we've stumbled upon Apple's new advertising campaign:

"The iPad...If you have a sixth grade education, you'll think it's great!
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Well, the same philosophy has worked for every handheld gaming device ever made, I wouldn't be so smarmy about Apple knowing their market and getting them excited about a new toy. Sixth graders have turned Nintendo into a $40 Billion company, and this is just a segment for Apple.
 
daSkeptic said:
Not at all. He didn't do anything that I don't see others doing several times per night on television. Hyping a product, making it seem bigger and more impressive than the reality is just ordinary marketing.
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Really?

I don't see the CEO of NVIDIA talking about how Fermi is the most important product he's ever worked on. I don't see the CEO of Intel going around talking about how "magical" the Corei7 is.

You don't think that he was, maybe, overselling what this thing was? Exaggerating to the point of obtuse hyperbole?

I mean, how many companies do you know who have stock prices that are so easily swayed by rumors?

Let's just face facts: They oversold this thing by a mile.
 
GreNME said:
They're cheap ...
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Not my prime concern.

... they're essentially like having a mini-desktop that is easy to carry and doesn't take up too much space.
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I have no need for a mini-desktop. If I'm going to do any serious work I want to sit down, be comfortable, and have a system that can handle what I throw at it. I don't want to be crammed into a small, watered-down device.

In short, it looks like I'm simply not in the netbook target market.
 
TriskettheKid said:
Really?

I don't see the CEO of NVIDIA talking about how Fermi is the most important product he's ever worked on. I don't see the CEO of Intel going around talking about how "magical" the Corei7 is.

You don't think that he was, maybe, overselling what this thing was? Exaggerating to the point of obtuse hyperbole?

I mean, how many companies do you know who have stock prices that are so easily swayed by rumors?

Let's just face facts: They oversold this thing by a mile.
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NVIDIA and Intel don't market to consumers. Consumers believe hype, engineering weenies at technology companies tend not to (though sometimes they are suckers too). So what's the big deal if Jobs calls it a "miraculous product"? A thousand twitterers are out there agreeing with him, doesn't make it any more true or false.
 
TriskettheKid said:
I don't see the CEO of NVIDIA talking about how Fermi is the most important product he's ever worked on. I don't see the CEO of Intel going around talking about how "magical" the Corei7 is.

You don't think that he was, maybe, overselling what this thing was? Exaggerating to the point of obtuse hyperbole?
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I see insurance companies telling me that calling them will be the most important phone call I ever make. I see auto manufacturers talking about their revolutionary suspension systems. I see software companies trying to convince me they can deliver a web experience that is faster, easier, and safer than anything else that has ever existed.

This is all ordinary, everyday marketing. If you think that's overselling, fine. But don't think Apple is unique in doing this. They're not.
 
daSkeptic said:
GreNME said:
They're cheap ...
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Not my prime concern.
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Okay. And?

daSkeptic said:
GreNME said:
... they're essentially like having a mini-desktop that is easy to carry and doesn't take up too much space.
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I have no need for a mini-desktop. If I'm going to do any serious work I want to sit down, be comfortable, and have a system that can handle what I throw at it. I don't want to be crammed into a small, watered-down device.

In short, it looks like I'm simply not in the netbook target market.
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Okay. And?

Seriously, you're talking about not understanding them, but the reality is pretty clear that even though you don't fit the demographic for netbook users (FTR, neither do I) there is a huge and growing market for them. The reason they came up in this thread is because Apple is selling the iPad as filling that same niche that netbooks are increasingly filling, and the complaint that netbooks are cheaper to get and more flexible is a valid concern. Neither of the two are devices I'm generally going to need or necessarily want, but I understand the thinking behind their presence on the market. The real question is whether Apple's move to create this device is actually going to fill a niche that's already being claimed by netbooks and e-readers, or if it's going to turn into another MacBook Air and become an Apple novelty item that sells just well enough for Apple to not justify killing it off but otherwise fizzling into a non-starter for the wider computing market.

I can understand disagreeing with the other opinions on the iPad-- I don't necessarily agree that it's an instant failure, though I do recognize weaknesses Jobs didn't address-- but your lack of understanding of the market as it actually is seems to be skewing your opinion of what others are saying about the device from a market perspective. If you think it's cool and want one, there's nothing wrong with that (or you as a person). However that doesn't invalidate the reasons others are looking at it as not being an option. What matters for a product release like this is whether it's going to sell, and on that I'm inclined to give six months or a year before I call it a success or a failure overall. Currently netbooks have a 3-4-year lead on this device in sales, and despite what anyone's opinion might be the iPad is going to be directly competing with netbooks as well as e-readers-- that's twice the competition for a device that doesn't necessarily seem to be a slam dunk on every feature (yet).
 
Apparently this huge piece of fail can only run one app at a time. What a joke.
 
dtugg said:
Apparently this huge piece of fail can only run one app at a time. What a joke.
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So can the iPod, the iPhone, the Nintendo DSi, and a slew of other successful devices. But maybe it's not what you're looking for.
 
grunion said:
So can the iPod, the iPhone, the Nintendo DSi, and a slew of other successful devices.
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I see much less utility in running multiple apps in those much smaller devices. Netbooks and other tablets which the iTampon will be competing with can basically run as many apps as they can physically handle. This is just plain stupid.

But maybe it's not what you're looking for.
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Certainly not. This one "feature" ensures that I would never buy it even if they sold it at a more reasonably price. Thankfully, for Steve Jobs, there will undoubtedly be plenty of Apple fanboys who will buy this piece of crap.
 
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I find the revelations about this device today pretty ridiculous. Apple products are notorious for leaving out logical features that people want. But with the iPad it's gone to a new level. No real OS. No expandable memory. No multitasking. No mini-displayport or mini-hdmi out. No built in camera. No usb port without an adapter. No elegant typing solution. No elegant way to play complex games. I was kind of interested in this before today. But now I really have no interest in this toy.

Also netbooks are great for productivity. As new generations come out they get better and better. Higher resolution screens, better form factor, better designed keyboard, faster processors, better graphics capabilities, more inputs and outputs, more hard drive space, and the list goes on. I have gotten "serious work" done on a netbook including using photoshop and flash as well as play games, watch movies, and play around with multiple OSes among other things. I don't know what kind of work an average user could not get done on a netbook unless you are editing avchd or doing cad work or something. And even that might be addressed with alienware's m11x.
 
I was hoping for a device that you could use as a computer and as a Wacom-esque device for Photoshop. I'm disappointed that there are no multitasking capabilities, no pen, and no integration with Photoshop. I love my iPhone, I use it for the apps and web surfing when I'm on the go, but I don't see myself buying an iPad. I wouldn't go as far as to say it was a failure, but I think they could have done far better with the device than simply a larger iPod Touch.
 
Come on, let's be honest. Steve Jobs filled a bag with poo and set it alight on America's front porch.
 
But he did manage to eliminate the biggest problem with the iPhone: The phone.
 
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