I'm sick of hearing about iPad! iPad iPad iPad!!

[TGS]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

1. You can use it to start a campfire with. Just toss it on some kindling on a bright day.

2. You could use it as a very elegant indoor sled on a polished wooden floor - if you were very tiny.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

For the record, I'm not saying it's a bad device (though I think the non-replaceable battery thing is just nuts, myself).

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by TGS

2. You could use it as a very elegant indoor sled on a polished wooden floor - if you were very tiny.

and apparently it is quite the cat entertainment device

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

1. You can use it to start a campfire with. Just toss it on some kindles on a bright day.

will the rivalry make them spontaneously combust?

[Sweetpea]

People complained about Microsoft that they "forced" you to use their browser. Or their media player. Ignoring the fact that you can install (and always could install) your own browser and media player. Without hacking.

People praise Apple that they allow you to use only the products they think you should use. And if you want to use something else? I hope you have some hacking skills ready...


I will never buy an Apple product. And I hope, really hope, that the FTC is as strict as our Neelie Kroes...

[Katti's Cat]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

I just can't get beyond this;

Personally I find the iPad a tad uncomfortable - doesn't seem that my jeans fit over it

[Donnageddon]

Gosh, I went and bought an iPad, because I loved my iPod touch... and then found it to be a great reading, gaming, and video device.

Had I known I was only buying to be part of the "in crowd" I wouldn't have gone within ten miles of that damned Apple store!

Shame on me and my apparent need to be seen as "trendy and hip". if only someone had explained it to me earlier.

[Dylrob]

How many e-book apps are being readied for Windows-based smartphones and PDAs, for instance?

Well even without the iPad, future support for Windows Mobile devices is looking rather grim. All because Microsoft has decided to replace it with "Windows Phone 7".

[Donnageddon]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I hope, really hope, that the FTC is as strict as our Neelie Kroes...

Is that a euphemism for something? Cuz, I am feeling all "Neelie Kroes" tonight!

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by Katti's Cat

Personally I find the iPad a tad uncomfortable - doesn't seem that my jeans fit over it

and it binds so!

[LCF]

3. Make Steve Jobs look like pshrynk with it.

[nikkie]

Think about all those e-books you're buying, that won't be making the transition off of the iPad to your new device.

@Steve I think you'll find most of the iPad owners agree with you about the problem with the iBooks DRM. I personally have no intention of buying books from iBooks until either

(i) iBooks removes DRM (probably years away)
or
(ii) Someone cracks fairplay for ebooks

Then I know my books will go with me no matter what device I move to. Being locked into a DRM is a very real concern that most iPad owners do account for in their purchasing habits. Most of us don't purchase from iBooks, but instead use the B&N reader, Kindle, or any of the non-DRM readers. We feel far less locked-in in many case than folks who prefer dedicated readers which only support one DRM format.

Lock-in isn't just a problem for the iPad. Typically, it's far less of a problem on the iPad because almost all of the other DRMs can be read on the it. Kobo is planning on introducing adept DRM support to their app soon, and B&N is releasing an app for the iPad specifically. Then the complement will be complete.

Creating proprietary apps for one device is leaving a lot of other devices unsupported.

Not really. There are ePub readers for most platforms available. Less true for DRM-specific apps, but they exist too. In general, you'll find that the more likely a device is to having an operating system that is used on multiple devices (Android for instance), the more likely it is that developers will be porting their eBooks apps to it. Most developers want to minimize their effort/audience ratio, and won't write for platforms that only encompass one device. If you really want your device to be supported, purchase a device with an OS that is on many other devices and is very open. (Or buy an Apple device. Either way.) Android seems like a safe bet right now.

Think about how you'll feel when all the apps you loaded into your iPad can't be ported into your new device, or at least, not without paying for it all over again.

The apple devices don't require re-purchase to use on a different device. Purchasing once on your account is sufficient.

And all of the eBook readers I've got which are DRM-specific are free, so there's no reason to "pay again" for them.

Now if we're talking about apps that aren't book readers, sure. If I buy Scrabble for my iPad and later the Android platform is the "shizzle" for EA/Hasbro, I'll have to buy it again. But that's the risk you take with any device. It's not unique to the iPad.

On a more sympathetic point....

I bought a Brew phone a few years ago from Verizon that was very expensive and very impressive. Unfortunately, the platform was closed and expensive to start development on, so there were essentially NO apps for it worth purchasing. Once I realized this, I decided my next purchase would be a phone that I knew had good development support.

How many e-book apps are being readied for Windows-based smartphones and PDAs, for instance?

They are coming. The idea that a smart-phone could support apps and be a good platform for apps is really not that old. The iPhone/iPad are just the vanguard of this movement.

So if you want support for App X on your device? Join a bandwagon. Doesn't have to be the Apple one. Could be the Android one. But don't expect a device that doesn't have a well-supported app store and a lot of customers already to get an app.

[GeoffC]

So Steve, do you object, or otherwise prevent, your readers from reading your books on a iPad/iPod ?

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

Steve, most people are happy to be fleeced, as long as they are in the "in" crowd. That's the one truism that Mr. Jobs has completely grasped. Make things easy, simple and cool, and you can overcharge with impunity..

A harsh view of humanity, I'll grant you, but consistent with my observations over the years....

We are "one" with that!

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by TGS

2. You could use it as a very elegant indoor sled on a polished wooden floor - if you were very tiny.

Makes a great frisbee substitute!

(particularly since you can't read it in the sun)