iPad iPad and Future Shock

[Graham]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

... I had no intention of showing it off, but Tim said, "Show Rose our vacation pics". We never got to the pics. ...

Just to temper this with our experience this weekend...

We had an iPad in the room at my 50th birthday party in a hotel. Two of us had cameras with pictures we wanted to share.

There was no way to get the pictures on the iPad. It really does need an SD slot.

We never got to the pics either.

Anyway, the killer app on the iPad for us there was the comic reader and there's no doubt that the iPad is FUN.

Graham

[scottjl]

you do know apple sells a camera kit right? comes with an adapter with a SD slot. sucks your photos and video right in. yes, it is something else to carry with you, but you can do it.

[TimMason]

First, the way correction works, where my phone proposes correction(s), and i clic and the right one, the iPad chose what's best for me. And as I was writing in English with the French dictionary.. oh the mess !
Then, I wantted to change the cursor position, no dice. I couldn't. Obvious would have been typing where you want the cursor. Seams it's a long press, how the hell was I supposed to guess that ?

I did need the manual for the same reason - the answer is to change keyboards. (I"d like to be able to just switch autocorrection off). Some gestures are a little difficult - I still don't know how to do the selection thing - sometimes it works, but more often it doesn't. But mostly it seems intuitive.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by scottjl

you do know apple sells a camera kit right? comes with an adapter with a SD slot. sucks your photos and video right in. yes, it is something else to carry with you, but you can do it.

It wasn't my iPad, Scottjl.

Graham

[scottjl]

ah. well. now you know what to get your friend for their birthday!

[Graham]

Originally Posted by scottjl

ah. well. now you know what to get your friend for their birthday!

Nice idea

Trouble is, I think he may take it as a thinly-veiled snipe at his love for all things Apple!

Still, the point stands. If all iPad users are expected to carry a $30 connection kit just in case their friends turn up with cameras, then that's much the same as saying that the iPad should have a built-in SD slot.

My wife went as far as saying that if we'd been able to load the photos she'd have seen a real use for the iPad, which she'd enjoyed playing with, as it was much more useful than a photo frame... which means we may even have gone out and got one! (Strike while the iron's hot.)

Graham

[scottjl]

well actually i don't think they expect everyone to carry the camera kit.. not everyone buys it. to be honest i bought mine a few months ago and have only used it twice.

i think if apple had the slot built in, then people would expect to be able to import/export any media they want, and complain when they can't. by selling it as an extra labelled explicitly as "camera connection kit" apple can keep expectations low. you won't expect to import mp3 files and word documents with a "camera connection kit."

maybe it allowed apple to save a few bucks on the cost of the ipad. maybe they'll include it as an option on the next version if it is a very popular seller now. we could talk maybe's for a long time. but at least there is an option available now.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by scottjl

... i think if apple had the slot built in, then people would expect to be able to import/export any media they want, and complain when they can't. ...

Well, yes. I'd hope that Apple would make it possible to import/export any media when adding the SD slot.

This gets back to the Future Shock discussion in the original post. Most people (in our sample) don't need to read the manual to use an iPad, and I agree, it is intuitive. But the intuitive way to get photos out of a camera and viewed on the iPad is to take the card out of the one and put it in the other. The same applies to mp3 tracks and Word documents and anything else you happen to be carrying on a card or USB key or device.

My wife saw that immediately and for her (and me) it was a deal-breaker; or perhaps it's better described as failing to provide a deal-tipper.

Graham

[scottjl]

given iOS's long history with iphones, which certainly could have had SD/microSD slots, it's just not something I'll hold my breath on waiting for out of Apple. i'd put the chance of apple including a SD slot built into the ipad at 1% at best. apple offers camera import functionality with their kit solution and they probably see that as good enough.

if you look at macbooks, it took a few years for apple to finally include a SD slot in those models and if you ask me they purposely crippled it to discourage its use. SD cards only slide in about 1/2 way leaving 1/2 the card sticking out. every other laptop i have the SD card slides in fully, allowing you to leave a card in at all times. apple obviously doesn't want you to do that for reasons i can't fathom.

[Bremen Cole]

Something to also consider on the SD card question (as well as USB slots, extra switches, 250 gig hard drives, other size card slots, web cams...etc) is that they, take space. You cannot have the iPads thin form factor (with present technology) and keep cramming ports and devices and the hardware to run them inside.....

[scottjl]

ahh. if you see the teardowns on the ipad, there is room to spare. they could have crammed in a SD slot if they wanted to. i think the primary reason is if the slot was there, people wouldn't accept it for just photos, they would complain/demand/whine to apple that they should be able to import and export all media types. apple just isn't ready to let us do that, if they ever will.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by scottjl

ahh. if you see the teardowns on the ipad, there is room to spare. they could have crammed in a SD slot if they wanted to. i think the primary reason is if the slot was there, people wouldn't accept it for just photos, they would complain/demand/whine to apple that they should be able to import and export all media types. apple just isn't ready to let us do that, if they ever will.

Weren't the "room to spare" rumours quashed when the production devices appeared? It turned out the voids were where the comms hardware goes in the 3G versions.

Bremen makes a good point, but wishing for something that may be just out of reach with current technology doesn't invalidate the wish.

It's perhaps also worth pointing out that the Dell Streak gets a micro SD slot, micro USB port and two cameras in a slim 5" format, so we can hope that well-featured 10" devices with full size SD and USB won't be too far away.

Graham

[Bremen Cole]

One more point

It is because of the iPad, and it's lack of USB and card slots... that has PUSHED me to learn about cloud computing. I already have quit using jump drives, and except for the sd in my little camera (some cameras are already WIFI ready) I do not use my SD cards anymore.... Sometimes we need a little help going to the newer, and I think, better technologies....

My free little 2 gig Dropbox account keeps docs on my iPhone, iPad, netbook and desktop all in sync and available anywhere and anytime...

The future holds broadband everywhere, and instant access to our data.... fun time to be alive

[scottjl]

nah. take a look at macfixit's teardowns. there was still room to squish in a SD/micro reader if they wanted to.

[EowynCarter]

My free little 2 gig Dropbox account keeps docs on my iPhone, iPad, netbook and desktop all in sync and available anywhere and anytime...

The future holds broadband everywhere, and instant access to our data.... fun time to be alive

Just install drop box. Sonds nice the help transfer files from my multiple OS / pc and cellphone.

But I'm not a fan of "all the the cloud". My data will stay I a drive I can see and touch.