Okay, Are there really any iPad alternatives?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by djgreedo

My cell phone has almost the same amount of power as the iPad, and can run essentially the same software. If I want a bigger screen or need to do some typing I can use my laptop (which is as portable as an iPad) or a netbook with more power and more possibilities than an iPad for a lower price tag.

No laptop that I know of is as portable as an iPad. And your netbook and laptop battery will be dead before the iPad's.

The iPad is more portable, has a decent battery life, and the onscreen keyboard is pretty good to type with. True, it is more limited to what you can do then a laptop, but for what a lot of people will use a laptop for, the iPad would do.

[captcrouton]

I think that having a USB slot and being able to view most of the internet should both be in your baseline for buying a tablet of any sort. I'm not in the market for Mac's ipad, or a tablet computer. But I certainly couldn't see buying one without those features.

[David Munch]

Its funny how people always mock Flash... I have flash block in my browser, and the only site I ever activate it, is at youtube. Do people really spend that much time playing lame flash games?

[Redcard]

I block Flash as well.. and Youtube doesn't even require it anymore.

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

And your netbook and laptop battery will be dead before the iPad's.

While not as portable, my work laptop, a thinkpad x200s comfortably reaches the 8-10 hour range even when my work has resulted in the hard drive being in use for a minimum of 50% of the time.

To be perfectly honest, I find that if something isn't small enough to fit in a jacket pocket i.e. a phone or a smaller ebook reader then the portability simply isn't that relevant since you end up having to put the device in a bag anyway.

The size of the ipad has relevance because of how you need to hold it to use it, but beyond that it isn't that important.

[Bob Russell]

Originally Posted by Crowl

...if something isn't small enough to fit in a jacket pocket i.e. a phone or a smaller ebook reader then the portability simply isn't that relevant since you end up having to put the device in a bag anyway.

That will be true for a lot of people, but I have a (large and heavy) work laptop which I have to carry around all the time both in town and when traveling. About all I have room for in addition to other gear and papers is a netbook. Even then it's pushing it a bit, but still worth it. Anything bigger or heavier is just not practical for me. And, similarly, the advantage of not having an A/C adapter in the bag is significant as well, because I've generally already filled all the nooks and crannies.

One thing that does worry me is how vulnerable the iPad would be. I feel relatively comfortable with a netbook, but even then I worry a bit. The iPad has a strong front glass from what I hear, but torque seems like it would be dangerous for any tablet, and if I carry it in my bag I wonder what stresses it would have to endure.

So something with a hard case or clamshell design would be nice in the "perfect world". (And in the future I may return to the small laptop form factor for work. It doesn't perform as well, but it's sure a lot easier to carry around every day. But every generation the small laptops are more capable, so I might be satisfied with the tradeoff next time around. Plus, it would give me a lot more room for a second device.)

It's so hard picking the perfect devices with so many constraints, isn't it!?

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by David Munch

Its funny how people always mock Flash... I have flash block in my browser, and the only site I ever activate it, is at youtube. Do people really spend that much time playing lame flash games?

Given the proportion of games in the appstore it does seem like every platform has it's own demand for lame games.

As far as flash, I think it gets mentioned a lot because it is a well known example that counters apple claims about the ipad being the best browsing experience, you could just as easily use java applets as another example, the simple fact of the matter is that people will call companies on outlandish claims nowadays.

In this case apple did bring it on themselves with the claims they made rather than simple settling for any of the wide range of superlatives that are subjective enough that people couldn't have called them on it.

[scottjl]

well, there is a difference between portable, and luggable. as someone who spends a good part of the year traveling for work and pleasure i've learned how to pack quickly, with the least amount of appropriate devices necessary for my trip and any unexpected emergencies. that extra battery doesn't seem like a lot to pack now but weighs you down on a 20 hour plane trip overseas through multiple airports.

i often traveled with a laptop (currently a work-issued compaq with a 15" display) and frequently brought along a netbook (eeepc 1000ha which was modified and upgraded). then you have to pack in both chargers. the laptop went into the laptop part of my current backpack/messenger-bag/rollerboard (i go through a lot of bags and suitcases) with the netbook in the slipcover it came with just in a general storage area. some times one or both of the units had an extended battery along with the regular battery.

is the whole setup portable? yes. heavy? yes

the ipad, on the other hand, is thinner, lighter, and does pretty much everything i lugged the netbook around for. personal email. movies. offloading-photos taken with a camera. light gaming (yes, even old farts like games other than freecell). add in e-reading which i couldn't get into it on my netbook, and why i had bought a sony 600, which now also stays at home. actually the big win for the ipad is how much thinner it is and doesn't cause my backpack to bulge out, stretching the seams to the limit. add in i only need to carry one charger (same one i charge my iphone with) and i've cut out a lot of bulk.

so yes, my ipad doesn't fit in my jacket pocket, but it also doesn't make me look like a hunchback with my backpack either. but i'd say the size is very important beyond just that pocket.

other tablet devices coming out there, they are going to have to be thin too. after the ipad no one is going to call an inch thick brick a "tablet".

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by Bob Russell

That will be true for a lot of people, but I have a (large and heavy) work laptop which I have to carry around all the time both in town and when traveling. About all I have room for in addition to other gear and papers is a netbook. Even then it's pushing it a bit, but still worth it. Anything bigger or heavier is just not practical for me. And, similarly, the advantage of not having an A/C adapter in the bag is significant as well, because I've generally already filled all the nooks and crannies.

I am in a similar situation with one of my work laptops and when I am taking that one anywhere then I would tend to avoid taking any intermediate device, I can play media files on that one and then have my ebook reader for books since it takes up so little space.

Originally Posted by Bob Russell

(And in the future I may return to the small laptop form factor for work. It doesn't perform as well, but it's sure a lot easier to carry around every day. But every generation the small laptops are more capable, so I might be satisfied with the tradeoff next time around. Plus, it would give me a lot more room for a second device.)

It's so hard picking the perfect devices with so many constraints, isn't it!?

Luckily for me I have managed to get a second laptop out of my work and it is a much smaller x200s thinkpad (sadly not the tablet model ) and I am finding that gives me pretty much all the benefits of a netbook with the only real compromise on the larger laptop is the gfx card and I just don't play pc games nowadays anyway.

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by Crowl

To be perfectly honest, I find that if something isn't small enough to fit in a jacket pocket i.e. a phone or a smaller ebook reader then the portability simply isn't that relevant since you end up having to put the device in a bag anyway.

The size of the ipad has relevance because of how you need to hold it to use it, but beyond that it isn't that important.

The first is true to an extent. Weight is still crucial as a heavy laptop in a back pack or laptop case/attache bag gets old fast.

But the second is really the key. Most people--it seems--will use tablets to supplement laptops rather than replace them. For me a tablet would be mainly a reader and mark up tool, and the size/form factor and weight are key on that front as I need to be able to hold it easily for long periods of time to do that kind of work etc. Reading on a laptop or netbook is god awful IMO, as that form factor just doesn't work for reading.

[scottjl]

Originally Posted by David Munch

Its funny how people always mock Flash... I have flash block in my browser, and the only site I ever activate it, is at youtube. Do people really spend that much time playing lame flash games?

knock gaming all you want, but the two biggest industries which drive technological advancements (outside of the military)? gaming and pornography. both have done more to push development in streaming media, graphics, and interactive sites than people realize. you think h.264 was developed to push more videos of kittens chasing laser spots? think again. year after year reports come out stating that the video game industry makes far more money than hollywood. a teenager developer his first flash game today might be working for activision, nintendo or sony tomorrow. or staring in some porn.

[kennyc]

Hey anyone know if I can upgrade my Acer Netbook to Win7?

[leebase]

You have to have an iPad to "get" how portable it is. One does not "lug" an iPad around. If you can carry a magazine -- you can carry the iPad. If you've ever carried a leather bible into church -- you can bring an iPad (which weighs less).

My primary desire for the iPad was for sharing my photos. I take it to soccer games, track meets, to church -- and FINALLY -- people get to see the photos I take. And NOW they have a reason to go look at the photos on the web.

Everyone who sees it wants one. They won't all buy one, of course....but it is an "instantly desired" device more than any I've ever owned.

Lee

[scottjl]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Hey anyone know if I can upgrade my Acer Netbook to Win7?

if you already can run windows on it, no reason you shouldn't be able to. performance, however, will be an entirely different matter..

[kennyc]

It's got XP on it....rumor says Win7 is actually more efficient....I don't know from experience though

I'm trying to check the Acer site, but I don't have my model number with me....