MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - iPad IPad Design

Bob Russell · 02-02-2010, 02:52 AM

The iPad has my interest, even though I'm not a fan of closed systems, and I never thought I'd consider a device without at least one USB port and a memory card slot. What follows is my reasons for interest, and the things I wish it had. I.e., if I could have provided input, this is what Apple might have included on an iPad developed just for me.

Why I Am Interested

Good battery life. Hopefully, real world usage matches 10-12hrs.
Great form factor - light, slim and nicely sized screen
Zippy performance - should be much faster than e-ink devices
Capacitive touch screen
Lots of developer support, and huge iPhone consumer base
External keyboard via BT or dock. Eventually wired keyboards will probably be available via the connector.
Should be a good e-book reader, even for PDFs in landscape. (I don't mind reading on an LCD screen.)
Price is not much more than an e-ink device, so I can potentially make this as an e-book reader purchase that gets me some additional functionality and a more responsive device as well.

If you go to a full O/S like Win7, then you lose battery life and the lightweight advantage. I.e. In that case, I may as well use my convertible tablet, or get a netbook (still a possibility). The extra weight and shorter battery life is a critical factor for me.

It will be interesting to see what Android tablets come out with 7-10" screens, 8+hr battery life, <2lbs weight and sold for <$500. If there is a good device, and it meets my needs, it might beat out the iPad for me.

I don't think we'll see a Win7 device this year that meets those criteria.

What iPad is missing

USB ports and Memory card slots
Flash browser
e-book format support. Seems to have PDF and eReader and ePub. But is ADEPT ePub going to be available? Is PDF support very good?
DivX video support (and other formats as well)
Remote PC control - I expect that LogMeIn Ignition or other apps will support this
BT tethering to use my Treo as modem data plan. I'm not even sure how I'll figure this out before making a purchase decision, but it would be a big plus if it works.
GPS and mapping SW. Wish it could run Google Maps with GPS. Maybe it will?
Flash browsing - especially to allow things like Hulu, Fancast, ESPN360, etc.
Synching without a computer or iTunes. That goes back to the memory card and USB port, but also I don't really want to even use iTunes unless I have to.
If you buy an app on an iPad/iPhone/iTouch, do you have to buy it again to use it on another iPad/iPhone/iTouch? If not, and I get an iPad, they may have shifted my future phone desires from Android to iPhone as well.

Are these deficiencies show stoppers? I don't know yet. I'm really looking at this as a stopgap device until I can get what I really want with Win7 inside, so it doesn't have to be perfect. Just better than other e-book readers for my own purposes and tastes. I already expect it to be outdated by the time the second generation iPad comes out - but in the e-book reader game, that's par for the course right now.

Caveat - I'm going by memory in terms of what is available on iPad or not. This info may not be completely accurate. And, obviously, in many cases I already indicate above that I don't know. Please let me know if you have answers!

Anyway, I'd sure be interested to see if others have similar desires for the iPad and what you might also want that I left out.

02-02-2010, 02:52 AM	#1
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	IPad Design - if Apple was custom designing one for me The iPad has my interest, even though I'm not a fan of closed systems, and I never thought I'd consider a device without at least one USB port and a memory card slot. What follows is my reasons for interest, and the things I wish it had. I.e., if I could have provided input, this is what Apple might have included on an iPad developed just for me. Why I Am Interested Good battery life. Hopefully, real world usage matches 10-12hrs. Great form factor - light, slim and nicely sized screen Zippy performance - should be much faster than e-ink devices Capacitive touch screen Lots of developer support, and huge iPhone consumer base External keyboard via BT or dock. Eventually wired keyboards will probably be available via the connector. Should be a good e-book reader, even for PDFs in landscape. (I don't mind reading on an LCD screen.) Price is not much more than an e-ink device, so I can potentially make this as an e-book reader purchase that gets me some additional functionality and a more responsive device as well. If you go to a full O/S like Win7, then you lose battery life and the lightweight advantage. I.e. In that case, I may as well use my convertible tablet, or get a netbook (still a possibility). The extra weight and shorter battery life is a critical factor for me. It will be interesting to see what Android tablets come out with 7-10" screens, 8+hr battery life, <2lbs weight and sold for <$500. If there is a good device, and it meets my needs, it might beat out the iPad for me. I don't think we'll see a Win7 device this year that meets those criteria. What iPad is missing USB ports and Memory card slots Flash browser e-book format support. Seems to have PDF and eReader and ePub. But is ADEPT ePub going to be available? Is PDF support very good? DivX video support (and other formats as well) Remote PC control - I expect that LogMeIn Ignition or other apps will support this BT tethering to use my Treo as modem data plan. I'm not even sure how I'll figure this out before making a purchase decision, but it would be a big plus if it works. GPS and mapping SW. Wish it could run Google Maps with GPS. Maybe it will? Flash browsing - especially to allow things like Hulu, Fancast, ESPN360, etc. Synching without a computer or iTunes. That goes back to the memory card and USB port, but also I don't really want to even use iTunes unless I have to. If you buy an app on an iPad/iPhone/iTouch, do you have to buy it again to use it on another iPad/iPhone/iTouch? If not, and I get an iPad, they may have shifted my future phone desires from Android to iPhone as well. Are these deficiencies show stoppers? I don't know yet. I'm really looking at this as a stopgap device until I can get what I really want with Win7 inside, so it doesn't have to be perfect. Just better than other e-book readers for my own purposes and tastes. I already expect it to be outdated by the time the second generation iPad comes out - but in the e-book reader game, that's par for the course right now. Caveat - I'm going by memory in terms of what is available on iPad or not. This info may not be completely accurate. And, obviously, in many cases I already indicate above that I don't know. Please let me know if you have answers! Anyway, I'd sure be interested to see if others have similar desires for the iPad and what you might also want that I left out.