MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - iPad IPad Design

LDBoblo · 02-02-2010, 08:37 AM

I'm teetering back and forth about getting the iPad. On one hand, I don't want to be stuck in the iPhone ecosystem. On the other hand, the iPhone paradigm mostly works, and would be moderately tolerable if jailbroken. I'd prefer Android or WinMo7 or a decent Linux setup, and if it can be done, that'd rock. I'd like to see if someone can twist the hardware away from the iPhone OS (I'm sure there'll be a lot more demand for that with the iPad than there was for the iPhone itself)

Also the screen. I suspect it's more than good enough for reading, but daylight viewability is still a question in my mind, and I can't help but think I'd rather get a Pixel Qi screen. Still, if it lives up to battery life claims, the tradeoff is acceptable.

Then the lack of expansion/connectivity ports. That's one of the more irksome features. At least a USB host or SDHC card slot would have been nice, as I'd like to occasionally use my tablet around the office with sneakernet file transfer options.

All of this ambivalence comes from knowing that they did get the basic form factor right, and they seemed to do a good job with basic performance. Of all the potential tablet competition in the near future, it's hard to say if anyone else is going to produce a winner.

Basically, if this thing had a Pixel Qi screen, I'd definitely get it, even disliking the iPhone OS. If it had a good non-iPhone OS, I'd definitely get it, even with reservations about the screen. I'm sure both of those needs will be satisfied over the next year, but whether any of them will get the hardware design right is a hard call.

02-02-2010, 08:37 AM	#16
LDBoblo Wizard Posts: 1,385 Karma: 16056 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Asia Device: Kindle 3 WiFi, Sony PRS-505	I'm teetering back and forth about getting the iPad. On one hand, I don't want to be stuck in the iPhone ecosystem. On the other hand, the iPhone paradigm mostly works, and would be moderately tolerable if jailbroken. I'd prefer Android or WinMo7 or a decent Linux setup, and if it can be done, that'd rock. I'd like to see if someone can twist the hardware away from the iPhone OS (I'm sure there'll be a lot more demand for that with the iPad than there was for the iPhone itself) Also the screen. I suspect it's more than good enough for reading, but daylight viewability is still a question in my mind, and I can't help but think I'd rather get a Pixel Qi screen. Still, if it lives up to battery life claims, the tradeoff is acceptable. Then the lack of expansion/connectivity ports. That's one of the more irksome features. At least a USB host or SDHC card slot would have been nice, as I'd like to occasionally use my tablet around the office with sneakernet file transfer options. All of this ambivalence comes from knowing that they did get the basic form factor right, and they seemed to do a good job with basic performance. Of all the potential tablet competition in the near future, it's hard to say if anyone else is going to produce a winner. Basically, if this thing had a Pixel Qi screen, I'd definitely get it, even disliking the iPhone OS. If it had a good non-iPhone OS, I'd definitely get it, even with reservations about the screen. I'm sure both of those needs will be satisfied over the next year, but whether any of them will get the hardware design right is a hard call.