[kilron]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

I doubt flash drives are as "specialized" as you want to think.

uhh... that's not what i said. i said the usage was specialized, not USB flash drives themselves.

It's not that portable. There are many, many people who would much rather carry a small external hard drive rather than a laptop or desktop. The reason it's not implemented is because it would reduce profits on Apple's end. It has nothing to do with "nobody needs that". I don't use external hard drives personally, but that's because I'm not much of a movies/music person. If I were, I'd most definitely demand the ability to load from external storage without having to go through another computer, which is exactly what some people are demanding.

again, i honestly don't see much use in it. and no, i don't think it wasn't implemented because it would reduce profits. reduce profits how exactly? it sounds like you're assuming that if the functionality was built-in, it would cause people to opt for the smaller storage sized units? you honestly think the typical consumer would think like that?? ... "well lets see.. why don't i save some money and just buy the 16 gig version and then i can lug around my 3 lb external drive with me anytime i want to watch any movies or listen to any music! genius!!"...

i dunno... just seems kinda far fetched to me for the typical user.

I had a feeling this would be the response. My laptop has an internal microphone, and I still use an external, better microphone.

seriously? now you're just splitting hairs..

What if I want to use keyboards at other places, all of which are without bluetooth and without battery?

what if this! what if that! you could come up with a million what ifs if you think about it. personally, i'd say bluetooth keyboard support pretty much clears the keyboard issue. you honestly think people are NOT going to buy it because they are somehow forced to use a bluetooth keyboard as opposed to a USB one?

People didn't complain about usb as much with the iPhone as it's not much of a document or media handler, and has little potential for productivity due to its small screen. It's a much bigger deal with the iPad. Luckily for Apple, there are enough apologists out there to help the public dismiss their own interests and needs with phrases like "but who needs that?" If only product marketing were so easy for other companies!

wowww!!!!... if i only had a nickel for EVERY single time i heard that tired argument... good lord... yes, i'm absolutely SURE its all the apple fanboys that continue to buy up iPhones and iPod touches by the millions. i mean heck! i've got 50 of them alone for multiple uses! seriously??

apple could never make everyone happy. no one could ever make everyone happy. but you're completely missing the point of why apple sells boatloads of devices and why they're so popular. if someone doesn't "get it", its always going to be completely lost on people that focus solely on gadget specs as their defining feature.

The camera connection kit for the iPad will be pretty cheap (for an Apple product) and basically gives a USB Host port and an SD card slot that plug in to the dock port. That assuages my concerns on that end a bit, though some people are still going to just see it as a greedy move by Apple. Can't say I disagree with that view. If it allows me to use swappable media (flash drives and SD cards) without going through lots of hoops, I'll be fairly satisfied there. Of course, there's probably a catch to USB or SD functionality on the iPad even with the adapter...I'll just need to wait and see how it works.

you're a big apple conspiracy theorist aren't you?