Apple Event - Live Blogging/Streaming Coverage

[MikeRo]

For those who can't wait, why not just get an Archos 7?
http://www.google.com/search?q=Archos+7

[joblack]

Originally Posted by Bremen Cole

I guess I'm an idiot, because I think it sounds pretty good. Don't know if I'll buy or not, but maybe.

And joblack, I'm sorry you think I'm brainless, I hope in the future you learn to be more open minded and tolerant of others tastes in portable devices. I find it rather odd to judge people's mental abilities by the electronic devices they like.

Actually you can compare the 'worth' of a product by comparing technical specifications. And somebody who is paying more for less isn't so smart at all.

[wodin]

There are still plenty of unanswered questions, for instance does it have a USB port? Can I connect it to my PC for transferring ebooks? Can I plug in my 3G/4G modem? Has Apple truly learned its lesson re: DRM from iTunes? Those are a few that come readily to mind, but there are plenty of others!

[MerLock]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Bottom right is an interesting way to use a cover. I like.

I guess I can expect to pay a couple of hundred books on accessories. The Nintendo Wii comes to mind. The initial price point looks good but then you have to figure out how much it really cost after purchasing all the add-ons.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by wodin

There are still plenty of unanswered questions, for instance does it have a USB port? Can I connect it to my PC for transferring ebooks? Can I plug in my 3G/4G modem? Has Apple truly learned its lesson re: DRM from iTunes? Those are a few that come readily to mind, but there are plenty of others!

There are dongles for a USB port and an SD card, but they seem to be aimed at digital camera interfacing.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by joblack

Actually you can compare the 'worth' of a product by comparing technical specifications. And somebody who is paying more for less isn't so smart at all.

Technical specs are just one part of the worth equation for me. They tell me nothing about how the features are implemented, accessed, or used.

[Krystian Galaj]

Originally Posted by MerLock

I guess I can expect to pay a couple of hundred books on accessories.

What were you thinking?

[Gibbo]

Cold, you think Apple would send you one for review if you ask them nicely?

[lifevicarious]

Originally Posted by freecia

Really? Can I ask the people who'll be using this rather than a netbook - what would YOU use a netbook for?

The things I want a netbook for is to emulate a subset of my laptop, but more compact for travel.

• check work email via Exchange and REPLY QUICKLY - iPod touch reads, but I'm slow to write | netbook should be better for this
• surf the net - both do it ok. iPad should be fine for this, too
• watch video - Touch and iPad both do this, but the Touch is small and not a lot of free tv shows via iTunes | netbook could stream hulu and netflix which I already pay for
• log in to work via VPN and use remote desktop - netbook only at this point (after all, work pays me so I can buy nice gadgets. I like to be prepared for the times when responding promptly to an urgent action can show you're not only necessary, you're awesome.)
• cache photos to clean off my SD cards - netbook with an SD card reader
• read ebooks? - I usually use my kindle. I don't love to scroll on the touch and dislike the page advancement swish needed on the sony touch reader. Don't expect to use this too much on a netbook either.
• execute stock trades - netbook only it seems (for those I'm traveling with that want this feature)

I don't understand your list above. Other then logging into work where I can understand you would need a netbook, why can't the ipad do the rest of these things? You can get work e-mail (assuming your company allows it) and with a larger keyboard, or better yet hte external keyboard, you should be able to respond just as quickly.

As for hulu, isn't that just through a browser? iPad has Safari so not sure why it won't work on that. I know netflix doesn't work now but I'm sure it will soon.

There is a SD attachment so you can move photos to it.

As for ebooks, I don't understand what you mean by scrolling on your touch. You do know you can just tap the side of the screen and change pages right? You do NOT need to "swipe" across. It's the same action as a Kindle except no button.

And your stock trades, aren't those via browser as well? All mine are and there are plenty of brokerage apps already available for the itouch and iphone. I can only see them getting more sophisiticated with a more powerful machine and more screen real estate to use.

[Hogan]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Seriously if you're a book reader or in the market for a tablet, there's no reason not to buy this. It's going to sell like hot cakes, and unless we get an e-ink color screen with an open system pretty quickly, then e-ink just got took out to the back alley and kicked ugly. (The keyboard attachment changed my opinion)

But isnt it an LCD screen on the iPad? If it is then surely eInk still wins out in terms of eye strain? Or am I missing something about the iPad?

[JBNY]

I don't know. I don't see how this is going to hurt the e-books business at all. No one who bought an e-ink based product because of less eye strain is going to switch to this.

Things I see that would make me think twice about buying the iPad

• No e-ink, so not fun for long time reading.
• Poor battery life, not even one day without recharging. So you can't take it on a two a three day trip even if you just want to read an ebook.
• Can't read it in direct sunlight. Uses an LCD screen so has the same issues as my laptop.
• No wma or flac support for audio, not a big deal if you only have apple products in your life already but many people have other audio formats to work with.
• poor video codac support, H.264 container for HD only, and 640x480 max for a few others MPEG-4, m4v, mp4, and mov. Nobody like transcoding to play their videos.
• too big to use a virtual keyboard, not portable like an iphone, so I would have to hold it with one and and type with the other on the screen.
• No flash support
• No USB ports
• No multitasking

I was hoping maybe it would be a good device to have in the living room for casual web browsing while watching TV, but even for that I think I would be better off with a netbook, much cheaper, faster and easier to type on and use.

[nekokami]

Originally Posted by ColdSun

...from the look of it, the device will offer a selection of ebooks unseen on any device. It has its own store for iBooks, but it can also run the Kindle for iPhone application so you can buy your books through it if you can't find them on iBook.

Let's not forget eReader/Barnes & Noble and Stanza, also available for the iPhone/iPod Touch, and so presumably available on this device as well. That makes at least 3 DRM schemes supported if you don't feel like stripping files and converting. Four if you want to count both Mobipocket and Topaz. That puts this device ahead of everything except a Windows PC-- the Mac can't read Topaz files yet.

[lifevicarious]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I disagree. When look at the Kindle2 price with 6inch eInk, 3G radio, free wireless access to the book store and Wikipedia and the basic web browser for $250 then compare it to the iPad which is $629 for the basic model with the 3G radio and you have to pay [at least] $15/mo for a data plan which adds $180 a year to the price. I don't see it as over priced.

I don't see the iPad competing with a dedicated reader at all. Will there be people that read ebooks on their iPad... sure. Is it the reason that 95% of people that buy one will have bought it, hell no.

BOb

I don't really think it's a fair comparison to compare the 6 inch kindle to the larger ipad. If you are going to compare kindle to ipad, at least compare the ones with similar screens. And then, it's not really fair to account for the 3G access as with that you get SO much more then the Kindle offers.

And it's also convenient that you forgot to mention all the things that the ipad can do that the kindle can't. I can't imagine anyone ever buying a Kindle DX again (at the current price). For $20 more you get so much more and (as of now) you can still read any and all kindle books you already own.

[MovieBird]

Originally Posted by ColdSun

For couch web-surfing, which is all my wife does really with her netbook, this thing will be awesome. I'm guessing she will want one.

I've not played on the internet with touchscreen only devices, how does the iPhone/etc. deal with the input of web addresses? Or do you just go to Google and type 3 letters and tap links from there?

[scottjl]

well i have to say i'm impressed. i expected a larger ipod touch/iphone but i also expected a $1000 price tag along with that. for what it does, for what it is and for what they charge you i think it's a pretty good deal. yes. you can read books on it, but you can do so much more, with a nicer looking interface than most ebook readers.

what will be the make or break for me is if i can import the epub's that i already have into it. if i have to re-purchase everything from apple (engadget is already reporting their book store has prices on par with amazon) then i'll just hang onto my 600.

for the people who don't like it, ok, so don't buy one. who's forcing you to? the people with the "hate" for the device just sound like a case of jealous sour grapes to me.