Apple Tablet -- Who needs it?

[Laurentiu]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Apple fanboys/fangirls.

Well, there are Apple fanboys and girls, as there are Sony fanboys, and M$ fanboys, etc.etc.etc. And, thanks god these fanboys and girls exist, because they buy products, allowing each company to survive, to offer jobs, and pay taxes, in other words, to keep the economy running in these harsh days!

And, if there wasn't for Apple and its fanboys and girls, as well as those Linux fanboys and girls, there would be hardly any competition for the almighty M$, in which case, M$ would have enough room on the market to sell their crappy programs at outrageous prices (although, in my opinion, they still do it!)

It is thanks to those fans that we have a competitive business environment, and thanks to competition, we see new and better products constantly. I, personally, have to thank everyone of those fanboys and girls, regardless which product or brand they may fancy, because, without them we would all be driving today a Ford, which we could have had in any colour, as long it was black!

[DawnFalcon]

Originally Posted by menevets

I'm not familiar with Calibre. How does it co-exist with Apple's webserver or Window's IIS?

I don't know about those but I've had issues with Apache* and Calibre running at the same time on Windows XP.

(*for Foswiki)

[sianon]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Yes, but then I'd have to buy a Windows 7 licence as well as an expensive tablet. So, it'd be smarter just to go for a windows tablet in the first place.

Yes, but judging by the version of windows 7 installed on my Archos tablet, you would still need to pay to upgrade to a usable version.

[AprilHare]

Originally Posted by crutnacker

I've seen the hype, read the speculation, and I keep asking myself..... who needs this?

No matter how expensive, underpowered, buggy or easily damaged, I assure you that due to the brand name 'Apple' there will be a legion of fanboys lining up to buy it.

[mores]

Doubt it. Or how many fanboys actually have an Apple TV at home? Or a wireless router from apple that costs twice as much and does less than any other wifi router?
Also, what you seem to overlook is that the devices that are currently being hyped (iPhone, iPod) are very often being used not by fanboys but by regular users. Windows Users are the reason iPods do not come with firewire anymore. Also, how many iPhone users sync with iTunes for PC ... I'd say there are more PC users using an iPhone than true Mac users, or as you like to call them, "fanboys".
So something does not add up in your theory.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by mores

Doubt it. Or how many fanboys actually have an Apple TV at home? Or a wireless router from apple that costs twice as much and does less than any other wifi router?
Also, what you seem to overlook is that the devices that are currently being hyped (iPhone, iPod) are very often being used not by fanboys but by regular users. Windows Users are the reason iPods do not come with firewire anymore. Also, how many iPhone users sync with iTunes for PC ... I'd say there are more PC users using an iPhone than true Mac users, or as you like to call them, "fanboys".
So something does not add up in your theory.

You are right, the iphone, though somewhat lacking in advanced functionality, made easy of use a priority. Thus capturing the hearts of those millions that never had a smart phone or never enjoyed tweaking their old smart phones so that they could take full advantage of their functionality. Apart from Steve's marketing genius I mostly credit the other smart phone makers for neglecting user interfaces in what actually were great phones starting from as early as 2002. They concentrated too much on the "techno-geek" and business users and neglected the simplicity that the average Joe demands ("I just want to use it"). The others have now caught up in usability, now other user interfaces are in no way inferior to the iphone's -- speed or ease of use. In the US you cannot beat the iphone at the marketing game, but worldwide it is a whole different story.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Laurentiu

Well, there are Apple fanboys and girls, as there are Sony fanboys, and M$ fanboys, etc.etc.etc. And, thanks god these fanboys and girls exist, because they buy products, allowing each company to survive, to offer jobs, and pay taxes, in other words, to keep the economy running in these harsh days!

And, if there wasn't for Apple and its fanboys and girls, as well as those Linux fanboys and girls, there would be hardly any competition for the almighty M$, in which case, M$ would have enough room on the market to sell their crappy programs at outrageous prices (although, in my opinion, they still do it!)

It is thanks to those fans that we have a competitive business environment, and thanks to competition, we see new and better products constantly. I, personally, have to thank everyone of those fanboys and girls, regardless which product or brand they may fancy, because, without them we would all be driving today a Ford, which we could have had in any colour, as long it was black!

But if it wasn't for the Apple fanboys/girls, Apple would have to get the products right the first time.

[Laurentiu]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But if it wasn't for the Apple fanboys/girls, Apple would have to get the products right the first time.

I take it as a good joke. When you say that, you consider that M$ gets the products right the first time? LOL!

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Laurentiu

I take it as a good joke. When you say that, you consider that M$ gets the products right the first time? LOL!

Nobody ever does. Remember the iphone before 2.0? With ridiculous problems like no cut-and-paste and no landscape keyboard for text and e-mail? Took them a whole year to fix it. And the push/background issue? Lack of MMS (not just AT&T worldwide!)? All very basic functions available on other phones for many years. Apple products are fix-as-you-go, just like everyone else's. But Apple users are more forgiving.

[Laurentiu]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Apple products are fix-as-you-go, just like everyone else's.

Every company applies the same rule. There are prestigious companies that loose big bucks in recalls, after a product is launched. Let's not forget the Mercedes-Benz A-Class (unknown for those in North-America), which had major safety issues (search for 'a class elk test' to see why).
It cost Daimler a lot of money to fix the problem, not to mention that their reputation was seriously affected.

Or, for those in North-America, do you remember Ford Pinto and its gas tank? They didn't even bother to fix it although they knew it was a life-threatening issue.

So, again, this is not about Apple and how bad they are. As we can see, whatever seems to bad at Apple, there are other companies out there that face the same challenges and problems!

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Laurentiu

Every company applies the same rule. There are prestigious companies that loose big bucks in recalls, after a product is launched. Let's not forget the Mercedes-Benz A-Class (unknown for those in North-America), which had major safety issues (search for 'a class elk test' to see why).
It cost Daimler a lot of money to fix the problem, not to mention that their reputation was seriously affected.

Or, for those in North-America, do you remember Ford Pinto and its gas tank? They didn't even bother to fix it although they knew it was a life-threatening issue.

So, again, this is not about Apple and how bad they are. As we can see, whatever seems to bad at Apple, there are other companies out there that face the same challenges and problems!

The Benz A-class, failed what they called the "moose test" in Germany, that was a riot . They were the butt of jokes for years after that. Just my point. Nowadays the pressure is on to bring out new products all the time. Nobody can get it right the first time.

[chaznsc]

I personally cannot wait for a tablet. I stopped carring my 10lb notebook because of the weight and mass. I sold my netbook because its cramped. A tablet would be perfect for me. I have a touch and its one slick piece of hardware. I'm a windows person, but would opt for an apple tab over a win tab any day of the week. I cannot wait!

[Laurentiu]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Nowadays the pressure is on to bring out new products all the time. Nobody can get it right the first time.

Not only that. Let's take another example: the 2006 model year of a car, brand XYZ, is launched with steel rims, AC and Automatic as option. Three years later, the same company comes up with an 'improved' model - in fact, the same model as before, just a minor facelift, but now is offered with alloy rims, AC and automatic as standard.

Have you ever thought that Apple could have applied the same strategy in case of the iPhone? So, they sold the minimal-feature product for a year, then they launched the 'improved' version, at almost not supplemental cost to them, but that kept all their customers happy.

Just another marketing strategy - product up-sizing -, not invented by Apple, but applied successfully.

Returning to M$ - it took them three years to fix their latest product - Vista - which proved to be a disaster. How about that, Mr. Wolf?

[HansTWN]

Don't forget that MS's job is infinitely more difficult than Apple's. They have to run on avirtually unlimited variety of hardware and they have no control over it. Besides, the user base is 100 times larger (worldwide). Also they are the target of more hackers and viruses because of size. And PC sellers tend to load a lot of crapware on new PC's . But MS gets the blame for all. That being said, Vista was a failure. But Windows 7 turned out to be great. Though MS shot themselves in the foot again with their upgrade pricing.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by Laurentiu

I take it as a good joke.

Me too. Especially since many of these experts have never had the courage, foresight, or drive to launch a "first" product of their own, or anything else, yet have no problem being armchair critics about those that do.

It is easy to deride the efforts of others, especially when you have nothing to offer yourself.