Apple Event - Live Blogging/Streaming Coverage

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

You know what I see this as? A killer student device.

Lack of stylus mark up is one thing that hurts it a bit on the student front.

Add that in, and it would indeed be a damn good device for students (and professors like me!).

Add that in and they can highlight their text books, jot notes etc. and it really would be a great device for that purpose.

[scottjl]

yeah. i don't see the need for 3g. wifi is everywhere. maybe if i didn't have a cell phone i'd go for the 3g. but the wifi is good enough. in the worst case i can "tether" it to my iphone and use that 3g connection. count me in for a 64g wifi.. now what to do with my 2 month old sony reader touch. sigh.

[jupstin]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

You know what I see this as? A killer student device. If the schools keep to the WiFi version, the 16GB model would hold a year's worth of textbooks, give access to the school's printers and the resource libraries. A student (whether elementary, high school or college) would be able to read the textbooks, take notes, compose reports and do homework all without having to lug around all those expensive, constantly-outdated, easy-to-get-damaged paper textbooks that cost so much! I could see the school districts getting student discounts and the students taking the iPad from grade school onward. Would save the backs of little kids, that's for sure.

Derek

This would definitely be a killer student device if it has stylus support. At least, that's my opinion.

[pilotbob]

The biggest problem with this device is that it doesn't run OS X.... you can put any app on it. I assume they went with the iPod/iPhone OS because it was much lighter weight than OS X.

This is a much different approach than from Windows tablets which run full blown Windows which has touch enabled OS to allow you to run any windows app on it and still use it with a touch screen.

BOb

[scottjl]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

The biggest problem with this device is that it doesn't run OS X.... you can put any app on it. I assume they went with the iPod/iPhone OS because it was much lighter weight than OS X.

This is a much different approach than from Windows tablets which run full blown Windows which has touch enabled OS to allow you to run any windows app on it and still use it with a touch screen.

BOb

i'm sorry. what app do you want to put on it that you can't? photoshop? lol. take a look thru the app store. you can pretty much find anything on there these days.

it's amusing when people say "full-blow os" and don't even understand what an operating system is

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by scottjl

i'm sorry. what app do you want to put on it that you can't? photoshop? lol. take a look thru the app store. you can pretty much find anything on there these days.

it's amusing when people say "full-blow os" and don't even understand what an operating system is

I want to run Firefox will all my add-ons. Basically, any app I can run on my Mac like iLife apps.

I hope your not saying I don't understand what an OS is.

BOb

[poshm]

The killer features for me would have been stylus annotation and handwriting recognition software.

It looks smart but doesn't appear to do much over and above what my iPod touch already does - well not enough to get me to press the buy button.

Love the tablet concept but I want one I can write and draw on like my Wacom drawing pad but with a full-functioning computer under the screen.

[CCDMan]

Be pretty hard for them to remove an existing app after stating ALL iPhone apps will work on it.

Actually, they said "The iPad will run almost all of the apps designed for the iPhone.". What they may have meant was all the apps EXCEPT Kindle.

I just can't see them selling books and then allowing Kindle books to also run.

This is what killed this device for me. Any tablet I do purchase for media consumption and web surfing will have to have a camera for video chat

Maybe for some. Personally, I have two cams, one on a monitor and one on a netbook. Never used either one even once. My guess as to why there is no camera is that they:

1) Did not want to hear folks whine when it did not work well over the crappy ATT 3G.

2) Wanted to have a feature to add if and when the 3G gets better or 4G appears

The killer features for me would have been stylus annotation and handwriting recognition software.

Jobs and Apple were already burned by a Stylus device - they see Stylus devices as a failure and Microsoft's experience tends to support this idea.

Overall, I like the device, not sure if I will get one - I think we will see in the next couple months what magazines and what books will show up. I can decide then.

I really like that you are not tied to a spendy data plan and can buy 3G monthly (even tho it is ATT) only when you need it. The real cost of many devices is in the monthly, not the original purchase price. Smartphones are the model here. This can save one REALLY BIG. For example, my cell phone bill is about $30 per YEAR with a prepaid voice only plan - I use free Wifi hotspots and my iPod touch for data. Maybe less than convenient but it saves me over a grand a year (enough to buy two iPads).

My biggest concern is that (I suspect) the books will be more than on the Kindle. If that is the case, I would only buy those books on the iPad that needed the (much better) graphics support. The good news is that content price competition is always good for the consumer (that would be us).

[Dulin's Books]

Originally Posted by cmdahler

Skiff and Plastic Logic basically just went out of business before they even managed to get their products on the shelf:

Well I disagree with this. First there are many many people who wont buy this tablet from apple because they don't liek apple, then there are the people who won't buy it because of some feature it doesn't have and the there are etc etc. Will it put pricing leverage on the devices - sure.

Secondly Skiff is a service as much as a device and you'll see a skiff app not too long from now. But I think even the device will still do well as the content destined for it will be better viewed on the size of device they are talking about. I imagine there will be more inducements for purchase of the device like some kind of subsidy for the device when you buy subscriptions to content.

Plastic Logic isn't going out of business any time soon because what most people seem to miss is that the Que is basically a demonstration of their actual product which is quite revolutionary and will soon be found in many devices probably including apple devices- plastic transistors. The plastic electronics industry is just starting and its being started by Plastic Logic. That company and the tech behind them isn't going away any time soon.

As for the Que- I can see there being added price or feature pressure(more memory or an SD slot please!) but I don't see the iPad being the "paperless briefcase" that the Que strives to be.

Originally Posted by charleski

The one really big surprise for me is the lack of a web cam. I think that's a real mistake on Apple's part.

This is what killed this device for me. Any tablet I do purchase for media consumption and web surfing will have to have a camera for video chat. If it had one now I'd be on the pre-order list just to have an easier way of video calling with the grandparents and great grandmother who all have Macs.

plus no expandable(sd) memory?

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by poshm

The killer features for me would have been stylus annotation and handwriting recognition software.

It looks smart but doesn't appear to do much over and above what my iPod touch already does - well not enough to get me to press the buy button.

Love the tablet concept but I want one I can write and draw on like my Wacom drawing pad but with a full-functioning computer under the screen.

Same here.

If this had that built in, I'd be placing a pre order.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

Any tablet I do purchase for media consumption and web surfing will have to have a camera for video chat. If it had one now I'd be on the pre-order list just to have an easier way of video calling with the grandparents and great grandmother who all have Macs.

Apparently the new SDK makes mention of the iPad camera, which means:
a) its just a mistaken reference
b) it was intended to have one but was removed, or
c) it will have one eventually

[cavi]

I hate to admit it but i am onboard.....Wifi only and i do not know about the memory, the memory issue for me is that i currently hae a 16gig iphone and a 60 gig ipod, the ipod is almost full, so i really do not download all my music to it anyway. What this will do for me is eliminate my sony reader and my netbook.

[scottjl]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I want to run Firefox will all my add-ons. Basically, any app I can run on my Mac like iLife apps.

I hope your not saying I don't understand what an OS is.

BOb

well if you're confusing firefox with an operating system i am. firefox is an application, just as the included browser, safari, is an application. there is nothing stopping someone from porting firefox to the iphone other than apple, or the lack of anyone bothering to port the firefox APPLICATON over. probably because apple has veto'ed other web browsers. opera was ported over and apple forbid its release to the public. if you'd like to see firefox on the iphone/touch/pad i suggest you take your complaint to apple.

as for the ilife apps, they'll probably be coming, they just got done moving iwork over.

[Sydney's Mom]

I have an 80 gig ipod, and it is 3/4 full (I use handbrake to convert DVDs I record). Although this looks nice, I think I will wait. I am used to using itunes, and I like the more open format of kindle (I can buy books from all over and convert them, thanks to MR). But hopefully this means the price point is set for the color ebook.

[Dulin's Books]

Having just watched the whole video finally i have to say as a tablet I think it comes pretty close to what I like in such a device. If it had a camera and I hadn't just bought this sony nw I'm typing on I might purchase it.

I actually think I might like a bigger device. Maybe not as big as the 15.5 on this laptop but maybe 12-13 inches and 16x9.