iPad iPad2: same price as old and now thinner and more powerful

[HarryT]

Thanks - I was confused .

[Graham]

Originally Posted by athlonkmf

The "interface" or app launcher or whatever you call it is only a way for me to open an app. I spend my quality time in the apps themselves, and those gui design depends on the appmaker.

But surely a good interface should be a lot more than just an app launcher? For example, the way the Android interface handles notifications is excellent with the pull down widget over the top of any app to deal with whatever needs dealing with.

Graham

[leebase]

Originally Posted by drofgnal

No USB interface, no need for more speed, hence, I won't be upgrading.

In fact given apple's behavior relative to reader apps lately, I'll be downgrading to a K3 for 139 bucks!!!

Now that sounds brilliant. You don't like that Apple kicked off the Sony app because they violated Apple's in app purchasing system rules. All the while you can buy books from Amazon, Kobo, B&N, Harlequin -- well, just about everybody....including support for library books.

You then go get a K3 - where you can only buy apps from Amazon.

Lee

Originally Posted by leebase

Now that sounds brilliant. You don't like that Apple kicked off the Sony app because they violated Apple's in app purchasing system rules. All the while you can buy books from Amazon, Kobo, B&N, Harlequin -- well, just about everybody....including support for library books.

You then go get a K3 - where you can only buy apps from Amazon.

Lee

The book store is not relevant as you can easily strip the DRM from Amazon, Sony, and B&N books and convert them to any format you desire. Since these or the big 3 eBook stores I only listed them. What really matters these days is which device you feel most comfortable with. You can easily read Sony purchased books (after deDRMing them) in Stanza on the iPad or iPod touch. Getting the books to the Apple device is a bit kluge though compared to most dedicated eBook readers.

[Namekuseijin]

Originally Posted by jocampo

7 inches is just too small for PDFs and magazines. The pictures are just too small.

this is not a book. Get on with the idea of using zoom, otherwise you'll be whining about not being able to watch 1080p movies wanting for a device that allows for 1:1 browsing of posters...

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by Namekuseijin

this is not a book. Get on with the idea of using zoom, otherwise you'll be whining about not being able to watch 1080p movies wanting for a device that allows for 1:1 browsing of posters...

Keep zooming while reading PDFs is annoying. That would be fine on some pics and sporadically but not for long period of time; it also makes slow reading any document. This is why people buy 10 inches screen devices like Kindle DX or even the iPad.

I don't watch movies on my iPad, at least not so freq; use it for Netflix sometimes and that's it and short movies or similar. So I can't make any comment on that. It does a good job on YouTube clips though. But If I have to watch a 2 hr movie I prefer my plasma TV.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Getting the books to the Apple device is a bit kluge though compared to most dedicated eBook readers.

I use Calibre, bring up a web page, click on a book title, and open it in iBooks. Couldn't be easier.

Stanza has a lot of easy ways to source ebooks as well.

If I buy a book from iBookStore, it's as easy or easier than anyone else.

I'm not sure where you get the notion that it's harder to get books on an iPad.

Lee

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Thinner is a mistake; and it's still 10", which is too large. 7" is a more convenient size for carrying around.

I was kind of wondering about it being so thin, too. I guess I'll actually have to hold one to see if it's a good thing or not.

I agree with you about 7 inches being better for carrying around. I figure that would be about the size of the Kindle 3.

It seems to me that, given the wieght and thickness reductions on the iPad 2, a seven inch iPad is a kind of natural progression in the iPad universe. Happened with the iPod.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by Crowl

Better reading experience for magazines maybe, but the extra weight of the larger device can easily make for a worse reading experience.

In terms of book reading, I tend to agree with you. In fact, I just don't read books on my iPad, in part for that reason. But there are people who do.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by Crowl

The worst part of the interface for me is the stuff they have changed such as the multitasking menu that feels really clunky and tacked on rather than being natural like it is on other oses.

It IS clunky, & unApple-like. (So is the appearance of that sentence...)

I would have thought they would have come up with some kind of gesture, like a circular motion or a checkmark move.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by Harmon

I would have thought they would have come up with some kind of gesture, like a circular motion or a checkmark move.

They been testing three-finger gestures in the beta iOS versions.

[petermillard]

Originally Posted by Harmon

It seems to me that, given the wieght and thickness reductions on the iPad 2, a seven inch iPad is a kind of natural progression in the iPad universe. Happened with the iPod.

Yep, though it wouldn't surprise me if a 7" iDevice was part of the iPod Touch line - an iTouch+ perhaps - though I'd expect it to be geared more towards gaming than reading; the new chip, faster graphics, etc... of iPad2 could probably run a ~7" screen at high enough res. to be called a 'retina' display, and there's even convenient price points within the existing line-up; entry-level could be a 16Gb (there's currently no 16Gb iPod Touch remember) and if they could get a ~7-incher out for $299 I'm sure it'd be popular. Might make a great reader too...

September's the usual time for the iPods to be refreshed, so let's see.

[Dylrob]

Originally Posted by Namekuseijin

this is not a book. Get on with the idea of using zoom, otherwise you'll be whining about not being able to watch 1080p movies wanting for a device that allows for 1:1 browsing of posters...

The whole point of a bigger screen... for me at least... is to reduce the need for pinch and zoom! The last thing I would want is a smaller screen. Especially since the current iPad is plenty portable as far as I'm concerned.

[Harmon]

My next iPad is a 7 inch iPad. Short of that, my iPad1 is just fine.

I have this sense that the ipad2 is not really a new iPad. It seems to me to be a better model of the iPad One, intended to boost iPad sales in the same way that a booster rocket gives a rocket a boost, not a new launch.

The one I have works just fine. It will take a new form factor to get me to buy another one. I'm holding out for the iPad Mini.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Harmon

I'm holding out for the iPad Mini.

How about an iPad micro?