iPad Without Pixel Qi, the Apple iPad fails

[Charbax]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

that's how many companies work. Once we get over the fact that Apple is a company and not an altruistic organization, we can move on.

That's not how all companies work. Some companies have evil plans to just screw people as much as possible out of all the money that they can take. Other companies like Google are founded by actual engineers who actually really know something about technology, founded by people who know how to program, how to do really advanced mathematics and how to build a server.

Then you have companies like Apple and Microsoft that are founded by technology opportunists that don't know much about technology but found the company based on stealing intellectual propriety from other small companies and then making a big business out of it.

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

It's gone from "it'll add about 30 minutes of runtime" to "10 times the battery life".

That's the difference between using Pixel Qi in an ARM Powered device where the ARM processor and the whole system basically uses milliwatts when for example reading text or just not moving anything on the screen, there Pixel Qi makes 10x difference.

And then there is the Intel based Laptops and Netbooks where the Intel processor consumes more power than LCD backlights, there the improvement is below 2x because you still have to run the Intel processor and the whole x86 system all the time.

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

the most recent 10x comment was based on the 2W to 200mW = 10x efficiency statement made by Notion Ink, even though Pixel Qi stated around 500mW).

5x for the screen, but even further optimizations in overall power consumption are made much more easilly using ARM processors than Intel.

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

You do not appear to understand how light works though, if you believe it is like looking directly at a light bulb or looking at the sun.

I understand how light works. It's like looking into neon lights with few words and transparent images stickered on it as content. Have fun doing that for hours for reading books.

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

Apple does not need to use Pixel Qi to be popular.

Luckilly Pixel Qi does not need Apple to be popular either. There are plenty other huge companies that can't wait to out-compete Apple with better Android products on the market.

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

Yes, some people wish for it and are disappointed that Apple hasn't taken it up, but those people are not important or common enough yet,

People who read have been the dominant segment of society for centuries. Apple is disregarding the interest of the majority of consumers because they would rather sell a few more Britney Spears music videos or ifartbeer apps first.

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by Charbax

That's not how all companies work. Some companies have evil plans to just screw people as much as possible out of all the money that they can take. Other companies like Google are founded by actual engineers who actually really know something about technology, founded by people who know how to program, how to do really advanced mathematics and how to build a server.

Then you have companies like Apple and Microsoft that are founded by technology opportunists that don't know much about technology but found the company based on stealing intellectual propriety from other small companies and then making a big business out of it.

This is a pretty ignorant and fanboyish way of subjectively defining different company philosophies. Marketers make tools out of people like you just as easily as they do for Apple fans.

That's the difference between using Pixel Qi in an ARM Powered device where the ARM processor and the whole system basically uses milliwatts when for example reading text or just not moving anything on the screen, there Pixel Qi makes 10x difference.

Yes, as long as you aren't doing anything. In consumer-bred theory. There are no products that demonstrate this, and Pixel Qi and Notion Ink aren't making these boasts either, instead being vague and allowing consumers like you to make up whatever runtime fantasies make you happy.

And then there is the Intel based Laptops and Netbooks where the Intel processor consumes more power than LCD backlights, there the improvement is below 2x because you still have to run the Intel processor and the whole x86 system all the time.

So basically you're just saying you like ARM and not Intel. You've said that a lot, in your videos and in posts and of course your site. I agree though that most Atom-based solutions are not going to be ideal for low-power applications. SoCs seem to be a decent solution currently.

5x for the screen, but even further optimizations in overall power consumption are made much more easilly using ARM processors than Intel.

Thank you for your conjecture, but I'll wait for actual products, or even product concepts to demonstrate. So far we've seen no such thing.

I understand how light works. It's like looking into neon lights with few words and transparent images stickered on it as content. Have fun doing that for hours for reading books.

This is ignorance. If you read a book indoors, you're looking into horrible flickering light bulbs. People somehow manage. Lots of people enjoy reading on LCDs, and have no desire for reflective screens at all. I also read frequently on LCD for hours at a time, and am not offended whatsoever by the prospect of a dedicated reading device using a backlit screen. If I were to buy an iPad, it would be almost exclusively for reading applications, and that would be just dandy.

My ultimate decision will be based on whether there are better tablets available within a few months of the iPad's release. So far, it seems to be the best game in town, which I'm not happy about really, but I can't deny. Perhaps one of the upcoming Tegra 2 tablets will not be a complete failure on the hardware front, but it remains to be seen if they'll manage anything decent in terms of software integration. Judging by what I've seen from Asus, Samsung, and others so far, there's not much hope for a nice tight software setup.

Luckilly Pixel Qi does not need Apple to be popular either. There are plenty other huge companies that can't wait to out-compete Apple with better Android products on the market.

Like Notion Ink? Pixel Qi is not announcing its vendors, and the vendors are not announcing products with Pixel Qi. Who can't wait? There may be some big partners, and there might not be. We don't actually know until something is announced or leaked. All that currently exists is Notion Ink and some vague statements from Pixel Qi that there are partners and that people are excited. When a real company announces a real product that uses Pixel Qi, then they'll have some market credibility. Right now, they're a relative nobody.

I would love to see a good Android configuration on a tablet. I don't expect to see it happening in the near future. Looking at what is currently available doesn't inspire a whole lot of confidence in the ability of developers to actually make a good Android tablet platform.

People who read have been the dominant segment of society for centuries. Apple is disregarding the interest of the majority of consumers because they would rather sell a few more Britney Spears music videos or ifartbeer apps first.

Bad consumer market conjecture, not worth addressing at length.

[Tamara]

Originally Posted by leebase

I can read my iphone easily in shade and adequately in full sun. But really -- I read indoors FAR more than outside in sunlight. Reading in bed without a nightlight is a BIG plus for my iPhone.

For those few times when I'm outside and want to read -- and it's too bright for an iPad (if that's ever the case) -- then I'll just bring a BOOK. It's not like you lose the ability to read books just because you buy an iPad.

If I ever go on vacation where there's not going to be an power for weeks on end....I'll bring some books and magazines. I've never been on such a vacation, but if I ever do -- the iPad will be no hinderance.

For the 99.9% of the time when I'm indoors -- that iPad screen is going to be lovely.

Lee

I've never liked reading on an LCD screen but I have been very impressed with my iPhone when it comes to reading books and newspapers. It's very easy on the eyes and I've come to like it better than my Sony Reader.

[cmdahler]

Originally Posted by Charbax

People who read have been the dominant segment of society for centuries. Apple is disregarding the interest of the majority of consumers because they would rather sell a few more Britney Spears music videos or ifartbeer apps first.

You are mistaking the "interest" of the vast majority of readers with YOUR interest. It's clear you personally want Pixel Qi, can't wait for Pixel Qi, think all products with a viewing monitor should use Pixel Qi, and believe there is an evil conspiracy amongst George Bush and Steve Jobs to keep Pixel Qi from coming to market.

The basic fact of the matter is that most people couldn't care less about Pixel Qi. Please try to understand that. No one cares. My wife, for example, will be perfectly happy reading books on an iPad. She is currently completely happy reading books on paper. She has tried reading books on my Sony 505, and she doesn't see the big deal with e-ink. I suspect she is fairly representative of the majority of regular people out there.

Apple is not going to put some kind of untested, brand new technology into a device that the mass market is simply not going to care about. The iPad is not intended to be an ereader. It is just an iPod Touch with a big screen on it, and you can read books on it if you want. But Jobs did not make this device for you.

I hope you get your Pixel Qi device at some point. I think you're kidding yourself if you think this new tech is going to dominate the market anytime soon. But whatever; later this year you'll probably have a chance to buy a device that uses it. Good luck to you.

[DawnFalcon]

Yep. I fully expect the "next step" for the iPad to be to AMOLED panels, when such become available in sufficient quantity in the right size...

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by cmdahler

You are mistaking the "interest" of the vast majority of readers with YOUR interest. It's clear you personally want Pixel Qi, can't wait for Pixel Qi, think all products with a viewing monitor should use Pixel Qi, and believe there is an evil conspiracy amongst George Bush and Steve Jobs to keep Pixel Qi from coming to market.

The basic fact of the matter is that most people couldn't care less about Pixel Qi. Please try to understand that. No one cares. My wife, for example, will be perfectly happy reading books on an iPad. She is currently completely happy reading books on paper. She has tried reading books on my Sony 505, and she doesn't see the big deal with e-ink. I suspect she is fairly representative of the majority of regular people out there.

Yep. I know this is mobile read, but many here fail to recognize that most people aren't super avid readers (aka bookworms) like most here are.

Even among those that read regularly, the majority aren't reading for hours continuously on a regular basis, but just reading an hour or two a day here and there etc.

Thus having e-ink or some other reflective screen just isn't a huge need for many people. Only the people reading for hours on end, who need the screen for eye strain and battery life reasons really care. Most are like myself or your wife who just read an hour here and there and can read on pretty much any screen type.

Factor in that, especially among my generation and younger, people like me are spending much more time on the internet, movies, music, video games etc. than reading, and most of us prefer a screen optimized for those things on a tablet device, vs. something optimized for reading--especially e-ink that can't do any of the other stuff.

Down the road when there are screens that can do video as sharp as a LCD or OLED screen and have a reflective mode for reading, then we can get tablets that excel at both. Maybe Pixel QI will be that screen, time will tell.

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by Tamara

I've never liked reading on an LCD screen but I have been very impressed with my iPhone when it comes to reading books and newspapers. It's very easy on the eyes and I've come to like it better than my Sony Reader.

Really?

After about 20 minutes of staring at my iPhone 3G S's screen, if I look up in the distance, things re definitely blurry for a minute or so, which tells me my eyes are tired.

I don't have this problem with the Kindle and didn't have it with my previous Sony, or iRex ereaders. I also do not experience such blurriness after looking at my Apple IPS screen the whole day.

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by Sonist

Really?

After about 20 minutes of staring at my iPhone 3G S's screen, if I look up in the distance, things re definitely blurry for a minute or so, which tells me my eyes are tired.

I don't have this problem with the Kindle and didn't have it with my previous Sony, or iRex ereaders. I also do not experience such blurriness after looking at my Apple IPS screen the whole day.

I'd suspect such a condition comes from keeping the eyes focused within such a limited field of view. My eyes get tired if I read pocket books for a long time too, which is one reason why I'm attracted to larger tablets. Not because of larger fonts, but rather because the screen encourages more eye movement.

If I have to read a pocket book or similarly small surface for a long time, I try to make sure I occasionally roll my eyes a bit or move the book around so my eyes can follow it around without being quite so fixed in their sockets.

[dmaul1114]

Yeah, I get the blurriness when looking up with any kind of close vision activities--more for 10-20 seconds that a minute or so though.

Doesn't matter if it's my laptop, kindle, cell phone screen, portable gaming machine, a book, magazine etc.

If I sit looking at something close--say reading or working on the couch--when I look up to say the TV across the room my vision is blurry for 10-20 seconds as it adjusts to looking at a distance rather than focusing up close as it has been for a long stretch.

[Tamara]

Originally Posted by Sonist

Really?

After about 20 minutes of staring at my iPhone 3G S's screen, if I look up in the distance, things re definitely blurry for a minute or so, which tells me my eyes are tired.

I don't have this problem with the Kindle and didn't have it with my previous Sony, or iRex ereaders. I also do not experience such blurriness after looking at my Apple IPS screen the whole day.

I'm just the reverse. I was finding the Sony Reader was causing eyestrain.

It's good that there are lots of different devices to choose from so we can all find which device works best.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by Tamara

I've never liked reading on an LCD screen but I have been very impressed with my iPhone when it comes to reading books and newspapers. It's very easy on the eyes and I've come to like it better than my Sony Reader.

I'm not surprised. Not everyone has the same opinions, of course -- but for ME -- I really love reading books on my iphone.

I wanted a kindle since they came out. The price for just a reader was prohibitive. Once I discovered reading on my iphone -- I stopped even wanting a kindle.

Lee

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by jackau

I guess Pixel Qi type screen would first appear on some highend notebook.
The technology is still at its infancy, it would be atleast 2 years before it took off.

Unless somebody else beats tehm to it then the first place it will be seen is the notion ink adam and other than its lesser storage thats using netbook-level hardware rather than being anything high-end.

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by Charbax

That's not how all companies work. Some companies have evil plans to just screw people as much as possible out of all the money that they can take. Other companies like Google are founded by actual engineers who actually really know something about technology, founded by people who know how to program, how to do really advanced mathematics and how to build a server.

Then you have companies like Apple and Microsoft that are founded by technology opportunists that don't know much about technology but found the company based on stealing intellectual propriety from other small companies and then making a big business out of it.

I'm sorry, but are you really holding google up as a shining example of a company without evil plans?

They don't give away stuff for free, they do it because it benefits their business simple as that and are basically acting like microsoft did on the desktop.