iPad This sums up the iPad for me

[artemisblossom]

ok this probably sounds stupid but can you actually view the apps that are for sale if you don't already have a device that can use them? I was pretty excited about the ipad and after reading about all the wonderful apps I went to the apple store to check out the apps, and I can't view any. When I click on them by category they just give me comments about them or news articles saying how wonderful they are. I do have an ipod but I hated the itunes store and load my music another way......is this why I can't see the available apps and their prices?? if the website is this frustrating I wonder what using the device will be like. Maybe I will wait for something else to come out.

[Dulin's Books]

Originally Posted by fugazied

Seriously, people complaining about the specs need to use their heads. Apple has released it at a VERY low price, this is targeting devices like the Kindles.

I don't believe that. Its targeting netbooks

[fugazied]

Originally Posted by DawnFalcon

Nope, there's a very nice LED-lit laptop with HDMI and a 15" screen which does a shitload more, or if you want a 8 hour battery life there's a 13.3" screen, again LED-lit, ASUS laptop. Or hey look, the Droid2 will have a HDMI port..

Is that a touchscreen tablet?
You are talking different devices. Netbooks are just little laptops. I already own a macbook pro which is far better than a little netbook and only slightly bigger. A touchscreen tablet is a different kind of device.

Originally Posted by artemisblossom

ok this probably sounds stupid but can you actually view the apps that are for sale if you don't already have a device that can use them?

You can download itunes and click on the apps section to view what is available.
http://www.apple.com/downloads/

[DawnFalcon]

Never mind

[Dulin's Books]

Originally Posted by DawnFalcon

Dulin's Books - That's a laugh. No, it's their choice to introduce a new type of DRM rather than going with the clear market leader for providing DRM for ePubs. Apple cannot dodge one single iota of responsibility for this.

Oh I agree with that but I do also feel that the Publisher's should settle this and decide which they will back and stick with it instead of letting the device makers decide.

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by DawnFalcon

And there we go, your justification of your actions. And why should I help you avoid paying the costs of the apps who are enforcing Apple's user agreement? I'm not dumb, and that was a direct spit in my face.

I have more sympathy for people who go direct to the darknet than the people who try and justify buying a fraction of the licences they need. That Apple are complicit in this doesn't mean a thing to me. It's another issue which has driven talented devs - and quite rightly - away from the platform.....

What are you talking about?!

The common practice on the iPhone is, to charge per license. As you point out, Apple gives the developers the right to charge per device, but nobody does it.

Your laptop example above is even more confusing: why stop there, and not just compare a full-sized i7 quad desktop to the iPad, to convince yourself that the iPad is underpowered?

As to screens, Google IPS monitors. This is what the iPad uses. Different than cheaper screens, and better.

[DawnFalcon]

Never mind

[hidari]

Dawn, I would say you make a good argument which I agree with and Sonist and Fugazid also have good arguments and appear to be Apple Fan boys. So, They will never agree with you. So, it may be best to agree to disagree.

Apple makes good products, but so do other companies. Unfortunately, Some of the Apple fanboys make it and Us vs. Them fight. Thus I prefer to stay out of the Apple Cult. The consumer has a choice.

Actually, Most of my Friends who love Apple also have a PC. They use both for what they are good at for their personal uses, and don't care about the Apple vs the World debate.

I just find it funny that Mr. Jobs says the netbooks is cheap..... actually my netbook is quite useful and I am sure the ipad will be to some people as well. Plus, the mac book is about the same as my 11.6 inch Acer One in most respects as a computer. My wife has a Mac Book with a 13 inch screen so I have used it on occasion to help her figure out applications.

an aside: I still find it funny that apple fan boys have MSWord (A product I haven't used for 8 years) on their Macs.

[Estuche]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Those devices can do a lot more than the iPad as far as reading is concerned because they have a different screen. My phone and a netbook can do a lot more than the iPad, so by your standards, why consider the iPad? I thought our focus is on reading? The iPad brings nothing that my phone, laptop, and reader can't do much better. It is far less powerful than a netbook and costs twice as much.

Well, so what exactly can those reading devices do that the iPad can't because of its "limited" fast refreshing, colorful screen? Besides being easier on the eyes and battery life, there is no extra benefit for having other big e-readers.

My focus is mainly, albeit not solely on reading. When I have to choose between a $489 Kindle Dx, a $650 PL Que and a $500 iPad I won't hesitate. Because under ideal circumstances it will allow me to have everything I need on 1 versatile device.

I think the appeal for the iPad is not for people like you who may already have a device for each task and is happy caring them around, nor for people who only read novels (they don't need big screens and can get smaller readers for half the price). I think it appeals to people like me who wants to read different types of content and who was not convinced that paying a high price for a reading-only device was justified. Apple wisely priced the iPad so that people would see value in it and I think they nailed it

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by Estuche

I think the appeal for the iPad is not for people like you who may already have a device for each task and is happy caring them around, nor for people who only read novels (they don't need big screens and can get smaller readers for half the price). I think it appeals to people like me who wants to read different types of content and who was not convinced that paying a high price for a reading-only device was justified. Apple wisely priced the iPad so that people would see value in it and I think they nailed it

Yep.

Again, just to each their own. Everyone has different needs, and that's why there's such a wide array of device we can choose from to do e-reading and/or other tasks.

[perversity]

Wow, all these apple bashers are actually more annoying than the fanboys. If you don't like something, don't buy it. What's the point in ranting about how much you hate a product that you've never even used? So many complaints that it's overpriced, and yet it's cheaper than most of the readers demoed at CES and it smashes ALL of them funtionally. Do you guys own stock in visiplex? If so, I'd be upset too

[DawnFalcon]

Never mind

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by DawnFalcon

Oh, that crunching sound WAS your toes being stepped on. Right. And do explain how it can replicate the battery life and non-backlit readability of epaper. No, go on...

Actually, if you'd been paying attention, the fact that ASUS think they can do a 9" SiPix tablet for £250 is why you should be selling e-Ink corporation (Vizplex is one of their technologies) shares.

I can't wait to see what Asus bring out. I'm about a breath away from buying one of their Netbooks, but I'm going to wait it out for a month or two just in case. Now that's a company that's innovating, and thinking differently.

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by DawnFalcon

...
No, the licence agreement is explicit. It's a licence for the devices in the possession of a single person. If another person takes one of the devices, they - and this is not an option - require another licence. Developers are starting to enforce this....

Please, site your sources. What developers are starting to enforce "it," and what exactly is this "it." What do you base this nonsense on? I have never heard of this, nor have read anything about attempts to demand licenses for different iPhones on the same account.

Do you have an iPhone, and have you experienced any of this with your multiple Apple devices? Or is this some urban myth?

Originally Posted by DawnFalcon

... The iPad...I don't need to "convince myself" of anything, it's using a single-core ARM A9. You realise that it's actually less powerful, compared to the 16/32GB iPhone GS, right? The Mali's performance is terrible compared to the PowerVR's - quite a few games that run on the GS's won't manage it on the iPad (and they'll need the 3d part re-writing on most, for that matter!)

Why do you think the A4 in the iPad is a single core? I'd guess this is rather unlikely, given that all the hands on reviews note the significant increase in responsiveness compared to the iPhone 3GS (which is already fast).

Here is what macrumors.com just had to say about the A4:

"Bright Side of News claims to have information on Apple's "A4" chip unveiled as the brains behind the company's new iPad tablet device. ...

While it should be no surprise that the Apple A4 processor is based on the ARM Cortex A9 design which will begin shipping to many manufacturers this year, the article incorrectly states that the Qualcomm Snapdragon and nVidia Tegra were also based on this design. Those processors were based on the Cortex A8 -- the same processor design found in the iPhone 3GS. This new potentially multi-core processor has only recently been introduced in the Tegra 2 first demoed at CES 2010.

The site also makes a dubious claim that Apple is using the ARM Mali 50-Series GPU for its graphics hardware which would represent a departure (and potential downgrade) for Apple from the PowerVR chips that they've used in the past. Apple is a licensee and major stakeholder in Imagination Technologies, the company behind the PowerVR chipset...."

Originally Posted by DawnFalcon

... As to screens, you should be aware a large part of the market is IPS screens now, it's not unusual - and TN screen production for laptops is plummeting. MVA/PVA screens are far from "poor", even if they're not equal to IPS in high end uses where you need perfect colour reproduction. The ASUS I mentioned... *checks* is IPS.

Seriously, where do you get this stuff? A "large part of the market is IPS screens now...." Really?! Please show us some reference. For most laptops, the best they get is PVAs. IPS is still rare on desktop monitors, too.

Hey, if you don't think the iPad fits your needs, fine. But why keep bashing it, and making stuff up to support your claims?

[GntlmnBndt]

Originally Posted by DawnFalcon

The iPad...I don't need to "convince myself" of anything, it's using a single-core ARM A9. You realise that it's actually less powerful, compared to the 16/32GB iPhone GS, right? The Mali's performance is terrible compared to the PowerVR's - quite a few games that run on the GS's won't manage it on the iPad (and they'll need the 3d part re-writing on most, for that matter!)

I wonder if you are not confusing the A9 with the ARM9 architecture, which is getting a bit long in the tooth. Most sites (Engadget, ARMDevices.net, etc.) are reporting the A9, or the ARM Cortex-A9, is the basis for the Apple A4 chip (too many A- chip names!). The Cortex-A9 is a significant step up from the Cortex-A8, which is the CPU architecture in the 3GS you mention.

The Bandit