iPad For all those who hate the iPad:

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by rhadin

All I'm saying is that I do not see this as the revolutionary device everyone had been clamoring for.

You will-- when they start integrating them with Segways!

[nikkie]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Nikkie, I had high hopes for the iPad but now that it has been outted, I can see it isn't for me. Yes, the Pixel Qi might have made a difference but there are several other problems.

First, it isn't clear what Apple will do as regards competing bookstores. Apple is not known to be generous to competitors and it isn't certain whether it will allow competing bookstores.

The iPhone already has apps for each of these items, and they've said the great majority of apps will be available. If they do end up blocking all other ebook apps, I'm with you. But until they say one way or another, I don't see any reason to believe they will.

Second, it appears that Apple is layering on its own version of DRM to the ePub. If true, then books bought at the Apple store will not be readable on other devices (except possibly other Apple devices). This is still a wait and see scenario.

I can agree with you on that too, if it's true. We don't know yet though. If it is true and the first one isn't though, I wouldn't consider it really a problem.

Third, if the pricing announced for books is correct -- $12.99 to $14.99 -- it is higher than Amazon and B&N. Not clear why paying more for a book is an inducement.

Sounds to me like higher for best sellers and lower than competitors for non-best sellers until we get confirmed pricing studies though we won't know. And again, irrelevant if they allow the other iPhone apps on.

Fourth, it isn't clear that books book at stores other than Apple's store can be read on the iPad. To my knowledge, the iPad will read DRM-free ePub and Apple DRMed ePub, but not Sony or B&N DRMed ePub. I may be wrong in this regard but if not, then will limit the market greatly.

This is the same as the first note, isn't it?

Fifth, the Apple market for the iPad doesn't seem to be the person who prefers to read books than to watch TV. It seems to be the casual reader, the person who reads 1 to 2 books a year (if not in a lifetime). I've excluded students who the iPad also is aimed at because they have "specialized" needs.

Not sure that this really matters. The intended audience makes no difference if it works well for someone who reads a lot (100 books a year? on an iphone/DS Lite?).

Sixth, 10 hours is under ideal conditions and I have yet to use any device under ideal conditions. My Dell laptop's battery was supposed to get 4-5 hours but I'm lucky if it gets 2 hours. That makes me wary about the 10-hour claim. And I do spend 4-5 hours every day reading on my Sony, sometimes more. Granted I could recharge the iPad but I like having reserve power available and not having to charge every day.

I don't buy this one at all. They are claiming greater battery life from the iPad while watching video than my iPhone on 3G, which is quite true to its battery estimates from my tests. I have no complaints about my iPhone's battery life - I read on it all day during the weekend, and charge while sleeping.

Seventh, it isn't clear to me how I would add books to the iPad from the Apple bookstore. No, I understand that it would be wireless, but would I have to pay AT&T or some other carrier for a data plan just to access the store? I assume that the answer is no with wi-fi, but it simply isn't clear to me.

The answer is no with wi-fi, of course. With 3G you can pay for a plan, either $15 or $30 a month depending on your usage. The plan is, thank god, no contract. From the Apple Bookstore you'll buy books within their iBooks app.

I, however, much prefer and will definitely utilize the Wi-Fi and run calibre server as I currently do - it's actually really easy to view your calibre library from within the Stanza app (on the current iPhone) and download books from your computer, or, if you want, from J. Random Hosting Provider.

I'm not bashing the device. If it fits your needs, you should definitely buy it. All I'm saying is that I do not see this as the revolutionary device everyone had been clamoring for. It strikes me as a very evolutionary step and not even a complete step.

It seems like most of your complaints would be resolved if they don't cut the current ebook apps from the iPad. And, if they do cut it, I won't buy one. We in agreement that if you can read books from the other stores, it's not really an issue? Whether or not you choose to use iBooks hardly even matters - the software already written that will work on the iPad will kick the tail off other devices on the market. Just like any other computer.

For folks complaining about no multi-tasking, does any other ereader on the market support true multi-tasking? Also, what would you really get out of it while doing anything someone might want to buy the tablet for? I have push notifications from my instant messaging, facebook, and any other social thing I might want to see while reading or watching a movie, so I just really don't understand why people are worked up about it.

For those complaining about a closed OS, it's certainly no more closed than Windows XP/7 will be on the HP Slate! And much much easier to find apps that have interfaces tailored to a touchscreen without a keyboard due to the app store.

For those complaining about a mobile OS, one of the other biggest failures in tablet history was microsoft's initial tablet idea. In many analysts' opinions, the reason it failed was because it wasn't a complete interface rewrite from the ground up - it was a hodgepodge of poorly thought out desktop conversions. Apple rewrote the OSX frontend from the bottom up to provide the marvelous interface the iPhone presents. It's widget toolkit is vastly superior to similar offerings simply because it is designed to make people UIs that are not dependent on a keyboard.

I'm not going to say that leaving out multi-tasking is the best idea in the world. I think it might even be useful sometimes - and I certainly can buy that it is not in the released iPad SDK simply because they didn't have time to reinvent the threading model while also rewriting every other major productivity application using Cocoa Touch (Pages! iCal! Address Book! etc).

For those suggesting a netbook, I'm not going to deride netbooks and say that they are a bad ereader, obviously they work just fine for some people. I would personally rather prefer to have as much of the device as possible presenting me with usable reading space, not keyboards and motherboard areas. For this same reason, prior to the iPad announcement I eschewed the Kindle DX in favor of the iRex DR800SG that never presented. I do however like the idea of the dockable tablet/netbook combo that Acer presented at CES...and if it or something like it was released, powered by Android, and about $500, it would be an exceptionally worthy competitor to the iPad.

To sum up, I can understand your fears - until we see whether or not Apple will block other ereading apps, I can't quell them entirely, even though I don't believe this will happen since the apps were already approved on the app store for the iPhone. I also would like to recognize the incredible amount of work the apple team put into making a tablet that can work for you without a keyboard and mouse. I can only thank the job market that I never applied to work at Apple during the last few years, because it would have been hell on earth.

[nikkie]

One more thing - it sounds like a lot of the haters hate anything from Apple on general principle. I can understand this, somewhat...

But I think most of this hate is really just jealousy that they haven't been able afford to own the devices in the past. In this case, I don't think you are paying much of an apple tax. $500 is *cheap* for a device with a screen this size with multi-touch and an app store. (Are there even any competitors at this level yet?) They are setting the bar here for everyone else to live up to. No one else will seriously be able to release a tablet of this size for more than $500 without including the moon and three monkeys in the offering. For that...thanks Apple. No matter what else you do.

[nikkie]

Originally Posted by Solicitous

But Apple did do one thing right with the iPad....allow you to connect to 3g via bluetooth to your mobile.

Didn't know that. Rock on. Further validation of my plan to buy the Wi-Fi only version, since I have an iPhone.

[Dylrob]

Originally Posted by nikkie

For folks complaining about no multi-tasking, does any other ereader on the market support true multi-tasking? Also, what would you really get out of it while doing anything someone might want to buy the tablet for? I have push notifications from my instant messaging, facebook, and any other social thing I might want to see while reading or watching a movie, so I just really don't understand why people are worked up about it.

It's not an ereader though. It's a multipurpose device, and as such must be compared to other multipurpose devices. With my Windows Mobile phone I can read a book while a webpage is loading, swap to that when it's done loading, and jump back after clicking another link. Depending on the sites I visit I could also have music playing in the background. Or in Windows "actual" I can have however many windows set side by side for reference/comparison. The latter is something I like to have when a decent size screen is available.

Originally Posted by nikkie

For those complaining about a closed OS, it's certainly no more closed than Windows XP/7 will be on the HP Slate! And much much easier to find apps that have interfaces tailored to a touchscreen without a keyboard due to the app store.

And just when did Microsoft start dictating what programs could or couldn't be made available on Windows (any version)?

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Because the areas you call crippling are not in places that are relevant to me, and it (incl. the OS, UI and "fit" within our gadget-environment, and overall consistency there) works for me. What works and doesn't work for me drives my purchasing decisions, rather than what works and doesn't work for others. The iPad thus far, and like my iPhone, pleases me in many practical, technical, aesthetic and emotional ways. I find these things a nice "fit" within my life. That is sufficient.
Cheers,
Marc

I'm surprised that you wouldn't want, or feel the lack of such a basic component as USB (knowing that you take photographs and the iPad might have served as a great way to preview those photographs out in the field). I think USB has to be the most glaring omission from this whole device, and I can't see any technical, or even marketable reason to leave it out. A lot of the design decisions Apple took on the iPad absolutely baffle me, from interior (using phone components such as their A4 which are rumoured to power the next gen of pods and phones) to the overlarge black bezel (surely the programmers could make a full screen smart enough to differentiate between wanted and unwanted gestures).

Next stop, Asus with wireless HDMI, massive hard drive, plenty of usb ports, and swivel screen so it can act as a tablet

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by nikkie

One more thing - it sounds like a lot of the haters hate anything from Apple on general principle. I can understand this, somewhat...

But I think most of this hate is really just jealousy that they haven't been able afford to own the devices in the past. In this case, I don't think you are paying much of an apple tax. $500 is *cheap* for a device with a screen this size with multi-touch and an app store. (Are there even any competitors at this level yet?) They are setting the bar here for everyone else to live up to. No one else will seriously be able to release a tablet of this size for more than $500 without including the moon and three monkeys in the offering. For that...thanks Apple. No matter what else you do.

And I believe you might be confusing genuine annoyance and befuddlement over the iPad with hate. I own and have owned lots of Apple products (they make shoddy computers but great music players) and I've bought a lot from them specifically because they design such good-looking products. But this is neither good-looking or functional enough to make up for the ugly.

There's plenty of competitors, they're called Netbooks, they cost significantly less, do significantly more, and some of them have swivel top screens that turn them into tablets, with more than 10 hours battery.

P.S. The App store is not a selling point to a lot of people, it's a hindrance.

[nikkie]

Originally Posted by Dylrob

It's not an ereader though. It's a multipurpose device, and as such must be compared to other multipurpose devices.With my Windows mobile phone I can read a book while a webpage is loading, swap to that when it's loading, and jump back after clicking another link. Or in Windows "actual" I can have however many windows set side by side for reference/comparison. The latter is something I like to have when a decent size screen is available.



And just when did Microsoft start dictating what programs could or couldn't be made available on Windows (any version)?

They certainly do on the 360 and the Zune devices.


Out of curiosity - how is your wimo's battery life? And how is browsing the internet on a small screen without multi-touch treating you? My previous experience with phone operating systems made me hate everything but the iPhone...when I tried to use wimo phones I couldn't stand them either. The lack of attention to usability drove me batty. But I'm one of those people who can't stand things that don't make any fuggin sense. A perfectionist. And someone who takes delight in the beauty of the aesthetics of most apple devices. I'll of course admit that not everyone is like me, and for some people, freedom is more important.

Honestly, it used to be for me. I was a Gentoo user for 5 years. I had my freedom there, oh yes. And then I got busy and had no time to compile a new kernel whenever I wanted my new toy to work. And I bought an apple. A big compromise, yes. But there's always gentoo if I really need it. Or Android.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

I'm surprised that you wouldn't want, or feel the lack of such a basic component as USB (knowing that you take photographs and the iPad might have served as a great way to preview those photographs out in the field).
...

No, in my case definitely not. While I'll chimp a little, I also carry little and shoot raw. Reviewing in the field would not only be a distraction, but often I'm previsualising what I'll be doing later in Aperture or the Gimp, and then moving on.

Which isn't to say I wouldn't use the device to display my photos later to others in portable form, but that would be after they're culled, organised, Apertured and occasionally Gimped, and then their "rating" and tagging is automatically syncing selected photos (assuming the same way the iPhone does it) via iTunes.

I wouldn't miss it, and I wouldn't buy the card dongle either (even assuming it could display raw photos). It's just not how I work, nor want to (like the iPad, I'm not an adept multitasker , and so I tend to need simplicity, focus, and a lack of distractions that aren't photogenic ).

As previously, of course...my requirements. Others photographers may find that item you specify a significant lacking. I'm just not one of them.

Cheers,
Marc

[Dylrob]

Originally Posted by nikkie

They certainly do on the 360 and the Zune devices.

" And just when did Microsoft start dictating what programs could or couldn't be made available on Windows (any version)? "

Originally Posted by nikkie

Out of curiosity - how is your wimo's battery life? And how is browsing the internet on a small screen without multi-touch treating you? My previous experience with phone operating systems made me hate everything but the iPhone...when I tried to use wimo phones I couldn't stand them either. The lack of attention to usability drove me batty. But I'm one of those people who can't stand things that don't make any fuggin sense. A perfectionist. And someone who takes delight in the beauty of the aesthetics of most apple devices. I'll of course admit that not everyone is like me, and for some people, freedom is more important.

I've never tested the battery life, but it's more than adequate for my needs. IMHO multitouch mostly a keyboard substitute. And even then I think physical keyboards are still better. That's why every WinMo phone I've owned has had one. I have no problem navigating with the old touch screen (especially since my newest phone supports flicking).

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Dylrob

It's not an ereader though. It's a multipurpose device, and as such must be compared to other multipurpose devices. With my Windows Mobile phone I can read a book while a webpage is loading, swap to that when it's done loading, and jump back after clicking another link. Depending on the sites I visit I could also have music playing in the background. Or in Windows "actual" I can have however many windows set side by side for reference/comparison. The latter is something I like to have when a decent size screen is available.

It could be a great, but rather expensive, ereader. But only if you can put all books on it, not only the ones you buy from Itunes...

Originally Posted by Moejoe

I'm surprised that you wouldn't want, or feel the lack of such a basic component as USB (knowing that you take photographs and the iPad might have served as a great way to preview those photographs out in the field). I think USB has to be the most glaring omission from this whole device, and I can't see any technical, or even marketable reason to leave it out. A lot of the design decisions Apple took on the iPad absolutely baffle me, from interior (using phone components such as their A4 which are rumoured to power the next gen of pods and phones) to the overlarge black bezel (surely the programmers could make a full screen smart enough to differentiate between wanted and unwanted gestures).

I have two major issues with the Ipad (not including the name, btw...).

1. Lack of at least 1 USB port.
2. The closed OS and the need to go to Itunes in order to get applications (which are censored by Apple)


The third I haven't heard anything about yet: how can you charge it?

Originally Posted by Dylrob

" And just when did Microsoft start dictating what programs could or couldn't be made available on Windows (any version)? "

At least I can make my own programs for any window version without anybody knowing about it...

[nikkie]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

It could be a great, but rather expensive, ereader. But only if you can put all books on it, not only the ones you buy from Itunes...



I have two major issues with the Ipad (not including the name, btw...).

1. Lack of at least 1 USB port.
2. The closed OS and the need to go to Itunes in order to get applications (which are censored by Apple)


The third I haven't heard anything about yet: how can you charge it?



At least I can make my own programs for any window version without anybody knowing about it...

Well, you can make them for the iPad too. You just can't distribute them without getting them approved. Unless you want to distribute to jailbreakees.

I'm not really defending them on this point though. I think it's stupid too. Not that they have the app store - but that you *can't* install apps other than through the app store. I think having the app store is a fantastic way for developers to get visibility for their apps, I just don't likely that you can't give people a link to your app and have it automatically install, like on Android. It's lame, but makes sense for Apple. They're quality and control freaks.

I still think, in spite of some decisions not everyone will agree with, the iPad is best in its class. Or perhaps, for now, the only thing in its class.

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by nikkie

One more thing - it sounds like a lot of the haters hate anything from Apple on general principle. I can understand this, somewhat...

But I think most of this hate is really just jealousy that they haven't been able afford to own the devices in the past.

Sorry, I think this is a big assumption, don't you believe? And it's the same (at the other side) that people say a lot in my country: "El iPhone es para pijos" (iPhone is only for posh).

[nwhitfield]

The thing that is annoying me about the iPad is this statement - and I would presume Adobe know if they've licensed their DRM to Apple:

EPUB content protected with Apple DRM won't work on numerous eReaders like the Barnes & Noble nook and the Sony Reader, not to mention future, forthcoming models. Similarly, protected EPUB eBooks obtained from thousands of online booksellers (including Barnes & Noble) and most public libraries (including The New York Public Library)—are unreadable on the iPad.

Full text at http://blogs.adobe.com/digitaleditio..._interope.html

To me, that looks like there's a risk of fracturing the ePub world, rather than expanding it.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by nwhitfield

To me, that looks like there's a risk of fracturing the ePub world, rather than expanding it.

This has always been a significant weakness of ePub, the fact that the standard does not specify the DRM mechanism, hence anyone is free to bolt their own DRM onto a ePub file and still, quite legitimately, call the resulting file "ePub".