iPad Prepare for the onslaught!

[HappyMartin]

I will add a dumb argument to this and say that I do not want an OS on my tablet. I dont want it to boot up, it must just be on. I dont want to think about the dam thing, I just want to consume content, request more content and perhaps send a mail.

I understand that there will be stuff going in the background but if I have to see it, think about it or have a debate about it then it is a loser.

When I work on my images I have a tower and run an OS and image editing software and then I am creating content. I dont want that stuff around when I am consuming content.

I dont need a typewriter to read a book. I dont need a computer to read a book either.

[WillAdams]

mgmueller said:
(of using a Tablet PC)
>But you simply couldn't write the presentation from scratch or other "professional" work.

A counterpoint --- I did exactly that for my TUG 2003 presentation in Hawai'i:

http://www.tug.org/TUGboat/Articles/.../tb77adams.pdf

and I do a fair bit of graphic design and typography work on my Tablet PC, and find it a flexible and reliable tool.

William

[Bremen Cole]

HappyMartin said "I dont need a typewriter to read a book. I dont need a computer to read a book either. "

A great line, I will probably steal it at some point.....

[Zorz]

Originally Posted by scottjl

personally i think if any OS is going to challenge the ipad for tablet domination it's going to be android. windows 7, while a vast improvement over previous versions, just has too much baggage and is too resource hungry. no one is going to build a tablet as thin, light, and with the battery life as an ipad running windows 7 desktop. android, sure. windows 7 mobile is a definite possibility though.

have you ever ran OSX?

[Bremen Cole]

Originally Posted by Zorz

have you ever ran OSX?

I have, and agree with Scott that Android/WebOS will be the challengers to iPad. OSX is just another bloated desktop/laptop OS, there would be a market, but not near the iPad size market....

[nick101]

Originally Posted by Zorz

have you ever ran OSX?

I have and I htink it's a great OS. But it's designed for the general-purpose personal computer model, in which the OS provides a set of services, with little knowledge or interest in the applications that run over it.

On my iMac I can readl email at one end, and edit multiple-hour high defintion movies with effects and stuff at the other end, and all things in between. OSX's goals are secure reliable support for the widest range of uses, and scalability from portable to multi-processor clusters

Android, Windows Phone 7 and iOS are designed for a different model - a restricted range of services and a simpler usage model. Their goals are proatbility, battery life and simplicity of use.

So I think it's right to say that, for a while at least, the rivals are Adnroid and WinP 7. Give it 5 years, and you ight find these portable OS's moving to the desktop in a big way, but I don't see OSX moving to tablet devices in a big way.

Incidentally, I couldn't use iOS or any of the rivals on my desktop if it meant sacrificing my control and flexibility. I'm hapy to do that on iPad and iPhone in the interestes of ease of use. But not at the desktop

[Yoshi 1080]

Originally Posted by nick101

Who though, 3 years ago, that Apple's iPhone OS would be setting the agenda for smartphone/tablet design, and that Nokia would be out of the game?

Well, ... the part about Apple wasn't too much of a stretch to assume even back then. Apple has always been leading in terms of industrial design and user interfaces, and always had many copycats tailing it. Microsoft’s situation isn't surprising, either. Lack of innovation, missmanagement, pride.

Nokia on the other hand is kinda surprising, because they f’cked up worse than anyone would have predicted. Their reaction to Apple entering the arena was basically knocking themselves out. And seeing their plans for Symbian 4 AND MeeGo, I don't think that's gonna change anytime soon.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by HappyMartin

I will add a dumb argument to this and say that I do not want an OS on my tablet. I dont want it to boot up, it must just be on. I dont want to think about the dam thing, I just want to consume content, request more content and perhaps send a mail.

Sounds like Google's Chrome Tablets might be perfect for your needs!

[scottjl]

Originally Posted by Zorz

have you ever ran OSX?

yep.. and do you understand that iOS and MacOS X share the same kernel and base OS?

no. i wouldn't put Snow Leopard on my iPad, just like I wouldn't put Windows 7 Ultimate either.

[Yoshi 1080]

The iPad version of iOS clearly shows that iOS inherits more and more from Mac OSX with every new release anyway. It’s UI really looks like a combination of the iPhone version of iOS and Mac OSX. Just look at the split screen, popup menus and icons! Rumor is iOS4 for iPad will introduce even more OSX-ish features like printing and access to some sort of file system. So, iOS really is the tablet version of Mac OSX. Although admittedly in an early stage.

[nick101]

Originally Posted by Yoshi 1080

Well, ... the part about Apple wasn't too much of a stretch to assume even back then. Apple has always been leading in terms of industrial design and user interfaces, and always had many copycats tailing it. Microsoft’s situation isn't surprising, either. Lack of innovation, missmanagement, pride.

Nokia on the other hand is kinda surprising, because they f’cked up worse than anyone would have predicted. Their reaction to Apple entering the arena was basically knocking themselves out. And seeing their plans for Symbian 4 AND MeeGo, I don't think that's gonna change anytime soon.

I don't mean to sound rude, but isn't there a bit of wisdom after the event in here?

When the iPhone was launched, it was fairly clear that it would be a decent success, for the reasons you've described. But I don't recall it was clear that it would be a game-changer, as it has turned out to be.

No hardware keyboard - fail! No 3G - fail! No copy/paste, MMS, Exchange email - fail!! And how can you expect to succeed with a browser that doesn't even support Flash?

We know now that none of that counted for much against the fact that this was the first genuinely usable smartphone and we also know that since then every rival has been judging their own products against the iPhone. Let's face it, Android is pretty much a re-engineered iPhone OS.

But, if we're honest with ourselves, we didn't *know* that would happen 3 years ago.

But that's just my opinion which isn't worth much to anyone except me

[Yoshi 1080]

Originally Posted by nick101

I don't mean to sound rude, but isn't there a bit of wisdom after the event in here?

No, I always believed in the concept behind the iPhone. Possibly because I hated my old phone.

When the iPhone was launched, it was fairly clear that it would be a decent success, for the reasons you've described. But I don't recall it was clear that it would be a game-changer, as it has turned out to be.

To be honest, I thought the iPhone would only rule the high-end smart phone market and leave the lower markets to copycats. I didn't know the iPhone would become that much of a success; however I was sure that it's design paradigm would eventually become so.

No hardware keyboard - fail! No 3G - fail! No copy/paste, MMS, Exchange email - fail!! And how can you expect to succeed with a browser that doesn't even support Flash?

I believe most of those arguments were also made by Steve Ballmer, who ridiculed the iPhone and praised the pseudo advantages of Windows Mobile. Such comments were also made by the former CEO of Palm. Turned out the same.

By the way, I’d argue that the iPhone’s browser was the first really usable mobile browser anyway. I had a Sony smart phone before and neither it's native browser nor Opera Mobile were really comfortable to use. Just thinking of those small scrollbars ... And Flash, please, most phones were restricted to Flash Lite anyway.

We know now that none of that counted for much against the fact that this was the first genuinely usable smartphone and we also know that since then every rival has been judging their own products against the iPhone. Let's face it, Android is pretty much a re-engineered iPhone OS.

But, if we're honest with ourselves, we didn't *know* that would happen 3 years ago.

That's what the so-called media experts said. That's why it scored rather low in many tech magazines. No 3G, no advanced Bluetooth stuff, no MMS, no cam with 1000MP, bla bla bla. Thing is, these are all purely technical specifications. They are nice, but they are not what defines a product.

And that's absolutely what was wrong with the phone industry prior to 2007: the industry was focusing on the technology, not on the user. And that, in turn, was the reason why most people hated their phones. No matter if feature phones or smart phones, their user experiences were mostly mediocre. The iPhone was the first phone that really put the user into focus and that's why it was a revolution. Not because of it's touch screen or usable web browser. After all, most people don't use those advanced technologies anyway. I never saw anyone using UMTS video conferencing and only few who ever exchanged data via Bluetooth. Partly because most people didn't even know how to use those features.

Of course I couldn't have *known* the iPhone would become such a success. But as I said, almost all phones prior to the iPhone were crap (most of them still are), they were technology monsters that were awful to master. So it was only a matter of time until the new concept behind the iPhone, to put the user into focus, would overthrow the market.

[Yoshi 1080]

By the way, I expect the iPad to have the same impact on mobile computers (yes, mobile computers, not just tablet computers) as the iPhone has on the phone industry.

[leebase]

Why is this in the Apple forum? I for one welcome all the competitors -- but it's just not relevant to the Apple forum.

Lee

[scottjl]

ask a mod to move it to general then.