Apple iPad buyers / Owners thread (1 Viewer)

[Sam Posten]

Apple for you, Carats for her =)

 

[Sam Posten]

A few very different perspectives:
http://blogmaverick.com/2010/01/28/talking-the-ipad-kids-making-money-and-video/

http://www.fsf.org/news/ibad_launch

http://al3x.net/2010/01/28/ipad.html

 

[DaveF]

Originally Posted by Sam Posten

Apple for you, Carats for her =)

Good one!

 

[Carlo_M]

I've been thinking about this after my initial disappointment ambivalence to the launch.

My conclusion: Jobs' aim is to revolutionize the publishing industry with the iPad and its associated App/Product store in the same way the iPod and iTunes did for the music industry.

This device was created less for the consumer than for the industry. True, at this moment, there is a lack of killer software/app to make an iPad purchase a no-brainer. Most don't need this device right now. In the same way most didn't need the iPod when it first came out.

I work very close to the publishing industry. They are very much in a similar situation that the music industry was when the iPod was introduced. They are struggling mightily with the digitization of their content while still trying to maintain a revenue stream.

The iPad will be good for big publishers because it will offer a DRM protected revenue stream to offset the decline in print purchasing.

The iPad could also be a boon for up and coming authors. Imagine being an aspiring author and putting out free content for the iPad, maybe the first few chapters. Word of mouth spreads. You build a readership. Then you can either start charging $0.99 for additional content. Or perhaps you approach a publishing house and say "look, I have 50,000 people subscribed to my app/story". That can be your leverage to getting a book deal. It absolves the pub house of its traditional role of supporting and nurturing new talent (which in truth they rarely do nowadays) and gives them a way to track new author popularity at little to no cost in-house.

This doesn't even address the textbooks issue, which I think will be the first real "killer app" for this device.

True: most of us don't need the iPad now. But the more I think about it, the more I think Jobs is poised to revolutionize yet another traditional business model. First it was music, now it will be print media.

 

[Jim_C]

Originally Posted by DaveF ">[/url]

Quote:

I was perhaps too sardonic.

Ripping your own DVDs is easy.* MacWorld has published detailed how-to's in the past. It's a good way to get stuff you own onto your iPod for convenient viewing; and not waste money on the overpriced iTunes movies. Just don't "pirate" stuff you don't own. :)

If you have a Tivo or TivoHD, you can copy recorded shows from it onto your Mac, and then sync it to your iPod.

* Yes, breaking copy protection is a violation of the DMCA. No one cares. This law is an offense to normal people, but to say more is too political to HTF :)
[/QUOTE]Gotcha.

 

[DaveF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carlo Medina

I've been thinking about this after my initial disappointment ambivalence to the launch.

My conclusion: Jobs' aim is to revolutionize the publishing industry with the iPad and its associated App/Product store in the same way the iPod and iTunes did for the music industry.

That's an interesting argument. While I agree that Jobs wants to iTunes-ify the publishing industry, I'm not convinced that that's the driving rationale for the iPad. It's a component, but not the whole story.

In contrast, I find the iPad very compelling. Its "killer app" is refinement. This looks like the perfect living room computer. It does everything I need regularly. And with a 10-hour battery life, I no longer worry about whether it's charged. It's the ideal travel / vacation computer. I can do all my normal stuff (email, web, community club) on it. Anything needing horsepower, like finances, ripping DVDs, holding the music library, or iMovie, can be done on my wife's iMac. In fact, I can now see having one household computer (individual user accounts) and two iPads. Two top-end iPads are cheaper than my one mid-range MacBook Pro. And we'll save even more money by only having to upgrade OS X, iLife and iWork on one machine.

I've not used an iPad. It might turn out to be a terrible personal computer. I might hate typing witty forum responses on it.

But at first blush, I see it as a great personal / household computer.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Other thoughts on what the iPad (potentially) portends for personal computing...

http://stevenf.tumblr.com/post/359224392/i-need-to-talk-to-you-about-computers-ive-been
- Walter.

 

[Carlo_M]

Dave,
I don't think our theories/arguments are mutually exclusive. I think what you propose is true, especially for the non-power users of computers out there...which let's face it, is the majority of people. Most people need to be able to surf the web, hear music, watch movies, view photos, and if they're using it for work, have Word and Excel, and that's pretty much it. The iPad lets you do all of that (short of the Word/Excel but you know it's only a matter of time) without the traditional headaches of an operating system, complex (for some demographic of people) install/uninstall/update of programs, viruses, and compatibility issues. Just point at what you want and it goes.

While I do believe his focus is to bring publishing into the 21st century, certainly what you propose is likely also a goal of Jobs'. That's why the more I think about the iPad, and especially what it can be 2-3 revisions down the line, the more I realize this could really be a masterstroke by Jobs.

 

[DaveF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carlo Medina

Dave,
I don't think our theories/arguments are mutually exclusive. I think what you propose is true, especially for the non-power users of computers out there...which let's face it, is the majority of people

Agreed. It was a revelation to me when I finished my graduate research and discovered I don't use my computer for anything substantial anymore! I got a job, and the home computer was for email.

While I do believe his focus is to bring publishing into the 21st century, certainly what you propose is likely also a goal of Jobs'. That's why the more I think about the iPad, and especially what it can be 2-3 revisions down the line, the more I realize this could really be a masterstroke by Jobs.

I did a personal recalibration on computer predictions: I considered what I expected of previous technologies (MS Tablets, iPod Touch, iPhone) and what actually transpired. And so orientated, I agree with you: the iPad may change the course of computing.

It may not all be for the better. The prospect of Apple extending their walled garden of software to encompass all levels of computers is frightening. The damage digital literature distribution could do to the simple act of sharing, much less public libraries, should give us all pause.

But for now, until we can actually play with and these things, it's exciting.

 

[Parker Clack]

Did Jobs say that those apps that you have purchased or downloaded for your iPhone/Touch would get automatically installed on the tablet or are you going to have to order them again?

I am going to be patient on this one and wait for them to include a forward facing webcam and mic hopefully with version 2.0

 

[DaveF]

What's known about:
* video out, particularly for Keynote presentation on a projector?
* using bluetooth keyboards?

I have a friend on the cusp of buying a $400 netbook for his wife. This is after two years of waiting and prodding and saving to be able to buy a $400 netbook (single-income, two kids really constrains the toys He wants to go Mac, but Mac's are far too expensive for the sub-$500 PC budgeter.And now the iPad comes out and for $530 (with iWork) might do everything his wife needs, and better. And be the gateway drug to a Mac. I'm digging for info for him.

 

[Sam Posten]

VGA out is go.
BlueTooth keyboards are go.

 

[Sam Posten]

Full iPad experience including books and iWork works just fine on iPhone:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/30/ipad-ui-gets-ported-to-the-iphone-and-ipod-touch/

Updates:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/29/confirmed-iphone-os-3-2-has-support-for-video-calling-file-dow/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/29/apple-ipad-the-definitive-guide-so-far/
http://gizmodo.com/5460203/the-apple+amazon-ebook-war-begins-amazon-deletes-macmillan-books
http://gizmodo.com/5459873/the-ipads-interface-and-gestures-whats-actually-new-video
http://gizmodo.com/5459834/more-apps-more-problems-how-the-ipad-will-change-the-app-store
http://gizmodo.com/5459852/ipad-aftershocks-apples-netbook-is-screwing-netbook-makers

LOL, adobe uses porn to bash Apple:
http://theflashblog.com/?p=1703#comment-640520

 

[Sam Posten]

Deep.

What you're seeing in the industry's reaction to the iPad is nothing less than future shock.

The Real Work is not formatting the margins, installing the printer driver, uploading the document, finishing the PowerPoint slides, running the software update or reinstalling the OS.

The Real Work is teaching the child, healing the patient, selling the house, logging the road defects, fixing the car at the roadside, capturing the table's order, designing the house and organising the party.


Think of the millions of hours of human effort spent on preventing and recovering from the problems caused by completely open computer systems. Think of the lengths that people have gone to in order to acquire skills that are orthogonal to their core interests and their job, just so they can get their job done.

http://speirs.org/blog/2010/1/29/future-shock.html

 

[DaveF]

Thanks.

How about app switching? Does it require an extra step through the Home screen to switch applications?

A consistent, bit crititque is "no multitasking." I believe that sufficiently advanced task-switching is indistinguishable from multitasking. But if you must bumble about through a home screen to e.g. toggle between Safari and Pages while writing a report, it will be an inferior experience. So, does the iPad have an "ALT-TAB" equivalent?


Further evidence that the iPad is not merely a little iPod Touch writ large, but a full-on new computer system: the Omni apps are coming.

Yes. Five. We want to bring all five of our productivity apps to iPad: OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, OmniPlan, OmniFocus, and OmniGraphSketcher.

The iPad launches will a complete office suite (iWork). It will soon have a bevy of third-party productivity apps. Assuming it's as full of awesome as hoped, my wife agrees that replacing my MBP with a pair of iPads (one for each of us) in a year or two makes complete sense.

 

[ehMax]

When you sync the iPad with your Mac / PC that has your iTunes with all the applications you've purchased, they can be transferred to the iPad. From what I understand, the iPad won't automatically re download apps from the app store.

 

[Parker Clack]

John,

That's what I was thinking, in other words whatever you have in iTunes will get transferred over but I wasn't sure.

Thanks,
Parker

 

[Ted Todorov]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Scarpa

Yeah I can Listen to Music and surf the Net on my Droid Eris but not this ??

You can listen to music and surf the net on an iPhone and iPod Touch -- of course you'll be able able to on the iPad. Or are you yet another person who's bought the false BS about the iPhone not multitasking?

It does of course, but only allows you to run one third party app at a time, but you can/are running multiple Apple apps in background. The general suspicion is that running multiple third party apps will be implement in iPhone OS 4.0.

 

[Sam Posten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parker Clack

John,

That's what I was thinking, in other words whatever you have in iTunes will get transferred over but I wasn't sure.

Thanks,
Parker

Plus you can always redownload apps you have purchased before for free. Unlike music!

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2519
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1469

Originally Posted by Ted Todorov

Quote:

It does of course, but only allows you to run one third party app at a time, but you can/are running multiple Apple apps in background. The general suspicion is that running multiple third party apps will be implement in iPhone OS 4.0.

God I hope not. that will kill battery performance

 

[DaveF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Posten

God I hope not. that will kill battery performance

The feature per se won't affect battery life. Actually using it might, but that would be a nice user preference, no?

As a distant observer, I think Apple needs improvements in app-switching and multi-tasking. Some measure of multi-tasking will simply destroy the most common complaint (whether legit or not).

App-switching seems necessary to make it easier to do real work. Working, you may be jumping between multiple apps. If each switch requires bouncing to the Home screen, searching for the app icon, and relaunching it, that seems highly inefficient compared to an ALT-TAB equivalent (like the Pre's "cards" UI). But I'm just making stuff up having not used these devices