Apple iPad buyers / Owners thread (1 Viewer)

[Nelson Au]

Good points Dave regarding an iPad2. I've been seeing ads on TV, here on the HTF and I saw a small banner at Costco for this Samsung Galaxy Tab thing. I know next to nothing what that is, except that it looks like an attempt to break into the market the iPad is leading in now. I'm guessing it's an android powered thing. I don't think Apple is a company that would react by announcing a second iteration iPad early just to counter that product. So I agree, if a Verizon iPhone is really being announced, Apple would not dilute that announcement with a new iPad. Not that they'd be complacent with their lead, Apple would take it's time to release a product that would work right out the gate! It is interesting to see in the news the android powered devices could over take the iPhone soon. I hope not! This weekend, I easily beat my friend to make a phone call on my iPhone while he struggled to find the phone function on his new Motorola Droid! Unless he was kidding around.

 

[DaveF]

In the US Android will overtake iOS in marketshare on phones I think it's already happened. But it was inevitable. Apple had access to 30% of the market with AT&T. Android had 3x that on all the carriers. There's still an interesting question about iOS vs Android total marketshare if iPod and iPads are included. But even then android may overtake due to raw device #s for sale. And globally Android will soon be he OS for dumbphones too. Or rather, smartphones will soon be so cheap that dumbphones as a category will cease to exist. But in all this, Apple dominates profitshare. And they may get the largest per-company marketshare. Even if the iPhone becomes a smaller marketshare owner, it can remain very profitable for Apple and continue to grow and be there for us iPhone users.

 

[Nelson Au]

If Verizon is really announcing that they will have an iPhone offering, it will be interesting how that affects the marketshare, Excuse, I know we are talking about iPads here.

 

[EricW]

i'm pretty happy with the iPad. higher screen res would be nice of course but not necessary. would it mean it'd take more CPU power to render stuff? would frame rate suffer on games? also for video, higher res makes filesizes larger practically exponentially.


what would make interested in upgrading is:


a GOOD camera.

also stereo speakers would be nice, FACING the user. some rumored iPad 2 mockups have the speaker grill facing behind, which is totally mentally challenged. i don't even like it facing the side.


lighter but with same battery life


but like i said, the current iPad is pretty cool as it is.

 

[EricW]

looks like the orientation lock switch is coming back! next iOS update.

 

[dmiller68]

It looks like if AT&T approves it we could get hot spot for the iPhone and maybe the iPad.

 

[Sam Posten]

That would be two awesome changes. Major thumbs up and glad I kept my $30 a month unlimited rate going.

 

[DaveF]

Seen the craziness rumors about no button on the iPad 2, all four- and five-finger gestures for home and app switching?


I don't know about that. Seems too out there for me. I like hard buttons and it feels like a press of a real button to go home is better and more reliable than a complex gesture.


But I can also see how Apple dislikes the partial ambiguity / duplication of function between the Lock button and the Home button and could eliminate that.

 

[dmiller68]

I thought those rumors where for the next version not the iPad2. If so that maybe a big strike against it as it would take a lot to get used to.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

April 2nd or 9th are the new dates surfacing

for the launch of iPad 2 according to the rumor mill.

 

[dmiller68]

Yeah I saw that date as well. I also saw that the features above will be included but they are leaving the button for now. Or that is the rumor.

 

[DaveF]

The iPad was released April 3 (wifi model) so the first week of April is the expected launch date for a revision. The iPhone history shows they'll run plus or minus a few weeks depending on software and hardware issues.


On the home-button: the rumor I read was hazy on when and if such a thing might come to pass. It seemed pretty radical for iPad 2.

 

[DaveF]

Rumors, rumors, rumors!


http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/14/exclusive-the-future-of-the-ipad-2-iphone-5-and-apple-tv-and/


Ron - I think it might be time for an iPhone 5 rumor / speculation thread

But all of these moves are leading up to the iPhone 5 -- a completely redesigned handset -- which our sources say is on track for a summer launch. [...] our understanding is that the new device will be a total rethink from a design standpoint and will be running atop Apple's new A5 CPU (a Cortex A9-based, multi-core chip).

 

[DaveF]

And what about that device? From what we've been told, the thinner, sleeker tablet will sport a new screen technology that is akin to (though not the same as) the iPhone 4's Retina Display and will be "super high resolution" (unlike reports to the contrary).

I'm still very skeptical of this rumor as it's contrary to flat statements by Apple on such matters. But Steve Jobs also famously said that no one wants video on a small screen (queue iPod nano with video a year later), no one reads books (queue iBooks a year later), and likely others.


I'll be thrilled to be wrong on my bet for this one. I forsee more business travel in my future and a Kindle-like device would be nice. The iPad struck me as too low res for prolonged reading. A higher res iPad screen might be what I want and need.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Dave,


Terrific, terrific news.


Just a lot of money to spend -- and I just bought the

Apple TV a month ago.


So, new iPad, new Apple TV and new iPhone to

purchase in the next 6 months.

 

[DaveF]

So you're not going to get a Verizon iPhone, in large part because of your need to talk and do data at the same time.


But what about a Verizon iPad 2? That's all data; no pesky phone calls to interrupt you.


I planned to pre-order an iPad 2 first day. Now, I'm thinking of waiting a bit to hear how AT&T and Verizon's data plans and coverage compare. A Verizon iPad would be a nice hedge for us on travels: no matter what, we'd have some data service from one carrier or the other.

 

[Sam Posten]

Via tgaul:

If Apple releases a 2x res iPad, you won't be able to see all pixels (even landscape) in simulator on LED Cinema Display without scrolling.

 

[DaveF]

Here's a wild-eyed speculation:


Apple has a new iPad with a screen with 2x the pixels of the original iPad. Because no mobile video card can power that and provide 10 hr batter life, they have an interesting compromise: text is rendered at native resolution for a RetinaDisplay appearance for reading, but all graphics are rendered at original resolution with a pixel-doubling applied. The developer tools likewise work in the original iPad resolution to abstract this effect. This creates an amazing eReader and something that is gorgeous for all web surfing and email other text-intensive tasks. But games will still play like always without draining the battery or overheating by trying to run at a resolution that crushes even top-shelf gaming PCs.

 

[Ken Chan]

People would also want to view their photos at Retina-res. Video too, although you might be hard-pressed to tell the difference. But certainly for 3D games, rendering them at the old res and doubling on display makes sense.

 

[DaveF]

I'm just making stuff up with insufficient knowledge of actual video hardware The only speculation I've read is that 2048x1536 (double the current 1024x768) is practically impossible in a 10" handheld with 10 hr battery. That's about 50% more pixels than the 21.5" iMac and about 17% less than the 27" iMac; it would comparable to having a 27" monitor in a 10" battery-powered device.


But I really don't know. I don't expect to see a pixel-doubled iPad 2. But I hope that's what we get because it's what I want. In fact, if the current iPad was given RAM to match the iPhone 4 and a Retina Display, it would be the perfect device for me this year.