Apple STOLE the iPad name!
Rustfinger wrote:Keith wrote: My initial reaction to the iPod was "yawn, it's an MP3 player"The first generation of the iPods were just that...an MP3 player. They've come a long way, but it's roots were a little box that holds and plays digital music.Boy, I sure got that wrong. It'll be interesting to see how it works.
All of my iPods still are just MP3 players 
And I'm quite familiar with the evolution of the device. If you asked me to define the iPod, I'd still call it a "a little box that holds and plays digital music". The iTouch is an iPhone that has a permanently (as opposed to temporarily) dropped connection, it's a different beast and Apple brands it differently for a reason.
Anyhow...what made that little first generation doodad completely dominate the market was a great interface and tight integration into the iTunes store. It's never been just an MP3 player, even if all it does it play music. I didn't see that at first. And that may be the case with the iPad as well, I've learned not to underestimate Apple.
tuna55 wrote: Man, an I-pad, record quarter earning increases, what does it take for Apple stock to go up? I bought some last week expecting this junk and nothing - no wonder stock brokers jump out of windows...
This product intro was one of the least secret in Apple history, and the earnings were also expected, so that was all built into the price when you bought it. Everyone else who bought it also knew what was coming, and that's why nothing happened. You should have bought it last year for ~90 like I did ;). Or you could have taken advantage of the dip in the price today while Steve was doing the product intro and people were evidently worried the iPad wouldn't have all the features that were promised.
On a side note, how does the Sony e-reader compare to the kindle?
There are some good self-publishing print-on-demand sites already, but yeah. It'll help make publishing as easy as putting together a website - and we can expect the same range in quality
As for being able to read the paper without having to pick up a copy, that's already here. Not just with RSS feeds, but you can subscribe with most of the ereaders on the market already. Where the iPad (and friends) will beat out those guys is with full color and enough room for a reasonable layout. Of course, there are color e-ink displays beginning to appear and the various reader companies are experimenting with form factor. One interesting variation I saw was a rendering of two e-ink screens bound together like a book - I could go for one of those, even if nothing else changed compared to my current Sony.
Magazines with targeted ads, integrated video and the like? Check out Winding Road. The iPad would simply be a way to read that in a reasonable way.
neon4891 wrote: On a side note, how does the Sony e-reader compare to the kindle?
There are a few Sony readers. The big differences:
For me, the wireless aspect isn't a big deal. I load 3-4 books on my Reader (one of the older touch-screen models, no wireless at all) at a time. It's a direct replacement for a paper book for me, not a crippled web tablet. And if you use it like that, it rocks. I got one for my wife for Christmas (a Pocket edition) and she's read more in the last month than she has since I met her.
My only experience with a Kindle was on a plane a week ago. The guy next to me had one and he was reading it while I read my book. I preferred my book since I could turn pages down and skip back and forth much more easily. I presume there's some sort of method of marking a place or phrase on the Kindle but I sure can't write a girls phone number in the margin of the Kindle and I can in a book. Plus I have lost a couple of books on a plane. That costs me from $4-$12, but losing a Kindle?
As far as shiny iPad screen, one of the things I disliked about the Kindle was that from the side I got all kinds of glare and couldn't see it well. Maybe it's made so that off axis viewing is prohibited, but most of the issue was the reflection from the window. He was in a window seat and I was on the aisle.
I don't really understand why I NEED an iPad either tho. Those things might be the answer to a question that hasn't been asked yet.
iPad v1.0
carguy123 wrote: My only experience with a Kindle was on a plane a week ago. The guy next to me had one and he was reading it while I read my book. I preferred my book since I could turn pages down and skip back and forth much more easily. I presume there's some sort of method of marking a place or phrase on the Kindle but I sure can't write a girls phone number in the margin of the Kindle and I can in a book.
On the Sonys, you can bookmark pages. On the touchscreen models, you can annotate and/or write notes such as phone numbers. I expect the Kindle is much the same in that regard. At least for the time being, having a reader is a huge conversation starter which makes it easier to strike up a conversation with girls in the first place
Just FYI. As for losing a reader, I haven't lost an iPod yet. I just treat it the same way.
I love my iPhone. It's in my hand almost constantly. But I hadn't endeared me to apple. I think i'm mostly mad we don't have flash.
Joey
Awesome! A laptop with no keyboard or USB ports that has no protection for the screen, can't use flash and can only run one application at once!
Yeah, the MSI tablet that runs Android for the same price seems to be a better solution.
I'm guessing it will have input and output ports, flash, a camera, multitasking, etc. Plus it will be available for other data networks on top of WiFi (may even have wireless-N and 4G, depending what the final specs are)
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/08/msi-shows-off-10-inch-android-tablet-running-new-tegra-chipset/
Compared to the iPad:
I'll wait a few years and get one that has 500gb+ storage, I have an ipod touch right now with 64gb of storage, I want one, but I'll wait till the price comes down some.
With an always-on 3G connection, would the storage be important? Heck, my laptop has a 100 GB drive paired with a 500 GB network drive and that's working pretty well for me.
I'm going into the Apple store to play with one of these for a while next time I'm in Denver. I'm curious about what it will be like. I don't see how it fits into my particular set of needs - I need a real keyboard, because my laptop gets used for writing and programming work - but it'll be really interesting to see how it all works.
It still doesn't fit in my pocket, so it's NO easier to cart around than a laptop, but won't be actually useable as a computer, so you still have to have one of those. And it's not really practical as a smart phone.
There are bits that are cool, though. As it becomes able to do more, then I'd look into it.
Fun tech things don't have to appeal to everybody to be cool, but it's merely a different tech toy, not some miracle of computing.
Now, the same tech in a slightly larger tablet with a useable screen for the real softare I run for work, expandable with DVD drive, etc, and maybe even bluetooth phone built in, then hells yeah, sign me up! I'll cart it around in a purse... er briefcase. Well, no, I still need a phone as I don't want to lug a big thing like this or laptop/tablet size device into every store/bar/etc I go into...
I really really wanted one of these - the thought of a small, slick tablet computer rocked my world. But then I found out that it runs the iphone OS. No PhotoShop, no Office, no normal software titles... just DRM'd stuff from the apps store. Guess what Apple, I already have an iphone - why would I want a less convenient version? No thanks.
I cracked the screen on my Ipod Touch...Apple wanted 150 to repair it.
It cost me 60 to DIY...I can't even fathom what an Ipad touch screen, digitizer, mid, and imaging unit would cost...
That iPad Nano ad is hilarious
It's pile-on time for Apple. It's cool to hate the iPad. But I wonder what the market will do? I can see this thing taking off. My wife's netbook (who would buy a cheap, slow laptop with a small screen and no DVD drive when you could get a better screen, faster processor and more drive space for just a little more? Millions of people, it turns out) could probably be replaced with an iPad and she'd be as happy as a clam. Plus we could prop it up and use it as a digital photo frame! We carry that netbook with us when we travel to do things like check to see if there's a hockey game playing tonight or what time the restaurant closes, and the iPad would work just fine that way.
Will it kill the Kindle? Dunno, they're very different devices. But there are a lot of people who swear they're just as/more happy to read books on a iPhone. It might help bring ebooks to the mainstream as long as we don't end up with competing DRM'd locked formats from Apple and Amazon.
Personally, I can see myself using an iPad more than an iPod Touch. The screen is big enough to make use of the video and surfing capabilities of the Touch properly, and with a keyboard I could actually use it for other things. I'd still have an iPod classic for carrying bulk music around with me, none of the flash-based pods have anywhere near enough capacity for my listening, so the loss of portability with the Pad wouldn't make much difference. My original reaction to the Touch was that it would make a pretty cool internet tablet, but it was too small to be all that useful. There's that problem taken care of.
Keith wrote: We carry that netbook with us when we travel to do things like check to see if there's a hockey game playing tonight or what time the restaurant closes, and the iPad would work just fine that way.
My smartphone does those things, too, and fits in my pocket. 
Sure. But if you don't have a smartphone and you do have an iPad (with the much bigger and thus more useful screen), then the iPad can do the same thing. Heck, if you're willing to talk to people you can do the same thing with a pocket full of change and a payphone.
Tifosi2k2 wrote: The revolutionary thing about iPods wasn't the little box that holds and plays music, it was iTunes. The revolution was how we purchase, store, and consume music. With the exception of my "go to" bands, I haven't physically purchased a CD in a few years. All because of iTunes. With Apples announcement of the upcoming "iBook" store we may be witnessing the start of a shift in how we consume media.
This will be the key to the iPad's success. The iPod was revolutionary because of slick interface - not the hardware. If iBooks can deliver the same user experience as iTunes, and they can gain market share from Amazon, they will undoubtedly have a winner on they're hands. Also like Keith mentioned, it's hard to underestimate Apple, they don't create mere hardware, but rather "lifestyle accessories" that become must have items. "Better" MP3/digital music players, smartphones, and laptops exist, but can't offer the same user satisfaction.
All that being said, will I get one? No - I can barely keep my 3 yr old twin boys hands off of the Toughbook that I have, I can't imagine the wanton destruction that would occur if I left an iPad sitting on the cofee table.
Keith wrote: Sure. But if you don't have a smartphone and you do have an iPad (with the much bigger and thus more useful screen), then the iPad can do the same thing. Heck, if you're willing to talk to people you can do the same thing with a pocket full of change and a payphone.
But then you bought a $500 iPad instead of a $100 smartphone that does more and fits in your pocket. And the iPad still can't replace an actual computer (even a netbook) for all the things a computer does, so you still kinda have to have one of those.
I can't picture whipping out the iPad in a restaurant to check something the way you can do it on even an iPhone (or a blackberry or palm). And you'd still ahve to have the phone to call or text whoever/whatever store restaurant you're looking up.
At this point, it's still way too much money for way to little ability and way too much inconvenience in most situations.
It looks pretty though...
All I'm going to say is, watch the iPad apps. That's where the future lies.
I was very, very late in adopting the iPod and only did so because it became so seamlessly integrated into other things - portable speakers for travel, iPod control on cars with both OEM and aftermarket systems, etc. I finally gave in and bought the itouch a few months ago, and that was just to get the ap where you land planes. :)
I can't see ever, ever wanting an iPad. If something can't travel in my pocket, it had better give me the full Office suite and plenty of storage. And a keyboard.
But then again, who am I to call it crap. I'm definitely not Apple's target demographic.
As for the Kindle, I like the idea but I take tons of notes in my books and generally dogear/destroy them. It's easier for me to pluck something off the shelf and quickly scan the notes than it would be to do so with a digital device.
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