Can I leave it where it is and visit on weekends?

Eww. Didn't know that.

Impressive. I'm curious to see just how much of Flash it really supports.

Also, I really do think it was the worst name they could have chosen.

I must be the only person who thinks that sketch is not funny, but actually so bad it makes me cringe. I had to close the browser window before it finished.

Yeah, I should have mentioned that I don't actually think the sketch is funny, but I still think it's a terrible name.

I also hadn't seen any MadTV sketches from the later years. It's sort of like they had a super-compressed version of SNL's timeline. Very funny in the beginning, fairly funny in the middle, and by the end there were only humorless actors and awful sketches...

I'm pretty certain I'm getting one, but not for myself. The iPad does everything my grandmother wants out of a computer (including allowing photos to be loaded on it), so it's an easy sell for me. Especially since I know she has been wanting a book reader as well.

The Kindle DX is dead at this point for a lot of markets Amazon wanted. A college student wanting all their textbooks on a device can pay $489 for a 9.7 inch eink display, or $499 for an LED lit IPS LCD, along with a more capable device.


That was probably intentional to allow easier handling of the device. All the ebook readers have similar borders.

As for myself, I'm still not sure. I'm going to have to hold one, and also see what apps come out. Up till now, developers were targeting the iPhone and making appropriate mobile apps. Now they have a much bigger target (screen wise), more desktop apps will likely come out.

There are still a lot of unknowns here too. Can it run apps in the background? Something tells me no at launch, but yes once 4.0 rolls out this summer.

I do think the device may become very popular around the office for producers. One of them perked up quite a bit when iWork was announced for it. Add in a good Remote Desktop/Screen Sharing app to get back to their desktop in their office, and it becomes very useful to just grab the iPad and have handy while talking to people.

Yeah. You don't need that border on the iPhone/iPod touch because you can generally hold the whole thing in your hand by gripping the sides. The iPad is too wide to do that and you'll need to grab an edge.

That is fair enough, but I would have thought the multitouch system would be able to cope with a bit of a thumb on the edge of the display. I would just want the screen and as little device as possible. Isn't that the whole point of the device in the first place?

I also find the lack of thickness to be a bit of a problem, the touch for me just seems too lightweight and when I go back to my iPhone it feels a much better thickness and weight for a device it's size, I would fear that the iPad would be just too thin not me to really trust myself using it.

I am confused by all the hype around this product, who are they aiming it at? People can read books on their laptop screens now but don't, so why do they think the iPad will make such a massive difference to the masses?

I suspect the Apple viral marketing dept has been working very hard behind the scenes to hype this product into a frenzy, to cover the fact that it isn't a brake through product at all. Just like with the iPod, it wasn't the first but if you listen to the hype it certainly was.

Cheers

Cris.

I've been out since lunch time but did manage to squeeze in a few minutes on the mother-in-law's computer to check Engadget. I've read only the headlines and some brief specs, plus now the posts in this thread.

When I first saw the details on Engadget, I just thought "meh" - I still haven't changed my opinion much. As I speculated earlier and we discussed here in the forum, this type of product is usually better suited for a vertical market. I can see some horizontal movement here because of the iPhone app support and the SDK, but it's not likely a device for me.

I still think it will do reasonably well. I'm completely confident it will be the best selling tablet device, bar none. I also think Amazon is a lot more concerned starting today than they were when they first found out about this device from their publishing partners. They've already significantly dropped their "commission" on eBook sales to Apple's level in anticipation. I'm pretty confident Apple is going to take away a lot of their business in this segment. I don't even know yet if the iBooks app is coming to the iPod and iPhone - if so, then it's really going to hurt Amazon. Unless they happen to be running Apple's books store. Which I somehow doubt.

I'm probably going to wait until tomorrow until I go and read more about the announcement. I have't charged my MBP in over 24 hours and it's only got about 34 minutes of charge left on it.

Its the exact opposite for me. I find find the iPhone bulky and cumbersome compared to my iPod touch. I'm hoping by the next iPhone release they might have thinned it down a little.

Hmmm the hands on videos make it look pretty cool to use. I like the way you hand the device to someone else and the image is always the right way up. That would be cool for me showing clients photographs.

It certainly looks very fast, but I still don't get why Apple want me to buy one. Where is that killer feature???

I think I was also totally wrong about them expending into the gaming market, I can't see one way that this device helps in that area, in fact I can imagine games on the device, unless written with the iPad in mind, would be very hard to play.

Cheers

Cris.

Interesting.

I don't feel the need for any form of case for my iPhone, it feels tough enough to be in my pocket all the time what ever I am doing. The touch feels like if I sat on it then it would just snap.

Cheers

Cris.

I have a silicone thing on the back but that's the stop the metal from getting too scratched.

I think in the 'sitting on' test you'd find that both units would probably fail in the same way, the glass screens would crack. Also, given the touch has a metal back, it's possible that it would be tougher than the iPhone with its plastic back.

Mmm... Thats not gonna be hard since nearly all other tablets have died a horrible lingering death or they're full laptop type tablets.

I can agree that it will do reasonably well for a tablet, because any success would qualify for that. I have no confidence that this will be considered a successful Apple product, though. Frankly, I think the AppleTV had a far clearer place in the world than this thing, and we can see how well that's done.

*edit*
I also agree with Tom that the Kindle DX is dead, but I never saw that doing well from the get-go.

The thing is, we're all geeks and this is certainly not the market this thing is aimed at.

I can already see that it could so very easily be sold to quite a few of my own family members, you know, those who own a computer which they bought cheap, because they didn't really need one and don't actually use it because it takes 5 to boot up and is slower than snail a to use and they're not particularly tech savvy.

What's easier than picking up a device where you click internet and up comes a nice fast browser (no flash, I know, yadda yadda boring. No flash is a good thing in my eyes). Wanna read a book? No problem, click on the book app...

I can see it has limited appeal in the geek world, but thinking outside the geek, I can see a whole load of people being sold on it.

So, it's the same thing Apple already make, only bigger and more expensive. That sounds like the sort of innovation more typical in the car industry (and look how well it worked out for GM and Ford) than in the IT industry, where making things smaller and cheaper is the usual path of innovation. If the Ipad had already existed when the Ipod Touch came out, everyone would have said "Oooh, look how cleverly they've miniaturised it" and never bought an Ipad again.

I suspect that much of the money Apple make out of releasing the Ipad will be on low-end Macbook sales, as it pretty much constitutes a final smackdown for any remaining hopes of a smaller or cheaper Mac portable.

Peter

Erm, my iPhone spends 90% of its time jammed into my jeans back pocket and I sit on it all the time. No cracked screen after 18 months of that sort of abuse.

When I first held my iPhone it felt so fragile, but I soon got over that (shortly after I dropped it from the second time).

Eryl would never dream of reading a book on her laptop. However she reads loads of books on her iPhone.

She'd love a iPad, but has already identified a problem with reading on it. She does lots of reading in bed and it is hard to see how holding it the same way as her phone is going to be comfortable.

Yes, it's bigger, that's a huge selling point.

I don't know how much you've used an iPod touch or iPhone, but we have both in our household when we're sitting on the sofa we hardly ever bring a laptop with us (means bringing the charger, plugging it in and having wires all over the place), if we want to surf the net we invariably use either the iPhone or the Touch and the only failing is the tiny screen, this device doesn't have this issue.

Like I said, I see a market for this in non geek circles, it's ideal for your user who does a little browsing and send emails.

I know we'll end up with one because it solves our sofa browsing issues.

I do use an Iphone, even sometimes for web browsing. In fact I used an Ipad for several years -- well, it was a Frontpath Progear, but that's the same thing (including even the keyboard dock) except much heavier and with less-good software. It scored an easy ten out of ten for Captain Kirkishness, but somewhat less than that for practicality. Once I had a laptop (which I needed for other things, like work travel, and so had to have a full OS), there seemed no need for two gadgets doing the same job, and the Frontpath went in the cupboard. The laptop sits charging next to the sofa, and whenever it's needed it gets unplugged from its trailing wire and handed over.

Peter

I can't even read a 40 page paper on the Touch because it is just... not right. I don't know if it is the ergonomics or having the tiny screen or what, but it is just painful for me to try to even get through a simple manual by reading it on the Touch.

Watch the Keynote video: http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/1001q3f8hhr/event/index.html

IMO, Steve doesn't seem very convinced about the device. At least comparing his demeanor with keynotes of the past. Audience reception was positive, but due to all the leaks it was distinctly subdued.

While the keynote shows some strengths, I can't say that the intended goal of the device (being BETTER at certain things than Notebook or iPhone) really comes to fruition. Steve actually demonstrates quite clearly some of the disadvantages, including holding and typing while sitting. When he does the "it's that simple to do email on the iPad" not even a peep out of the audience, because everyone can see how painful it was. His posture was a wreck, the iPad was precariously balanced on his legs and the typing was ultra slow and error prone (which I believe can be improved, but it won't match a physical keyboard).

This is a terrific vertical device. Unlike many other devices it actually has a tremendous number of vertical applications, which some people would consider enough to move it to a horizontal type device. It's just not general purpose enough for that however. I don't think there's anything here, problem wise, that realistic pundits and prognosticators didn't anticipate. What Apple has that no one else has even a clue about, is software. That's going to let Apple's device look better and likely perform better than everyone else, but as Matt mentioned, I can't see how this thing will be a runaway success. I do see it beating out the Apple TV however, if only because it's a more accessible device. Most people don't understand the concept of a settop box or connecting things to a TV.

I'm 1/3 of the way in to the presentation. Summary so far: Painful. I actually feel a bit sorry for Steve at this point.

For long-term reading, I would far rather have the eInk.


This part is fair, but it's still awfully limited compared to the things it's likely to be compared to by consumers.

My experience is that in-between products like this tend not to do very well, as people tend to focus on the drawbacks as compared to both products ("it's too big for an iPod; it's too limited for a laptop"), rather than focusing on the advantages from both products ("…" — I'm having a hard time here myself).

I know what you mean, when it comes to reading books. However I probably read more text on my iPhone each day than my wife does when reading her books. For some reason I feel perfectly happy reading websites, text in rss readers, twitter apps etc on it, but not happy with reading books.

Text isn't bad. I use it to check some websites while laying in bed occasionally. I'd much rather hold a book if I could, though. I was never interested in the Kindle, I only read a few things on the Touch (game manuals from Steam and it is easier to read those on a computer), and I find myself apathetic about the iPad.

Ahh, Adobe, bless your crooked blackened hearts:



Exactly. For Apple, that's a good thing. Why on earth would Apple want people to be playing free online games when they have their own store to run? The biggest video sites on the net can already be viewed without flash - YouTube for instance. Flash is gong away for video. YouTube is going HTML5 H.264 for everyone in their new beta. Vimeo is going the same way. How long until the others change over as well?

Adobe even mentions Disney. With Steve Jobs being the largest shareholder, I think they too may eventually leave Flash behind.

Adobe's argument is like Microsoft complaining that they can't install Internet Explorer or Windows on the iPad. If Adobe wants to make some cash, there's significant opportunities here for mobile versions/interpretations of their popular apps. Sounds like they're pissed that the primary reason for their acquisition of Macromedia is slowly sliding into the toilet.

Oh, if anyone watches the video you'll also notice something missing. No mention of McGrawHill. I wonder why?

But it automatically rotates when you turn it horizontally...

(ba-dum)

The iPad is not for me. My interest in it at this time is pretty much down to curiosity.

I can see the benefits in a number of singular tasks. They finally seem to have improved the iPod software so that it's more like iTunes in its navigation abilities. Coupled with the right software this can be a nice large-screened Squeezebox for instance. It can also make an amazing digital picture frame or remote control for your music collection (again, tied into SqueezeBox server this would be beautiful). But I don't really need that stuff, and for me, the notebook, (not some POS netbook) is still the ideal do-it-all device.

Interesting and perhaps typical blog comment:



My retort: Name one.