Comments on: Hands-on With the Apple iPad

By: bignumone

bignumone — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 22:36:23 +0000

I think they need to pump it up or drop the price.
Add a GPS to the basic unit and chop off $50 and it would be worth it to me.

Still, you can buy a pretty darn good netbook for around $500, much more capable.
I don’t know, and I won’t until I play with one.

By: jcluma

jcluma — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:08:48 +0000

Techland could do all us non-techies a favor by posting a side-by-side spreadsheet comparing the key powers of handhelds, mobile phones, etc. together to give the clearest picture of exactly how they stack up. Meaning, the iPad, iPhone, kindle, nook, etc. Put up the top dozen side by side. As this post reveals, no one is completely clear on the big picture.

By: tje210

tje210 — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:28:11 +0000

@masurix… i’m more than happy to come over, resistance is indeed futile. but i’m a bit of a snob… i don’t like to sacrifice quality. i’d rather have a huge array of functionality than spend money on something that gives me less. i realize that most people don’t want to build something that satisfies their needs… i guess i’m just old-school. and i just like excuses to combine power tools with computers :-P it’s remarkably therapeutic and satisfying.

By: masurix

masurix — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:09:10 +0000

@tje210: Here’s the thing about a smart phone. You never knew that you were desperately in need of one until you get one. I was like you only this morning, my friend.

My boyfriend brought me an unlocked Nokia 5800 from Hong Kong a few days ago and I just got switched over to it from my old and busted (yet highly stylish) pink cherry blossom Razr today. O M G. I’m… so connected. I can see everything and it is fabulous.

I have games and themes and ringtones and apps and Facebook and Twitter and the WoW mobile armory and email and music and holy cow, I could go on! Anyway, I love it and I am now its slave. For the first time, I love my phone instead of simply enduring it. It’s weird, yet cool. Join us, sir! Add your distinctiveness to our own.

By: dcfmike

dcfmike — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:34:06 +0000

$830 + Data Plan for the 3G Function and a mere 64 GB of memory. BARF! I’d rather spend that money investigating whether or not Paul Bunyan was a heterosexual male. Also, Netbooks have apps, they’re called software…

By: Peter Ha

Peter Ha — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:48:06 +0000

Yes, I was there. I liveblogged the event here.

By: redheadfred

redheadfred — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:40:02 +0000

@Peter Ha I love Techland! It’s the best, most diverse online community I have fell upon. And since I am a Time subscriber, I can get some awesome articles every week.

So, were you at the Apple Keynote event? I think I saw you in the iTunes podcast. Keep on bloggin’!

By: tje210

tje210 — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:16:52 +0000

a6, you’re totally right. i looked up on modbook’s site to see if they did MBP’s, and it is totally lame… 36-4800 to do that kind of thing! but if i could trade someone for a MB, then mod it up… that would accomplish what i’d want.

the 3G… i get by already without a cell. if i need some internet, there’s either a free hotspot nearby or some idiot has WEP encryption.

don’t need an onscreen keyboard if you have a physical one… esp when the onscreen one takes up space on the screen. that’s no fun!

i totally respect your opinion. i guess i’m just big on features rather than stripping things down. i respect steve’s position on the ipad being a bridging device… i think, though, that there’s another plank to set betwen the ipad and macbook before the bridge is complete; that would be a tablet computer, not a netbook+handheld gaming console+reader+a couple other fun chips they felt like making available. it’s an attractive package, and probably loads of fun, but i guess i’m uninspired because i haven’t gotten into this smartphone craze… i prefer to build, mod and play with real computers, not toys. and DONT get me wrong, toys are fun, just not for me.

By: amateur6

amateur6 — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:29:34 +0000

Sorry for the double post, but as WIRED points out at http:// http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/01/gallery-the-best-and-worst-fake-apple-tablets/8/

…the total cost of a modbook is enough to buy a MacBook, an iPodTouch AND an iPad.

By: amateur6

amateur6 — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:07:08 +0000

@tje210 — First off, it doesn’t appear that modbooks DOES convert MBPs — just MacBooks. Even if they do, think about what you’re saying: you’d pay modbooks $600. On TOP of the $1100 (at least) you spent on the MBP.

You’d have at least a 5.5-lb “tablet” ( apparently the modbook casing adds weight, too).

Without 3G.

Without an elegant on-screen keyboard.

Without rotational ability.

For more than THREE TIMES the cost (for anyone who isn’t replacing their old machine).

Sure sounds crazy to me.

By: tje210

tje210 — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:51:07 +0000

this thing is LAME. seriously… i can pay the guys who make modbooks $600 to turn my MBP into a tablet with far more functionality than that iPad. and they want people to spend $500 for something with a 16Gb HDD… up to $830 for 64? Hmm… no way. Seriously, if i ever feel the urge to get an apple tablet, i’m going with a modbook.

By: Brad Kelley

Brad Kelley — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:55:55 +0000

I guess my biggest question is “Can it print?” It’s got iWork, so I assume so. But there was no mention of this in the demos so the clouds are grey. Did you get any insight on this Peter?

By: Miral Sattar

Miral Sattar — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:56:02 +0000

This device is called an iPad? Seriously?

By: Peter Ha

Peter Ha — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:53:17 +0000

@macops you’re right and devs will begin to leverage the mutl-touch functionality that’s been lacking in the iPhone. I’m still on the fence about it and trust me when I say that this is the only thing I’ve been thinking about today and will continue to think about for the rest of the week. It appeals to different groups with differing needs.

By: Peter Ha

Peter Ha — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:50:54 +0000

@gminnj it has a mic.

By: macops

macops — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:43:43 +0000

You guys seem to have missed a key point: this iPod WORKS. More specifically, it iWorks. I would LOVE to be able to use an iPod, er, iPad, to prepare, tweak, and give presentations. Full word processing and spreadsheets, too? Oh, my. This isn’t just an iPod – it’s a full computer. If they can put iWorks on it, how long do you think it’ll be before they put other useful programs on it? Sure, a clunky netbook can do things like that – but THEY can’t run the iPhone apps. Add to that something like Vonage or Skype on 3G networks, and my cell phone may just begin to rot in a drawer.

When I saw this, I thought “eh… what a let down.” But the more I think of it, the more I realize that this really could be a game changer.

By: gminnj

gminnj — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:28:20 +0000

Yes, but not this gen for me either. Was slightly too early on 2 other Apple products. The next version will probably have a camera and who knows what else. But I like this a lot…

By: C. Arthur Young

C. Arthur Young — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:16:13 +0000

Not buying. Waiting for the next gen. But I will be visiting it in-store on the regular!

By: jsnyde

jsnyde — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:31:38 +0000

I was off the internets all day, so when I logged on to all the tech sites and saw this, I had to check three to make sure it wasn’t a joke.

No way am I buying one.