Topic: The Apple iPad is finally official

Man i still don't even have an Ipod touch yet. I wanted a Kindle but this seems a little better for me as it does more. My only problem is making A wi-Fi only model and another model with 3G plus Wi-fi. The 3G isn't tied to a contract and is pay as you go so the point of having 2 models for that is pretty useless.

The Kindle has free 3G for its downloads and online services. Way better than paying for it, IMO.

I found out about the iPad today.
Interesting name.

I probably end up getting one (after my new cell phone that is), but it's just feels like a bigger iPod Touch.

If by interesting you mean 'terrible' - you're correct.

Everyone in the office has had a good old laugh and that name today.

This makes me very angry. Apple does nothing but come out with very lazy, very overpriced products that do almost nothing new. And yet, their devices sell millions. How? I mean the only half-way innovative thing they have made is the iPhone and that was marred down by having to have a contract and all that money grubbing bull shit. Why do I have to pay a fee per month for a certain number of megs? is it really neccessary? Why can't the thing just connect to a god damn router and only have the one time charge of the machine itself? This "iTab" is a worthless piece of crap and yet another testament to Apple's lazy, money grubbing ways. The only reason they sell this kind of crap is because they make it ultra-thin and make it look sleek and sexy. Since when did functionality take a back seat to physical build? I am truly beginning to hate Apple......

I'll admit, iPad is not as catchy as iPod.
It's original, I guess, but I don't know. I already have an iPod Touch.

I'll probably get one too - I reckon it'll be a pretty cool portable video player for movies etc downloaded from iTunes store. But as an e-reader? Hells no. eInk all the way.

This makes me very angry. Apple does nothing but come out with very lazy, very overpriced products that do almost nothing new. And yet, their devices sell millions. How? I mean the only half-way innovative thing they have made is the iPhone and that was marred down by having to have a contract and all that money grubbing bull shit. Why do I have to pay a fee per month for a certain number of megs? is it really neccessary? Why can't the thing just connect to a god damn router and only have the one time charge of the machine itself? This "iTab" is a worthless piece of crap and yet another testament to Apple's lazy, money grubbing ways. The only reason they sell this kind of crap is because they make it ultra-thin and make it look sleek and sexy. Since when did functionality take a back seat to physical build? I am truly beginning to hate Apple......

Oh that's crap. Apple products are expensive, yes, but they're also incredibly intuitive and well-built. I've gone through a couple of generations of iPods, and they're exceptional MP3 players. The Macbook lineup is exceptional notebook hardware, and the iPhone is an incredible device that actually managed to beat RIM - which is amazing because the Blackberry line themselves have precious few faults.

I might try to get one if it has a decent hard-drive space and if the battery life is at least decent or else Apple won't be getting my money!

Books are inconvenient to travel with? Never been a problem for me. I always bring a paperback for travel, which takes up very little space, not that I usually pack much to begin with. And as long as the words stay on the page, I don't care about the condition.

I also don't keep most books, so I've never had a problem with storage. The majority of books will never be read twice, so there's no point in storing them other than for show, which obviously would not be a motive if someone were getting an e-reader.

As for price, I never pay more than $10 for a book. Usually much less thanks to used book stores that sell dirt cheap, and in the case of newer books, nothing: thank you, libraries.

Not that I'm trying to change your mind about the practicality of an e-reader. We comes from different parts of the world and different walks of life, so it's rather pointless to compare. Just explaining my original comment.

Fair enough - I was just explaining why, from a different perspective, it's far from useless. It's certainly a gadget I get plenty out of.

Why not just type?

My interest in e-reader devices is not so much for the books, but rather for the periodicals of various sorts. There are some newspapers that I'd prefer to read offline, and the Kindle even has very cheap access to some international publications for which a real subscription would be unreasonably expensive (I'd love to have a couple German newspapers waiting for me on an e-Reader every day, and the Kindle can indeed accomplish that). I am, however, not certain which product I will lean towards, as it is certainly a case of either going for something that is perfect for reading alone or getting a product which has some relative flaws if when used for long reading sessions but which provides countless other useful functions.

The Kindle does it really well. You don't get many of the photos that go into the magazines (which hurts periodicals like Time), but at the same time it's cheaper than buying in print, you the wireless connection to send the editions to the Kindle are automatic and free, you get a free 2 week trial, and you can make clippings (and print out later as needed) and type in notes.

All in all, a great, easy experience.

...why not just use paper? Writing on paper is going to be a necessary skill.
Anyway, it failed to impress me. Good battery life, yes. Some solid, probably well designed apps, sure. Anything else? Not really... All they ever talked about were the apps, oh and the apps we already have, oh and the apps on the way. What about the actual specs of the machine? A4...yeah...my guess is that it will be slightly more than enough to run current apps in a higher resolution. Also, the one guy in the video was extremely annoying, and yet I think he talked the most...

Apparently the video has not been posted. http://www.apple.com/ipad/ipad-video/

Its a giant iPhone that can't make calls and text!

Gorgeous hardware. Gorgeous.
Questionable utility at netbook pricepoint.
Uninspired name.
Apple logo.

Cha. CHING.

all this is an iPhone with a new name

The more I think about it the more I know that I'll get one, and its utility is far from questionable, I think.

The thing is not a bigger iPhone. It's something like eight times as big as an iPhone. I dunno about you, but immediately its utility in buying videos from the iTunes site springs to mind. It's a portable digital video player.

Its utility as a ereader is limited, I feel. The fact that it's a computer, and so doesn't use eInk means the Amazon Kindle will always be better than it for reading extended blocks of text. However, for checking email or browsing the internet, or using YouTube, it's handy and portable.

So it's not really an iPod, it's not really an e-reader, and it's not a real computer. What it is is a portable media player device - it's easy to use and you'll be able to carry movies around with you without the hassle of discs or DVD players.

I like it, in concept. I don't think it's fair to write it off as an iPod Touch or iPhone until seeing it in action - after all, we don't call a plasma screen "just" an oversized TV - there is a point where a size difference in screens really does make an impact on the experience.

Yea it's a new iPhone. Without phone capabilities.

But to all women, it made menstruating alot more expensive.

Except an iPhone isn't a tenth of the size of this. Be realistic here, this is closer to a netbook than the iPhone.