So the iPad...

[bladedanny]

So the iPad, whats everyone think? Will anyone be rushing out to buy one? I know I wont be rushing to buy one, I dont feel theres enough ground breaking features.

[ZeroHour]

Its a fail (see other thread ) for me. At least its not $1000 which would have been insane but tbh it seems to limited for the price. I just hope the HP kit comes with a nice UI and is cheap.

I just expected more tbh considering how long it was rumoured to have been in dev for. 10 hours is nothing as well when it comes to batt life and like usual Apple have not made the batt interchangible.

[bladedanny]

The main thing its missed out for me (please correct me if i'm wrong). Doesn't have the ability to run regular apps that you install from a cd, you can only get apps from the app store. If it was just a hardware release and ran full version of OS X then, for me it would have been a lot better. To much like the iPhone IMO

[webman]

Like an iPhone, but bigger. So less portable, can't make calls and costs you more than twice the price.

 

Yep, it's a winner!

[Mr.Ben]

But lots of flaws.

 

I quite like my iPod touch as a handy thing to have at work and home, but I won't buy an iPad unless:

 

It supports flash.

 

It has a changeable battery, or 20 hour battery life under heavy load.

 

Also 64gb should have been the entry level.

 

I can buy apps another way!

 

Lets hope that a few other hardware vendors steal all of the good points and make a decent device.

 

One thing that makes me like it though is the iBook store, books on a itouch are rubbish, it will be interesting how easy they are to read

 

"So less portable, can't make calls and costs you more than twice the price", sorry webman I disagree - except for on price (Apple is equal to or greater than Overpriced). It's something to carry in a bag like a gameboy was in my day, but will do a few things more.

Edited January 27, 2010 by Mr.Ben

[Gatt]

Hmmm....

 

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/6/66/PADD.jpg

[gaz350]

i think like many people im a little disappointed, price point wise is bang on where i thought it should be and could have seen it work. Now personally i was hoping it to have some form of multi user environment (like the normal desktop o/s). that would make loaning the device and connecting it to a network with AD/OD easy peasy.

[danIT]

Micro SIM slot, so can connect to 3G. Love to hear how much it will cost in UK, and what data cost might be in UK.

[scgf]

I'm excited by it - I will use it to assess pupils' work. I prefer to do this by getting the pupils to show me their work on their computer where I can ask them questions. The portability of the iPad and the fact that it will run Apple Numbers (which is largely Excel compatible) will make it very useful indeed. I already store school docs on Dropbox which will run on the iPad so it is already coming together . . .

[synaesthesia]

As bad as most of Apple's kit. Will undoubtedly sell well to all the sheep/drones.

Will be about as stable as a paperback book in the rain.

Will be about as reliable as an estimated gas bill.

Will be about as useful as a fish in a fire rescue.

Lot's of Apple's favourite marketing technique - relating to a bovine and something that comes out it's behind. Like "HD Playback" - no, it's not. And like "3g" - only if you provide the necessary hardware.

Will cost you 2x as much as the nearest useful device that can achieve all of the above and more, and probably won't burn through your lap whilst doing it.

 

Spot the cynic

[Mr.Ben]

I can see this being the way of the future, far better than giving every child an iPod.

 

The idea of slate PC's is actually coming together quiet nicely - teachers can send the kids worksheets, they can run applications. I really like the way that this is going.

 

Now if only we could put the rest of the schools software on it, oh no, we can't - And this is why for my school, it's next to useless.

Edited January 27, 2010 by Mr.Ben

[ZeroHour]

I'm excited by it - I will use it to assess pupils' work. I prefer to do this by getting the pupils to show me their work on their computer where I can ask them questions. The portability of the iPad and the fact that it will run Apple Numbers (which is largely Excel compatible) will make it very useful indeed. I already store school docs on Dropbox which will run on the iPad so it is already coming together . . .

 

But the question surely is if the windows 7 was was the same price why not get it and do a lot more for your money? with real excel etc.

[GrumbleDook]

Yep, a number of things missing from it I would have liked to have seen but would prefer to see a class set of these to iPod Touchs.

 

I like the battery life for the size of device but want to see life expectancy and what the replacement plan (and costs) would be for Edu setups.

 

I am still waiting for Flash but am also waiting to see what happens with HTML5 on Safari.

 

I like the iBooks option (though I will never stop collecting hardbacks) but would like to hear if there will be a iBook reader for the desktop, mainly because if I have manuals, etc ... I like to also be able to read them on my desktop / laptop ... but having easy access via the iPad will be very nice. Failing that I still have Stanza.

 

The lack of user facing camera (with iChat or Skype client) is a pain as I am still looking for that handheld device that will do it nicely as well as providing the other things I like. I know a few people have asked why no forward facing camera, but I wouldn't really want one ... I want it to look at me, not become yet another camera to take pictures of sunsets.

 

I like the range of software on my iPhone anyway ... so happy to continue with those, and I do make a fair bit of use of iWorks so the iPad version will be nice, but I can see why it would not be a deal-maker for most.

 

Still trying to work out how to deal with the local storage side of things ... I manage OK right now on the iPhone with using various apps, and would still use those I suppose ... but the lack of SD slot (even MicroSD) is annoying. I have pretty much accepted that it is unlikely that Apple will change this for some time though ... but I thought that about using Intel chips or running Windows OSes natively.

 

The keyboard / dock is handy, it was essential on both my Palm and my Axim ... with them it was the screen size and UI that was not quite their for me. Likewise I think the case will be handy too ... not looked at those prices yet though to see what it adds on. 3G is not something I am that bothered with as most places I go I have Wi-Fi access ... and anywhere that hasn't I usually have my laptop and 3G dongle, but also looking at picking up a MiFi too ... which looks as if it could work out cheaper.

 

I am also no longer going to really get into the innards of the system so I am back to being a user ... the lack of ability to compile and run my own apps is no longer a block. I haven't felt the need to jailbreak my iPhone and doubt I would for the iPad either.

 

The price is going to be a tricky one. $499 for the base and $829 for an all singing and dancing version are reasonable prices in the US market I suppose, but the UK translation (you *can't* call it a conversion!) is going to be painful. I hope for an Edu discount that is generous and should it be circa £250 then it will be a cert ... £325 is do-able but £400 will see me waiting for the next version and sticking my cash to iPhone 4th Gen in Nov(-ish).

 

This is before I start looking at the educational usage of the device (some good comparison discussions going on at the moment re iPad, iPod Touchs, NetBooks and Laptops) so that might be something for the weekend.

[Mr.Ben]

But the question surely is if the windows 7 was was the same price why not get it and do a lot more for your money? with real excel etc.

 

Exactly, there is nothing here that (when they finally get released) the slate pc's from dell, hp etc cannot achieve, yet it's twice the price and has half the functionality.

 

Where as my iPhone has the same functionality as the iPad, because it fits in my pocket I can put up with its missing functions and love it.

 

The deal breaker will be the UI, Apple have got this sorted - Keyboards, Rotation et al, As I haven't had a chance to try a win7 PC with it yet I can't be honest!

 

*Edit - actually I opened my mouth a before I looked, the Hp slate is expected to retail at $1000

Edited January 27, 2010 by Mr.Ben

[localzuk]

I think I'll continue in my desire to own a Viliv S7 instead. myviliv.com

 

I couldn't live with it being so locked to a single app service for what I want it for.

[scgf]

As bad as most of Apple's kit. Will undoubtedly sell well to all the sheep/drones.

Groan. I knew I shouldn't have bothered posting in a geek forum. Geeks love Windows. There's lots to do to keep it working. It gives them a feeling of power because they can sort out the virus-ridden PCs all around them, earning the respect of those who do not have the knowledge. Pah!

[synaesthesia]

There's plenty of fans of either persuasion here, scgf. I have a particular dislike for false advertising and shoddy build quality, and from a hardware engineers POV Apple encapsulate both of those entirely. If I'm going to mash something with a screwdriver in a rage, I want it to either work or be cheaply repairable afterwards

[ZeroHour]

I think I'll continue in my desire to own a Viliv S7 instead. myviliv.com

 

I couldn't live with it being so locked to a single app service for what I want it for.

 

That looks quite nice tbh. I can see its uses potentially but like the ipod touch thread went, they are limited. Apple will probably be as restrive with its app store for this device which basically limits your choices of say browser etc. Or you could get a HP tablet and do everything your windows does anyway and run a huge amount of software/browsers with all the educational software you want. I struggle to see how iPad>HP Tablet when compared with what each can do. Yeh its nice to have iWorks but its not exactly a enterprise piece of software when ever I have used it. Its nice but fisher price tbh and it uses its own locked down format by default...

This is all before you try to get your head around locking down 100 of these school supplied devices with proper network settings and backups of pupil files etc as iPhones are not the easiest of things to move files around from. Remember most apps cant access other apps data on the iPhone.

When its balanced out I can only see a lot more negatives for supplying these in schools then the benefits. More upkeep/management time, more hassle and less functional over netbooks/tablets/laptops. Also I wouldnt want to do long usage without the keyboard accessory as RSI would call I bet...

Apple could though unrestrict the app store but somehow I doubt it.

[ZeroHour]

Groan. I knew I shouldn't have bothered posting in a geek forum. Geeks love Windows. There's lots to do to keep it working. It gives them a feeling of power because they can sort out the virus-ridden PCs all around them, earning the respect of those who do not have the knowledge. Pah!

 

I thought I made a good point tbh. Other then it looking nice how does it provide better for your pupils then a full featured tablet?

[scgf]

I would be using it myself. There is no way i would voluntarily use Windows - I hate it. Shoddy, klunky mess that it is. Currently I use my own MacBook Air at school because I won't accept a school-provided laptop, so the iPad would do what I need perfectly.

[Gatt]

I think I'll continue in my desire to own a Viliv S7 instead. myviliv.com

 

I couldn't live with it being so locked to a single app service for what I want it for.

 

Ooh nice! Where can I get one

 

Edit

Ooh - just down the road from me apparently.... http://www.myviliv.com/eng/wheretobuy/wheretobuy.asp

Orders must be placed in non sequential bills and in plain manilla envelopes

Edited January 27, 2010 by Gatt

[localzuk]

Ooh nice! Where can I get one

 

That's the only problem I'm having. The only source in the UK I've found is ebay. They come in at around £400 IIRC. There are others appearing too. Do a search on ebay for UMPC and you'll see a load of Chinese models etc...

[Mr.Ben]

Groan. I knew I shouldn't have bothered posting in a geek forum. Geeks love Windows. There's lots to do to keep it working. It gives them a feeling of power because they can sort out the virus-ridden PCs all around them, earning the respect of those who do not have the knowledge. Pah!

 

 

Your right, there is lots to it to keep it working, as there is in an OSX environment when you have to run 100's of PC's. If you were in a OSX school environment, you would find you had no more power over the machine than on a Windows machine. It's called Security Management.

 

Personally, the management tools for Windows environments are more mature and you have more options - whilst both OSX and Windows have their good points, Macs and OSX are not main stream because of this.

 

Security by obscurity (and decisions by market share) is why OSX has less viruses written for it, Plus from experience it's the generally more tech Savvy (although not so much recently) that use them.

 

If you were a criminal, would you write a virus to steal data from machines owned by

 

a) the majority.

 

b) a minority.

 

I like quite a few Apple products, the iPod and iPhone were revolutionary (And i have one of almost every generation), I just think (from reading around) that everyone seems a little underwheled by this.

[ZeroHour]

I would be using it myself. There is no way i would voluntarily use Windows - I hate it. Shoddy, klunky mess that it is. Currently I use my own MacBook Air at school because I won't accept a school-provided laptop, so the iPad would do what I need perfectly.

 

From a different angle this time, would you have liked it to have been full osx with a special skin/ui but the ability to run your osx apps as oppose to a more limited iPhone style app store?

I would have thought strongly about buying one if it was more full osx to iphone distro and paid a little more. They could still have the custom app builds (aka ipad iworks etc) but the ability to run other full osx stuff like you do currently on your air, now that would have been a killer product imo.

[Mr.Ben]

That's the only problem I'm having. The only source in the UK I've found is ebay. They come in at around £400 IIRC. There are others appearing too. Do a search on ebay for UMPC and you'll see a load of Chinese models etc...

 

Ergo has something similar which they demod to me recently. Really nice, but I didn't buy any for school because the cost of spare parts from Ergo is painful. And i go through a lot of spare parts.