Official iPad Thread

[Chris F.]

Originally Posted by MiCkEy

My pet peeve is when SJ mentioned netbooks. How does this replace netbooks? It just doesn't. There is no flash capability so the web experience is "restricted". There is no camera so Skype users (and there are millions of them) are out. It is also touted to support iWork for word processing and excel which is great (kind of like netbooks) but then there is no multi-tasking.

The concept and the problem this device addresses could have been portrayed much better. The HD is also not true HD (even the 720P resolution is crippled) as the panel is not native 16:9

Will the iPad sell? Yes..is it a game changer..hell no. I will wait for version 2.0

I agree, the arrogance of Jobs is quite annoying...on the other hand, Steve Wozniak is about the nicest guy you'll ever meet.

Chris

[Michelle]

Does it have wings?

[Quicksilver]

I believe you’re missing the point.

It appears that there are various opinions regarding the device and where it fits in.
The questions you ask has to be answered by you and weather or not you need this device.
If we as a buyer can't see how it will solve any so called problem we have then
we may not buy it. (BTW I'm one of those people)

The most interesting claim Apple made for its new iPad goes to the heart of journalism's future:

According to some sources the iPad has potential to be a popular new way to get the news and a
meaningful new revenue stream for the newspaper industry. Seeing that the newspaper industry
has been having some serious problems with circulation and revenue I suppose one could call that
a problem that needs solving. That problem may or may not be of interest to you and your
decision in that regard does not negate someone else’s need for the device and the problem it may solve for them.

I hope this helps...........

Originally Posted by Thunder22

I was going to Billy Madison you, but I'm too lazy this morning.

I'm not hating on Apple, I couldn't care less what brand this is.
This is not a MS vs. Apple discussion, Microsoft doesn't make hardware.
My questions are sincere and still unanswered.

[E61Silver]

I would rather have a Kindle.

I don't need another device that is almost a computer and I already have a smart phone.

[Thunder22]

Originally Posted by Quicksilver

I believe you’re missing the point.

It appears that there are various opinions regarding the device and where it fits in.
The questions you ask has to be answered by you and weather or not you need this device.
If we as a buyer can't see how it will solve any so called problem we have then
we may not buy it. (BTW I'm one of those people)

The most interesting claim Apple made for its new iPad goes to the heart of journalism's future:

According to some sources the iPad has potential to be a popular new way to get the news and a
meaningful new revenue stream for the newspaper industry. Seeing that the newspaper industry
has been having some serious problems with circulation and revenue I suppose one could call that
a problem that needs solving. That problem may or may not be of interest to you and your
decision in that regard does not negate someone else’s need for the device and the problem it may solve for them.

I hope this helps...........

I'm not missing any point, but thanks.

You claimed that it solved many problems for many people. I'm asking what are those specific problems and resolutions, you said many, not me. My initial posting of the questions was to the "general you", but then you stated the above so now i'm specifically asking you what those problems and solutions are, because you are right about me missing the point with regards to that, I don't see the many problems nor the many solutions. Neither do many others. The vast majority of people saying that they're going to get one are the Apple fanboys. Industry technologists and trade rags are not saying "this device is revolutionary, it will make so many things better". After reading a lot of the articles about the Ipad, I'm still asking what those things are.

Regarding your example of it being an upgraded news reader, that's not a current problem, kindles, netbooks, laptops and smart phones all do that well, some better than others. Not to mention that the issue with digitizing periodicals is not a hardware problem, it's an application problem - how to secure the downloaded periodical so that it can't be shared. This device doesn't address that issue.

Also, how many people do you know are going to spend $900 or whatever the iPad costs so that they can read the periodicals more easily? Not many, especially with kindles being so much cheaper and better at it, and it actually supports my statement that tablets are in a niche market and until someone writes some killer app to take advantage of the technology, it will remain that way. But what do I know, I've only spent 22 years of my career evaluating technology.

And btw - being a technologist has everything to with discussing a new technology device Would you rather discuss it with a landscaper?

[Chris F.]

I think much like the iPhone, version 2.0 will be better and will be worth checking out. Manufacturing prices will be down, there will be plenty of information/apps by then and we'll have some nice hardware upgrades.

[Thunder22]

WSJ Article:

Apple Inc.'s iPad tablet device, shrouded in secrecy until Wednesday, has been hyped as a coming revolution for all corners of the media business. But while the gadget, in its debut, promised to upend how people read and pay for books, it offered few signs of a new model for distributing TV shows, movies or magazines.


Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs announced a new online bookstore—iBookstore—and a deal with big book publishers, setting the stage for a battle with e-book front-runner Amazon.com Inc. Publishers will get to set the retail price for each of their titles, unlike with Amazon.

Mr. Jobs trundled out an array of media partners on stage, including videogame publisher Electronic Arts Inc. and New York Times Co.

Martin Nisenholtz, Times Co.'s senior vice president of digital operations, demonstrated the iPad's Times feature, which allows users to resize text, zoom in and out and watch video that appears alongside stories. "This is just the beginning," Mr. Nisenholtz told the audience.

Magazine publishers, which have been preparing for the next generation of electronic reading devices, were notably absent from the Apple event. "Steve Jobs would have been smart to have a magazine company on stage," said Cathie Black, president of Hearst Magazines. But, she added, "We care a lot more about having the right business issues thought out, rather than just being on stage."

Magazine publishers are particularly interested in how their titles will be sold and what advertising will look like on the iPad. It's unclear whether Apple plans a single storefront—such as iBookstore—that offers all their magazines in one place, or whether it will sell magazine applications individually, as the company does in the iPhone "apps" store.
"There's no iMagazines and there's no iNews," said Sara Ohrvall, senior vice president, of research and development for Swedish media company Bonnier. "Either we have to package our products much differently, or we just lost the paid content game."

Newspapers and magazine companies have seen the iPad and similar devices as an opportunity to find new ways to charge consumers for digital access, something they largely haven't been able to do online.

Times Co. said it is too soon to say whether the paper's iPad application will be part of an online pay model the company announced last week.

Magazine executives said they are scrambling to take advantage of the iPad's potential advertising capabilities. Condé Nast Digital president Sarah Chubb said the company is setting up an in-house ad agency to focus on best practices for e-readers, which unti now haven't offered the picture quality and landscape view suitable for Condé Nast's glossy magazines.

"You can do some pretty amazing things once you have that palette," Ms. Chubb said.

In the book industry, five major publishers have signed up with Apple: Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group, News Corp.'s HarperCollins Publishers, CBS Corp.'s Simon & Schuster, Pearson PLC's Penguin Group and Macmillan, a unit of Germany's Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH. News Corp. also owns The Wall Street Journal.

Book publishers will receive 70% of the revenue, with Apple taking the remainder, a revenue split Apple already established for sales of movies and television shows. Many new e-books are expected to be priced at $12.99 and $14.99, with the higher price point generally expected to be reserved for new titles that have an ink-on-paper retail price above $27.99.

"Publishers will now set individual prices for individual books," said Macmillan CEO John Sargent.

HarperCollins Chief Executive Brian Murray said, "What's attractive is the 100 million or so iTunes customers and the fact that Apple will have a bookstore. It's about access to those potential customers." HarperCollins will discuss its decision with its existing retail partners.

Amazon, which in 2007 ignited the e-book market with its Kindle reader, didn't respond to requests for comment on Apple's pricing. Amazon has built its e-book business with a broad selection of titles as well as $9.99 e-book best sellers.

David Young, CEO of Hachette Book Group, said the company will now release nearly all its new e-book titles on the same day as the hardcover. Publishers have withheld the e-book editions of some titles in order to boost hardcover sales.

The big question is whether publishers will now insist on selling their e-books to other retailers on the same terms as Apple, reining in the discounts.

"There will be discussions with Amazon and other retailers," said Mr. Sargent. "There is plenty of room in the marketplace for Apple and Amazon."

It remains unclear how big an impact the iPad will have on other media businesses. Some media executives said it was good for their business that the iPad is an extension of familiar media distribution efforts such as the iPhone apps and iTunes.

"I don't know that they need a new business model for the video space," said Quincy Smith, the former head of CBS Interactive and a partner with media-and-technology advisory firm Code Advisors. "It's the same service, same economics, same metrics, same way of getting paid, just a different screen."

—Russell Adams, Paul Sonne and Nick Wingfield contributed to this article.
Write to Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg at [email protected] and Shira Ovide at [email protected]

[Quicksilver]

Good effort on your part but lets look at my quote again.
I said "Actually for many people it is a solution that solves problems".
I didn't say many problems. But if you look carefully at my previous
posts regarding just the news paper industry that would include
Many people and some of their problems. There are others who
find that it will fill their need and perhaps solve what "they" not you consider
a problem as well.

Remember just because a person doesn't understand how something will benefit
someone or solve their problem doesn't mean that it won't indeed
do exactly that.

I respect your expertise as a "technologist" but not everyone who buys
technology cares about the technology. They just want it to do what they
want it to do and that may be something as simple as keep track of
recipes. That in and of itself may be the problem it solves.

I believe technologist and other technical people often
overlook the simple benefits that people get from a device that can accomplish a simple
task without a lot of technical jargon and diatribe that the so called
gurus think is necessary to get the job done. Nor do they care what
many so called experts think or what the Industry technologists and
trade rags think about what a device doesn't have,
what they think it should have, or how it compares with whatever
else is out there. People just want technology to do what they like it to do
in an easy way.

That why I can say I don't need to explain in detail what
specifically the problems and solutions this device will solve. You can
use your imagination just like everyone else. But i guess your right about
one thing "The vast majority of people saying that they're going to get one are the Apple fanboys."
I'm not a fanboy though. I'm a Mac Fanatic and i'm not buying one and I don't know of any other
Mac users who are going to get one either.

But what do I know? I've only spent the last 30 years of my life
trying to help plain people weed through the technology maze
and find something that will solve their simple problems.
When you include the human factor one can never tell what
people will buy and their reason for buying it. But if it's reason
enough for them then it's reason enough.

Originally Posted by Thunder22

I'm not missing any point, but thanks.

You claimed that it solved many problems for many people. I'm asking what are those specific problems and resolutions, you said many, not me. My initial posting of the questions was to the "general you", but then you stated the above so now i'm specifically asking you what those problems and solutions are, because you are right about me missing the point with regards to that, I don't see the many problems nor the many solutions. Neither do many others. The vast majority of people saying that they're going to get one are the Apple fanboys. Industry technologists and trade rags are not saying "this device is revolutionary, it will make so many things better". After reading a lot of the articles about the Ipad, I'm still asking what those things are.

Regarding your example of it being an upgraded news reader, that's not a current problem, kindles, netbooks, laptops and smart phones all do that well, some better than others. Not to mention that the issue with digitizing periodicals is not a hardware problem, it's an application problem - how to secure the downloaded periodical so that it can't be shared. This device doesn't address that issue.

Also, how many people do you know are going to spend $900 or whatever the iPad costs so that they can read the periodicals more easily? Not many, especially with kindles being so much cheaper and better at it, and it actually supports my statement that tablets are in a niche market and until someone writes some killer app to take advantage of the technology, it will remain that way. But what do I know, I've only spent 22 years of my career evaluating technology.

And btw - being a technologist has everything to with discussing a new technology device Would you rather discuss it with a landscaper?

[Thunder22]

Originally Posted by Quicksilver

Good effort on your part but lets look at my quote again.
I said "Actually for many people it is a solution that solves problems".
I didn't say many problems. But if you look carefully at my previous
posts regarding just the news paper industry that would include
Many people and some of their problems. There are others who
find that it will fill their need and perhaps solve what "they" not you consider
a problem as well.

Remember just because a person doesn't understand how something will benefit
someone or solve their problem doesn't mean that it won't indeed
do exactly that.

I respect your expertise as a "technologist" but not everyone who buys
technology cares about the technology. They just want it to do what they
want it to do and that may be something as simple as keep track of
recipes. That in and of itself may be the problem it solves.

I believe technologist and other technical people often
overlook the simple benefits that people get from a device that can accomplish a simple
task without a lot of technical jargon and diatribe that the so called
gurus think is necessary to get the job done. Nor do they care what
many so called experts think or what the Industry technologists and
trade rags think about what a device doesn't have,
what they think it should have, or how it compares with whatever
else is out there. People just want technology to do what they like it to do
in an easy way.

That why I can say I don't need to explain in detail what
specifically the problems and solutions this device will solve. You can
use your imagination just like everyone else. But i guess your right about
one thing "The vast majority of people saying that they're going to get one are the Apple fanboys."
I'm not a fanboy though. I'm a Mac Fanatic and i'm not buying one and I don't know of any other
Mac users who are going to get one either.

But what do I know? I've only spent the last 30 years of my life
trying to help plain people weed through the technology maze
and find something that will solve their simple problems.
When you include the human factor one can never tell what
people will buy and their reason for buying it. But if it's reason
enough for them then it's reason enough.

Great rant, *fairway clap, the king of non-sequitor lives .

My questions however, as a consumer and technologist, have still not been answered. This isn't about me or you, it's about the device, its intended audience, potential uses, and whether it will be successful. I was actually looking forward to hearing your take on it as you are a self described fanatic about Apple products, but it seems that you and the Apple Sheeple, are just as baffled as I am as to "why".

Btw- It is not a question of not understanding the product, I understand its abilities very well. In order to not understand its intended earth shattering uses, someone would have to actually propose some earth shattering uses first so that they could be considered

[dkl]

Anyone saw this skid from MadTV 4 years ago?

YouTube - Mad Tv - IPad