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RE: Apple's big announcement. - 28/1/2010 2:03:42 PM

adambatman82

Posts: 11156
Joined: 15/12/2005
From: Sheffield

quote:

ORIGINAL: maffew

I was excited about this... But the announcement l left me somewhat cold. Listening to the audiences lack of reaction as Jobs said 'and get this... it can browse the web!' and demoing practically exactly the same web browsing experience you get on an iphone, along with lack of flash. I knew it'd be something like an iphone, I didn't think it'd be less feature-filled than one though (no camera?) Is this just another basic model than Apple will drip feed features for over five year period? Probably..

That said - I still want one... soooooo shiny....

To be fair, an iPhone style tiny camera on the back would be pretty redundant. I was surprised there wasnt a front mounted camera tho, for video chat. Thats something that I have no doubt will be implemented in the future tho.

(in reply to maffew)

Post #: 91

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 28/1/2010 3:33:20 PM

Jules

Posts: 749
Joined: 3/10/2005

quote:

ORIGINAL: HIM

Speaking of the Macbook, I'm appauled at the price they are! I'm in the market for a new laptop and I've always wanted a Mac but paying over �800 for the basic model is rediculous. I knew Macs were always dearer than their PC counterpart but not that much dearer. I've just been on the Apple store and you also have to pay extra for programs like iWork, so that alone nudges it towards �900. F that!

They didn't used to be as dear percentage wise as they are now. I've been an apple user for about 11 years now but I'm thinking about moving to PC as I'm disgusted with the prices of the things. My most current Macbook is a bottom of the range one that cost �700 two and a half years ago but I expect prices on electronics to go down with time - not up. I was also surprised last time I bought one that it didn't come with any kind of word processor like they used to - though fortunately I still have a copy of Appleworks and just run that which does me fine.

Edit - Actually I'm considering buying a cheap laptop and hacking it to run OSX as I gather that's possible now.

< Message edited by Jules -- 28/1/2010 3:36:07 PM >

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Post #: 92

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 28/1/2010 4:17:08 PM

Hobbitonlass

Posts: 11515
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Westeros

Microsoft's offering?

Microsoft Courier

Also from that same site

8 things that suck about the iPad (I'm sure most of them have been mentioned here already though)

< Message edited by Hobbitonlass -- 28/1/2010 4:19:26 PM >

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Post #: 93

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 28/1/2010 4:27:39 PM

HIM

Posts: 9685
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Star Trekkin', across the universe

quote:

ORIGINAL: Hobbitonlass

Microsoft's offering?

Microsoft Courier

Holy shit that thing is brilliant! That's the kind of thing I expected from Apple, certainly not Microsoft. If they can get that to market with all those features and usability in tact it will blow the iPad out of the water.

(in reply to Hobbitonlass)

Post #: 94

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 28/1/2010 4:42:41 PM

HIM

Posts: 9685
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Star Trekkin', across the universe

Here's a more indepth look at how the Courier will work:

http://gizmodo.com/5369493/leaked-courier-video-shows-how-well-actually-use-it

Seems to be aimed squarely at designers. It'll be interesting to see how it handles things like Microsoft Office, and especially typing.

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Post #: 95

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 28/1/2010 5:19:58 PM

Wilbert

Posts: 9511
Joined: 5/10/2005
From: Dublin: Ireland

quote:

ORIGINAL: HIM

quote:

ORIGINAL: Hobbitonlass

Microsoft's offering?

Microsoft Courier

Holy shit that thing is brilliant! That's the kind of thing I expected from Apple, certainly not Microsoft. If they can get that to market with all those features and usability in tact it will blow the iPad out of the water.

I have to say that the courier looks great but it is quite a different device from the iPad. There's no mention of the courier being used to play movies, music etc.

I don't think they can really be compared.

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Post #: 96

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 28/1/2010 5:33:59 PM

adambatman82

Posts: 11156
Joined: 15/12/2005
From: Sheffield

quote:

ORIGINAL: Wilbert

quote:

ORIGINAL: HIM

quote:

ORIGINAL: Hobbitonlass

Microsoft's offering?

Microsoft Courier

Holy shit that thing is brilliant! That's the kind of thing I expected from Apple, certainly not Microsoft. If they can get that to market with all those features and usability in tact it will blow the iPad out of the water.

I have to say that the courier looks great but it is quite a different device from the iPad. There's no mention of the courier being used to play movies, music etc.

I don't think they can really be compared.

And the Courier only exists in CGI imagery doesn't it? Is there actually a physical model of it on display? I know the article linked says that its gone beyond the prototype stage, yet all the material provided is renderings, as opposed to photographs of an actual device. It does look very nice tho.

Saying that, the fact that it will run a Microsoft operating system means I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.

< Message edited by adambatman82 -- 28/1/2010 5:46:14 PM >

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Post #: 97

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 28/1/2010 5:51:37 PM

HIM

Posts: 9685
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Star Trekkin', across the universe

So how much are we betting this thing will retail for in the UK? I've just looked on the US store and a standard Macbook costs $999 (�610 straight conversion) yet we're charged �816. Over �200 more! So I reckon the iPad will be:

16GB $499 (�309) = �399
32GB $599 (�371) = �479
64GB $699 (�433) = �549

And then add another �100 on for the 3G version.

(in reply to adambatman82)

Post #: 98

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 28/1/2010 6:04:35 PM

adambatman82

Posts: 11156
Joined: 15/12/2005
From: Sheffield

quote:

ORIGINAL: HIM

So how much are we betting this thing will retail for in the UK? I've just looked on the US store and a standard Macbook costs $999 (�610 straight conversion) yet we're charged �816. Over �200 more! So I reckon the iPad will be:

16GB $499 (�309) = �399
32GB $599 (�371) = �479
64GB $699 (�433) = �549

And then add another �100 on for the 3G version.

Yep that was my guess. Three quarters of the US price seems to be about right. As a complimentary computer I will probably go for the 16GB too.

There's also a chance that the 3G one will be subsidised and sold under contract.

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Post #: 99

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 28/1/2010 6:17:29 PM

HIM

Posts: 9685
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Star Trekkin', across the universe

What I don't like about the 3G version (aside from 3G being slow) is that the iPad uses a new microSIM, so you'll have to take a whole new data plan to use it and not be able to simply shove in your existing SIM and make use of your unlimited data with your phone.

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Post #: 100

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 28/1/2010 6:24:44 PM

adambatman82

Posts: 11156
Joined: 15/12/2005
From: Sheffield

quote:

ORIGINAL: HIM

What I don't like about the 3G version (aside from 3G being slow) is that the iPad uses a new microSIM, so you'll have to take a whole new data plan to use it and not be able to simply shove in your existing SIM and make use of your unlimited data with your phone.

True. I would never personally go for a 3G version anyway, 3G is bad enough on the iPhone. Plus, wifi is everywhere anyway, including free on trains.

On a related note, I wonder what effect this will have on the supposed 4G iPhone that many claimed will be available this June. I would have expected Apple to incorporate 4G technology into this device if any.

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Post #: 101

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 28/1/2010 7:00:30 PM

themightyhutch

Posts: 3719
Joined: 18/2/2007
From: surrey

So what actually is the point in this? I mean I know everyone's entranced by how shiny it is but I'm baffled as to what it's uses actually are. Don't get me wrong, Apple are a brilliant company, I've bought 2 ipods and I just bought an Iphone but I just can't get my head around what anyone would use an ipad for.

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Post #: 102

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 28/1/2010 7:56:22 PM

adambatman82

Posts: 11156
Joined: 15/12/2005
From: Sheffield

Stephen Fry had a go on one last night and has posted a pretty long review of it -

http://www.stephenfry.com/2010/01/28/ipad-about/

This bit stood out -

I know there will be many who have already taken one look and pronounced it to be nothing but a large iPhone and something of a disappointment. I have heard these voices before. In June 2007 when the iPhone was launched I collected a long list of �not impressed�, �meh�, �big deal�, �style over substance�, �it�s all hype�, �my HTC TyTN can do more�, �what a disappointment�, �majorly underwhelmed� and similar reactions. They can hug to themselves the excuse that the first release of iPhone was 2G, closed to developers and without GPS, cut and paste and many other features that have since been incorporated. Neither they, nor I, nor anyone, predicted the �game-changing� effect the phone would so rapidly have as it evolved into a 3G, third-party app rich, compass and GPS enabled market leader. Even if it had proved a commercial and business disaster instead of an astounding success, iPhone would remain the most significant release of its generation because of its effect on the smartphone habitat. Does anybody seriously believe that Android, Nokia, Samsung, Palm, BlackBerry and a dozen others would since have produced the product line they have without the 100,000 volt taser shot up the jacksie that the iPhone delivered to the entire market?

Nonetheless, even if they couldn�t see that THREE BILLION apps would be downloaded in 2 years (that�s half a million app downloads a day, give or take ) could they not see that this device was gorgeous, beautifully made, very powerful and capable of development into something extraordinary? I see those qualities in the iPad. Like the first iPhone, iPad 1.0 is a John the Baptist preparing the way of what is to come, but also like iPhone 1.0 (and Jokanaan himself too come to that) iPad 1.0 is still fantastic enough in its own right to be classed as a stunningly exciting object, one that you will want NOW and one that will not be matched this year by any company. In the future, when it has two cameras for fully featured video conferencing, GPS and who knows what else built in (1080 HD TV reception and recording and nano projection, for example) and when the iBook store has recorded its 100 millionth download and the thousands of accessories and peripherals that have invented uses for iPad that we simply can�t now imagine � when that has happened it will all have seemed so natural and inevitable that today�s nay-sayers and sceptics will have forgotten that they ever doubted its potential.

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Post #: 103

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 28/1/2010 7:58:14 PM

adambatman82

Posts: 11156
Joined: 15/12/2005
From: Sheffield

quote:

ORIGINAL: themightyhutch

So what actually is the point in this? I mean I know everyone's entranced by how shiny it is but I'm baffled as to what it's uses actually are. Don't get me wrong, Apple are a brilliant company, I've bought 2 ipods and I just bought an Iphone but I just can't get my head around what anyone would use an ipad for.

Stephen Fry says -

"This is a different order of experience. The speed, the responsiveness, the smooth glide of it, the richness and detail of the display, the heft in your hand, the rightness of the actions and gestures that you employ, untutored and instinctively, it�s not just a scaled up iPhone or a scaled-down multitouch enhanced laptop � it is a whole new kind of device."

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Post #: 104

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 29/1/2010 1:03:19 AM

Wilbert

Posts: 9511
Joined: 5/10/2005
From: Dublin: Ireland

quote:

ORIGINAL: HIM

So how much are we betting this thing will retail for in the UK? I've just looked on the US store and a standard Macbook costs $999 (�610 straight conversion) yet we're charged �816. Over �200 more!

The extra 200 is mostly VAT and other charges as far as I know. I heard an explanation on an Apple podcast that explained the perception that the machines are more expensive here than the US. If you take the weak dollar out of the equation, the products are priced pretty much the same. It's the VAT that gives you the extra hike.

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Post #: 105

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 29/1/2010 6:03:45 AM

JoeyPottr

Posts: 2066
Joined: 10/2/2009

It's paying 400 plus dollars for something the size of a frisbee, that has a touch pad like a simon says toy. A waste of money for another gadget. Now if apple made a hover pad (like the hover board in Back To The Future Part II) then I might think about it.

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Post #: 106

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 29/1/2010 8:45:51 AM

shool

Posts: 9612
Joined: 24/3/2006
From: In The Pipe, Five by Five.

quote:

ORIGINAL: JoeyPottr

It's paying 400 plus dollars for something the size of a frisbee, that has a touch pad like a simon says toy. A waste of money for another gadget. Now if apple made a hover pad (like the hover board in Back To The Future Part II) then I might think about it.

I reckon this will be more useful than a hoverboard.

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Post #: 107

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 29/1/2010 8:59:12 AM

HIM

Posts: 9685
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Star Trekkin', across the universe

Does anyone know if you can plug USB devices into the iPad such as an external hard drive and transfer over songs and video files or are you completely locked into downloading and consuming all of your songs and video from iTunes?

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Post #: 108

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 29/1/2010 9:58:26 AM

BigKovacs

Posts: 3143
Joined: 6/4/2006
From: Textile Street.

quote:

ORIGINAL: HIM

Does anyone know if you can plug USB devices into the iPad such as an external hard drive and transfer over songs and video files or are you completely locked into downloading and consuming all of your songs and video from iTunes?

You can but you need an adaptor. Another whopping mistake.

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Post #: 109

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 29/1/2010 12:40:36 PM

clownfoot

Posts: 7738
Joined: 26/9/2005
From: The ickle town of Fuck, Austria

quote:

ORIGINAL: BigKovacs

quote:

ORIGINAL: HIM

Does anyone know if you can plug USB devices into the iPad such as an external hard drive and transfer over songs and video files or are you completely locked into downloading and consuming all of your songs and video from iTunes?

You can but you need an adaptor. Another whopping mistake.

You need an adapter for something that's universal? You couldn't make it up...

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Post #: 110

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 29/1/2010 12:47:01 PM

Fluke Skywalker

Posts: 9540
Joined: 23/4/2006
From: the dark side of the sun

I have to be honest I really like it - it looks like a fairly handy thing to me. How much is it gonna cost over here, �300 or something?

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Post #: 111

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 29/1/2010 1:05:16 PM

Olaf

Posts: 23364
Joined: 26/2/2007
From: 41�N 93�W

I thought it was generally received wisdom that buying the first model of any new Apple product is strictly for Apple fiends and simpletons. Then when they pick up on all the criticisms people have about it, they fix them on the later, cheaper, better models. Just look at the iPhone.

That said, it is pretty shiny.

< Message edited by Olaf -- 29/1/2010 1:07:21 PM >

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Post #: 112

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 29/1/2010 1:14:52 PM

HIM

Posts: 9685
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Star Trekkin', across the universe

The thing with the initial iPhone is that it was truely revolutionary. And it's taken 3 years for Android and WebOS to catch up (and they're still not quite there). Plus being a phone you know you'll only have to have it for 18 months, so when a new version comes out it's no hassle to upgrade. With the iPad however there's nothing revolutionary at all and the shorcomings are even more obvious and much more of an issue than those of the original iPhone. Plus when Apple releases the iPad 2 in a year's time where does that leave early adopters?

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Post #: 113

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 29/1/2010 1:15:26 PM

igotnewlegs

Posts: 5063
Joined: 11/9/2006
From: The big blue velour marble

Very true Olaf.

This isn't a great piece of kit from what I've seen. There are certain things it doesn't do that I'd really like and that's the ability to multi-task, the ability to wirelessly transfer data from any app on any node, and the ability to hook it up to a TV. Factor in no flash and you're shit out of luck if you like streaming movies or TV shows. As for the pricing, the low end of this product is poop. 16GB with no 3G? Why would you want that? I would think 64GB would be a minimum of what you'd require considering you have to dock the thing to exchange files. Just look at how much extra that's gonna cost you!

This prouct will be okay for apple fanatics who already own everything else the have on the market but I for one am not gonna bother.

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Post #: 114

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 29/1/2010 1:26:50 PM

Fluke Skywalker

Posts: 9540
Joined: 23/4/2006
From: the dark side of the sun

What's up with this inability to multi-task? Fair enough you can just about get away with it on an iphone but surely not on this thing

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Post #: 115

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 29/1/2010 1:35:55 PM

UTB

Posts: 8976
Joined: 30/9/2005

Most people I've spoken who have clearly seen everything that it doesn't do have said "yeah but I'll probably still get one just to see what it's like".

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Post #: 116

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 31/1/2010 1:19:30 AM

Your Funny Uncle

Posts: 11131
Joined: 14/11/2005
From: The Deepest Depths Of Joypad.....

So do people still think Apple will be releasing a new iPhone in June? Or will they leave it until later in the year due to this iPad? I've decided to upgrade to one when my contract runs out in June but I'd rather get the latest model (4G?) than the current 3GS.

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Post #: 117

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 31/1/2010 10:18:17 AM

Sexual Harassment Panda

Posts: 12702
Joined: 30/9/2005

quote:

ORIGINAL: Your Funny Uncle

So do people still think Apple will be releasing a new iPhone in June? Or will they leave it until later in the year due to this iPad? I've decided to upgrade to one when my contract runs out in June but I'd rather get the latest model (4G?) than the current 3GS.

The new iPhone during the summer is a dead certain, this is marketed separately and is intended to compliment owning an iPhone, not an either or product. Apple run like clockwork with their updates, you know exactly what's coming and when.

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Post #: 118

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 6/2/2010 9:34:38 PM

Your Funny Uncle

Posts: 11131
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From: The Deepest Depths Of Joypad.....

http://www.t3.com/news/x2-computing-launches-itablet-to-rival-apple-ipad?=43521

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Post #: 119

RE: Apple's big announcement. - 7/2/2010 6:06:59 AM

lulu karma

Posts: 6321
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: on the east coast of the US

I love Apple products but, iPad... I won't be buying one. Not yet anyway. Stephen Fry was quoted above talking about how this version of iPad is just a hint of what is to come. I agree. Right now I can't really see that I have a need for an iPad as it is.

I have a laptop - Macbook.
I have music sources - iPod and Shuffle (2nd generation)
I have an eReader - after much soul searching I bought a Kindle. It comes with free WhisperNet and let's me do basics like email, Twitter and have a book/blog/whatever downloaded in a few seconds.

I never bought an iPhone. To me they are too expensive in monthly fees and I really am not into talking/emailing/whatevering on my mobile like I once was. For me it's more about having a very good camera/phone combo and for that I have always been very happy with Sony's models. On that front, my current Sony Ericsson will be replaced with an Ericsson Satio in the near future.

iPad will be a few years down the road for me. I like the bookshelf fancy thing on it though.

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