Surprised TMO couldn’t get in

Looks cool. Not enough for me to get one yet but it looks cool.

Finally, the end of the rumors.

NOW what can we possibly talk about NEXT?

Fox Business Channel has various segments on the keynote on tape delay. I’m renaming Steve Jobs “the old man on the couch”. The iPad looks absolutely perfect for old people who don’t have any grandchildren. No word on price yet, but Jobs’ disparaging of $300-$400 netbooks is going to haunt him this year. Yes, the iPad interface is quite refined. But every application developer worth their salt is looking at netbook form factor optimization these days.

Oh geez. McGraw Hill guy was talking out his ass. Not even one of the partners. What a friggin fool.

Just want to say: CALLED IT! on the name.

Comment Jan 26

Looks cool.  Want more info.  Apple’s site not updated yet.

Cheers,

aviduser

Just want to say: CALLED IT! on the name.

Yeah I was betting on some variation on Slate.

Yeah I was betting on some variation on Slate.

I wonder if there was some sort of conflict with slate.com.

It does look pretty slick. Interesting about the chip and iWork among many other things. A couple things not announced yet, but still more event to go at the time I write this. I see Bosco has already made two b.s. comments; glad I ignored him a while back.

I haven’t really wanted an iPhone or iPod touch because they are just too small for what I want to do with a portable device. This might be the ticket for me… we’ll see.

January 27, 2009. The day the Mac died. Mark your calendars. This iPad is definitely done well. But it will be too pricey to be the device in the middle. Watching the photos of iWork, they look like they are all in on this. As if Jobs said, “I’m getting too old for this computer sh*t, just make me something I can hold in my hands as I sit on the couch.”

Whoa! Check the prices!

Price of the iPad starts at $499. AT&T 3G, activate on device if you like. They did a good job on price. This makes things interesting. And @haters-like-Dean, I just call it as I see it.

Of course I will have to handle one before making a decision, but I am already very interested in getting one.

Interesting but there was nothing about a camera or mic. That would be a big omission. No Skype

Hey, Bosco, I unignored you to see if you had said anything of interest. You didn’t—again. At least you’re able to give an inch on the price. Enjoy making comments to those who haven’t read here for years, though. I’m sure you’ll get enough ire out of them until they catch on. I can’t be bothered with you anymore. I have plenty of other reporters, pundits and commenters to read who provide varying viewpoints without being just negative about the whole thing. Life is too short.

So, back to the iPad, how about that free AT&T WiFi?

Merlin, the resident “curmudgeon” on twit.tv, just acknowledged that yeah, it looks like “people are gonna want to be the douchebag sitting at Starbucks using it.”

(not an absolutely precise quote, but it got the essential terms, lol)

http://live.twit.tv/video.html

Interesting but there was nothing about a camera or mic. That would be a big omission. No Skype

Actually, I didn’t expect a camera. A front-facing one for video chat would need some kind of image stabilizer for hands shaking and other camera movements that would just make it difficult watching at the other end. The dock/stand could help there when not mobile, but otherwise it’d be like watching Blair witch Project or something. And a camera on back for snapshots, well, the thing is too bog too really hold up for that a lot. I’d prefer something like a Bluetooth camera that sent snapshots to the iPad while it was in a shoulder bag or cargo pants pocket or something.

We’ll see how it all pans out.

Camera in front above the screen would have been ideal. Shaky hands? Put on the dock.

Will likely replace my touch w/ a WiFi iPad.

No camera?!!

No microphone?

no multitasking?

WHOA!!  major deficiencies!

No camera?!!

No microphone?

no multitasking?

WHOA!!  major deficiencies!

Burma…. If any of that was actually useful Steve Jobs would have included it in the product. No, a camera, microphone, and multitasking is quite simply bloat that Apple consumers are better off without.[/sarcasm]

No microphone?

According to the tech spec page, it has a microphone

Camera? At the bottom of the tech page is described a camera connection kit. I still have some questions how that will work with live video.

Multitasking? Do we know for sure that it is any different from the iPhone.

Hmm… this looks a lot like the Archos 9…

PROCESSOR     Intel ATOM Z510 1.1 GHz
DISPLAY   8.9” LED backlight
1024x600 pixels
Resistive touch screen
Video chipset: Intel Poulsbo US15W
OPERATING SYSTEM   Microsoft® Windows® 7 Starter Edition
SYSTEM MEMORY   1GB onboard (DDR2 SDRAM 400)
HARD DRIVE   HDD 60GB (1.8”)
COMMUNICATION   WiFi: PCI-E interface, 1 antenna, support IEEE 802.11b/g
Ethernet: 10/100 Mb/s Ethernet Controller (via port replicator)
Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR compliant)
AUDIO   Audio card : Realtek ALC269
2 built-in stereo speakers
Built-in microphone
PORTS   USB 2.0 port (2 additional ports via port replicator)
DC-IN jack
3.5” audio output (1 additional output via port replicator)
Microphone input (via port replicator)
Ethernet port (via port replicator)
MOUSE NAVIGATION   Optical finger navigation system (trackpoint)
Left and right mouse buttons
POWER SOURCE   Internal: removable Lithium Polymer battery
External: Power adapter/charger
BATTERY LIFE   Approx. 5h
MISCELLANEOUS   Integrated 1.3MP webcam
Built-in leg stand (2 positions)
DIMENSIONS   256 x 134 x 17 mm
WEIGHT   800 grams
PACKAGE INCLUDES   ARCHOS 9, removable battery, stylus, AC adapter with power cord, user guide, legal and safety notice

Archos 9…

Wasn’t that one of the planets where Dr. Who battled the Daleks?

Initial reaction: Yawn.

iPad - stupid name.

AT&T WiFi and 3G - price point seems “ok” but tethering to AT&T is most troubling!

Size - looks too big for an eBook reader. Not something I’d want to carry on the train. Doesn’t look like it will be easy to hold it with one hand when reading.

Touch Keyboard - a hands-on report indicates no physical or visual feedback when pressing a key.

Just an iPod Touch on steroids. Perhaps a certain former, midwest baseball slugger can be the pitchman?

I’m not impressed. I don’t see no need for it, really. But Apple will convince us that this is the must-have electronic device of the decade - or at least this year.

Maybe Steve gets to first base. Apple has two months to steal home.

This is the first Mac/Apple product I absolutely MUST have since the half-sphere iMac (and the MessagePad and the Macintosh Plus…).

The iWork package looks impressive; the photo display looks impressive; the keyboard is impressive; the screen is utterly impressive; the price is impressive(ly low)…

I don’t want an iPhone (or any other GSM—I hate phones in general), but I enjoy the iPod and the iPad will make the perfect travelling companion (and sofa companion). I don’t want a camera on the thing: I’m not into videochatting and wouldn’t be carrying the iPad around much in the street for off-chance shots, so it would be money wasted.

Love the eBook incorporation and the way Apple just shows how eBooking should be done: elegantly. And iBooks will be massive, I’m sure.

I do not look upon it as a substitute for my PowerBook (that will be a MacBook, I think), but as a complement to it.

Much more than I had expected, for much less.

It could have been called Mary Poppins: she was practically perfect, too.

Did Apple buy delicious library? iBooks looks like it?
Guess they’re reusing the iBooks name now.
I assume the missing Stocks/weather/Clock apps are just because this isn’t a finalized product yet (would seem odd for Apple to drop these).

Pluses

+Small size and weight
+Decent design (although I wonder if it lays flat on a table and how scratched up the back will get).
+Prices are great, but makes the iPhone look overpriced in comparison now ($299+contract for 32GB vs $599/729 with no contract for 32GB iPad)
+Finally a wallpaper for the home screens.
+ Decent battery life (although I still prefer removable batteries in general).
+ Not locked to AT&T (of course, it seems it’ll only work with AT&T in the US, but at least traveling internationally may be easier)

Minuses

-Not a Mac OS X device
-It *IS* just a big IPhone/iPod Touch (I’m sure some people will complain that it’s not, but it really is)
-Only 64GB of storage max. This type of device needs 128GB at least
-I certainly hope that the home screen can handle more icons with a smaller grid spacing. They’re so spread out it looks wasteful.
-Seems the iBook app is only on the device, so I’m assuming you can’t read them on Mac or PC via iTunes. Really would be nice to buy and browse on a computer then sync to the device as well (like we’re used to doing with all other Apple media).
-Locked to the App store only,
-I wonder how much censorship will be imposed on the iBookstore
-Glossy screen (in general, I hate glossy screens, but for a device to read books/mags? Ridiculous to have a glare screen)
-It’s that size and they can’t even provide STEREO speakers? Wow, bad decision.
-No camera
-Still no data info on the lock screen (new mail indicators/weather, etc…)
-Use it on AT&T’s already overloaded 3G network
-No multitasking/background processes
-Specs also don’t say iwork apps can output Office formatted docs (says they can import) Makes it hard to send to business users (although RTF should be readable by Office, sometimes people need it in Office format exactly)

In the end, if it could run all Mac OS X programs I’d pay 2-3 times what they are charging. But I don’t need a big iPod touch, so no sale here.