Thread

Me? Phht. I just want one.

I want a camera in mine.

When the iPad comes with a camera (like the iSight camera in a MacBook) I’ll buy one for me, one for my wife (so she doesn’t hog mine), one for my parents (each), one for my kids…

Me? Phht. I just want one.

I want a camera in mine.

How will you/they hold it when you are using the camera? While I have not held one, 1.5 pounds will get tiring to hold at eye level.

Would you site with it in your lap and look down into it?

I have never heard a good explanation of how it will be used IF it had a camera.

How will you/they hold it when you are using the camera? While I have not held one, 1.5 pounds will get tiring to hold at eye level.

I doubt if we’d hold it at eye level. My MacBook doesn’t sit at eye level. It’s angled and faces up toward me. It’s likely the iPad will fit the same way, but we’d be holding it slightly above laptop, but looking down, as with a MacBook.

Would you site with it in your lap and look down into it?

Yep. That makes sense.

I have never heard a good explanation of how it will be used IF it had a camera.

What’s a good explanation for the iSight camera in a MacBook?

iChat. Skype. Video conferencing. Video recording. YouTube. It’s a healthy list.

We’ll probably see iChat/Skype video in next generation iPads and iPhones with user facing cameras. Right now, what 3G cell phone network has enough bandwidth to handle millions of users doing video chat?

Oh, yeah. Verizon.

How will you/they hold it when you are using the camera? While I have not held one, 1.5 pounds will get tiring to hold at eye level.

I doubt if we’d hold it at eye level. My MacBook doesn’t sit at eye level. It’s angled and faces up toward me. It’s likely the iPad will fit the same way, but we’d be holding it slightly above laptop, but looking down, as with a MacBook.

Yes, but you don’t have hold the MacBook. I’m not really arguing the use of the iPad with a camera just how it would be positioned.

Would you site with it in your lap and look down into it?

Yep. That makes sense.

I sure hope you don’t have long hair!! And a strong neck as that, IMHO, will be quite the strain on your neck.

I just pulled a book off my bookshelf. It’s 9-inches high by 7-inches wide; so, pretty close to the iPad’s size. It weighs two pounds, so it’s heavier than an iPad, and twice as thick at just over one inch. Opened, it’s about the same thickness, but much wider, of course. After all, it’s a book.

Generally, books this size are cradled; held in one hand while the other hand (and fingers) can be used for navigation. It’s not at eye level, but held above the lap, angled toward the face, which, typically, looks downward. If placed on a desk, the book is flat, and pages face straight toward the ceiling, which is why many of us may prop up a book on a stand (or, another book) to get a better reading angle. That might explain why Apple has a nifty little flip case, too.

From what I can see, the iPad is not as heavy or cumbersome as many of the books in my library. I don’t think it will be more difficult to hold and use, even for extended periods (how long do we sit and read a book, which may be heavier, larger, bulkier?).

A camera at the top would just be icing on the cake. Tilt the iPad a bit to frame yourself, and you’re good to go. Since it’s apparent that the iPad will be held and cradled like a book, I can’t see that long hair or a weak neck would inhibit usage.

Yes, that’s when reading. When using the camera you only have a few choices:
* hold it straight out in front of you
* angle it perfectly (a la laptop)
* look down at it and have your hair fall into the view of the camera, obscuring.

Perhaps I’m making a mountain out of a mole-hill and usage with a camera will be convenient.

Regardless, I think it is a fantastic device and will most likely be buying one, if not two of them (one for wife and one for kids).

I am a fan of Iphone. I am also considering buying IPAD for my son. It has a very easy to use interface, so I think my son will be able to use it well.

I am choosing between HP touchsmart and the IPAD. I want something that has the most value for my money that my son will enjoy using.

But for now, I really want to get my hands on the new IPAD.

All the negatives have been there on the launch of every Apple product… and they still fly off the shelves.  I know someone who has had there hands on one (he is a journalist) and he said you can’t believe how good it is until you get hold of it.

I think eventually it is going to change digital publishing.  The newspaper on your iPAD will be close to the real thing but better.

Count me in Mr Jobs!

It’s not because a product flies off the shelves it’s a good product. With most Apple’s products I feel ‘handicapped’, I don’t want to throw away my freedom because it looks slick.

It’s not because a product flies off the shelves it’s a good product. With most Apple’s products I feel ‘handicapped’, I don’t want to throw away my freedom because it looks slick.

Some people will feel a bit constrained by iPad category devices, so a traditional computer/OS will be better suited to them.

However, by escaping from the old-school OS bloat and doing the essentials exceptionally well, we’re seeing a huge leap in convenience and usability which many people will find quite liberating, a different kind of freedom.

There will also be a new breed of applications which really play to these device’s strengths, and I don’t mean iFart Max - the rumours about major productivity apps and ‘new category’ apps are growing by the day. I suspect many of us will begin to realise the flexibility offered by our traditional OS-based computers will start to look like more of a constraint.

Of course, the old-school personal computers will continue to be our workhorse devices for some time to come. But if I think beyond my own needs and consider what this means to the non-technical majority, that’s when iPad really starts to make sense.

I will reserve final judgement until I have used one, but I expect it will turn out to be a ‘must have’...

I’m not even sure what people see in the iPad… It’s really just a big iPod with no Flash and no camera… Why on earth would Apple not allow people to use Flash on their product? Apple is overrated. I agree they look great, but they are trying to be something that they are not : the next generation of electronic devices. They are secluding their product from other markets.

The Flash argument is really getting old. 

Until Adobe manages to get it running on a smart phone with the kind of performance and stability necessary the argument is moot. 

Firefox Mobile cut Flash support from their latest release.  Microsoft cut Flash support from the next version of Windows Mobile.  It’s a trend that is happening not because of some sort of conspiracy or idiocy on Apple’s part but because Flash is a beast.  A buggy, crashy, security hole ridden beast.

If Adobe can fix Flash and make it’s performance acceptable on hardware that isn’t top of the line, and prevent it from crashing three or four times a day on my browser, then I’ll start wanting it on my iPhone or the iPad. 

Until then, it’s a perfectly reasonable decision to cut it from products that have relatively limited resources.  The last thing I need is for my iPhone to freeze and refuse to respond to phone calls because some stupid Flash script decides to send itself into a loop.

Jamie

Why on earth would Apple not allow people to use Flash on their product? Apple is overrated.

So no Flash, you mean like Windows 7 Mobile? http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10452710-56.html?tag=newsLeadStoriesArea.1

Seems Windows 7 Mobile even greatly cuts back on multitasking as well… Hmm where have I seen that before?

These are cross-over devices, not quite full computers, more than smaller smartphones… For many tasks one is overkill and the others are too small to be of practical use.  Enters larger devices powered by Mobile OSs, makes total sense.  Seems in many ways Apple and Microsoft are on the same page so to speak in what is and is not important in larger cross-task devices like pad/slate/tablet devices.

I don’t buy devices simply because they are pretty, in my, and my employees day to day tasks, the right tools for the right job, and the iPad will fit in nicely in many places in our work flow.

Some people will feel a bit constrained by iPad category devices, so a traditional computer/OS will be better suited to them.

Exactly. It’s not as if full OS/app-laden Macs or PCs will go away. They’ll simply get used less frequently.

However, by escaping from the old-school OS bloat and doing the essentials exceptionally well, we’re seeing a huge leap in convenience and usability which many people will find quite liberating, a different kind of freedom.

Exactly. I’m surprised that more don’t understand that benefit. That is the whole point of why we use a computer in the first place. To get things done. My usage of my MacBook dropped like a rock after I bought an iPhone. Why? More mobility. More apps better suited for the mobility.

The iPad will be a ‘tweener’ device—not quite as mobile as an iPhone, obviously, but more mobile than a notebook, and better suited for many users than a comparably priced netbook.

There will also be a new breed of applications which really play to these device’s strengths, and I don’t mean iFart Max - the rumours about major productivity apps and ‘new category’ apps are growing by the day. I suspect many of us will begin to realise the flexibility offered by our traditional OS-based computers will start to look like more of a constraint.

Exactly. Well said. Windows PCs and Macs and Linux PCs will begin to look antiquated because of their complexity; over time they get used less.

Of course, the old-school personal computers will continue to be our workhorse devices for some time to come. But if I think beyond my own needs and consider what this means to the non-technical majority, that’s when iPad really starts to make sense.

Exactly. Watch for the lines.

I still want one with a camera. But imagine how poor old AT&T’s creaky network would handle Skype or iChat video conferencing.

The Flash argument is really getting old. 

Until Adobe manages to get it running on a smart phone with the kind of performance and stability necessary the argument is moot. 

Firefox Mobile cut Flash support from their latest release.  Microsoft cut Flash support from the next version of Windows Mobile.  It’s a trend that is happening not because of some sort of conspiracy or idiocy on Apple’s part but because Flash is a beast.  A buggy, crashy, security hole ridden beast.

If Adobe can fix Flash and make it’s performance acceptable on hardware that isn’t top of the line, and prevent it from crashing three or four times a day on my browser, then I’ll start wanting it on my iPhone or the iPad. 

Until then, it’s a perfectly reasonable decision to cut it from products that have relatively limited resources.  The last thing I need is for my iPhone to freeze and refuse to respond to phone calls because some stupid Flash script decides to send itself into a loop.

Jamie

At first I thought Apple’s position on Flash was brave, controversial and maybe a bit arrogant, but actually it looks like it’s just realistic and sensible, even MS agrees.

Flash has evolved into a nasty bloater which stretches the resources of even a modest Windows notebook - unfortunately the fact is that it’s a battery trashing CPU hog which has no place on a mobile device with limited resources.

Short-term it looks like a bit of an omission having no Flash support on iPhone, iPad, Winmo7, etc., but in the long run, this is a technology re-adjustment which is probably needed.

- web sites should never be 100% dependent on Flash and those which are will be under increasing pressure to change or at least offer realistic alternatives.
- HTML5 video will get sorted and offer a good alternative to Flash video where Flash isn’t available.
- Flash apps offering more advanced functionality will be replaced - certainly on most mobile platforms - with native apps which do the same job much, much better.

Flash still has it’s place for sure, but it’s not good for mobile / tablet / pad devices, let’s get used to it. The landscape is changing.