Apple iSlate coming Jan 26th? (or 27th?)

I think the other biggest highlight was the lower cost pre-pay data plan in addition to the wifi. As well as the ability to use things like iWork where you don't have that on the touch, for example.

 

Content is going to make or break the iPad, imho.

 

Lack of webcam surprises me. The rest of it....EXACTLY what I wanted. I don't understand the disappointment guys? I wasn't expecting an end-all-be-all device....rather, just a portable tablet, with a great screen, that gives me what my iphone gives me in a larger package without having to drag around my laptop with it's cumbersome clamshell design screen.

They nailed EXACTLY what I was looking for. I suspect this product will be a home run for them. I'm guessing that most non-techies(like me) will be quite satisfied with what it offers.

I'll be ordering mine when they're available.

 

iWONT BUY ONE

 

It's not a color book reader. It has advanced, but ordinary LC display, not exactly good for reading. I thought this was the point where Apple would try to bring a real new spin to the market, but obviously... they didn't.

 

$500 (or $629) for a less portable 16GB iTouch? I'm not sure about that one. The Kindle has no data charges, so after a year, you've saved either $180 or $360. The Kindle screen will also be much easier on your eyes over a long period of use, which is precisely what an ebook reader is used for.

 

Early on engadget said they estimated the bezel takes up about 20% of the whole front. Thats a lot of wasted space. I was more impressed with the numerous pre-release photoshops

Doubtful. I also find their battery claims hard to believe

 

They say they are going after the gaming market. Whenever I hear that, I know it's a loser product for the general market.

It's just a big iTouch. It's more like a big embarrassment. Still the Apple throngs will cling to Steve's every words....

 

It might not be suitable for you, that's fine. My comment was that I was now considering it in place of a Kindle DX. I probably would only get the WiFi version as I'm OK with buying books through my internet Amazon account given my available connectivity. The screen readability could be an issue, but I'm fine with the iPhone readability so far.

 

I'm completely disappointed. I REALLY wanted it to run Snow Leopard. Now it's just a magnified iPhone.

 

It seems MAD TV came up with the name first.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsjU0K8QPhs

 

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http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/24411223.html?dids=24411223:24411223&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+27%2C+1992&author=Rory+J.+O'Connor%2C+Knight-Ridder+Tribune+News.&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Apple's+Newton+will+offer+a+new+model+for+computing&pqatl=google

As an aside for a geek moment here (~1992):
"Newton, the "personal digital assistant" that Apple Computer Inc. will unveil Friday at Chicago's Consumer Electronics Show, will be the first product of its kind when it goes on sale next year.

The size of a videotape, about 6 by 8 inches, Newton is a hand-held computer that includes a fax and data modem, can recognize input from an electronic pen and is intended to serve as personal organizer for executives. Based on a speedy new computer chip, it also will be able to communicate information with other computers by phone wire or infrared light.

Parts of the vision that created Newton spring from seminal work by Alan Kay, one of the original members of the team at Xerox Corp.'s famed Palo Alto Research Center, or PARC, in Northern California and now an Apple Computer Fellow in Los Angeles. In 1972, years before the first rudimentary personal computer was created, Kay wrote a white paper in which he described a then-fantastic concept called "Dynabook," a portable computer the size of a notebook that would serve as a personal information repository and which its owner would always carry."

 

Right... although, having seen a recent report showing that the Kindle costs Amazon $185 (and dropping), Amazon is very well poised to get into a price war with Apple over the eBook reader market.

Also, there are some inherent (imo major) advantages to the eInk technology. It is static when no power is applied, so the unit can basically update the screen then go into power saving mode. For reading eBooks, that is a big plus. You can charge your kindle once every few days or less. If history is a guide, the iPad will get you maybe 1-2 hours before needing to be charged.

I have a feeling the iPad will not have near enough battery capacity for anything more than a short flight.

 

I don't find it disappointing. I was thinking it would be more, but I think it's still something doesn't exist in the marketplace.

Netbooks are a joke, sure you get full OS, but you can't use it because it's so utterly slow.

In 1 year developers will have so many applications for this thing. Remember, developers can make money in much smaller volumes than any other format around.

The gaming alone on this thing, plus eBooks, and the ability to use office applications, view video, photos, web and e-mail... it's pretty compelling.

 

It's called an iPod Touch

iTouch sounds like something you do to yourself.

 

and more, from the WSJ.....

Apple's 'iPad' Name Draws Snickers

For many tech followers, the name of Apple's new tablet device brought one thing to mind. And it wasn't computers.

Jokes about the sanitary napkin connotations of iPad's name abounded at offices and on the Internet. "But does it have wings?" tweeted one user. "They decided to call it the iPad? was iTampon taken?," wrote another.

Within hours of the announcement, "iTampon" was a hot topic on Twitter. "iPad. Feminine protection for the future. And the future is now," wrote one. Another: "So does this iPad thing mean that Apple has finally breached the gap between technology and feminine hygiene products?"

"The iPad is priced at $499 for a minipad and $829 for maxipad," posted a commenter on The Journal's Digits blog.

Apple didn't return a request for comment.

Some bemoaned the choice. "iPad? Steve? STEVE???!!!" one commenter tweeted. "Prediction: there were no females on the Apple marketing panel that named the iPad. Just a wild stab in the dark," posted another.

A Mad TV parody from a few years ago about an imaginary feminine hygiene product called the ipad, whose content is a tad too risqué to describe here, drew a surge of new comments on YouTube. One: "They had no idea they were predicting the future!"

Also making the rounds in inboxes was an image of a sanitary napkin with Apple's logo and the slogan: "iPad. Like a tampon. Only more expensive."

Some professional marketers shared the guffaws. Kim Sample, CEO of 60-staffer New York public relations firm Emanate, said co-workers "sort of snickered – 'Yeah, you can only use it once a month.'"

Paola Norambuena, an executive at brand consultancy Interbrand Corp., was in a conference room with 10 co-workers when the name was announced. "Feminine hygiene was the first thing that came up," she says. She says Apple's name misses the mark. "There are far too many other associations for 'pad' compared to 'iPhone,'" she says.

Other marketers said the reference didn't immediately occur to them. "As a guy I didn't go there first," says Hayes Roth, chief marketing officer for brand consulting firm Landor Associates. He says women may laugh at the name, but it's not beyond the pale. "I mean, we're talking about erectile dysfunction on television," he says.

Indeed, some marketers praised the choice. Rob Frankel, a branding expert based in Los Angeles, thinks Apple's name is laudably consistent with other products beginning with "iP," such as the iPhone and iPod. "So many companies lose sight of the importance of brand consistency … I think this is a textbook case of product line expansion and naming," he says.

Bridget Brennan, president of Female Factor, a female-focused marketing consultancy in Chicago, says despite quips early on, "iPad" will quickly become part of the lexicon. "The word 'pad' is already part of our vocabulary," she says. "We say 'notepad,' 'legal pad,' 'memo pad,' even 'bachelor pad.'"

 

The next version will be the iMaxipad

 

But they generally always have better and more features...


Where are the extra features on the iPad?

That sleekness sure gets nailed when you have to plug in your dongle just to plug a USB device in...

 

I just signed up to order one off the Apple website. This thing is gonna be great. I can take it in my car and text on while I'm driving, take it to the gym for music when I work out, plug it into my car stereo and listen to some Coldplay. It's just badass, you guys are just haters!*

*Not really, just kidding, not serious, really disappointed, nothing to see here move along.

RMX

 

Either your recollection, or your comprehension, is lacking. Want to give me the post number where I used the phrase "hugely expensive"?

Here's what I wrote:

So, at $829 out the door for the "deluxe" model (who wouldn't want at least 64gb if video and picture storage is one of the functions), plus $360 for access-anywhere, it's looking like it does indeed do half as much (iPhone OS as opposed Mac OS) and it does indeed cost twice as much ($829 + $360 + $360 plus tax = over $1600 in two years). I was absolutely right.

Or do you think people will buy it and discard it in less than a year?

Or are you just jonesing for a squabble because you still can't bring yourself to admit that it's dumb to squeal about being called dumb when no one is calling you dumb?

 

It hasn't exactly won over the tech press...