1 year, 10 months ago
My 48 Point iPad Review (after 72 hours)
From my email list which you can signup for at http://www.bit.ly/jasonslist
Title: The 48-point, 72 hour, iPad Review
Jason's List Membership: 20,000+
Date: April 6th, 2010.
Location: Brentwood, California
Mood: Delirious four month-old baby bliss
Travel: New York City for Open Angel Forum, Thursday night.
Founded: 20 months ago, July 2008.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Jobs is a genius and we are all idiots.
That's the conclusion I've come to after 72 delightful hours of
playing with the iPad. Simply put, it's a completely new computing
experience that fills the gap between the time when we are chained to
our mighty desktops and laptops, and the hunched-back time we spend
trying to keep up on our tiny mobile phones.
It's a revolution despite a dozen obvious, unnecessary and
hard-to-swallow flaws--which we will get into in this email.
When laying in bed, at the bar waiting for my predictably late Los
Angeles dinnermates or sitting on the couch watching my Knicks count
the days before LeBron's arrival this summer, I've ditched my
Blackberry and iPhone for the iPad.
Yesterday I sat through 20 startup's presentations for the Open Angel
Forum in New York City (this Thursday night). The finalists are
awesome. I was parked in a conference room with my iPad in a rubber
stand while typing away in Gmail, Highrise (from 37Signals), Facebook
and Twitter with a full Bluetooth keyboard. My MacBook Air never left
my bag and the desk in front of me wasn't overtaken.
While I hate to admit it, the iPad will probably replace a laptop and
even a full-featured desktop for 1/3rd of "light computing" users.
(Read: people who don't use specialized software and spend their time
inside Safari's crippled browser).
Bottom line: the iPad is a revolutionary device that has been executed
to near perfection in version 1.0. It is, as many a pundit has
reported, a "game changer."
iPad Review
===========
Since you're very busy and sick of iPad reviews, I'm going to keep
this super-simple and bullet point out my thoughts and experiences in
under 140 characters each. There are 8 sections below:
a) Surprising Stuff
b) Video
c) Keyboard
d) Reading
e) Games
f) Bad Stuff
g) Good stuff
h) Should you buy one
a) Surprising stuff
===========
1. Battery lasts well over 10 hours--shocking since my iPhone doesn't last one.
2. It's heavy to hold. At 1.5 pounds, this device is half a pound too heavy.
3. Application developers are price gouging! iPad apps run 3-5x the
cost of their iPhone counterparts. Absurd. So far, I've bought two $10
applications. Dumb.
4. It is really fast and doesn't crash. Everything feels much snappier
than the latest iPhone. I'm guessing the new A4 processor is the
reason.
5. The iPad is locked down using Apple's iPhone operating system
instead of their desktop operating system. This is more computer than
phone--in fact, it doesn't have a phone!--so that's shocking to me.
6. Look for Jobs to move the iPhone OS to the desktop next with a
cheap laptop and iMac that undercut the OS X model. Your entire life
is moments away from being controlled by Apple's technological
dictatorship. This is a very sad turn of events.
b) Video
===========
1. Netflix Streaming is brilliant. No charge for the application for members.
2. ABC's native iPad app is brilliant. Watched full episode of Jamie
Olivier's new show in bed with wife.
3. Where is the Slingbox application?
4. Overall video is crisp and smooth.
5. No Hulu application? #fail.
c) Keyboard
===========
1. Keyboard in tall/portrait mode allows thumb-typing like on a
Blackberry--even for my short fingers.
2. Keyboard in landscape mode will cause you to type 50% slower than
on a real keyboard.
3. Predictive text on iPad will make you 10-20% faster than your
normal computer.
4. Why don't desktops have predictive text? Is there 3rd party
software for that anyone can recommend?
d) Reading
===========
1. The WSJ, USA Today and NYT applications are fascinating blends of
their websites and print editions. They are certainly compelling
enough to get a small percentage of people to pay for news again.
2. That small percentage of users willing to pay for news again (as
opposed to going to free websites that are one click away) are not
going to be material to the bottom line of news companies. Sorry,
you're still screwed; cut more middle management and get out of the
fancy buildings.
3. The iBook reader is a Kindle killer for the small percentage of
folks who actually read books any more. Amazon should have offered a
color screen with web browsing a year ago.
e) Games
===========
1. Do not download Plants vs. Zombies or you will curse me forever for
your lack of productivity.
2. The iPad is the Wii of casual games. After dinner parties, at
family picnics and during road trips the iPad will be the fun,
pass-around game of the future.
3. The tedious, though educational, nature of scoring and managing
games like Scrabble and Monopoly are lost forever--for better or
worse.
f) Bad Stuff
===========
1. No USB port is a crime. I wanted to plug my LiveScribe pen into it
and couldn't.
2. No camera is a crime. This device would be sick for video
conferencing. In fact, it would probably be a phone killer at home.
3. No removable memory is unforgivable. Every device and computer I
own has compact flash, SD or Micro SD. Would it kills jobs to allow an
SD card slot?
4. Internal speaker sounds disgraceful--like an AM radio that you
found in our grandmothers closet.
5. The Wifi is totally screwed up. In the same room, without moving, I
would get a full signal for 10 minutes followed by no signal. I'm
reminded of the MacBook Air's Wifi problems.
6. With $100 in accessories, $100 in basic applications and the
$600-700 price tag, you're basically talking about almost a grand for
this device. It's a great device but it's not worth the price.
7. While you can run iPhone applications and make them 2x the size,
they end up looking like horrible eVGA screens from 1987.
8. No Flash or Adobe Air is pathetic and anti-competitive. The
Government should really investigates Apple's jihad against
competitive application and media platforms--it's disgraceful.
g) Good Stuff
===========
1. The "hand feel" is exceptional in or out of a case. It fits and
feels like a custom shirt and suit fresh from the dry cleaner, or a
Tesla Roadster on a winding PCH road--which is to say, perfect.
2. Battery life is stunningly good. Only explanation is that Steve
Jobs must have been infuriated by the embarrassing scene of iPhone
users begging for a charge or, worse yet, carrying around those
pathetic, dorky external battery packs.
3. More on battery life: My brand new MacBook Air lasts < 2.5 hours,
my iPhone lasts < 1.5 hours and my iPad did 12 hours yesterday. Which
one will I use on my trip to NYC at the end of the week?
4. The native keyboard sucks for a power typist like myself, but the
Bluetooth keyboard option absolutely rocks.
5. Everything feels lightening fast: switching applications, surfing
the web, playing games, downloading and checking email. The A4 chip is
the revolution here, I think, since it's responsible for the speed and
battery life gains.
6. Screen resolution and brightness is stunning and makes the iPhone
look like garbage.
h) Who Should Buy One
===========
1. If you're rich or don't care about wasting $1,000 this month only
to replace it in a year: Yes! Why do you care about replacing
anything? Give this to your nephew when you upgrade.
2. If you're a student on a budget: No. Get a Dell laptop for $500
with 10x the features.
3. If you've got kids and can afford it: Probably. I've seen my
friends' kids turn from wild tree monkeys into zoned-out stoners from
the glow of an iPod Touch. The iPad is kid-grade heroin: one dose and
they will be out for hours.
4. You're a normal person of normal means: Only if you're a tech
junkie. There are going to be much, much better Android tablets in
6-12 months with a USB port, camera, removable batteries, a memory
card and a non-crippled OS.
Wrapping Up
==========
Given all this, a fair number of questions are naturally raised.
Please take a moment to respond to the ones you feel most compelled by
and post them to your blog, at www.ipad-answers.com or by email to me
at Jason@calacanis.com.
Questions raised
===========
1. Why does Steve Jobs not allow Flash or Adobe Air?
2. Should the government investigate Apple's hard line against Adobe?
Is it anti-competitive?
3. Will you buy one today, tomorrow or never--and why?
4. What impact does the lack of a USB post, Flash, Adobe Air, a memory
card slot, camera and swappable battery have on your decision in
#3--if at all?
5. Will Steve Jobs move the iPhone/iPad operating system to your
desktop next? Why or why not?
6. Does the brilliance of the iPad and iPhone forgive the evilness of
the closed platform?
7. What price will the iPad have in one, two and three years from now?
8. Do you have one, have you used one and what are the single most
impressive and depressive features?
9. What could I have included in this review that would have made it better?
10. Is it clear that I am in awe of Jobs and wildly frustrated by his
control issues? Why am I and other pundits obsessed with this?
Note: I was on Leo Laporte's amazing This Week in Tech Podcast on
Sunday talking about the iPad with Xeni Jardin and Robert Scoble
http://bit.ly/cx4sru
All the best,
@Jason
Title: The 48-point, 72 hour, iPad Review
Jason's List Membership: 20,000+
Date: April 6th, 2010.
Location: Brentwood, California
Mood: Delirious four month-old baby bliss
Travel: New York City for Open Angel Forum, Thursday night.
Founded: 20 months ago, July 2008.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Jobs is a genius and we are all idiots.
That's the conclusion I've come to after 72 delightful hours of
playing with the iPad. Simply put, it's a completely new computing
experience that fills the gap between the time when we are chained to
our mighty desktops and laptops, and the hunched-back time we spend
trying to keep up on our tiny mobile phones.
It's a revolution despite a dozen obvious, unnecessary and
hard-to-swallow flaws--which we will get into in this email.
When laying in bed, at the bar waiting for my predictably late Los
Angeles dinnermates or sitting on the couch watching my Knicks count
the days before LeBron's arrival this summer, I've ditched my
Blackberry and iPhone for the iPad.
Yesterday I sat through 20 startup's presentations for the Open Angel
Forum in New York City (this Thursday night). The finalists are
awesome. I was parked in a conference room with my iPad in a rubber
stand while typing away in Gmail, Highrise (from 37Signals), Facebook
and Twitter with a full Bluetooth keyboard. My MacBook Air never left
my bag and the desk in front of me wasn't overtaken.
While I hate to admit it, the iPad will probably replace a laptop and
even a full-featured desktop for 1/3rd of "light computing" users.
(Read: people who don't use specialized software and spend their time
inside Safari's crippled browser).
Bottom line: the iPad is a revolutionary device that has been executed
to near perfection in version 1.0. It is, as many a pundit has
reported, a "game changer."
iPad Review
===========
Since you're very busy and sick of iPad reviews, I'm going to keep
this super-simple and bullet point out my thoughts and experiences in
under 140 characters each. There are 8 sections below:
a) Surprising Stuff
b) Video
c) Keyboard
d) Reading
e) Games
f) Bad Stuff
g) Good stuff
h) Should you buy one
a) Surprising stuff
===========
1. Battery lasts well over 10 hours--shocking since my iPhone doesn't last one.
2. It's heavy to hold. At 1.5 pounds, this device is half a pound too heavy.
3. Application developers are price gouging! iPad apps run 3-5x the
cost of their iPhone counterparts. Absurd. So far, I've bought two $10
applications. Dumb.
4. It is really fast and doesn't crash. Everything feels much snappier
than the latest iPhone. I'm guessing the new A4 processor is the
reason.
5. The iPad is locked down using Apple's iPhone operating system
instead of their desktop operating system. This is more computer than
phone--in fact, it doesn't have a phone!--so that's shocking to me.
6. Look for Jobs to move the iPhone OS to the desktop next with a
cheap laptop and iMac that undercut the OS X model. Your entire life
is moments away from being controlled by Apple's technological
dictatorship. This is a very sad turn of events.
b) Video
===========
1. Netflix Streaming is brilliant. No charge for the application for members.
2. ABC's native iPad app is brilliant. Watched full episode of Jamie
Olivier's new show in bed with wife.
3. Where is the Slingbox application?
4. Overall video is crisp and smooth.
5. No Hulu application? #fail.
c) Keyboard
===========
1. Keyboard in tall/portrait mode allows thumb-typing like on a
Blackberry--even for my short fingers.
2. Keyboard in landscape mode will cause you to type 50% slower than
on a real keyboard.
3. Predictive text on iPad will make you 10-20% faster than your
normal computer.
4. Why don't desktops have predictive text? Is there 3rd party
software for that anyone can recommend?
d) Reading
===========
1. The WSJ, USA Today and NYT applications are fascinating blends of
their websites and print editions. They are certainly compelling
enough to get a small percentage of people to pay for news again.
2. That small percentage of users willing to pay for news again (as
opposed to going to free websites that are one click away) are not
going to be material to the bottom line of news companies. Sorry,
you're still screwed; cut more middle management and get out of the
fancy buildings.
3. The iBook reader is a Kindle killer for the small percentage of
folks who actually read books any more. Amazon should have offered a
color screen with web browsing a year ago.
e) Games
===========
1. Do not download Plants vs. Zombies or you will curse me forever for
your lack of productivity.
2. The iPad is the Wii of casual games. After dinner parties, at
family picnics and during road trips the iPad will be the fun,
pass-around game of the future.
3. The tedious, though educational, nature of scoring and managing
games like Scrabble and Monopoly are lost forever--for better or
worse.
f) Bad Stuff
===========
1. No USB port is a crime. I wanted to plug my LiveScribe pen into it
and couldn't.
2. No camera is a crime. This device would be sick for video
conferencing. In fact, it would probably be a phone killer at home.
3. No removable memory is unforgivable. Every device and computer I
own has compact flash, SD or Micro SD. Would it kills jobs to allow an
SD card slot?
4. Internal speaker sounds disgraceful--like an AM radio that you
found in our grandmothers closet.
5. The Wifi is totally screwed up. In the same room, without moving, I
would get a full signal for 10 minutes followed by no signal. I'm
reminded of the MacBook Air's Wifi problems.
6. With $100 in accessories, $100 in basic applications and the
$600-700 price tag, you're basically talking about almost a grand for
this device. It's a great device but it's not worth the price.
7. While you can run iPhone applications and make them 2x the size,
they end up looking like horrible eVGA screens from 1987.
8. No Flash or Adobe Air is pathetic and anti-competitive. The
Government should really investigates Apple's jihad against
competitive application and media platforms--it's disgraceful.
g) Good Stuff
===========
1. The "hand feel" is exceptional in or out of a case. It fits and
feels like a custom shirt and suit fresh from the dry cleaner, or a
Tesla Roadster on a winding PCH road--which is to say, perfect.
2. Battery life is stunningly good. Only explanation is that Steve
Jobs must have been infuriated by the embarrassing scene of iPhone
users begging for a charge or, worse yet, carrying around those
pathetic, dorky external battery packs.
3. More on battery life: My brand new MacBook Air lasts < 2.5 hours,
my iPhone lasts < 1.5 hours and my iPad did 12 hours yesterday. Which
one will I use on my trip to NYC at the end of the week?
4. The native keyboard sucks for a power typist like myself, but the
Bluetooth keyboard option absolutely rocks.
5. Everything feels lightening fast: switching applications, surfing
the web, playing games, downloading and checking email. The A4 chip is
the revolution here, I think, since it's responsible for the speed and
battery life gains.
6. Screen resolution and brightness is stunning and makes the iPhone
look like garbage.
h) Who Should Buy One
===========
1. If you're rich or don't care about wasting $1,000 this month only
to replace it in a year: Yes! Why do you care about replacing
anything? Give this to your nephew when you upgrade.
2. If you're a student on a budget: No. Get a Dell laptop for $500
with 10x the features.
3. If you've got kids and can afford it: Probably. I've seen my
friends' kids turn from wild tree monkeys into zoned-out stoners from
the glow of an iPod Touch. The iPad is kid-grade heroin: one dose and
they will be out for hours.
4. You're a normal person of normal means: Only if you're a tech
junkie. There are going to be much, much better Android tablets in
6-12 months with a USB port, camera, removable batteries, a memory
card and a non-crippled OS.
Wrapping Up
==========
Given all this, a fair number of questions are naturally raised.
Please take a moment to respond to the ones you feel most compelled by
and post them to your blog, at www.ipad-answers.com or by email to me
at Jason@calacanis.com.
Questions raised
===========
1. Why does Steve Jobs not allow Flash or Adobe Air?
2. Should the government investigate Apple's hard line against Adobe?
Is it anti-competitive?
3. Will you buy one today, tomorrow or never--and why?
4. What impact does the lack of a USB post, Flash, Adobe Air, a memory
card slot, camera and swappable battery have on your decision in
#3--if at all?
5. Will Steve Jobs move the iPhone/iPad operating system to your
desktop next? Why or why not?
6. Does the brilliance of the iPad and iPhone forgive the evilness of
the closed platform?
7. What price will the iPad have in one, two and three years from now?
8. Do you have one, have you used one and what are the single most
impressive and depressive features?
9. What could I have included in this review that would have made it better?
10. Is it clear that I am in awe of Jobs and wildly frustrated by his
control issues? Why am I and other pundits obsessed with this?
Note: I was on Leo Laporte's amazing This Week in Tech Podcast on
Sunday talking about the iPad with Xeni Jardin and Robert Scoble
http://bit.ly/cx4sru
All the best,
@Jason
images:
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$13 Answers
My 48 Thoughts on this Review.
a) Surprising Stuff
b) Video
c) Keyboard
d) Reading
e) Games
f) Bad Stuff
g) Good stuff
h) Should you buy one
a) Surprising stuff
===========
1. Battery lasts well over 10 hours--shocking since my iPhone doesn't last one.
(About 3 Times the Size = 3 Times the Battery… No 3G trying to keep a signal.)
2. It's heavy to hold. At 1.5 pounds, this device is half a pound too heavy.
(You’ll get used to it.)
3. Application developers are price gouging! iPad apps run 3-5x the cost of their iPhone counterparts. Absurd. So far, I've bought two $10 applications. Dumb.
(Give it time, it’s going to hit the same cycle the iPhone did… First Apps were 4.99 and are now .99)
4. It is really fast and doesn't crash. Everything feels much snappier than the latest iPhone. I'm guessing the new A4 processor is the reason.
(Yea the processor is custom built; it’s probably an exact replica of Steve Job’s brain)
5. The iPad is locked down using Apple's iPhone operating system instead of their desktop operating system. This is more computer than phone--in fact, it doesn't have a phone!--so that's shocking to me.
(OS X has Multi-Tasking.. You said it yourself on Twit, Jobs wants no failure period.)
6. Look for Jobs to move the iPhone OS to the desktop next with a cheap laptop and iMac that undercut the OS X model. Your entire life is moments away from being controlled by Apple's technological dictatorship. This is a very sad turn of events.
(This is his iPhone OS on a “cheap” “desktop”. This is a “Netbook Killer”, loose translation of iPad Keynote)
b) Video
===========
1. Netflix Streaming is brilliant. No charge for the application for members.
(Agree. DVD Quality picture)
2. ABC's native iPad app is brilliant. Watched full episode of Jamie Olivier's new show in bed with wife.
(Your answer to Section-b Question-5 (no hulu). I hope every major channel does an App just like this one. Really nice.)
3. Where is the Slingbox application?
http://appadvice.com/appnn/2010/03/slingplayer-hd-coming-ipad/)">(SlingPlayer (HD) Coming to the iPad - http://appadvice.com/appnn/2010/03/slingplayer-hd-coming-ipad/)
4. Overall video is crisp and smooth.
(Processor is a BIG help with this I’m assuming, video quality is superb)
5. No Hulu application? #fail.
(Meh, I’m sure it will be here soon. Or maybe No Flash = No Hulu… Hmm)
c) Keyboard
===========
1. Keyboard in tall/portrait mode allows thumb-typing like on a Blackberry--even for my short fingers.
(I think that’s how a lot of young people type naturally now-a-days. My fiancée can type faster on her phone than she can on a keyboard and she is by no means bad at typing on a keyboard.)
2. Keyboard in landscape mode will cause you to type 50% slower than on a real keyboard.
(Same speed as typing on a blackberry though?)
3. Predictive text on iPad will make you 10-20% faster than your normal computer.
(Sweet)
4. Why don't desktops have predictive text? Is there 3rd party software for that anyone can recommend?
http://www.wordlogic.com/)">(Check out - http://www.wordlogic.com/)
d) Reading
===========
1. The WSJ, USA Today and NYT applications are fascinating blends of their websites and print editions. They are certainly compelling enough to get a small percentage of people to pay for news again.
(Agree, but I haven’t been able to play around with these)
2. That small percentage of users willing to pay for news again (as opposed to going to free websites that are one click away) are not going to be material to the bottom line of news companies. Sorry, you're still screwed; cut more middle management and get out of the fancy buildings.
(Sad)
3. The iBook reader is a Kindle killer for the small percentage of folks who actually read books any more. Amazon should have offered a color screen with web browsing a year ago.
(I can see a good handful of people selling their Kindle for this, especially since they can get there Kindle Book Collection through the Kindle App)
e) Games
===========
1. Do not download Plants vs. Zombies or you will curse me forever for your lack of productivity.
(LEO WARNED YOU!)
2. The iPad is the Wii of casual games. After dinner parties, at family picnics and during road trips the iPad will be the fun, pass-around game of the future.
(I can’t wait for more games that use the feature like the Scrabble Game)
3. The tedious, though educational, nature of scoring and managing games like Scrabble and Monopoly are lost forever--for better or worse.
(I can see new Apps replacing these games with more educational and interesting ones)
f) Bad Stuff
===========
1. No USB port is a crime. I wanted to plug my LiveScribe pen into it and couldn't.
(Using a Pen for even more precise things like hand writing notes or drawing would be amazing)
2. No camera is a crime. This device would be sick for video conferencing. In fact, it would probably be a phone killer at home.
(Camera + App + Multitasking)
3. No removable memory is unforgivable. Every device and computer I own has compact flash, SD or Micro SD. Would it kills jobs to allow an SD card slot?
(Agreed, why can’t you load songs on an 8Gig SD card and play them from the iPad)
4. Internal speaker sounds disgraceful--like an AM radio that you found in our grandmothers closet.
(Is it using the same speakers as the iPhone?)
5. The Wifi is totally screwed up. In the same room, without moving, I would get a full signal for 10 minutes followed by no signal. I'm reminded of the MacBook Air's Wifi problems.
(That’s lame)
6. With $100 in accessories, $100 in basic applications and the $600-700 price tag, you're basically talking about almost a grand for this device. It's a great device but it's not worth the price.
(Well everyone thought $1k was going to be the price, guess they were right)
7. While you can run iPhone applications and make them 2x the size, they end up looking like horrible eVGA screens from 1987.
(Yea and most “for iPad” Apps are a rip off)
8. No Flash or Adobe Air is pathetic and anti-competitive. The Government should really investigates Apple's jihad against competitive application and media platforms--it's disgraceful.
(Could not agree more)
g) Good Stuff
===========
1. The "hand feel" is exceptional in or out of a case. It fits and feels like a custom shirt and suit fresh from the dry cleaner, or a Tesla Roadster on a winding PCH road--which is to say, perfect.
(I agree. I was afraid it might feel too big, but it isn’t. Great job on that)
2. Battery life is stunningly good. Only explanation is that Steve Jobs must have been infuriated by the embarrassing scene of iPhone users begging for a charge or, worse yet, carrying around those pathetic, dorky external battery packs.
(Again…About 3 Times the Size = 3 Times the Battery… No 3G trying to keep a signal.)
3. More on battery life: My brand new MacBook Air lasts < 2.5 hours, my iPhone lasts < 1.5 hours and my iPad did 12 hours yesterday. Which one will I use on my trip to NYC at the end of the week?
(You will take all 3, but use one 4 times as long as the others)
4. The native keyboard sucks for a power typist like myself, but the Bluetooth keyboard option absolutely rocks.
(For a 6 finger typist( thumb, pointer and middle finger on each hand) like myself, I think the iPad will be fine)
5. Everything feels lightening fast: switching applications, surfing the web, playing games, downloading and checking email. The A4 chip is the revolution here, I think, since it's responsible for the speed and battery life gains.
(Again… No Multi-Tasking + No 3G + A4 Jobs Chip = All of the Above)
6. Screen resolution and brightness is stunning and makes the iPhone
look like garbage.
(It really is amazing looking, glare can make it unusable outdoors. Luckily I like in one of the most cloud covered cities in the US… Ravenna, Ohio)
h) Who Should Buy One
===========
1. If you're rich or don't care about wasting $1,000 this month only to replace it in a year: Yes! Why do you care about replacing anything? Give this to your nephew when you upgrade.
(That’s why Leo had one!)
2. If you're a student on a budget: No. Get a Dell laptop for $500 with 10x the features.
(Agree, it’s not quite ready for the college life yet)
3. If you've got kids and can afford it: Probably. I've seen my friends' kids turn from wild tree monkeys into zoned-out stoners from the glow of an iPod Touch. The iPad is kid-grade heroin: one dose and they will be out for hours.
(Load up one with some Dora/SpongeBob/Pixar Movies and you are good to go)
4. You're a normal person of normal means: Only if you're a tech junkie. There are going to be much, much better Android tablets in 6-12 months with a USB port, camera, removable batteries, a memory card and a non-crippled OS.
(Wait a year, at least until iPhone OS 4.0 and check out your options.)
======================
======================
======================
======================
======================
1. Why does Steve Jobs not allow Flash or Adobe Air?
Flash is incredibly buggy and would make the iPad crash from time to time. As you said on TWiT, this is something Mr. Jobs will avoid at all costs, including closing a system to extreme extents.
2. Should the government investigate Apple's hard line against Adobe?
Is it anti-competitive?
I’m not sure if it’s anti-competitive, it’s not like Apple is denying Flash while only allowing something they have developed. If they government has anything to look into, it’s the rejection of Google Voice.
3. Will you buy one today, tomorrow or never--and why?
Probably never, I am looking forward to upgrading my Blackberry to the Nexus One and I will be looking for a similar Android Tablet to pair it with(hopefully an HTC/Google one).
4. What impact does the lack of a USB post, Flash, Adobe Air, a memory card slot, camera and swappable battery have on your decision in #3--if at all?
All of the above are reasons I won’t buy one, as much as I loved playing around with my cousins. It’s too closed for me to invest in. There is no reason there shouldn’t be USB support, a memory slot, and a camera, AT THE VERY LEAST!
5. Will Steve Jobs move the iPhone/iPad operating system to your desktop next? Why or why not?
Like I said in the “Thoughts”. I think Steve Jobs thinks the iPad is a “NetBook Killer” and a replacement for Desktops, in the long run.
6. Does the brilliance of the iPad and iPhone forgive the evilness of the closed platform?
Absolutely not, take the Nexus One as an example. You can’t get much more open than Android and it look a ton better than the iPhone. There is no excuse.
7. What price will the iPad have in one, two and three years from now?
I can’t see it dropping below $399.99 and it won’t hit that price until the Holiday Season of 2011.
8. Do you have one, have you used one and what are the single most impressive and depressive features?
My cousin bought one and I got to play around with it for about 15-20 minutes before the battery died(he let it drain to 0% before a 1st charge). The most impressive thing to me was the screen. We watched a little of Lost on the ABC App and it looked DVD quality. Funny enough, the most disappointing thing was also the screen. There were so many finger prints on it, it looked gross and the fact that it is super glary did not help at all.
9. What could I have included in this review that would have made it better?
All of my comments, I took care of that for you.
Seriously though, once there are some more Tablets out, I would like you to do a side by side compare/contrast.
10. Is it clear that I am in awe of Jobs and wildly frustrated by his control issues? Why am I and other pundits obsessed with this?
I am completely there with you. I both love and hate Apple all at the same time. As a super geek it’s really frustrating seeing what Jobs and Apple comes out with and thinking about how much better it could be if it were open. Does Jobs know what he is doing? YES. Is it the right thing? I have no idea.
a) Surprising Stuff
b) Video
c) Keyboard
d) Reading
e) Games
f) Bad Stuff
g) Good stuff
h) Should you buy one
a) Surprising stuff
===========
1. Battery lasts well over 10 hours--shocking since my iPhone doesn't last one.
(About 3 Times the Size = 3 Times the Battery… No 3G trying to keep a signal.)
2. It's heavy to hold. At 1.5 pounds, this device is half a pound too heavy.
(You’ll get used to it.)
3. Application developers are price gouging! iPad apps run 3-5x the cost of their iPhone counterparts. Absurd. So far, I've bought two $10 applications. Dumb.
(Give it time, it’s going to hit the same cycle the iPhone did… First Apps were 4.99 and are now .99)
4. It is really fast and doesn't crash. Everything feels much snappier than the latest iPhone. I'm guessing the new A4 processor is the reason.
(Yea the processor is custom built; it’s probably an exact replica of Steve Job’s brain)
5. The iPad is locked down using Apple's iPhone operating system instead of their desktop operating system. This is more computer than phone--in fact, it doesn't have a phone!--so that's shocking to me.
(OS X has Multi-Tasking.. You said it yourself on Twit, Jobs wants no failure period.)
6. Look for Jobs to move the iPhone OS to the desktop next with a cheap laptop and iMac that undercut the OS X model. Your entire life is moments away from being controlled by Apple's technological dictatorship. This is a very sad turn of events.
(This is his iPhone OS on a “cheap” “desktop”. This is a “Netbook Killer”, loose translation of iPad Keynote)
b) Video
===========
1. Netflix Streaming is brilliant. No charge for the application for members.
(Agree. DVD Quality picture)
2. ABC's native iPad app is brilliant. Watched full episode of Jamie Olivier's new show in bed with wife.
(Your answer to Section-b Question-5 (no hulu). I hope every major channel does an App just like this one. Really nice.)
3. Where is the Slingbox application?
http://appadvice.com/appnn/2010/03/slingplayer-hd-coming-ipad/)">(SlingPlayer (HD) Coming to the iPad - http://appadvice.com/appnn/2010/03/slingplayer-hd-coming-ipad/)
4. Overall video is crisp and smooth.
(Processor is a BIG help with this I’m assuming, video quality is superb)
5. No Hulu application? #fail.
(Meh, I’m sure it will be here soon. Or maybe No Flash = No Hulu… Hmm)
c) Keyboard
===========
1. Keyboard in tall/portrait mode allows thumb-typing like on a Blackberry--even for my short fingers.
(I think that’s how a lot of young people type naturally now-a-days. My fiancée can type faster on her phone than she can on a keyboard and she is by no means bad at typing on a keyboard.)
2. Keyboard in landscape mode will cause you to type 50% slower than on a real keyboard.
(Same speed as typing on a blackberry though?)
3. Predictive text on iPad will make you 10-20% faster than your normal computer.
(Sweet)
4. Why don't desktops have predictive text? Is there 3rd party software for that anyone can recommend?
http://www.wordlogic.com/)">(Check out - http://www.wordlogic.com/)
d) Reading
===========
1. The WSJ, USA Today and NYT applications are fascinating blends of their websites and print editions. They are certainly compelling enough to get a small percentage of people to pay for news again.
(Agree, but I haven’t been able to play around with these)
2. That small percentage of users willing to pay for news again (as opposed to going to free websites that are one click away) are not going to be material to the bottom line of news companies. Sorry, you're still screwed; cut more middle management and get out of the fancy buildings.
(Sad)
3. The iBook reader is a Kindle killer for the small percentage of folks who actually read books any more. Amazon should have offered a color screen with web browsing a year ago.
(I can see a good handful of people selling their Kindle for this, especially since they can get there Kindle Book Collection through the Kindle App)
e) Games
===========
1. Do not download Plants vs. Zombies or you will curse me forever for your lack of productivity.
(LEO WARNED YOU!)
2. The iPad is the Wii of casual games. After dinner parties, at family picnics and during road trips the iPad will be the fun, pass-around game of the future.
(I can’t wait for more games that use the feature like the Scrabble Game)
3. The tedious, though educational, nature of scoring and managing games like Scrabble and Monopoly are lost forever--for better or worse.
(I can see new Apps replacing these games with more educational and interesting ones)
f) Bad Stuff
===========
1. No USB port is a crime. I wanted to plug my LiveScribe pen into it and couldn't.
(Using a Pen for even more precise things like hand writing notes or drawing would be amazing)
2. No camera is a crime. This device would be sick for video conferencing. In fact, it would probably be a phone killer at home.
(Camera + App + Multitasking)
3. No removable memory is unforgivable. Every device and computer I own has compact flash, SD or Micro SD. Would it kills jobs to allow an SD card slot?
(Agreed, why can’t you load songs on an 8Gig SD card and play them from the iPad)
4. Internal speaker sounds disgraceful--like an AM radio that you found in our grandmothers closet.
(Is it using the same speakers as the iPhone?)
5. The Wifi is totally screwed up. In the same room, without moving, I would get a full signal for 10 minutes followed by no signal. I'm reminded of the MacBook Air's Wifi problems.
(That’s lame)
6. With $100 in accessories, $100 in basic applications and the $600-700 price tag, you're basically talking about almost a grand for this device. It's a great device but it's not worth the price.
(Well everyone thought $1k was going to be the price, guess they were right)
7. While you can run iPhone applications and make them 2x the size, they end up looking like horrible eVGA screens from 1987.
(Yea and most “for iPad” Apps are a rip off)
8. No Flash or Adobe Air is pathetic and anti-competitive. The Government should really investigates Apple's jihad against competitive application and media platforms--it's disgraceful.
(Could not agree more)
g) Good Stuff
===========
1. The "hand feel" is exceptional in or out of a case. It fits and feels like a custom shirt and suit fresh from the dry cleaner, or a Tesla Roadster on a winding PCH road--which is to say, perfect.
(I agree. I was afraid it might feel too big, but it isn’t. Great job on that)
2. Battery life is stunningly good. Only explanation is that Steve Jobs must have been infuriated by the embarrassing scene of iPhone users begging for a charge or, worse yet, carrying around those pathetic, dorky external battery packs.
(Again…About 3 Times the Size = 3 Times the Battery… No 3G trying to keep a signal.)
3. More on battery life: My brand new MacBook Air lasts < 2.5 hours, my iPhone lasts < 1.5 hours and my iPad did 12 hours yesterday. Which one will I use on my trip to NYC at the end of the week?
(You will take all 3, but use one 4 times as long as the others)
4. The native keyboard sucks for a power typist like myself, but the Bluetooth keyboard option absolutely rocks.
(For a 6 finger typist( thumb, pointer and middle finger on each hand) like myself, I think the iPad will be fine)
5. Everything feels lightening fast: switching applications, surfing the web, playing games, downloading and checking email. The A4 chip is the revolution here, I think, since it's responsible for the speed and battery life gains.
(Again… No Multi-Tasking + No 3G + A4 Jobs Chip = All of the Above)
6. Screen resolution and brightness is stunning and makes the iPhone
look like garbage.
(It really is amazing looking, glare can make it unusable outdoors. Luckily I like in one of the most cloud covered cities in the US… Ravenna, Ohio)
h) Who Should Buy One
===========
1. If you're rich or don't care about wasting $1,000 this month only to replace it in a year: Yes! Why do you care about replacing anything? Give this to your nephew when you upgrade.
(That’s why Leo had one!)
2. If you're a student on a budget: No. Get a Dell laptop for $500 with 10x the features.
(Agree, it’s not quite ready for the college life yet)
3. If you've got kids and can afford it: Probably. I've seen my friends' kids turn from wild tree monkeys into zoned-out stoners from the glow of an iPod Touch. The iPad is kid-grade heroin: one dose and they will be out for hours.
(Load up one with some Dora/SpongeBob/Pixar Movies and you are good to go)
4. You're a normal person of normal means: Only if you're a tech junkie. There are going to be much, much better Android tablets in 6-12 months with a USB port, camera, removable batteries, a memory card and a non-crippled OS.
(Wait a year, at least until iPhone OS 4.0 and check out your options.)
======================
======================
======================
======================
======================
1. Why does Steve Jobs not allow Flash or Adobe Air?
Flash is incredibly buggy and would make the iPad crash from time to time. As you said on TWiT, this is something Mr. Jobs will avoid at all costs, including closing a system to extreme extents.
2. Should the government investigate Apple's hard line against Adobe?
Is it anti-competitive?
I’m not sure if it’s anti-competitive, it’s not like Apple is denying Flash while only allowing something they have developed. If they government has anything to look into, it’s the rejection of Google Voice.
3. Will you buy one today, tomorrow or never--and why?
Probably never, I am looking forward to upgrading my Blackberry to the Nexus One and I will be looking for a similar Android Tablet to pair it with(hopefully an HTC/Google one).
4. What impact does the lack of a USB post, Flash, Adobe Air, a memory card slot, camera and swappable battery have on your decision in #3--if at all?
All of the above are reasons I won’t buy one, as much as I loved playing around with my cousins. It’s too closed for me to invest in. There is no reason there shouldn’t be USB support, a memory slot, and a camera, AT THE VERY LEAST!
5. Will Steve Jobs move the iPhone/iPad operating system to your desktop next? Why or why not?
Like I said in the “Thoughts”. I think Steve Jobs thinks the iPad is a “NetBook Killer” and a replacement for Desktops, in the long run.
6. Does the brilliance of the iPad and iPhone forgive the evilness of the closed platform?
Absolutely not, take the Nexus One as an example. You can’t get much more open than Android and it look a ton better than the iPhone. There is no excuse.
7. What price will the iPad have in one, two and three years from now?
I can’t see it dropping below $399.99 and it won’t hit that price until the Holiday Season of 2011.
8. Do you have one, have you used one and what are the single most impressive and depressive features?
My cousin bought one and I got to play around with it for about 15-20 minutes before the battery died(he let it drain to 0% before a 1st charge). The most impressive thing to me was the screen. We watched a little of Lost on the ABC App and it looked DVD quality. Funny enough, the most disappointing thing was also the screen. There were so many finger prints on it, it looked gross and the fact that it is super glary did not help at all.
9. What could I have included in this review that would have made it better?
All of my comments, I took care of that for you.
Seriously though, once there are some more Tablets out, I would like you to do a side by side compare/contrast.
10. Is it clear that I am in awe of Jobs and wildly frustrated by his control issues? Why am I and other pundits obsessed with this?
I am completely there with you. I both love and hate Apple all at the same time. As a super geek it’s really frustrating seeing what Jobs and Apple comes out with and thinking about how much better it could be if it were open. Does Jobs know what he is doing? YES. Is it the right thing? I have no idea.
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M$
Lovely review!! I was really looking for a good iPad review as I am planning to buy an iPad soon. It is gonna help me in making a sound decision.
Cho Yung Tea
Cho Yung Tea
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M$
1. Why does Steve Jobs not allow Flash or Adobe Air?
I am guessing here they are processor hogs and would reduce the battery life. HTML5 is the future and no one knows how to get rid of legacy cruft like Apple.
2. Should the government investigate Apple's hard line against Adobe?
Is it anti-competitive?
Was it anti-competitive to get rid of ADB Ports, Parallel Ports and Floppy drives in the late 90's?
3. Will you buy one today, tomorrow or never--and why?
I bought two on Saturday. One for myself as an IT Guy and Blogger it was important to be familiar with the device and I bought my Mom one for her birthday because she is in school and likes to read and uses her laptop in the living room all the time.
4. What impact does the lack of a USB post, Flash, Adobe Air, a memory
card slot, camera and swappable battery have on your decision in
#3--if at all?
None. Instead of USB I store data on iDisk, Evernote, and Drop Box all of which I can access over the network on my iPad. The battery I can charge. When I carried a blackberry and an older laptop with a replaceable battery I never had a spare battery or charger then and it really didn't affect me. The Camera you got me on. This would ROCK as a video conferencing device. Perhaps a Bluetooth Video camera accessory could be in the future and a built in camera in a future rev. Apple does have a patent for a camera located behind the screen between pixels that would allow you to center a camera in the iPad screen and allow you to look right at the person you are talking to vs. appearing to look down when you are talking to them because the camera is at the top of the screen.
5. Will Steve Jobs move the iPhone/iPad operating system to your
desktop next? Why or why not?
No, the Mac community loves the Mac OS Operating System and the usefulness comes from both it's simplicity for some users and the power of Unix for others. It is very flexible and I don't think Apple wants to give up that advantage.
6. Does the brilliance of the iPad and iPhone forgive the evilness of
the closed platform?
I wouldn't say evil. It is certainly brilliant and they need to improve some processes. Switches to allow us unapproved apps would be a good start.
7. What price will the iPad have in one, two and three years from now?
I think we will see refurb units come out at a 15% discount but I don't see much downward movement in pricing.
8. Do you have one, have you used one and what are the single most
impressive and depressive features?
Impressive I would say is the screen is beautiful. Depressive I would have to say syncing files between the iPad and the Desktop. Would it have killed them to make it look like a USB drive on the desktop and drag and drop files into the system for use with Pages, Numbers, and Keynote.
9. What could I have included in this review that would have made it better?
It was a good review. I liked the 140 characters to keep it on point. I wrote one on Sunday that ended up being 2000 words and I didn't even really go into apps. blog.macguy.info if you are interested in checking it out. I had 24 hours with it and was still gushing a bit.
10. Is it clear that I am in awe of Jobs and wildly frustrated by his
control issues? Why am I and other pundits obsessed with this?
It is clear and I don't blame you. I think Jobs could stand to loosen up a bit and let the the Apple Fan community help with ideas for opening up the platform and making it more useable for the experienced and the novice users.
I am guessing here they are processor hogs and would reduce the battery life. HTML5 is the future and no one knows how to get rid of legacy cruft like Apple.
2. Should the government investigate Apple's hard line against Adobe?
Is it anti-competitive?
Was it anti-competitive to get rid of ADB Ports, Parallel Ports and Floppy drives in the late 90's?
3. Will you buy one today, tomorrow or never--and why?
I bought two on Saturday. One for myself as an IT Guy and Blogger it was important to be familiar with the device and I bought my Mom one for her birthday because she is in school and likes to read and uses her laptop in the living room all the time.
4. What impact does the lack of a USB post, Flash, Adobe Air, a memory
card slot, camera and swappable battery have on your decision in
#3--if at all?
None. Instead of USB I store data on iDisk, Evernote, and Drop Box all of which I can access over the network on my iPad. The battery I can charge. When I carried a blackberry and an older laptop with a replaceable battery I never had a spare battery or charger then and it really didn't affect me. The Camera you got me on. This would ROCK as a video conferencing device. Perhaps a Bluetooth Video camera accessory could be in the future and a built in camera in a future rev. Apple does have a patent for a camera located behind the screen between pixels that would allow you to center a camera in the iPad screen and allow you to look right at the person you are talking to vs. appearing to look down when you are talking to them because the camera is at the top of the screen.
5. Will Steve Jobs move the iPhone/iPad operating system to your
desktop next? Why or why not?
No, the Mac community loves the Mac OS Operating System and the usefulness comes from both it's simplicity for some users and the power of Unix for others. It is very flexible and I don't think Apple wants to give up that advantage.
6. Does the brilliance of the iPad and iPhone forgive the evilness of
the closed platform?
I wouldn't say evil. It is certainly brilliant and they need to improve some processes. Switches to allow us unapproved apps would be a good start.
7. What price will the iPad have in one, two and three years from now?
I think we will see refurb units come out at a 15% discount but I don't see much downward movement in pricing.
8. Do you have one, have you used one and what are the single most
impressive and depressive features?
Impressive I would say is the screen is beautiful. Depressive I would have to say syncing files between the iPad and the Desktop. Would it have killed them to make it look like a USB drive on the desktop and drag and drop files into the system for use with Pages, Numbers, and Keynote.
9. What could I have included in this review that would have made it better?
It was a good review. I liked the 140 characters to keep it on point. I wrote one on Sunday that ended up being 2000 words and I didn't even really go into apps. blog.macguy.info if you are interested in checking it out. I had 24 hours with it and was still gushing a bit.
10. Is it clear that I am in awe of Jobs and wildly frustrated by his
control issues? Why am I and other pundits obsessed with this?
It is clear and I don't blame you. I think Jobs could stand to loosen up a bit and let the the Apple Fan community help with ideas for opening up the platform and making it more useable for the experienced and the novice users.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Thanks Jason,
Great review. Here are my responses.
1. Because it's buggy, slow and painfully inefficient. If they did support it the iPads battery life would be as good as your Macbook air.
2. No, they should encourage the adoption of the non-proprietary HTML 5 standard for all dynamic online content.
3. I will buy one on the day they are available in the UK if I haven't won one before then!
4. None, the memory card accessory is perfectly fine for me as I would only want it for transferring photos from my SLR. Ideal!
5. No, we still need workstations to do more advanced stuff like video editing developing iPad apps!
6.Yes, completely. No one else would get away with it either.
7. After 1 year $350, 2nd $200 3rd $150
8. Sadly no.
9. You could have mentioned my brilliant first iPad app "Particle Frenzy"!
http://itunes.com/apps/particlefrenzy
Did I mention it's only 59p? ($0.99) ;-)
10. Me too. I think more companies need people like him.
Great review. Here are my responses.
1. Because it's buggy, slow and painfully inefficient. If they did support it the iPads battery life would be as good as your Macbook air.
2. No, they should encourage the adoption of the non-proprietary HTML 5 standard for all dynamic online content.
3. I will buy one on the day they are available in the UK if I haven't won one before then!
4. None, the memory card accessory is perfectly fine for me as I would only want it for transferring photos from my SLR. Ideal!
5. No, we still need workstations to do more advanced stuff like video editing developing iPad apps!
6.Yes, completely. No one else would get away with it either.
7. After 1 year $350, 2nd $200 3rd $150
8. Sadly no.
9. You could have mentioned my brilliant first iPad app "Particle Frenzy"!
http://itunes.com/apps/particlefrenzy
Did I mention it's only 59p? ($0.99) ;-)
10. Me too. I think more companies need people like him.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
> Steve Jobs is a genius
... true. And part of his genius is to recognize the genius of people that work for him and let them do their thing. Like this guy...
BusinessWeek - Who Is Jonathan Ive?
> ... and we are all idiots.
Speak for yourself. :)
Seriously, a lot of what your review is saying is bang in line with what I wrote after the launch.
> you're basically talking about almost a grand for this device. It's a great device but it's not worth the price.
If that turns out to be true then maybe Steve Jobs is not such a genius after all. However hardware and software prices can come down from where they are at this time. I am certainly not going to spring for the kind of money people are currently asking for apps too often.
> h) Who Should Buy One
You forgot to mention.... developers and designers that see a goldrush coming on.
Now on to the actual questions you asked. As suggested I will only address the ones that I think I have anything of interest to say on:
> 1. Why does Steve Jobs not allow Flash or Adobe Air?
Apple seems to be against anything that smacks of an alternate development environment on the iPhone and iPad. They will not allow anything that smacks of compiler, interpreters, virtual machines etc.
Why that is so only they know for sure, but remember this is a company that has *always* been obsessed with owning every piece of its ecosystem and integrating them to death. They were the people who insisted on making their own hardware when everyone else in the world thought that was madness and they should stick to software like Microsoft.
In the desktop world it was nearly the death of them, but in the iPod / iPhones / iTunes world it has worked brilliantly and made everyone else look silly.
2. Should the government investigate Apple's hard line against Adobe? Is it anti-competitive?
I think a lot of Apple's practices raise anti-trust issues. Not only the war on Flash, but their grip on what apps are available to the majority of iPhone users, and their ability to stop other people's hardware and software playing nice with iTunes and iPod.
Whether they have reached a point where they warrant action I don't know. But if Apple thinks it can get a strangehold on a big market without anyone ever taking action, they'll learn different, like IBM and Microsoft before them.
3. Will you buy one today, tomorrow or never--and why?
If I was flush with cash I already would have one. It's likely I will buy one at some point, both because I'd enjoy using it for all the reasons you found it great, and because I see it as important tech and a potential area of business opportunity that I should know about.
4. What impact does the lack of a USB post, Flash, Adobe Air, a memory
card slot, camera and swappable battery have on your decision in
#3--if at all?
None whatsoever.
I don't see this as a main computer to get serious work done. Flash would be nice but I use it mainly for video streaming, and most video streaming sites are falling over themselves to accommodate iPhone and iPad.
A swappable battery would be nice to have but esp with a 10+ hour battery life is hardly a deal breaker.
I don't do video conferencing, and if I want to read a memory card I have my PC which the iPad will sync with anyway.
5. Will Steve Jobs move the iPhone/iPad operating system to your
desktop next? Why or why not?
Desktops need to be able to run the whole gamut of real software from all sources, not just the app store. It would be madness for them to try to put a non-multitasking limited iPhone OS on a desktop.
The iPhone OS is a watered down OS X. If anything I would expect that one day the iPad and iPhone would get something closer to full OS X. I'd be more willing to spring for an iPad if I could run some Mac software on it, and esp if I could do iPhone software development on it.
6. Does the brilliance of the iPad and iPhone forgive the evilness of
the closed platform?
No one has to buy the thing if they don't want to, so it is a limited evilness. There are other phones and other tablets. And for that matter it is possible to live life without smartphones or tablet computers at all :)
As evilness goes, I personally won't lose any sleep over it.
10. Is it clear that I am in awe of Jobs and wildly frustrated by his
control issues? Why am I and other pundits obsessed with this?
It is not entirely clear that you are in awe of him. But it is clear that you are frustrated with his control issues.
The reasons why people are so obsessed are probably simple human psychology.
On the one hand he makes incredible, desirable things that make you drool.
On the other hand he is intransigent in doing things his way, People are always frustrated when they want something, think they should have it, and are thwarted.
When someone won't give you what you want, don't you always tend to make them into the bad guy? (Not just you of course... human psychology.)
And finally....
> Watched full episode of Jamie Olivier's new show in bed with wife.
I never imagined we'd ever be hearing about what you do in bed with your wife. :)
... true. And part of his genius is to recognize the genius of people that work for him and let them do their thing. Like this guy...
BusinessWeek - Who Is Jonathan Ive?
> ... and we are all idiots.
Speak for yourself. :)
Seriously, a lot of what your review is saying is bang in line with what I wrote after the launch.
> you're basically talking about almost a grand for this device. It's a great device but it's not worth the price.
If that turns out to be true then maybe Steve Jobs is not such a genius after all. However hardware and software prices can come down from where they are at this time. I am certainly not going to spring for the kind of money people are currently asking for apps too often.
> h) Who Should Buy One
You forgot to mention.... developers and designers that see a goldrush coming on.
Now on to the actual questions you asked. As suggested I will only address the ones that I think I have anything of interest to say on:
> 1. Why does Steve Jobs not allow Flash or Adobe Air?
Apple seems to be against anything that smacks of an alternate development environment on the iPhone and iPad. They will not allow anything that smacks of compiler, interpreters, virtual machines etc.
Why that is so only they know for sure, but remember this is a company that has *always* been obsessed with owning every piece of its ecosystem and integrating them to death. They were the people who insisted on making their own hardware when everyone else in the world thought that was madness and they should stick to software like Microsoft.
In the desktop world it was nearly the death of them, but in the iPod / iPhones / iTunes world it has worked brilliantly and made everyone else look silly.
2. Should the government investigate Apple's hard line against Adobe? Is it anti-competitive?
I think a lot of Apple's practices raise anti-trust issues. Not only the war on Flash, but their grip on what apps are available to the majority of iPhone users, and their ability to stop other people's hardware and software playing nice with iTunes and iPod.
Whether they have reached a point where they warrant action I don't know. But if Apple thinks it can get a strangehold on a big market without anyone ever taking action, they'll learn different, like IBM and Microsoft before them.
3. Will you buy one today, tomorrow or never--and why?
If I was flush with cash I already would have one. It's likely I will buy one at some point, both because I'd enjoy using it for all the reasons you found it great, and because I see it as important tech and a potential area of business opportunity that I should know about.
4. What impact does the lack of a USB post, Flash, Adobe Air, a memory
card slot, camera and swappable battery have on your decision in
#3--if at all?
None whatsoever.
I don't see this as a main computer to get serious work done. Flash would be nice but I use it mainly for video streaming, and most video streaming sites are falling over themselves to accommodate iPhone and iPad.
A swappable battery would be nice to have but esp with a 10+ hour battery life is hardly a deal breaker.
I don't do video conferencing, and if I want to read a memory card I have my PC which the iPad will sync with anyway.
5. Will Steve Jobs move the iPhone/iPad operating system to your
desktop next? Why or why not?
Desktops need to be able to run the whole gamut of real software from all sources, not just the app store. It would be madness for them to try to put a non-multitasking limited iPhone OS on a desktop.
The iPhone OS is a watered down OS X. If anything I would expect that one day the iPad and iPhone would get something closer to full OS X. I'd be more willing to spring for an iPad if I could run some Mac software on it, and esp if I could do iPhone software development on it.
6. Does the brilliance of the iPad and iPhone forgive the evilness of
the closed platform?
No one has to buy the thing if they don't want to, so it is a limited evilness. There are other phones and other tablets. And for that matter it is possible to live life without smartphones or tablet computers at all :)
As evilness goes, I personally won't lose any sleep over it.
10. Is it clear that I am in awe of Jobs and wildly frustrated by his
control issues? Why am I and other pundits obsessed with this?
It is not entirely clear that you are in awe of him. But it is clear that you are frustrated with his control issues.
The reasons why people are so obsessed are probably simple human psychology.
On the one hand he makes incredible, desirable things that make you drool.
On the other hand he is intransigent in doing things his way, People are always frustrated when they want something, think they should have it, and are thwarted.
When someone won't give you what you want, don't you always tend to make them into the bad guy? (Not just you of course... human psychology.)
And finally....
> Watched full episode of Jamie Olivier's new show in bed with wife.
I never imagined we'd ever be hearing about what you do in bed with your wife. :)
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M$
I like the first post by Paul... Here is my quick answer.
1) No flash is a GOOD thing. It's a common cause of crashes, a resource hog, and entirely replaceable with the open HTML5.
2) No . I've had many PDAs / phones / game consoles that don't run Flash (thank God!)
3) Yes, have one. I see the iPad as a satellite to my main workstation (a Mac Pro). The e-book reader and excellent browser is a killer combo and the 16gb version is only slightly more expensive than a Kindle DX
4) No impact. The see the "no USB" gripe as particularly short sighted here in 2010. AirSharing HD, iDisk, Evernote (!!!), etc is where it's at. DropBox rocks too. If you are hard up for a USB port, get one of those cheap plastic Acer netbooks. Jason - is there no room in the market for a sleek, simplified (and reliable because of it) device?
5) No iPad/ iPhone OS on Desktops - There is going to be a place for a full features OS for many years to come - iPad just isn't one of them.
6) The close platform is not new to Apple. See Windows Moble, Xbox360, Playstation3, Palm, etc. With specialized devices such as these, a close platform helps to ensure a good user experience. Desktop computers are an entirely different matter.
7) Interesting (and big) question. Depends on how Apple deals with feature bloat, display and battery technology... I'll decline to answer.
8) I have one. Love Love love the e-book / browser combo! I dislike the weight and the CPU is still not fast enough in my opinion.
9) Maybe a comparison to another device? All told I think your review is well thought out and fair.
10) I'm not a phycologist.
1) No flash is a GOOD thing. It's a common cause of crashes, a resource hog, and entirely replaceable with the open HTML5.
2) No . I've had many PDAs / phones / game consoles that don't run Flash (thank God!)
3) Yes, have one. I see the iPad as a satellite to my main workstation (a Mac Pro). The e-book reader and excellent browser is a killer combo and the 16gb version is only slightly more expensive than a Kindle DX
4) No impact. The see the "no USB" gripe as particularly short sighted here in 2010. AirSharing HD, iDisk, Evernote (!!!), etc is where it's at. DropBox rocks too. If you are hard up for a USB port, get one of those cheap plastic Acer netbooks. Jason - is there no room in the market for a sleek, simplified (and reliable because of it) device?
5) No iPad/ iPhone OS on Desktops - There is going to be a place for a full features OS for many years to come - iPad just isn't one of them.
6) The close platform is not new to Apple. See Windows Moble, Xbox360, Playstation3, Palm, etc. With specialized devices such as these, a close platform helps to ensure a good user experience. Desktop computers are an entirely different matter.
7) Interesting (and big) question. Depends on how Apple deals with feature bloat, display and battery technology... I'll decline to answer.
8) I have one. Love Love love the e-book / browser combo! I dislike the weight and the CPU is still not fast enough in my opinion.
9) Maybe a comparison to another device? All told I think your review is well thought out and fair.
10) I'm not a phycologist.
source(s):
Person opinion...
Person opinion...
images:
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M$
You guys sound like idiots bashing flash. You should be bashing horrible software developed in Flash. Would you bitch about Apple if someone made a horrible application for snow leopard? Here's what everyone is missing in their bitch-fests about Flash...Steve is now telling you what you can and can't experience on the INTERNET if you buy his products. If you hate flash, don't use it. If you think it's a resource hog, don't use it. But don't even think your gonna sell me a product that tells me I can't have a choice.
Also, for any other Unix admins out there... iSSH is indispensable!!! SSH / VNC / X11
iTunes link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/issh-ssh-vnc-console/id287765826?mt=8
HTML5 will not fully accomplish what proprietary software already does. Besides, Apple's interest in it is to carry it off into their own impenetrable App fortress anyway --- nobody who uses Macs are going to see the open-canvas applications of HTML5.
Flash is merely a different (and yes, more expansive :) ) canvas. Apple's refutal of it on account of a love for HTML5 is a bold-faced lie. It exists to stop competition for Apps and half-programs --- nothing more.
HTML5 is for the masses, Flash is for the masses who want to invest in an extra oomph, and Apple Apps are for people in Mac jail.
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I am going to bookmark this so I can be sure to find it when I get my own iPad. I will gleefully use it as "quick ref" and thanks, Jason! What a comprehensive rundown and how helpful it will be when the time arises. I have been primarily curious as to how to duplicate texting without a cellphone, and I think this answers that question. Unless I missed something somewhere.
I'll save my Photoshop and InDesign work for my desktop, and learn to have "fun with the pad!"
I'll save my Photoshop and InDesign work for my desktop, and learn to have "fun with the pad!"
source(s):
iPad
MacIntosh
Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign
iPad
MacIntosh
Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign
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M$
well, If you wanna learn more ipad info, inculding its video & audio formats, review, tips and tutorials, also with ipad apps, games, this ipad column I think is not bad for you: http://www.ifunia.com/ipad-column/index.html
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Apple is the best game I like ipad free software download sites. Check: http://www.ipadgamesfree.net
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Download Ipad Games
Download Ipad Games Ipad Games Downloads And other Ipad downloadS Ipad ebooks Ipad newspapers Ipad apps Downloads And Reviews
Source : http://www.ipadgamesfree.net
http://www.kidsipadappsfree.com
Download Ipad Games Ipad Games Downloads And other Ipad downloadS Ipad ebooks Ipad newspapers Ipad apps Downloads And Reviews
Source : http://www.ipadgamesfree.net
http://www.kidsipadappsfree.com
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M$
Nice writeup Jason! Did you check out other news apps like The Early Edition? (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-early-edition/id363496943) It's kinda like a morning newspaper, but you can just pick your RSS feeds for content... pretty neat, and I hear that Google Reader integration will be coming soon, so that'll seal it for most people... that and you can grab your content from anywhere (from RSS), rather than from a specific news syndicated entity like CNN or WSJ...
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Thanks Jason! Finally a REAL review. Im definitely a hard core "geek" that loves to mess with everything, "hack" (as much as that word means nothing now)... maybe because im 35 now but its so nice to have some things in my life that I don't need to maintain. My iPhone and now iPad. I never have to worry about patches, conflicts, data loss...etc. Kind of a Vacation :)
My only comment is weight, it is heavy but I rather carry around an extra half pound for the amazing battery life.
In the past few nights after work I "forced" myself to live with just the iPad and it was great!
Carrying around a 1.5lb thin device around is so much nicer than "lugging" around a Laptop. Especially at night im not creating anything, just checking e-mail, facebook, twitter, MLB 2010 app...etc its a perfect "After Work" device.
Thanks for a honest and real review.
(Instead of some academic review)
Ichiro
My only comment is weight, it is heavy but I rather carry around an extra half pound for the amazing battery life.
In the past few nights after work I "forced" myself to live with just the iPad and it was great!
Carrying around a 1.5lb thin device around is so much nicer than "lugging" around a Laptop. Especially at night im not creating anything, just checking e-mail, facebook, twitter, MLB 2010 app...etc its a perfect "After Work" device.
Thanks for a honest and real review.
(Instead of some academic review)
Ichiro
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
1. Why does Steve Jobs not allow Flash or Adobe Air?
Part of the argument would be performance, but I would lean more towards the point that Steve does not want to allow anyone outside to be able to build apps for the device, as well as there are a fair amount of free Flash games available online, including FarmVille, which are free.
2. Should the government investigate Apple's hard line against Adobe? Is it anti-competitive?
There are fair questions to be brought up here, though there is an argument to be made that more standards based, browser level programming is the future. Adobe provides a standard plug-in which appears the same across all platforms, something which can't be said of standard HTML today between browsers on different OSes, let alone different browsers using the same engine. While it may not be possible for govt intervention to happen, Apple should watch itself since the web is probably 3 years out to making Flash have a smaller foothold.
3. Will you buy one today, tomorrow or never--and why?
For premise, I use a Zune HD as a music player, and the last iPod I used was a iPod nano, so I haven't experienced the App store, but I'm not planning on buying one since: A. I'm a student without the budget B. Have no real use case for it since I am not an overwhelming content consumer and C. Am not a fan of the ultra closed nature of Apple, vs. the moderately closed nature of MSFT.
4. What impact does the lack of a USB post, Flash, Adobe Air, a memory card slot, camera and swappable battery have on your decision in #3--if at all?
To an extent, it doesn't have any effect, but on the USB front, isn't Apple the only phone company not to accept the idea of moving to the universal standard of a micro-USB port that the EU wanted to implement?
5. Will Steve Jobs move the iPhone/iPad operating system to your desktop next? Why or why not?
No. Apple would not do a cheap computer, and Apple still has a lot of energy in OS X, even if only <10% use it.
6. Does the brilliance of the iPad and iPhone forgive the evilness of the closed platform?
No. Microsoft utilized a close platform nature for the ZuneHD, which is agrivating on the Apps front (which lacks, since there are near none), but they produced an amazing music platform = making new music easy to find and an amazing UI that competes on a whole different level. The Windows Phone 7 platform builds off of that, but MSFT claims they will approve apps, but will be more transparent than Apple is about it, but we'll wait and see about that. Google has brought Android, which opened up the phones to any App possible, which will be interesting to watch. So, yes, closing down the iPod/Phone is not forgivable.
7. What price will the iPad have in one, two and three years from now?
I think Apple will do enough work to not allow it to fall under 300 dollars, at the very least
8. Do you have one, have you used one and what are the single most impressive and depressive features?
Never used one.
9. What could I have included in this review that would have made it better?
Not much. It seemed to cover most of the bases to be honest.
10. Is it clear that I am in awe of Jobs and wildly frustrated by his control issues? Why am I and other pundits obsessed with this?
More or less that is clear, and to be honest, pundits are too entrenched in the past to be quite honest. When Microsoft brings out a new item, whether it be Windows 7, ZuneHD, or the upcoming Windows Phone 7 reboot, all we hear about is how it will be a disappointment, how it "sucks," how it's "closed," and how they have no chance. Only after they have seen it do they even give it a chance, but seldom do you find ones who are willing to give it a chance. This is why I've found myself a fan of GDGT to an extent, where I feel like MSFT's efforts are at least given a chance. Too many others are too entrinched in Apple since: A. It will get them readers since it's "hot", B. They built the hype, thus get viewers, and C. It's not Microsoft.
Part of the argument would be performance, but I would lean more towards the point that Steve does not want to allow anyone outside to be able to build apps for the device, as well as there are a fair amount of free Flash games available online, including FarmVille, which are free.
2. Should the government investigate Apple's hard line against Adobe? Is it anti-competitive?
There are fair questions to be brought up here, though there is an argument to be made that more standards based, browser level programming is the future. Adobe provides a standard plug-in which appears the same across all platforms, something which can't be said of standard HTML today between browsers on different OSes, let alone different browsers using the same engine. While it may not be possible for govt intervention to happen, Apple should watch itself since the web is probably 3 years out to making Flash have a smaller foothold.
3. Will you buy one today, tomorrow or never--and why?
For premise, I use a Zune HD as a music player, and the last iPod I used was a iPod nano, so I haven't experienced the App store, but I'm not planning on buying one since: A. I'm a student without the budget B. Have no real use case for it since I am not an overwhelming content consumer and C. Am not a fan of the ultra closed nature of Apple, vs. the moderately closed nature of MSFT.
4. What impact does the lack of a USB post, Flash, Adobe Air, a memory card slot, camera and swappable battery have on your decision in #3--if at all?
To an extent, it doesn't have any effect, but on the USB front, isn't Apple the only phone company not to accept the idea of moving to the universal standard of a micro-USB port that the EU wanted to implement?
5. Will Steve Jobs move the iPhone/iPad operating system to your desktop next? Why or why not?
No. Apple would not do a cheap computer, and Apple still has a lot of energy in OS X, even if only <10% use it.
6. Does the brilliance of the iPad and iPhone forgive the evilness of the closed platform?
No. Microsoft utilized a close platform nature for the ZuneHD, which is agrivating on the Apps front (which lacks, since there are near none), but they produced an amazing music platform = making new music easy to find and an amazing UI that competes on a whole different level. The Windows Phone 7 platform builds off of that, but MSFT claims they will approve apps, but will be more transparent than Apple is about it, but we'll wait and see about that. Google has brought Android, which opened up the phones to any App possible, which will be interesting to watch. So, yes, closing down the iPod/Phone is not forgivable.
7. What price will the iPad have in one, two and three years from now?
I think Apple will do enough work to not allow it to fall under 300 dollars, at the very least
8. Do you have one, have you used one and what are the single most impressive and depressive features?
Never used one.
9. What could I have included in this review that would have made it better?
Not much. It seemed to cover most of the bases to be honest.
10. Is it clear that I am in awe of Jobs and wildly frustrated by his control issues? Why am I and other pundits obsessed with this?
More or less that is clear, and to be honest, pundits are too entrenched in the past to be quite honest. When Microsoft brings out a new item, whether it be Windows 7, ZuneHD, or the upcoming Windows Phone 7 reboot, all we hear about is how it will be a disappointment, how it "sucks," how it's "closed," and how they have no chance. Only after they have seen it do they even give it a chance, but seldom do you find ones who are willing to give it a chance. This is why I've found myself a fan of GDGT to an extent, where I feel like MSFT's efforts are at least given a chance. Too many others are too entrinched in Apple since: A. It will get them readers since it's "hot", B. They built the hype, thus get viewers, and C. It's not Microsoft.
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M$
Went right to the "bad stuff" section...w/o 1, 2, 3 *AND/OR* 8 I won't be buying one at any price (: I wouldn't turn *ONE* down as a gift tho ;) Thanks for the review ... for the record I have been an intimate MacAddict (I have never been w/o a Mac) since '91 and only have had to go to the DARK SIDE for work for a few years late '90's and I still hate Windows with a passion ...
The points you mentioned in the article are valid, especially the bad one. Me of course have returned my ipad as I found it not to be great value for money, it's way overpriced.
Http://choyungteas.net
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1. Why does Steve Jobs not allow Flash or Adobe Air?
There are a whole slew of possibilities, most of which are covered in CNN/Fortune's Brainstorm Tech blog (link below). I think it comes down to two things. One, Flash and ARM do not play well together. The biggest problem there being that Flash is a power hog. There is no way users would get ten or twelve hours of battery life if Flash were enabled, and so far, the battery life issue is one of the biggest Wow! factors that the iPad has going for it.
Also, Steve hates Flash even more than he hates buttons.
=============================
2. Should the government investigate Apple's hard line against Adobe?
Is it anti-competitive?
Dunno. Probably
==========================
3. Will you buy one today, tomorrow or never--and why?
I'm waiting for the 3G - I want that GPS Capability.
==========================
4. What impact does the lack of a USB post, Flash, Adobe Air, a memory
card slot, camera and swappable battery have on your decision in
#3--if at all?
None at all. I sure would like to have some or all of those, but I can live without them.
========================
5. Will Steve Jobs move the iPhone/iPad operating system to your
desktop next? Why or why not?
Not to *my* desktop. But I am a developer.
========================
6. Does the brilliance of the iPad and iPhone forgive the evilness of
the closed platform?
Almost.
========================
7. What price will the iPad have in one, two and three years from now?
I bet that $100USD falls off the price, which will include 3G and a camera.
================================
8. Do you have one, have you used one and what are the single most
impressive and depressive features?
No, yes, speed and battery life (tied), I don't own one yet.
========================================
9. What could I have included in this review that would have made it better?
An offer to give me a ride in the Tesla. And an iPad.
===================================
10. Is it clear that I am in awe of Jobs and wildly frustrated by his
control issues? Why am I and other pundits obsessed with this?
Yes and yes, respectively.
Because of the RDF he has created. It is amazing that when Steve leaves things out of a product, fanboys tell us that not only don't we need those things, but we are actually better off without them! Steve knows what we need better than we do! All sentences should be exclaimed breathlessly!!
How many other companies have tried to make successful tablets (or smartphones, portable music players, etc...)? How does he do what no other company seems to be able to do - get people excited enough to buy the very first iteration of a product almost sight unseen?
There are a whole slew of possibilities, most of which are covered in CNN/Fortune's Brainstorm Tech blog (link below). I think it comes down to two things. One, Flash and ARM do not play well together. The biggest problem there being that Flash is a power hog. There is no way users would get ten or twelve hours of battery life if Flash were enabled, and so far, the battery life issue is one of the biggest Wow! factors that the iPad has going for it.
Also, Steve hates Flash even more than he hates buttons.
=============================
2. Should the government investigate Apple's hard line against Adobe?
Is it anti-competitive?
Dunno. Probably
==========================
3. Will you buy one today, tomorrow or never--and why?
I'm waiting for the 3G - I want that GPS Capability.
==========================
4. What impact does the lack of a USB post, Flash, Adobe Air, a memory
card slot, camera and swappable battery have on your decision in
#3--if at all?
None at all. I sure would like to have some or all of those, but I can live without them.
========================
5. Will Steve Jobs move the iPhone/iPad operating system to your
desktop next? Why or why not?
Not to *my* desktop. But I am a developer.
========================
6. Does the brilliance of the iPad and iPhone forgive the evilness of
the closed platform?
Almost.
========================
7. What price will the iPad have in one, two and three years from now?
I bet that $100USD falls off the price, which will include 3G and a camera.
================================
8. Do you have one, have you used one and what are the single most
impressive and depressive features?
No, yes, speed and battery life (tied), I don't own one yet.
========================================
9. What could I have included in this review that would have made it better?
An offer to give me a ride in the Tesla. And an iPad.
===================================
10. Is it clear that I am in awe of Jobs and wildly frustrated by his
control issues? Why am I and other pundits obsessed with this?
Yes and yes, respectively.
Because of the RDF he has created. It is amazing that when Steve leaves things out of a product, fanboys tell us that not only don't we need those things, but we are actually better off without them! Steve knows what we need better than we do! All sentences should be exclaimed breathlessly!!
How many other companies have tried to make successful tablets (or smartphones, portable music players, etc...)? How does he do what no other company seems to be able to do - get people excited enough to buy the very first iteration of a product almost sight unseen?
source(s):
1) http://www.arm.com/community/software-enablement/adobe.php
http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/01/29/behind-the-adobe-app...
2) through 10) My brain, to which I cannot provide a link.
1) http://www.arm.com/community/software-enablement/adobe.php
http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/01/29/behind-the-adobe-app...
2) through 10) My brain, to which I cannot provide a link.
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Apple products suck, they charge a premium for rehashed technology. Its a joke!
http://dvrsecuritysystemworld.com
And just as a side note...
"or sitting on the couch watching my Knicks count
the days before LeBron's arrival this summer, I've ditched my
Blackberry and iPhone for the iPad."
LBJ is not going anywhere.. I would bet all of my M$ on that.
(Me and LeBron hanging out)
lol...you and Lebron eh?
Nice addition!! :)