Anyone have an iPad?

[conntom]

Gillette is right. I've decided to skip the iPad for a while.

I do however still might consider the iphone as I need something that I can process credit cards on and something that is preeetty.

 

[B_VinylBoy]

What are the disadvantages of the Zune? I've never had the chance to play with one. Are they actually crap or is this just the belief held because it's release was teased to death?

Where do we begin?
First, the good ideas. The Zune had a feature where you could transfer files to another user wirelessly just to preview for a couple of days. When it came out, it had a built-in FM Tuner, plus you could go back and forth between clicking or touching the screen for navigation.

And of course, the bad. The software used to integrate with the Zune was horrible. Battery life was terrible. Also, since many people were using iTunes for music storage and organization many didn't know how to properly convert or keep their files in a way that made a transition from one unit to the next easily. As for the file transferring via WiFi, I know a lot of people were pissed that it was just a temporary thing where the files disabled themselves after a certain amount of time. The Zune Store (when first implemented) was also not compatible with many common media types in the Windows world such as protected WMV, DivX and even some WMA files. And unlike the iPod, it was a Windows Only device. Mac users had to use an intel-based computer and set up Boot Camp just to use a Zune. That's too much work considering the ease and tight integration the iPod/iTunes combination provided on both computing platforms. Making things only work on one OS these days is just bad business practice.

It happens all the time in the music and video gaming industries... potentially great hardware being shot down due to the lack of good software.

 

[Gillette]

Skull, syncing to your computer requires what? A computer. SD cards are a hell of a lot more portable meaning I don't have to go home to do it. They are small, that's the beauty of them. Mixed up? Label them or just buy each from a different company to distinguish between them. Losing them is preventable if you've an ounce of grey matter: a credit card slot in your wallet is just one option. Christ, phones get lost too yet oddly enough people are still using them.

How much memory do I need? I have a 30gig iPod that's full and about a hundred albums more that I'd like to have available. It's supposed to be my music library not just a snippet thereof. I don't wish to spend the time sorting through which songs are syncworthy at any given time while estimating what I'd like in free memory for vids, pics and other files. With the SD cards I can load my music on them, interchange between chicks, dicks, metal & classical as the mood strikes me and keep the main memory of the device free for all the other stuff.

Another point on this is the more memory the phone has the more that model cost in the first place. With SD cards I can essentially have unlimited memory for the (ever decreasing) cost of the cards themselves.

Yep, you could just carry an extra charger but that's a lumpy thing in your pocket getting the cord tangled and if you still want to use the phone while it's charging you're tethered to the wall. Joy. With the external power packs you've got this odd thing dangling from your phone. Not sleek and sexy at all. A spare battery is a small rectangular object with no cords to tangle and when put to use doesn't tie you to anything or have anything dangling from the phone. It's a simplicity that I prefer.

Anyone who drops any electronic device into a liquid is a moron but it happens. Should it ever happen to me I'd like to know that I can save my phone by quickly popping out the battery rather than hoping I can even find a rice bag to put my phone in. Or is that one more thing I should have to carry just in case?

These are options that work for me. Having to go home to sync up and carrying around bulky extras is like telling me I don't have to make a left hand turn when I can just make three right turns instead. Stuff that.

If you're pleased with it, great. I have used them, I like a great many things about them yet they still don't meet my criteria. It's just that simple.

I haven't said that Apple is crap, in fact I said they were an industry leader. Even the original iPhones were a very impressive first jump into the phone arena. The accelerometer was wicked. The 3Gs is a very impressive toy and the iPhone HD looks like it will finally multitask (Front facing camera, too. Neat.). All I've been saying in this thread is that considering Apples experience with computers the iPad doesn't live up to expectations and doesn't come close to what this company should be able to deliver. This doesn't make me an Apple hater, it makes me a critical consumer.

I do the same thing with other brands, you just don't see me posting on it because iPhones and now the iPad are the only things that inspire this zombie-like devotion. This gets on my nerves because if the buying public laps up sub par products just because they're pretty then the producers will continue to sell pretty sub par items. People need to snap out of the trance and demand better.

The internal combustion engine was an impressive revolutionary invention no matter how you slice it but I'll bet had the first automobile lacked brakes, steering or wheels that people would have refused to buy one until it was more useful.

 

[Gillette]

It happens all the time in the music and video gaming industries... potentially great hardware being shot down due to the lack of good software.

True that.
Thanks for the run down.

One of the negatives though, I think people should be slapped for complaining about. Bitching about the preview feature making the file temporary is like being allowed to test drive a new car for a few days then stamping your feet that you aren't allowed to keep it for free.

 

[Skull Mason]

All I've been saying in this thread is that considering Apples experience with computers the iPad doesn't live up to expectations and doesn't come close to what this company should be able to deliver. This doesn't make me an Apple hater, it makes me a critical consumer.

I do the same thing with other brands, you just don't see me posting on it because iPhones and now the iPad are the only things that inspire this zombie-like devotion. This gets on my nerves because if the buying public laps up sub par products just because they're pretty then the producers will continue to sell pretty sub par items. People need to snap out of the trance and demand better.

The internal combustion engine was an impressive revolutionary invention no matter how you slice it but I'll bet had the first automobile lacked brakes, steering or wheels that people would have refused to buy one until it was more useful.

Well we are in agreement there, and in full disclosure I've been banned from the macrumors forums multiple times for my dismantling of apple fanboys (lpsg prepared me well for the dismantlings). The ipad is just the first version of the iphone, cool, but obviously restricted in many areas so you have to go out and get the next version, and then the next version, and so on...But it does look to me like it will revolutionize the genre it is in, much like the ipod did and the iphone has (for the most part). However I will pass on it much like I did the first two generations of iphones and maybe one day get it when either A) I actually may need it or B) it has got enough features where it becomes useful to me. Sounds familiar huh.

 

[Gillette]

Sounds familiar huh.

:smile:

 

[tripod]

I don't know about the iPad, but I just got an iPhone and they are fucking INCREDIBLE! The free eBay app is out of this world... no more missing auctions. lol!

Those who have been saying wait a little while are right on the iPad. A lack of USB is a CRAZY oversight that renders the iPad almost useless as a netbook replacement. I have no idea what it is actually for...

 

[Mem]

How does the wifi work? DO you have to get a subscritption or is it just free if you have a hot spot to go to?

Probably just like the wifi on an iPod Touch. You have to use a hotspot or your own wireless internet. They are soon coming out with a pricier version that has 3G capabilities and you have to sign up with their AT&T provider plan to use it.

 

[nudeyorker]

Well mine got delivered today, I just unpacked the box; I'm off to the Apple Store tomorrow to get connected. I just wanted it for travel purposes. I'll keep you posted.
PS It is pretty!

 

[SilverTrain]

Well mine got delivered today, I just unpacked the box; I'm off to the Apple Store tomorrow to get connected. I just wanted it for travel purposes. I'll keep you posted.
PS It is pretty!

I played with one in the store the other day. Verrry cute, and quite fun. I'll most likely wait for the next gen. But I envy you your early adoption.

 

[SpeedoGuy]

If so, thoughts?

Tried one out at the local Apple store in the mall.

Very slick. Solid feel to it. Apparently well constructed. Behaved just like a bigger iPhone.

But can't justify puchasing one while I've got a working notebook PC.

 

[B_VinylBoy]

I played with one in the store the other day. Verrry cute, and quite fun. I'll most likely wait for the next gen. But I envy you your early adoption.

To be brutally honest, the iPad should be somewhat solid on a hardware level just for the simple fact that they've had much practice with the iPod Touch and the iPhone utilizing similar technology. One of the main reasons why I'm waiting for second or third generation is because I can sense there will be hardware & software enhancements made to this device that will most likely not be supported on the very first model of the iPad. This happened with critical software updates on previous iPod models in the past, as well as some minor things surrounding their laptops.

USB, iSight Camera, Bluetooth and an SD Card Reader. Perhaps a decent 3G plan for unlimited service. That's all the iPad needs to be perfectly solid for me, and I'd be happy with just 60% of those additions. :wink:

 

[BobLeeSwagger]

My biggest beef with the iPhone/iPad phenomemon is that it's the most backwards thing I've seen. Normally a company designs it's products to give the consumer what they want so they'll buy it. Not Apple.

...

I don't get this mass hypnosis effect.
I'm the consumer. Give me what I want or you don't get my money.

Then you just don't like Apple. (And that's OK.) Every product Apple has released in the last 20 years has been of the "here's what we came up with and you'll want it" variety. They don't do opinion surveys or focus groups. They don't really care what consumers want, even with the iPhone. I own one and love it, but I didn't know I wanted a phone that did those things until it came out. It may make me a dupe, but I'm happy with my phone.

I haven't said that Apple is crap, in fact I said they were an industry leader. Even the original iPhones were a very impressive first jump into the phone arena. The accelerometer was wicked. The 3Gs is a very impressive toy and the iPhone HD looks like it will finally multitask (Front facing camera, too. Neat.). All I've been saying in this thread is that considering Apples experience with computers the iPad doesn't live up to expectations and doesn't come close to what this company should be able to deliver. This doesn't make me an Apple hater, it makes me a critical consumer.

I do the same thing with other brands, you just don't see me posting on it because iPhones and now the iPad are the only things that inspire this zombie-like devotion. This gets on my nerves because if the buying public laps up sub par products just because they're pretty then the producers will continue to sell pretty sub par items. People need to snap out of the trance and demand better.

Everyone should be a critical consumer. The biggest reason not to buy an iPad is that it's the first edition. Just like the first iPhone can't do half the stuff that the new one can, the current iPad doesn't do nearly as much as the one that will come out a few years from now.

I'm not sure why so many people (and the Apple fanboys are as bad as anyone) think that Apple should come out with the product that they want to see. Maybe they're worried that some other company will come out with it first.

 

[conntom]

http://www.beersteak.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/ipad-taped-iphone.jpg