how many people here own an Ipad

[IronWolf]

I'm not a big fan of the tablet form factor for anything other than reading books, and pure e-book readers are both cheaper and better at that (at least, for fiction; gaming books or other stuff where layout and color art matters a lot are another matter).

That's the biggest thing with the Kindle/e-book reader, from what I have read online it seems they have trouble with PDFs. Well at least the larger, multi-layered PDFs that Paizo puts out. Other than that the Kindle seems great to read fiction and e-book style formats on, but I want a device that can do both which is a notch in the pro column of the tablet device.

 

[Cergorach]

I recently bought an iPad (16GB, wifi only, €499), it's only out recently in the EU. It's one of my best hardware buys in a long time, it's just excellent for reading pdfs. I don't really miss USB/SD support, because to be honest the 16GB isn't full yet and I doubt it ever really will be. I'm an IT guy with a strong dislike for wifi (security issues), but Apple implemented it well in iOS (both iPad and iPhone) and works very well.

I can only say that iBooks isn't stable enough for reading large pdf files (it crashes), GoodReader ($0.99/€0,79) on the other hand is excellent (opening 375MB+ pdfs). It even has the ability to connect to other services like ftp/dropbox/googledocs/etc. I have a NAS (networked harddrive) that's always on and connected to the network that allows me to run an FTP server, so I can download and view all my pdfs at home (and if I wanted to, at any place connected to the Internet). For books where layout isn't important (pure text) I use Stanza (free), as it allows me to manipulate font type/size/spacing/etc, I moved from zipped html/txt to epub and use calibre (free, open source) to manage/convert those files. Calibre has a very nice library function and lets you use it with a push of a button as a library server (you can use stanza to browse your calibre library through wifi).

I don't expect it (the 9,7" model) to become cheaper then the $499/€499, that's not how Apple operates. Older models are pulled from production, replaced by models that are faster or have more features. With the recent MacMini there was even a serious price rise for the cheapest model. The only way I see prices dropping is if the competition can make a comparable product that is far cheaper, that's not going to happen anytime soon and even if it happens, don't expect enormous price cuts. You might have more luck with second hand models when new generations show up, but I also expect that initially there will be little supply (as older models are moved within family units, spouses, kids, parents).

Currently I can see only a few reasons to move to a new iPad (for me personally):
- (Significantly) higher resolution
- Faster processor and/or more RAM if I really need it (for certain important applications)
- Larger or smaller model, only if I need it for a particular implementation.
- More storage space if I really need it (currently have more then enough with 16GB)

For internet/email it's also decent, it's not the first time I've been called (for IT support) when I was still sleeping and grabbing the iPad and looking at e-mail/internet to see what's going on, instead of going upstairs in to my home office and starting up the PC and logging in. I've even made a couple of comments on ENworld when I was not at the computer...

 

[Croesus]

I'm not a big fan of the tablet form factor for anything other than reading books, and pure e-book readers are both cheaper and better at that (at least, for fiction; gaming books or other stuff where layout and color art matters a lot are another matter).

This is the thing I don't get about the iPad - what's the value? I realize that it does some things well, but I'm not paying $500 to read PDF files away from my computer. It's less flexible than a laptop when it comes to productivity and gaming. It's not a replacement for a cell phone. Sure, it's kind of neat in some ways, but $500 for "neat"?

No offense to anyone who sees it differently, but I'm not spending anywhere near that much until it can replace something else I need, conveniently, without significant trade offs.

 

[falcarrion]

Theres alot of nice things about the Ipad.

1. the battery life.
2. the weight.
3. the Apps. I have more apps on it then programs on my computer and for a cheaper price.
4. I don't have to worry about antivirus software slowing it down or the cost.
5. It has multi touch tech that is incredablely smooth and fast.
6. One place to go to shop for music, apps, movies etc..

And that is only for starters.

 

[Felon]

This is the thing I don't get about the iPad - what's the value? I realize that it does some things well, but I'm not paying $500 to read PDF files away from my computer. It's less flexible than a laptop when it comes to productivity and gaming. It's not a replacement for a cell phone. Sure, it's kind of neat in some ways, but $500 for "neat"?

No offense to anyone who sees it differently, but I'm not spending anywhere near that much until it can replace something else I need, conveniently, without significant trade offs.

Well, my best friend is an unabashed Applemming, and he says that it's been four months since he moved into his new apartment, and he hasn't set up his Mac yet. He can do all his surfing and email on the pad. And the multimedia experience isn't just limited to PDF's. He can read ebooks, newspapers, and watch streaming video.

Now, we're talking about a guy who hates Windows because of all the viruses and crashes he used to get. Of course, he rejects personal accountability for clicking pop-ups willy-nilly just to make them go away. It's the eternal trade-off between freedom and security. Microsoft cares little what you do within your Windows environment. Apple, on the other hand, provides a more controlled experience where they call the shots. They can do this because they don't do OEM licenses with their OS, and they make their own hardware. My friend can't do anything that requires Flash, but on the other hand he also doesn't sit around complaining about why his iPad freezes up constantly.

Personally, I want to see some tablet alternatives. Problem is, everyone else is very timid about running a proprietary OS on their devices, and there's real hasles finding a licensable OS that fits the form factor. Lenovo was going to do a Linux shell called Skylight, and produce this really awesome laptop/tablet hybrid, but they copped out. Windows provides major resource-utilization challenges for a tablet, overtaxing both the processor and battery.

Android seems like the most logical alternative, but Google won't step up and provide a set of tablet specs, which forces manufacturers to use the cell phone specs. This, of course, means the tablet must include a phone, which not only makes it hard to compete with the iPad's price point, but also drags carriers and vocie plans into the affair. As has been said, a tablet is no replacement for a cell phone.

The only real competition I can think of at this point is the Blackberry Playbook, and the details on it are pretty vague at the moment.

 

[Tharian]

None of the above wrt the poll for me.

I don't own one. I'm not currently planning on getting one but I haven't ruled out getting one. Having just started working again after a few months without a job, I've had a few more things higher on my priority list.

 

[Tharian]

Double post.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

I still fail to see the attraction of these tablet thingies. They can do a lot of things, but nothing really good, or can they?

Want to watch a video? Cool, you've got an enormous 9.7" screen!

Want to write a mail? No problem, just call up the virtual keyboard where all the texts you might want to reference are.

Need to run a program? We call them "Apps" around here, and there are myriads, and some may even do part of what you want them for.

No, tablets are no fitting devices for my mind set. Even if this stance disqualifies me with some folks.

 

[Fast Learner]

I have an iPad and I love it. I was excited about the idea from day one, but admit that I wasn't sure how it would fit into our lives. I had theories -- read books, watch video, surf the internet -- but I love my laptop and love paper books, so I was a bit concerned that I'd spend a big chunk of money on something that would sit around and rarely be used.

Turns out that I wasn't entirely right about how I'd use it, but we (my girlfriend and I) use it at least 2 or 3 hours per day, between us, and often 4 or 5 hours a day. I do read with it, but it's usually my RSS feeds (Reeder is an excellent reader app) and pdfs. We play games on it, including two-player games like Small World. Twitterific changed my perspective about Twitter, from something that I knew people used sometimes into a great way to catch up with both my friends and stay on top of my profession. Etc. etc.

Point is, I think it's a device that, for many, it's hard to see how it would fit in your life because you have other ways of doing those things, but once you own it the thing grows on you like crazy and you learn that it puts computing in your hand in a way you'd never even considered. It's not unlike cell phones -- when I got my first one I could see that being able to make calls anywhere I was would be great, but it had no idea how much it would actually change my life and my whole concept of communicating.

Lastly, on the 4.5 million that have been selling each quarter, it's the fastest-selling new consumer electronic to date. If the iPad continues to sell 4.5 million a quarter (and there's no reason at all to think it won't, up until last month Apple couldn't even make them fast enough, creating a sales constraint with many more people wanting them than could get them), at the end of next year the iPad -- just the iPad, not pads or tablets in general -- will be the 4th largest selling consumer electronic. This would be the list, based on current trends:

1. Advanced Televisions
2. Smart Phones
3. Notebook PCs
4. iPads
5. Cell Phones
6. Gaming Hardware
7. Digital Cameras
8. Desktop PCs
9. MP3 Players

Tablets in general could well beat out laptops/notebooks. Alternatives to the iPad are almost entirely vaporware/promises at this point. Apple spent years refining the hardware and the user experience, including getting the price down to where it is, so it's no surprise that it's taking other manufacturers a while to get quality products to market. Add to that the fact that Windows, Windows Phone 7, PalmOS, Blackberry, Symbian, and Android are currently poor tablet operating systems (design for smartphone screens and larger tablet screens requires more differences than it would seem at first glance), and it'll be a while before there's another big success in this space.

 

[falcarrion]

I still fail to see the attraction of these tablet thingies. They can do a lot of things, but nothing really good, or can they?

Want to watch a video? Cool, you've got an enormous 9.7" screen!

Want to write a mail? No problem, just call up the virtual keyboard where all the texts you might want to reference are.

Need to run a program? We call them "Apps" around here, and there are myriads, and some may even do part of what you want them for.

No, tablets are no fitting devices for my mind set. Even if this stance disqualifies me with some folks.

Here is what shows up on the drop down list for apps.


books
business
education
entertainment
finance
games
healthcare and fitness
lifestyle
medical
music
navigation
news
photography
productivity
reference
social networking
sports
travel
utilities
weather

that is alot of choices for what you want it to do.
Take some time and really look into it. you might just change your mind.