iSlate/iPad/iTablet?

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I think the Microsoft Courier looks much, much cooler, though.

Now this one interests me.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I mentioned in the thread in the General forum that I was looking forward to the announcement, but generally disappointed by it.

Hardware drawbacks from my POV:
1. No front facing camera, so you can't do videocalls with it which it would otherwise seem ideally suited for
2. No USB slot to attach peripherals. I don't count a dongle that can be purchased separately and plugged into the bottom as equivalent!
3. Wired connection to PC/Mac to get stuff on and off it. What's wrong with wireless sync, guys?
4. No phone. Seriously, when Steve is doing his demo and looks up local sushi restaurants he is pleased that he finds one and can show a picture of it. Problem is, that is all he can do! If he was using his iPhone he could tap the restaurants phone number and make a reservation, but with the iPad... he has to keep it on, fish out his phone and dial manually? Pah!

Software drawbacks
1. iPod Touch software is OK on a phone sized device, although it has a number of niggles (e.g. always have to go back to home page before going to a new app, you can't get directly to an app or switch quickly between a couple of things). That would be a huge PITA for me on a device like this.
2. Dunno about ebooks, but what about PDFs? the OS should handle it, but their itunes model means you can't get them on there and into a library without some alternative means of doing so. MacOS X is almost built for showing PDFs, and yet we don't get to use them on the iPad?
3. I'm not sure what the point is in having wizzy contacts and calendar applications on it, as it isn't the thing I'm going to be carrying around in my pocket. Those things are on my iphone (or other smartphone device) so that I've always got them in my pocked, where I need it. Helps for the phonebook to be able to dial someone too...
4. Steve claims it is the absolutely best way to view the web. Except of course it clearly isn't if you've any interest in Flash at all. I don't know whether they allow tabbed browsing, but it is one of the most annoying misses of the iPhone safari, especially when visiting forums or new sites.

I'm finding it hard to see the selling point here. I wouldn't watch TV on it because I've got a TV. It is too big to carry around with me everywhere like my smartphone (and lacks some key functionality compared with the smartphone). If I want to create anything, I want to use my main computer with a fully featured OS.

What would I like to see? Probably a Tablet running a version of Microsoft Surface At the very least I'd want to see something with a bit more in terms of connectivity and camera capability and with a lot more ingenuity in solving UI issues for a pad sized computer as against a pocket sized computer.

Cheers

 

[Felon]

Seriously, though, I doubt there will be another option, as this model works so well with the iPhone. Developers submit apps to Apple, Apple makes sure the apps don't blow things up (one reason Flash, being a resource hog, isn't available), and then they are put in the app store.

Ah well, when put like that, Apple is doing us users a big favor by making Flash unavailable. For instance, right now as I type this post on my PC, I have Hulu playing on another tab, and sure enough it's eating up a lot of resources. They're absolutely right on that count. My computer might very well freeze up at some point as a result.

Were I surfing under Apple's paternalistic aegis, this wouldn't be a concern. Rather, after having weighed and measured the risks of Flash gobbling up resources against the benefits of being able to view all of the content on the web which requires it, the good folks at Apple would have done me the service of deciding on my behalf that I shouldn't have it. They are looking out for me by protecting me from the perils of self-determination.

How splendidly this model will work for the iPad!

Alas, with a Windows device I must suffer Microsoft's apathy. Once they've gotten their filthy luchre, they could care less if I blow up my property by downloading filthy virus-encrusted crashtastic software. Imagine a malfeasant father teaching his children to swim by tossing them into the deep end of the pool, then going out to grab a pack of smokes and a six-pack. Now you need only affix the visage of that mouth-breathing sonuvagun Steve Balmer to the errant parent's face and cast all Microsoft consumers in the role of hapless child. It is just so.

I'm finding it hard to see the selling point here. I wouldn't watch TV on it because I've got a TV. It is too big to carry around with me everywhere like my smartphone (and lacks some key functionality compared with the smartphone). If I want to create anything, I want to use my main computer with a fully featured OS.

Well, the selling point is as that, as Jobs says, "it just works". You'll have a little pseudo-computer that can sit on the coffee table so that you can do email, Facebook, tweets, check on the weather, read a book, do some word processing, view some photos, and whatever else there's an app for. This is like the D&D 3e/4e differential. Reduced complexity means reduced options and control.

There is that casual user who sticks to the shallow end of the pool. They don't need options and control. They desire access to the features a computer offers without actually having a computer. Basically, they want that Star Trek datapad. Seeing how desktop computers aren't selling anymore, there are a lot of folks the iPad may wind up working for. I just don't think that happens to be you or me.

 

[Orius]

Ah well, when put like that, Apple is doing us users a big favor by making Flash unavailable. For instance, right now as I type this post on my PC, I have Hulu playing on another tab, and sure enough it's eating up a lot of resources. They're absolutely right on that count. My computer might very well freeze up at some point as a result.

If I were flying under Apple's paternalistic aegis, this wouldn't be a concern. Having weighed and measured the risks of having Flash against the benefits of being able to view all of the content on the web which requires it, they've done me the service of deciding for me that I shouldn't have it. They are looking out for me by protecting me from the perils of self-determination.

See? You should trust Steve. Steve knows what's best. Microsoft is bad for allowing Windoze to crash so much by running Flash vids in IE.

And really, the whole lack of USB support is pretty stupid. I know things need to be cut out of these devices to make them lighter and thinner, but USB connectivity is kind of a necessity, no?

 

[Felon]

It is pretty cool. Hopefully, they've set it up so any docs you have on the tablet are accessible on the Windows side, and aren't completely locked off. I have a feeling if I had one of those, I'd end up carrying the whole laptop around all the time, and never using the tablet. But if it's light enough, that's ok. (For instance, I have a Macbook Air right now, first laptop light enough that I can really carry it everywhere even anticipating I'm not going to use it.)

If we're talking about Lenovo IdeaPad U1, I believe it is stated that even in notebook form it weighs less than two lbs. There are a great many informative previews of this device on Youtube, and it was not easy to pick just one to post, so I encourage all interested parties to surf over there and check out more of'em. I really hope I don't get let down on this one.

EDIT--Looks like I was wrong about the weight. Here are some extra facts gleaned:

* Bluetooth, 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi connectivity and optional 3G networking
* Two USB 2.0 ports
* One combination eSATA/USB port
* VGA and HDMI port
* 4 in 1 memory card ready
* 128GB SSD for the notebook and 16GB of flash for the slate
* Up to 4GB of RAM for the notebook and 512MB of RAM for the slate
* Built-in video camera
* Built-in stereo speakers with integrated microphone with echo cancellation
* Notebook weight of 3.7 lbs and 1.6 lbs for the slate

One extra next thing is that when the tablet is detached, you can still use the netbook by connecting it to a display device.

Supposedly, when merged Windows 7 will open up whatever you had open on the tablet into a native application. A lot of Youtube videos showed them browsing to a website on the tablet, then merging it and having it open natively in IE or Firefox.