Apple's iPad: Initial Hand's On Impressions

[Guest]

i actually was on the bench whether to get an iPad or not(for my wife and kid), so i dragged myself to an apple store yesterday to test drive the thing....

Speed, erm, i dont see anything special, sure it plods away at a decent speed but i expected no less, any slower and it'll be unusable.... the only reason you might be blown away with the speed is if your used to using a slow device.. like an ipod touch...
Web browsing was a decent enough affair, same as an ipod touch just bigger so much more easier on the eyes.
App store hasn't changed... i was looking for some kinda app that could make this device useful or at the very least showcase it's strength..... but it's the same old app store, full of junk.
eBook, i wished i could say it was fantastic, but it really didn't stand out, again i was desperately looking for some children s book with lots of color to show of how superior then a kindle it was... no luck

Of course none of these negatives are overwhelming, the killing blows were 2 things...

ergonomics... this thing is a pig to use,it awkward to hold with one hand for any period of time, it's awkward to hold with two hands for any period of time, your forever trying to find some place to rest it and have the display face you comfortable, you'll end up having to plonk it on some surface and crane your neck over and look down on it, after about 1 hours use my neck and arms were beginning to get tired, sure i guess if i was on my couch i could huddle my legs up and plonk it on my lap, but i do not imagine that to be comfortable as well, the advantages of a notebook format comes into it's own.... you dont need to readjust your body just the screen angle

which brings me to the second big sticking point, taking all this into account i could not justify the price of an iPad for what equates to 2 maybe 3 hours of web surfing a day, because ultimately that's all this device will be doing, 500 is an awful lot of money for a device to surf the internet.....

 

[hebe]

My cousin has a $3000 watch. I'm sure it's great at what it does, as any expensive product damn well better be, but come on now...

I've tried to view this product from a positive light, as I have a number of people who have asked me whether it was a sound purchase. I still simply cannot recommend this device to anyone given the price of a better performing netbook that can run literally every program in the Windows/Linux library. I was really hoping this article would bring something new to light, but color me unsurprised.

 

[visa]

[citation][nom]serkol[/nom]I never understood complains like "it's just a big iPod".It's like: I have a 27" TV. I visit my friend and see that he bought a 60" TV, and I say: I don't get why you've bought this thing, it's exactly like my TV, just bigger, what's the point? [/citation]
That's actually a terrible comparison that in no way has anything to do with the differences between an iPhone and an iPad.

It seems like a great device if you have a nice chunk of expendable income. I would love to see an Android version of this device...

 

[JPR]

App Store = Apple monopoly > Apple controls what YOU DO with the device YOU bought.... Sorry, don't need a company telling me what I can and can't do....

 

[cadder]

I posted this earlier- check the Apple site and they show that the device has USB and SD card capability for the purpose of transferring digital photos into the ipad. Maybe you can't transfer just any kind of file back and forth to a USB flash drive, but Apple specifically states that you can transfer digital photos into the ipad from your USB camera cord or from your SD card.

I think this is a neat product, and there are some things that it does in a pretty slick fashion, but it has a high price so it will be hard to justify that it is a sound purchase. If we are worried about cost then there are a lot of products that we shouldn't have.

I thought someone had already determined that the machine would eventually have a webcam, by disassembling the machine and finding that there was a space in the bezel sized the same as the size and shape of the webcam used in the macbooks.

 

[long2know]

[citation][nom]tuannguyen[/nom]Right, but if you read what I said about the apps, you would get that what I meant was that the larger screen allows the iPad to do so much more than an iPod Touch could ever do. It isn't just simply a "larger iPod Touch" that runs the same tiny apps. It runs far better apps.And no I still find some important features such as: USB, SD Card slot, missing mic/webcam, etc. a major design flaw.[/citation]
Just curious ... Major design flaws didn't make you think twice about your purchase?

 

[Guest]

"Setting up the iPad is a quick and simple affair. Simply turn on the device and activate via iTunes "

For those who've never owned an Apple product, this is their draconian DRM, where Apple demands you fork over your information(you can't give them fake info, because it must be accompanied with valid credit card info, and a name and address that match).

Any freedom loving person should have serious objections to being REQUIRED to validate who you are before you can start using a product THAT YOU ALREADY PAID FOR!!

/rant

 

[Dkz]

hey seller! gimme one of those yeah one of those!
Nono not the big ipod, i want the netbook, the one with keyboard in it! yeah that one! how much? just 300? okidoky!
Hey the Ipod, the big one, does it play Crysis?
-No? and Mafiawars? what about facebook poker?

 

[josh jones]

used the ipad for a few hours and would have to say apple still smash the would be tech companies of the world. won't ever replace a computer and don't try to expand the hardware
i wonder if apple will start making TVs next... hey... is that LG and Samsung shaking in the fetal pasition in the corner

 

[ianpac]

What everyone is missing is that this will eventually fail for the same reason why slate PCs have been failing for years - namely there is no good middle ground. Either you make it fully portable so that it fits into your hand and pocket, or you produce a full blown device that does everything properly.

Why would you use this on your sofa to watch a movie when you would rather use your large TV?
Why would you use this to surf when it has no Flash support?
Why would you want to read books on this when it will drain the battery and give you eyesore after an hour?

As usual people are sucked into the sexiness of the GUI which makes them forget what a limited and ultimately useless device this is. The article says the great advantage is the Apple store.....you mean millions of useless junk programs. Apple store is addictive only because there is always new things to explore. It is just consumer addiction.

Most people after a few weeks will tire of having to pick this thing up and lug it around. Tired of the wrist and neck sprain using it. Tired that it does not do anything well enough so you will want to use the superior dedicated products to obtain real satisfaction.

This is not an attack on Apple since all tablet devices share the same issues. Tablets are just a pain in the arse and will eventually gather dust like all gadgets that do not really fit into your lifestyle.

 

[Codesmith]

Everyone I know who has bought an iPhone or an iPod Touch still loves it and uses it more as time goes on, not less. Its simply not a device people get bored with.

 

[yyk71200]

ipad is just an expensive toy, nothing more.

 

[CrunchDude]

Hah, wow...I got one on a "why not" basis since I thought to myself that I could always sell it. (for profit even) I also was somewhat cynical and suspicious before getting it. In fact, I almost walked away from the store when one of the Apple employees announced that it would take at least 2 hours to get one, and that there might not even be enough for everyone.

But now...I can surf the web while in bed, lying on my side, sitting in my lounge chair, curled up on the sofa, and in many places where I wouldn't want to drag my laptop with me. I feel "more connected" to the Internet and my email, etc., even though I'm constantly online for work (and pleasure ). It also replaces some of the time that I would otherwise spend sitting in front of my computer, including even my laptop.

I definitely think that it will make a *lot* of "believers" out of many people like me who initially said "Pfff...I don't need this, whatever...". And that's still true. You don't need an iPad. But you'll want one. Anyone who hasn't touched one and played around with one cannot really have an opinion as to whether or not they will like it, in my opinion.

I'm also fairly certain that once we will have used it for a while, we will *not* want to give it back. This thing will inevitably grow on us, especially considering because for one, the (iPad) App Store will grow rapidly, and with it, usability and enjoyment of the device is set to go up every time a developer hits the "Submit to App Store" button. And for another, the OS will improve the device incrementally as well as add new core functionality to it.

And I haven't even mentioned the possibility of Jailbreak yet... (nor am I an Apple "fanboy")

 

[marsax73]

[citation][nom]Rab1d-BDGR[/nom]I can't escape the feeling that the next iPad will have 3G, webcam, SD slot and (perhaps) USB... which will leave anyone who just forked out for this one pretty sore when it is announced in 6-months time. The thing is there is no good reason for any of these features to be missing in the first place. There are slate PCs from 7 years ago that had these features.How is the shiny screen out in the sunshine? I prefer real displays over monochrome e-ink, but I despise shiny panels for the reflections.[/citation]

Totally agree on this one. I mean my $100 mp3 player has a SD slot. I won't say it's a complete waste but I agree with others...why not have features that most notebooks have had for the past 3-4 years??

 

[Guest]

The reason this is missing loads of features, is due to the marketability of the iPad 2. How are they going to sell the iPad 2 if it does not have any new features over the iPad? What new features could the iPad 2 have? Webcam, USB slot - uhhh, maybe faster processor, uuuuhhhhh, really struggling to think of what they could add to improve it. The only other improvements I can think of will come from the OS maybe (multi tasking). And again, they will probably charge you to upgrade your iPad to the iPad 2 OS.

Apple would be very stupid to make the iPad all singing and dancing from the get go. Make it just good enough so that the masses will flock to it, then add all the missing features it should have had, add an "S" or "2" to the product name, and the masses will eagerly flock once more with credit cards...

 

[mkramer0820]

From my experience, not saying everyone's but when it comes to using a mac outside the glare from the sun makes it very hard to see the screen. So how is using this outside in the sun going to be any different. Bring your IPAD to the beach? Any luxury user that want to waste their money on this and do such a thing is going to be slightly disapointed.... OOOPS wow 600 bucks and i can't see a damn thing outside, i think RIP-OFF.

 

[Parsifal57]

[citation][nom]visa[/nom]That's actually a terrible comparison that in no way has anything to do with the differences between an iPhone and an iPad.It seems like a great device if you have a nice chunk of expendable income. I would love to see an Android version of this device...[/citation]

You're in luck then, just last week ASUS announce that they will be producing an android and a Windows tablet, not sure about the timescale but will likely be after the HP Slate arrives, which if it looks good value for the money (around $%550) I may be buying if the ASUS tablet is going to several months later.

 

[Guest]

"CrunchDude
But now...I can surf the web while in bed, lying on my side, sitting in my lounge chair, curled up on the sofa"

enlighten me, how were you able to surf while in your bed or laying on your side? sure the darn thing is light but it's still uncomfortable to hold it at any distance away from your face for anything over a 3 min period, if your just checking your FB or e-mail then i guess that work...... 500 bucks seems an awful lot of money for a device that just does FB and e-mail.....

 

[gm0n3y]

That's all fine and dandy, but what exactly do I need this for? Reading is the only thing I can think of. I just don't get it. Wait until the iPad 2.0 (or even better, a non-apple product) and hopefully there will actually be some useful non-gimmick apps. I'm putting this below the Nintendo Wii on the must have scale (and that is pretty damn low).

 

[sublifer]

What kind of idiot thinks that a screen protector is protect a device from finger oil and smudges??? Tuan you idiot... its to protect from scratches.