iPad Getting Schooled, Hospitalized and POS'ed

[JohnnyLucky]

Lots of pro's and con's in the user comments. We'll just have to wait and see how this plays out.

 

[ksampanna]

Nothing can replace the good old pen & paper. I would like to see nurses in hospitals trying to quickly note down the doctor's instructions using the iPad's shitty touch keyboard; or an iPad after a day's of use with the waiter's greasy hands all over it.
Would like to know how much Apple paid to each of them.

 

[jecastej]

The iPad may be the first successful tablet design and it doesn't mean is an original hardware concept or the first tablet device ever. But the iPad ads a new user experience that was never seen before in a tablet PC. And it is available today.

And also you need to remember Apple tried a pda like the Newton more than a decade ago well before the iPod family. The Newton was not a commercial hit for several reasons and Apple was not going to make the same mistakes again with the iPad. Lessons learned? Yes, but it doesn't mean it is perfect and that it will please everybody. And it doesn't need to please everyone, but who could either?

Do you need the iPad to be perfect to get one or to be the first anything to pay for one?
To be honest I think I will pass the first generation but I may not do the same with the next one. I too seat in front a 8 core Mac Pro and a quadcore PC all day long with to HD monitors. And I use a Wacom tablet 90% of the time.

It says a lot when HP gave up for now with their own tablet that the iPad model may be hard to compete with. It is because with the iPad you get a lot more than the hardware itself and you can come to the marked with some superior processing power but what is the general user going to do with that? This is the point and this is hard to reduce as meaningful numbers.

You can't label any computer or PC part just from the hardware point of view. It is not smart and will never be a commercial success to sustain its development. The A4 Apple chip may not be the most powerful CPU but it is enough to make the iPad useful enough. The iPad may even lack important features but it doesn't make it too limited either.

Think about the Apollo project as a hardware system. Their computers where underpowered compared to a phone today but they did the job they where designed to do.

Again, I am not saying that the iPad as it is right now is for everybody, It is not for me yet. Is far from perfect, it lacks some big features it offers only one screen format so it has limitations. Lets hope Asus and HP and others could do a great job to satisfy general users and power users. But everybody take a look at the mp3 players market and the iPod. It is not an Apple fault to own the market but others failure to compete successfully.

 

[Guest]

erm alot of these comments seem somewhat misinformed, you all presume tablets refer to the windows convertible laptop/tablet format which generally sux

i suggest you look up motion computing, who have been on the block far longer then apple's iPhone came into existence, yes it's probably not as sexy as the iPad and cost a fair bit extra, but it was designed to be used by the medical profession, it can be disinfected and on top of that it's a full PC

 

[jason-g]

jecastej has the right idea -- the iPad is surely not revolutionary, but neither was the iPhone. The iPhone offered an unprecedented combination of hardware and software that appealed to many -- it's the user interface/experience thing that Apple has been refining for decades. It appears many find the iPad's hardware/software combination to be unusually attractive. Along with Citrix, it certainly makes for a compelling way for many medical personnel to work with their computers, and will likely fuel a redesign of a lot of clinical POS software.

 

[jason-g]

[citation][nom]randomizer[/nom]I've heard of some doctors using these for displaying X-rays as well.[/citation]
It turns out that film is in many ways a much better way to display radiographic data than computers. High-end CRT displays work pretty well, but one has to be careful with both hardware and software to get acceptable image quality on an LCD.

 

[omikron48]

[citation][nom]brianmoz[/nom]You are acting like the world is stupid because they want to use this as a tool and they dont "get" the specs. be practical. technology needs to fit life, not the other way around.[/citation]

I was merely pointing out the lack of thought behind such kind of statements.

Who, in their right minds, would go for usability and critical mass and toss the specs right out the window? That only leads to failure and/or waste. The specs are important enough that you always try to get the right specs for the needed requirements. If all you needed to do was word processing, you wouldn't get yourself a gaming rig. Inversely, if you wanted to do some major gaming, you won't get a low-end machine.

Also, comparing the iPad to a Toughbook is a mismatch. The iPad was not made to withstand what the Toughbook could survive. Comparing the iPad and Toughbook then using the price difference as an argument is stupid.

 

[phych]

I'll admit it. I like a few of Apple's stuff. But unless there's a specific unique use for the iPad as opposed to less expensive alternatives, I don't think that the iPad is a good business investment. I can see it for hospitals, but it's way too expensive for schools and point-of-sale compared with what else is available.

 

[mlopinto2k1]

Suck it up. Apple made something that people like. Whether or not they are douche bags doesn't matter if the products they make work.

 

[rsud]

[citation][nom]maestintaolius[/nom]Because they spend oodles of money on marketing. How many TV commercials have you seen by Asus?[/citation]

Nah, it can't be that as a package the iPad is a compelling device... Its marketing duping everyone... We'll wait for the second best copies from windoze/droit head vendors.

Must really suck to be an anti-apple zealot. But then you all have so much opportunity to whine being continually faced...

 

[zerapio]

Here's a link to a device better suited to clinics: http://www.motioncomputing.com/products/tablet_pc_c5.asp

 

[happi]

I think this is the touch-interface age.

- People finally realized what how simplify things can be (e-book..)
- Developments in softwares.
- Applications

Apply just take the advantage of this and become successful.

As of before, there were no e-book, touch-screen apps, that was why it wasnt as popular.

 

[crosshares]

Using iPads for textbook replacement is asking to have them stolen the next day, let alone undamaged after a school year.

 

[Userremoved]

[citation][nom]Euphoria_MK[/nom]NO they were not.If youread what people like about ti you will find out that simplicity of the device, the portability and long battery life is the most important thing.Old tablets were heavier, with 4 to max 5 hours of battery life with Full blown OS.... At this price range currently Apple is a a winner, and that is the reason that HP gave up. They'll probably come back with some kind of Palm OS redesigned for tablets use and try to compete with Apple..[/citation]
What about those E tablets?

 

[Guest]

The PC has been around for awhile don't see a grand revolution in education due to the PC. Math is math, reading is reading and writing is writing anything electronic is just a fancy tool and does not guarantee a better education or result.

The ipod is a step towards an electronic text but the real step would be with the software. A platform is needed that allows instructors to rapidly create interactive texts. Solving a physics equation is one thing but seeing a graphic representation in 3d or what effect changing variables would have would be something else. Think of all the simulated chemistry experiments you could perform without fear of endangering yourself or others.

There still needs to be a lot of improvement on the tablet for it to be truely useful. For one it is not nearly robust enough. The screen cracks easily when dropped from waist height. It needs to be as slim and light as a clip board and when the battery lasts a month and can charge quickly from a dock and not some cheesy conector that breaks then a Pad will be useful.

 

[Konman]

eeeh . . .you still can't do photoshop and illustrator on the damn thing - too bad because it would have been well suited for that purpose

 

[Konman]

eeeh . . .you still can't do photoshop and illustrator on the damn thing - too bad because it would have been well suited for that purpose

 

[dtm4trix]

as a hardware enthusiast I like seeing what apple comes up with. Its pretty cool stuff. I however hate their corporate culture of elitism and closed operating systems. I don't like the fact that big daddy steve jobs likes to think he knows whats best for all the rest of us. That is why I refuse to buy anything Apple any longer. I owned an iPhone and an iPod but sold them both. I now have a Droid and while there are some things that make the droid more difficult to use, there are many more things I like about the droid vs iPhone; microSD card, removable battery and way better network to name a few.

 

[Kami3k]

[citation][nom]rsud[/nom]Nah, it can't be that as a package the iPad is a compelling device... Its marketing duping everyone... We'll wait for the second best copies from windoze/droit head vendors.Must really suck to be an anti-apple zealot. But then you all have so much opportunity to whine being continually faced...[/citation]

Yea because it's not like we have $1000s more while having gotten a product that can do more by not getting the apple version.

Funny how that works out, fucktard.

 

[hakesterman]

"I like how these exact pieces of hardware have been around for over a decade, and people only start noticing them when Apple makes one."

There hasn't ever been anything like the Ipad before, it's the first of it's kind, you must of had a dream or fantasy if you think they have been around forever. I know we seen them in startrek like 15 years ago, but only Dr. Leonard McCoy had access to it, and i think Aliens confiscated it durring one of the episodes. On a lighter note, check out this youtube video on the Ipad, it's pretty funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiDHUNiurqY