iPad Ships, Limited Quantities at Best Buy

[beayn]

[citation][nom]djcoolmasterx[/nom]I know solid state memory is expensive at the moment but $200 for 48GB more seems a tad expensive.[/citation]

It's like $159 for a 60gb Vertex these days. $200 for 48gb is in Apple's overprice range.

Apple is good at the hype that's for sure. These products are already available and as people are pointing out in the comments, many offer better features and functionality. Most have failed or have minimal sales but I'm sure Apple will make them popular.

I don't know if it's good or bad, we'll just have to wait and see what comes out in the future (Generation 1 is usually nothing fancy anyway in most product lines).

 

[beayn]

[citation][nom]Abrahm[/nom]Nothing like an artificial limit on supplies to try and pump up demand and give the illusion of high popularity. Classic Apple tactic.[/citation]

Don't forget the "Revolutionary" tagline applied to all products. On Apple's site it even goes so far as to say it's "Magical AND Revolutionary". There's advertising and then there's just plain conceited!

 

[jamie_macdonald]

Apple ... zzzzzzzzzz! xD

 

[oldscotch]

[citation][nom]HalJordan[/nom]Only 15 iPads per Best Buy...some poor blue shirted peon is going to be run over by a deranged, mob of Apple lunatics...I will have to leave early if I want to stop for popcorn before that show starts![/citation]

These are apply lunatics, remember? Skip the popcorn, you're going to need a latte and a bag of soy-nuts.

 

[maydaynomore]

As much as I hate Apple's overpriced products, the iPad will be a huge success. I want it to fail, but it won't. It will outsell all other tablets within a week (if there is enough supply). I know, it sux, but the sheeple will buy... and praise it as the most awesome personal computing device ever created.

 

[of the way]

[citation][nom]back_by_demand[/nom]I seem to remember an article on Toms a while ago saying that the gamer entheusiast sector accounts for over $9 billion a year in sales.Really, people shouldn't compare the iPad with the gamer for niche, not till they sell $9 billion a year.[/citation]

There are more non-gamers than gamers. Money spent has little relation to whether something is a niche market or not. There aren't all too many buyers of private jets, but I'm sure a lot of money is spent on them.

 

[Guest]

Nothing like a bunch of Negitive geeks who are upset they can't afford the NEXT big thing in electronics. How's that Sony CLIE, opps I mean UX that you bought at the Comp USA Going out of Business Sale for 70% off working for you?

 

[figgus]

Yes, PC gamers are a niche market. Integrated video is what the vast majority of PCs operate on, not add in cards. That alone tells the whole story.

 

[pharge]

ugh just saw this news from somewhere...

"Beginning in the fall of 2010, all first year undergraduate students at Seton Hill will receive a 13" MacBook laptop and an iPad.... After two years, Seton Hill will replace your laptop with a new one - one that you can take with you when you graduate! "
(http/www.setonhill.edu/techadvantage/)


oh my.... why this did not happen in my university...>_<

hmm... guess that is a way for Apple to boost their sale since Apple has been doing well on campus since the old Mac (powerPC) days...

 

[NewJohnny]

[citation][nom]AMW1011[/nom]I'll stick with a useful, quality large screen UMPC:http/www.dynamism.com/notebooks/ [...] lade.shtml[/citation]
Three years from now, that UMPC will look old and trashy and you'll probably regret buying it. The ipad however will still be popular and useful.
The iphone came out three years ago and everyone still loves it. I also bought a windows phone three years ago, and everyday I want to smash it. It's awful.

 

[NewJohnny]

[citation][nom]stephen0983[/nom]it's called an iPad but you can't write on it with a stylus... does anyone besides me find this funny?[/citation]
You CAN write on it with a stylus. Please research before spouting:
http/tenonedesign.com/stylus.php

 

[maximiza]

my wife wants one for birthday. This will be the first apple product since my apple iigs back in 1986.

 

[eeide]

[citation][nom]okibrian[/nom]@eeideIf you want a light 10 inch screen, why did you buy a 17 inch laptop? No matter what a 17 inch laptop is going to have some weight to it and would not be far to compare it to a 10 inch iPad. Also, the pdf viewer on an iPod touch is not that great and I can only expect the same with the iPad. I'm not trying to bash Apple on this, I mean I do own an iPhone, but I just don't get the logic here. I can get a very small tablet that can do a lot more for less. It may be just a bit heaver, but it will give me multi tasking, flash and expandability (a must in the IT world). I can also go to the store and buy software for a tablet or laptop, which is something you cannot do on an oversized iPod. It has to be "approved" by Apple.[/citation]

I think you misunderstood my reason for wanting a tablet. I don't want to replace my laptop. I need to add another device to read PDFs. It is a huge pain to pull out my laptop anytime I just want to quickly view some pinouts to a chip or just review schematics while I eat lunch or just at maybe a Dr. appointment. Also to clarify I have looked at 4 different types of PDF readers such as the Sony lineup. I can't think of the other ones off the top of my head, but they are all $300+. If I am going to spend $300 on something like this the iPad actually is the most feature rich of them all.

 

[eeide]

[citation][nom]MDillenbeck[/nom]Have you looked at any of the competing devices? For example, I think the available now Asus T91MT (an improved touch screen version of their tablet netbook) or the soon to be released T101MT might fit the bill a little better. Same price, fully functional multi-tasking real tablet PC... not some iTouch device dubbed a "tablet" only because of its form-factor.It is a shame that this device and its knock-offs will probably be wild successes (Apple has become a marketing god, perfecting selling "cool" in somewhat limited and locked down devices), leading to the crippling of real tablets. My primary example is Window Phone 7 - now with limited multi-tasking and limited copy-and-paste functionality thanks to Microsoft copying Apple's product line. No, I will not buy an iPhone and now I will not buy a WP7 phone. Nor will I buy an iPad, but I will be getting a T101MT (which they locked up the stupid battery inside like Apple devices... but I always use a Tekkeon MP3450 for extra power rather than buy a second battery - more universal for the same price).[/citation]
Again, I don't think you fully read my comment. I am not looking to carry 2 laptops. I can't replace my 17inch because I require the large 1920x1200 res. And yes my profession is one of the few where having a large screen is required similiar to graphic design. That Asus machine looks great however it is nearly 1 inch thick and ways over 2 pounds. Devices that are more what I am in the market for currently are NOT laptops. Look at the higher end devies from Sony (which I see have taken a bit of price drop), the FoxIt devices and the Kindle. When compared the iPad even being a "large iPod Touch" still has fare more features and uses then these devices. I am willing to pay $100-$200 extra for more capability in the same form factor. Also, consider the perspective of each user. A $600 eReader is about 2.5 hours of work for me, and would save me lots of time and hassle. I am not a huge Apple fan and am open to any device that has the same capabilities.

 

[eeide]

One other thing I would like to point out is the iPad ships with iWork. Which is the equivalent to MS Office Suite (Excel, Powerpoint and Word). I don't really require these applications for what I want, but does seem like it could be usefull. I also wanted to point out that while Apple does need to approve apps for the App Store there are still far more apps available then for Windows Mobile, Android or Blackberry. So while that may seem like a negative on the surface it really is only a pain for developers. It's not like you only have a handfull of apps to choose from because Apple rejects them all.