iPad won't handle GSM voice calls -- or will it?
By Chris Ziegler 
posted January 28th 2010 3:46AM
posted January 28th 2010 3:46AM
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
posted January 28th 2010 3:46AM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
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http://images.4chan.org/b/src/1264666931229.jpg
heh heh
@seriousam7 YEAH ENpADpET, PLEASE STOP iPAD NEWS.
@rhezaganteng
Learn to not read and then go on to comment on articles that you claim to not care anything about. If you don't want to read it... don't read it. Simple, huh?
I've never once complained about all the tablet stories. I just thought it was a funny picture.
lets get over the whole ipad thing, ok? plssssss
@seriousam7
Look closer at who I was replying to.
@seriousam7
iPad making sick..i feel like puking.
aaaaaaand it's gone. FYI it was a pic of Jobs holding up 4 Ipods duct-taped together. It reminded me of the corollaries that can be drawn between the iPad and the Wii, which, as everybody knows, is just 2 Gamecubes duct-taped together.
@seriousam7
You seriously can't compare the wii and the ipad. The wii brought a new way of interacting with games, the ipad brought... nothing?
@kitsune
Well, they're both meant to bring about new ways to do things that people are already comfortable doing. They're both probably (in the iPad's case at least -- we already know how well the Wii did) gonna sell like hotcakes. And when all is said and done, both will have been neglected by their respective purchasers after the first few weeks of use.
@rhezaganteng hopefully they'll stop now... The funniest thing is the one blurted out the the CEO of mahalo.. saying, the iPad will be insane like "wii" gee.. what a predicament! Details: http://bit.ly/apple-ipad-more-details
Look what happened now?
@seriousam7
Hey I found the image:
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/comment/4/2010/01/5b00d8520eee5ebd0dd0b18d160962ff/340x.jpg
Steve Jobs brain was Reset to year 2000 in recent hospitalization, that's why he was saying "iPad" is revolutionary product.
Poor...guy wake up. Netbook does lot better than iPad.
iPad is not even near to Netbook.
@seriousam7
Well, looks like someone forgot to do some editing... someone's gots some 'splainin to do!
And Steve Jobs gots some 'splodin to do (on the idiot who forgot to edit)!
yaaaaaawn
iYawn
@njsrikar there's an app for that.
Will buy this when regular SIM is implemented, and OSX is integrated. Otherwise this is nothing but a big heavy ipod touch.
@aricCaedmonSoftware iPhone SDK updated: VoIP over 3G now permitted
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/01/27/iphone-sdk-updated-voip-over-3g-now-permitted/
For the LOVE OF GOD! Please internet I BEG OF YOU! Just a full 24 hours before starting round 23 of apple rumors.
Okay, seriously.
Can we stop this iPad news now?
...please?
Seriously.
@FAP FAP FAP He's super cereal
@wesley anthony oh shut up seriously. The point of this site is to tell us this stuff. dont like it? then fuck off
@Benaus
You kiss your mother with that mouth!? Yeah, me too :-)
Turns out an iPhone has this functionality, in a smaller package that fits in your pocket!
Even a day after the announcement you don't lay off, eh Engadget?
The iPad looks totally rushed out the door, so they either forgot to remove this stuff or didn't have the time to do it. There's no other explanation to explain how terribly terrible the iPad is... it has to be an unfinished product or a very early April Fool's joke. Just look at the homescreen... the icons are so far apart and the whole thing looks so sparse. It doesn't look right aesthetically, and if you expect any company to obsess over these little details it's Apple. Damn, even the background images look pretty damn poor compared to what comes with OSX.
@Koofteh
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Apple iPad first hands-on! (update: video!) 1618 comments
Live from the Apple 'latest creation' event 1161 comments
Is this the Apple tablet? (update: new images) 593 comments
The Apple iPad: starting at $499 557 comments
Editorial: Engadget on the Apple iPad 487 comments
Says it all.
don't worry people once these ipad rumors end the iPhone rumors will start :D yaay for apple rumors that keeps my blood flowing and keeps me alive and growing :D
Who here seriously thinks the iPad as it is right now is the most functional it will ever be? Come on Apple haters, raise your hands. I see you all breathing through your mouths out there.
Seriously, has nobody here given any thought to what iPhone OS 4.0 is going to do for the iPad? Did it not occur to anybody that this is only the beginning? Come on, people.
@Jack No. it occured to us because we saw it with the iPhone.
First, they release a totally gimped and useless device at a high pricepoint to get the early adopters to fork over the cash (they're gonna buy the next generations anyway).
Then, a second generation comes which brings some of the missing core functionality, with absolutley no improvement or refresh in design or anything.
Finally, at the third generation, you get a pretty decent device that still doesn't impress those who aren't automatically impressed by something just because it's shiny or just because it's super simple to operate.
Seriously, why should you as a consumer fork over your hard-earned cash and wait for Apple to fix things at their own pace, perhaps through software updates you can pay for or perhaps through a hardware upgrade which will mean you will be SOL.
It's not like the functionality is something Apple has to spend years in R&D developing. The iPhone 2G could have had cut/copy/paste, it could have had 3G and it could have had GPS. All those technologies existed long before the original iPhone. Same with multitasking, a webcam, camera card slot - they all could have been added to the iPad, but they weren't because some idiots will buy the gimped version and obviously but the improved second generation as well.
And regarding iPhone OS 4.0? So what, if it's so great then Apple should have held off on releasing the iPad until it came... but no, they had to announce in January so they could beat the other slates coming out and say "we invented the tablet PC" even though we all know they haven't. They could have released it with iPhone OS 4.0 in a few months and then maybe people wouldn't call it useless.
@Koofteh
You like to use the word "useless" in association with the best selling gadget of ALL TIME? Are you completely stupid? People don't buy things if they suck, that's a basic fact. Why do you think the iPhone outsells every other smartphone on the market?
Your entire argument is discounting what Apple did for basic usability, both for the iPad and the iPhone. And guess what? As it turns out, basic usability is what people WANT.
Did it ever occur to you that the problem with tablets right now is that they're underpowered, small, ultraportable devices... that have a full blown desktop OS on them? It obviously occurred to Steve Jobs. And unless you've been living on Mars for the last ten years, you should have figured out by now that Jobs has a better ability to read the market and figure out what most people want better than idiot Apple haters on Engadget do.
Given all that, you've still decided to label the iPad a failure before it even goes on sale? How much money do you want to bet me that it will sell like fucking gangbusters? Just because you're too short sighted to see how the iPad is useful doesn't mean everybody is, and then there's the simple fact that iPhone OS 4.0 is coming, and it's coming pretty soon.
Believe it or not, Apple usually has pretty good reasons to release things when they do. My guess is that 4.0 just isn't ready yet. But has it been seeded to developers so they can start prepping their apps for both the iPhone and iPad? You bet your ass it has.
@Jack
"You like to use the word "useless" in association with the best selling gadget of ALL TIME?"
And at this point you lose what little credibility you never really had. I think you'll find stuff like the Walkman in the 80's and the Gameboy sold more units than all the iPhone combined. Pull your head out of your ass.
@Tes
No, please sidestep the issue some more, why don't you. Convince me that the iPhone is a useless device, and show me the sales numbers to prove it. Or, you know, don't support people who say incredibly stupid things.
@Jack
Ok, Jack, I think all the Engadget regulars know how you feel about Apple. That's great that you love anything Steve Jobs has touched, especially if it's shiny. You think the iPad is a great device, that it will revolutionize everything from reading books to baby-making.
Ok, now, try to understand what he's saying. The iPad would be even BETTER if they didn't cripple it with things left out that most certainly could have been included, like multitasking, camera, Flash support, etc. The question is: WHY DIDN'T THEY INCLUDE THESE THINGS IN THE FIRST PLACE? He's not saying that the iPad will be like it is now forever and ever. He is echoing the frustration that many people are having right now, even those that looked forward to this device. Many people feel that there is no excuse for the way the iPad is now, none. Now, does that make sense? Or was my "mouth breathing" too loud for you?
@Jack "People don't buy things if they suck."
Really? Is that it? Snuggies sold like hotcakes, so did the Pet Rock... ooh, and remember GigaPets?
And why would marketing agencies exist, charging millions of dollars to subliminally brainwash people and tell them what product to buy? If it was as easy as you say, then all companies would need to do was create a great product and the consumers would come. Then Apple would have no reason to be running those insufferable and very overstayed I'm a Mac-I'm a PC ads.
"You've still decided to label the iPad a failure before it even goes on sale?"
Yeah, why shouldn't I? Apple has decided to label this thing 'magical' and 'revolutionary' even before it goes on sale... those are bold claims, even by Apple's standards.
Even the most diehards seem to admit that if this thing has any potential it mainly lies in 3rd party apps which are forthcoming. But I guess Apple's strangehold on the App Store means they know what iPad apps will be coming out and can therefore call it magical.
Even the iPhone wasn't magical... it's freaking piece of technology, and the desire for most fanboys to make it something more - a lifestyle or a philosophy onto itself - is exactly what's wrong with Apple and its supporters. You're making technology... no matter how good it might be, it won't be magical. Magical is the type of word I reserve to refer to, say, the bond between parent and child or something like that, not a piece of technology which will end up in your attic in 6 months when something newer comes out.
@Abe
You're not too good at reading, are you? You can make excuses for what he said all you want, but that doesn't change what he actually said. For example: "totally gimped and useless device at a high pricepoint".
Really? Is the iPad totally gimped and useless? Is $499 really a high price point? Last I checked the iPad was actually faster than hell and extremely usable. Oh, it doesn't have a camera? OH FUCKING NOES. It's like I've said before, just because YOU think it's useless doesn't mean it IS. Apple haters think everything Apple makes is useless. People still think the iPhone is useless despite overwhelming and indisputable evidence to the contrary.
You're welcome to join the group of people who should probably bet money on how well the iPad will sell. This is an issue of you not seeing both the iPad's potential, and its target market. By the way, its target market is not you. Does that help clear things up for you at all?
@Jack
Wow. I'm the one that can't read? Please, enlighten me. Where did i say that the iPad is useless? Oh..that's right...it's not there. It appears that you think the whole world is against you and Apple's products, but that's not what the conversation is about. At all. Please reread the posts above until the point has sunk in. But first take your anti-paranoia meds. Sigh.
@Koofteh
Ah yes, the old "the only reason Apple sells anything is because of marketing" argument. So what marketing has been done for the iPad? I don't see any ads for it. And to use your argument against you, how did the massively expensive marketing push for the Pre work out? And Droid? How are they doing against the iPhone?
Well gee whiz, I guess it's not all marketing after all, is it? That's right. People don't continue to buy products if they suck. That's all there is to it.
You are judging the iPad without ever having seen it or touched it or used it. Apple can describe it because they BUILT IT. Can you see the difference there? That's why you shouldn't.
Also your hangup on the words Apple uses to describe their products is downright disturbing. Get the hell over it.
@Abe
No, idiot. Kooftah said it was useless. I was replying to HIM when you called me out on my RESPONSE. Try to fucking keep up. Jesus, you people suck at conversations.
@Jack
Yeaaahhh, that's cool, except your little piece up there clearly says "@Abe." So who sucks at conversations? I have to admit though, I do get a good laugh out of you, so I thank you for that.
@Koofteh
Along with everything you said... the iPhone is *extremely* successful (or we wouldn't even be having this conversation). So, despite the lack of features you describe, apparently Apple did a good job of deciding what fat to cut and what features to focus on first. That focus has been very rewarding for them to say the least. Given that you omit this obvious reality, the only real question is whether the iPad can get away with the same formula.
The OTHER thing you failed to mention, is that $500 is an excellent price despite your criticism. Please show me a non-refurbished / non-reconditioned / factory-fresh multitouch (probably impossible) or simply capacitive touch tablet form factor PC for $500. Yes... you say, but, while everything else is more expensive, they do MORE things! By that definition, the Wii is "expensive", even though it sells like hotcakes (while doing one or two unique things) because XBox 360 / PS3 does more... but costs more. Meh. Yours is a poor argument, sorry. Let the marketplace decide whether these features matter. As you noted, they didn't matter with the iPhone. Just look at the Nexus One sales so far or the Droid. Compare their sales to the iPhone's initial U.S. only sales in 2007.
You have two recourses. Either slam Apple customers (popular choice) or admit there is something in the equation that provides value you're not considering.
Personally, I like the analyst that slammed the iPad on three "meaningful" points. It's a media player that can't fit in your pocket. It's an ebook reader with comparatively low battery life. And its netbook that doesn't run Flash. Good, simple observations. I just think they don't apply to a true "tween" product. Time will tell.
@Jack What marketing has been done for the iPad? Hahahaha, you can believe the unbelievable amount of hype garnered by the iPad pre-launch is because Apple is an infallible and all around 'insanely awesome' company. But the truth is, we had seen tablets before... Apple had a go in the 90s with the Newton, the PC guys had a go in the early-mid 2000s. No matter what Apple could have brought to the table, it turned out to be very little, it could never have been as revolutionary as everyone was hyping it to be.
I don't know if Apple carefully leaked information and misinformation or what, but it's quite possible. The hype was insane, unlike any product I've ever seen, and Apple is quite creative in marketing all-around so I wouldn't put this past them.
And the Droid... boy, don't get me started. On another site I was arguing that the only success of the Droid is because their marketing... their ads were like movie trailers, that's some good marketing. The Droid has a slow processor, it's ugly, the keyboard is bad and it does not have any nice customization such as Sense over the vanilla Google interface. But it has done fairly well, due to the marketing I would argue.
And the Pre, that's just cursed... other than being limited to Sprint for a long time in the US I can't see why it has done so poorly. I think because it's intended demographic was closer to iPhone than Android or others and Apple guys being loyal it didn't stand much chance.
I have owned Apple products before, had a first-gen MBP until it broke down four years later. So I know everyone doesn't fall for marketing... but I believe some people did when it came to the iPhone (iPod touch not so much) and definitely will over the iPad because it's useless.
And finally, how audacious of you to tell me I can't judge a product I haven't seen. I'm not an idiot... and this isn't the 1960s, with the intarwebs and pictures and videos and detailed coverage from places such as Engadget (what's the tally for iPad articles so far?) so I can make fairly sound judgments as can most people, and most seem to not like this thing, even the loyalists or whatever you might call them.
Sure, nobody can be %100 certain from seeing it first hand. But you know what? The iPad 1.0 falls so far below the mark that nothing about seeing it in the flesh could tempt... I can say that with near hundred percent certainty.
Apple have held the product so they can say it's magical and revolutionary, eh? It's not like it's a company which stands to make or lose billions of dollars over this one product alone, which might lead to use complete BS and irrelevant words to sling their product.
@Jack The iphone is predominantly a fashion item/gadget, much like the rubick's cube in the 80's. Sure, everyone had one but it wasn't particularly 'useful'. Unless of course you measure the usefulness of gadgets by how much time you waste fiddling with it. In productivity terms the iphone gets trumped by a whole host of nokia buisnes class phones. And if you're thinking of it as a music player or games device then it has a long long way to go to come anywhere close to what sony and nintendo have sold.
Yes it's a gadget, it's a lovely little gadget, and yes you're allowed to love it in any way that you want, but to justify its usefulness by pointing to its popularity is typical fanboy logic (ie poorly thought out and mostly emotive).
Unfortunately by displaying such lack of reasoning does nothing but undermine your entire argument.
Overall I find this whole ipad thing laughable. Not the gadget itself as it's pretty much exactly what I expected it to be, (well ok maybe a little less than I expected it to be... and I didn't expect much!) but the way fans are making pathetic excuses on behalf of it, "it's ahead of its time", "just you wait till 4.0 comes out", "who needs flash anyway?" kind of bullshit.
It's fallen between two chairs, too big to slip into your pocket, versatility is trumped for home use by the simplest of netbooks. "but I can read books on it", yea well when I'm at home I've got all my books with me, my media, sound system, laptop, bluray (you get the idea). In a portable device it needs to fit in my pocket, if I have to carry a bag I may as well use a laptop or netbook.
Sure, in the future with hardware and software revisions it could become something more useful and if so i might buy one, but until then it's a cumbersome and expensive ipod touch. and no, I am not going to forgive it for its sins.
@Jack I seriously think it is funny at how you seem to go against so many people criticizing an Apple product, and you start stomping your feet like a pissed-off teenager and scream about how Apple manages to sell these products like hotcakes. And your only argument is that "well, if they're selling, then they HAVE to be good!" Someone counters with another product that wasn't good at all but had very high sales, and then you say it's not the same thing.
Whether Apple may or may not have a good product (iPhone, iPad, iPod, iWTFever), the good aspects of these products that I try to look for often get smokescreened because of raging fanboys like you! If you really wonder why people are so quick to label Apple fanboys with many personae, like prepubescent-like yuppies or Steve Jobs' fluffers, then you really need to check out the responses you give to these people. Someone makes a comment about how this product lacks something, then you respond. It's so predictable.
I really neither like or dislike Apple products. I just can stand the fanboys!
Ipad=phone...
Unlimited 3G+bluetooth+skype or any VOIP+a carry bag to keep your ipad when travelling=a cheap ass versatile phone
@purecussion
just use gv webapp and get a google voice number. Bam, best thing ever. I've been considering ditching my voice plan, as I usually screen calls anyway. What i'm really interested in is using the dock sd reader as a possible storage expansion. Mr. GeoHotz, you listening?
@purecussion
I think it was Ars Technica's iPad review that the bluetooth supports keyboards but not headsets.
I'm not positive and we probably won't know until release but people may have to come to grips that you cant talk into this thing no matter what. Which would make sense because it's aimed at existing iPhone users, Steve has decided that you don't need two phone devices so he made sure you can't on this one.
iPad SUCKS !!
now Where is my iTouch 4G with Camera you stup#d Apple you !!
Hey guys, if I tell Engadget to stop with all this iPad coverage will that make me seem cool too?