Hey, remember back when Steve Jobs said "
people don't read anymore" when discussing why the
Kindle would be a failure? Heh, funny story: turns out Apple just released a device called the iPad and,
at its unveiling, spent an awful lot of time showing off what a great reader it is. However, when comparing it to Kindle (
as we did here) you have to think about that battery life figure: 10 hours vs.
seven days. When Walt Mossberg caught Jobs after the unveiling for a little gonzo-style interview he asked about this, and Jobs said "you're not going to read for 10 hours...you just end up pluggin' it in." So, Steve now concedes that people
do read, but apparently they don't do it for long without coming close to a power receptacle. When asked about price differentials between books on the devices, rumored to be as much as
$5 more than on Kindle, Jobs somewhat reluctantly states that "publishers are actually withholding books from Amazon because they're not happy," and that "the prices will be the same" -- but doesn't indicate whether Amazon's prices will be going up or that rumored $14.99 price point is going down. It's all in the video after the break, including plenty of face time with Walt.
posted January 29th 2010 9:09AM
@Solidstate89 Silly person? Who's stopping you from reading as much as you like? When your iPad's battery runs out after 10 hours, and you can't or stubbornly won't just plug it in, you can always read the phone book or the back of the serial box.
@THizzle7XU
There's an accessory for that.
Of course, Richard Solo an Brookstone will have extended batteries for the iPad in various shapes and sizes. The 10-hour limit is no limit at all.
why does Jobs come off as an asshole when talking with people?
@nineball
Because he is one.
@nineball That's what happens when your constantly surrounded by people that think you are someone that creates nothing but Jesus gadgets. I wonder how many people asked Jobs what happened to the built-in camera, usb-ports, etc. etc.?
@nineball because he knows he will always be #2
@maddawg579 Man he really did struggle with defending the iPad.. it's almost humiliating.
@nineball
I would be annoyed with every idiot with a camera or a blog speculating, poking holes, and offering their worthless opinions on things they know absolutely nothing about. He is the most influential CEO of our generation and every moron who doesn't see the potential is grilling him as to why it doesn't do this or that.
How would you take the criticism of a product you developed and probably had a lot of personal time and input on?
Does he need some training on schmoozing? Sure. But I would bet he didn't get to where he is today by being nice to everyone.
@Peter Pan
You got voted up on what I'm assuming is a South Park reference.
@CMoebius
But the reason they pick at every misstep is because a lot is expected from Apple and Steve in particular seeing as he gets most of the credit for anything Apple releases. They had a tremendous effect on the mp3 player market, and they've effectively changed the face of "smartphones", where everyone and their mother is trying to get in on the action. Yes, I'm aware of the fact that the smartphone market is a small percentage of total cellular worldwide sales but you can't deny the effect that the iPhone has had in the US.
So when he does things like leave out USB for a quick and easy connection for Joe Average (why do I need to get a proprietary dock for everything) or an SD card slot which comes standard on even the lowest end of phones, it's a big issue. Yet he keeps forging ahead as if nothing's wrong. It makes you wonder if Apple stops to ask if they're really giving the consumer enough or if they really care.
To be fair to Steve J.:
1. Mossberg is a tool,
2. Steve's J's mood might be due to the negative comments about his new product from people at the event. He was maybe expecting a slam dunk/high five like always and didn't get any?...that would leave me in a bad mood too.
3. I think he might still be sick and maybe doesn't really care about revolutionary products like he used too, especially after facing his own mortality.
@CMoebius "He is the most influential CEO of our generation"
WTF dude? Do you really think that? Get a fucking life, I resent such uninformed remark.
@CMoebius
Well, you know, at some point we all fall down. SJ's way with people and feedback - even if it's blunt - isn't going to win him any friends. Denial always gets in the way of adaptiveness. Bill Gates thought the internet was nothing to take serious, but when he realized his mistake, he didn't dwell on it, he turned the whole company around in no time.
But arrogance always precedes downfall. At one point or another, your consumer is going to stop and think for him or herself, and at that point, you better have som good answers. IE8 is a bloody poor answer, and so is this iPad thing. Will people buy it? Sure. Will people use IE8? Sure. Does it indicate a trend. Most definently. And good it is not, young jedi...
@nineball
Does it occur to you people that Steve has difficulty in keeping eye-contact, he is always looking aside. That is a serious sign of autism. Whaow, I think I understand now why this guy likes gadgets, he is not good with people!
I know this because I suffered from the same issue (which I've overcomed of course).
@CMoebius
"He is the most influential CEO of our generation..."
Really?!
@CMoebius
Funny I would think that the CEO who created an OS with 90% market share and who has donated nearly 30 billion dollars to those in need worldwide would rank above "creating the Iphone" But thats just my opinion.
That'd be a chap by the name of Gates
@nineball because he is always sucking Microsoft's ass...
@Duke
Might be in reference to Forbes naming him CEO of the decade. I'm not sure why this guy is getting beat up. Anybody who denies Steve Job's impact on Technology over the past Decade is just an Apple hater. Steve Job's has quite a lot of innovation behind him. I do think he is getting older and maybe losing his luster, but his legacy will always live on. I don't think Most Influential CEO of the decade is that over the top. At the very least he is one of the most influential people within the Tech field. Denying that is just crazy.
@nineball - Because when you knock yourself out trying to make something great, you don't (and probably shouldn't) give a rat's @ss about the opinions of people who never made a damn thing in their lives. His response may not be the most congenial, but I can understand it. I'm not necessarily saying the iPad *is* great. I don't know. But it is an honest effort by Apple, and the hoards of flamers will fortunately have little to do with it's success or failure.
@Donloki
Steve Jobs was credited as CEO of the decade by Fortune magazine. Because of the iPhone (which changed smartphones), because of the iPod (which changed portable music), because of the iTunes Store (which changed the music industry), because of Apple retail stores (which changed the retail experience), and of course also because of Pixar (which recently released their 10th blockbuster in a row with not a single flop in between).
@nineball He's super defensive. It's as if he takes any question about his products as disguised testimony to their shittiness. Just because someone asks "So the iPad looks like a tremendous joke, right?", there's no reason to get all stiff and boisterous.
remember that slide at the keynote that quoted "last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it"? well i just talked to moses and he says at least his tablet had multitasking
@skyblaze
That was really on a slide during their presentation?
How tacky.
@LAY It was a quote from WSJ
@skyblaze are you sure of what you're saying? some say that there's a certain degree of multitasking ie you get notifications when you receive an email and are doing something else, with a native app
@AckbarsFist
Oh, I see.
@skyblaze
Mose's tablet was probably a Microsoft Courier, come to think of it. Every "picture" of the 10 Commandments is a dual-pane "device", right? :D
@skyblaze
The quote was 100% correct though was it not. Every tech site and regular news site, TV news both local and national, Newspapers local and national have been covering the iPad since the announcement, if they weren't covering it before it was even announced. I really can't think of a single non-Apple product that has ever come close to generating this much "excitement" or so many excited comments from both sides of the debate over the device.
He is correct though. The number of people that would ever read for more than 10 hours in one sitting is very, very slim. Even on an international flight where you are pretty much a captive audience you would be hard pressed to read for that long in one sitting.
@skyblaze
I thought the reference to the 10 commandments was tacky - as if they're trying to get people to remember the days when everyone was talking about the "Jesus phone". Seriously Apple, you're not all that compelling as a religion. Anybody see Macheads? It's just pathetic really.
@bbzGhost
Most Microsoft devices are dual-pain. Part of their corporate culture.
@dennisheadley
Yet, Windows 7 in less than 5 months has outsold ever MAC OS X variant on every sold. Hmmmm.
@gmcboot
I'm a Windows 7 user through and through, so I am happy for Microsoft, but I have to ask what the hell that has to do with anything? We are talking about the stimulation of coversation here, the media coverage etc.. And Windows 7, even being the fastest selling OS of all time is a snore fest in tems of public reaction and attention.
On a side note, having the 90%+ of the market for computers and the number of computers increasing every day, any version of Microsoft Windows released that doesn't sell more copies than all OS X versions combine would be the biggest OS failure in the history. So while its a great headline it doesn't say a whole lot, other than to point out that I never saw that announcement get trotted out during the Vista reign. (See previous point)
@cntyglghtl Silly fanboy trying to defend his Food Tray
@skyblaze
I think most people would agree that Moses had a USB port on the tablet so he could transfer porn files from his novelty pen drive.
@gmcboot yet msft is still worth less today than when ballmer took over in 2000........
@gmcboot And somehow that means it's better? Just because you sell more of something doesn't mean it's better. Right? I mean all the Zune-heads use that excuse about the iPod.
What a shame to be Apple after that event. It must really suck to have announced that product to such pessimistic reception. Poor Jobs was probably excited about this thing, and most everyone else was really wuh-wohw about it. Oh, well! Let's all go out an get Nexus Ones!
@postmasterSteve
The ipod had the same negative reaction....look how it turned out.
@Bbydon So?
And what about the reaction to the MacBook Air?
AppleTV?
G4 Cube?
Or again, did you guys completely forget about those products?
iPad = not an e-reader.
Apple = not a 'green' company, and not even pretending to be one. "...you just plug it in..."nonsense.
@pencilmind
Its chance is as an advanced e-reader.
@pencilmind
And that 'advance' is using an standard/ rather archaic 1024x768/4:3 standard issue LCD display?
Great viewing angles are nice and all, but there's just no way that the iPad's display is as well-suited fro reading as any e-ink display.
You are right Steve. Oh and I do not want to run more than one app at the same time. And you guys know best so I do not want an app that you did not say was ok for me to want. And that whole Flash thing, yea at first I wanted it but then you told me I do not so I no longer do....
Oh wait thats why I have an Android phone instead of the stevephone. Here is an idea Steve old boy, let people choose what they want.
@JXCGunrunna Apple and other pompous company's always fall into the trap of being out of touch with their client base. Take Sony and the PSP we as the consumer have been yelling for a second analog stick, and at at least 802.11 g connectivity (they say it's for their PSP2, we aren't ready for such technology). Just like Apple;"woah tiger you're not ready for the excitement of a camera, or maybe a usb port (maybe this is more so to prevent hacking?), wait until the 2nd gen, don't want to spoil your apatite". Oh and at least Ballmer and Gates didn't come off as a pompous douche bag. Yeah for OS i have windows but I do own a Touch also, tried apple and hated it.
@JXCGunrunna
"Here is an idea Steve old boy, let people choose what they want."
You just did, genius. You chose an Android phone... and if you are so happy with it, why do you care about Apple's creations? Just continue to use your non-Apple products and keep whining about how Apple can't get it right while they sell millions of products and fundamentally change industries they had nothing to do with 10 years ago. No company is perfect, but Apple is one of very few companies who continually push the envelope and take calculated risks by doing so. Whether you use their products or not, you should be thankful for their presence in the marketplace as they force the competition to make better products and services to remain competitive and we all benefit. So keep whining, dude. It makes you seem really smart.
The bar was set pretty high for the iPad. The anticipation reached a fever pitch. I think this backlash was inevitable if the thing didn't cure cancer and make you a cup of coffee at the same time. The truth is, even without multitasking, flash support and infinite battery life, it's still a revolutionary product. It's form and function is unlike anything else available to consumers. Especially for a starting price of $500.
So talk all the smack you want. Then eat your words in 5 years when we're all using iPads and iPad imitations.
@theglenvoid
I'm not convinced they calculated any risk when designing this product. And why would they? Consumers have eaten up everything that Apple was decided to drop from the heavens. They've been riding high on successful quarter after successful quarter, making big profits while everyone else was cutting tens of thousands of jobs. People love Apple because no one in the tech industry markets as well as they do. Well, that's not true. They do make accessible, solid software as well. I wish more hardware manufacturers would make their own custom software.
As it stands, the iPad wasn't a risk until Apple unveiled it.
@theglenvoid
Revolutionanary? Hey.. you do know that Apple did not create the tablet computer . Right? That they just built a BIG iPHONE. Did you pay attention at all to the CES show that had a billion different MID and tablet devices running on real operating systems. Some running Windows 7, which has outsold all MAC OS X based computers in 5 months. They will be lots of lemming buying the iPad cause it Apple and Steve Jobs told them too. But lets not pretend that Apple created tablet computers or perfected it. This things a big iPod touch with 3G. No more no less. When I need a tablet computer running a real OS, it won't be this thing.
@theglenvoid
"You just did, genius. You chose an Android phone... and if you are so happy with it, why do you care about Apple's creations? Just continue to use your non-Apple products and keep whining about how Apple can't get it right while they sell millions of products"
I have an android phone, because lets be honest I like what it offers over the iPhone. But that aside, what does having an android phone have to do with wanting great consumer devices? Of course I can run android, Zune HD, PS3, or whatever else you may think makes me invalid for liking apple and still care about a tablet apple makes. I simply want the best thing for my needs. Sorry I dont align like a fanboy :(
I think apple will end up making the tablet that I want and when they do I'll be all over it like...well...you on an apple rumor. However this isnt it, because its an ipod touch/iphone hybrid and thats not the tablet I need or want.
@JXCGunrunna
People have been choosing what they want, and it's called an iPhone.
@theglenvoid
I'm not sure that you're aware of this, but tablet pc's have been around for well over a decade, many of which run fully-featured operating systems and real application (as opposed to very limited mobile operating systems and apps aka widgets).
Even the physical design of the iPad is little more than a copy of the Hp/Compaq TC1XXX from 2003 ( http://www.mconline.ru/post/18226/tc1100slate_big.jpg ) except the TC1XXX featured actual USB ports, media card reader, multi-tasking of all applications, expandability, et al.
Funny enough, both the (2003) Hp TC1XXX and the (2010) Apple iPad feature similar sized (standard issue) LCD displays at 4:3/1024x768.
So where's all this (alleged) technological progress Apple has made with their 'New Creation' ?
The iPad is what it is, but please stop with all this 'Revolutionary' B.S. because it's Apple who are the 'imitators' here.