until it does flash, has a dongle-less usb, has a dongle-less display port, has stylus input (+handwriting recognition/digitizer), runs one-note, and can multitask... I won't be getting one.
O wait, windows based tablets already do all that. Nvm, I'll just get one of those.
@chewbacha all of the previous tablets had these features you're mentioning...a stylus, windows, viruses, etc...maybe you like devices that aren't successful?
I don't make purchases based on the success of the device. I make purchases based on what is best for what I need it to do. And what I need it to do I already listed. Anyone remotely computer savvy can avoid viruses.
I do give Apple credit for one thing. They definitely made me realize that I want a tablet pc, just not an iPad. The functionality gap is just to great.
@chewbacha If you think the windows tablets do what you want why don't you own one now? There have been tablets that do everything people say they want from the ipad for awhile now. The problem is either that they run a full desktop OS which does not give a good experience with touch(yes even windows 7), they are too expensive, or they just don't offer anything new. I don't think the iPad is perfect but I do think they are on the right track. It isn't a device to replace your computer it is an appliance built for a few specific tasks(consuming media, games, web), with the possibility to do more if you like.
When I was buying a laptop, the tablets were a touch too expensive and underpowered for what I wanted (discrete graphics).
I would have bought one now, but I just got done building my own pc (i7 950, 6 gb ddr3, ati 5870) and it will be another year before I buy another computer. When I do, I think I will be buying a tablet PC based on what I mentioned earlier.
@Antialias I totally agree with you, it's about being something else than a computer with no keyboard, a stylus, and run windows in it in the shape of a tablet. I think apple will pull it off.
That's the thing. You -won't- buy a PC Tablet. The market has shown that. People keep saying 'Tablets have done more for years' yet...where are all the tablet users? What's been done before, no matter how much you rehash it and polish it up, hasn't sold in significant numbers. So here comes a product that does things differently, and everyone is up in arms ranting how it doesn't do everything that other failed products do.
Almost ironically, now that the iPad has been announced, there are a slew of knock-off products that look almost the same, yet do things the old clunky way. Where have we seen that before?
@chewbacha See, you just answered the very problem with your argument; *WHY* don't you have a windows tablet already?
Cuz you don't want one. Most people don't want one. Cuz even if it can do all the things that a laptop can do, the negatives far outweigh the positives.
The iPad's value proposal is radically different. It doesn't try to be everything that a laptop is without the keyboard. And that's why it will have a much, much better chance of succeeding than the PC tablets of today.
I had made a post but it seems to have disappeared to the depths of engadgets servers...
Anyhow, I purchase things based on practicality. This may or may not be the same as what drives others to purchase things, but I don't care, I'm not selling the product. When based on practicality, a laptop is more practical than a tablet. That's true. So, my purchasing order is:
1. Laptop 2. Desktop 3. Smartphone 4. Tablet
Laptops allow me the practicality of a full fledged work device on the road. I can be onsite with a customer and be fully functional. A desktop allows me to pursue my personal hobbies at home due to its power. A smartphone lets me stay in contact while on the go. The tablet is more of a "nice-to-have" than a practical device.
While my criteria still hold for the tablet that I'll buy, you may be correct that I never buy a tablet, once I get to a smartphone, it will probably be time for a new laptop, thus skipping the tablet altogether.
However, based on my criteria set force in addition to the need for practicality, the iPad fails on most levels. It too large to replace a smartphone and not functional enough to replace the laptop. In any circumstance that I want a 10 inch display, I'll mostlike just break out my laptop, instead of carrying 3 devices.
Of course, please remember that these are just MY opinions about how I purchase electronics. I don't expect them to hold true for everyone.
@cntyglghtl Maybe some people like styluses? I think they're very suitable at something the size of the ipad. Handwriting recognition and art creation? Why not?
You're right about Windoze though. It's not fully built for portable computing. But the iPad OS is too restricting.
I think Moblin will be the best bet for these types of devices. Offers a nice compromise.
@danhawk911 Agreed. I wish people could understand that wishing the iPad supported Flash doesn't = I love Flash. It's a resource hog and a pain in the arse but right now it's a necessary evil that thousands of sites use.
Support Flash while pushing HTML 5 and quickening it's dominance, but to ignore it until that happens seems stupid.
@Antialias I own a HP convertible tablet. It never leaves tablet mode. I use it daily. It has touch and stylus input, both very precise. Navigating Windows XP is simple with gestures. I can consume any media I want. It does everything the iPad might, and everything it wont. I would like a slate with some refreshed hardware, which is exactly what I had hoped Apple's device would be. Instead, they built a toy.
As a side note, I think the Apple's new genre of device, where functionality is that of a smartphone, should be called a pad. Tablets were around long before the iPad, and it has been established that a tablet offers a full computing experience.
@mikend The iPad isn't for you then. But the 'functionality gap' doesn't mean much to those who view computers as an appliance, for them the 'usability gap' is a massive chasm.
@Atkins You're missing my point. For months I followed the rumors. For months I had hoped the iPad would be more computer than phone. I was let down, and that is where my dislike of the iPad stems.
I disagree with your priority list. I'm a silver-surfer geek;-)
My MacBook Pro is too large and the iPhone (I havn't got one) is too small. I'm satisfied with a normal mobile, not a smartphone. On the other hand my desktop macs aren't mobile at all.
The iPad is the "everywhere device" I've been waiting for. I can put it into my musician-flightcase to have it with me always. My already older eyes don't like going to the pictures on an display sized for mice.
If shouldn't find the apps I like on Apples store it could be a good idea to learn more about Xcode for the iPad and I could write my own apps. It doesn't really pay for macs, because so much other people have done good jobs already, but it could be a nice hobby to do that in ObjC for the iPad. For programmers, the iPad should be even "sexier" than the iPhone.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
until the ipad does flash it wont fill the gap.
@danhawk911
until it does flash, has a dongle-less usb, has a dongle-less display port, has stylus input (+handwriting recognition/digitizer), runs one-note, and can multitask... I won't be getting one.
O wait, windows based tablets already do all that. Nvm, I'll just get one of those.
@danhawk911
no, not until flash fixes their crappy software. i for one am glad apple doesn't use it.
@chewbacha all of the previous tablets had these features you're mentioning...a stylus, windows, viruses, etc...maybe you like devices that aren't successful?
@(Unverified) nice excuse, brah.
@cntyglghtl
I don't make purchases based on the success of the device. I make purchases based on what is best for what I need it to do. And what I need it to do I already listed. Anyone remotely computer savvy can avoid viruses.
I do give Apple credit for one thing. They definitely made me realize that I want a tablet pc, just not an iPad. The functionality gap is just to great.
@chewbacha If you think the windows tablets do what you want why don't you own one now? There have been tablets that do everything people say they want from the ipad for awhile now. The problem is either that they run a full desktop OS which does not give a good experience with touch(yes even windows 7), they are too expensive, or they just don't offer anything new. I don't think the iPad is perfect but I do think they are on the right track. It isn't a device to replace your computer it is an appliance built for a few specific tasks(consuming media, games, web), with the possibility to do more if you like.
@Antialias
When I was buying a laptop, the tablets were a touch too expensive and underpowered for what I wanted (discrete graphics).
I would have bought one now, but I just got done building my own pc (i7 950, 6 gb ddr3, ati 5870) and it will be another year before I buy another computer. When I do, I think I will be buying a tablet PC based on what I mentioned earlier.
@Antialias I totally agree with you, it's about being something else than a computer with no keyboard, a stylus, and run windows in it in the shape of a tablet. I think apple will pull it off.
@chewbacha
That's the thing. You -won't- buy a PC Tablet. The market has shown that. People keep saying 'Tablets have done more for years' yet...where are all the tablet users? What's been done before, no matter how much you rehash it and polish it up, hasn't sold in significant numbers. So here comes a product that does things differently, and everyone is up in arms ranting how it doesn't do everything that other failed products do.
Almost ironically, now that the iPad has been announced, there are a slew of knock-off products that look almost the same, yet do things the old clunky way. Where have we seen that before?
@danhawk911 having flash will require you to recharge very often.
@chewbacha See, you just answered the very problem with your argument; *WHY* don't you have a windows tablet already?
Cuz you don't want one. Most people don't want one. Cuz even if it can do all the things that a laptop can do, the negatives far outweigh the positives.
The iPad's value proposal is radically different. It doesn't try to be everything that a laptop is without the keyboard. And that's why it will have a much, much better chance of succeeding than the PC tablets of today.
@RawheaD
I had made a post but it seems to have disappeared to the depths of engadgets servers...
Anyhow, I purchase things based on practicality. This may or may not be the same as what drives others to purchase things, but I don't care, I'm not selling the product. When based on practicality, a laptop is more practical than a tablet. That's true. So, my purchasing order is:
1. Laptop
2. Desktop
3. Smartphone
4. Tablet
Laptops allow me the practicality of a full fledged work device on the road. I can be onsite with a customer and be fully functional. A desktop allows me to pursue my personal hobbies at home due to its power. A smartphone lets me stay in contact while on the go. The tablet is more of a "nice-to-have" than a practical device.
While my criteria still hold for the tablet that I'll buy, you may be correct that I never buy a tablet, once I get to a smartphone, it will probably be time for a new laptop, thus skipping the tablet altogether.
However, based on my criteria set force in addition to the need for practicality, the iPad fails on most levels. It too large to replace a smartphone and not functional enough to replace the laptop. In any circumstance that I want a 10 inch display, I'll mostlike just break out my laptop, instead of carrying 3 devices.
Of course, please remember that these are just MY opinions about how I purchase electronics. I don't expect them to hold true for everyone.
@cntyglghtl Maybe some people like styluses? I think they're very suitable at something the size of the ipad. Handwriting recognition and art creation? Why not?
You're right about Windoze though. It's not fully built for portable computing. But the iPad OS is too restricting.
I think Moblin will be the best bet for these types of devices. Offers a nice compromise.
@danhawk911 Agreed. I wish people could understand that wishing the iPad supported Flash doesn't = I love Flash. It's a resource hog and a pain in the arse but right now it's a necessary evil that thousands of sites use.
Support Flash while pushing HTML 5 and quickening it's dominance, but to ignore it until that happens seems stupid.
@Antialias I own a HP convertible tablet. It never leaves tablet mode. I use it daily. It has touch and stylus input, both very precise. Navigating Windows XP is simple with gestures. I can consume any media I want. It does everything the iPad might, and everything it wont. I would like a slate with some refreshed hardware, which is exactly what I had hoped Apple's device would be. Instead, they built a toy.
As a side note, I think the Apple's new genre of device, where functionality is that of a smartphone, should be called a pad. Tablets were around long before the iPad, and it has been established that a tablet offers a full computing experience.
@mikend
The iPad isn't for you then. But the 'functionality gap' doesn't mean much to those who view computers as an appliance, for them the 'usability gap' is a massive chasm.
@Atkins You're missing my point. For months I followed the rumors. For months I had hoped the iPad would be more computer than phone. I was let down, and that is where my dislike of the iPad stems.
@chewbacha
I disagree with your priority list. I'm a silver-surfer geek;-)
My MacBook Pro is too large and the iPhone (I havn't got one) is too small. I'm satisfied with a normal mobile, not a smartphone. On the other hand my desktop macs aren't mobile at all.
The iPad is the "everywhere device" I've been waiting for. I can put it into my musician-flightcase to have it with me always. My already older eyes don't like going to the pictures on an display sized for mice.
If shouldn't find the apps I like on Apples store it could be a good idea to learn more about Xcode for the iPad and I could write my own apps. It doesn't really pay for macs, because so much other people have done good jobs already, but it could be a nice hobby to do that in ObjC for the iPad. For programmers, the iPad should be even "sexier" than the iPhone.