Sitting in bed with my wife’s Kindle, I’ve often thought: “I wish this was a real Web browser with a touch screen,” and bemoaned the fact that tablet PCs were fairly bulky. Certainly they’re too big to hold on your chest while in bed.
I planned to get a Sony Daily Edition Reader — a large, touchscreen e-book that can display PDFs and just about every e-book format out there (unlike the Kindle, which really doesn’t like PDFs).
But now comes the iPad, Apple’s entry into the tablet market (only a few years behind, as usual).
Basic edition (which I’m sure runs a Web browser happily), 16GB, Wi-Fi only: $499. The Sony Reader is around $800, and it only displays books and docs. (I could pay $629 for the 16GB model that also does 3G, but I have Wi-Fi where I need it, and I don’t want to use AT&T. It’s 3G coverage is spotty at best, and I don’t need my surfing habits sent to the NSA.)
Only problem is that it’s an Apple product. So that means forthcoming battery problems, only being able to use programs approved by Apple, and generally being locked in. With a Windows-based tablet, you can download any app you want. With the iPad, you’re limited to Apple’s app store.
Oh, and it can’t multitask, which Windows tablets can. Whoa.
On the other hand, it’s thin and light because the keyboard is separate (and sold separately). Windows tablets — for the moment — have the keyboard built in.
Also, if Apple is selling this for $499, that means that PC versions will be forthcoming, less expensive, offer more features, and run an OS I’m familiar with. There are people who will “buy anything if it’s shiny and made by Apple” because they’re brand whores, but that’s not me. I know too many people who are locked into iTunes.
But if smaller, lighter, touchscreen netbooks don’t show up soon, darned straight I’ll be looking at this. Sweet.
The Fray
tommy says:
Oh – in my metropolitan area, where I spend ~97% of my time, I get 3G and EDGE coverage everywhere I go. Yes, I’m tied to AT&T for now, but I’ve had nothing to complain about so far. Spotty coverage is not a problem where I live.
While some carriers may be more cooperative with the NSA than others, if you don’t think your surfing habits are known to anyone you don’t want to know them, you live in a dream world. If the NSA doesn’t know what you’re doing, the Chinese do.
Having any mobile phone lets anyone who wants to find you (or at least the phone) get real darned close if they want to. GPS just more so. And how many consumers realize they’ve swallowed that little pill when they pay for the service? I think I consider that a little more freaky than the NSA knowing that I visited boobies.com from my phone (or tablet, or any other device).
Steve Prior says:
I’m not sure about the fact that it doesn’t have a camera. Seems like a perfect device for skype calls to Grandma.
Joe Schmoe says:
Do not want. A $250 netbook does more for a lot less. No USB, no external video, no flash support (really? wtf), no way to load external apps, no camera, small amount of memory, no replaceable battery. It’s a disposable $600 iPod touch. It also doesn’t support HD format files like .MKV.
The iPad, a fitting name for something that would be used 4-5 times every 30-40 days.
gnomic says:
Or you could buy this: http://www.i4u.com/article29737.html Its what I’m planning to get. $650 for the tricked out version, $500 for the basic. (160GB, 1G Ram, BGN Network, Win 7)
Chuck Staples says:
Regardless of manufacturer, I always skip the .0 version. I hope Apple puts in a full multi-tasking toggle (the iPhone and iPad do multitask). That way, all the folks that bemoan the lack of it can now bemoan the short battery life.
To quote: “By limiting the amount of background processes running, the iPhone’s OS X can offer more of that available RAM to the foreground application, along with a less distracted processor. The iPhone is not a general purpose computer; it is primarily a phone, browser, and iPod. Due to the restrictions imposed by the SDK, it will also be a credible gaming platform and pack the power to run significant productivity applications, all without giving up the ability to be a responsive phone, browser, and iPod.” http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2008/03/13/iphone-20-sdk-the-no-multitasking-myth/
Yes the link old. So is the complaint. Many of the issues could be resolved if the apps used the SDKs better. The iPad and iPhone are not general-purpose computers. Maybe Windows tablets are, but then they aren’t exactly same category (whether you think that good or bad). In any case, I suspect the multi-tasking “problem” will be resolved in the not-too-distant future.
The ranting on Apple is old, just like the Apple fan boy stupidity. Buy what you like for it gives you.
I have Macs at home (no iPhone, iPad, but an iPod shuffle). A Windows laptop at work. I wish the laptop would wake up and sleep as reliably my wife’s MacBook Pro (or old iBook). MS still can’t get that right. But I do love One Note. I wish that were available on a Mac (and the Mac contenders really don’t contend, IMO).
gnomic says:
HP Slate – RIP http://gizmodo.com/5527824/hp-slate-is-dead-on-arrival-says-techcrunch
tommy says:
I wouldn’t buy the first generation, fo sho. I will however be visiting the stores to play with the iPad. I’d rather wait to get a version of the iPad which can multitask than to even give consideration to a Windows tablet. Tablets are a compromise I’m not willing to make yet in any event.
The way this is written makes you sound like you’re as much of an anti-Apple person as others could be labeled ‘brand whores.’ But more to the point, it’s not so much the brand, IMO, as the product. I personally think that Apple goes the extra mile (or foot) to finish their products where the other players have historically rushed to market with mediocre solutions, in true Windows tradition. That’s experience talking, not brand whoriness.
I am not a mac fanboy, I think those people are in belligerent denial, bordering on racism-type hate, some of them. We should be able to coexist but some people seem to thrive on getting their backs up about differences instead of trying to see eye to eye.
I definitely like what Apple’s been doing, love my iPhone, and would currently choose a macbook over any Windows notebook. For work, and most commerce, Windows is necessary.
Both worlds are a compromise, and I’m glad I get to choose.