Hands on reviews are in on the iPad

[InverseOfNeo]

There is a Netflix plug in, but no HDMI output to plug in your television. So what's the concept here, that you are going to sit on your couch in front of your big screen TV and watch movies on your 10 inch iPad instead?

If you have a 3G iPad, you can watch a movie anywhere. You wouldn't sit on your couch watching a movie on one of these, but you would when you're waiting for your car to be serviced or whatever.

 

[Kmax82]

Yes, if you just happened to be carrying a 11 inch device in your pocket (or are happy to see me) when you are there...

Ugh.. I shouldn't even respond.. your arguments are ridiculous. You're arguing that you would carry a 10 to 12" netbook, but not an iPad?

Sure, a lot are, but what happens if you go to one of thousands of sites that uses Flash? What then, you paid $500 for a device that can't render a site that a $300 netbook can. What, you gonna sit there and wait till they rewrite it for HTML5? There are more sites than Hulu and Netflix, and many of them don't have budgets to rewrite all their apps to HTML5.

Thousands? Really? Most people use YouTube, Vimeo, Hulu, and Netflix (all with HTML5 counterparts that are active, or coming VERY soon). Unless you're referring to porn, then who knows.. there probably are thousands of those sites out there. If that's the case, then encode it yourself and put it on there.

No one is forcing you to buy an iPad, or think that it's great. But the idea that the lack of Flash makes it horrible.. is astoundingly stupid.

 

[theeedude]

I don't see Flash going away within the time frame I would keep this device, so I don't see myself buying an iPad that cannot render Flash. I simply am not going to have the device I am using determine which sites I can view. Not when I have options, and there are going to be plenty of tablets coming out this year. I am sure there are going to be features that other people value more, but for me, it would be an internet device first and foremost, and it needs to be handle the internet as it is now, not how Apple sees it in the future.

 

[0roo0roo]

frankly on the go watching flash sites is not a big priority. and the pressure to support non flash user base is frankly a good thing, so it shouldn't be a problem for very long.

 

[theeedude]

Sure, and if in a couple years there is no Flash or iPad supports it, I may get one. Just talking about this device this year.

 

[Pliablemoose]

btw, are there any free html5 pron sites yet?

 

[TheStu]

The iPad, to me at least, feels like very possibly the best internet surfing device out there.

It is small and light and portable (smaller, lighter and more portable than a netbook), it gets insane battery life. And if I want to look something up online, it is apparently almost as fast as thought. It is get iPad, press button, hit safari, start typing. Just that fast apparently. I don't know about you, but my desktop doesn't open up any web browser (in any OS) that fast, and I know that a netbook can't. Want to send an email? Instantly the email app opens, want to watch youtube? There's an app for that. Want to surf porn? A lot of the major sites have revamped their selection so it is iPhone compatible.

To me though, the biggest thing holding me back is the annoying extra step to get my AVI TV rips onto the device. I use my PowerBook at work to watch movies and TV shows (helps pass the time), something that I won't be able to do as easily on the iPad.

 

[TheWart]

The iPad, to me at least, feels like very possibly the best internet surfing device out there.

It is small and light and portable (smaller, lighter and more portable than a netbook), it gets insane battery life. And if I want to look something up online, it is apparently almost as fast as thought. It is get iPad, press button, hit safari, start typing. Just that fast apparently. I don't know about you, but my desktop doesn't open up any web browser (in any OS) that fast, and I know that a netbook can't. Want to send an email? Instantly the email app opens, want to watch youtube? There's an app for that. Want to surf porn? A lot of the major sites have revamped their selection so it is iPhone compatible.

To me though, the biggest thing holding me back is the annoying extra step to get my AVI TV rips onto the device. I use my PowerBook at work to watch movies and TV shows (helps pass the time), something that I won't be able to do as easily on the iPad.

What about putting the rips on your desktop and using Orb to stream them to your ipad? I have used another app called AirVideo to do just that and it is really awesome, but I think it only works if you are on the same wifi network. Orb works even if your ipad and desktop were on different networks iirc.

 

[speg]

There is a reason I have flashblocker on all my browsers. Flash is trash!

Stu, can't you just add your TV rips to iTunes and they'll be synced to your pad?

 

[TheStu]

There is a reason I have flashblocker on all my browsers. Flash is trash!

Stu, can't you just add your TV rips to iTunes and they'll be synced to your pad?

iTunes tends to not play nice with AVIs or MKVs (my HDDVD and BluRay rips). I can try it again, it has been over year since i last tried, and when I last tried HandBrake to convert them, it was a little hit or miss.

TheWart: No WiFi at work, so I would have to get the 3G model, and the $15 for 250MB plan wouldn't work for me, so that would be another $30/month.

 

[TheWart]

iTunes tends to not play nice with AVIs or MKVs (my HDDVD and BluRay rips). I can try it again, it has been over year since i last tried, and when I last tried HandBrake to convert them, it was a little hit or miss.

TheWart: No WiFi at work, so I would have to get the 3G model, and the $15 for 250MB plan wouldn't work for me, so that would be another $30/month.

oh dang that stinks...I had luck with handbrake on tv-length mkv's but not so much with movie-length ones for some reason.

 

[speg]

Switch to H.264?

 

[0roo0roo]

Interview with stephen fry/steve jobs
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1976935-1,00.html

 

[TheStu]

Switch to H.264?

I have um... a lot of videos that would need to be converted. Even if the conversion from AVI to MP4 took 5 minutes for TV shows, and 10 minutes for movies... I am looking at my computer doing nothing else for the next... week maybe?

 

[Ns1]

For me, it's the justification of cost. What does this device provide that I can use it for that is WORTH $500 of my expendable income? Right now, there's nothing that it offers that can justify that price. For some, it will be easily justified. I think in 5 years, it will be hard not to have one.. but who knows what will be on them. Maybe I'll be running a touch version of Aperture 5 with tether support for my DSLR. Maybe cell networks will be built up enough that I won't be paying $100's per month for multiple connections to the internet.

It's all speculation. Right now, the thing looks great.. however, is it $500 worth of great.. for me, no.

this


that said, I am impressed at the reviews and it might do to computing what the wii did to gaming (ie computing for the masses)

but LOL at all of them when they go to hulu/netflix "WHY CAN'T I WATCH THESE VIDEOS"

 

[0roo0roo]

twit mac weekly has a hands on review... a very long detailed one
http://twit.tv/mbw

youtubes version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty6Hjs0NpDs

 

[0roo0roo]

this


that said, I am impressed at the reviews and it might do to computing what the wii did to gaming (ie computing for the masses)

but LOL at all of them when they go to hulu/netflix "WHY CAN'T I WATCH THESE VIDEOS"

well you could say that about the iphone. i think the hulu/netflix bit is overblown as a problem.

 

[speg]

but LOL at all of them when they go to hulu/netflix "WHY CAN'T I WATCH THESE VIDEOS"

Netflix app is already in the app store

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/netflix/id363590051?mt=8

 

[0roo0roo]

stream abc lost episodes on ipad
http://gizmodo.com/5507738/stream-abc-shows-over-wi+fi-with-this-free-ipad-app

the complaints are kinda being knocked off one by one

 

[TheWart]

wow, mega review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty6Hjs0NpDs

at the 27 min mark they show off the marvel app...the guided landscape view is sooo cool.

Epicurious is shown off at ~40:00....there is a cool little slider to keep your place in a recipe...nice touch.

 

[TheStu]

stream abc lost episodes on ipad
http://gizmodo.com/5507738/stream-abc-shows-over-wi+fi-with-this-free-ipad-app

the complaints are kinda being knocked off one by one

There is a rumor of Hulu testing out a subscription service first on the iPad.

 

[Anonemous]

There is a reason I have flashblocker on all my browsers. Flash is trash!

Stu, can't you just add your TV rips to iTunes and they'll be synced to your pad?

What happens when the ads get written in HTML5? lol

 

[speg]

What happens when the ads get written in HTML5? lol

I dunno, I don't really do it for the ads or else I'd have AdBlocker installed too. Just for stupid random things (most of which happen to be ads) that eat up my CPU or slow down my browser.

 

[QueBert]

WOW the Scrabble with the iPhone client app will be FUCKING KILLER! for anyone who doesn't watch the Twit review, basically you have an iPad which has the Scrabble board, and iPhones/Touches have a client where your tiles show up on your iPhone and nobody playing with you can see your tiles. Holy shit I gotta get this, I love Scrabble and this is too cool. The reviewer said this client app technology will be seen in other games/programs in the future.

I watched the review, and now I really want one, it does so much cool shit.

 

[TheStu]

WOW the Scrabble with the iPhone client app will be FUCKING KILLER! for anyone who doesn't watch the Twit review, basically you have an iPad which has the Scrabble board, and iPhones/Touches have a client where your tiles show up on your iPhone and nobody playing with you can see your tiles. Holy shit I gotta get this, I love Scrabble and this is too cool. The reviewer said this client app technology will be seen in other games/programs in the future.

I watched the review, and now I really want one, it does so much cool shit.

My friends and I like to play both Monopoly and Scrabble, if I could code I would definitely do a Monopoly game, oh man, that would be wicked sweet.