What would YOU use the iPad for?

[Eug]

It's a massive fail that they plan to have keynote on it, but don't offer anyway to connect to external display.

You can get a VGA dongle for it.

I think this will be far more successful than the Apple TV.

Well, that's not really saying much. AppleTV is a total failure.

 

[mmntech]

Door stop, hard surface to write on, dust collector.

It's a pretty underwhelming product IMO. I already have an iPhone, which does exactly the same things, the laptop carries most of my portable load. Now, if they made an Atom based tablet that ran regular ol' Mac OS X, I'd definitely consider it.

 

[Eug]

I don't care if it runs Atom, ARM, or girbils in a wheel, as long as it can run have decently OK app speed and Flash support... which brings me to another point.

Those who say it's good for their computer illiterate relatives, I don't understand that. It seems to me that so much of the computer illiterate world revolves around Flash, from embedded videos to games to retail websites, etc. Without Flash, none of this accessible to the n00bs.

 

[TheGizmo]

I liked the iPad before it was released, the reality of it has made me say "WTF is this good for?"

1) No flash (means no web games)
2) No background processes (means it's just as restricted as an iphone)
3) Still uses an app store (100% means I won't buy it)

I wanted scaled down OSX, not increased resolution ipod.

this.. exactly what i was thinking

 

[Chiefcrowe]

i dunno.. it looks kind of cool but is very limiting. no app installation makes me not interested.

 

[theeedude]

Creating competition for products that I will actually buy

 

[zylander]

I keep trying to think of what I would use the iPad for and I cant think of anything.

-The giant iCal is nice but Im not going to carry that thing around for a calender. I am perfectly happy with the calender built into my iPhone.
-AirVideo: I use AirVideo all the time on my iPhone and using it on an iPad would be pretty sweet but again, that would require me to carry around an iPad. Plus, most of the time I use AirVideo is at work and if I wanted a bigger screen, Id jusdt bring my MBP.

To me, this iPad (aka, giant iPod Touch) doesnt fit in anywhere. Everything it does, I would rather do on my iPhone or MBP.

 

[dmw16]

I could see it being good for:

1. Controlling XBMC (installed on an Apple TV in this case)
2. General couch surfing
3. Reading news/ads/etc while eating breakfast

The real downside is that the browser looks the same as the iphone/touch so it doesn't do multiple tabs (i know you can have multiple sites open but not in the same way as a tabbed PC browser does) and I can't run the yahoo/cbssports fantasy football stat tracker either. Maybe the Jailbreak community will resolve some of this, but for the time being this thing falls way short for me.

I was hoping for a Macbook Air w/ a touch screen but instead we got an overgrown ipod touch. There look to be better tablet products coming to the market.

 

[djnsmith7]

The iCal feature is cool, being able to watch movies, surf the web, import iPod files, etc., are all good, but not great & definitely not worthy of a $499+ price tag. I might have considered buying one if the price tag started at $199.

I have a hard time believing these will fly off the shelves. Ver. 2 might actually offer substance worthy of its price tag (which I'm guessing will be much lower than $499 after this failure).

 

[randomlinh]

The iCal feature is cool, being able to watch movies, surf the web, import iPod files, etc., are all good, but not great & definitely not worthy of a $499+ price tag. I might have considered buying one if the price tag started at $199.

this. minus the ical, I have a my phone. 199 would have been great. I would have bought it. But at this point, it is just a toy. I would do better w/ a $300 netbook.

Though, what I would really like to see now is a larger ipod touch that isn't tablet sized, maybe an 1" or 1.5" bigger than the current ipod touch. The dell 5" tablet was promising until I read ~$1k.

 

[Ns1]

I'm gonna sit on the couch and watch netflix and hulu videos

 

[mugs]

Nothing. I would relax, I would sit on my ass all day... I would do nothing.

 

[Zebo]

It's too light to hurt someone with. Maybe a frisbee or hold one of those heavy office doors open a half inch, still get some privacy but fresh air too.

 

[0roo0roo]

I don't care if it runs Atom, ARM, or girbils in a wheel, as long as it can run have decently OK app speed and Flash support... which brings me to another point.

Those who say it's good for their computer illiterate relatives, I don't understand that. It seems to me that so much of the computer illiterate world revolves around Flash, from embedded videos to games to retail websites, etc. Without Flash, none of this accessible to the n00bs.

the less old people have access to flash and such sites the better. things like e-card forwards need to die.

instant response is good for computer n00bs, its less confusing. from the demo its damn snappy. whether its better to give grandma this than a laptop i dunno. depends on your finances, but for around the house pick up to use at any time in a snap it might be a great way to get older or tech phobic people into more net usage. instant on + instant connect/usage would make it a chore free way to do small things.

 

[0roo0roo]

I could see it being good for:

1. Controlling XBMC (installed on an Apple TV in this case)
2. General couch surfing
3. Reading news/ads/etc while eating breakfast

The real downside is that the browser looks the same as the iphone/touch so it doesn't do multiple tabs (i know you can have multiple sites open but not in the same way as a tabbed PC browser does) and I can't run the yahoo/cbssports fantasy football stat tracker either. Maybe the Jailbreak community will resolve some of this, but for the time being this thing falls way short for me.

I was hoping for a Macbook Air w/ a touch screen but instead we got an overgrown ipod touch. There look to be better tablet products coming to the market.

at first glance perhaps. then you think about it. touch has no additional usability on an air unless you convert it to a tablet pc laptop style requiring heftier rotating joints and all that. osx interface + touch would not work well,and you are back to a really expensive windows type tablet full of fail. the point of a tablet is to have instant on ultra fast response for at a whim use. having to play with a delicate screen joint thing to flip open then wait for a full blown os would just ruin it all. it would be a total fail.

The iCal feature is cool, being able to watch movies, surf the web, import iPod files, etc., are all good, but not great & definitely not worthy of a $499+ price tag. I might have considered buying one if the price tag started at $199.

I have a hard time believing these will fly off the shelves. Ver. 2 might actually offer substance worthy of its price tag (which I'm guessing will be much lower than $499 after this failure).

i don't see how anytime soon. iphone prices are subsidized. remember the crunchpad? its price inflated to reality rather quick as well. anyways 500 for a tablet is not that much.

 

[Kaido]

I'm gonna sit on the couch and watch netflix and hulu videos

haha, and video chat on iChat! :biggrin:

 

[Eug]

the less old people have access to flash and such sites the better. things like e-card forwards need to die.

instant response is good for computer n00bs, its less confusing. from the demo its damn snappy. whether its better to give grandma this than a laptop i dunno. depends on your finances, but for around the house pick up to use at any time in a snap it might be a great way to get older or tech phobic people into more net usage. instant on + instant connect/usage would make it a chore free way to do small things.

So, basically you're saying grandma should get one of these because YOU hate Flash, even though she loves it.

Like I said, Flash is ubiquitous in the n00b world, so it'd be a bad idea to recommend a Flash-less computer as their main email computer. It's different for the iPhone vs. other phones, since most other phones are terrible in comparison. OTOH, the iPad isn't much of an improvement against cheaper alternatives, and in many ways it's inferior. It usually just isn't worth foregoing Flash for these people.

 

[MotionMan]

Nothing. I would relax, I would sit on my ass all day... I would do nothing.

I have a Mini, a MacBook and an iPhone. I am not sure what I would use this for. Even if I did not already have a full compliment of hardware, I am not sure what I would use this for.

My first impression was "It's a huge iPod Touch!".

Michael Bolton: That's the worst idea I've ever heard in my life, Tom.
Samir: Yes, this is horrible, this idea.

MotionMan

 

[BigDaddyD]

$499 for a non 3g no low memory version =USELESS. $800 plus for the real version and that = Iphone without the ability to make a call, which essentially equals an iphone....or even a ipod....but really an iphone, just bigger and more expensive. Massive fail that apple will of course turn into a win. Some how they turn a ridiculous price into a marketing ploy and say it is cheap? How is that? You can get a pretty damn powerful laptop for $800, and a sub notebook that will do all of this minus the iphone OS for less than $499.

 

[Ranulf]

Its called marketing and having a cult following who buy based purely on design and the cachet of owning the "hip" machine. Take a good/popular product like the ipods and iphone and that helps push the "brand".

To me, its SOP Apple design along with media hype. It is an overpriced magazine/paper reader with some net access and video capability. Its an oversized ipod touch with the same memory issues that has. The ipod touch is cool but I can't justify buying one because I could buy 1.5 or 2 of the "old" ipods with 150+ GB of space for one with 32gb. If I'm going that route I might as well just get the iphone to have phone/net access. Same with this ipad deal. It would be a handy reader to have around the house but is it worth $499 let alone the $829 for a non gimped version that has actual usability outside the house/office? Hell no.

 

[AstroManLuca]

The crazy thing is that the more hardcore Apple fanboys are splooging themselves over the price. They were all expecting $800-$1000 and think $500 for the gimped version is so cheap and affordable. I guess that's what happens when Apple has conditioned them to believe that $1100 is a normal entry level price for a laptop.

 

[Red Squirrel]

If I bought one, I'd probably use it mostly for graphics. Playing solitaire and other card games on there would probably be fun too.

 

[0roo0roo]

So, basically you're saying grandma should get one of these because YOU hate Flash, even though she loves it.

Like I said, Flash is ubiquitous in the n00b world, so it'd be a bad idea to recommend a Flash-less computer as their main email computer. It's different for the iPhone vs. other phones, since most other phones are terrible in comparison. OTOH, the iPad isn't much of an improvement against cheaper alternatives, and in many ways it's inferior. It usually just isn't worth foregoing Flash for these people.

grandma loves lots of things, among them includes never updating windows. ignoring windows update is surprisingly common.

as i said, this is a supplemental device.

 

[Kaido]

So, basically you're saying grandma should get one of these because YOU hate Flash, even though she loves it.

Like I said, Flash is ubiquitous in the n00b world, so it'd be a bad idea to recommend a Flash-less computer as their main email computer. It's different for the iPhone vs. other phones, since most other phones are terrible in comparison. OTOH, the iPad isn't much of an improvement against cheaper alternatives, and in many ways it's inferior. It usually just isn't worth foregoing Flash for these people.

Yeah, all the "old" people I know send/receive a ton of Flash-based e-Cards, so Flash is really mandatory. Plus I personally use Vimeo daily, so it's a real bummer not to be able to watch amateur HD films on the iPad. Hope they add it!

 

[Kaido]

$499 for a non 3g no low memory version =USELESS. $800 plus for the real version and that = Iphone without the ability to make a call, which essentially equals an iphone....or even a ipod....but really an iphone, just bigger and more expensive. Massive fail that apple will of course turn into a win. Some how they turn a ridiculous price into a marketing ploy and say it is cheap? How is that? You can get a pretty damn powerful laptop for $800, and a sub notebook that will do all of this minus the iphone OS for less than $499.

I wouldn't say the base, non-3G version is useless - personally I'm around Wifi everywhere I go, and I can stream pretty much anything I need over the Internet (AirVideo for movies, SimplifyMedia for music, etc.) and e-Books don't take up too much space. I had a 16-gig iPhone previously and only used a few gigs even with a ton of apps on it.