iPad 2: The end of the laptop era?

[Dogboy73]

The pen is mightier than the sword .... unless you've forgotten how to actually use a pen!!

Actually pen input on tablets is getting better and better, another 18 months and it will be mainstream

That's good to hear. As I said this is fantastic technology & no doubt it will get better & better ........ which is good because as it is I'm not exactly impressed beyond the tablets 'latest must have gadget' status. This is something I want as opposed to something I feel I need.

I don't think I'll be wanting to buy for some time yet. It's moving so fast it's exciting enough just standing on the sideline watching things unfold & reading about very stupid people waiting outside the Apple store in NY in the rain for days so they can be the first to get their hands on the ipad 2!! I mean seriously WTF is up with these people?!

[NAS]

iPAD2 = End of iPAD1
Windows tablets = End of netbooks

Beyond that we are no where near laptop territory yet
Laptops will do full productions, tablets ummm no

[Triny D]

The pen is mightier than the sword .... unless you've forgotten how to actually use a pen!!

Actually pen input on tablets is getting better and better, another 18 months and it will be mainstream

That's good to hear. As I said this is fantastic technology & no doubt it will get better & better ........ which is good because as it is I'm not exactly impressed beyond the tablets 'latest must have gadget' status. This is something I want as opposed to something I feel I need.

I hear you on that. As for me the tablet workflow appears to be the answer, I've never enjoyed sequencing with a mouse, GarageBand has come real close to rhythmic composition in a scalable way, a couple of minor feature improvements (16 tracks MIDI editing, and compressor/delay on inserts) and I could smoke my Logic based workflow.

things unfold & reading about very stupid people waiting outside the Apple store in NY in the rain for days so they can be the first to get their hands on the ipad 2!! I mean seriously WTF is up with these people?!

Ummm I might resemble that:

[Dogboy73]

Ummm I might resemble that:

I hope you didn't get wet! Each to their own I guess

[Triny D]

Ummm I might resemble that:

I hope you didn't get wet! Each to their own I guess

Ha! Didn't get wet, but still it was kinda nice to be an idiot for one day.

[UltraJv]

The pen is mightier than the sword .... unless you've forgotten how to actually use a pen!!

Actually pen input on tablets is getting better and better, another 18 months and it will be mainstream

Pen input has been around for over 10 years, its coming any day soon

[Triny D]

The pen is mightier than the sword .... unless you've forgotten how to actually use a pen!!

Actually pen input on tablets is getting better and better, another 18 months and it will be mainstream

Pen input has been around for over 10 years, its coming any day soon

I lol'd but it's true. My brother an engineer is getting good mileage out of the latest pens with iPad 2 for marking up designs and PDFs. The pens are still to small for me. Other than that I would jump in

[Dewaine]

Dogboy72 wrote "It's moving so fast it's exciting enough just standing on the sideline watching things unfold & reading about very stupid people waiting outside the Apple store in NY in the rain for days so they can be the first to get their hands on the ipad 2!! I mean seriously WTF is up with these people?"

Like you, I would not wait in the rain for "days" for an iPad 2. But the people that do so are not stupid, they are just different than you and me. People have different likes and dislikes. Some will stand in line forever to get a concert or sports ticket. Others will climb mountains, just to get to the top. Just because people do things that you would not do, or that you don't understand, does not make them stupid. They are just different than you.

[Dewaine]

On the subject of pens...I have been using the Boxwave stylus with my iPad 1 for about 6 months.... great for general flicking, and especially art apps.

[Dogboy73]

Dogboy72 wrote "It's moving so fast it's exciting enough just standing on the sideline watching things unfold & reading about very stupid people waiting outside the Apple store in NY in the rain for days so they can be the first to get their hands on the ipad 2!! I mean seriously WTF is up with these people?"

Like you, I would not wait in the rain for "days" for an iPad 2. But the people that do so are not stupid, they are just different than you and me. People have different likes and dislikes. Some will stand in line forever to get a concert or sports ticket. Others will climb mountains, just to get to the top. Just because people do things that you would not do, or that you don't understand, does not make them stupid. They are just different than you.

Okay. I take back the 'stupid' comment. Stupid to me maybe because I wouldn't do it myself. Not for anything ..... except maybe tickets to a Boards of Canada gig, which they never do anyway! It also seems a bit daft to me to jump on the latest gadgets the instant they are released. Personally I'd rather wait a while to see if there are any issues. Or at least give myself time to evaluate the product properly before jumping onboard. Even with something that I might really want to buy.

[IncarnateX]

It also seems a bit daft to me to jump on the latest gadgets the instant they are released

Yeah, but that holds for every type of product, not just iPads, so I can not see the argument against iPads in particular here.

[Triny D]

also seems a bit daft to me to jump on the latest gadgets the instant they are released. Personally I'd rather wait a while to see if there are any issues. Or at least give myself time to evaluate the product properly before jumping onboard. Even with something that I might really want to buy.

Nothing wrong with your approach at all. Everyone makes a judgement call on what risks they are willing to take or not. Some people jump out of planes for a thrill, others play tackle football after the age of 30, some pay monthly fees to look for their dream mate on dating sites. These are not things I'm personally willing to risk

but I could settle on waiting in line and making some new acquaintances while taking the dramatic risk of being among the first to acquire a product from a company who's product reputation has been not too shabby of late. The return policy mutes the thrill though.

[Nokenoku]

I don't get this tablet hype.

A laptop is still a lot better and more comfortable for most kinds of work. A keyboard and mouse-control with 2 or 3 buttons just works better than a touchscreen for most applications (and then you can also have both in a laptop). Without an additional stand such a tablet is very uncomfortable to use (always have to use one of your hands to hold it) while a laptop stands alone.

So in the end you have a device, which is usually a bit smaller and lighter than a laptop, but which is a lot worse to actually work with. A 11" to 13" laptop is very mobile as well, but you can do a lot more with it than with an iPad.
Generally you have to see, that there are a lot of music-apps for PC/MAC, but only a few yet for iOS/Android .. and we have yet to see, how many developers port their plugins to those plattforms. On a laptop you can just use, what you use at home.

The reason to buy an iPad is not, that it'd be more comfortable or suited (it's not) ... the reason is the touch-feeling and "the new big thing"-hype around it.

[Grain Bastard]

I don't get this tablet hype.

A laptop is still a lot better and more comfortable for most kinds of work. A keyboard and mouse-control with 2 or 3 buttons just works better than a touchscreen for most applications (and then you can also have both in a laptop). Without an additional stand such a tablet is very uncomfortable to use (always have to use one of your hands to hold it) while a laptop stands alone.

So in the end you have a device, which is usually a bit smaller and lighter than a laptop, but which is a lot worse to actually work with. A 11" to 13" laptop is very mobile as well, but you can do a lot more with it than with an iPad.
Generally you have to see, that there are a lot of music-apps for PC/MAC, but only a few yet for iOS/Android .. and we have yet to see, how many developers port their plugins to those plattforms. On a laptop you can just use, what you use at home.

The reason to buy an iPad is not, that it'd be more comfortable or suited (it's not) ... the reason is the touch-feeling and "the new big thing"-hype around it.

Errr, whatever is supporting this 'standalone' laptop is perfectly suitable for placing an ipad on so your one handed argument is a bit retarded.

Some things like reading pdf's, browsing etc is better on a tablet imo.

[Josmoker]

Errr, whatever is supporting this 'standalone' laptop is perfectly suitable for placing an ipad on so your one handed argument is a bit retarded.

I think you misunderstood - if you place an ipad or whatever tablet on a desk it lies flat, with a laptop you open the display and tilt it in a way that's convenient for you to read it. Of course every owner of an ipad also buys the handy but incredibly expensive cover that also kind of works as a stand.

And no, a tablet can only replace a laptop for certain uses. CPU power is one reason for that that will go away sooner or later, but usability is a reason that will not go away.
At some point a new thing will come that will replace both or be something completely different than we imagine now. If Apple will be the first one to bring that device to the mainstream market the current stock price may well be justified...