iPad 2: The end of the laptop era?

[Triny D]

[. CPU power is one reason for that that will go away sooner or later, but usability is a reason that will not go away.

Many will find touch screen much more usable than the keyboard/mouse abstraction which has always been a less than ideal way to deal with what we perceive as software "objects".

Craig Anderton wrote a fab article on some of the principles at play here: Keeping The 'Art' in the State Of 'Art'

By the way before I wrote this post (from my iPad) I just read about,downloaded, installed and was delighted by Green Oak's Crystal XT for iPad - in less than 15 seconds upstairs in the kitchen.

Before... It would have taken "forever" to go get the laptop, power it up, fill out some web form, enter credit card, download, install, fire up the MIDI controller....yada yada

[filkertom]

As far as I can tell, the biggest takeaway from the entire notion of music apps on the iPod/iPad is that Reaper's philosophy is way closer to The Way It Should Be -- that is, it is certainly possible to produce darn good software with a whole lot less code bloat than we tend to get in current DAWs.

[IncarnateX]

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

And let us not forget training. A couple of days ago I saw a teen writing mails on an iPhone faster than I ever would with a PC. She used her thumbs. I was really impressed I have had my iPod since january and every day I learn a trick or two with regard to touch screen control. The new possibilities of interaction makes it worth learning though I could do everything faster on a PC at this stage.

[Nokenoku]

Of course every owner of an ipad also buys the handy but incredibly expensive cover that also kind of works as a stand.

Don't worry, there are much better stands in development (the best one will probably be available in june or july) .. also for iPad1.

[Dogboy73]

Of course every owner of an ipad also buys the handy but incredibly expensive cover that also kind of works as a stand.

I thought the cover came with the ipad 2! I suppose I should have known better seeing as this is Apple we're talking about. So how much does it cost? (sits down, takes a deep breath).

[polaris20]

Of course every owner of an ipad also buys the handy but incredibly expensive cover that also kind of works as a stand.

I thought the cover came with the ipad 2! I suppose I should have known better seeing as this is Apple we're talking about. So how much does it cost? (sits down, takes a deep breath).

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC942

Too much.

[Dogboy73]

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC942

Too much.

$69 for a leather cover, $39 for Polyurethane. Not as bad as I thought I must admit. Not for an Apple thing anyway. I suppose if your going to spend $499+ on an ipad then spending another $39/$69 for a productive cover is not a big deal ...... maybe I'll just buy myself a cover!

[kuniklo]

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.

Exactly. People really seem to want to replace their laptops with tablets but more and more they look like a new category of device.

[Triny D]

Exactly. People really seem to want to replace their laptops with tablets but more and more they look like a new category of device.

Between my iPad 2 and 27inch iMac desktop I'm finding no need at all for the MacBook laptop. So its getting eBayed.

[kuniklo]

Between my iPad 2 and 27inch iMac desktop I'm finding no need at all for the MacBook laptop. So its getting eBayed.

I do most of my music making on the road so a laptop is essential to me. If I had a more permanent studio space with a dedicated desktop machine I might be able to do without the laptop too.

[IncarnateX]

Exactly. People really seem to want to replace their laptops with tablets but more and more they look like a new category of device.

Partly true in my case. The reason I want to replace my laptop is only due to the touch screen control, but it comes at many costs, so you really have to be hooked on the idea. Here are some of my considerations:

iPad pros:
-Touch screen control.
-Fast buy, download and upgrade of software (No copy protection needed)
-Slim and light
-3G (for my personal needs)


iPad cons:

- Fairly good music programs but nothing near laptop standard with regard to daws.
- No global file management system
-Annoying transfer of files by wi-fi
- No usb support
- Limited cpu power and ram memory
- A lot of good music programs lacks a wave export option (e.g. ReBirth, Randgrid, Fairlight)
- A lot of good programs do not support pasteboard transfer, which at present is the only way to import files between apps.
- No possibilies of tweaking performance (like in windows).

In all, it is a different product and you will have to make sacrifices for sure. However, I believe it is going to replace my mobile needs, making my laptop my new stationary computer (as some one predicted earlier would happen in general). In addition, it seems that coming updates of the music apps will imply more daw like features as well as pasteboard transfer.

Cheers

[kuniklo]

Good summary of the tradeoffs. I won't be surprised if tablets and laptops converge a great deal over the next few generations.

[polaris20]

[. CPU power is one reason for that that will go away sooner or later, but usability is a reason that will not go away.

Many will find touch screen much more usable than the keyboard/mouse abstraction which has always been a less than ideal way to deal with what we perceive as software "objects".

Craig Anderton wrote a fab article on some of the principles at play here: Keeping The 'Art' in the State Of 'Art'

By the way before I wrote this post (from my iPad) I just read about,downloaded, installed and was delighted by Green Oak's Crystal XT for iPad - in less than 15 seconds upstairs in the kitchen.

Before... It would have taken "forever" to go get the laptop, power it up, fill out some web form, enter credit card, download, install, fire up the MIDI controller....yada yada

I don't think tablets are full-on replacements for laptops, at least not yet. However in the context of getting a great stereo signal into a 1.5 pound device, to be later manipulated on a more powerful desktop, it definitely has merit.

Something like an iPad and the Alesis i.o Dock is appealing, because it has the connectivity many need to do something away from home/studio, yet is still lighter and smaller than carrying a full laptop+audio interface.

Let's not also forget that after the tracks are recorded, it's just the iPad (or other tablet) that's necessary to have in order to do light editing or arranging.

And as you mention, the touch interface is very interesting to me for arranging in particular, especially with GarageBand. It brings somewhat of a tactile feel back to something that was point and click.

While I currently have a 13" MacBook Pro + 22" monitor, and also the iPad, I could see myself going to an iMac down the road when I'm looking to upgrade.

[Triny D]

, especially with GarageBand. It brings somewhat of a tactile feel back to something that was point and click. .

Yes, this is a great development. as the tablets get more powerful over the next few years as a result of Process Technology/Moore's law etc, things could really interesting.

Even today's iPad I would bet has an engine more powerful than Yamaha Motif and similar workstations...and these can do good work. IPad 2 with the right software could be great for several types of projects and GarageBand is just a sneak peak into the possibilities. Propellerheads Reason could probably go to town on iPad 2 - they've always had magically efficient code.

[polaris20]

, especially with GarageBand. It brings somewhat of a tactile feel back to something that was point and click. .

Yes, this is a great development. as the tablets get more powerful over the next few years as a result of Process Technology/Moore's law etc, things could really interesting.

Even today's iPad I would bet has an engine more powerful than Yamaha Motif and similar workstations...and these can do good work. IPad 2 with the right software could be great for several types of projects and GarageBand is just a sneak peak into the possibilities. Propellerheads Reason could probably go to town on iPad 2 - they've always had magically efficient code.

I think people forget that apps like Reason 2.5 were very powerful for the day, and that particular app ran beautifully on my old PIII 1.33Ghz laptop. The original iPad is a 1Ghz ARM processor, actually faster than that old laptop was. The iPad 2 is even faster, of course.

EDIT

The original iPad benchmarks faster than a 12" Powerbook, something I also ran Reason 2.5 on, as well as Tracktion 2. The iPad 2 benchmarks twice as fast as that. I think if someone like Propellerhead really wanted to, they could do a Reason for iOS and make it sound and work great.