iPad 2: The end of the laptop era?

[UltraJv]

So, does the ipad2 give us anything we didnt have before in order to replace the laptop? Being slimmer dosnt count for much, you still need a carry bag for it plus peripherals. Touch is moot. So what do we get new?

[Dogboy73]

So what do we get new?

Liine Lemur. Jazzmutant Lemur on iPad for £35! The Jazzmutant device cost about 2 grand I think!! It's worth getting an iPad just to use that. It's bloody awesome

[sonicflux]

As a control surface, the iPad is brilliant.

I use it mainly as a sketch pad to lay down quick guitar ideas. Also, I carry an ipod touch with me when I commute and use Nanostudio or Beatmaker 2 to sketch out whatever ideas might come to me. It's pretty nice to kill a 20 minute train ride by creating a couple loops.

It's convenient. Easy to carry around. The available synths are fantastic. You can use it for all of your non-musical needs, as well. Plus, it's just damn fun.

[polaris20]

So, does the ipad2 give us anything we didnt have before in order to replace the laptop? Being slimmer dosnt count for much, you still need a carry bag for it plus peripherals. Touch is moot. So what do we get new?

The answer to the thread basically is that it doesn't completely replace a laptop for everyone, but does for some. Slimmer and lighter does count for much for some people, and touch is great for some people. What you're putting forth is largely subjective.

What I've longed proposed as a solution for some (not all) people both in the business field in which I work as well as perhaps musicians (something that's now slowly becoming more viable with more interfaces) is an iPad+desktop in place of a laptop. Desktops will always be more powerful than laptops, and it enables someone to do light field recording with a lightweight device (smaller, lighter than any netbook), and then bring the project home on a powerful 4+ core desktop.

It certainly doesn't work for everyone, but it'd work for many, including me. My MBP is likely my last laptop for awhile. I'll be switching to an iMac next year.

[Aural Chaos]

Touch is moot.

Like hell it is...

[UncleAge]

I don't see the need to "replace" anything with anything. I have a tablet, a phone, and a notebook.

Quite few here are gear heads, myself included. However I doubt the market as a whole would agree with you. I don't think most people like to carry around all that stuff. And I think that it is one of the major factors as to why people like smartphones.

Now I have a couple of desktops, two laptops, two smartphones, an iPad and an iTouch. IMO, the battle isn't between laptops and tablets. That's a bit of a no brainer, it's just a matter of time. Once a substantial number of institutions start gravitating towards tablets there won't be a market for laptops. Nobody will keep that door open just for the musicians around the globe. Does the iPad 2/3 have what it takes to jump into that fight and win. It could but a few things will need to change. The biggest change is more of a cultural one than a technological one.

Right now iPads are too expensive. And that's in a relative sense. It's not viewed as a serious tool. However that could change overnight with a change in people's perception about cloud computing (moving the heavy lifting app servers). This coupled with increasingly better design of applications could catapult tablets to the mainstream. Now add to that the control over application and content delivery (something school administrators and IT departments everywhere would love).

Look there is already a lot of talk about delivering all textbooks for public high schools in the USA on tablets. Specifically iPads. If that happens then the death of the laptop will follow in short order. I also think that the iPads have a smaller energy footprint as well (I'll have to check on that one though)

**please keep in mind that this is my opinion as an American. I have no idea if this would happen similarly outside of the USA. ***

[UncleAge]

is an iPad+desktop in place of a laptop..

I agree with this point. I haven't touched my laptops since I got my iPad. It seems as though I prefer an iPad/iMac combo.

[polaris20]

is an iPad+desktop in place of a laptop..

I agree with this point. I haven't touched my laptops since I got my iPad. It seems as though I prefer an iPad/iMac combo.

Hence my post a little bit above yours. As I said, I currently own a laptop, an iPad, and a phone. However when I replace the laptop, it'll be with a desktop.

[whyterabbyt]

Look there is already a lot of talk about delivering all textbooks for public high schools in the USA on tablets. Specifically iPads. If that happens then the death of the laptop will follow in short order.

I don't quite see the logic of that, TBH. You're not replacing 'textbooks on laptops' with 'textbooks on iPads', so what impact does the textbook medium have on laptops?

FWIW, I dont see our students using laptops for textbooks; they're not even 'only' using them for the web and wordprocessing; they're using applications like Photoshop, Final Cut, AutoCAD and Maya. Other faculties they're using Matlab, SPSS, Solidworks et.c.

[UltraJv]

Touch is moot.

Like hell it is...

Ive had it in various forms for 10 years, its ok. It can be frustrating in some ways. Most people get by without it. YMMV.

[k3ith]

Has Apple designed something like this for the iPad 2?

"A laptop without a screen and with no hardware inside. Something that you can plug your iPad into to allow you to use a qwerty keyboard and trackpad instead of using the iPad's touchscreen?"

Do you follow? Basically something to allow you to type on when needing to write fast...

[whyterabbyt]

Has Apple designed something like this for the iPad 2?

"A laptop without a screen and with no hardware inside. Something that you can plug your iPad into to allow you to use a qwerty keyboard and trackpad wit ith?"

Do you follow? Basically something to allow you to type on when needing to write fast...

You mean make the iPad like the Asus Transformer?

Nope. Apple dont really design very much additional hardware for any of their hardware.

[UncleAge]

Look there is already a lot of talk about delivering all textbooks for public high schools in the USA on tablets. Specifically iPads. If that happens then the death of the laptop will follow in short order.

I don't quite see the logic of that, TBH. You're not replacing 'textbooks on laptops' with 'textbooks on iPads', so what impact does the textbook medium have on laptops?

People tend to use what they get used to. I also expect each generation of tablet/pad to be more capable than the next. If my school district puts an iPad in my hand and that is where I get my books, homework/assignments, and whatever, then that item will become like an everyday to me. I've only had my iPad for less than a year. I can't find a reason to pick up my laptop. Stretch that out to 3-4 years and you might be hard pressed to sell me one. Add to that the idea that it would help to bridge the technology gap that exists for a lot of the under privileged and I think there's a strong argument for my statement above. Just an opinion though.

I do think that regardless of format, the transition away from paper based books in schools is overdue. I don't know which tech will be the delivery platform. But with an audience of that size I think it's worth fighting over. Just sayin...

[botkiller]

Believing that an OS makes you better music is like believing that painting fire on your car makes it go faster.

Just show me one thread in which someone claims that you make better music on iOS Devices! What a lame strawman, especially considering the fact that it is usually the PC people who claim that you can not make pro music on iOS Devices.

Jump on twitter and watch some general posts about macs and you'll see otherwise.

Or, go stand in an apple store.

PS, I make music on both mac and PC, I like both - but I hear more "My music is so much better on a mac", than I do from PC users.

YMMV.

[bmanic]

Look there is already a lot of talk about delivering all textbooks for public high schools in the USA on tablets. Specifically iPads. If that happens then the death of the laptop will follow in short order.

I don't quite see the logic of that, TBH. You're not replacing 'textbooks on laptops' with 'textbooks on iPads', so what impact does the textbook medium have on laptops?

FWIW, I dont see our students using laptops for textbooks; they're not even 'only' using them for the web and wordprocessing; they're using applications like Photoshop, Final Cut, AutoCAD and Maya. Other faculties they're using Matlab, SPSS, Solidworks et.c.

But it might be possible that in the not too distant future, everything is cloud processed. That would leave only the actual interface for the user. No need for super advanced processors, large storage space nor RAM.

I personally think it'll be cloud + screen but who knows when that will happen. There are so many issues to fix for that to be viable but perhaps in 10 years?

Cheers!
bManic