The future with iPad - really worth a look

[masstronaut]

And I certainly don't like the way Apple does some things, but they are quite smart when it comes to packaging technology. Also remember that they were underdogs for a very long time.

[eduardo_b]

So it's not for you. But don't assume that we all have the same needs/wishes.

I haven't. But it's also not a "game changer" anymore than PDAs were. Smartphones, oth, were and are game changers.

If millions of people buy one, then the iPad certainly is a gamechanger - seeing how tablets have never been a commercial success by any stretch of the word.

Not really. You'd think that most people are buying iPhones for all the endless hype, ads and mania over the many thousands of apps for it, but its share of the phone market in 2009 was 14 percent. Blackberry outsold it two to one. Selling a million iPads doesn't change any games. Apple's entire product line represents 8 percent of the market. It's not nothing, but it's not anything near a market leader.

[eduardo_b]

I'm not the biggest fan of marketing bullshit or mindless consumer culture but it's hardly surprising that a company should try and sell it's own products.

Not about the company...more about those who buy the products and worship at the Apple alter. Unquestioning acolytes.

[masstronaut]

OIC, it's about supportin' teams. A great way to achieve objectivity.

Actually I don't know about the market share figures, but those seem kind of huge for a single company, especially in the mobile phone market where they are relatively new and have a REALLY expensive device. And in the PC market where they have a competing OS where nearly every other manufacturer uses Windows.

But yes, the iPhone has had no impact whatsoever on the way phones work.

[masstronaut]

I'm not the biggest fan of marketing bullshit or mindless consumer culture but it's hardly surprising that a company should try and sell it's own products.

Not about the company...more about those who buy the products and worship at the Apple alter. Unquestioning acolytes.

Don't see why that should bother either, if you do come across that. But where?

You don't seem to be entirely impartial and objective either.

[masstronaut]

Personally I am disgusted and offended that not only are cherry flavour yoghurts on sale but that some people mindlessly claim that it is the best flavour. Zombie fanbois.

I have no interest whatsoever in cherry flavour yoghurt and have never even mentioned it.

[masstronaut]

This is so daft.

[eduardo_b]

I'm not the biggest fan of marketing bullshit or mindless consumer culture but it's hardly surprising that a company should try and sell it's own products.

Not about the company...more about those who buy the products and worship at the Apple alter. Unquestioning acolytes.

Don't see why that should bother either, if you do come across that. But where?

You don't seem to be entirely impartial and objective either.

Surely you're not unaware of the cult of the Machead. I mean, the whole PC vs Mac thing is the invention of Apple and its customers.

You mentioned how expensive Apple products are. But their customers don't care, and thus will pay whatever Apple says they're worth. They don't even consider other products. Hell, there are no other products.

[jones-y]

Interface people. Apple sells interfaces, and therefore, user experience. Everything else (capability, raw power, connectivity, spec sheets, SW availability) is secondary. Can't say I disagree with that approach, but I can definitely see how others would.

iPad is a concept refinement, not a new thing, per se. But in that sense, it is a new thing, that in my estimation could indeed be a game changer. Best case scenario for me is that it helps drive the keyboard/mouse paradigm into extinction sometime within the next decade.

As a musical device, it could be considered a toy. And there's nothing wrong with that...

[jones-y]

You mentioned how expensive Apple products are. But their customers don't care, and thus will pay whatever Apple says they're worth. They don't even consider other products. Hell, there are no other products.

I take it you included me on your survey of every apple customer that exists, and I just forgot about it.

Because the alternative is so.... Boring...

[egbert]

iPad is a concept refinement, not a new thing, per se. But in that sense, it is a new thing, that in my estimation could indeed be a game changer. Best case scenario for me is that it helps drive the keyboard/mouse paradigm into extinction sometime within the next decade.

I hate the traditional mouse but I don't mind trackpads and trackballs so much. There is definitely room for improvement and the gestures/touchscreen way of doing things could be a big step forward for navigation and selection etc so the mouse I could do without. The keyboard is incredibly useful though. I feel comfortable on one and touch type reasonably quickly and most kids I see around in post-secondary education seem to really fly on the keyboard so we probably have some of the most keyboard proficient generations that have ever lived coming through. I am not in any hurry to have a full tactile keyboard replaced by a flat touchscreen with pictures of keys.

I gather, however, that there is plenty of research into haptic technology which will attempt to provide the user with the necessary sensory info. They are looking into methods of giving tactile feedback through a touchscreen so that the user can actually "feel" the keys or other graphical objects being manipulated and can tell when they have been pressed successfully. I don't think they keyboard is/should be going anywhere until this technology is integral to the touchscreen interface.

[masstronaut]

Interesting to note that the QWERTY keyboard layout was originally designed to slow down typing. But yes it's been around a long time and alternatives have so far all failed to catch on.

[generalstargazer]

guys seriously your computers were made by little asian children in china, seriously, especially Mac. They were made by toddlers.

And the only good plugin is ACE it sounds better than analog. Sylenth1 is for trance losers with no ears. I would easily pay 5000 for ACE that's how analog it is.

[kbaccki]

Personally, I prefer smudge-free viewing. So if that means trackpad, trackball, joystick, stylus, mouse, keyboard, or brainwave transduction, then I guess you can call me an old fart. Hands off the LCD, please! Thanks in advance.

In related iPad news... generic note to all you "early adopters" out there, prone to jumping on the hype bandwagon (not necessarily anybody on this thread): let somebody else do the dirty work for you. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jsp ... 0&tstart=0

[Majken]

I've never owned a laptop because I've never figured out when and why I would use it. The ones available on the market are often too big and can't run for more than a few hours on battery. Having a full OS make the smaller machines too slow and cumbersome.

iPad will fit me like a glove and I know exactly what I'll use it for. With that said though, I don't know how many people really feel the same way. I'm guessing a bunch of people are gonna buy it and figure out what to do with it later. I'm looking forward to playing with the music apps although that's way down on my list on why I want one. I've tried some music apps on iPhone, but the screen is really too small for anything productive.