Apple's iPad

[Krill]

The moment they start making something along those lines that has cheap, exchangeable batteries, can play civ decently even on MP, and store/stream media for free from my home server over the internet, I'll snap one up.

[N35t0r]

If it can hover in place wherever I want it to, then it's a deal

[Boris Godunov]

This is awesome, I always wanted an iPhone that wouldn't fit in my pocket.

Or I can pretend that I've been shrunk to a fraction of my previous height, and am using my now-giant iPhone to try to call for help.

Hey, will the one with the largest storage space be called the Max iPad?

[Koyaanisqatsi]

So, apparently this is all about textbooks in a lot of ways. From what I've been hearing today and previously, Apple is dumping these things on universities. There's one school I know that has a contract to give 400 of them out for free to every incoming student in the department, at no cost to the school at all. The iBooks, on the other hand...

So it seems like the aim was a pretty, and expensive, KindlePod...yay. Doesn't make me want to get one any more than I did.

[MRT144]

So, apparently this is all about textbooks in a lot of ways. From what I've been hearing today and previously, Apple is dumping these things on universities. There's one school I know that has a contract to give 400 of them out for free to every incoming student in the department, at no cost to the school at all. The iBooks, on the other hand...

So it seems like the aim was a pretty, and expensive, KindlePod...yay. Doesn't make me want to get one any more than I did.

And if it's all about textbooks then that's fine. But obviously we aren't being sold on the product that way.

[Imran Siddiqui]

This is one of the most useless products I've seen.

And using it as a e-book reader ignores the greatest plus of the Kindle and Nook... that's the e-ink screen which is incredibly easy on the eyes.

[Asher]

But you can multi-tas--oh wait, nevermind.

[Nostromo]

It's a 1GHz ARM processor -- much slower than Netbooks.

It'll support PDF (just as iPhones do). It runs iPhoneOS.

No Stylus.

I checked around and you can use a stylus on the iPhone/ iPod Touch. I wonder if you can read PDF's in the iBook app and if its decent.

[Nostromo]

I already own an iPod Touch. And I think I'll stick with actual books for the time being.

[Lord Avalon]

Name Fail, Photoshop Win


see more Epic Fails

[MikeH]

$29.99 unlimited 3G no contract?!

For that kind of money most mobile providers here will do you a netbook with unlimited 3G downloads and they throw in the netbook for free. Admittedly it's on a contract but you can buy your own netbook and get cheaper PAYG 3G.

Adding unlimited 3G to my standard phone plan was £6 a month.

16Gb is just too little. 64Gb is small. I can see this starting to get interesting with whatever the next gen model is. Like with the iPhone.

[Asher]

http://i.gizmodo.com/5458382/8-things-that-suck-about-the-ipad

8 Things That Suck About the iPad
A lot of people at Gizmodo are psyched about the iPad. Not me! My god, am I underwhelmed by it. It has some absolutely backbreaking failures that will make buying one the last thing I would want to do. Updated

Big, Ugly Bezel
Have you seen the bezel on this thing?! It's huge! I know you don't want to accidentally input a command when your thumb is holding it, but come on.

No Multitasking
This is a backbreaker. If this is supposed to be a replacement for netbooks, how can it possibly not have multitasking? Are you saying I can't listen to Pandora while writing a document? I can't have my Twitter app open at the same time as my browser? I can't have AIM open at the same time as my email? Are you kidding me? This alone guarantees that I will not buy this product.

No Cameras
No front facing camera is one thing. But no back facing camera either? Why the hell not? I can't imagine what the downside was for including at least one camera. Could this thing not handle video iChat?

Touch Keyboard
So much for Apple revolutionizing tablet inputs; this is the same big, ugly touchscreen keyboard we've seen on other tablets, and unless you're lying on the couch with your knees propping it up, it'll be awkward to use.

No HDMI Out
Want to watch those nice HD videos you downloaded from iTunes on your TV? Too damned bad! If you were truly loyal, you'd just buy an AppleTV already.

The Name iPad
Get ready for Maxi pad jokes, and lots of 'em!

No Flash
No Flash is annoying but not a dealbreaker on the iPhone and iPod Touch. On something that's supposed to be closer to a netbook or laptop? It will leave huge, gaping holes in websites. I hope you don't care about streaming video! God knows not many casual internet users do. Oh wait, nevermind, they all do.

Adapters, Adapters, Adapters
So much for those smooth lines. If you want to plug anything into this, such as a digital camera, you need all sorts of ugly adapters. You need an adapter for USB for god's sake.

Update: Why stop at 8? Here are more things we are discovering that suck about the iPad.

It's Not Widescreen
Widescreen movies look lousy on this thing thanks to its 4:3 screen, according to Blam, who checked out some of Star Trek on one. It's like owning a 4:3 TV all over again!

Doesn't Support T-Mobile 3G
Sure, it's "unlocked." But it won't work on T-Mobile, and it uses microSIMs that literally no one else uses.

A Closed App Ecosystem
The iPad only runs apps from the App Store. The same App Store that is notorious for banning apps for no real reason, such as Google Voice. Sure, netbooks might not have touchscreens, but you can install whatever software you'd like on them. Want to run a different browser on your iPad? Too bad!

[MikeH]

These things:

No Multitasking
No USB port
No HDMI Out

Seem insane and kill any competitiveness with a netbook.

[MrFun]

I heard that iPad will also have battery problems.

[Asher]

What?