Apple's iPad

[Asher]

The other thing people aren't mentioning is Apple's proprietary DRM wrapped around the ePub format books. You won't be able to read these outside of a Mac or the iPad...which is a MAJOR issue for many.

[Imran Siddiqui]

At $500 the iPad certainly leaves the Kindle (and all other readers) for dead. E-ink is meaningless compared to the ability to surf, watch Youtube and do light productivity tasks.

Says someone whose never used e-ink, I'm sure. Sorry, but the Kindle is a vastly superior reading device to anything on an LCD. It literally does look like paper (and has the lack of eyestrain problems that paper has as well).

Well, that and have 2 weeks of battery life.

[MikeH]

e-ink thing is a really good point. That's massive.

Also DRM books - at present I and my family buy books and pass them around. I can't imagine we'll all buy a DRM copy of a book each.

[Vanguard]

E-ink is easy to read. Lightness is important.

But none of that matters compared to being able to surf the web, watch youtube, use apps, play games or post messages in forums.

I use a computer for 5-9 hours a day now and the eyestrain is bearable. E-ink is clearly not essential.

Apple's DRM for books won't be worse than anyone else's. And there will still be third-party apps that let you read Kindle or other publisher's books.

Granted, iTunes is an annoying and stupid storefront (make the buttons tinier why don't you, Apple?). But I would rather be downloading free apps for my iPad from iTunes than spending $10 to buy a book on Amazon's well designed store.

Of course, I also would rather be spending $10 to buy a book at Amazon than $15 for the same book at iTunes. But nothing says I won't be able to do that.

[Imran Siddiqui]

E-ink is easy to read. Lightness is important.

But none of that matters compared to being able to surf the web, watch youtube, use apps, play games or post messages in forums.

Yes it does. I wouldn't give up my Kindle for any laptop or slate computer. It is the perfect reading experience. I can surf the web, watch youtube, play games, post on forums on my desktop computer.

[MrFun]

A desktop? Those over-sized, clunky things?

[MikeH]

E-ink is easy to read. Lightness is important.

But none of that matters compared to being able to surf the web, watch youtube, use apps, play games or post messages in forums.

So you want a netbook then.

[Drake Tungsten]

Given that there's a market out there for something as stupid as the Kindle, I don't doubt there will be a market for the iPad as well.

[MRT144]

IF the Kindle get's a price drop to 200 bucks, thatll make the Ipad look even worse.

[Japher]

I wonder if these Ipads and Kindles will/could help with the dwindling magazine's and newspaper's distributions. What would it take for people to want to get the paper on their ipad/kindle and will they bother?

[RGBVideo]

I think you need some serious mental health help, VJ.

I think you're a worthless serial troller whose only entertainment in life is wasting other people's time on internet forums by running circles around them with rhetorical tricks.

The question I asked was why would anyone want to buy a stripped down laptop (which is essentially what tablet PCs are), when laptops (which have more features) with the same CPU power and storage capacity have already had lower prices than $500 for years.

Why would anyone want to buy A when they could get B which has more features than A for less $$$

Your strawman: Why would anyone want to buy A when they could get B which is the same as A for less $$$

And you're continuing with this strawman with added personal attacks of mental issues etc. Really? **** you

also,

[Japher]

Personally, I like John Stewarts name for these things better; tampod

[MrFun]

Instead of forcing my window with Apolyton to have to scroll sideways VJ, why couldn't you just link the site?

And I don't think Wiki is a good source to reinforce your claim (which I disagree with). I do not think iPad is a computer. Wiki is good to go to for some type of real basic research as a starting point, but here, I'm not so sure about using Wiki. And besides, WHY are you trying to reinforce the claim that iPad IS a computer, when you have stated earlier that you never said the iPad is a computer?? Tell us which direction you're pedaling - forward or backward?

I'd like to see a more technical source that describes iPad as being a tablet computer. A technical/professional journal for instance. Not something that anyone, such as a librul artz major like myself, can edit and enter in any info they want to put in.

[Asher]

I think you're a worthless serial troller whose only entertainment in life is wasting other people's time on internet forums by running circles around them with rhetorical tricks.

I'm 100% certain you're referring to your own actions in this thread.

Why would anyone want to buy A when they could get B which has more features than A for less $$$

Your strawman: Why would anyone want to buy A when they could get B which is the same as A for less $$$

And you're continuing with this strawman with added personal attacks of mental issues etc. Really? **** you

It's not a personal attack. I'm trying to help you. There's clearly something wrong with you.

The iPad is a computer in the exact same way the iPhone is a computer. If you want to continue down this line of argument, you can do so on your own, because I've no interest in explaining fundamentals to someone like you.

also,

Please figure out how to properly reference screenshots.

FWIW, it's you throwing out the strawmen here. I'm informing you the iPad is NOT a computer. The implication here is the iPad THEREFORE HAS DIFFERENT USE CASES from a computer. I guess it was too much to ask for you to get that last part without it being spelled out for you.

[Asher]

Instead of forcing my window with Apolyton to have to scroll sideways VJ, why couldn't you just link the site?

And I don't think Wiki is a good source to reinforce your claim (which I disagree with). I do not think iPad is a computer. Wiki is good to go to for some type of real basic research as a starting point, but here, I'm not so sure about using Wiki. And besides, WHY are you trying to reinforce the claim that iPad IS a computer, when you have stated earlier that you never said the iPad is a computer?? Tell us which direction you're pedaling - forward or backward?

I'd like to see a more technical source that describes iPad as being a tablet computer. A technical/professional journal for instance. Not something that anyone, such as a librul artz major like myself, can edit and enter in any info they want to put in.

It depends how much you want to be a semantical *******, like VJ.

The iPad is a computer/PC in that it has a CPU/GPU, and it runs an operating system. Using this logic, every cell phone is also a computer. It's a retarded definition.

HP's Slate is a computer. "Tablet PCs" are computers.
The Kindle is not a computer.
The iPod is not a computer. The iPhone is not a computer. The iPad is not a computer.

If one is calling the iPad computer, they're also calling iPod Touches computers. Simple as that.