future of the iPad

[lizpoona]

so, I was looking at the apple website out of pure curiosity and reading the features of Apple's various products... and as much as I've heard about the iPad, I'd never actually considered getting one. I really don't think I will, either, seeing as I would just use it as entertainment and I've got stacks of books to bulldoze through if I ever need something interesting to think about.

BUT, I could just download ebooks onto my iPad. I could also listen to music, watch videos, play games... of course, all those are things that i do with my much more useful (and cheaper) Acer laptop. I can use my laptop to do research papers and design fliers; I don't think I could do that as efficiently with an iPad.


The reason I'm interested in it, though, is because of what it could be. There's an attachable qwerty keyboard and a thing that sets it an upright position- thus making into a vague resemblance of a laptop (if you have to have a clean, flat surface to set it on... which sort of defeats the "lap" part of the world laptop, though. I think that could easily be solved by future designs). Given the fact that you can set it up that way, it makes me think that in a couple of years, Apple could create the first fully-functioning computer to come in a thin, compact form the size of piece of paper and the thickness of an iphone. A Mac the size of an iPad, essentially. it's already got hundreds of times the computing & memory capacity of the UNIVAC of the 1950s. And we all know how ginormous that computer was.

So, yea. The trick would be making it as tangible and usable as a desktop computer or laptop, and not just as a huge ipod touch that you can do nifty things on. It needs a lightweight, thin keyboard, a way to set it upright, a CD/DVD drive or even just a few USB ports, a more powerful OS with all the useful drivers and programs of a desktop/laptop, and it needs to run FAST with a shit ton of memory.

It could happen.


also,



Not yet, at least!


thoughts?

[SakuraSong]

By the time the iPad evolves into anything remotely more useful than a cheap lightweight Acer, there would be so much more designs out there that would render it absolutely frivolous. Already Mozilla users came up with a concept of a phone that could project a screen and a usable light keyboard simultaneously...I'd much rather have that than an iPad on a stand.

[Aum]

^^ wow... that mozilla seabird concept looks amazing. I hope they can actually pull it off!

[Bork]

I was pretty anti-iPad when they first came out. Then my boss got one and I saw how awesome it is and there's a small part of me that wants one. I wouldn't actually ever get one, though. SO impractical for me to have!

[ArtificialAmore]

I was pretty anti-iPad when they first came out. Then my boss got one and I saw how awesome it is and there's a small part of me that wants one. I wouldn't actually ever get one, though. SO impractical for me to have!

I feel the same way. One of the higher-ups at my office got one and it's sooooo pretty, but it's basically a giant iPhone that can't make phone calls... and I have an iPhone. I can't justify buying one no matter how much I want it.

But I really really really want to justify it.

[GlassBallerina]

I personally find the iPad to be a pretty big waste of money as it is currently designed and priced. I would much MUCH rather have a netbook. But I must comment that the picture with Captain Picard is NOTHING BUT WIN!

[Rainbow Dolphins]

Given the fact that you can set it up that way, it makes me think that in a couple of years, Apple could create the first fully-functioning computer to come in a thin, compact form the size of piece of paper and the thickness of an iphone. A Mac the size of an iPad, essentially

They actually came out with this several years ago and called it the "macbook air". It's basically a superthin macbook.

[Chococat]

Hey, I forgot about those. Can you still buy them? Does Apple still even bother advertising them?

Edit: Just checked, they do. The price still makes me a little nauseous.

[edit the sad parts]

Hey, I forgot about those. Can you still buy them? Does Apple still even bother advertising them?

Edit: Just checked, they do. The price still makes me a little nauseous.

While they are pretty and light, and I never had a real problem with them, they are not that great. If there is a problem with the keyboard, you have to send it in to be repaired, even if you just need to replace one of the keys. The disc drive is an extra 500(the price might have come down a bit) and the hinge is scarily breakable because it is so thin. The one I was using broke after a few months. I don't find it to be worth the extra cost unless it is SO important to you to have a shiny laptop that fits into an envelope. It seems to be, to a lot of people...and that is okay, I guess.

I would never get an IPad. I don't want an IPhone, either. Maybe when apple starts building their stuff to last, and not just to have flash. If the Iphone 4 was built like the first gen Ipods, then I would get one.

Lately though, I feel like I should get a more simple phone.

[Aum]

Lately though, I feel like I should get a more simple phone.

A few people I know out here have iphones. I won't deny that they can be a handy tool, but there is something about always being connected that sort of bothers me. Like... I am sitting at a restaurant with my friend and we are talking about Iceland. I say, "I wonder if Newfoundland is bigger than Iceland?" So he says one sec let me check! Then he spends the next 5 minutes loading webpages and completely ignoring me. Then, oh, he has an email he has to read. Then, oh, his weather report is telling him it's going to rain tomorrow. etc etc. (Turns out Iceland is smaller.) I find it kind of rude.

I'm happy with my regular cell, and my separate ipod. I wish my old ipod wasn't stolen, it was much better. The new one has issues with the scroll wheel that wasn't there in the previous gen (which they will surely "correct" in the next generation). Either way, it feels good to not have facebook, gmail, msn, and hundreds of applications following me everywhere.

Besides... as long as it's illegal to alter the OS on an iphone, I'm not interested. Digital Rights Management is annoying. If I'm buying your hardware, which is effectively a mini computer, I will want to crack it so I can program whatever I want. The industry propriety is annoying and self-righteous, oh and greedy.

[monk]

Like... I am sitting at a restaurant with my friend and we are talking about Iceland. I say, "I wonder if Newfoundland is bigger than Iceland?" So he says one sec let me check! Then he spends the next 5 minutes loading webpages and completely ignoring me. Then, oh, he has an email he has to read. Then, oh, his weather report is telling him it's going to rain tomorrow. etc etc. (Turns out Iceland is smaller.) I find it kind of rude. .

take that question and text it to ChaCha. 242242. and they will send you back an answer. no webbrowsing necessary.

[Mathmo]

A few people I know out here have iphones. I won't deny that they can be a handy tool, but there is something about always being connected that sort of bothers me. Like... I am sitting at a restaurant with my friend and we are talking about Iceland. I say, "I wonder if Newfoundland is bigger than Iceland?" So he says one sec let me check! Then he spends the next 5 minutes loading webpages and completely ignoring me.

I know what you mean. My husband has an iphone, and "I wonder if ..." statements become a reason to spend a few minutes on Wikipedia ... he's not usually rude about it though. And I will admit it has been handy sometimes when we're out - e.g. I spot some sort of mystery-solving PC game, but the packaging doesn't really say whether it's designed for 3 year olds / 7 year olds / 15 year olds. Then he'll quickly google and we'll find out a bit more about it before deciding whether to buy it or not.

[Neko]

This reminds me of that one night in class my prof mentioned how he plans on buying his own mass spectrometer whenever the price eventually comes down and the machine becomes smaller. And--no idea where it came from--I immediately said, "There's an app for that."

[SakuraSong]

^LOL OF THE CENTURY. And for all we know, there probably is.

Also, Apple are douchebags when it comes to information sharing. Songs is one thing. But giving me a hard time about importing my own photos?! WTF.

[monk]

You're wrong Sakky, apple has made sharing easy and fun, as long as it's with apple equipment.

[Dragonrider]

You're wrong Sakky, apple has made sharing easy and fun, as long as it's with apple equipment.

Both of you are wrong, Apples are swollen plant ovaries.

[Sonic#]

^That explains why I was always tempted to give deviant names to my travelers in Oregon Trail.

[SakuraSong]

You're wrong Sakky, apple has made sharing easy and fun, as long as it's with apple equipment.

I propose we all hold a formal complaint. One rife with screaming, cursing, and throwing swollen plant ovaries at all Macintosh employees. Or at least the brilliant masterminds who decreed all these idiotic restrictions. The world isn't going to buy a Mac just to make their lives easier with iProduct, thank you very much.

[Bork]

This reminds me of that one night in class my prof mentioned how he plans on buying his own mass spectrometer whenever the price eventually comes down and the machine becomes smaller. And--no idea where it came from--I immediately said, "There's an app for that."

That would be the coolest app EVER. In fact, I would totally get an iPhone or iPad just for that app.

[Sonic#]

^In line with the original post:

[MFS]

hmm... while iPhones and the better android phones have beefy enough processors in them to analyze mass spec data, you still need the actual mass spec itself... that would be a rather bulky phone. Maybe they could slap a small ICP-MS into an iPad.

[Chococat]

My school library has a few ipads that you can check out for three days at a time. I checked one out today just to see what it was like, and while it's cool and all it's not actually that user friendly, and even after being ~dazzled~ by playing with one I still wouldn't buy one. In their current form without a mass spectrometer, that is.

[MFS]

ooo! Victorinox Swiss Army Pad!

[Nachos]

I like playing games on the iPad, but it's just not useful to have. I don't really like apple stuff anyway. The one good thing I can see about having a smartphone is to check out travel times and look at maps while you're out and about. That is the ONLY good thing i can see about having a mini computer in your pocket. It's nice to be disconnected at times.

[SakuraSong]

^Or you could do what I do, and just keep an iPhone without data plan around. That way, you get the disconnect AND the flashy "oooh" and "aaaah"s* from admiring passerbys when you whip it out to call someone.

*With a 63% chance of getting it jacked in the process.