Apple unveils their latest: The iPad

Mikey 16 comments Poll
Apple unveils their latest: The iPad

After years of speculation, Apple has finally unveiled it's latest 'must have' for fan boys, the iPad. Steve Jobs says this will be the netbook killer (not in so many words, but that's the interpretation), but as swanky as it looks the ipad is quite lacking in several departments.

It's said to be weighty, and there is no camera at all - something you'd expect in a device that begs to be used for video conferencing. There is no flash support, so all those video streaming web sites (Youtube, Vimeo, Hulu etc.) will be inaccessible to you, but the biggest buzz-kill is it won't multi-task. That means one app at a time. You can't listen to music while surfing the web or doing email for example. Another way to look at that is you have to check for email, instead of having it automatically working in the background for you.

The iPad comes in 16, 32 and 64gb flavours and will cost you $US499, $US599 and $US699 respectively (and that's without 3G), assuming you can justify a use for the device.

For those who already have an iPhone and Macbook, this device doesn't offer anything more (less in fact) than they already have. But for someone looking to do some casual web browsing and email (who doesn't already have a computer), the iPad might be a suitable contender.

As far as being a Netbook replacement goes and at the prices Apple are asking, with only being able to run one app at a time and no Flash or camera, somehow I doubt people will be wanting the iPad in favour of a netbook that is cheaper and does more - way way more.

Remember folks, Microsoft tried the tablet PC idea not so long ago (and that didn't have the limitations of the iPad) and they failed even with all their massive resources and unstoppable marketing power. People just didn't want tablet PC's. But maybe Steve Jobs knows something we don't, and he's banking on the Apple fan boy "" mentality seeing it through. Or maybe he's actually a smart guy and has done his market research before committing Apple's resources to what seems like an unnecessary piece of hardware, and sceptics such as I will will be proven wrong.

In any event, it looks kinda neat (quite a large bezel though!) and I'm sure Apple will sell them in droves.

More commentary here and hands-on here.

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the being

Thursday 28th January 2010 | 07:37 AM

What a joke device. Imagine having to close safari just to check your email and vice versa. On any given day I have my email running, web browser open, instant messaging, music playing, tweekdeck and maybe some office apps not to mention Photoshop and other stuff. If I could only do one at a time I wouldn't get anything done. No multitasking is why I don't take this ipad or the iphone seriously. They're pretty toys with limited ability.

Papa

Papa

Thursday 28th January 2010 | 07:45 AM
98 total kudos

Spend 700 dollars on 64gigs of inferior merchandise. Or just buy a laptop. Seems like the next Mac hoar device that will be around college campuses everywhere.

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Marvin the Martian

Marvin the Martian

Thursday 28th January 2010 | 08:51 AM
105 total kudos

Nver underestimate the Mac fanbase. While I agree with you all that this is overpriced and underfeatured, I have a feeling that it will sell quite well.

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Mikey

Mikey

Thursday 28th January 2010 | 09:09 AM
235 total kudos

...in response to this comment by Marvin the Martian. Here's a stack more reasons it might fail: http://i.gizmodo.com/5458382/8-things-that-suck-about-the-ipad

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Joe Marco

Joe Marco

Thursday 28th January 2010 | 10:23 AM
128 total kudos

When the Hell are we going to see the iTablet? Kinda like the one Moses was sporting around but this time it's JOBSWEH who's calling the shots.

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Papa

Papa

Thursday 28th January 2010 | 10:49 AM
98 total kudos

...in response to this comment by Marvin the Martian. I agree with Marvin on this one. The thing is a piece of useless over priced sh*t, but mac users everywhere will buy one, if only to put next to the toilet....

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Mikey

Mikey

Thursday 28th January 2010 | 11:28 AM
235 total kudos

In the video I just posted at the end of the article, Jobs doesn't sound very convincing.

"It is the best browsing experience you can ever have...Way better than a laptop..."

I can hardly contain my laughter. He forgets to mention there is no flash support in the browser, so all those web sites that rely on it will just have empty white blocks instead. Too bad if there are navigation elements in there.

And I'm not convinced that getting around a web page by sliding a greasy finger over a screen is better than using a conventional mouse/keyboard combo.

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Papa

Papa

Thursday 28th January 2010 | 12:22 PM
98 total kudos

...in response to this comment by Mikey. "...sliding a greasy finger over a screen..."

Ha, Well said...

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Marvin the Martian

Marvin the Martian

Thursday 28th January 2010 | 05:04 PM
105 total kudos | 1 for this comment

Frankly, I kind of like it. A portable device that fints in a briefcase, napsack or something like that. It has everything your ipod has, can do a much better job surfing the net, read books (finally in colour).

I'm not saying I will buy one, but give that it is geared as an intermediate device between a laptop and ipod, it is competing against netbooks. Netbooks are underpowered and designed for portability and basic usages, i.e internet, email, music, and stuff like that.

I would much prefer one of these than a netbook.

All things considered, I'm not going to buy one, but the next gen device will certainly have all, if not more of the missing pieces in it.

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Rodney

Rodney

Thursday 28th January 2010 | 05:30 PM
340 total kudos | 1 for this comment

...in response to this comment by Mikey. Ouch. Quite a scathing review. I must say on the information I have to hand, I couldn't be less interested.

However I am sure plenty of people will buy it anyway. I suppose it's not bad as a book replacement (as it has similar functionality & specs to a paperback). If you don't mind paying $700 for a book which comes with nothing to read on it, that is.

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andrew

andrew

Thursday 28th January 2010 | 07:11 PM
43 total kudos

the way i heard it today and what it seems to be marketed at is for reading, being able to access books all over the world, kinda expensive!!

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Papa

Papa

Friday 29th January 2010 | 04:32 AM
98 total kudos

...in response to this comment by andrew. Why not just buy a Kindle?

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Jake Farr-Wharton

Jake Farr-Wharton

Friday 29th January 2010 | 10:33 AM
202 total kudos

Pretty lame. You can get a tablet touchscreen PC that will run Windows 7 with a 1TB hard drive and fair graphics processor for a bit under that price.

I can't see the use, at all!

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Ben Thomas

Ben Thomas

Monday 1st February 2010 | 11:58 AM
2 total kudos | 1 for this comment

I would be very surprised if you can't listen to music while web-browsing on the iPad.

After all, you can do that with an iPhone, and the iPad is a bigger iPhone really.

My iPhone sux for web-browsing, but RSS news reading is OK, and videos are a bit small. The iPad will be perfect for web browsing (news sites) and watching videos, which it seems are its primary design features.

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Rodney

Rodney

Tuesday 2nd February 2010 | 05:20 PM
340 total kudos

I'm too lazy to look this up: how does it connect to the internet? I assume Wireless, etc sure - but how about when you're out of the home / office? Does it have its own 3G style connection or can it be tethered to an iPhone.

I ask because my understanding is a non-jailbroken iPhone cannot be tethered to a laptop. So does this mean if you have an iPhone and and iPad, you'd therefore need *two* mobile broadband SIM cards, and therefore two accounts. Both either racking up monthly costs or with separate expiry dates and non-shareable quotas?

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Mikey

Mikey

Tuesday 2nd February 2010 | 05:49 PM
235 total kudos

Eventually. WiFi models shipping in late March and 3G models shipping in April.

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