So I bought an Apple iPad today.

[dodgy 26]

ROFL

[Bibs 11,119]

It's out this weekend, anyone buying one?

Oh, and it's great if you want to play chess

[esprit350 2]

i-Hysteria yet again.....

[Jonathan 13]

Yeah, iMust-have-it.

Bought a netbook instead well happy

Talks to my car would you believe (you probably would)

[richardvg 3]

Bibs

If we didnt know better - you have become our "techno Ho "

and after seen the setup you bought late last year our "tool Ho"

Looks like yo got a lot of Ho Ho ...ing to be doing !

richard

Oh Bibs - I hear ASUS are just around the corner with the launch of their touch pad equivalent........obviously with microsoft and google .

richard

[arbell9 21]

[Jonathan 13]

Best use so far.

[Petrol feet driven 2]

I'll get one in a couple of years when they have made the bug's sorted out and others bits better.

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!

So until then I will wait for one..

[Jonathan 13]

You prety much summed up why I am very cautious about buying anything Apple related atm.

iPhone was an innovation this is just a money making spin (iHysteria is spot on) and I'm worried the 4G iphone will be the same.

Same deal with the iPhone is it has features Apple in their infinte wisdom either disable or dont chose to develop.

Camera / movie being one - 3Gs was sold on the pretense the 3G cannot do movie clips....yes it can once you write a program for it.

Appstore - Devs have cottoned on now, everything that is semi decent on there is pay-for app, even if it's 59p it's a huge money spin for apple and developers.

People rebelled against this and music/film and people will do the same with apps - or pay as you go features - it's creeping into jailbroken apps as well now, although luckily 90% of them are excellent and free.

If I was sure Apple would bring out anything but underspec'd kit in the future I'd spend more on apps etc, but on the basis of the iPad, it's not looking good.

Thing is once you buy into the Apple genre you're kinda stuck. I'm stuck with itunes, M4a file types, .mov clips now until I chose to change.

My choice of small MP3 player was reduced again becuase all my music had to goto m4a format for the iPhone - so in effect I had to buy an ishuffle or keep 2 lots of 10gigs worth of music/audio books on my PC. If the 4G iphone (which I want to replace my less than impressive 3G) is just a money spinner I'm stuck without a satnav etc unless I wanna cart 2 phones around and then convert all my music back

As I say, I seem to remember Microsoft being taken to court over products like internet explorer and so on - why arn't they doing the same with Apple ?

[Bibs 11,119]

I'm sure you do appreciate that wages have to be paid and app developers can't sit in heated offices on expensive pc's drinking good coffee and give away the fruits of their labour for nothing.

We really are turning into a generation who expect things for free. Nothing is free, really. Someone somewhere is paying for it and it's reasonable for them to expect to recoup their costs and turn a profit, that's just business.

[Jonathan 13]

I dont expect anything for free, but I do want value.

Having said that my phone is littered with EXCELLENT free apps from both Cydia (jailbreak appstore) and appstore itself, but they are fast a dying breed.

Funny how they could all afford to freebie when it came out but can't now they have a captive audience ?

Perfect example is the PetrolPrices.com app

On the internet (booked marked) it's free, on the App store it's £2.99 and apparently doesn't work and is not as upto date.....funny that.

I can reel off many many examples of where free stuff is actually better than payed items and takes the developer just as much time - I've worked one a few as it happens, but it is dying breed, not becuase there are necessarily costs (as I say funny how they could develop it for free before) but because there is money to be made. Infact the Jailbreak app which unlocks the phone was, is and always has been free ! They could easily charge £5 a throw for that, when you look at the efforts put into making it happen !

There is a clear distinction between paid apps and apps that are on there just to generate income.

Navigon is a paid app, there's no way you'd expect that for free.

(Funny thing with Navigon is I remember some complaints about the 7 digit postcode thing not being included...same deal. All they say is that they gave you the original app £1.50 cheaper than it would have cost to develop it.)

That petrolPrices app is an example of a money spinner, and thats what I hate.

I say again why is it Apple block the free and rather good developed apps on the Jailbroken side of things (like cydia and Rock) when they often are better, more supported and polished than the majority of the pay apps on Appstore....becuase it wont spin them cash, simple as.

[oneshot 152]

Well I hear that it is released in the US on Saturday....

Guess who goes to NYC on Wednesday and is staying a few yards down the road from a 24 hour Apple store...

So I might just take a look - doubt I'll buy one though.

[Bibs 11,119]

[Jonathan 13]

Hows he make it work through them gloves ? FAKE !

Best use so far though

Better than them dorks who buy them and then smash them up outside the shop, so lame.

[Petrol feet driven 2]

Errr what was the point of that? Will it blend, what an idiot. Im going to ask if his head can blend...

[fmxa 61]

Got my hands on one today and have to say I'm so impressed I'm off to buy my own.

[stevem 2]

I got one today, but it doesn't seem to live up to the hype..........

Edited April 9, 2010 by stevem

[Jonathan 13]

LOL !

[Petrol feet driven 2]

[Bibs 11,119]

http://www.engadget....tablets-leaked/

This looks more like it, it's a phone too so the 5" could replace the iPhone.

I like Google, I like their products and I think I'd prefer Android to Apple as an os. Anyone got any experience with Android on a tablet/laptop? Thoughts?

[Al. 294]

One of my sons works for Apple while still at Uni in a store in the UK. Preparing for the big launch presently. I won't go into detail of his opinion of the thing as he's been 'Appletized' so slightly biased, but likes it a lot although will not be getting one. i-Phone and Mac combo better for what he needs them for.

However one stat. he gave me was the i-pad has sold 1M units in half the time it took to sell 1M i-phones. Obvious the i-phone was still helping open up a new market and now some cross over from Apple experienced customs I know, but still an interesting fact.

They are expecting the store to be busier than when it opened a few months back, and it was totally mental then.

[Trevsked 769]

The children were my excuse to buy ipads last week. They are very good at what they do (ipads, not my children) and was under no illusion that it would be nothing more than a bigger ipod touch. Smooth and fast and think that it suits both children and the older generation or indeed anyone that wants to surf the net with its touch the bit you ewant to find out about operation. Obviously pricey but nice to have. Excellent battery life of about 10 hours but take an age to charge although in reality this is not a problem as this is done over night.

Trevor.

[Al. 294]

Same son as 2 posts above was telling me tonight that they are selling an i-pad every 3 seconds at present world wide. He wasn't making any claims or statements about greatness but a pretty good sales rate for sure! In his store in the UK they sold out 500 units in the first day and a half. Obviously ticking the correct boxes for somebody!

[Jonathan 13]

There are a lot of companys out there who wish they had fraction of Apples marketing sway over people.

[oneshot 152]

Guess what turned up on my desk at work yesterday??

Complete with case, camera connection kit and keyboard docking station.

They are part of a research project I am working on - just need to find something useful to do with it now!