Apple Tablet... How much with Bobmuthol hate it?

[Clove]

I was just... curious.

[AnticorRifling]

That title isn't even a sentence AHAHHAHAHHHHHHHHGGGGGRrrrrrGGGG

[NocturnalRob]

Clove, you suck. lrn2english.

[Clove]

That title isn't even a sentence AHAHHAHAHHHHHHHHGGGGGRrrrrrGGGGYeah but the poll question is. Probably just the ass in me talking.

[NocturnalRob]

Yeah but the poll question is. Probably just the ass in me talking.
You mean the poll sentence? Questions end with question marks. GRAMMAR NAZI ATTAAAAAAAAACK!!!

[AnticorRifling]

Quick, dangle my participle while no one is looking!

[NocturnalRob]

no one would notice anyway.

[Clove]

You mean the poll sentence? Questions end with question marks. GRAMMAR NAZI ATTAAAAAAAAACK!!!Questions are sentences. Grammar Nazi's ought to know grammar first :D

[AnticorRifling]

Questions are sentences. Grammar Nazi's ought to know grammar first :D
Are the nazis in your reply taking ownership of the "ought"? ROFLPWNTZOMGBBQ

[Clove]

Pluralizations may include an apostrophe if the word may seem confusing without it.

[AnticorRifling]

But when it doesn't seem confusing ahhhhhhhhh HEAD EXPLODE!

[Parkbandit]

If most people are against it, Bob will like it.

If most people like it, Bob will hate it.

Personally, I love my iPhone.. but really don't know what the market is for an iPad.

[Clove]

But when it doesn't seem confusing ahhhhhhhhh HEAD EXPLODE!What, like not knowing what a sentence is?

[AnticorRifling]

iPAD gross what's next the iPon?

[AnticorRifling]

What, like not knowing what a sentence is?

You're a sentence. Now wut?!

[Clove]

If most people are against it, Bob will like it.

If most people like it, Bob will hate it.

Personally, I love my iPhone.. but really don't know what the market is for an iPad.Because I don't want my obsessive internet browsing to be interrupted by stupid phone calls.

[Clove]

You're a sentence. Now wut?!Shutup Baskin.

[AnticorRifling]

My last name is not Robbins but I do have 31 flavors.

[Keller]

I've not read a whole lot about it.

Will it essentially be a laptop computer?

I can see the usefulness of a tablet. And I trust Apple to make something that works. So I'd be very interested once they get the initial kinks worked out. iPad 2.0 for me.

[Clove]

www.apple.com/

[TheEschaton]

Where's the Alienware poll option?

[AnticorRifling]

Don't you see the Dell option? Same thing.

[Latrinsorm]

The real question is where's the EMACHINES option?

[Keller]

www.apple.com/ (http://www.apple.com/)

That looks pretty shitty.

I would like a tablet that I can use as both a legal pad and as a word processor. And maybe to watch youtube in my downtime.

GET ON IT STEVE JOBS!

[AnticorRifling]

Maybe you could crack it for Windows 7 :)

[Parkbandit]

Well shit.. my wife saw the thing on the news... now I'll be getting her one for her April birthday.

Fucking wives............................................. ...

[Methais]

I was just... curious.

The more popular it is, the more Bob will hate it and rip on it and tell you his <insert item less than 3 people have heard of> is 10x better.

[AnticorRifling]

Fucking wives............................................. ... They make them with that option?!

[Celephais]

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/comment/4/2010/01/5b00d8520eee5ebd0dd0b18d160962ff/340x.jpg

[BriarFox]

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/comment/4/2010/01/5b00d8520eee5ebd0dd0b18d160962ff/340x.jpg

That seems pretty accurate. It's supposed to have better quality graphics or something, though.

[Gan]

Hilarious thread.

Too many winning one liners to highlight.

[Celephais]

That seems pretty accurate. It's supposed to have better quality graphics or something, though.
Still not widescreen though, which sucks. 1024×768 is indeed better than 640x480 (although I have no idea what kind of extra graphics processing power it has). Keeping in mind that "HD" is 1280x720 you can't fit a widescreen HD video on it without clipping or compressing.

[BriarFox]

Still not widescreen though, which sucks. 1024×768 is indeed better than 640x480 (although I have no idea what kind of extra graphics processing power it has). Keeping in mind that "HD" is 1280x720 you can't fit a widescreen HD video on it without clipping or compressing.

True enough. If I heard right, it's supposed to have 16 gb of memory, or something ridiculous. I don't know how much of that will be devoted to graphics processing in particular.

[Ashliana]

True enough. If I heard right, it's supposed to have 16 gb of memory, or something ridiculous. I don't know how much of that will be devoted to graphics processing in particular.

There's a difference between memory and storage; it's going to have 16-64GB of storage space, not RAM.

[Clove]

According to Apple it can playback 720P video. Which I guess is HD enough for a screen that small. Really, I'd rather just have a full laptop.

No need to speculate however:

http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/

[Celephais]

True enough. If I heard right, it's supposed to have 16 gb of memory, or something ridiculous. I don't know how much of that will be devoted to graphics processing in particular.
Ashliana already covered it but... yeah 16gb in the low end one. The actual amount of ram is currently unspecified. Having done a little more research, apple is using a SOC (System on a chip) design, which means no seperate chip for graphics processing (among other things). Generally SOC is good for battery life, not so great for performance (although that's very subjective and could be outright wrong if done correctly, but historically/generally).

It's not a powerful device, it's merely marketting and content that will make it a success if it is one.

[Celephais]

According to Apple it can playback 720P video. Which I guess is HD enough for a screen that small. Really, I'd rather just have a full laptop.

No need to speculate however:

http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/
There's a lot of skirting around the actual specs there, it says 720p but you can't physically display the horizontal lines required for 720p, sure they can have 720 progressively displayed lines, but they're going to be cut off.

I will agree that with a screen that size the pixel density will make the video look very good.

Some info on the storage space, take from it what you will... Youtube does H.264 720p @ 2Mbps. That's 7.2 Gb per hour of 720p video. Between data rates on 3g and storage limits that could be an issue if you want to use this as a video watching device (note: lowercase b)

[BriarFox]

Ooo, I like the keyboard dock. And yeah, I know the difference between RAM and storage memory. When I read a tech blog on it, though, it described "16 gb of memory and 16-32gb of storage" and so I assumed it was referring to RAM, even though 16gb is ridiculous.

Pricing seems reasonable. Now for the important questions:

1) Can you use it like a wacom tablet?
2) can you piggyback the 3G model onto your current AT&T iPhone data plan?

[Clove]

I believe they intend to provide a 3G subscription for 30.00/mo. So, probably not?

[BriarFox]

I believe they intend to provide a 3G subscription for 30.00/mo. So, probably not?

That issue would be one of the make-or-break ones for me. If I could piggy-back, I'd be pretty likely to buy the tablet. Otherwise, I'll just keep on using my iPhone and PC.

[Clove]

720P in native resolution is uncommon. I expect letterboxing in the iPad's case.

[Celephais]

Pricing seems reasonable. Now for the important questions:

1) Can you use it like a wacom tablet?
2) can you piggyback the 3G model onto your current AT&T iPhone data plan?
Pricing seems reasonable... and you want to use it as a wacom tablet?

I can promise you right now that the sensitivity of the iPad is no where near on par with a real digitizer tablet. So if you're planning on doing graphics work with it you should buy a real wacom, much cheaper, and no need to worry about any compatibility issues.

[BriarFox]

Pricing seems reasonable... and you want to use it as a wacom tablet?

I can promise you right now that the sensitivity of the iPad is no where near on par with a real digitizer tablet. So if you're planning on doing graphics work with it you should buy a real wacom, much cheaper, and no need to worry about any compatibility issues.

You may be right, but it would be nice to have a tablet that's all-inclusive, which is why I asked. Carrying around 12 devices is incredibly annoying. Apple says they've drastically upgraded the sensitivity of the iPad from the iPhone, so I want to know if you can use it like a wacom tablet. Sheesh.

[Celephais]

720P in native resolution is uncommon. I expect letterboxing in the iPad's case.
To give you an idea what you'd be seeing... this is a 720p test pattern
http://fungi.yuggoth.org/testpattern/testpattern-hd-720.png

This is what it would look like letterboxed (using 'best quality' in Paint.NET, no way in hell the ipad will be able to do that kind of high quality downsampling real time)
http://i49.tinypic.com/mvqhr6.png
And this is the same image if they "clipped" it
http://i49.tinypic.com/1t53br.png


... While not all that bad, it's deceptive marketting to say it's 720p, but everyone is doing it so... why not.

[Cephalopod]

That Indian looks stern in 720p, but mildly displeased in other formats.

Conclusion: I think HDTV is racist.

[Sean of the Thread]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsjU0K8QPhs

[Cephalopod]

Hitler Responds to the iPad (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQnT0zp8Ya4)

[Clove]

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/01/ars-ipad-reax.ars/

[Androidpk]

Out of all the phones with touch screens the iphone is the most accurate. With the further bump in accuracy in the ipad using it as a wacom tablet seems highly feasible. I'm just shocked there's no flash or multitasking support.

[Celephais]

Out of all the phones with touch screens the iphone is the most accurate. With the further bump in accuracy in the ipad using it as a wacom tablet seems highly feasible. I'm just shocked there's no flash or multitasking support.

I have no doubt that it could be used as a wacom tablet, I think it's foolish to think that a design professional could substitute their wacom for an ipad. It'll be fine for people just messing around or people who want to see if a wacom would work for them. Wacoms are more than just touch screens, they have pressure sensitivity as well as extremely delicate spacial sensitivities. I do not think a device designed to be used as a finger-touch, 'status symbol' will come anywhere near a professional wacom tablet. (I personally don't think it would compete with the low end wacoms, but obviously the high end ones that are even more expensive than an ipad would be out of range).

I could be wrong though, they might pull out some magic in the space.

Edit: just to give you an idea... a wacom has from 1270 to 5090 lines per inch, the ipad has a total of 768 'graphical lines' on the entire surface of the screen. I just don't see them having sub-pixel sensitivity in a device meant for finger-touch.

[Androidpk]

I totally agree that it couldn't replace an actual wacom tablet, especially for professional use.

If I had the money I'd love to get one of these.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823100050

[Parkbandit]

(Jan. 29) -- Normally, when Steve Jobs appears on stage, techies swoon. And there was certainly some of that when Jobs unveiled the iPad on Wednesday.

"I'm positively giddy," says Slate writer Farhad Manjoo. And Gizmodo tech editor Joel Johnson enthused that "Only way to interpret the launch of the iPad? Apple has declared the PC dead."

But something unusual has emerged in what has been called the Jobs Reality Distortion Field. Tech writers are starting to rebel against the iPad -- a sign that one of the most-loved consumer technology brands may have a significant iDud on its hands.

As New York magazine notes in its roundup of coverage: "the iPad backlash is in full swing," and "it seems everyone's eager to toss a little haterade Apple's way."

Frankly, it does seem unclear just how many people really want (let alone need) a phone-laptop hybrid without the advantages of either.

Start with its size. It's 9.7 inches diagonally and weighs 1.5 pounds. That's light by laptop standards, but much more cumbersome than a mobile phone. But it's not a phone; you can't make calls on it unless you use an Internet service such as Skype. And you can't stick it in your pocket or take it jogging. So, like a laptop or e-reader device like the Kindle, it'll require a case. But since there's no conventional keyboard attached -- what you get is a larger version of the iPhone's onscreen interface -- it's unlikely anyone will type reports or anything of length on the device.

Then there's the lack of what have become widely accepted features.

There's no 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," Gizmodo's Adam Frucci writes.

There's also no Adobe Flash support, so the only way to watch streaming movies is on YouTube, not on Hulu or Netflix. And there are no ports to hook up other devices.

There's no camera. No GPS on the base model. It's not compatible with wide-screen movies. It only runs optimally using AT&T.

"With only one connector port and a headphone jack, the iPad is a connectivity nightmare, since you'll have to buy adapters for everything from USB to SD cards. Not to mention that you're restricted to a wireless-only connection without an Ethernet port," Geeksugar complains.

All in all, that's a lot of deficiencies for a toy that costs at least $499 and as much as $829, not including a data plan that can run an additional $360 per year.

Which may explain why estimates for first-year sales of the iPad range widely, from 1 million to 5 million -- in other words, anything from a bust to a great success.

Of course, there are no shortage of Apple defenders. "[R]emember how silly you all looked when you all predicted the iPhone's demise in that period before it went on sale," The New York Times' David Pogue writes. "Like the iPhone, the iPad is really a vessel, a tool, a 1.5-pound sack of potential. It may become many things."

As Slate's media critic Jack Shafer points out, Apple has had its share of flops in the past. "If the press corps possessed any institutional memory, it would recall the introduction of the Apple III+, the Lisa, the Macintosh Portable, the Mac TV, the Newton, the Apple G4 Cube, and eWorld. All were greeted with great press fanfare before falling off the edge of the world."

Shafer is right, except for the fact that few companies have had as long a winning streak as Apple has in recent years, which would make the iPad a bigger problem for Apple should it flop.

Of course, the jury is out on that until April, then the iPad actually hits the stores. At which point Jobs had better hope consumers haven't fallen out of love with Apple, too.

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/with-ipad-does-apple-have-an-idud-on-its-hands/19337415?icid=main|aim|dl1|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fwww. aolnews.com%2Fnation%2Farticle%2Fwith-ipad-does-apple-have-an-idud-on-its-hands%2F19337415

Seems like people dislike it, for better reasons than just disliking it because it's made by Apple.

[Revalos]

I totally agree that it couldn't replace an actual wacom tablet, especially for professional use.

If I had the money I'd love to get one of these.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823100050

Damn...that is pretty slick. If that dropped about $500 I'd pick that up in a heartbeat...even at that price, I'm considering it. I remember picking up a CalComp large format digitizer for about $2500 back when you couldn't trust on screen digitization for plat mapping.

[Latrinsorm]

a 1.5-pound sack of potential.I can't wait until this phrase makes its way into the abortion debate.

Also, how can it possibly have no USB support???

[Stanley Burrell]

It looks like it would be rewarding to steal, but have no real function in real life. Yo-yos, for example, are more fun.

[Daniel]

no USB and no multitasking kinda kill it for me.

[Cephalopod]

http://i.imgur.com/ul3mF.jpg

[BigWorm]

I have no doubt that it could be used as a wacom tablet, I think it's foolish to think that a design professional could substitute their wacom for an ipad. It'll be fine for people just messing around or people who want to see if a wacom would work for them. Wacoms are more than just touch screens, they have pressure sensitivity as well as extremely delicate spacial sensitivities. I do not think a device designed to be used as a finger-touch, 'status symbol' will come anywhere near a professional wacom tablet. (I personally don't think it would compete with the low end wacoms, but obviously the high end ones that are even more expensive than an ipad would be out of range).

I could be wrong though, they might pull out some magic in the space.

Edit: just to give you an idea... a wacom has from 1270 to 5090 lines per inch, the ipad has a total of 768 'graphical lines' on the entire surface of the screen. I just don't see them having sub-pixel sensitivity in a device meant for finger-touch.

The iPad has a capacitive touchscreen, like the iPhone/iPod touch/pretty much all multitouch phones. These don't work with a stylus, which would be required to use it "like a wacom tablet" as you guys are describing. This also prevents it from being used "like a legal pad" as Keller desired earlier in the thread.