Apple iPad

[galactica]

as opposed to the charitable trust large technology companies who are......?

[bankz5152]

Not exactly what i mean. I mean it as in they sell over priced under powered tech. My Windows laptop is very high spec and cost me £1300 with a 3 year guarentee. However I looked at a similar spec mac, well as close as i could get, it came close to £3000, no waranty, no blue ray, no HD screen, no HDMI out and non of the other 'gubbins' i got on my PC (tv tuner, consumer IR port, E-sata, memory card reader). To plug it into my tele costs £5 for an hdmi cable but Apple you have to buy a £25 adaptor.

 

Although lets not turn this into a Windows/PC Vs Apple debait.

 

So far the iPad seems a Tampon XD. Although who knows what the future holds with the App store. Some incredable app may come out, if it can do media/universal remote capabilities that would be very cool indeed.

 

Soon other tablets such as the Asus Eee Pad, HP Slate, Google Slate etc will be released. On paper the HP Slate is hands down better as it runs a full OS, Windows 7, not a chunked up smart phone OS (although rather good) which means if i had both i could update the iPad from the HP slate! Whos your daddy? However if it will actually be better is another story.

[mattmanic]

On paper the HP Slate is hands down better as it runs a full OS, Windows 7, not a chunked up smart phone OS (although rather good) which means if i had both i could update the iPad from the HP slate! Whos your daddy? However if it will actually be better is another story.

 

Actually the HP Slate will be running a chunked up smart phone OS but nevermind...

[galactica]

Not sure how you managed all that - there hasn't been a mac laptop that costs more than £2000 for quite a while. The current top one is £1900. With an HD screen. Hewn out of solid aluminuium and all that.

 

However, by the by...sorry to have to inform you that the HP slate running windows 7 isn't happening. HP bought Palm, and hence their WebOS, for their tablet.

 

Windows is not and never will be a good tablet OS, or maybe it would have caught on by now. HP realised this and bought Palm. This is why Ballmer sacked the boys in charge of the entertainment division this week. Android and WebOS will have good tablet offerings soon, I have no doubt. Microsoft are nowhere in this, currently.

[mattmanic]

Microsoft are nowhere in this, currently.

 

Not that they need to be, ofcourse. They're still the biggest tech company in the world with millions invested in future tech, no doubt they're cooking up something.

 

Also, how do they get the components into a macbook thingy if it's made out of a solid block of aluminium?

[galactica]

I'm afraid Apple passed them in "biggest tech company in the world" this week, if you go by market capitalisation anyway.

 

Macbook Pros are milled out of solid aluminium, they mill out the space needed to put the components in.

[mattmanic]

I'm afraid Apple passed them in "biggest tech company in the world" this week, if you go by market capitalisation anyway.

 

Yes but you don't. You go by profits and revenues. Microsoft makes $14.6 billion a year, almost 3 times Apple's $5.7 billion. And if Microsoft wanted to make a tablet to beat Apple's they could as they've got about $40 billion lying around ready to spend.

 

I understand they mill out the space for the components but they still have to get the components inside somehow. If the back comes off or something, it's not really solid is it? It's made of two components.

 

Meh, I don't like Apple things (apart from Ipods, they're good), my dad has 5 Macs and he's had to return a Macbook Pro due to overheating problems, he still buys Mac stuff, I don't know why.

 

More on topic, a friend of mine has bought an Ipad, he was very pleased for the first couple of days with it but has now gone back to just using his Ipod Touch and Macbook. If I had £450 to spend on Apple products I know what I'd get. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Refurbished-Apple-Macbook-C2D-2-2GHz-2GB-160GB-OB0286-/260609005459?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item3cad81d793

[galactica]

the back doesn't come off, the body is a single piece of Alu. The components sit in the middle and the keyboard on top. You can pick it up by the corner and it won't flex a bit.

 

If you really want to talk financial health, Apple has a similar cash pile to spend on whatever it needs. Profits are all very well but it's shareholder value that, well, the shareholders are worried about. that's market capitalization. Profit figures affect share value, affecting the wealth of the owners of the company. Profit is no good without rising share prices - which is not where MS's price is going right now. MS were counting on their OS being in the HP and similar tablets, but it just ain't gonna happen now. They make most of their money by licensing OSes and selling office software to people that licence that OS. With no MS going into tablets, this is a massive concern for them in the consumer market. I think it's reasonable to assume that in 5 years, the supermarket laptop will be dead and people will have a tablet of some description running iPhone OS, Android or WebOS to check their email on and look at facebook. bad news for Desktop OSes. Obviously gamers, geeks and industry will still need desktop OSes, but they'll become marginalized in the consumer space. Many people will laugh and pour scorn on this prediction, but then, if I said in 2005 that iin 5 years, Apple would be worth more than Microsoft, i'd be laughed at too.

[mattmanic]

I think it's reasonable to assume that in 5 years, the supermarket laptop will be dead

 

Seriously? Any person with any sense would buy a second hand or cheap laptop over a tablet every time. Tablets are unergonomic, lack tactile keys for people who don't like typing on touch screens and lack power.

[galactica]

then why are 200,000 americans buying a tablet every week now? One in 300 americans already has an iPad. one in 50 by the end of the year. why are other manufacturers rushing tablets to market? You might think a cheap laptop is far better. Other people...not so much - maybe they're fed up with their weight, heat, viruses, all that stuff? If you think beyond your own requirements for a computer to what most people really actually do with theirs now, you might see that gap there.

[happy.al]

Actually the HP Slate will be running a chunked up smart phone OS but nevermind...

 

Actually HP are making noises to surggest that they will be releasing the Windows version of their tablet. You also say that Windows 7 doesn't make a good tablet OS, have you ever tried one? Because it happens to make a fine tablet OS, just that some people can't see beyond what Jobs rams down their gobs.

 

You're obviously a member of the cult of Apple, and that's fine, so I don't expect anything will will be better than the iPad for you, until ofcourse next years magic iPad 2.0 gets released. Which will fix the problems we are pointing out now, and you'll say it's amazing progress.

 

Sent from my iPad

[mattmanic]

I'm confused by your post. Windows 7 would make a great tablet OS, especially if said tablet allowed you to use a stylus.

[happy.al]

Sorry, ment to quote Galactica, sorry.

 

@Galactica, do you buy your clothes from George? Cause they sell millions each month, therefore they must be the best.

[galactica]

I'm confused by your post. Windows 7 would make a great tablet OS, especially if said tablet allowed you to use a stylus.

 

 

Windows has had a tablet edition for years and years and years now. Why hasn't the world been set on fire by that? Why aren't we all using tablet PCs?

 

(Styluses are rubbish - they're just a really, really slow mouse)

[galactica]

Actually HP are making noises to surggest that they will be releasing the Windows version of their tablet. You also say that Windows 7 doesn't make a good tablet OS, have you ever tried one? Because it happens to make a fine tablet OS, just that some people can't see beyond what Jobs rams down their gobs.

 

You're obviously a member of the cult of Apple, and that's fine, so I don't expect anything will will be better than the iPad for you, until ofcourse next years magic iPad 2.0 gets released. Which will fix the problems we are pointing out now, and you'll say it's amazing progress.

 

Sent from my iPad

 

Pretty hilarious. How is it that Apple has been able to create this weird new world where suddenly windows is the poor underdog, obscured by the behemoth of Apple? absolute madness. If it's such a fine tablet OS, why isn't it selling any? Windows users outnumber iPhone OS users by billions. How is it that they are unable to translate this to tablet computing?

 

You say you're pointing out problems...and that any developments next year will be fixing those. And this is a bad thing, right? So tell me why we have Windows 7 right now, shouldn't Vista have been good enough?

 

You use a poor clothing analogy to question if the most popular things are the best. Obviously it isn't true. The Sun isn't the best newspaper. Eastenders isn't the best TV programme. A chinese M4 isn't the best airsoft gun. And the RIM Blackberry isn't the best smartphone. For years the "best" OS was Windows, because it was the most popular. Apparently, this isn't allowed to be true any more...unless it's about Windows.

 

You need some better arguments.

[happy.al]

You need some better arguments.

 

LOL, that made me laugh, I think you need a better argument, as you've said nothing. All you have said is "I don't believe it, so it isn't true"

 

At the start you say that sales mean everything, i.e. the iPad is selling loads, vs Windows tablets arn't selling. Then you're saying that sales don't matter. So when it suits you it's great when it doesn't suit you then it doesn't matter. WHAT!!

 

Personaly I don't care who makes the best device, OS, etc. I try them out and find out which one is best for me. SO far Apple's products have been nothing but hype and I don't have much use for them. Obviously you bought into the hype and can make the arguement to yourself that it works, that's great, I just can't excuse the limits that Apple self impose.

[galactica]

that's rubbish - it's not what I said at all. Of course sales count, they're what drives a market - but the most popular thing is not necessarily the best. You might have to read it again.

[Stealthbomber]

then why are 200,000 americans buying a tablet every week now? One in 300 americans already has an iPad. one in 50 by the end of the year. why are other manufacturers rushing tablets to market? You might think a cheap laptop is far better. Other people...not so much - maybe they're fed up with their weight, heat, viruses, all that stuff? If you think beyond your own requirements for a computer to what most people really actually do with theirs now, you might see that gap there.

Oh lordy!

 

I'm sure 200,000 cabbage patch dolls were sold every week. It didn't mean they were going to usurp every other toy for the rest of time. It meant they were a fashionable item at the time.

 

Equally, I'm not sure what you mean about all these other manufacturers who're rushing tablets to the market in Apples footsteps.

You mean like HP and Dell, who've had tablet PCs out for half a decade?

Same thing as with smartphones. Anybody'd think Apple invented them, rather than trotting out the iPhone 5 years after the first WM phone appeared.

 

Galactica, you're a nice guy usually but, frankly, I'm sick to death of reading your rabid Apple fanboyism.

You just seem to lose all sense of reason when discussing Apple products.

[galactica]

they've had tablets out for more than half a decade - 9 years in fact , but no-one really wants to buy them or use them. Smartphones didn't pass into the realm of the common user and sell in their tens of millions until the Blackberry made them the thing to have in business, and the iPhone for others. We heard all the anti-stuff when the iPod came out and the iPhone, and not a single person is claiming Apple did it first. They just did it right. If they were a fleetingly fashionable item, there wouldn't be so freaking many of them still being sold.

 

All i'm saying is that the market is changing. Apple have reawakened the tablet concept, but it will come to pass that Android and WebOS will follow the lead and get their share too. Maybe even MS will think of a way to get back into it.

 

I'm sorry you're taking this so personally Stealthie. Please tell me where my reason's gone to pot. My position is that the iPad will fit a certain niche in certain people's lives. Those who don't care about USB ports or all of that, but like a big, simple touchscreen interface. I don't think it's for everyone. It's not for me, even. But I see areas where it'll go down a storm. Why that's rabid fanboyism? It's a peculiar thing, why it makes people "sick to death" when you can find people evangelising about all sorts of products on forums like these, but someone like me who has used Apple stuff for work and home for 13 years and had extremely positive experiences with it must be a "fanboy". Why is it such a threat? Why does it lead to ad hominem attacks instead of more debate? I can't remember a global mod telling anyone on the forum before that they were sick to death of their posts, so this must be pretty serious!

[Stealthbomber]

...so this must be pretty serious!

It is serious.

 

My first thought was to suspend you for a week over it.

 

If this was a debate I wouldn't care.

It's supposed to be a discussion about the new iPad but what's actually happening is that whenever anybody posts to say there's something about it (or about Apple in general) that they don't like you insist on leaping down their throat and arguing with them.

 

Stop it or I'll stop it for you.

[bankz5152]

First off, i appologise for my delay in information, i was unaware of the current status of the HP slate running 'chunked up smart phone OS' and the similar.

 

As to before I didnt mean to compare my PC laptop to Apple laptops I meant Apple as a whole including Desktops. They beat my laptop because they now have quad core processors, but only because I missed the Novatech 'update' by 1 month, if i hadnt my laptop could run faster and better than any mac. I was off by around £500.00 - £800.00 but still this is compareing a 17.5 laptop to a 27" desktop. If I where to compare desktop - desktop i could get a Top Spec PC for half the price of the same spec Mac and it would actually run programmes! I allways thought this rather funny Mac laptops 'never' (may not be accurate) have fans to cool the processors or other internal parts PCs do. Ive been sitting in the park on an English summers day (~25C) and after around 45mins - 1 hour my friend, using a macbook pro, has just shutdown on him due to heat. However my laptop with 3.00GHz processor never shut down till it ran out of battery, 3 hours later (playing music & vids).

 

Regardless of weather apple is a bigger company and sells more units means little, as iPods, iPhones where an exellent success and i wont debait that , infact i use both. However Microsoft have never released such devices except for maybe the Xbox 360 & Xbox which is a massive success compared to the Apple Pipit! lol. If you where to compare computer to computer you would still find that more of the world uses PCs over Macs.

 

Its all fun and great that Macs dont get viruses but thats because they dont run programmes that could cause such viruses.

 

Im happy to listen to everyones opinion and i will agree that Macs are better in some areas (iMovie, Final Cut thats it from what ive found) and Windows/PC are better in others.

 

However looking to the iPad again my brother let me have a play for an hour and I can honestly say that its a giant iPod Touch. Nothing more, just quicker and bigger. Has no cameras, no 3rd party support, no software support, no ability to run flash or any other programmes for that matter just the App Store. In a device such as this having just and App store has its limits. If the iPad where to run say a slimmed down version of Windows 7 then it really could be somthing exellent even brilliant, but it doesn't, apps can only go so far.

 

One response to a comment earlier is Apple have knowingly release this device with know flaws, glitches and problems then will release an update when they will charge up to £15.00 (if they do, they have before).

 

Its pleasing to see that Apple will soon no longer be the supreme 'owners' of brilliant touch screen tech as I was play with a Sony Erricson Vivaz ( i think) and even though a few years behind Apple the touch screen is AS responsive. Which gives me hope in other tech to be released. Touch screens must be pin point accuracte and lightning fast to react, somthing missing from most other products.

[Stealthbomber]

FWIW, a couple of years ago I was looking at buying a HP slate PC (a something-1100 IIRC).

It was a really nifty bit of kit and I'd pretty-much got my wallet out right up until I realised that you could only enter data using the fancy stylus that came with it.

It was really taking the p*ss to see the XP on-screen keyboard pop up but have to use a bloody stylus to peck at the letters one by one.

 

As with the iPhone (unsurprisingly really) the iPad IS a very well designed bit of kit but I can't help immediately thinking "It's great. If only it had a proper OS".

[Seraphim989]

It is serious.

 

My first thought was to suspend you for a week over it.

 

If this was a debate I wouldn't care.

It's supposed to be a discussion about the new iPad but what's actually happening is that whenever anybody posts to say there's something about it (or about Apple in general) that they don't like you insist on leaping down their throat and arguing with them.

 

Stop it or I'll stop it for you.

 

What? I don't see how that is reasonable at all. He's acting logically, even if you disagree with his conclusions. And suspending him for that? As for being argumentative, can you really say that you do not act the same way? What I see when you usually post says otherwise. Theres plenty of PC fanboys here, but I dont see them being threatened with suspension. He's being clear; the iPad isnt for everyone but it does have its purposes. To say that it is some sort of failure as a device is obviously wrong. Companies make things to make money, and the iPad is making a LOT of money.

[Marlowe]

Ok chaps, I think it's time to lock this down. The moment even moderating staff seem to loose their cool suggests that this thread has outlived its purpose.

Ultimately as Galactica said, there will be people for whom this will be of benefit. Bashing those who like apple products is as depressingly base pack mentality as jumping on the God-bashing wagon, and while I am not an Apple fan, baseless squabbling over something that really doesn't concern you all worries me greatly.

If you want to sneer at Apple, go read Charlie Brooker's review and save a lot of time bickering over something that, in the grand scheme of things, is utterly inconsequential.

And with that, that's it. Please don't ask me to reopen the thread. It won't happen.