Apple Introduces possible game changer: the iPad. Like the iPod but with books!

[Chris H.]

Based on what I've recently heard, read and seen, comes the iTablet tomorrow January 27th, 2010.

Among the iTablet/iPad/iSlate/MacTablet/MacPad announcement comes:

iPhone OS 4.0? (Plausible)
Verizon getting iPhone? (Plausible)
New iPhone? (Likely)
MacBook Pro updates? (Possible)
minor iPod updates? (Unlikely)


We'll see. I've also heard that this new Apple tablet will see a modified version of iPhone OS. Is it worth paying $300-$1000 more for a 6" bigger screen? I think NOT.

[WeatherGoose]

I hope they call it iPAD.  I think that would be the best name for this device.  

In terms of the success of the device?  It will be HUGE!    

I recall many nay sayers back when the iPOD Mini was first announced.   These self proclaimed "marketing experts" were trashing it saying it was too expensive,  no one would pay that much for that amount of music storage, blah blah blah.  It went on to become the best selling iPOD model in history at the time.  

Those who question and/or doubt Apple's ability to hit home runs with a brand new product genre are wrong 99.9% of the time.  

[sam2004gp]

I am looking forward for the announcement, looking to get an Iphone in the next month or so.

[Strgazr27]

I hope they call it iPAD.  I think that would be the best name for this device.  

In terms of the success of the device?  It will be HUGE!    

I recall many nay sayers back when the iPOD Mini was first announced.   These self proclaimed "marketing experts" were trashing it saying it was too expensive,  no one would pay that much for that amount of music storage, blah blah blah.  It went on to become the best selling iPOD model in history at the time.  

Those who question and/or doubt Apple's ability to hit home runs with a brand new product genre are wrong 99.9% of the time.  

Goose,


You need to change your screenname to "Apple Pusher Extroadinaire" There are quite a few "Apple Fanatics" that STILL tout the MAC's inability to be compromised or hacked or suffer from a virus attack but we all know that is not the case. I'll be like everybody else and wait for the market to catch up and pay 1/3 less for the same item from a different manufacturer with the same quality

[Bushman]

http://www.itworld.com/mac-hacked-first-in-contest-080327 

 

[SlowModem]

This is just another example of how William Shatner Changed the World!

They were using padds on Star Trek years ago.

[lddaly]

Whatever they release, it will definitely be fun to watch. Truly amazing how the Apple fans and media hipe this stuff . My prediction... another game changer like the iPhone was. No more textbooks, newspaper subscriptions, etc.

I just wish they would ship my new Mac that I ordered on 1/2. It has been delayed twice.

[WeatherGoose]

I hope they call it iPAD.  I think that would be the best name for this device.  

In terms of the success of the device?  It will be HUGE!    

I recall many nay sayers back when the iPOD Mini was first announced.   These self proclaimed "marketing experts" were trashing it saying it was too expensive,  no one would pay that much for that amount of music storage, blah blah blah.  It went on to become the best selling iPOD model in history at the time.  

Those who question and/or doubt Apple's ability to hit home runs with a brand new product genre are wrong 99.9% of the time.  

Goose,


You need to change your screenname to "Apple Pusher Extroadinaire" There are quite a few "Apple Fanatics" that STILL tout the MAC's inability to be compromised or hacked or suffer from a virus attack but we all know that is not the case. I'll be like everybody else and wait for the market to catch up and pay 1/3 less for the same item from a different manufacturer with the same quality

I am a big FAN of high quality products.  What is wrong with that?  You Mac/Apple bashers never use, own or experience the Apple design advantages, yet you claim to be experts in them.  

Where is an iPhone, iPod, or Mac from another manufacturer at 1/3 the cost?  Doesn't exist.  Despite all the years of iPOD/iPHONE "killer" proclamations, nothing comes close to the real thing.  But you would have to actually own the real thing to know how far from comparable any of these "knock-offs" are.  

Personally, I don't buy JUNK. That is why I am a big fan of Apple's products.  If you prefer to buy JUNK and then try to convince yourself and others into believing that it is just as good as the real thing, then good for you. Who am I to burst your "delusional" bubble with a reality check?  

Meanwhile, I will continue to enjoy the advantages of a superior product that will far outlast your "wannabe" imitation, while offering superior performance and ease of use that entire time.  

And to state this ONE MORE TIME:  There has NEVER been an OSX virus in the WILD that has infected the Mac community.  There have been many "proof of concept" virus put forth, but none of them have ever actually infected the user base.  As for hacking into a Mac running OSX on the internet... I have been running an OPEN FIREWALL on my Mac based home networks for 20 years and counting. (Have been using the internet since 1989)  I run no virus protection software on any of my current 5 machines.  Three of them are connected to the net 24/7/365 and I have NEVER been infected with a virus or been hacked.

I challenge anyone to do the same with a Windows PC and time how many "minutes" it takes for the machine to become infected with something.  

You can talk "potential" all you want.  I am far more concerned with "reality", and in this regard OSX is basically immune from the type of virus and malicious attacks that Windows users suffer with the threat of on a daily basis.

And back to the topic of this thread... Like I said...This new Tablet product is going to be HUGE.  You know Apple is on to something just from all the whining you hear coming from the anti-Apple crowd and Apple's competition.   

[sam2004gp]

I am a big FAN of high quality products.  What is wrong with that?  You Mac/Apple bashers never use, own or experience the Apple design advantages, yet you claim to be experts in them.  

Where is an iPhone, iPod, or Mac from another manufacturer at 1/3 the cost?  Doesn't exist.  Despite all the years of iPOD/iPHONE "killer" proclamations, nothing comes close to the real thing.  But you would have to actually own the real thing to know how far from comparable any of these "knock-offs" are.  

Personally, I don't buy JUNK. That is why I am a big fan of Apple's products.  If you prefer to buy JUNK and then try to convince yourself and others into believing that it is just as good as the real thing, then good for you. Who am I to burst your "delusional" bubble with reality?  

Meanwhile, I will continue to enjoy the advantages of a superior product that will far outlast your "wannabe" imitation, while offering superior performance and ease of use that entire time.  

Like I said...This new Tablet product is going to be HUGE.  You know Apple is on to something just from all the whining you hear coming from the anti-Apple crowd and Apple's competition.  

Here Here.    
This is one of the reasons I am waiting on today's announcement.  If I can get a newer model of the Iphone, or go to a different carrier, I will be so there.  I am so tired of all the hype for the "iphone killers" that fade out in about 3 months time. 

[WeatherGoose]

I keep hearing that Verizon is going to be coming on board, but that may not be for iPHONE service, it might be just for the Tablet, but I agree with you... It would be nice if iPHONE users had more of a choice in carriers than just AT&T!  

I just bought a new MacBook Pro 2.8 a few months ago, so I am not in the market for either of these, but I am always pleased to see Apple offering new products.  Especially since I own 500 shares of their stock!  

UPDATE!

Steve Jobs has made it "official"!

iPAD FTW!! 

[sam2004gp]

Sorry to burst your bubble here Weather Goose.  But I was hoping on something different.   I was very disappointed in today's Apple Inc. announcement. No new Iphone, no new Iphone OS, and no new carrier.   Uggghh, The new iPad is just an overgrown iTouch.  
However it, looks like I still may go Iphone 3Gs shopping this weekend.


At least at this point of my life I am not interested in purchasing the iPad.  Perhaps one day I will change my mind. 

[SLOweather]

SUggghh, The new iPad is just an overgrown iTouch.  

I was thinking it was more of a "juiced" Newton...

(ducks...)

[WeatherGoose]

Sorry to burst your bubble here Weather Goose.  But I was hoping on something different.   I was very disappointed in today's Apple Inc. announcement. No new Iphone, no new Iphone OS, and no new carrier.   Uggghh, The new iPad is just an overgrown iTouch.  
However it, looks like I still may go Iphone 3Gs shopping this weekend.


At least at this point of my life I am not interested in purchasing the iPad.  Perhaps one day I will change my mind. 

What bubble are you referring to?

At the announced price of $499.00 this thing is going to be even bigger than I thought.  I personally have no interest in the product myself but that doesn't change the fact that Apple is going to sell millions of these things and will probably not be able to keep up with the demand.  I see a repeat of the iPOD Mini all over again. 

Amazon is probably quaking in their boots right about now.  This thing has Kindle Killer written all over it!

[SlowModem]

Yeoman Rand

[WeatherGoose]

Yeoman Rand

LOL!! 

I wonder if she was stuck having to use AT&T?   

[sam2004gp]

Amazon is probably quaking in their boots right about now.  This thing has Kindle Killer written all over it!

My wife and I were both saying the same thing.  I just got her a Kindle for Xmas.  However a glossy glass LCD screen, ain't going to cut it in the sun for Ebook reading.

[WeatherGoose]

Amazon is probably quaking in their boots right about now.  This thing has Kindle Killer written all over it!

My wife and I were both saying the same thing.  I just got her a Kindle for Xmas.  However a glossy glass LCD screen, ain't going to cut it in the sun for Ebook reading.

Oh yeah!  I forgot about Apple's STUPID obsession with these "Glossy" screens!    I agree with you 100% about that!  I had to purchase my 15" MBP directly from Apple so that I could order it with the MATTE screen and not that useless glossy screen they normally come with these days.

I wonder if they will eventually offer the same option for the iPAD.  Considering the portability of this thing, you would think that a matte screen would be standard and a glossy screen the option. 

[Bushman]

My new Toshiba laptop has a glossy screen.  Crisp, but useless if there is any direct light on it as its glare is awful.  WTF are they thinking?

[lddaly]

  It does not have multi-tasking abilities.

[sam2004gp]

Glossy screens look good in dark environments, but when you have back lighting or the sun in a glossy environment, you might as well hang it up.  I also hate the fact that LCD montiors being released these days are glossy.

[Bushman]

It does not have multi-tasking abilities.

the tablet does not?  really?  That is crazy.

[lddaly]

It does not have multi-tasking abilities.

the tablet does not?  really?  That is crazy.

That is what is being reported.

[WeatherGoose]

It does not have multi-tasking abilities.

I wouldn't get too concerned about the specifics of the iPAD OS at this point.  Without specifics from Apple, the rumor mills are running full tilt, and as usual, the Anti-Apple crowd is taking advantage of the lack of real info and pushing out as much FUD as they can before it gets called out for being the off-base BS it usually is.  

I would be VERY surprised if the functionality was any less capable than a regular Macintosh.

As for the glossy screen issue... My biggest problem with them aside from the glare problem is the lack of color accuracy.  If you do any serious photo or video work on your machine, you really need a Matte display that doesn't "tint" your color output with its own artificial black level, among other specifics I won't get into here.

[lddaly]

It does not have multi-tasking abilities.

I wouldn't get too concerned about the specifics of the iPAD OS at this point.  Without specifics from Apple, the rumor mills are running full tilt, and as usual, the Anti-Apple crowd is taking advantage of the lack of real info and pushing out as much FUD as they can before it is all proven to be a bunch of BS. 

I would be VERY surprised if the functionality was any less capable than a regular Macintosh.

- No Multitasking. Only one application runs at a time according to official documentation.

We will see... They still have a couple of months for the last minute features before it is in the hands of consumers. I would have liked to see a camera as well as the matte screen.

[Bushman]

It apparently does not support HD vid either !  huh?  My kid's Archos 5 Internet tablet does that.  Of course it is running Android.