Is anyone else excited about the Apple announcement tomorrow (1/27)?

[mp29k]

I am really excited for some reason to see what Apple comes up with.  The funny thing is, I do not personally have a single Apple product, but if they release a slate, as anticipated, I am very excited to see what it can do.

[didjamatic]

A headline I saw this morning...
Steve Jobs: "The tablet is the most important thing I've ever done"

[ricercar]

Excited is not the word I'll use. I'm ... looking forward to the entertainment, watching the press circus as pundits scramble to claim what Apple released is what they predicted.

[Rajagra]

a headline i saw this morning...
Steve jobs: "the tablet is the most important thing i've ever done"

[HaaTa]

Announcement?

*sarcasm*
Must've missed something in the daily news feeds.

[ricercar]

Don'tcha know? Press conferences are news, and embedded reporters are interviewed by fellow news networks as news. Welcome to the 21st century.

[lowpoly]

When today?

[hyperlinked]

When today?

10am PST or about 90 minutes from now.

[quadibloc]

When I first heard about it, I was excited. I thought: Wow! Apple will bring out a tablet Mac which will have multitouch features far ahead of those offered with Windows Tablet PCs. But later on, I heard that it would be an overgrown iPhone, still tied to the App Store. If that is really going to be the case, I'm disappointed and underwhelmed. But today is the big day, and perhaps there will be something unexpected and exciting in the announcement.

[sethstorm]

My excitement for such product is dependent on them putting in an *-IPS technology LCD panel in it.

If they do, fine.

If they don't, forget that the product existed.

[lowpoly]

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/live-from-the-apple-tablet-latest-creation-event/

[In Stereo!]

Isn't that a little too far fetched...

[itlnstln]

Pretty much.

[itlnstln]

Sorry, I would rather have a netbook.  At least I would have a real keyboard.

[msiegel]

looks like there are "123" shift keys to bring up the number keys:

[mp29k]

I was dissapointed with the details they revealed on the release.  There was no talk mentioned (at lease on the live blog feed) about whether it had USB so you can plug in a keyboard.  Also, little detail on whether it will have extensive e-book library, games, etc.  I expected more, like a revolutionary interface.  I don't think they even added new gestures over the iphone.

[msiegel]

There was no talk mentioned (at lease on the live blog feed) about whether it had USB so you can plug in a keyboard.

it has bluetooth & a 30-pin connector

[mp29k]

it has bluetooth & a 30-pin connector

What is 30 pin?  something proprietry from apple?  I am dissapointed it does not have USB... how to get photos into the device?  

I also haven't seen mention of whether it has a webcam.

[itlnstln]

We'll have to wait for the reviews, but I am disappointed that they went for the "supersized phone" route rather than a "small computer."  There seems to be a few plusses that pure size offers, but really, this doesn't seem a whole lot different than my GF's iPhone.  To me, this isn't a better netbook.  This is a super phone.

[itlnstln]

BTW - isn't this thing more like a bigger Touch than iPhone?

True.  My problem with this thing is that it just seems to do mobile stuff better.  It doesn't appear that it mobilizes computer stuff like a netbook can.

[didjamatic]

Lots of Photos here  Read from bottom to top to see in order.

EDIT:
Ok, so after the shock factor and oohs and ahhs... it's really cool but wouldn't you rather have a proper laptop that has a keybaord, but gives you the option to flip the screen over and use as a tablet?  Like other companies have been doing for years?
Tablet PC
You can do every single thing this iPad does, but you also get a keyboard and some less proprietary interfaces and things.  You also get multitouch if it's a Win7 tablet.

It's really cool, but I'm not seeing the revolution in it.  In my opinion, they are the last ones to the party because people have been making tablets with this functionality for years.  GPS and Compass typically aren't integrated but that's easy to solve.  Also, this iPad has only 1Ghz of processing power so I don't see it replacing anyone's gaming or other solution that requires any substantial hardware.

[msiegel]

i think we're misunderestimating how attractive this platform will be to non-techies.

[lowpoly]

I also haven't seen mention of whether it has a webcam.

The event is still running.

[dusanx]

Price?

[lowpoly]

Keyboard dock:

[dusanx]

Price?

$499+

Not that bad.

[itlnstln]

$499+
 
Not that bad.

That's not as bad as I would have thought.
 
 
I would still rather have a netbook.

[dusanx]

No multitasking? I'll pass. Custom processor to prevent us from installing Linux. For month or two at least.

[mp29k]

Keyboard dock:

Show Image

It's tenkeyless!  Everyone on here will buy one now just because.

Seriously though, if Filco came up with a Bluetooth Tenkeyless, that would be a perfect add on for this device.  I think the pricing is very fair, and even more exciting that you can get unlimited 3G with it on a contract free basis from AT&T for $29.99 monthly.  They are going to sell a ton of these.

[msiegel]

The design and business model are utterly brilliant.

Leveraging acceptance of iPhone, iPad may enable Apple to wrest control of the consumer software market from Microsoft, making a cut on every app sold. As well as receiving the monthly revenues from data plans. It's a move Geoffrey Moore would be proud of.

No wonder Steve worked so hard on this.

[mp29k]

So what did they leave on the table for the 2nd gen one?


1. Webcam and or Camera
2. OLED
3. Usage of the device as a wifi hotspot/ phone
4. multitasking?
5. World peace button

[microsoft windows]

No matter what Apple releases, chances are I won't be able to afford it.

[mp29k]

You guys are all late adopters anyway.  The Vintage keyboard dust has soaked into your brains.

Even Microsoft Windows has an Touch.  Don't see you guys accusing him of being bleeding edge.

I didn't buy a touch since this miraculous wonder device has been rumored since before the touch came out.  This meets my expectations, but I was hopeful for some type of multitasking, and maybe even, shudder, real Mac OS software to work on it, like aperature.

[msiegel]

So what did they leave on the table for the 2nd gen one?

they're gonna sell a zillion of those

[msiegel]

second hand cars salesmen

apple has arguably the world's finest marketing.

[microsoft windows]

Those iPad's look neat. But, they're basically just oversized iPod Touch's, not computers, with apps instead of the programs we use every day.

[msiegel]

the programs we use every day

Between the iPhone and the iPad, Apple is betting they can capture most of the everyday uses most people have for computers. In a new form factor.

This is a big, big deal.

[ricercar]

*Yawn* from a recovering Apple fanboi. Windows CE did this 10 years ago, and Origami did this 5 years ago. But when Steve Jobs markets it, it's now The New Wave.

The price point is astonishing, but understandable. Better to cannibalize lower-margin iPhone/iPod revenue than high-margin MacBook revenue.

Alan Kay, regarding his reaction to the iPhone in January 2007:

When the Mac first came out, Newsweek asked me what I [thought] of it. I said: Well, it’s the first personal computer worth criticizing. So at the end of the presentation, Steve came up to me and said: Is the iPhone worth criticizing? And I said: Make the screen five inches by eight inches, and you’ll rule the world

[msiegel]

True. And people in general are arguably idiots.

XD

[msiegel]

Better to cannibalize lower-margin iPhone/iPod revenue than high-margin MacBook revenue.

it's very clearly designed to not be an iPhone/iPod.

i'd expect it to cannibalize iMac sales at the low end.

[msiegel]

Netbooks.

agreed.

the magic of it is, it's poised to kill multiple birds with one stone.

[itlnstln]

What I don't like about the new tablets is that they are aimed at making us passive consumers of partner products, locking us in media stores and closed apps.

This.

[msiegel]

aimed at making us passive consumers

hmm, yes... i'm gonna need one ipad, and something equivalent that runs linux

[didjamatic]

Not revolutionary, only repackaging what has been available
Weak hardware specs
No Keyboard, if you want one you must pack 2 devices and it will be a chiclet pos
Won't replace Iphone
Won't replace real computer

A very cool device, but what does it do better than anything else?  Get media attention.

Make the iphone expand out and triple in size, then compact back down to fit in your pocket... do that and you'll rule the world.

[mp29k]

Make the iphone expand out and triple in size, then compact back down to fit in your pocket... do that and you'll rule the world.

This.

Even if they could have made this iPad fold in half, it would have been much more pocketable.

[didjamatic]

hmm, yes... i'm gonna need one ipad, and something equivalent that runs linux

This?

[itlnstln]

Then again, all the same types of things were said when the iPod first came out.  That, and the MacBook Air.  The Air was obviously overpriced, so at least they did that better this go 'round.

[itlnstln]

Wow.  No multitasking.  My phone multitasks.

[hyperlinked]

Wow.  No multitasking.  My phone multitasks.

I'm sure we'll see that later.

[itlnstln]

No Flash? Wha??

Yeah.  As it stands, this thing is an epic fail.  I hope they come out with some improvements shortly.
 
 
Oh, BTW, you have to get you apps from the Apps store.  You can't install your own stuff.  A netbook replacement this is not.

[mp29k]

Yeah, the more I read about the stupid stuff they left out, I think this is a fail.  I mean no webcam?  no multitasking?  weaksauce.

This makes the HP Mini210 look very good indeed and a real bargain.  At least I can plug in a decent keyboard to it if I wanted to.

[itlnstln]

They could have come strong, but they really hamstrung this thing by making it more iPhone/iPod Touch than computer.

[hyperlinked]

They could have come strong, but they really hamstrung this thing by making it more iPhone/iPod Touch than computer.

Why would they want to rehash the Tablet PC? That's already gone nowhere several times over. I think the point is to specifically try to reposition the Tablet PC as a different class of device.

[Mr.6502]

This is a really good way to sell people a store front that stays in their house and constantly sells them more.  It takes the best part of the iPhone (from Apple's perspective) and eliminates the unnecessary (like being a portable music player or a phone).  

Its probably good at browsing the web too as long as you don't have to type on it much.  

But really, it seems like the most stylish selling mechanism Apple has ever created.  And the potential is huge since, unlike the iPod and iTunes there isn't an RIAA equivalent in the app world that will fight them for a larger cut.  They can dictate to app makers in a way that they just can't do to the mass media creators.  

So now people can go to the iPad store and buy an iPad that they can use to go to the App and Multimedia store to buy Apps and Multimedia.  

You pay them money for the right to pay them money :-D

[hyperlinked]

This might be telling of what the iPad may really be aiming at:
http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/01/25/50-tablets-detected-on-apple-campus/?CNN=yes

Analytics data of devices thought to be iPads being tested showed that the most common activity on the devices was gaming related.

Gaming on the iPhone/iPod Touch has been a surprise hit and selling point of the devices to the point that Apple has been devoting more and more resources toward cultivating gaming on their mobile devices. PC gaming is dead, but perhaps is pseudo PC gaming rising from its ashes?

To be able to play games regularly again would be one reason why I might buy something like this. I know it wasn't intended for people like me whose hands can't tolerate the repetitive and fast scrambling and clicking of PC or console gaming anymore, but because of my limitations, I see some potential in this... but it could be a passing fad like the Wii.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

Apple sucks!

[zwmalone]

Apple sucks!

Then you're free to leave this conversation anytime you see fit.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

I will, I was just making my opinions heard.

[Rajagra]

Boy, the display and responsiveness look good on the Official Video.

"it just feels right to hold the internet in your hand as you surf it."

Tossers.

[itlnstln]

Why would they want to rehash the Tablet PC? That's already gone nowhere several times over. I think the point is to specifically try to reposition the Tablet PC as a different class of device.

Then what are they trying to do?  That's the problem with this device.  It's great to surf on and maybe read a book (that sounds like torture to me on an LCD), but that's it.  Since you don't have drive access, you can't stream videos, you still have an incomplete web experience w/o Flash, and you still can't multitask.  On a device that powerful and big, you should be able to multitask.  I can multitask on my Palm Pre.  This thing is lost.  It has no identity.  I can't use it as a computer, I can't use it a phone, (in certain ways) it doesn't even have all the functionality of an iPod Touch or iPhone, so what are they doing here?  No USB, no camera, no handwriting support, etc., and it's not even widescreen like its iPod Touch/iPhone brethren.

[elbowglue]

Then what are they trying to do?  That's the problem with this device.  It's great to surf on and maybe read a book (that sounds like torture to me on an LCD), but that's it.  Since you don't have drive access, you can't stream videos, you still have an incomplete web experience w/o Flash, and you still can't multitask.  On a device that powerful and big, you should be able to multitask.  I can multitask on my Palm Pre.  This thing is lost.  It has no identity.  I can't use it as a computer, I can't use it a phone, (in certain ways) it doesn't even have all the functionality of an iPod Touch or iPhone, so what are they doing here?  No USB, no camera, no handwriting support, etc., and it's not even widescreen like its iPod Touch/iPhone brethren.

All this could be yours in the next version of the Ipad.  For a price of course.  Don't worry though, if you buy the first Ipad that comes out, your battery will have so much memory that it won't hold a charge for 1 hour, and you'll need to buy the new version already.

[Mr.6502]

Then what are they trying to do?  That's the problem with this device.  It's great to surf on and maybe read a book (that sounds like torture to me on an LCD), but that's it.  Since you don't have drive access, you can't stream videos, you still have an incomplete web experience w/o Flash, and you still can't multitask.  On a device that powerful and big, you should be able to multitask.  I can multitask on my Palm Pre.  This thing is lost.  It has no identity.  I can't use it as a computer, I can't use it a phone, (in certain ways) it doesn't even have all the functionality of an iPod Touch or iPhone, so what are they doing here?  No USB, no camera, no handwriting support, etc., and it's not even widescreen like its iPod Touch/iPhone brethren.

Its purpose is to sell Apps.  It is better at selling apps to mobile users than any other mobile device.  It has all the apps they are already buying in droves, now with more screen!

[dusanx]

Looks like Big Whoop to me.

[Rajagra]

Wait ... is it the case that when they show it playing a movie (the latest Star Trek was in the demo) it isn't playing from internal storage? That would be pretty pathetic if true.

[ricercar]

display and responsiveness look good on the Official Video.

The pundits who have used an iSteve have pretty much all said you have to hold one to appreciate it. This is not new to Macintosh marketing. In 1984 they had a test drive program in which you home a mac free overnight; they had a 98% closure rate.

You know how everyone who has ever done Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? always says, “It’s not the same when you’re actually here. So different from when you’re sitting at home watching.”? You know how often you’ve heard that? Well, you’ll hear the same from anyone who’s handled an iPad. The moment you experience it in your hands you know this is class. This is a different order of experience. The speed, the responsiveness, the smooth glide of it, the richness and detail of the display, the heft in your hand, the rightness of the actions and gestures that you employ, untutored and instinctively, it’s not just a scaled up iPhone or a scaled-down multitouch enhanced laptop – it is a whole new kind of device.

Linky

[D-EJ915]

Veronica Belmont.  If you google search and the 2nd suggestion is "Veronica Belmont Cleavage" that means Google thinks you are a pervert.

lol as if

suggestions are drawn from searches you've done, searches done by users all over the world, sites in our search index, and ads in our advertising network. If you're not signed in to your Google Account, no history-based suggestions are displayed

[Rajagra]

The pundits who have used an iSteve have pretty much all said you have to hold one to appreciate it. This is not new to Macintosh marketing. In 1984 they had a test drive program in which you home a mac free overnight; they had a 98% closure rate.

You know how everyone who has ever done Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? always says, “It’s not the same when you’re actually here. So different from when you’re sitting at home watching.”? You know how often you’ve heard that? Well, you’ll hear the same from anyone who’s handled an iPad. The moment you experience it in your hands you know this is class. This is a different order of experience. The speed, the responsiveness, the smooth glide of it, the richness and detail of the display, the heft in your hand, the rightness of the actions and gestures that you employ, untutored and instinctively, it’s not just a scaled up iPhone or a scaled-down multitouch enhanced laptop – it is a whole new kind of device.

Very eloquent as always.

He also says:

Ulysses is the greatest novel of the twentieth century. It is is wise, warm, witty, affirmative and beautiful. it is less pretentious than a baked bean. Read it. read it out loud to yourself. It won't bite. It wasn't written either to shock or to impress. Only pretentious barbarians believe artists set out shock: and how these philistines delight in revealing how unshocked they are. Those who attack it are afraid of it and rather than look foolish they prefer to heckle what they don't understand. Ignore all this childish, fear-filled criticism, Ulysses will be read when everything you see and touch around you has crumbled into dust.
Stephen Fry, London, UK

Draw from that what you will, but my point is simply that many (most) people do not share his opinion.

But if you're the kind of person that thiinks James Joyce's Ulysses is unpretentious, you might like the iPad.

[majestouch]

The big secret is that the iPad actually runs Windows CE

http://www.currentdirections.com/hardware/fujitsu/ipad100.html

Let the trademark lawsuits begin...

[dusanx]

Must see:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQnT0zp8Ya4

[kishy]

The big secret is that the iPad actually runs Windows CE

http://www.currentdirections.com/hardware/fujitsu/ipad100.html

Let the trademark lawsuits begin...

Funny, same thing happened with the iPhone (Cisco owned...maybe still owns that one)

[In Stereo!]

The pundits who have used an iSteve have pretty much all said you have to hold one to appreciate it. This is not new to Macintosh marketing. In 1984 they had a test drive program in which you home a mac free overnight; they had a 98% closure rate.



Linky

OMG how much I detest such techno-romanticism. It is a commercial product god dammit. And even surpassing that, he at the same time states that it will change the world and that ok, maybe it won't change the world--> one of those statements will surely come true, won't it.

And I may add that this product is clearly NOT ready for the market as it does not have some key features, that you'd expect from such a gadget and this presentation was done so soon just to create confusion on the market and maybe shadow some upcomping products in the same niche.

[msiegel]

ever own a record player?

[In Stereo!]

Recently I almost bought an SL1210. But the seller changed his mind and I kind of did that too.

But I definitly will have it someday!

[itlnstln]

Originally Posted by stephen fry
You know how everyone who has ever done Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? always says, “It’s not the same when you’re actually here. So different from when you’re sitting at home watching.”? You know how often you’ve heard that? Well, you’ll hear the same from anyone who’s handled an iPad. The moment you experience it in your hands you know this is class. This is a different order of experience. The speed, the responsiveness, the smooth glide of it, the richness and detail of the display, the heft in your hand, the rightness of the actions and gestures that you employ, untutored and instinctively, it’s not just a scaled up iPhone or a scaled-down multitouch enhanced laptop – it is a whole new kind of device.

Right...  I'm sorry, but I have never creamed over electronics like that.  It is what it is.  That's a bunch of crap.  Even people that have handled it disagree with the "whole new experience" part.  Still, even if he did see Jesus using this thing, it still a "third wheel" and doesn't replace either a laptop/netbook or phone (at least in its current offering).
 
 
 
... And it still can't multitask.

[In Stereo!]

The multitasking thingy is not something they are not able to fix IMO. It is just a half finished product.

[itlnstln]

IIRC, the hardware (including the iPhone and iPod Touch) can do multitasking, but it's not implemented in the OS.

[kishy]

They already did TV.