iPad
January 30, 2010 on 12:27 pm | In Technology | 3 CommentsNope, I’m not convinced that there is a sturdy market for this. I may be proven wrong, but frankly I don’t think it adds anything other than size to the iPhone.* I can see potential uses in labs for viewing images, specifically in my mind X-rays off of the hospital intranet, but other than that and a few commuting people who don’t want a laptop per se I don’t think it’ll make a big splash. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a pretty cool item, with a huge quantity of gadget cred, but gadget cred isn’t worth the £££.
The eBook reading function is a good try but I’m not sold on the idea that it will outpace, outmatch or out-pretty-much-anything the Kindle; being specifically designed for books and with a battery life to support that function makes it a vastly superior choice. And it’s cheaper. eBook functionality seems more of a tag-on feature for people who are going to get one anyway rather than a central pillar of the device.
Yes, the iPad is functional as a portable computing device, but I’d argue that it doesn’t have the same ease of use as a netbook when it comes to typing – it is not tactile, and watching the screen and typing is much harder on a surface that is completely flat as opposed to one that has a screen at a separate angle i.e. any kind of note/netbook. Obviously I’ve not actually used one, but I may go down to the apple store next time I’m in town and have a look at one. Currently, though, the idea has not sparked fireworks.
Thoughts?
*and it’s actually a lot more similar to a giant iPod Touch.
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“watching the screen and typing is much harder on a surface that is completely flat as opposed to one that has a screen at a separate angle”
I’ve got a tablet running Windows 7, and I love using it as a slate for surfing the net. It’s more comfortable using it that way when you’re away from a desk (eg on the sofa). Assuming the browser in the iPad is the same as the one on the iPhone, then I can say that the browser in 7 is much better for touch. It does everything that Safari does, but it’s also got a heap of other stuff which is so much better. The best thing being gestures – you can swipe right or left on the screen to go back or forwards. It’s such a basic thing, I sometimes find myself doing the same on my iPhone and wondering why it doesnt work…
Comment by Dickie — January 30, 2010 #
Not convinced. But then I rarely am by all these shinier and increasingly try-hard money-spinners.
Comment by Lucy — January 30, 2010 #
I’m not convinced either. Although Charlie Brooker did a pretty good column on it, pointing out that as a tool designed for timewasting and procrastination it’s practically ideal, and that’s quite possibly why people will buy it. Also as usual, it’s charlie brooker, he is very funny.
Comment by Jenny — February 2, 2010 #