Discussion on:

The truth about iPad: It's only good for two things

Original post:
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=5941

The bottom line is that the iPad is still just a novelty item. There is honestly no real use for it for the majority of professionals. It's just a fun thing to have if you have a fair chunk of spare folding money burning a hole in your pocket. It is a neat piece of hardware, but it's certainly not magical or especially groundbreaking.

Novelty, groundbreaking.. innovation.. those are words that seem to come out of Cupertino more frequently than Redmond.

10 hours of battery life, stunning graphics, simple to use, anywhere connectivity.

now connect those with anywhere access to your data (think the word cloud here) and you will be close to seeing the future as it will be.

Try not and get caught looking for a power cord or wifi hot spot, the future may pass you by while you are crawling around down there.

Just my humble thoughts..

You mean like an Air Card? Guess I have been working in the future on my laptop and didn't know it.

I'd bet for about 2 hours tops though

I will stick with my Windows based tablet laptop, thank you very much for trying.

At least I have the option to swap out my battery with a second or third if needed. Which I have not needed in the 10 years I have been using a laptop.

Thankfully, I will not have to deal with those morons at the Apple store... What do they call themselves? The genius bar...Not even close.

Simplicity? My daughters Barbie toy is simple but I wouldn't go around bragging about it.

I used an Ipad for 10 minutes and was annoyed by its simplicity just like when I use any other Apple product I feel like I am using an over priced toy.

Simplicity is for morons and is what is wrong with the computer market today. Corporations are dumbing down everything so all morons will buy their products and feel like they are geeks.

Every computer savvy person will tell you the same thing... Computers should be used by those who are willing to spend some time to actually learn how to use a computer.

I am so tired of MAC users who don't know how to do their job because it's not a MAC that was provided to them when they were hired.

One idiot told me "I can't used this laptop for Excel... I am familiar with Excel for the MAC".

Angry much? Do you really equate Mac users as being more inflexible and stupid than PC users? I've heard some pretty bone-headed stories about a few PC users that make your example of the Mac Excel user look tame. I don't think that it's the Mac or the orientation (Mac vs PC) of the user that you have a problem with. You just don't like lazy people, and I'm right there with you on that one. Unfortunately, using computers has permeated all walks of business life and there are tons of folks who really should take the time to learn what they are doing in order to do their jobs more efficiently, and I have to tell you I see that much more often in PC users than I do in Mac users, but that's my experience.

As for the rest, it sounds to me that you aren't familiar with Macs or Apple products and that you have already made your mind up without getting to really know what you are talking about (sorry, I know that didn't help you BP, but it had to be said). You spent 10 minutes with an iPad and you know everything you need to know? Really? If so, you're good, I'll give you that!

Really, for those of us that have Mac products, we know that MOST people don't every have to deal with an Apple store or one of their "Geniuses" (I have to agree, it's a stupid name for their job title). And for me personally, the one time that I have had to consult a "genius" it was (other than the wait) a more pleasant experience that dealing with anyone at, say, a best buy geek squad (that's the equivalent to your opinion of an Apple genius, right?).

There are some great products out there, both Apple and PC, but unfortunately there are far more lazy and incompetent users, and that is a bigger problem than either Mac or PC.

Did you know that the Geek Squad in-house staff are called Counter Intelligent Agents? I like it.

Now that's a clever job title. LOL..!!

You said most people don't ever have to deal with the an Apple Store a Genius... I'm just wondering what your wait was for if people weren't in there having to deal with the geniuses?

Bart1963 said:
Really, for those of us that have Mac products, we know that MOST people don't every have to deal with an Apple store or one of their "Geniuses" (I have to agree, it's a stupid name for their job title). And for me personally, the one time that I have had to consult a "genius" it was (other than the wait)

You guys are just silly with some of the things you try to imply. Sure, there are plenty of people who go see the "geniuses", but that doesn't mean MOST Mac users do.

Besides, the geniuses (still say it's a stupid title) do a lot more than help idiot Mac users figure out how to make things work (another implication here). From what I can tell a great deal of their time is spent with "sales" and helping people understand the differences between various desktop and laptops, and iPods, and iPads, and etc??? And with the popularity of the iPad and other Apple products these days, the "Sales" portion of the "waiting in line for a genius" makes up the majority of the wait.

They also help with accessory sales (which is a big business at the Apple store) and software sales. Oh yea, and for what I needed them for was to help with a battery that had lost it's longevity (Don't even try to say Macs are worse than PCs because I know from experience they are not), which by the way they replaced free of charge since I had AppleCare (which I'm sure someone will take a shot at too).

I read all 140+ (so far) posts, but came back to something @acewingman said.

The suggestion that investing an inordinate amount of time to learn how to properly use a complex device is the clear-cut path for all technology is contradictory to the premise that the ideal device is an unobtrusive tool. Many digerati such as Dr. Donald Norman argue that simplicity is truly what is needed in the computer hardware industry, despite your portrayal as being "moronic".

While it's an admirable skill to be able to change your own oil, tune your carburetor, and machine your own heads, most people don't want to do that. The car is a tool, a means to an end. Likewise, the iPad.


As for everyone else, ...

If there are people out there who feel they are effective and efficient with an iPad, more power to them. Likewise, those that want the power of a PC and can harness it, good for them. There's no place for ridicule and insulting generalizations (from either camp). The iPad is a *tool* not a toy. It may be a niche tool, but much to all the haters' dismay, it turns out there are a _lot_ of niches out there. It's not a laptop, and nobody ever said it was - so everyone who says "I'd buy it if it had this that and the other", you missed the point. And most importantly, to my knowledge no one has proposed that all other devices be eliminated in favor of an iPad, so don't worry - your Lifebook or Nokia are perfectly unthreatened and I'm glad those work for you.

Consumerism and capitalism are wonderful things. I'm glad we all have choices. Celebrate the diversity.

Now back to my iPad for more "consumption"...

..applying logic and reason. WHAT are you thinking..?!?!? In all seriousness, you make some really great points (not that the fring will see).

I couldn't agree with you more.
The iPad is version 1.0. It is bound to have room for improvement. I shouldn't expect it to be perfect. I should be allowed to cricize it.That should lead to a better iPad 2.0.

Do you remember when the iPhone didn't have cut and paste? Sheesh!

LifeBook has its drawbacks which I pointed out. The one big drawback I did not point out is the price. It costs 3 times more than an iPad.
If I could have the superior stylus input of the LifeBook, the functionality of Microsoft OneNote, the instant on and price of the iPad, I would gladly find an iPad worth purchasing.
I'll wait for 2.0.

On my 64Gig 3G. If Apple isn't using it for anything, why don't they put a camera there? Maybe they did and didn't tell anyone. Or maybe 2.0....

Face to Face with Ipads. That would be a niche worth filling.....

Nicely put. I'm a laptop guy, but I have several Apple devices and definitely understand why they've done so well.

The one thing I didn't understand is why did they limit the iPad to the same amount of drive space and RAM that is available on the much smaller iTouch?

It infuriated me (and probably still would if I looked now) when I found out the difference in price between the different flavours of iPhone, if I remember rightly you could choose 8GB, 16GB or 32GB, and would pay a good ?100 more in each jump up, although we all know that the equivalent prices of SDHC memory cards are no where near that.

To me Apple was ripping customers off. I am sure, even if the prices have changed since then, that you are paying WAY over the odds just to increase something as simple as memory.

You live in the past, Good for you. We need people like you to pass down their wisdom. The " Morons" at the Apple store know your type. Good luck with your hunk of junk "WinDOS" powered tablet. By the way, what did you pay for that 2nd battery?

Have a good day Pal.

I'm sure he had enough money left over after buying his Windows tablet computer to buy 10 batteries or so as compared to the cost of a weaker and less capable iPAD with only one battery.

It's our responsibility as IT to provide end-users with a useful tool to use when doing their jobs. When someone has to spend time trying to figure out how to use a tool, it is time spent away from doing what they have been hired to do and are likely good at.

Simply put (pun intended) a computer is just another tool. Just as a pencil, calculator or stapler is. It's our responsibility to make it a useful tool for the end-users.

When I see an enduser pulling their hair out trying to make a Windows system work, it's very hard not to tell them that there is indeed a much better way of working. Telling them that not all computers are the same. Explaining to them that the Mac will make thing much easer for them. After a short demo on may MacBook Pro, there eyes light up, they are noticeably happier, yes, yes, they say, I do see the light! ;0 Thank you Mac person, you made my day. Now I can go home and tell my wife that I'm not quitting my job, but buying a Mac! My live is saved!!!

PS
Are you buying it!

But don't they sometimes say, instead: "Now I can tell my boss that I'm not divorcing my wife, but buying a Mac!"

PS: About that server room... what do you think of the Not-A-Room, angle? It may seem like nobody's that naive, but that sort of stuff happens all the time. Like those "Empty Oil Barrels" stored haphazardly, despite being in fact a big pile of Fuel-Air bombs...

I've been involved in computer software engineering and the use of computers for 30 years. I've written drivers for Unix based OSes and I've debugged crashed filesystems with binary/hex interfaces to the data.

All of that stuff, is in fact an important part of the computer system. But the only reason why that knowledge is valuable, is because there are moments it is needed.

Microsoft has been burdened by the fact that anybody can put a poorly written driver on a version of windows have have it destroy their experience with the system.

Microsoft has also written horrible applications with huge security holes in the, trying to "simplify" network application access.

What Apple seems to be doing for their customers, is providing value that people want to spend money on. If nothing ever breaks or goes bad, then you never have to talk to the genius bar.

I've owned about 10 different windows computers, and until Vista, I didn't really have to interact with any kind of support system. But, with vista, three different computers, made by three different manufacturers all have had horrible stability and usability problems. I voted with my feet by buying some Mac computers.

I've encountered bugs in the Mac software, I've had some problems with a well used macbook-air's hinges. I am not sure what genius bar you have to deal with, but the one I deal with has yet to do anything unreasonable for me, and in fact they've stepped up to the plate and gone beyond.

The market is always going to move based on perceived and then experienced value. Right now, Apple has a large new customer base, based on perceived value. Over the next 2-3 years, that will move toward the experienced value.

If Apple keeps the experience real, they'll continue to grow market share. If they collapse under the weight of a large customer base needing more support than they've priced into their products, then something else will likely have an opportunity.

I enjoy my iPad because of all the things that Jason mentions. I also enjoy it because I am writing software for it, and although I really miss many features of Java and some of the simplicities of the GC, I still really enjoy many aspects of CoreGraphics and how easy it is to make things work.

Only a fool would look at technology the way you do! You need up look past your dislikes and try using some of the iTech that Steve give you. You must be born in the "40" to me making statements like these !!!

Like I said, I still think it's a perfectly good paper weight, so that makes it at least three uses!
You can probably cut bread on it too! (4!)
And hey! Can you say Ducks and Drakes! That's totally five!

Let's look at it a little closer then...

1) Are you going to do any programming on it?
- No, for obvious reasons.

2) Are you going to do any design work (web or print)?
- No, see above.

3) Are you going to find any real gamers on it?
- No. Anybody who is into gaming will stick with console and/or PC gaming.

4) Am I going to use it to read e-books?
- No. The Kindle is less expensive and can be read outdoors in the sunlight.

5) Is it going to be used for general office work (email, document prep, etc)?
- No. It's cumbersome and a pain to do any of that. Laptops are still much more efficient in this regard.

The fact remains that the iPod does a lot of things, but the majority of them are frivolous or can be done better by another device. As I said, it is a neat device, but it simply can't fill a meaningful, worthwhile role in the professional world.

A device that can play Scrabble and Monopoly really well is a novelty... even if you can play them for 10 hours.

The first major point I'm sure most people have missed concerning the iPad, is that it was never intended [nor was it ever advertised] to take the place of a laptop.

The second, even more important point I believe is, it's niche was foreseen [and fulfilled] by Apple for techno resistant people, who finally came to realize that they needed e-mail, e-books, photos of grandkids, news of the day, etc... [face it, print media is headed South in a hurry. TV signal providers are hot on their heels. ALL MEDIA CONTENT IS DESTINED for internet access, likely a-la-carte. Within a few short years, CATV and others like them, will get the bulk of their revenues from a primary role as an ISP/VOiP provider. Their glory days are numbered.]

Apple has read the market well. Sales of their products strongly reinforce their perception of the marketplace and it's response. No matter what, you cannot argue w/ success and the fact that their stuff JUST PLAIN WORKS.

1) The problem with the iPad never intending to replace a laptop, is that it really doesn't do anything a laptop cannot; making some things more difficult to do. Email sans keyboard just plain sucks. It's supposed to be this great media player, but you can't put a DVD in it. 10 hours battery life is "better than some, worse than others" -- but without the ability to swap batteries on the fly, it has limited use for many people. (Hey, if you're going to generalize and speculate, why can't I?)

Your argument about the iPad being for "techno-resistant individuals" is just as suspect. I'd like to see the statistics / ratios of people who didn't *already* own an Apple product who purchased an iPad and *only* an iPad - then I might believe that speculation. I don't think the ratio is that high.

Oh, and your incorrect assumption of "All Print Media is Dead" - let me remind you: that particular warning's been issued many times. Radio will kill Newspapers! TV will kill Radio! Computers will bring forth the Paperless Office! {BTW: Civilized regions are using more paper than ever.} Different individuals prefer information in different ways - yes, we have more ways that have to share a piece of the pie compared to 50 years ago, but I seriously doubt the paper companies are quaking in their boots over the iPad especially since the iPad can't play Quake. {With apologies to Foghorn Leghorn: I say, that was a joke, son.}

Apple doesn't have to read the market. Apple has fanboys/gals that will drool over whatever comes off the assembly lines {OMG! Apple's releasing the iTurdPolisher! Must! Have! One!!!} and a huge marketing budget.

Yes, I've seen one. My buddy bought one for his wife, who loves her iPhone so much, she had to have one. They use it for pretty much two functions: 1) It's a big-screen GPS. (One of the few reasons I'd own one.) They also watch Netflix on it while camping -- camping defined as being at a Nascar race in their 28 foot air conditioned camper (with a big screen LCD TV) when one spouse doesn't want to watch the same thing as the other.

I'm not saying it's a bad device. Certain people purchase it for certain purposes, and it may fit those purposes well. For many others, it does not. Personally, I think it's the iTV or MacTV or any of those other Apple products that eventually went to the wayside, but with a better advertising budget. It's possible that Apple makes a "turbocharged" iPad that more people would use (like me) and that's the device that pushes the "original" iPad out of place...

In closing, here's what my "techno-resistant" wife asked about it: "Does it play DVDs?" -- "Nope." -- "That's useless; why would anybody buy it?"

It doesn't play VHS tapes either...you know how many VHS tapes I have in my basement? As soon as they release a version I can use as a monitor for my Commodore 64 I am buying one!

Seriously though I don't have stats but i know several people who bought an iPad for their aging parents who love it. I was at Best Buy the other day and overheard an elderly couple saying their iPad was the first computer they ever owned. It does fit the need of of the masses for email, web surfing, photos, etc.... A PC/Laptop is overkill for alot of people. Anyone who has spent 3 hours on the phone with a parent/grandparent trying to talk them through opening an attachment in outlook knows what I'm talking about. BTW I own an iPhone, but i don't have an iPad or any other Apple products, so I'm not a Fanboy by your definition.

"""It doesn't play VHS tapes either..."""

If VHS tape was the current standard media distribution medium, I *would* expect the iPad to play it, if in fact the primary function of an iPad truly is a media consumption device. It isn't, so I don't.

But to play on this theme: GIF format pictures are obsolete, yes? Can the iPad display them? Can it play MIDI files? Obsolescence doesn't automatically translate to "unplayable." If Apple was so "forward thinking" and "media trend setting" why does the iPad play mp3's? Aren't they also obsolete? (and not Apples own flavor of compression, *cough*DRM*cough*, I might add)

And, sorry to say this, but DVDs are *not yet* obsolete. They're still the media "king of the hill." Blu-Ray just ain't there yet. A media player that doesn't play the defacto standard isn't much of a media player, IMHO.

"""As soon as they release a version I can use as a monitor for my Commodore 64 I am buying one!"""

Typical fanboy behaviour - everybody knows that the Tandy Color Computer series was more powerful...

"""Seriously though I don't have stats...[snip]...their iPad was the first computer they ever owned."""

Fine. I don't see that as an "Earth Shattering Redefinition of Media Distribution" {{No, you weren't one of individuals claiming this}}... If it works for them, great. I just don't see this as being the trend for the majority (or even a sizable minority) of users out there, and Apple's current sales figures reflect that.

""" It does fit the need of of the masses for email, web surfing, photos, etc...."""

But now you go back to blanket statements. Who are "the masses?" My wife is one of them (last I checked), and she told me she'd never have one. She would *rather* have a laptop. My dad would use it for skeet. My brother would think it was a digital picture frame with no way to put pictures on it.

"""A PC/Laptop is overkill for alot of people. Anyone who has spent 3 hours on the phone with a parent/grandparent trying to talk them through opening an attachment in outlook knows what I'm talking about."""

Uh, I've been there. Co-owned a local ISP for 10 years, and offered free technical support. I was doing it for *everybody elses grandparents.* 3 hours on the phone because of outlook, or 3 hours on the phone because of Safari, or 3 hours on the phone because the iPad doesn't have Flash... it's the same 3 hours.


"""BTW I own an iPhone, but i don't have an iPad or any other Apple products, so I'm not a Fanboy by your definition."""

Ahhh... you don't know what my definition is. I know quite a few people who own several Apple products that aren't fanboys. (I've had 3 - an Apple //gs, a PowerMac 6100/60 and still have the G4 iMac - and I'm debating on a Mac Mini) but I'm no fanboy.

Yet, I know people who just own the iPhone or an iPod touch (and nothing else) that are fanboys. These are the people that say the 'Droid sucks because it's not an iPhone. My Palm Treo 650 is completely useless because it's old, and not an iPhone. (Funny, it runs all my Palm apps just fine, and makes clearer calls than the iPhone. I've tried 'em.) My boy's Sandisk mp3 player is crap, because it's not an iPod. (He likes losing them, I like not paying very much for them.) Oh, and the reason he doesn't have an iPad is because his parents won't buy it for him.

One device, instant fanboy. It's not the # of devices that makes the definition, it's the attitude and lack of objectivity towards other platforms.

Again, I'm not saying the device in and of itself is bad -- I'm just saying it's not for me, not for most of the people that I know (we obviously run in different circles) and I'm not drinking the fanboy koolaid just because it has an apple on the backside.

I must say though (offtopically) - I rather like the simplicity of the new AppleTV unit. Too bad I don't (yet) own an HDMI based TV.

Laterz!

Looks to me like whatever someone might say that's positive about the iPad, you are going to argue and disagree with.. But here goes anyhow.

First, the iPad doesn't, and hasn't been advertised as a replacement for a laptop. I can't understand why so many people (that want to rip anything that Apple puts out) don't understand that. Maybe they do but somehow they think it's a good argument. It's not.. It just shows their ignorance.

Second, sorry do disappoint you, but it's not the Apple fanboi base that's buying up the iPad. Yes, many people who own other Apple products have bought an iPad (guilty here), but there are lots and lots of folks who don't own any other Apple products have bought the iPad. The iPad has been a very real success story, like it or not.

As for the iPad not having a DVD player, I suppose you are also holding off on buying a smartphone until they come out with one of those that has a DVD player? Obviously not because that's not the intention of a smartphone. The same is true for the iPad. It's not intended to be a solution for everything.

Here's a good idea. Don't buy an iPad.. It doesn't sound like it's a good fit for you! But don't be so arrogant as to think that what's right for you is right for everyone. Obviously many of us really like our ipads and find them very useful, and even help us to be more productive.

(Posted via my iPad)

... but I think I'm gonna have to go all William Shatner on ya.

Did... You... Actually... Read... My... Post???

Firstly, how can I be an iHater if I've stated previously:

""" I've had 3 - an Apple //gs, a PowerMac 6100/60 and still have the G4 iMac - and I'm debating on a Mac Mini """

I hate 'em so much I've owned a few, still have one, and thinking about another... And this little gem:

""" I rather like the simplicity of the new AppleTV unit. """

Dangitall -- I must really hate 'em if I'm debating on spending more for an AppleTV than a Linux-based Roku. [[ By the way, I have 8 Linux-based PCs, one OSX and one XP - the XP gets used the *least* of all 3 OS's. I rather like Linux... ]]

You asked if I owned a smartphone, yet in my post I state this:

""" My Palm Treo 650 is completely useless because it's old, and not an iPhone. """

My phone is a Palm because I've been using Palm for almost 15 years; I like the platform and sad to say when this phone breaks, I'll have to figure something new... possibly a Linux-based Nokia N900 maybe? I won't buy an iPhone not because of the maker... but because AT&T royally sucks camel dung in my area. Well, and I want something I can program on easily, so I doubt the Droid is gonna make the cut, either.

Oh, gosh... now I'm a 'DroidHater now, too! However will I sleep at night?

If the iPad improves your productivity, great. What I'm saying is it *won't* improve mine, and I know other people who don't believe it to be a useful tool *for them*. If that fact has your knickers in a twist... sorry about your bad luck.

I'm still not drinkin' the koolaid.

Laterz!

It's not going to be to long from now, when apple will release a new Tab computer. With the full OS installed. Its already produced by a subcontractor as we speak. So they will have the ipad for Under $500 and the Mac-Tab for $1500. Then , out for the copy cats. Yes I know that there is a lot of PC (full wind7) Tab's on the market right now, But there hardly noticed. The Mac-Tab will hit the headlines and Yes, I'll be the first to buy one!

Not you rmerchberger, just these kool-aid zombies. Cripe on a stick... they're cultists.

not just so they can brag that they are the first one on the block with a new product. That's blind consumerism.

If you were put in a dark room for 10 hours and we gave you a fully loaded iPad you will come out with this statement.

1) Boy was a wrong. This thing can do almost anything I need.

2) I watched a movie from NetFlix
3) I used pages to do my report
4) I read a book
5) I sent out lots of email
6) Played 2 or 3 cool games
7) made a spreadsheet with Numbers
8) I downloaded lots of music from iTunes
9) I did my banking
10) I updated my Facebook

I could go on & on, but you get my point. I Hope!

consume content.

Connectivity has been available with cellular PCMCIA and USB air cards for years, so there's nothing new about that.

Batteries themselves were an innovation; longer life isn't. 10 hours is a long time bopping around town, not so much on a business trip. You're still going to have to pack a power cord when you travel.

Regardless, you're still only performing the basic functions Jason described.

That's about 6 hours more than I've ever gotten from one of notebooks.

Realize that 95% of computer users are consumers of information not content creators.

If someone gives me a tool that will let me watch a movie and keep connectivity via vpn to my home office on a cross country flight I'd definitely say thank you.

Fujitsu used to make this nice little 10" 4 pound laptop that ran 6 hours on the front battery, and 7 more on the bay battery - both could be used together for 13 hours runtime.

When the batteries went & the built-in keyboard 'N' key went flaky at the same time, cost to refurbish was almost the cost of new; so I replaced it with a clunky but functional 'paq; now it's a nice ultra-low-power web/data server at my house.

Oh, but that's not my "record holder" --

Tandy used to make this nice little "Instant-On" laptop with the best laptop keyboard *ever* -- called the Tandy 200. Ran 16 hours on 4 AA batteries, and 160 hours on a 4 D-cell "power pillow". Great for transatlantic flights. Yes, I still have mine. Yes, it turned 25 years old back in February. Yes, I still use it for note taking, recipes, and other "instant on" tasks that are just "Too Gosh Darn Handy" for a new laptop.

And there are a *lot* of others who think like me - head on over to www.club100.org and see that *new* hardware is still being built for these rascals - Megabyte Flash ROM upgrades, the ability to read/write to SD Cards, etc. There's also a very active mailing list for these popular little machines.

I'll admit, tho - the iPad is probably better for playing scrabble... but does it have a good Cribbage game?

Laterz,
"Merch"

The iPad is one of the best content creator you can have. The program is called iWork, check it out! Oh! And by the way, is got lots of Apps that do real work too!

But if you would like to kill all your time, go read a ebook or watch a movie. But I have to go now, I need to do a report & make a spreadsheet for my boss. This little gem of wisdom was sent to you from my ipad.

I like the closing remarks. It's excellent.

The ipad can definitely get "real work" done, but the argument is that it's not as efficient at it as as a PC. Granted, we're all cavemen who can't adapt to new technology, but the main advantage of the ipad in it's portability. I think that 2010 will be landmark year for computers because the ipad will continue to improve so, although it gets work done, it will only get better as we progress from 1.0.

You can be constantly connected to your data, anywhere?
For the price of wireless data services, sure. But what if your company has some security sense and doesn't put all their business critical data up in the magical cloud? Then you'd have to have a constant VPN connection into your network, and that could prove to be a substantial security issue.

Edited:
I might add, on a note to the battery life, that even on my iPod, the battery life does decrease over time. If the life of an iPod (considerable less power hungry than an iPad) will shorten, what can we expect for the hungrier iPad?

The problem I've had with Apple is that it is old technology in a new form. Yeah, good battery power is good but to maintain application competition and to move forward is what we all look for in technology. Apple lags behind in many of these things and still we rely on Microsoft for business applications and the real workhorse that runs our companies. Blackpad might be an interesting revelation in this area and I'm looking forward to seeing it work.

I wonder how many people felt the first cars were expensive toys, much more limiting than the good old horse and buggy. I also wonder how many people dismissed the first cars because they lacked a hitch for horses...in case you wanted to use them in a more traditional manner....

... it's just really small and located on a little island. The majority of the people take pictures of it and tell their friends, "It's a nice little place, but I wouldn't want to live there. There are a lot of fun rides, but the cost of living is too high and there are no grocery stores or hardware stores."

I just still don't understand the rush to adopt a technology that still has so much room for improvement, one that will soon have competing devices that may be better and / or cheaper.

The first cars WERE expensive toys more limited than the horse and buggy. The general public didn't begin adopting them until they became less expensive to buy and operate, and more practical.

Yet, if everyone had waited for the second generation of cars then where would we be? Gitty up! The fact is early adopters pave the way for "the general public", do they not?

It's kinda funny that there are so many people who complain about the Apple fanatics who have jumped on board and bought a iPad and are rushing to find cool new ways to use the device (even though you can do EVERYTHING an iPad can do, with a laptop, and do it better I might add), when it's the very success of the iPad that is driving the new market. I say new because, even though tablets have been around for quite a while, the new interface has been a huge success. It's kind of a catch 22. Don't jump onboard until after the technology matures, but if folks don't jump onboard then there is no drive to push the technology to mature. The tablet market is a perfect example in the fact that tablets have been around for years but they haven't developed and worked their way into the mass market because they just haven't been a success. Now the iPad comes along and has been a huge success which is driving other companied to develop new products, and eventually new processes.

I say the more that can jump onboard the iPad express the better because it is driving technology forward.

Sure they do, but I don't see any reason to spend either my money or the company's to be one of them. Most technology products improve with the second version, often dramatically. More specifically, Apple has a recent history of reducing prices on it's mobile products.

"...there are so many people who complain about the Apple fanatics who have jumped on board..."

My comments aren't reserved only for Apple users.

I agree about the first cars, but the point here is not should you by an iPad right now but how the iPad is changing the face of computing. I don't even own an iPad yet, but I am seriously looking at how this effects my Software Development business in 5-10 years. when cars hit the market they were a novelty, but people in the horse buggy business days were numbered.