Well, the iPad has finally landed..... with a thud! There's nothing wrong with having an iPhone on steroids mind you, except, of course, that we were all hyped to believe that it would be more than that, a lot more! I wanted something different, something totally unexpected, and something that would surprise and titillate the senses! The iPad did nothing of the kind.
Of course, there is still an awful lot to like about the iPad. For example, I really like the idea that it can run most of the 140,000 or so apps from the App Store; has an excellent and light weight build quality to it; has a nifty multi touch photo program that seems faster than the regular version of iPhoto; has an excellent high quality LED, IPS screen and my favorite, the book reader,coupled with the iBooks store, is super nifty and it looks much more like a real paper book than the Kindle or some of the other e-book readers do.
I watched the event via Engadget's live blog. The commentator noticed that whatever chip it was using, it seemed to be fast, very, very fast, handling video, gaming and everything else smoothly and effortlessly, and all without any noticeable hiccups at all! As far as the speed goes, and after playing with the device first hand, Gizmodo stated:
"Apple didn't really sell this point, but it's the single biggest benefit of the iPad: speed. It feels at least a generation faster than the iPhone 3GS. Lags and waits are gone, and the OS and apps respond just as quickly as you'd hope. Rotating between portrait and landscape modes, especially, is where this new horsepower manifests in the OS."
The reason behind the iPad's impressive speed is its new chip, Apple's very own A4, which is the first fruit born from Apple's acquisition of PA Semi. PA Semi is famous for designing fast and power efficient chips, as used by the military, and its expertise in these areas certainy shows in the A4. This begs the question: will Apple limit this new speed demon to its own products, or will it also see fit to license it to other OEM's as well?
After my initial disappointment with the iPad, I'm a feeling a little less so now that I've watched both the Special Event video, and Apple's official iPad video which they tuck in at the end, which is viewable here.
In conclusion, even though I'm still somewhat disappointed in this first iPad, I'm also somewhat optimistic for future iPad's as well. Since this is only the first model, other models are sure to quickly follow, and should come, hopefully, with newer, more powerful and even faster Apple silicon inside. Hopefully, as well, these newer multi touch iPads will also feature something that the first model lacks.... multi-tasking! Apple has a lot of exciting iPad like patents, such as its proximity sensors, etc., that have yet to find their way into the iPad, but should be added quickly in future models. At least I sure hope so, because as far as I'm concerned, it's one thumb up, and one down on the first iPad!
And that's my 2 cents 4 this Wednesday, January 27, 2010
iPad image via: Apple
4 comments:
Looks like it will be the Kindle for me... just makes more sense for what I need -- a reader that uses e-ink technology and has ultra-long battery life... here's another review:
http://unclutterer.com/2010/01/28/the-case-against-the-ipad/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+unclutterer+%28Unclutterer%29
Good luck with your new Kindle Paul, its a great e-book reader, and you can't really go wrong with it.
However, for me, despite the fact that the iPad is less than I would have hoped for, its still so much more than a Kindle. It costs a little more, true, but it does so much more too.
The Kindle may have a longer battery, but as Steve told Walt Mossberg, "Who reads for longer than 10 hours at a stretch?"
The more I look at the iPad, the more I am really beginning to like it! As far as all the negative press goes, well, Stephen Fry said he's seen it all before, and he still believes that the iPad is a winner and notes that people complained about the iPhone in the same way that they are now doing with the iPad and he predicts it will be just as successful as it; he even kept a running score and reports on it here: http://www.stephenfry.com/2010/01/28/ipad-about/
There are lots of positive press reports about the iPad, but somehow they seem to be burried under all of the negative ones. The first iPad won't be as great as the next one, or the one after that, but even though it might take a year, like the iPhone, to become a revolutionary product, a revolutionary product it will become.
Good reply, Don. You'd be surprised by the amount of reading I do, especially on days like today that are spent in airports and on planes. The woman 2 chairs over from me has her nose in a compact Kindle while I'm lugging my copy of The Constitutional Thought of Thomas Jefferson. I'm still thinking Kindle plus MacBook is the right solution for men though I know others will love their new iPads.
-- Paul
Thanks Paul, its nice to see someone who loves to read; whatever fits your reading the best is what you should go for. I prefer a MacBook over an iPad, but according to some, like Stephen Fry, you really have to hold and play with an iPad. According to him, the iPad will be a game changer! Someone else said they are like Dorito's... once you start eating them you can't stop!
As for me, I'm greedy, I want a Kindle, MacBook and a brand new iPad!
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