Re: Why I bought an iPad
 

Lets see... The iPad doesn't last a day, so even by your own standards it's not in the running? But even with that there are several tablet PCs that can do what you're asking.

My Toshiba Point 510, running windows 98, with a solid-state drive in it (which is the only "hardware mod" I've done). It runs IE6 and Opera fine, plays MP3s, has no fans, runs 20 hours on its battery pack, and has a 7x9 display screen. It does weight a little more than the iPad (about twice as much) and is a little slower, but it's not bad for something made 10+ years ago.

There are plenty of other devices on the market, all of which have far better specs than the iPad. Does the iPad have a hot-swappable battery pack for continuous operation? No. Does the iPad have full Obex-style bluetooth functionality? No. Does the iPad have a shock-mount case? No. Does the iPad have a physical or virtual attachment system to allow it to dock and be used with a real keyboard/mouse and other hardware? No. Does it have USB or wireless USB/PNP support? No. Does it have speech recognition and transcription built in? No. All features of the tablets I've linked to here, all made in the past year.

And that's not even looking at "popular computers" like the Averatec line, or Compacs TC1000 or TC1100. (Or Nokia's 7X0/8X0 line.) There are lots of options out there if you're not Mac centric, all of which have better hardware and are more open when it comes to upgrading and installing 3rd party software.

I have several workmates that have iPads, my officemate brings his in every day and leaves it plugged in most of the time, because if he didn't it would be dead by the end of the day. All of them have said they get, at best, about 6 to 7 hours out of it for usage before it needs a charge.

We're not in disagreement. I've yet to see the "sustainability" you speak of. I saw a lot of initial sales, and a trickling down after that. The jumpstart happened. I'm predicting it's the sustain part that's going to fail.

And the iPad isn't? Everything I've seen has shown that's exactly what it is: something to do light browsing and email reading on. Replying to email on it is painful, and it lacks the power to visit many sites (which is why I suspect in part it didn't get Flash, as the hacked version with it I've seen have all reviewed as Flash being very slow).

Again, I'm not against the iPad. For some people, they could use an iPad and be totally happy. (My folks would probably love an iPad, come to think of it.) And I'm happy that the OP is pleased by his device. I'm just noting that the only thing "new" about the iPad is it's marketing. The technology has been around a long time. It's just been packaged and sold in a different way, one which is less flexible and therefore less appealing to me in particular.

Re: Why I bought an iPad
 

Dedicated slider keyboard cases will come out.

I bought this till then (same size as iphone) but its rubbish to use.

http://www1.dealextreme.com/producti...ku_37863_2.jpg

Re: Why I bought an iPad
 

10 hours is for continuous WIFI use yeah? Not what it wouldn't last for longer without it.

No there aren't. No glorified laptop can do what the ipad can do... because it is its own class of product. Paper thin, always connected. Read stipulations from previous post.

Great but it is not a mass market competitor of the ipad.

lol, this is missing the point of the ipad. Its a highly mobile surfer and reader and games machine. Most of these features listed would preclude myself from getting the ipad either (if I was to carry it in my bag) but thats not to say Apple haven't created their own arena for a product. The technology might have been there but the product certainly hasn't.

Only something like the Archos 9 is comparable from yesteryear and that has only a few hours battery life.

Re: Why I bought an iPad
 

And what exactly would you do on an iPad without wifi? Play Bejewled? Yippie. I can do that on my 6230, which has a 3 to 7 day battery life. I win?

You say this despite the fact that I just linked to several that can do everything the iPad can do, and more? De Nile is nice this time of year, isn't it? You're just showing your Apple fan-boy stripes... making any further reply pointless. (But I'll finish this one, since I'm in the editor as it is...)

It was in 1996... when it was mass produced. What? You think Toshiba made one specially for me? I go it second hand as a surplus item when the local hospital upgraded it's computer system. They had hundreds of them, and were using them as medical tablets over a decade before the idea of the iPad was even conceived. They were mass produced and sold to a pretty sizable market, just not one you worked in at the time.

Yes, it's a limited use item, and as such would not normally do nearly as well in the market place were it not for the fact that it had an i in front of it's name. Thanks for making my point for me, again.

So I just linked like 5 different machines, all of which met the criteria you asked for, all made in the past couple years, and you're still convinced there's only one pre-existing machine that doesn't qualify because of battery life? You are delusional...

You asked for specific examples, I gave them. Deny it all you want, but reality is on my side here. All the devices I linked to above meet your specs or exceeded them, and already exist or have existed for a long while now. There are plenty more where that came from. The iPad is nothing new, and it's only done as well as it has because of Apple branding and rabid fanboys like you. The proof is in your own posts...

Good night!

Re: Why I bought an iPad
 

Did he say that or you assumed that's the case because he leave his device tethered when it's near a charging station?

Btw, the 10 hours claim is for the WIFI version; which as we all know, usually rated in optimal conditions (low brightness settings, strong wifi signals, etc). Even if we take that into consideration, the actual use of 8-9 hours is still damn close to the marketing claims (it's off by 10-20% at most) compared to the numbers thrown by notebook manufacturers (usually 20-40%).

So did your friend got the WiFi or 3G version? Apple claims about 1 hour reduction for the 3G version.

I'm not sure where you're getting the numbers... I'm seeing the indications going the other way. It hasn't trickled down yet up to now. Especially since they haven't even run their full worldwide distribution yet due to unexpected level of demand in the current markets.

I'm also doubting the quick drop in demand because there aren't any directly competing product in the market yet, especially if Android tablets won't take the market in full force waiting for their version 3.

By 'directly competing' I meant: ARM based, finger optimized OS, finger optimized apps. Because the x86 win-based solutions have been around for ages and it's clear why they're failing (too big/heavy, short battery life, mouse optimized interface, desktop-optimized OS).

I guess we all will always just see what we want to see. But seriously, the 'light browsing and email' is spot on; no one should want to replace their desktop or notebook or smartphone with a tablet. It falls right in between all those. I use mine during long commutes (plane rides mostly) and short trips so I can travel light.

If you plan to do some serious typing on it, then get a bluetooth keyboard to use with it. I bring a foldable stowaway keyboard on those trips.

As for 'the power to visit many sites', all I can think of that iPads are missing are 'some second tier video sites' and 'flash games'. Which may differ in relevance and importance to many people.

The 'new' thing that iPad brought that will help its market adoption:
- Marketing and branding

The 'new' thing that iPad brought that will help its sustainability (until it's challenged by Android):
- UI (and all its usability pluses: form factor, ARM advantage, etc)

Sure, the technology has been around for a long long time; but there are infinite ways to repackage and resell them 'in a different way'. Check out Android's very early preview and see how they compare to current Android's iteration. Notice anything?

Re: Why I bought an iPad
 

Yeah, for better or worse iPad is inevitably going to own 2010.

Whether we like it or not, denying this is insane.

Moorestown would do the trick as well.

Does "second tier" mean pornography here? I guess that could still be a priority for many customers (it has been known to make or break technologies before).

Re: Why I bought an iPad
 

n900's not for everyone, and we're not bound by 1 product. In most cases if people asked me to referr a phone to them, it would most likely be a iphone or something else. I love my n900, but i'm pretty sure i'll just frustrate most people leaving them complaining to me about how it doesn't do this or that

Re: Why I bought an iPad
 

If I get your post correctly most of the advantages you have listed here are due to the larger screen of the Ipad compared to the N900.

Re: Why I bought an iPad
 

Re: Why I bought an iPad
 

You get me correctly. And then there's the snappiness in scrolling, zooming, as well as what I perceive to be a more polished and perhaps unified user experience.