OT: Apple Tablet Tomorrow - Mgraw-Hill CEO soon to be dead

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 7:38 am

I am still wavering at the possibility of getting one of these bad boys. I won some $$$ in my NCAA pool so that is pushing me to get it. I like what I hear about the iPad and it is a perfect device for what I want to do. There is still just a bit of hesitation.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 8:58 am

I think I'm going to get one at some point.. the question is when.

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 9:32 am

MizzouRah wrote:I think I'm going to get one at some point.. the question is when.

That's where I'm at. I've loved my IPod and IPhone every day that I've had them, and I'm sure I'd get good use out of the IPad. I just don't know if this generation is the one for me to jump on board.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 10:09 am

Die Macbook, die!...so I can buy one of these.

20 free Ipad apps:

http://reviews.cnet.com/2300-3126_7-100 ... uselArea.0

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 11:29 am

sportdan30 wrote:Die Macbook, die!...so I can buy one of these.

20 free Ipad apps:

http://reviews.cnet.com/2300-3126_7-100 ... uselArea.0

I think if you use a laptop to do any real work or typing then you'll definitely your mac book. This device is exactly what Job's described in his January presentation, as between the iphone and laptop. It doesn't replace either but fits in between.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 12:10 pm

The only thing I'd miss on my Macbook would be Skyping. Even that, we only partake in once every few months. Other than that, we just use it for email, photos, music, and internet.

WillHunting · Post by **WillHunting** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 1:22 pm

Can you stream music/video files from your other computer's home network? If so, I might be interested. Wife would love it.

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 1:39 pm

WillHunting wrote:Can you stream music/video files from your other computer's home network? If so, I might be interested. Wife would love it.

I am pretty sure there is an app for that. Is it called "Orb" or something?

http://www.orb.com/en/orblive

With iTunes you can share on your network too.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 1:41 pm

WillHunting wrote:Can you stream music/video files from your other computer's home network? If so, I might be interested. Wife would love it.

My $500 answer is depends, no and maybe.

First no. Apple doesn't afford you any way to stream files or music back and forth. There is not a built in app for that.

Maybe
There are some apps which let you transfer files wireless but at chained to that app. For example, I downloaded Air Sharing last night. It's good but I'm limited to viewing files in that app. There might be other apps which let you import songs or something but I haven't found them.

I did see an app which streamed music to an iPhone. I'm not sure how it works but you might want to browse the app store.

One work around which I love is there are two options for streaming music to a stereo system. I would rather have the stereo on then headphones. Apple through it's airport express ($99) will let you put a wifi connection next to a router that you can control through iTunes. With the Remote app you can control that wirelessly. The second option is some of these wireless stereos. I have the Sonos S5, check my impressions in the AV Club page.

Depends
I would think that there are going to be a slew of file management apps coming down the pipe that will allow some sort of file transfers. I'm thinking apple doesn't want this because of piracy how it could allow for modifications of the OS.

And I haven't downloaded all the file management apps out there. So far I would say there's not a perfect app that can do this which makes file transfers a b*tch.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 4:32 pm

sportdan30 wrote:The only thing I'd miss on my Macbook would be Skyping. Even that, we only partake in once every few months. Other than that, we just use it for email, photos, music, and internet.

Then you can definitely use the iPad. MacBook would let you create longer documents, which requires heavy input. Or connect specialized peripherals like scanners or GPS loggers. Or for that matter, connect iPods, iPhones and other smart phones.

You're going to have to sync the iPad to something anyways. The iPad will also be backed up to iTunes on the MacBook.

I'm sure in the future iPad will have things like cameras and SD card slots. But then there will be another dozen things people will be waiting for. Electronics is always delivering more features every year. If you can get good use out of a certain product, at some point you jump in and start getting use out of it, knowing full well that a year later, or even a few months later depending on when you buy, there will be a newer model which offers more.

I heard there is something called Air Video which will stream any video to the iPhone/iPad. May not be specifically optimized for iPad yet.

WillHunting · Post by **WillHunting** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 4:39 pm

JRod wrote:
WillHunting wrote:Can you stream music/video files from your other computer's home network? If so, I might be interested. Wife would love it.
My $500 answer is depends, no and maybe.

First no. Apple doesn't afford you any way to stream files or music back and forth. There is not a built in app for that.

Maybe
There are some apps which let you transfer files wireless but at chained to that app. For example, I downloaded Air Sharing last night. It's good but I'm limited to viewing files in that app. There might be other apps which let you import songs or something but I haven't found them.

I did see an app which streamed music to an iPhone. I'm not sure how it works but you might want to browse the app store.

One work around which I love is there are two options for streaming music to a stereo system. I would rather have the stereo on then headphones. Apple through it's airport express ($99) will let you put a wifi connection next to a router that you can control through iTunes. With the Remote app you can control that wirelessly. The second option is some of these wireless stereos. I have the Sonos S5, check my impressions in the AV Club page.

Depends
I would think that there are going to be a slew of file management apps coming down the pipe that will allow some sort of file transfers. I'm thinking apple doesn't want this because of piracy how it could allow for modifications of the OS.

And I haven't downloaded all the file management apps out there. So far I would say there's not a perfect app that can do this which makes file transfers a b*tch.

Thanks for the long answer. Hopefully there are some apps that will allow you to just stream media files from your other (PC) computers. That would be extremely useful for us. Until then, I will look into a netbook but those screens usually suck compared to the iPad.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 5:19 pm

Will:

I would also see what Apple rolls out tomorrow. This is going to be a new iPhone OS announcement which is curious considering they just released an iPad. Best case scenario, they have a new iPad/iPhone OS with some really needed features like multi-tasking and better file management for the iPad.

I just find it curious that they are debuting an new OS just 5 days after a product launch. Maybe it's just to continue the iPad hype and put needed features in the next update.

But it's apple so who knows.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 6:30 pm

The competition has just begun. This looks freaking awesome.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 6:42 pm

Leaked comparisons: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/04/ ... eedfetcher

An internal HP memo which compares the upcoming Slate to Apple’s iPad has been leaked, and it shows not just the specifications of the Hewlett Packard tablet, but also the price. The comparison table even highlights “advantages” and “threats” in green and red.

The Slate will come in two sizes: a 32-GB model for $550 and a $600, 64-GB version. This compares favorably to the iPad, which costs $600 for 32 GB. On the “advantages” side, the HP lists an SD card reader, a USB port, HDMI-out, a VGA webcam, a 3-megapixel camera and a “conventional” SIM-card tray (the iPad uses the new micro-SIM).

Inexplicably, the 1.6-GHz Atom Z530 is also counted as an “advantage,” presumably due to the familiarity of the name rather than its actual performance. The Slate will also contain 1 GB RAM, weigh the same 1.5 pounds as the iPad and sport a widescreen 1024 x 600 display. This is, despite the name and capacitive touchscreen, a netbook with the keyboard removed.

So, what are the “threats” listed by HP? The iPad’s 10-hour battery life (the Slate claims just five, and will surely be shorter), 802.11n Wi-Fi (the Slate has just g), the bigger screen and the entry-level price of just $550. And that’s it. If there is any proof that HP doesn’t get the whole tablet PC shtick, it is this focus on hardware. The whole point of the iPad is its software, the fact that it is conceived to work as a touch device. HP’s Slate may well be a nice piece of hardware, and it certainly has all the marketing checkboxes filled, but it runs Windows 7. And last time we looked, even a skinned version of Windows 7 is not designed for touch. Nice try, though, HP. Better luck next time.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 6:43 pm

Rodster wrote:The competition has just begun. This looks freaking awesome.

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AeDalRBjyJo&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed>

It's running Windows 7...which is an awesome OS, but it is definitely not designed for touch. Fail.

They are trying to impress you with hardware when it's the software that Apple is going to win with. Oh and the fact the iPad lasts at least twice as long on a battery charge...it's not even a good comparison.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 6:45 pm

JRod wrote: I would also see what Apple rolls out tomorrow. This is going to be a new iPhone OS announcement which is curious considering they just released an iPad. Best case scenario, they have a new iPad/iPhone OS with some really needed features like multi-tasking and better file management for the iPad.

I just find it curious that they are debuting an new OS just 5 days after a product launch. Maybe it's just to continue the iPad hype and put needed features in the next update.

But it's apple so who knows.

Multitasking? I bet they'll allow to run some programs at the same time in the background while denying others. In other words Apple will control the user's experience and performance as they see fit.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 6:46 pm

Camera, USB ports, expandable memory and Windows 7 does do touch. The HP Slate is more of what I expect of a computer like this than what the Ipad offers.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 6:57 pm

Obviously it DOES touch...just not very well. Windows as a whole is not designed that way.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 7:01 pm

Fair enough but why not wait until you see how it's implemented before making the call? If W7 touch is decently implemented and you get all the hardware features as well as software features missing on the Ipad I think that in of itself makes the Slate a more interesting purchase than the Ipad.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 7:07 pm

Rodster wrote:Fair enough but why not wait until you see how it's implemented before making the call? If W7 touch is decently implemented and you get all the hardware features as well as software features missing on the Ipad I think that in of itself makes the Slate a more interesting purchase than the Ipad.

Because we've seen this all before. It's a freakin' tablet PC. No one has succeeded yet...what makes you think HP will be the first?

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 7:22 pm

I haven't used the touch feature in either Vista or Windows 7 so I can't say fail just yet. When the HP Slate comes out i'll give it a go. If I like how W7 touch is implemented and both the hardware and software works well together then yeah that's something I may get.

Another thing is the Slate seems to be more of a focused product than a tablet PC has been in the past. HP has seen what Apple just put out and you can bet they will go after all the things the Ipad missed. If the touch features comes close to Apple's then the product could be successful. Although the HP Slate is just the beginning in this market as others will be introducing their version of the Ipad.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 9:46 pm

I would trust HP more than some of the startups and companies people never heard of which are coming out with Android or Linux tablets. They're not going to have the service and support infrastructure that a big company like HP has.

As for Windows 7, the MS vision of tablets is more about pen input than finger input. For drawing and taking notes with pen, this will be better than the iPad out of the box.

Ultimately though, I think MS may want to come out with a tailored touch OS like they're planning with WP7. If WP7 delivers the refined touch UI along with the performance and battery life of the iPad, that would probably be better than Windows 7 plus some touch extensions HP grafted on top (I think they call it SmartTouch).

The Atom probably has more raw CPU horsepower than any ARM, at the sacrifice of battery life. But apparently some netbooks with Atom processors haven't delivered the performance or the general snappiness that the iPad reportedly has shown.

But if they do turn on multitasking, performance and battery life will probably take hits.

kevinpars · Post by **kevinpars** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 11:56 pm

My major concern with the IPad is that it comes with such a small amount of hard drive space yet there does not seem to be any easy way to easily connect it with a large library of music and or video. The lack of USB is another limitation. It seems like Apple wants you to buy the IPad and then immediately go to Itunes and start spending more money.

That is my main complaint with Apple. The Apple TV was the same way. Closed system that did not play well with my existing collection. Ironically, it was third party software from Boxee that made ATV worth the price of admission.

Say you wanted to put your vacation pictures from a recent trip on your IPad so you could share with friends. You can't just hook up your camera or connect to the network share and get the pictures. I guess you have to use ITunes as the manager for this sort of thing and I just find ITunes painful to use. Maybe I am missing something.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Thu Apr 08, 2010 2:07 am

kevinpars wrote:My major concern with the IPad is that it comes with such a small amount of hard drive space yet there does not seem to be any easy way to easily connect it with a large library of music and or video. The lack of USB is another limitation. It seems like Apple wants you to buy the IPad and then immediately go to Itunes and start spending more money.

That is my main complaint with Apple. The Apple TV was the same way. Closed system that did not play well with my existing collection. Ironically, it was third party software from Boxee that made ATV worth the price of admission.

Say you wanted to put your vacation pictures from a recent trip on your IPad so you could share with friends. You can't just hook up your camera or connect to the network share and get the pictures. I guess you have to use ITunes as the manager for this sort of thing and I just find ITunes painful to use. Maybe I am missing something.

iTunes for music is pretty easy to use. But music and media management is not easy.

There is not an sd card slot on the iPad but there is an sd card adapter for the iPad. I'm not sure if that's out yet. Now the price is extra but if it was included it would just be passed on to every user if you wanted it or not. There is also a camera adapter.

I agree that usi g iTunes to transfer files is cumbersome. I was the iPad, iPhone, and iTunes used the iTunes home sharing so we could move photos and files.

RallyMonkey · Post by **RallyMonkey** » Thu Apr 08, 2010 1:00 pm

So much for fighting the urge. Here i sit in my office typing away on my new 32gb iPad. Not much more to say as i haven't played with it much to this point, but oh man is she a sexy device.

As I stated before, being that this is a supplement to my current MacBook i am pretty excited to add this little baby to the Apple hardware library.