Anyone going to stand in line for this thing? Just wondering

[persia]

Exactly, the desktop box era is fading, we are at yet another fork in the road.  

This may be the future too:

http://gizmodo.com/5280273/hybrid-androidxp-tabletlaptop-looks-nice-has-me-confused

It's not so much the iPad itself but the idea that the iPad represents.  The Amiga crowd is sounding more and more like Old Farts(tm), opposing every new idea because it doesn't have a boing ball on it...

[TheMud]

I will defently get one :-) ... Play around with one, and like all Apple Products it works like a charm. Love it.

[runequester]

"Obviously not the target audience" or,
"Doesn't get Apple" or,
"Obviously an Apple-hater".
 
That's pretty much the summary for anyone who doesn't buy into the Apple delusion, innit?

If you are insisting on comparing this device to a laptop, as others have done upthread, then you propably aren't the target audience.
 
 
Not to you in particular, but it cracks me up whenever Apple puts something out, and people are rolling over themselves on the internet to decry how its terrible and nobody should buy it etc etc
 
 
If you want to earn some geek cred, program an OS, or contribute to AROS or install linux or something.

[Wayne]

----->     http://www.apple.com/ipad/

No line needed, but I did buy one.  Will soon have two I guess, as I also ordered the 3g version.

[ZeBeeDee]

Nope ... overpriced POS

[Moto]

I picked one up on Saturday as well.  Great device.  I find myself using it to read books, browse the web, watch TV shows and movies (netflix), listen to music (Pandora and my own collection) and play games.  It's a great form factor (very book like) and is easy on the eyes for extended periods.  I doubt I'll get the 3G version as I probably won't carry it with me wherever I go (but who knows).  It would be nice to be able to tether it to the iPhone some day.    It's a great house hold internet appliance.  But for now it is indeed a luxury item not a necessity like my iPhone.  Browsing the web on the iPad is very fast -- it almost seems faster than my desktop machine.  The real innovation will be the slew of iPad apps coming out soon. I had low expectations for this device but now I see the potential it has.  It might be time to renew my apple developer license and crank out some Apps!

[tone007]

I find myself using it to read books, browse the web, watch TV shows and movies (netflix)

How long does the battery last while streaming and decoding Netflix?

[zombie10k]

We just got one in our IT dept to demo one of our web apps on it. This was not on my short list, but certainly didn't mind playing around with it today.

it's quite responsive and the web browsing experience was better than I expected. Most sites including vimeo, break.com, nytimes.com, cnn.com were able to play the videos with no problem. Video quality was pretty good despite the 1024x768 native res.

The Amazon kindle e-reader app was nice too, much easier to read than the actual kindle itself which we have here as well.

In general, I'm not a huge apple fanatic, but I had a positive first experience with the Ipad with only a few hours of testing. I think it would be good to turn it on, play some music, look up a few quick sites, etc. I can definately see the target audience who might use it for the same.

The question is, would i have shelled out $699 for it out of my own pocket, I'll need another few days to see if it would displace my small netbooks.

[Pyromania]

Interesting device, I will prob wait for next years model unless it gets some killer apps that I must have. I have always enjoyed my iPhone but hate the AT&T tax. I like the idea of digital books but thought the Kindle hardware was to limited.

Does the iPad have the ablity to read the whole book to you like the Kindle does?

[Moto]

It supposedly lasts 10 hours.  It seemed like after a full day of using it on and off (movies, tv shows and a ton of browsing) it still had about 58% battery left.  I'm quite surprised about that.  I also like that the netflix interface is full featured unlike the xbox360 version where you have to manage your queue from a browser.  The device is a bit heavier than I thought it would be and that's probably mostly from the battery.  But really it's not any heavier than a book of equal size.  

The lack of multitasking and/or app-switching is a little bit of a nuisance.  I am hoping that with Apple's announcement of OS4 that we have some new features like that.  I would love to be able to stream pandora and surf the web at the same time.  The iPhone 3G didn't have enough horse power to handle that ( I tried via jail breaking my phone but pandora would stutter when you'd run an app in the background).

[Moto]

@pyromania

yes, it does.  There is a Kindle App that amazon made for the iPhone and iPad.  It's really nice.  I have a ton of PDF ebooks and I found an app that lets me read those as well.  There's also the official Apple book reader that integrates with iTunes.  I think these are all great options.  Personally, I prefer non-DRM versions of books like the kind you can get directly from Oreilly.  For the same reason is why I don't buy xbox live games because you can't lend them out or easily copy/move/backup/sell them.

[EvilGuy]

Exactly, the desktop box era is fading, we are at yet another fork in the road.  

Really? Then the "fork in the road" was nearly ten years ago when tablets first hit the market. Nothing new here in the iPad.

It's not so much the iPad itself but the idea that the iPad represents.  The Amiga crowd is sounding more and more like Old Farts(tm), opposing every new idea because it doesn't have a boing ball on it...

There's been new ideas here? Where? Not the iPad, or anything Apple has done in the last 25 years. Amiga users of all technology groups should know how dodgy Apple is in appropriating technology.

The surprising thing is the amount of love Apple gets for no real reason from ex-Amiga users.

[EvilGuy]

If you are insisting on comparing this device to a laptop, as others have done upthread, then you propably aren't the target audience.

Everyone points to the iPad as being "revolutionary" for the "everyday consumer" but when an everyday consumer uses it and ponders moving to a netbook they're "not the intended audience".

So, only mindless fanboi's who lapp up everything Apple gives them are the intended audience. Apple should use that for their marketing campaigns..

 
If you want to earn some geek cred, program an OS, or contribute to AROS or install linux or something.

Geek cred, rotfl.

[mingle]

Yes, I know...

It seems that Apple can release a fart these days and it'll go straight to the top of the 'must buy' list for a lot the 'aspirational generation'...

[Trev]

@EvilGuy

History is written by whom? Apple has done for personal computing what The Beatles did for rock and roll. They certainly weren't the first, but they brought it to the masses in a way that made everyone stop, watch, and listen.

[Trev]

@mingle

That's amusing, considering the uproar over Apple's initial refusal to publish farting soundboards. (EDIT: I.e. People want farts. Apple-branded farts.)