Apple iPad

[Matcher]

Well here it is

http://www.apple.com/ipad/#video" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Looks amazing. The iPad SDK makes for crazy- cool app possibilities.

[newrigel]

Man, I wished it had OS X though! I could use it for light duty and net. But maybe they will go to the cloud with certain apps but still I'd like to keep my work local. Pretty cool though!

[James Steele]

I'm watching the video right now. Looks cool. Obvious applications jump to mind: every sort of remote controller surface imaginable. Obviously remote DAW control, etc., but I really see lighting directors using this as well for focusing lights, etc. remotely.

One thing that's interesting is at one point is there either too much overlap or not enough. For starters it's nearly as big as a laptop, but obviously not a replacement for all aspects of a laptop. Still, it could ace out those small "netbooks" for people primarily interested in checking email, etc. But it seems no brainer for those carrying around an appointment book and calendar. Funny, the screen has a pop up on-screen keyboard that is supposed to be nearly the size of a normal laptop keyboard, but seems like something like this would also be cool to have a stylus and handwriting recognition as well. Hmmmm...

So... can you see your self carrying THREE devices now? MacBook, iPad, and iPhone?? I'm looking to see if this is strictly web surfing or will they include the "phone" ass since they will have a 3G model. Granted a small iPhone is more convenient, but in a pinch would be cool to use an earpiece and have the iPad behave as phone as well. But would you have to have a second phone number? Interesting stuff.

Lastly, if this device is broadband only and not a phone, would you need a separate broadband service from you mobile provider and will they now sell broadband only plans... they probably do already. And... will this thing be shackled to AT&T this time around, or can I use it on T-Mobile.

Very interesting and pioneering... we'll see how well it goes. Wonder what it might do to the Amazon Kindle?? So much to watch over the next months!!

[James Steele]

Pricing info... FYI. Can't imagine buying this without 3G though, as you can't always rely on a hotspot.

[David Polich]

Hmm...giant i-Phone, "sort of" laptop, "quasi i-Mac", none of the above -
what do you think? Me, I'm not sure this is a game-changer.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/27/appl ... tml?hpt=T1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Matcher]

Thanks James for pimping my thread

I'm still waiting for the keynote from the event, the "reality distortion field" is almost as good as the product itself

[James Steele]

I have a strange feeling about this device. Definitely no phone capability from what I've read, and with the larger size I'm not quite sure that this is going to set the world on fire the way the iPhone did.

Is it me though or would it have been nice to have a USB port so you could connect a thumb drive so if someone emails you an attachment you could in fact pull the file off of the device? Or if someone gives you a file on thumb drive, etc. and you need to email the attachment? I guess you have to relay an attachment via email.

Well, I guess being that it's cutting edge and a sort of first-of-its-kind device, we'll have to see what happens.

[amplidood]

it looks like the most awkward device in the world to use. The iPhone is a great size for a flat device whose only input is the surface itself. Every picture I see of someone using this thing is terribly awkward. It will make them $$$ because it puts us one step closer to Star Trek, but honestly it seems rather...indulgent.

[James Steele]

it looks like the most awkward device in the world to use. The iPhone is a great size for a flat device whose only input is the surface itself. Every picture I see of someone using this thing is terribly awkward. It will make them $$$ because it puts us one step closer to Star Trek, but honestly it seems rather...indulgent.

Strikes me that it may not have the universal appeal like the iPhone. I could see it being good for sales people, survey takers, maybe the govt should by a ton for census workers? Could also see people out on a factory floor maybe with these things. I did notice they have iWork ported for it... namely Keynote, Pages and Numbers. So I guess a salesperson could use it to make a sales presentation or show a sales video in a one-on-one sales meeting. It's a solution out ahead of the application. Would be big if MS ported Office to it so you could have Word, Excel and Power Point running on it. I predict some people will buy it right off and then let it sit after a month or so... dunno. Looks like a great device for laying in bed and surfing the net, or sitting in a chair and doing the same.

Hmmm... maybe another potential application would be for hospitals. Nurses and physicians could carry these and patient charts and information could be updated and all the rest of that sort of thing. No built in camera though, so scanning bar codes could not be done on this device without attaching an external camera. Seems like the built-in camera honestly might be a major omission in order to make that $499 price point.

Seems like to me, that especially in these tight financial times, the wise consumer and even the hardcore Apple devotees, may hang back and watch if it takes off. A lot of people are going to want it so bad they'll sit around just trying to think of a use for it because it IS so cool. Like I said, if I had that kind of money, it would be nice just to carry around as an appointment book and scheduler, etc. Perhaps production coordinators and other organizing personnel in the entertainment biz will get this. Personal assistants maybe that will handle appointments and sync this device with the bigshot's iPhone??? Hmmmm.... I just still want to be able to buy a MacPro some day!

[rentadrummer]

I have a strange feeling about this device. Definitely no phone capability from what I've read, and with the larger size I'm not quite sure that this is going to set the world on fire the way the iPhone did.

Since it does have a mic and speakers, I wonder if you could put Skype on it and make calls. Supposedly you can do that on an iTouch, but you need a headset with mic.

[KEVORKIAN]

it looks like the most awkward device in the world to use. The iPhone is a great size for a flat device whose only input is the surface itself. Every picture I see of someone using this thing is terribly awkward. It will make them $$$ because it puts us one step closer to Star Trek, but honestly it seems rather...indulgent.

I agree. It's just crying out for a stand or a dock and they seem to have realized that and tried to embrace it.

Here is the thing... it will be great for people who still have trouble using computers as there is nothing to learn. This is still a huge market.

Down the line I think it's going to be great for pro-audio (control surfaces, headphone mix, etc) and home automation. I'd say it's a game changer.

[kassonica]

I Love it already (damn you apple) but if Motu port over DP to work on that, Oh boy........

[James Steele]

it looks like the most awkward device in the world to use. The iPhone is a great size for a flat device whose only input is the surface itself. Every picture I see of someone using this thing is terribly awkward. It will make them $$$ because it puts us one step closer to Star Trek, but honestly it seems rather...indulgent.

I agree. It's just crying out for a stand or a dock and they seem to have realized that and tried to embrace it.

Yeah... I saw that dock... one that has a standard keyboard and you can also use a bluetooth keyboard. The thing that makes me uneasy about it, is that it's neither an iPhone nor a MacBook, yet people will want to come out with things probably to make it a more complete mobile computing solution. As I said, it sure looks cool as heck and people will be bending over backwards trying to justify buying one.

[KEVORKIAN]

The thing that makes me uneasy about it, is that it's neither an iPhone nor a MacBook, yet people will want to come out with things probably to make it a more complete mobile computing solution.

It's a big iPod Touch with 3G data.

If you are part of the internet, email, web surfing crowd and then the iPad might speak to you. If you are a computer neophyte then the iPad is likely very attractive. The rest of us will try and justify the purchase in our minds until we cave or until some killer 3rd party apps come out.

[FMiguelez]

.

As far as I'm concerned, Apple did it again.
I mean, WOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

These geniuses that work at Apple deserve a standing ovation. The minds, the brains, working all together towards creating an amazing product... it's inspiring.

I was all hyped up and so excited about it. I showed it to my girlfriend and she was like... "oh, so that's like a big iPhone, right?"

I was like, NO! It's much more than that. That is the future!. When I was little, I used to make drawings with pencil and paper of GUIs. THAT's what I was drawing in my notebooks, as a dream. Now it's here. It's like magic. Press the screen and you get what you want, the way you want it. A screen and GUI that reacts to your every move, changing into whatever you need it to.

I really think so many people have lost the ability of being awed and impressed by technology. And science. Since we take it for granted, and it's all around us, these things don't seem so great. But think about it! Think about the concept of the internet, email, DAWs, iPhones...

I just have to take my hat off when I see people creating out of their minds things like this.
They are the humans that make me feel proud of being a human.

These people are the Wagners and the Strausses of technology! BRAVO!!!!!!

And this is just the beginning...