What do you think about Apple’s new iPad? I heard it’s making Microsoft nervous! :teehee:
Anyhoo, it’s brand new, but with all of our young techie type knitters at KH, I’m hoping you will have information and opinions to share!
I have a lot of tech fan friends and none of us have anything nice to say about it so far.We all WAITED for this thing too.
If you want to pay too much for an over-sized and overpriced iTouch…that’s pretty much the only reason to buy it.It is essentially a giant iTouch and that’s the only real reason it can double as a kindle.
The thing can’t even do multitasking.You can only do one thing at a time.My cell phone has more power and capabilities than this thing.
Doesn’t support flash.Doesn’t multitask.Not convenient for gaming(cause its big so itouch games don’t work as well).No USB transfer for pix and data(you need an adapter because there is no USB port).NO CAMERA??Which means no videos and no video chat(which would have been awesome and almost have redeemed the thing…but it would take a lot more).
Basically…it’s what Sony did with the PSPgo. It’s a resized version of something that the market had already covered, minus a lot of the details we wanted.
I don’t think this thing is going to make anyone nervous except the designers for fear someone will have their heads D: At least they already announced they will re-release a camera version of it.Basically the only pro is that it has a touch screen.If you want to pay 499 for it, don’t.Save your money; buy a netbook.Expand the memory from 1gb to 2gb.Buy a snazzy case(or knit it).And a wireless mouse. << this is what I’m doing instead, at least XD
I agree with meow (nice kitty!) I’m a Mac girl all the way but I can’t figure out why anyone would want one. Especially for $499.
I love my iPod touch and my macbook and iMac have me covered for all the rest. I don’t need to spend that kind of money for something that doesn’t add anything to the mix.
I WANT ONE!!!
Cool… just a Large Screen iPod Touch
Downfalls . . . no cd drive, SD card hookup, printing configuration for the price - Starting at 499.
If I were going to buy it for just books as an alternative to the Kindle…I might have to wait and see how it functions more.
I’m definitely an Apple fan … I love my iMac and will never go back to PC. When it comes to the iPad though, I think Apple really dropped the ball!
Everyone was excited about the upcoming release of this, but now that details have been released it’s a definite disappointment. Apple products tend to be a little expensive when compared to their competitors, but usually they’re worth the price … not so in this case, at least in my opinion. They’ll really have to re-work the iPad before I consider buying one!
I think it’s really neat, but I have an iPod Touch which I love and from what I’ve read the iPad really is basically a souped up version of the same thing.
BTW…I use Kindle on my Touch. The app is free and I downloaded a free sample book. I loved it! The text is easy to read and the pages turn so easy it’s not a problem. I bought the whole Kindle book. 
I have a Dell PC (love it!) but I’m not going to get into the whole Apple vs. PC thing. I think that is really personal preference just like continental vs english knitting. Two ways to accomplish the same thing. 
I think the iPad will get a lot more awesome when it hits version 2.0. New apple products always get better as they mature. I owned the original iPhone. It was slow, heavy, and didn’t have GPS or even the App Store. The new one has matured quite a lot since then.
The new iPad is a device meant for consuming media. It isn’t meant to create on, like a netbook. It’s a gap-bridger between the iPhone/iPod and the MacBook, but more close in functionality to the iPhone/iPod (it runs the same OS as the iPhone). I think it’s too bad that it doesn’t have GPS or a front-facing camera for doing Skype or video conferencing. I think these are features that will come about in version 2.0. I don’t think they will add a CD, USB, or any other inputs. Like the iPhone and Ipod it’s a very closed system. I do think they will have to have printing capabilities via wifi.
I am an Apple user, but I’m not an earlier adopter. I can see myself enjoying reading books, blogs and web sites on the iPad. I spend entirely too much time on my MacBook and desktop computers, so this would feel like a difference mode than work. But I am going to wait a year and see what happens before I hand over any money. I do think they will sell a lot of these this year and surprise the naysayers. It seems new Apple stuff always beats expectations.
I watched the iPad video…read the information…but I couldn’t figure out if an iPad would allow the user to login to their favorite forum (ahem!) and post comments, photos, etc.
I did see the ‘virtual keyboard’ used for writing email…but I never assume one capability will spill over into another. Would the iPad allow the user to communicate with KH and Rav?
Anyway, many thanks for all of the great comments and opinions!
I hope even more of our KH members will add their 2 cents.
I’m a bit like Sheldon. I’m never the first kid on the block to own something ‘new’.
I’m a “hmmm, wait and see how it performs…” kind of gal.
Forking over $499 for aggravation isn’t on my to-do list. I can get plenty of that for free!
For example, when the VISTA-OS arrived on the scene…I waited, and waited…by the time I needed a new laptop…I knew (from reading comments) that I would need a minimum of 4GB ram for it to perform at its best. I’m not a gamer, but I’m very impatient with a slow 'puter!
So far, no iPhone here. No iMac. But I finally entered the iWorld…with an iPod Nano 5th Generation.
The iPad puffs up the “photos” feature a lot. Without a USB port, or SD card support, or CD drive…how in the world do your photos get inside it? What, do we have to send them to Flickr
and then back to the iPad via internet? Oy. If so, that’s double the work IMHO.
Yes, you should be able to log into the KH forum just fine. iPad runs a flavor of Safari called Mobile Safari which pretty much shows web pages exactly as they would display on the standard Safari. So the forum will work, but the videos being Flash won’t work. But we’re working on an app that will run on iPhone/iPod/iPad to give folks mobile access to those.
I did see the ‘virtual keyboard’ used for writing email…but I never assume one capability will spill over into another. Would the iPad allow the user to communicate with KH and Rav?
The keyboard will display anytime you click on a field where you’d input text. So yes, you’d be able to use it to post to KH and Ravelry. However, you won’t be able to attach photos to posts using the iPad. The OS doesn’t allow uploading in mobile safari. Places like facebook have had to develop a special application for the iPhone to allow members to upload video and photos. That’s would be a lot of work for us I’m afraid.
The iPad puffs up the “photos” feature a lot. Without a USB port, or SD card support, or CD drive…how in the world do your photos get inside it? What, do we have to send them to Flickr
and then back to the iPad via internet? Oy. If so, that’s double the work IMHO.
The iPad like the iPhone and iPod has a connector that plugs into the device and can be coupled to a computer via USB. So you can sync photos, music, books, etc. very easily using iTunes and iPhone. I put photos and video on my iPhone of Erin so I can show my mom 
The new Kindle DX is $489. If I was in the market for an eBook reader this year, the choice would be pretty easy. I think there will be some increase in competition and innovation in the eBook market thanks to the iPad. Prices will most likely drop within a year. Most Apple stuff gets released for a early-adopter premium because they know their fans will wait in line for hours at the opportunity to hand over their money no matter the price. The iPhone, Macbook and iMac all had considerable price drops this year once Apple announced the new versions.
[color=“#330099”]They were called Tablet computers the first time around and they were made by IBM and others.
They didn’t do well back then, some 20 years ago. No one (or at least few) remembers them.
They were thicker back then.
[/COLOR]
How do you see in bright light? They are back lit just like your phone.
How do you see while you type? It would be flat on the desk or propped in your lap.
How could you touch type without resting your fingers on the screen? It has a limit of just two points of contact, no matter the pressure on those points.
[color=“#330099”]
Those are a few of the unanswered questions I’ve heard from others that know more about the iPhone and the abilities of touch screens.[/COLOR]
I’m writing this reply on my iPod Touch. It’s doable, but I think the iPad would be a lot more pleasant for forum viewing if you really have a choice. Or one of those mini computers.
I dunno what’s up with me, but, I have absolutely no desire for any of that stuff…all the iwhatevers and such…lol…I have a computer and pay as you go cell phone for emergencies and I’m totally content with that…And it’s not like I’m too old to appreciate any of it either, I’m only 32! Well, I say only, some of ya may think I’m an old hag…haha…I dunno, maybe it has something to do with my belief the movie Wall-E is coming true…kinda scary, really…lol
I’m 57 and I love technology! I’d have all kinds of things if I could afford it. :teehee:
What “pushed” me towards technology is my art business.
Had to keep up with the methods of communication that the business dictates. Can’t take week-long vacations and completely forsake customers needs and questions. Being self-employed, I didn’t have an office assistant.
Technology has its place. It’s here to stay. IMO, we should all learn to keep pace with our community.
Bringing this to the top because I am [I]right on the edge[/I] of purchasing a new iPad 2. DH told me I can use some of the tax refund! I love to play games, read, etc. I use the Kindle on my iPod Touch and play several games a lot. I also have an app for PDF files as well as numerous other ones I check all the time…news, gasbuddy, weather, earthquakes, forums, etc. and it would be nice to have it all bigger for my old eyes. :lol:
Anyone else have one since this was first posted or plan on getting the new one?
Good for you, Jan!
No, I won’t be getting an i-pad any time soon, if at all…but from what I’ve read, the i-pad would definitely be FIRST CHOICE, top of my list!
I toy with the idea of an i-pad. I can get past the pricetag, but the monthly fee for an unlimited online data package is the killer.
I got lucky with my Droidx data package! $39 per month, unlimited data.
With home phone (land-line), internet, two mobile phones (one of which needs the data package)…I’m Communication Poor already. I’ve reached the end of my rope. If a thousand customers didn’t have my land-line number, I’d yank the home phone outa the wall as many folks have done, opting for mobile phone only. Smart move IMO.
What information do you have regarding the cost of firing up a newi-pad, and its subsequent monthly fee?
I bought my iPad last April; it is wi-fi only, because for my purposes I don’t see me ever using it outside of a wi-fi area.
I like it a lot – I bought it for photos and movies, and it works great for both! My mom is impressed with how nice photos look and it is an easy to way to share them with her.
It boots up much faster than my netbook, so I use it for “armchair surfing” and I use both the ABC and Netflix apps often to watch tv shows. If USA had an episode app, I could probably get rid of a satellite box or two! (I can’t shed satellite completely, but I could save a few bucks on the additional boxes.)
I knitted a shawl for my mom and called up the pattern on the iPad and used that instead of printing it out. It was a simple pattern – not one I needed to print out – and it was a convenient reference.
I haven’t done any reading on it although I do have several book and document apps. One of these days I’m going to load up the PDF that I have for my camera manual and see how it looks – I think it would be a great way to reference it! However, I have an e-ink reader and I do most of my reading on that, rather than the iPad.
My husband has a subscription to an automobile repair manual site; when he replaced the radio in his truck, he took the iPad out into the garage with him while he was troublshooting the wiring. It would have been a pain for him to have tried that with any kind of standard computer.
I have a small bit of enthusiasm for my iPad. I do not, however, have any great love for iTunes and I would get a lot more out of it if it wasn’t tied to iTunes. I can get a lot out of it – the app store is integrated into the tablet – but to load up extra content such as music or books, I have to go through iTunes and for some reason it is a difficult process for me. (DH says if I connected more often it would be less painful, but I don’t connect often because it is painful. 
)
Good luck with your decision! I highly recommend it, if you think you can use it. I wouldn’t trade in mine for the new one – not enough improvements for my uses – but I would say to go for the new one if you don’t already have one.
According to AT&T (which I’d go with) you can get 250mb of data for $14.50 a mo and 2G of data for $25.00 a mo. I don’t know what it is at Verizon. You choose your Ipad based on which service you want. The prices is the same, but the chip (or whatever) would be different so they aren’t interchangeable.
I have a friend who has an iPad and she said she turns the 3G off when she’s not using it and therefore doesn’t have to pay for it. So you could pay for it when you go on a trip and not when you’re just at home. It depends on what you want to use it for.
Nothing is cheap anymore that’s for sure and I know that I can get a Kindle or other reader for a lot less, but I like the multiple things I can do.
Thanks Katie and Dollyce!