Apple Tablet being released end of Jan

[Boylee.ps]

I've been told a long time ago that graphics designers in particular will swear by Apple over anything else - but i imagine that is the software side of things, not hardware?

Nope. Pretty much all the design software you could want is on PC as well. The reason that graphic designers swear by them is because of the user interface, which is, in fairness, far superior to windows, and the fact that they require almost no maintenance, meaning that the computer won't keel over and die when you're in a crunch period and have a deadline in the morning.

The price point on Macs isn't just because of the branding, there are manifold reasons why Macs are more expensive.

• Like good boutique custom PC's, Macs are built with a unified architecture that is entirely designed and tested to work out of the box at optimum efficiency.
• Mac's user experience design ethos (for both hardware and software) is well ahead of the rest of the personal computing competition.
• The build quality of Mac computers is nothing short of excellent.
• Unlike PC manufacturers Mac develop and maintain their own software systems like Mac OS. Software that is designed and proven to work specifically on the hardware they provide. unified see?

The list does go on, and before you ask I'm not a Mac fan boi, I've never even owned a piece of Mac hardware. I have used them a lot at uni during a graphic design degree though. In point of fact Macs aren't the most expensive computers out there, and although you can get PC's of a comparable spec for a lower price then your average Mac, for the most part they won't run as well. The exception is if you build and maintain the PC yourself, but that's why Mac can charge a little more as they essentially do this for you.

Horses for courses at the end of the day. That and you get what you pay for. Both old adages that stand true in this instance.

[Colt.ps]

very well put.

[grom.ps]

I'm not a fan of Apple products but that's because I'm an inveterate hacker - I like tinkering, taking things apart and customizing them. I also have never had the money for Apple products - they just don't discount things to any kind of decent level like other manufacturers or dealers - if you can get more than 20% off then you'll be the first I've heard of. The prices stay high because they manage the distribution so tightly. None of this is a criticism, it's very good business but not the type of business I like.

Apple products, the iPod and iPhone especially however, have one major point - they just work. My granny could open the packaging and be using them confidently in a matter of minutes, something that would never happen with a pc or linux.

I'm waiting to see how much these tablets will cost - original speculation was that they were going to be very cheap (about £200) but I am dubious of this - I'd suspect around £500 would be more accurate. I want something to keep in my lounge for light surfing when the missus is watching one of 'her' programs and I don't want to be so anti-social and go into the room with my pc in, I was going to go for a netbook but it looks like it'll be worth hanging on - if the tablets are too expensive, they might push thet price of the netbooks down and no matter how good they are, I will always prefer a proper keyboard to a touch screen one.

[Hawk.ps]

:

[Jamesy.ps]

http://www.theonion.com/content/news..._jobs_stays_up

*note - don't iframe the onion. The forum cries when you do that

[Jamesy.ps]

Meet... the iPad

[Colt.ps]

i'm saying nothing till i find out if it runs bootcamp at all, or just an expanded iphone os - i suspect the latter, which is sort of a shame cos i'd like to use one to map with when i'm not at my computer

[Carbon.ps]

Well I'd imagine it would be sick for running VNC either way!

[Hawk.ps]

After nearly a decade of rumors and speculation, Apple's finally unveiled the iPad. It's a half-inch thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds, with a 9.7-inch capacitive touchscreen IPS LCD display, and it's running a custom 1GHz Apple "A4" chip developed by the P.A. Semi team, with a 10-hour battery life and a month of standby. It'll come in 16, 32, and 64GB sizes, and it's got the expected connectivity: very little. There's a 30-pin Dock connector, a speaker, a microphone, Bluetooth, 802.11n WiFi and optional 3G, as well as an accelerometer and a compass. There's also a keyboard dock, which connects underneath in the portrait orientation, support for up to 1024x768 VGA out and 480p composite out through new dock adapter cables, and a camera attachment kit that lets you import photos from your camera over USB or directly through an SD reader. The device is managed by iTunes, just like the iPhone -- you sync everything over to your Mac. As expected, it can run iPhone apps -- either pixel-for-pixel in a window, or pixel-doubled fullscreen -- but developers can also target the new screen size using the updated iPhone OS SDK, which is available today. The 3G version runs on AT&T and comes with new data plans: 250MB for $14.99 and an unlimited plan for $29.99 a month contract-free. Activations are handled on the iPad, so you can activate and cancel whenever you want. Every iPad is unlocked and comes with a GSM "micro-SIM," so you can use it abroad, but there aren't any international deals in place right now -- Steve says they'll be back "this summer" with news on that front.

It starts at $499 for 16GB, 32GB for $599, and $699 64GB. Adding 3G costs a $130 per model, so the most expensive model (64GB / 3G) is $829. The WiFi-only model will ship in 60 days, and the 3G models will come in 90.

Sounds interesting!

[Colt.ps]

man. i can barely contain my excitement soooo glad they've gone for a 'chunky iphone' over a netbook may-have-been.

the fact that its a phone too means i won't hesitate. I barely use my mobile for phone stuff - it's packed with apps and is in constant use as my portable pc (i have VNC on it so can connect to any one of 3 servers).

[Jamesy.ps]

hahah

[Colt.ps]

That kind of sums up my reaction initially - till i realised how very mobile and powerful enough it was.......and saw the price! I had thought i would be out the running for one if they were £1k for eg - but if they come in under £500 I reckon i'll be saving for one.

[Carbon.ps]

Ok but lets remember that theres still no flash and no multitasking. The video on the apple site is very inspiring but you have to ask what this replaces? Its not going for netbooks as its not flexible enough, and it can't do anything the iPhone can't.

I dont wan't to be a gringe, Im just interested where this might go.

I dont think the 3G one will sell very well IMO. I dont see people using this anywhere other than home, work or an education environment, all of which have wifi access. Its a little big to be walking around with in the street (unless you have a long commute).

Not moaning, just putting it out there...

[Dr.Strangelove.ps]

can it do anything more / different than the current Iphone? (non 3G)

[Colt.ps]

more of the same i suppose - but it does enhance the same - as in bigger keyboard etc.

more hugely useful apps, written by 'the people' but with far superior capabilities. A very nice portable games machine and video player, reader etc!!!

[SleeperService.ps]

Huge props ftw

[grom.ps]

Hmm,
pretty much as expected.
Pricing is just that bit too high for me I think - I'm in the market for something like this but will probably go for a netbook as this has very little connectivity and seems to depend too much on the dock for any vaguely power-user tasks. Am I right in thinking that there is no USB on the device, only through the dock? If so there is no way to expand the capacity beyond the 16, 32 or 64Gb that you buy with it?
That means I'd want the 64Gb version which is $699 (so will probably be £650 or €600 and then another £100 for the 3G capability (which is a must if you want it to be portable beyond the walls of your home or need the phone capability).
It also seems to be mainly running iPhone apps, not 'proper' apps - was hoping for a better OS, not just the iPhone OS.
Don't get me wrong, it's very cool and will sell millions but again, Apple's restrictions and pricing have put me off again.

[Hawk.ps]

I agree, if it would lean more to the laptop side than to the iphone side, it would be a lot more interesting.

Oh, and where did everyone read it has phone capabilities?
I wouldn't even now how to call with such a large thing.

[grom.ps]

^^^This^^^

(The phone capability seems to be because you can get 3G for mobile internet so if it has a microphone and speakers built-in (not sure) you could code up a phone app or use it with skype - you'd just look like a complete dick with that against your ear!)

[Colt.ps]

my guess re connectivity is they are waiting to see how people use it. They will then release a wifi hub that you can plug all the periferals you like into. Pure speculation....but that's what i'd do if I were them. They have always taken bold (often annoying) steps with connectivity - losing firewire 400 when 800 came was mild - they removed teh standard apple s-video out in more recent lappy - still easy, but with an extra purchase of the s-video adapter....thats just an example. They've been trying to get us off wires and onto hubs for a while - mobile me (or .mac) provided cloud storage before any other consumer platform, for example.