Apple just announced the iPad.
Will you buy one?
What I've read from the first reviews so far it's too underpowered to be a replacement for even a netbook and too expensive to be only used as an eReader, and the adapted iPhone OS still won't do multitasking. The GSM variant won't let you use it as a phone, or even write text messages.
IMO, it's a glorified, over-prized lifestyle piece, and I know better things to spend my money on.
I agree, there's too much that it isn't and not enough that it is to interest me.
I don't like it to do (general) multitasking and I don't like it to have a camera. I hate flash. I don't want my iPad to play WOW on it or whatever is the number one timewaster right now.
I like the idea of having something of the right size to connect to the internet whenever I want and to buy and organize books. I love the turning of pages in an e-book on this device. I can use it as a table calendar when I am in the office, as a full-scale organizer, foto library or foto frame, as a map, book shelf, mobile office, well, anything I like. Or might need.
The price ... well, I choose the iPad for the same reason I won't live in a youth hostel any more when traveling but instead in an apartment.
Life is too short for bad experiences. Maybe the iPad is more expensive than other tablets. But, the thing is, I know if I buy another tablet it will be a source of frustration to me. Soon I will hate it, give it away and finally buy an iPad.
I think it is very cool....
... and I agree.... I want it to surf the Web, do email, and PuTTY, etc. I also want to view movies when I travel and keep photos.
I want the "Internet in my hands", as Steve Jobs said when he unveiled it......
I already have a desktop and a notebook... I have a movie camera and two smart phones with cameras....
The iPad is exactly what I need....
The thing is, a regular netbook is better suited for office work than the iPad. If I have to write up some document, I prefer having a keyboard I can use with both hands. And the missing multitasking ability will prevent you from quickly looking up something on the 'net without having to close the word processor first. So proper office work probably won't be possible.
With a starting price of $500 (that's for the version without direct 'net access) I expect a few things more than a mobile photo viewer and music player. For that money you can (almost) get an Asus Eee netbook and a Kindle.
I don't think the iPad is designed for general (edit: traditional style fat client) office work.
You are trying to make the iPad something it is not designed to be and then comparing what it is not designed to be to something that is designed to be .....
Personally, I have seen scores of netbooks and they are a different kettle of fish. A netbook can act as a server in an emergency.
The iPad is strictly a client-side device for browsing the net, movies and photos, email and other pure "the net is the computer" tasks.
For docs, you can use Google Docs on the iPad 
I was referring to
from above. So we agree on the fact that it isn't quite useable for the regular office stuff, while some people touted it to be just that (replacement for netbooks).
IMO (and that means it's subjective) it's an overpowered & overpriced eBook reader. And with all the functionality it's providing, there isn't one thing there that would strike me as unique, or that I couldn't get out of a netbook at a much lower price.
I like it and would never read a book on a tiny netbook ....... I don't like netbooks (subjective of course).... the screen is too small for me.
Neither would I. I prefer the sensation (smell/look/fell) of a real book, which is why I wouldn't even get an eBook reader.
Me too....
But I like the idea of carrying 200 books on a train, airplane or in my car when I am not willing to lug 200 books around.
The iPad is perfect for that.
Also, when I am on the go making travel plans, checking out hotels, booking on Agoda, etc, I need something like the iPad, light, sleek and easy to use... both WiFi and Edge/GPRS as I recall.
Also, I like to carry 10 or 20 movies as well.
Also, for e-learning...... I can read up on regular expressions or PHP programming tricks if I have a few books handy on my iPad and time to kill ....
None of these tasks which I am talking about work well with netbooks for me, and I cannot PuTTY into the site with a Kindle, I don't think
@pludi (iplud 
):
Hey, I never claimed I would *need* it for the office. I meant that I can use it for whatever I like and it will replace my macbook in some cases and it will replace my iphone in other cases.
I love real books too, but I have already too many and no more space at home. It is also quite troublesome to search physical books for something special - I relate to edv-books like about unix, php, sendmail, ...
Overpriced - this lies in the eye of the beholder. I never had the feeling that any of Apples products was overpriced. They have great hardware, great software and great support. For me, it is ok.
On the other hand......
No multitasking, no USB port, no Bluetooth .....
The iPad could be a lot better... !!
So, I see pludi's point as well :D:D
(I might change my vote !! 
)
I see you have done it already.... just for the cause of keeping the discussion going? 
No usb? it has bluetooth, wifi and a dock connector. What do you need usb for? The concept is, you connect your iPad to a Mac (desktop or notebook) via dock connector and do your syncing/copying this way. Just like an iPod or the iPhone.
As for the multitasking argument ... i am a single tasking person.
i do not want to have people skyping me if i do something else or windows popping up giving me useless information all the time.
And for the music, I guess it will be just like the iphone: you can listen to music while doing something else. And you will be notified if new mail arrives (although I would prefer if not).
So, would you pleeeease change your voting once again ? I feel real lonely there and I can't stand all those negative opinions throughout the net any more. 
---------- Post updated at 03:51 AM ---------- Previous update was at 03:17 AM ----------
uh, neo, apple has listened to your complaints and created a nice solution especially for you:
Hardmac.com : Le "Macbidouille" in English - Accessories for iPad
(I refer to the "iPod camera Connection Kit, 2 modules, one dock-USB and the other one dock-SD card reader". )
And yes, it will have bluetooth.
Will you give it a chance?
Ouch... There's no excuse for a system with a 1GHz processor and multiple gigs of storage lacking multitasking.
Seriously? I was already eyerolling when Apple started making things that had only one USB port. My laptop has three and it's not enough. Let's see...
- USB storage devices are utterly ubiquitous! Granted it has a USB add-on -- meaning Apple just shrank this with their usual tricks. Make the connector tiny and proprietary, then charge the customer extra to use something already built into their product. It also helps to reduce customer expectations -- a real USB port might be expected to support wireless devices and the like, but when they sell you the adapter that gives them the opportunity to warn you it only supports cameras. I suspect the speed might be questionable as well.
- A Real Keyboard might be useful once in a while! Not whatever joke Apple wants to sell you -- a real keyboard, like you've always used.
- How about a usb ethernet adapter? For those times when you must use a cable for whatever reason.
- What if something breaks down? There are USB replacements for mice and any kind of wireless, none of which the ipad will likely ever support.
...Or something nobody's invented of yet. Wireless USB, ultra-wideband, or what have you. Normal PC's could support it through USB or add-on cards, but these wanna-be PC's never will. You might kick yourself for not waiting for the "newer" version.
Except there's always a newer version, that's how the Apple treadmill works. They make machines versatile and pretty enough to distract most customers from realizing they're only heart-stoppingly expensive disposables.
I just took a look at the official pictures. Somehow the backside doesn't look really flat, but slightly curved. If so, it's probably going to be fun trying to use the virtual keyboard with both hands, and keep it from slipping and sliding away at the same time.
The iPad is not a pc. Not even a wanna-be. And it is not a small notebook.
And of course Apple is a bad Company luring people into buying their beautiful products, and soon after everybody has bought them they are mean enough to throw improved versions onto the market. This is really awful. No other company treats their customers like that.
I wish I could still use my 2001 iBook G3, but it has no touch screen.
But it does have a touch pad, a few usb ports, firewire and wlan. A cd drive. Multitasking. And an ethernet port. I think it even has a modem port.
I think the iPad needs to multitask, have at leaat one USB port, etc.
Even my Nokia phone has a USB port, ROTFL.
It is nice to connect to the Apple Store but there is more to life than depending on Apple for all my applications.
The more I look at the iPad, the less I want one at the current price!!
It would be useful for me to know if you have previous experience with apple products, as I do not understand most of your problems with the iPad.
Maybe you just don't know how it works?
the point is: nobody depends on usb any more. It is obsolete. My Nokia does not have a usb, and I do not miss it. It just does not make any difference.
But that is another story ....
Nobody depends on the iTunes Store to get new applications? It is just a very comfortable way to keep work at a minimum, for people who just want to choose and use.
Again: the iPad is not meant as a netbook or substitute a computer. You would not expect all those things from a kindle, or would you? Just imagine the iPad as a Kindle with a few extras.
Besides all that, I welcome your decision not to buy an iPad. It obviously is not what you need or want.
To me, on the other hand, it is a great device I can use to connect to the internet whenever I want, with a screen big enough to use it comfortably and small enough to carry it with me all the time. I love the touch screen and the virtual keyboard. I can't wait to try it.
Yes, I have many Apple products including a huge IMac on desk. I have owned at least 6 Apple computers and 4 iPods.
I think I am objective and am starting to find the unobjective religious love of Apple products without objectivity a bit annoying,
Try to be objective!
So far, only one person here wants to rush out for a iPad and all who post here are smart people.
It is wrong to assume that folks who are not keen on the iPad are somehow cave dwellers who have never used Apple products.