It seems obvious the iPad is directly aimed at the larger net book market instead of the relatively small digital reader market. Not many people are going to carry and iPad and a laptop. If the iPad is a device you buy instead of a net book, which by extension is a device you buy instead of a larger more functional laptop, Apple may not have an uphill battle here. Net book customers have already decided they don't want to spend $1k+ on a laptop, they can live without an optical drive, they can adapt to a small awkward keyboard, etc. In other words they are people who have already started to abandon the idea of a computer as being a fully functional all encompassing device in favor of form factor, price, and portability. So I think Apple clearly has a big market but they'll have to stress the things the iPad does better than a net book. Multi-touch web browsing, gaming, better battery life, better build quality/design, easier to use, no malware/spyware problems, etc. They'll need to quickly fill in the remaining gaps of functionality before customers have the dreaded "oh it doesn't do that?" experience.
David Pogue’s Review of the iPad from 2 Angles
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Re: David Pogue’s Review of the iPad from 2 Angles
#12I have to admit I'm surprised that both reviews (this and the Walt Mossburg one) state they were able to achieve well over Apple's claimed 10 hours batter life playing video, both reaching almost 12 hours. I'm surprised because a) that's one hell of a long time, and b) Apple, like everyone else I guess, tend to overstate battery life and reviewers seem to find it almost impossible to replicate the published claims.
As other people have mentioned, Apple consistently understates the battery life of their products in market copy while also pointing them out to be longer than those of competing products.
Re: David Pogue’s Review of the iPad from 2 Angles
#13finger prints everywhere, illegible in sunlight, poor ebook selection, too heavy for extended use, miserable typing experience...seems like these points would apply to "Everyone Else" as well, no?
Re: David Pogue’s Review of the iPad from 2 Angles
#14[deleted]
Re: David Pogue’s Review of the iPad from 2 Angles
#15An interesting thing about the review is that the photo on the left shows a person using an ipad on rack with one finger. With a bit of reflection, it should obvious that you would not want to use a computer for even a minute in such a fashion.
This hardly seems like a hard-nosed, critical appraisal: "The iPad is so fast and light, the multitouch screen so bright and responsive, the software so easy to navigate, that it really does qualify as a new category of gadget." "brighter brights" and "whiter whites" indeed.
Re: David Pogue’s Review of the iPad from 2 Angles
#16Pogue is usually a great writer, but this was strangely disjointed. He wants to like the iPad, but feels obliged to give a semi-critical "techie" review, apparently in anticipation of the inevitable hate mail that follows any hint of pro-Apple bias. I'm curious to try out the iPad after reading his and Mossberg's review, but can't imagine shelling out a lot of money for what is essentially a leisure device that doesn…
I really don't think he wrote a split review because he's worried about fanboys. I think it's just what he said: people really seem to love or hate the iPad, based mostly on their background.
He's 100% correct too.
Personally, the iPad isn't for me. I want less screen time in my life, not more - and the iPad doesn't fill any gaps that warrants me purchasing one for myself.
That being said, I did order one for my grandmother. She's been pestering me about getting the Internet and I felt like it would be a device that was less daunting for her than a mouse/keyboard combination.
Re: David Pogue’s Review of the iPad from 2 Angles
#17Review for Techies - The Apple iPad is basically a gigantic iPod Touch.
Review for Everyone Else - The Apple iPad is basically a gigantic iPod Touch.
Big Surprise.
Re: David Pogue’s Review of the iPad from 2 Angles
#18That tidbit about the Scrabble app is very interesting. Using an iPhone or iPod Touch as a local, private screen while using the iPad as a shared game board could be used in a lot of cool ways. Only problem of course is it is over $1k worth of gadgets.
Re: David Pogue’s Review of the iPad from 2 Angles
#19Apple asserts that the iPad runs 10 hours on a charge of its nonremovable battery ... in my own test, the iPad played movies continuously ... [for] more than 12 hours. That’s four times as long as a typical laptop or portable DVD player. This is one thing I've always found interesting. Apple underestimates their battery life in every product I've laid hands on, even under relatively high-power operations. And they cl…
With my mac laptops I have consistently seen high battery life at the start and it has diminished considerably after a few months. Does this not happen with everyone else?
not here (sample size of one). I still get 5-6 hours use from my 1st gen unibody macbook; the one with the removable battery.
Re: David Pogue’s Review of the iPad from 2 Angles
#20finger prints everywhere, illegible in sunlight, poor ebook selection, too heavy for extended use, miserable typing experience...seems like these points would apply to "Everyone Else" as well, no?
Less space than a Nomad.