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iPad Air

arstechnica.com

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Re: iPad Air

#141

Post by oftenwrong »

enraged_camel wrote: post #90
phaus wrote: post #23

So their new commercial for the iPad focuses on the fact that so many people use it for productivity, so why can't Apple create a decent, first-party pressure sensitive stylus, so we don't have to deal with expensive, clunky, third-party solutions.

Steve Jobs said it best: "if you see a stylus, they blew it."

Maybe Steve Jobs was wrong.

Ship it without a stylus. Require that all apps be usable with fingers. Make a sweet pressure-sensitive stylus available for extra precision. Everyone wins.

Re: iPad Air

#142

Post by snowwrestler »

phaus wrote: post #133
snowwrestler wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think that an Apple stylus would be any less expensive or clunky?

Because every other tablet pc/tablet with a integrated pressure-sensitive stylus is much better than anything released thus far for the iPad by third parties.

Samsung and Microsoft license Wacom digitizer technology for their stylus tablets. It's not just that they provide a stylus--the tablet itself has additional capacitive sensors. Apple would have to totally re-engineer their touch sensor to accomodate that.

The reason iPad styluses have fat tips is that they have to simulate a fingertip, which is the only thing that an iPad can sense. The tradeoff is that an iPad is faster and more accurate at sensing fingers than other tablets.

Wacom has released a pressure-sensitive stylus for iPad. I have not tried it though...not much of an artist.

Re: iPad Air

#143

Post by jfb »

PilateDeGuerre wrote: post #64
ChuckMcM wrote: post #41

Interesting, not sure if its enough to make be upgrade but still. Weirdly when the 'ipad air' moniker leaked I figured they were going to a do an iOS version of the Macbook Air to capture the 'appliance laptop' market that the Chromebook and Surface 2 are gunning for. The graphics and cpu boosts are nice (and nice that they are accompanied by a run time boost) but what about the camera? What about the sensors? Lookin…

The 'appliance laptop' market is too similar to the failed netbook market for Apple to approach or care about, I think. If Apple were to come out with an new or hybrid category I don't think it would resemble an 'appliance laptop'. Afterall, the MacBook Air wasn't a competitor to the netbooks - it was a competitor to the ultrabooks being touted by Intel et al. The iPad was the sleeper competitor to the netbook and ki…

"Afterall, the MacBook Air wasn't a competitor to the netbooks - it was a competitor to the ultrabooks being touted by Intel et al."

This is backwards: the original MBA was introduced in 2008, and Intel only introduced the "Ultrabook" branding several years later. The MBA was largely panned as a far-too-expensive Apple attempt to cover their flank from the inexorable advance of the netbook. It was only when the iPad and competitive Android tablets put paid to netbooks that Intel came around to the design.

Re: iPad Air

#144

Post by 6ren »

czhiddy wrote: post #17
6ren wrote: post #3

How can the iPad 5 have x2 the graphics power over the iPad 4, when the iPad 5 has the same A7 as the iPhone 5S - rather than an A7X, as they've done previously. Have they just stopped using the A7X style name? Have they just x2 the GPU frequency? (seems implausible, but it's Rogue, which is apparently extremely efficient, and maybe could handle x2 frequency?). edited above for clarity BTW: The anandtech iPhone 5S re…

The iPad4 doesn't pack an A7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_A6X

True, but I don't follow how that's connected to my comment... maybe I should explain the background of my comment.

  The iPhone 5S (A7) has x1 the graphics power as the iPad 4.
  The iPad 5    (A7) has x2 the graphics power of the iPad 4.
So... how to get double the graphics power out of the same SoC (A7)? That was the puzzle (likely ans: x2 frequency)

Re: iPad Air

#145

Post by mturmon »

rfnslyr wrote: post #99
cylinder wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why you would want to write your book on a tablet. Sounds counterintuitive. Why not just use a real keyboard and OS on a Macbook Air? They are marginally thicker than the iPad.

Why not just use a goddamn type writer? Man I love typing on those things. I still write up my programming assignments on it just to hear the clickity clackity. Computer Science in hard mode: Do your programming assignments on a type writer. Once.

Hmm, I thought hard mode was toggling the program in using the switches on the front panel. After you translated to machine code.

Re: iPad Air

#146

Post by rje »

4ad wrote: post #20

> Sadly, one thing it doesn't appear to have—at least, not yet—is a gold casing. Can't tell if sarcasm or not.

Given that the gold 5s was incredibly popular at launch, would it really be surprising that someone wants an ipad with the same option?

Re: iPad Air

#147

Post by phaus »

snowwrestler wrote: post #142
phaus wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because every other tablet pc/tablet with a integrated pressure-sensitive stylus is much better than anything released thus far for the iPad by third parties.

Samsung and Microsoft license Wacom digitizer technology for their stylus tablets. It's not just that they provide a stylus--the tablet itself has additional capacitive sensors. Apple would have to totally re-engineer their touch sensor to accomodate that. The reason iPad styluses have fat tips is that they have to simulate a fingertip, which is the only thing that an iPad can sense. The tradeoff is that an iPad is f…

The digitizer is actually a separate layer in most cases. There are lots of products that have both a digitizer and a capacitive touch layer. The lack of a digitizer isn't what makes the iPad more responsive. If Apple wanted to do it, it would be trivial.

Wacom fucked up this particular product, because they opted to use a large rubber tip. It might be more precise than a normal dumb stylus, but its still terrible. Trying to write like a normal person, or draw thin lines is absolutely horrible with a fat-tipped stylus.

Re: iPad Air

#148

Post by snowwrestler »

phaus wrote: post #147
snowwrestler wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Samsung and Microsoft license Wacom digitizer technology for their stylus tablets. It's not just that they provide a stylus--the tablet itself has additional capacitive sensors. Apple would have to totally re-engineer their touch sensor to accomodate that. The reason iPad styluses have fat tips is that they have to simulate a fingertip, which is the only thing that an iPad can sense. The tradeoff is that an iPad is f…

The digitizer is actually a separate layer in most cases. There are lots of products that have both a digitizer and a capacitive touch layer. The lack of a digitizer isn't what makes the iPad more responsive. If Apple wanted to do it, it would be trivial. Wacom fucked up this particular product, because they opted to use a large rubber tip. It might be more precise than a normal dumb stylus, but its still terrible. T…

I think the large rubber tip is not optional, as the iPad sensor is looking for a particular shape: a fingertip.

Re: iPad Air

#149

Post by grokaholic »

Osiris wrote: post #24

Can someone explain to me the obsession with "thinner"? This model is 2mm thinner and it's touted as taking "years of work". Lighter, I understand. Thin is a good goal, but 2mm is pretty pointless when you're just going to put a 5-10mm thick cover/case on it anyway.

The ideal of a self-effacing tool that disappears in every way physically manageable. A weightless window that is, physically, almost not there at all. The antithesis of a heavy brick that never lets you forget its physical dimensions. That is the ideal Apple inches toward.

Many people use these devices without cases, as they were designed to be used. Some don't, for reasons that make sense for them. Many will appreciate the less obtrusive dimensions. Others will never give a crap. Can you explain an obsession with sweets to someone without a sweet tooth? As usual in threads like this, people argue about idiosyncratic tastes.

Re: iPad Air

#150

Post by lparry »

phaus wrote: post #6

I know that not everyone uses a keyboard case, but I am saddened by the fact that the new one is too small to support a usable keyboard case. When I purchased a Clamcase Pro, I started using my iPad for pretty much everything, from term papers to code. While it was still pretty small, I could comfortably type about 90wpm on it, which is only about 10-15 less than I normally type. For everyone else, this looks like pr…

Too small? Logitech makes a keyboard cover for the mini [1], they'll surely do one for the ipad air

[1] http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/ultrathin-keyboard-min...

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