Last weekend, CB and I went to a Cheesecake Factory for dinner. While we were waiting for our seats, we noticed an Apple store nearby, beckoning us with its sleek displays and floor-to-ceiling glass walls. So like lambs to the slaughter, we went.
I don’t own anything made by Apple (except for an iShuffle that has stopped working), but I truly love the Apple store. It’s almost like an amusement park for gadget folks. Surprisingly, a few iPad stations were free (usually there is such a large swarm of people waiting in line to play with iPads that I never get a chance to get my hands on the machines). I don’t need an iPad – it would certainly be a luxury, and I’m not convinced that a netbook wouldn’t fit my needs just as well, if not better.
But Empire that Steve Jobs Built is hard to resist. The Apple website calls the iPad “a magical and revolutionary product at an unbelievable price” and says it will allow you to “see the web, email, and photos like never before.” Those phrases have certainly set up some high expectations. I’m not a die-hard Apple fan, but after I played with the iPad for 15 minutes and I have to admit… I like it. The sleek design. The easy user interface. The plethora of applications. The novelty of the touchscreen (novel to me because I don’t have an iPhone). And call me old-fashioned, but I like a QWERTY keyboard.
The bottom-line: I like iPads quite a bit. I’m just not sure that I like them enough to spend $500+ on it.
Do you have an iPad? Do you think it’s worth the money? What features do you want to see in the next generation?
image source: http://www.mobilecomputermag.co.uk/
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We love, love, love our ipad. It really is magical. As for living without one? yeah you can, but if it's between a netbook and an ipad, I'd go with the ipad. Unless you are using the netbook to do major computing (i.e. photoshop, illustrator, heavy microsoft office projects). But if your netbook is to be used to be a portable computer to use as an access to e-mail, blogging, surfing, light microsoft office projects, there's no question, the ipad is the way to go. The best part is you don't have to boot up an ipad, you swipe the screen and you're good to go. It's brilliant.
I won't buy the ipad. It's too big to be a mp3 player and too small to be a good laptop. It's silly, and franky – the name is rediculous.
when I saw/heard the first commercial for it – i originally thought it was some sort of spoof/joke for a tampon commercial.
I too am liking the Ipad a little too much but there are a few things that made me back away from the shiny Apple. First it doesn't support flash. Secondly, it doesn't have a web cam to do say chat with. Thirdly, like all other Apple ipod/iphone whatever products it doesn't let you pull out the battery.
Maybe next go 'round I will get it. And yes I want a keyboard too. Although I doubt that will ever happen.
i have one of pretty much everything else that apple makes and even i can resist the ipad. it doesn't seem to do anything my iphone doesn't do and i don't want to pay another service fee for 3g on it and it wouldn't do as much without 3g. the only way i could forsee getting one would be if my macbook died and i replaced it with a desktop and still wanted something a little bigger than my iphone for travel.
My brother has the iPad (he actually has nearly every Apple gadget out on the market: yes a MacBook Pro, an iMac, an Air, an 80G iPod for the "car", and an iPhone). The only thing he doesn't have is AppleTV. It's crazy. Anyways, I fooled around with his iPad, and I can definitely say, it is a beauty. The price is what stops me. I could never justify spending that much on something I wouldn't really use all that much. I could toy around with it on the commute to and from work but then once I'm at work…well, I'm at work and then once I'm home, I have my laptop. so $500 for 2 hours worth of play time? Yeah, no.
I personally was not impressed. Yeah it is flashy and nice, but it is just a giant ipod touch. And I don't like how you have to prop it up yourself if you want to watch a video. Who wants to watch a video on their lap?
And regarding “a magical and revolutionary product at an unbelievable price," well some might say Jobs might have borrowed a few ideas from Gates back in 2007:http://tinyurl.com/2ubkjf7.
Don't buy one. I like it as a reader, but other than that…it doesn't do much more that my phone can't do. And your limited to the things you can do, because its not a computer but a big iPhone. And the accessories are expensive. My kids on the other hand… enjoy it very much for the games. Oh the good thing we are finding use for this weekend: my daughter can watch movies on our 9 hr drive to Nevada.
But I would save your money.
I have many beautiful one of all, Apple, and even so I can resist ipad company. It does not seem to do anything to my iphone do not, I do not want to pay for its 3G service charges and it will not do as much as there is no 3G. The only way I can get predictable, if my people will die, my macbook replaced on the desktop, still want more than my small travel iPhone.
M and I have the ipad… but it was a gift from his dad. (Though I'm 99% sure M would've ended up buying it anyway)
We LOVE playing games on it while we snuggle in bed. We've also played games on it while out to dinner with friends/family. Instant Scrabble for 4! It's lots of fun.
And I second jbg's comments!