Apple's iPad Megathread

[burn_baby_burn]

I can't really see this thing being that popular. It sounds like a cool idea, but people want portability. Sure it is more compact than a labtop, but it is way bigger than a smartphone.

[Russic]

I don't have a laptop. I wanted one, but now I have to reconsider. Apple had to give it a $500 price point didn't they? Now I get to ponder this for the next 5 months.

[Barnes]

And uh..

Apple A4 chip

First Apple made processor since...

The Apple III maybe.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Keeko_ca

At $499, it just blew the Netbook and eBook Reader markets out of the water!

How does it do either? I'm not into eBooks, but isn't the whole point of Kindle e-ink? As for the netbook, isn't the whole point of netbooks to have a full OS and a keyboard?

If I had one of these it wouldn't be in my pocket, which means it wouldn't be with me unless I'm carrying a backpack or at home. If I'm at home I've got my desktop and if I'm carrying a backpack I might as well be carrying a netbook.

Just don't see the point of it, but then again I don't see the point of the AppleTV either and it does fine.

[Yeah_Baby]

Whoa weird. I just talked to my mom and casually mentioned the Apple event today. She asked if they did announce a tablet. I had no idea she even knew what a tablet was.

[mykalberta]

Alright, after looking at the accessories, I will get one.

They have adapters for USB and for Memory Card slot.

http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/

[FanIn80]

I don't know about you crackheads, but I'm buying 12 of these things when they launch.





Damn. I promised Mess I wouldn't do this...

[Raoul Duke]

Originally Posted by Burninator

I am a big reader as well and physical books have draw backs as well. I do a lot of my reading on the train and sometimes I have to stand up. Reading a hardcover or a bigger book with one hand isn't always great same with reading a big book in bed. Heck any book (not mass-market paper back) over about 500 pages can be annoying to hold. Have you read Atlas Shrugged? 1200 pages! I would have loved to read that on a device that is the same small size, same thinness and same light weight as the iPad. You would never have to worry about a light source when reading in dim light.

I like the idea of holding something comfortable and doesn't have different thicknesses, different shapes and different weights.

Does an e-reader have drawbacks? Of course. No book shelf at home. That is a big one, I agree. It is nice to have a physical copy. But I use to think the same way about music. The CD's on my shelf just collect dust. Books will go digital eventually. Is the iPad the device to do it? No idea. Would I take the iPad to the beach or get wet, sandy and unreadable with the glare? Nope.

You're going to stand on the train with a 500 dollar unit in one hand?
I did read Atlas Shrugged, in paperback it's not that big of a hassle. I mean if you're fumbling around with that book in paper format perhaps an expensive unit in one hand isn't the best idea.

Books aren't ever going to go digital widespread. The majority of readers want no part in digital, and authors hate it - they're already signing clauses in publishing contracts that their books cannot be sold that way. They don't make enough money to become victims of piracy.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

I don't know about you crackheads, but I'm buying 12 of these things when they launch.





Damn. I promised Mess I wouldn't do this...

Awesome 11 of us can get iPads in another 6 months at the FanIn80 discount!

Originally Posted by Raoul Duke

Books aren't ever going to go digital widespread. The majority of readers want no part in digital, and authors hate it - they're already signing clauses in publishing contracts that their books cannot be sold that way. They don't make enough money to become victims of piracy.

Metallica are writing books now?

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by Raoul Duke

You're going to stand on the train with a 500 dollar unit in one hand?
I did read Atlas Shrugged, in paperback it's not that big of a hassle. I mean if you're fumbling around with that book in paper format perhaps an expensive unit in one hand isn't the best idea.

I'm never said anything about fumbling. I was talking about comfort. The iPad would be much more comfortable to hold than a copy of Atlas Shrugged.

Books aren't ever going to go digital widespread. The majority of readers want no part in digital, and authors hate it - they're already signing clauses in publishing contracts that their books cannot be sold that way. They don't make enough money to become victims of piracy.

I think that is a mistake of the small number of authors that are doing that and will only shrink their audience. Digital books are gaining ground and the best way to cope with a new technology is to work with, not against it.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Raoul Duke

Books aren't ever going to go digital widespread. The majority of readers want no part in digital, and authors hate it - they're already signing clauses in publishing contracts that their books cannot be sold that way. They don't make enough money to become victims of piracy.

IMO textbooks WILL go digital because the market will demand it. Hello, Ctrl+F. It's a market full of early adopters, especially where price reductions are involved.

Doesn't matter if what the publishing contracts say, if pirates wanted to read they'd find a way. Scanner, text recognition software, it would get done.

Never say never, or the future will laugh at you.

What do you guys think of the ASUS EE PC T91MT? You know, if you really want something will a multi-touch touchscreen. iPad will probably outsell it based on Apple's brand power alone, but it looks like a solid competitor.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Raoul Duke

Books aren't ever going to go digital widespread. The majority of readers want no part in digital, and authors hate it - they're already signing clauses in publishing contracts that their books cannot be sold that way. They don't make enough money to become victims of piracy.

Ha, well as someone who worked in the publishing industry for a few years, I gotta heartily disagree. The companies and people who don't embrace the movement towards digital will go out of business or become irrelevant, it's that simple. You might not be a digital book guy, but the majority of young people get most of their information from a screen and aren't bothered by it. Authors will always have their place, but that doesn't mean the medium must remain stagnant. I love paper, but personally, I think we will see the future of books evolve (devolve?) into high-end art books that are bought more for their intrinsic beauty, and not for their information. The rest will be produced in digital formats.

The people who don't want to participate don't have to, but they will be left behind sooner or later. I know from experience....the 55-year old magazine I worked for just went under. The smart companies (like Conde Naste) are making the transition.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Table 5

I wonder if the iPad will have a built-in glitch every 28 days....

Red screen of death?

Originally Posted by KTrain

It would have been cool to see a deal struck with Marvel or DC in time for this announcement so we could see comics on the iPad. It seems like a perfect fit for their subscription model.

Considering that Jobs is one of the largest shareholders of Disney (after the Pixar merger) and Disney recently bought Marvel, you'd think it would be something they could get going pretty easily.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by Raoul Duke

Books aren't ever going to go digital widespread. The majority of readers want no part in digital, and authors hate it - they're already signing clauses in publishing contracts that their books cannot be sold that way. They don't make enough money to become victims of piracy.

Nice generalizations. Authors do not hate it. The vast majority that I know are either cautiously optimistic or slightly pessimistic about ebooks. There's definitely the potential there to level the playing field, in the same way that the itunes store did for small record labels. I wouldn't be surprised to see the big literary stars to continue to release hardcover first (best profit margin), softcover a few months later, and then digital a while later. By this time, anyone who simply wants to read the book without paying for it would have gotten it out of the library. The number of sales lost to piracy would be negligible.

The big difficulty for small publishers is this: previously, you might do a print run of 1000 books, and sell maybe 800 of those for a typical run (looking at a typical small Canadian press). Now, let's say you make the book available through an ebook. Maybe you sell 600 ebooks and 400 softcover books. You've increased the number of units sold, and the ebooks have lower costs and thus a better profit margin. But your profit margin on your soft covers have dropped significantly: you can either drop your print run to 500 (which becomes hugely expensive on a per-unit cost); or you stick with a print-run of 1000, and allow for the possibility of being stuck with more boxes of unsold books. It'll take some careful work by publishers to make the new models work and still produce softcovers as well.

*edit: I should note that my numbers are exaggerated for effect. Obviously the ebook market wouldn't take 50% of the printed book market. But larger numbers more easily illustrate the trend.

[calculoso]

8 Things That Suck About the iPad
http://i.gizmodo.com/5458382/8-thing...yline=true&s=i

[Frequitude]

Originally Posted by SebC

What do you guys think of the ASUS EE PC T91MT? You know, if you really want something will a multi-touch touchscreen. iPad will probably outsell it based on Apple's brand power alone, but it looks like a solid competitor.

That's what I'm talking about! Now imagine it Apple sexified because that thing is clunnnnky.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by calculoso

8 Things That Suck About the iPad
http://i.gizmodo.com/5458382/8-thing...yline=true&s=i

Apples needs something to add for the iPad v2, v3, v3.2, v3.5, v4.0.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by calculoso

8 Things That Suck About the iPad
http://i.gizmodo.com/5458382/8-thing...yline=true&s=i

He has a point about multitasking, but his example is flawed. If it is anything like my iPhone the one thing I can do is listen to iTunes while I'm running most of my other apps.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

That's what I'm talking about! Now imagine it Apple sexified because that thing is clunnnnky.

It even runs a proper OS!

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by Table 5

The people who don't want to participate don't have to, but they will be left behind sooner or later. I know from experience....the 55-year old magazine I worked for just went under. The smart companies (like Conde Naste) are making the transition.

Ah, I know what magazine you were working for; one of the more tragic ones to fold in the last year, along with Gourmet.

As I see it, the biggest benefit for magazines toward e-publishing is a more subscription driven model, which will provide revenue streams more reliable than ad revenue, and a more efficient distribution model than news-stands.