Is the iPad a mistake?

[fizzwinkus]

i've been using a netbook for the past several months (asus 1008ha) and it's been a complete dog. the ipad runs circles around it performance wise, weighs half as much, is twice as thin, has a MUCH better screen - those with netbooks don't know what a good screen looks like - and has three times the battery life.

and before anyone says it, the netbook couldn't run flash either. unless you count a frame every three seconds as video.

of course neither compares well to my mac pro , but that thing is near 50 pounds.

 

[marksman]

Yes, you're probably right. When I hear so many netbook fans say how happy they are with their purchase

Purhcase of what an iPad? Sure anyone who bought an iPad after owning a netbook would be happy.

If you are talking about people being happy with the purchase of a netbook... well... here is the reality.

If someone says they are happy about purchasing a netbook one of two things are going on:

1) They got it for free.

2) They have had it less than one month.

On my current computer right now I have like 7 USB devices plugged into it, and none of them really help me use the internet or consume media...

 

[thelookingglass]

Purhcase of what an iPad? Sure anyone who bought an iPad after owning a netbook would be happy.

If you are talking about people being happy with the purchase of a netbook... well... here is the reality.

If someone says they are happy about purchasing a netbook one of two things are going on:

1) They got it for free.

2) They have had it less than one month.

On my current computer right now I have like 7 USB devices plugged into it, and none of them really help me use the internet or consume media...

Nonsense. I've had my Asus netbook for a few months already and it's an indispensable part of my daily life. It handles Flash just fine (unless you're looking to watch HD, which I never do). Not only that, but I can view and edit in full MS Office all my Dropbox files online or off. Windows 7 runs great on it.

 

[4DThinker]

I've changed my mind. Apparently the iPad IS a mistake. It looked promising at first, with 350,000 sold the first day. Yet 28 days later they've only sold a million for an average of 35714 a day, or 24074 each day after the first day. What a HUGE letdown that must be for Steve Jobs! He was too embarassed to mention how many had been returned.

 

[czachorski]

People who say that everyone who owns an Apple device, with the exception of the iPod, has drank the Koolaid and buys products from a Dictator.

When the sole criteria for the opinion of the device is that its made by Apple, I think it should be clear to you the nature of the bias you are dealing with. The use of the term "Koolaid" in the same sentence is particularly laughable, because the phrase "drinking the Koolaid" implies blindly following along without questions and without the application of personal preference, experience or opinion. Yet that is exactly the behavior of these "people" - blindly drawing a conclusion based on the label and not the merits of the product, thus making them hypocrites and guilty of the very acquisitions they are spewing. The exception for the iPod is particularly damning to their position, because it shows that they are capable of objectively evaluating a product based on its usefulness, but just chose not to do so for all other products bearing the Apple name.

I think you need to seriously question why you would want to associate yourself with such people of illogical and bias in their thinking. I further think your own judgement needs to come under serious question for posting these things on a web forum to gain validation for them, when the conclusions made above should be so obvious to anyone who experiences such comments. IMO, you deserve the label of being under suspicion for Trolling.

 

[r0k]

I'm sure plenty of people are happy with their netbooks. My point is that most people who decide to buy an iPad aren't realistically sacrificing any critical functionality that they need. As I posted above, everyone I know that has bought an iPad is unbelievably impressed with it and most have completely switched from using their laptops to using the iPad. Obviously none of them seem to be missing any critical capabilities.

So far, it's been my experience that your point about how much netbook you can buy for less money gets trumped by the ease of use and simple fun of the iPad, at least for everyone I know that bought one.



I was curious because my wife runs a photography business and we are going to use iPads as client portfolios. I wondered if the delay swiping through photos still happened with images that were optimized in iTunes for syncing.

I agree with your points about netbooks. I own an Acer Aspire One running Ubuntu 9.04 and an iPad. The AAO collects dust and the iPad gets used frequently because of it's size, shape and ease of use. It does not do everything the AAO would do, but I still have a Macbook if I want to do that stuff so now I can get rid of the AAO.

As for lag with smaller photos, the answer is no. And you don't need iTunes forgodssake. Simply resize the images in Preview to 30% which still gives 1000-something x 770-something when starting from 10 megapixels. Going down from 12 or 15 megapixels would mean going to a smaller ratio, possibly 25 or even 20 percent. It depends on what you want your clients to see. If you want to be able to pinch and blow up certain areas of a photo, keep the original and live with the lag. For most photos, resize and enjoy a fluid viewing experience.