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The iPad is not a tablet, don't think of it as one!

theinstructor

theinstructor

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 13, 2007
194
152
Look, I have owned various "tablet" PC's since they came out and I love them although I am dying to get a Mac version designed by Apple, this isn't a tablet. It has no stylus as far as I can tell and you cannot write on it. This is pretty useless to the masses who do not need a gigantic iPhone without the "Phone".
I have read the vast quantities of posts on this forum and there are indeed many problems with the design or lack-thereof but it remains to be seen what 2.0 will bring to the table...hopefully a real tablet. I wouldn't be proud of this current release in this form.
 
Thank you for your "contribution". A Mac version designed by Apple. :rolleyes:
 
As someone who has owned several PC tablets, I'm looking forward to getting the iPad. Personally, I hate using a stylus, and I've found the overall experience of previous tablets to be a bit clunky and inelegant.

For what I need to do, I can replace my laptop with the iPad. I can't wait.
 
You know Apple are in the business of making money. I don't know if the iPad will be a big success, I just know that I plan to buy one. But the sort of tablet that you are suggesting that they make have pretty much been a failure. Why would Apple emulate that?
 
theinstructor said:
Look, I have owned various "tablet" PC's since they came out and I love them although I am dying to get a Mac version designed by Apple, this isn't a tablet. It has no stylus as far as I can tell and you cannot write on it. This is pretty useless to the masses who do not need a gigantic iPhone without the "Phone".
I have read the vast quantities of posts on this forum and there are indeed many problems with the design or lack-thereof but it remains to be seen what 2.0 will bring to the table...hopefully a real tablet. I wouldn't be proud of this current release in this form.
Click to expand...


You do realize that PC tablets have been an unqualified disaster in the market, yes? Quite sure that "the masses" won't require a stylus and that the iPad will be a smashing success (which i define as several million sold in Year 1).
 
Add this to the list of pointless threads.
What does it take to make people realise they dont have to make a new thread for every thought they have? Add your rant to the other ranting threads. Stupid and pointless waste of space.

Oh and I'll call it a tablet, because it's tablet shaped, don't need you telling me what I'm allowed to call something. What's good for the Goose isn't always good for the Gander.
 
sassenach74 said:
Oh and I'll call it a tablet, because it's tablet shaped, don't need you telling me what I'm allowed to call something. What's good for the Goose isn't always good for the Gander.
Click to expand...


:)

It also occurs to me - Moses' 10 Commandment tablets probably didn't have a stylus either and I'm pretty sure that the zillions of Catholics in the world still call them tablets.
 
anthonymoody said:
You do realize that PC tablets have been an unqualified disaster in the market, yes? Quite sure that "the masses" won't require a stylus and that the iPad will be a smashing success (which i define as several million sold in Year 1).
Click to expand...

Agreed. The OP's definition of a tablet has been a failure for at least 10 years. Why would Apple enter a failed market?

I will agree that an optional stylus/pen would be nice to take notes with I'm glad that the UI does not require one.
 
Out of curiosity - when and where does Apple actually call the iPad a tablet?

It might be tautological, but the iPad is an iPad. It's not a supersized this, or a hamstrung that, so much as: it's what it is.

OP wants a Mac OS on a tablet PC. And the iPad isn't that. You can get your own stylus at leisure. You can use your finger to write, where that's applicable.
 
sassenach74 said:
Add this to the list of pointless threads.
What does it take to make people realise they dont have to make a new thread for every thought they have? Add your rant to the other ranting threads. Stupid and pointless waste of space.

Oh and I'll call it a tablet, because it's tablet shaped, don't need you telling me what I'm allowed to call something. What's good for the Goose isn't always good for the Gander.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your input, I will add your contribution to the pointless comments database as well. What a waste of pixels!
 
theinstructor said:
Look, I have owned various "tablet" PC's since they came out and I love them although I am dying to get a Mac version designed by Apple, this isn't a tablet. It has no stylus as far as I can tell and you cannot write on it. This is pretty useless to the masses who do not need a gigantic iPhone without the "Phone".
I have read the vast quantities of posts on this forum and there are indeed many problems with the design or lack-thereof but it remains to be seen what 2.0 will bring to the table...hopefully a real tablet. I wouldn't be proud of this current release in this form.
Click to expand...

yes, what a waste of pixels
 
Googling site:apple.com tablet
There aren't that many hits for Apple calling the iPad a tablet... I'd say Apple isn't really saying it's a tablet at all. If you want a tablet currently, get an Axiotron Modbook.

The iPad. With a revolutionary, 9.7 inch touch screen, and amazing new apps, it does things no tablet PC, netbook, or e-reader could. Starts at $499.
Click to expand...

Even in v1 the iPad is ahead of the game in some respects. Yes, future versions will be better. But for now, upon release, there won't be many like it in terms of OS, apps, hardware quality, speed etc.
 
I suggest you learn to adapt.

theinstructor said:
I am dying to get a Mac version designed by Apple, this isn't a tablet. It has no stylus as far as I can tell and you cannot write on it. This is pretty useless to the masses
Click to expand...

I suggest you learn to adapt beyond your narrow definition. The iPad is a tablet and I am going to keep calling it one.

Just as this is a tablet: Where we laboriously carved characters into the stone.
dn17405-2_426.jpg


Just as this is a tablet: Where we laboriously hunt and peck with a stylus on tiny interface elements.
fujutsi_and_HP_2.jpg


Just as this is a tablet where again we change the input paradigm to one where we use our fingers to more directly interact with the interface.
photo-stacks.jpg


They are all tablets. Just input paradigm has moved from Chisel, to stylus to fingers.
 
What's become increasingly interesting to me is how the iPad has gotten people to really rethink what it is they *actually* do with their computers. Since the feature set is "limited" from a certain POV, it sort of forces us to ask the question: is it enough for me?
 
theinstructor said:
Look, I have owned various "tablet" PC's since they came out and I love them although I am dying to get a Mac version designed by Apple, this isn't a tablet.
Click to expand...

I am reminded of a cartoon comment from many years ago said by someone looking at an Apple II. "That's no computer, this is a computer." (pointing to a huge room-sized machine with hundreds of flashing lights on a raised floor beside a row of cabinet size spinning tape drives, noisy punched card readers, line printers, plus a few white coated operators.) Except for IBM, Cray(reloaded), and a few others, most of the companies that manufactured those museum pieces are long gone.

y
 
It's a slate, then. Whatever you call it, it is what it is, and represents what it represents: the computing platform of the future.
 
NinjaMonkey said:
Agreed. The OP's definition of a tablet has been a failure for at least 10 years. Why would Apple enter a failed market?
Click to expand...

Limited market penetration - some success in the medical space, otherwise very limited. Having said that, I love the concept of a tablet.
I will agree that an optional stylus/pen would be nice to take notes with I'm glad that the UI does not require one.
Click to expand...

This is one of the things I find disappointing - I want to be able to use an iPad for note taking without the need to use a keyboard (whether physical or virtual). A stylus for note taking (not navigation) would be great.
 
raremage said:
This is one of the things I find disappointing - I want to be able to use an iPad for note taking without the need to use a keyboard (whether physical or virtual). A stylus for note taking (not navigation) would be great.
Click to expand...

I see no reason why a stylus/ePen can't be used on an iPad if there is a handwriting recognition app available/made. Just like a number of apps that have dedicated peripherals that you may need to use for it, like the remote control apps, the said app that needs a stylus may make one or third party manufacturers may sell them. Just because Apple is not shipping one with the iPad does not limit this function, if needed.
 
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