iPad

kmlarules

I was just wondering if anyone here has bought the iPad. If so, do you recommend it ? how much was it? how big is it ? What essentially does it do?

Max Power1

Ive only got a learner's permit.

Basq

Apple Media Devices this way!

Plenty of feedback there on the iPad.. but on your questions:

kmlarules wrote: »

I was just wondering if anyone here has bought the iPad.

Yes.

kmlarules wrote: »

If so, do you recommend it ?

I recommend it.. but if you're unsure, wait for the next revision (probably 8 - 12 months away).

kmlarules wrote: »

how much was it?

I paid $534 (incl sales tax) in the States - so about €450 for the base model (16GB WiFi).

I'd say it'll be €500 here on release.. it's supposed to be next month as far as I know.

kmlarules wrote: »

how big is it ? What essentially does it do?

Dimensions and other information is on the Wikipedia page.

As for what it does, e-mail / photos / apps / internet / music / videos - although strictly speaking, it's essentially a larger iPod Touch.

Hope this helps!

Alanstrainor

Thread moved from learning to drive;)

whiterebel

Ok, smarta*ses, so has anyone here crashed an iPad or learned to drive in one.........:D

BrianD

I tried one out in a store in Oxford St. in London at the weekend. I thought I'd be in a queue just to try it out. I wasn't.

On the plus side, they are a smaller and less bulkier than I thought. In the adverts they look bigger than they actually are. It was hard to get a feel for how they "hold" in your hands as it has all the anti-theft cables attached to it.

Interface was nice, just like the other iPhone/touch products and reacted well. To be honest I was pretty underwhelmed by it after playing about it. It looks great but I'd be struggling to justify it over a netbook. Then again if you like gadgets you won't have to.

padraig_f

basquille wrote: »

I paid $534 (incl sales tax) in the States - so about €450 for the base model (16GB WiFi).

Do you find the 16GB enough? Deciding myself between the 16 & 32GB WiFi model.

Obviously I won't expect to fill it with movies/music-collection. I plan to use mainly for apps/e-books, would like to have a lot of them on there though.

VisionaryP

I have the 64GB WiFi & 3G version. I originally bought it to display photos to clients, for which it is absolutely superb. It has, however, surpassed all my expectations. It's rarely away from me now, and I'm using it instead of the laptop almost all the time. Apps such as Bento are changing the way I go about my daily business. Browsing the web is a joy, and the image rendering for slideshows is breathtaking.

So if you can't tell, yeah, I like it a little bit.

whiterebel

VisionaryP wrote: »

I have the 64GB WiFi & 3G version. I originally bought it to display photos to clients, for which it is absolutely superb. It has, however, surpassed all my expectations. It's rarely away from me now, and I'm using it instead of the laptop almost all the time. Apps such as Bento are changing the way I go about my daily business. Browsing the web is a joy, and the image rendering for slideshows is breathtaking.

So if you can't tell, yeah, I like it a little bit.

You certainly had me fooled......:D

Basq

padraig_f wrote: »

Do you find the 16GB enough? Deciding myself between the 16 & 32GB WiFi model.

Obviously I won't expect to fill it with movies/music-collection. I plan to use mainly for apps/e-books, would like to have a lot of them on there though.

The 16GB is plenty for me.. I have an 8GB iPhone that's only 80% full. So outside of a few movies and albums (which will possibly change and rotate as mood takes me), it's loads for apps and e-books.

The largest app I seen was a game which was 80MB.. most apps seem to be in the 8MB - 25MB mark so you'd be a while filling it up.

Hunchback

does it have the same limited internet as an itouch/ipad ( i.e. youtube being the ONLY source for video) or is it able to stream from any source in the internet, like a macbook?

Basq

CKonetheonlyone wrote: »

does it have the same limited internet as an itouch/ipad ( i.e. youtube being the ONLY source for video) or is it able to stream from any source in the internet, like a macbook?

Nah.. it has similar limitations.

But a lot of the popular audio / video sites (Vimeo etc.) are changing to suit the iPad - either by changing their website or by releasing apps.

HTML 5 Audio / Video works perfectly on the iPad but whether sites will choose to embrace this is another thing.

Read more on the topic here and see examples of sites that conformed here

VisionaryP

basquille wrote: »

HTML 5 Audio / Video works perfectly on the iPad but whether sites will choose to embrace is another thing.

They'll have to. Google and Apple are both backing it, so I can't see Adobe winning this one.

kjl

I am a pretty big apple user, I would wait till next year when they have face time intergrated with the ipad.

This is the base model, you know next year will be better.

Basq

VisionaryP wrote: »

They'll have to. Google and Apple are both backing it, so I can't see Adobe winning this one.

Oh.. I know that.

But it does render any websites that aren't regularly updated or maintained a bit obselete.

I'm just thankful my own website works on it (albeit with broken links and content that needs updating). But the front page looks quite nice (although I might increase the size of the arrows).



Oh.. here's a useful one to see how websites will look on the iPad: http://ipadpeek.com/

kjl wrote:

I am a pretty big apple user, I would wait till next year when they have face time intergrated with the ipad.

This is the base model, you know next year will be better.

Oh.. without a doubt!

But outside of a camera, I can't see the addition of a whole lot else (but I'm probably way off). I reckon if they incorporate Retina Display (which they should) into it, it'll push up the cost.

Inquitus

basquille wrote: »

I reckon if they incorporate Retina Display (which they should) into it, it'll push up the cost.

It's not powerful enough to push the number of pixels if it was updated to a retina display.

If you took the iPhone4 3.5" retina display and upscaled to 9.7" it you would get a resolution of 2661*1774

I think 1024*768 is about the limit for the iPad for now, even a jump from the current 720p ish to say 1080p ish resolutions would require too much extra grunt to be found.

kmlarules

BrianD wrote: »

I tried one out in a store in Oxford St. in London at the weekend. I thought I'd be in a queue just to try it out. I wasn't.

On the plus side, they are a smaller and less bulkier than I thought. In the adverts they look bigger than they actually are. It was hard to get a feel for how they "hold" in your hands as it has all the anti-theft cables attached to it.

Interface was nice, just like the other iPhone/touch products and reacted well. To be honest I was pretty underwhelmed by it after playing about it. It looks great but I'd be struggling to justify it over a netbook. Then again if you like gadgets you won't have to.

actually yeah, i never thought of this -- it would be so awkward to hold while you interact.. was it very difficult? was it heavy/light?