IPad: $1 Billion Later, What Do You Think of It Now?

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ipad_1_billion_later_what_do_you_think_of_it_now.php

by Anon84 • 16 years ago

48 93 16 years ago

pierrefar2• 16 years ago

I won't decide on the iPad till I see the crop of competitors in action. Android-based ones are the most interesting to me so far, but HP's WebOS tablet is certainly promising.

moolave• 16 years ago

I hope this convinces you more: http://www.vimeo.com/11886557

bjelkeman-again• 16 years ago

Combine that with a device which really is "peel off and roll up in your pocket", maybe something derived from this Sony display, and cheap, and I think we have the future right there.

http://singularityhub.com/2010/05/29/sonys-new-flexible-oled...

pierrefar2• 16 years ago

That's cool, but it doesn't strike me as special or unique to the iPad. Surely any well-designed tablet would benefit from velcro like that.

CamperBob2• 16 years ago

Wow, if that airbag goes off, the EMTs are going to have a real WTF moment. "What's that thing around his neck?"

elblanco4• 16 years ago

If only that video worked on an iPad.

tumult• 16 years ago

I've been using mine on and off since the release day. I think it's a fun toy. And most people use their computers as toys, so I believe it will continue to do quite well, until someone copies Apple exactly enough and at a lower price.

swombat• 16 years ago

Based on their track record for people copying the iPod and the iPhone, I guess the iPad has at least half a decade of reigning over personal computers, then.

stcredzero5• 16 years ago

I think the Droid Incredible's on a par with the iPhone.

ghurlman3• 16 years ago

I still can't help but think that it's a device that if I were still single (read: more free time, no kids, no mortgage/property taxes) - I would've bought in a heartbeat.

But, as it is, there's no way I can justify the cost with an iPhone in my pocket & laptop on the table.

martythemaniak• 16 years ago

You don't have to be single, you just have to care about value. I haven't seen anything to convince me that it'll give me $750+ of value (a non-base model with a case, after taxes).

ghurlman3• 16 years ago

Value doesn't count if you still can't afford it.

rythie2• 16 years ago

I think actually it is good for families as it is more suited to the living room and is therefore more social.

ghurlman3• 16 years ago

Not until it supports more than one user profile/account/whatever. Not holding my breath though, as iTunes is still the only program that I'm aware of in wide use that only allows one logged-in user at a time to use it (on a PC).

Terretta2• 16 years ago

Funny how often "lap"-tops stay on the table. Maybe the iPad is the first actual laptop.

inovica2• 16 years ago

I love mine. I have a laptop, but the iPad is the useful tool that I browse with on the sofa, take to meetings to demonstrate 'stuff' and throw in the car as a 'just in case' as I can use instant messengers, email and the web (plus drop-box) its all I really need in an emergency. It doesn't do everything - of course - because its not supposed to.

wvenable• 16 years ago

Sounds like exactly how I use my netbook. (Edit: when I can get it away from my wife)

glhaynes• 16 years ago

You're a hacker, as evinced by your posting on "Hacker News".

inovica2• 16 years ago

Thats true too! I had a Dell netbook that I used for the same purpose, so yes the iPad fulfils the same purpose (for me). Its definitely not for everyone but what I' finding interesting is that it polarises opinion. Better technology will come, but for me this is perfect for now for what I need

crocowhile2• 16 years ago

I went to the apple store with a friend last week. He badly wanted the iPad but could not find a valid reason for it, other than goofing around on the sofa. After half an hour thinking we ended up deciding that the iPad is really useful if you want a way to carry around and read your PDF library of scientific paper. I don't think it has rivals for that.

For everything else it's just a cool toy.

adbge• 16 years ago

Am I the only one who thinks it's premature to claim that we're entering a "new era of computing"? I'm still far from convinced that tablet computing is going to "revolutionize" anything other than printed media.

axod• 16 years ago

I personally doubt it'll even revolutionize that.

ghshephard7• 16 years ago

It's certainly revolutionized how I interact with Magazines, Newspapers, Video, Entertainment and Books.

What I'd really like to do is see whether my new behavior sustains itself, or whether it's a function of the "New shiny thing" - my iPhone, Two (three?) + years later gets used every 30 minutes, every day, for _tons_ of functions - so clearly that was a sustainable technology shift.

stcredzero5• 16 years ago

The internet already revolutionized my Magazine, Newspaper & Video consumption. The former, it revolutionized pretty much out of existence.

The iPad's form factor was instrumental in revolutionizing my interaction with books. I can buy a book whenever I think of it. Programming books? I can carry an unlimited number of them with me! In this it's just like the Kindle with two big differences: 1) it's much better for searching 2) it's a much better web browser/computing device.

dagw• 16 years ago

I've been convinced about tablet computing since I got an IBM X41 several years ago. Sure those computers where far too immature and far too expensive to ever be mainstream, but the potential was there. The iPad manages to bring the usability and price needed to make the concept more mainstream. From here on in we'll seeing tablets just growing and growing. The iPad may not be the device that becomes ubiquitous, but we look back upon it as the device that really started it all.

commieneko8• 16 years ago

If we aren't entering a "new era" of computing every 5 years or so, then _that_ will be a change worth commenting on...

edit regarding printed media: If by "revolutionize" you mean "kill dead" well, yeah. And it's not just the tablet's thats doing that. Writing's been on the wall for, what, 30 to 40 years.

ebiester• 16 years ago

This really surprised me.

It's not that I didn't expect the IPad to be a success. I mean, it's a sexy piece of hardware. The mobile processors mean that we finally have enough firepower in this small of a case.

However, hasn't anyone learned yet not to buy the first Apple implementation of anything? Next year will be a new IPad and it will have a camera, a faster processor, and who knows what else that will make everyone go, "I don't really have the money, and I have this one, but that's really cool! I wish I had waited."

lr• 16 years ago

As a friend of mine said when it was mentioned to him that the next generation would be even better, "I'll buy that one, too."

markbao• 16 years ago

Me too.

Damnit, Apple. How do you do this.

ghshephard7• 16 years ago

We're only on earth for a limited period of time. Waiting would have meant giving up the last two months of just a wonderful experience interacting with knowledge, entertainment, my pictures, and the web in ways that I had never done so before. Plus, I get another 10 months of this before the next one is released.

I look at it completely differently - In one year, my $800 iPad, which I've kept in pristine condition, will have a resale value of around $400. The question I need to ask myself is - Did I get $400 worth of value out of the iPad in a year. That's a no-brainer for me.

fr0man2• 16 years ago

That good of an experience? I'm genuinely curious, how is it "interacting with knowledge, entertainment, my pictures, and the web in ways that I had never done so before"? Is it not still just Safari Mobile? That's just a web browser. Without a keyboard. I love Safari mobile on my wife's iPhone, but I still prefer having a keyboard and spending half as much for a netbook that does everything the iPad does and more.

hop• 16 years ago

Its only $499 and you can easily sell it on ebay for most of its value if you don't want it. At least that was my thought process when getting one.

alextgordon• 16 years ago

There's always a rev N+1. Holding off buying hardware at the start of a cycle because of what could come next year is a recipe for never buying anything.

jacabado• 16 years ago

It's interesting to see all the replies, they show the interest on the iPad, but to be fair with the parent he said the first generation.

I'm with him, as I am with the rest of you. I bought a first generation Macbook: battery problems who led to hard drive problem (tic tic tic no more hard drive) and fan noise problems. The worst of all? Dealing with Apple support. Horrible here in Portugal, paying premium for subpar service really gets you angry.

Am I buying an iPad? Yes, but I will at least check for problems with the batch I'll be buying. It's not expectable to see the regular consumer having this behavior but you should.

teilo• 16 years ago

If that were the only parameter in the argument, that would be true. However, there are two things, in this case, that make the OP's point valid: First, N=1. This is, for all practical purposes, a Gen 1 device. There really will be a significant improvement in Gen 2, annoyances removed, etc. I learned this the hard way with the G1, a phone I could not honestly recommend anyone buy. But I would council anyone to buy a Nexus One now, even though there will be something better later.

Second - By the time Gen 2 comes around, the apps will exist to make this device ever so much more usable and useful than it is today. Again, this is an N=1 problem that does not apply to N+1 where N>1.

rauljara• 16 years ago

This argument could eternally be applied to computers. Why buy now? In just 18 short months, there will be one that is twice as fast. Are the 18 short months up? If you waited just 18 more, you'd get doubly as fast again!

jwr• 16 years ago

And the year after that, there will be an even better iPad, with more bells, doodads and whistles, and thingamajigs, too.

With that approach, you end up waiting forever.

zandorg• 16 years ago

I say "When the CPU is 10x faster and it costs less than $150, then I buy". Not putting it off forever, just skipping a couple of early generations.

CamperBob2• 16 years ago

However, hasn't anyone learned yet not to buy the first Apple implementation of anything?

I don't know what you're talking about. I bought the first iPhone model, and while it was a deeply flawed device in several ways, the overall ownership experience was amazing. Besides being the most solid example of "1.0" hardware I'd purchased in a long time, it just kept getting better after the sale, with various new features and performance improvements coming out every few weeks. Almost every complaint I had, from stability to the lack of an SDK, was eventually remedied. Apple seemed to be committed to the overall ownership experience to an extent that was unlike any other hardware vendor I'd ever dealt with.

It was only much later that they started removing features, enforcing absurd contract terms, micromanaging the scope of the user's experience, and generally acting like a company run by Mormons and led by Tipper Gore. I'd say the early iPhone ownership experience was a solid 9/10 on the warm-fuzziness scale, and now it's a 4 at best.

For its part, the first-gen iPad contains no revolutionary or untried technologies that weren't already shipped in the iPhone, and its only real problem is inadequate WiFi reception. There have been some complaints about the iPad's charger damaging iPhones as well. Other than that, the iPad delivers exactly what it says on the box. It doesn't really need a faster processor, but I imagine a lot of people will find a front-facing camera useful.

olliesaunders• 16 years ago

Author's wife's comments are the best.

Tichy3• 16 years ago

"Wilson's appreciation of the iPad's usability contradicts with usability expert Jakob Nielsen's assessment :"

Not really, though, as Wilson also says he prefers web apps to native apps on the iPad.

Tichy3• 16 years ago

I think the economic crisis can't be all that bad.

DanielBMarkham• 16 years ago

"It's like finding a lover," she says. "At first everything they do is exciting, but over time a good lover becomes more of a real person. Some of the initial fascination is gone, but it becomes a super important part of your life. And like a good lover, in time it becomes difficult to imagine going to bed without it each night."

I have tried very hard to ignore all of the Apple hype.

Somebody please make it stop.

If the iPad were a 1/100th of everything people make it out to be, the world would be transformed. Instead, it's just Apple doing a bang-up job on taking the slate to the next level. Let's leave it at that and move on with our lives. Geesh. Enough already.

We are more than the electronic trinkets we carry around. And if we're not, that's not something to be bragging about.

stcredzero5• 16 years ago

If the iPad were a 1/100th of everything people make it out to be, the world would be transformed. Instead, it's just Apple doing a bang-up job on taking the slate to the next level.

Taking an aspect of computing to the mainstream is often referred to as a revolution. The whole World Wide Web could be considered in this light. By mainstreaming the slate, Apple is doing exactly this and making a handsome profit.

protomyth4• 16 years ago

My technophobic Mom (she finally gave up the VCR after learning how to use the DVR) is using one. That's what I call a revolution. Once Mom got her hands on the MLB app, it was no longer a "computer". If a good bible program is released, Dad will never see it again. If she gets stuck, she just presses the button and starts over.

commieneko8• 16 years ago

I had to laugh when you mentioned the press the button to start over behavior. For years I've known people who still do that to their PCs. Rather than belittle those users, I've always wondered why so obvious a behavior wasn't built in at the OS level. When I suggest such things at programmer's gatherings I end up getting "the look" from everyone...

npp• 16 years ago

Sorry if this is off topic, but am just curious -- what does a "good bible program" involve? Surely the Bible is available via some kind of Kindle/iBook thing?

georgekv• 16 years ago

Have they tried Olive Tree software? I find it to be quite good.

http://www.olivetree.com/ipad/index.php

commieneko8• 16 years ago

The world is transformed, and has been in the throes of a major transformation for, what, 20 years? 30 years? 50... Read a little history or talk to your grand parents or parents. Old newspapers on microfilm (or online!) are another clue. Anyone interested in media, communications, and data processing needs to know this stuff.

(I may be a little extra aware of this: my father was born in 1916, my grandfather was born in 1860, and my great grandfather (on my father's mother side) was born in 1795. All left significant documents about their life. And of course my father's still talking...)

Tichy3• 16 years ago

But what is the major thing that replaces newspapers? An alternative form factor to carry around, or an alternative way to transport information? I'm sorry to say, but I think with or without the iPad, newspapers would have been toast. The iPad will just be another footnote in history.

losvedir2• 16 years ago

Wow, so your great grandfather was 65 when he had your grandfather, and your grandfather was 56 when he had your father? How old are you, if you don't mind me asking? That's an impressive lineage you've got there.

I asked my grandfather once if he ever knew someone in the Civil War and he got offended, but it could have just barely worked -- he was born in about 1930. Wow, you must have some interesting family history!

tlb2• 16 years ago

I spend significantly more time interacting with my computers than my lovers. Don't you? So the quality of my computers affects the quality of my life as much as choosing the right woman. The iPad is smart, sexy and low-maintenance.

I'd like more options, of course. It took 4 years for someone to come up with a halfway credible competitor to the iPod (the Zune). I wonder how long it will take for the iPad.

ThomPete• 16 years ago

the beauty of the iPad format is that it is based on thousands of years of trial an error for finding the perfect format.

But this is not just an iPad thing, this is a tablet thing. It's quite amazing to see so much power being put into such a slim device.

Nothing beats playing some racing game in crazy 3d and then turning the tablet around and realizing just how slim it is.

How can so much power be cramped into such a small device.

We surely do live in exiting times not just because of the iPad but because of the state of computing power and what it allows us to do.

abalashov• 16 years ago

It's still a mostly useless device.

rbarooah• 16 years ago

I love mine. A few comments:

To the people comparing the features and price to a netbook and saying 'I just don't get it' - it's about the design i.e. how it works not just what it can do. I think that the crowd here owes it to themselves to take a close look at one, ideally find a friend who has one, and play with it in a relaxed environment. There is something quite different about the experience that you won't understand by comparing feature lists, and even if you dislike Apple and don't want to buy one, it's worth understanding this because it is a real change to how we interact with computers.

Secondly, I have found it to be a great device for traveling. I am visiting London at the moment and got a 10gb microsim for 15GBP. I get to use the thing all day and the battery and data supply is ample. I can catch up on tech news, read docs, read books, and watch movies etc. I could do these on my laptop, but this is way better, and I can carry it with me everywhere and even use it in public without being antisocial, whilst my laptop stays at our base for the odd moment of coding.

Finally, an obviously revolutionary moment came for me yesterday. I was looking up details of a medical center, and my father who is nearly 90, was asking me questions. At a certain point he just reached over and took the iPad from my hand and started reading the webpage and scrolling through the document himself. This was the first time he'd touched the thing, and he hasn't used a computer since he retired more than 20 years ago.

It might not seem like a big deal, but to me that signifies a profound step in terms of both usability and sociability of computing, not to mention the ubiquity of he web. Smartphones and laptops are both still very much personal computers. The iPad may be the first mass market interpersonal computer.

ahoyhere3• 16 years ago

The story with your father underlines what's really amazing about the iPad:

It's visceral computing.

It brings the data "in there" to a place where we can handle it "out here." It really is the web, in your hands, where you can pass it around, and that's a very different experience than on a laptop screen.

Being able to reach out and touch data and objects on the screen -- like we can do with EVERY real life object we interact with in the world, that we evolved with -- is totally transformative.

Laptops are like feedbags -- they're glued to your face, meant for an audience of one. The iPad is like a plate of hors d'ouevres, finger food for everyone.

crocowhile2• 16 years ago

I am everything but an apple fan and I agree with you. iPad changed the way we interact with computers, same as iPhone changed the way we used the phone and iPod the way we deal with music. That said: I don't have an iphone but a nexus one and I will be getting an android tablet when they will come out. Kudos to Apple for being able to show the way so many times over and over - but I still prefer open source and freedom.

ekanes• 16 years ago

Perhaps we have the best situation possible in terms of evolutionary and revolutionary innovation.

We get huge leaps in revolutionary innovation by Apple, followed by strong evolutionary innovation as strong competition arrives (eg. Android) and forces Apple to continue improving, lower prices, etc.

elblanco4• 16 years ago

I borrowed a friend's for a week and really found that I was more frustrated with the limitations of the device, what I couldn't do (usually because of some arbitrary Apple policy than a technical one), than how enamored I was with how it changed what I could do -- at least once or twice per usage "session". That being said, I'd be far more willing to accept those limitations if it wasn't so darned expensive. When I held it and used it, I kept thinking two things:

1) The user experience is really nice, and pretty well thought out despite the constraints of the design, like no multi-tasking. The instantaneous reaction to swipes and zooms and such are a necessity on touch platforms, I'm convinced of this after using the iPad. Other devices that aren't absolutely instantaneous shouldn't even be on the market. I only say this because on the very few occasions where the interaction stutters a hair, I really noticed it.

2) This is a $300 device, not a device that starts at $500. I can't believe that there is seriously a version of this device that sells for north of $800. For $800 I expect this thing to come with 500GB of storage, a dockable keyboard, cameras, USB, flash, and a 3g plan for 2 years etc. etc. etc.

I'm just not sure I can sink that kind of money into something I won't use for much more than surfing the web from my couch (which I will admit, it provides a superior experience to my netbook for that use-case). Perhaps if I owned one instead of borrowed one I would find other uses for it. It's potential applications for board games and such are vast.

However, considering it's pitched as a casual usage device (Jobs even premiered it from a couch), half a grand is serious money, not casual money.

I found it to be "adequate" as an e-book reader. The apps were "ok", user interface inconsistencies were as common as anything else I've seen on any other platform. It surfed the web great, I spent one of the more enjoyable 3 hour wikipedia link clicking sessions on it that I can remember.

I missed flash fairly often. In particular, I was shopping around for some cell phones, I had no idea that some of the carrier sites have upwards of 6 or 7 flash apps containing all the content on the site. The iPad was useless for those among many others.

I'd probably be interested in getting a 2nd or 3rd gen version if it was significantly cheaper and had usb.

MrFoof• 16 years ago

>However, considering it's pitched as a casual usage device (Jobs even premiered it from a couch), half a grand is serious money, not casual money.

Ah, so here's an interesting something about that keynote in which I was probably the only one to take note of.

The chair Jobs was sitting on was Le Corbusier's LC-2, and I believe it was paired off with Saarinen's Tulip side table, presumably with the extra-white marble top. Realistically you can expect to spend $4,000 for that chair and another $1,500 for that table. Taxed, shipped and delivered that's easily a $6,000 pair.

Like Apple's products - in which Ive is known to draw on Deiter Ram's influence, as those of other modern designers - they're simple, extremely well-made, beautiful, and try to provide a great experience in at least one area. I'll agree the iPad has some usability shortcomings, but it's still a very solid 1.0.

The average person would love some great furniture. However the average person has a hard time justifying spending such a great premium for some excellent design qualities, and most would agree that such a decision to compromise on price is perfectly normal. However at least in terms of price, something like an iPad or iPod is more accessible to people, whereas beautiful furniture and homes - of which the costs can be terrifying - are not. They're (Apple products) still without a doubt luxury items, but they're within the reach of most.

elblanco4• 16 years ago

Nice eye, I did not notice the furniture as much during the keynote.

> but it's still a very solid 1.0

I absolutely agree. Considering the rubbish that was tablet computing before the iPad, this device comes from a completely different universe. It's an awesome 1.0 effort.

There was/is quite a bit made that it's basically a big iPod. But having spent some time with the device now I have to disagree. It really is something different than a big iPod or what we've come to think of as tablet computing. The brilliance was in not trying to adapt a bunch of GUI metaphors meant for a mouse to a touch screen, but in building an ecosystem from the ground up around touch interactivity metaphors. This I think is what's made it click and seems to obvious in retrospect.

tlb2• 16 years ago

I loved it from the beginning, and I still love it. I'm happy it's catching on because I think it will improve a lot of people's experience of the internet. Partly because of the form factor, partly because it's so much simpler than administering a Windows system.

cadalac• 16 years ago

iPad = no flash = no grooveshark or google finance.

So I won't buy one, since those 2 sites are pretty much my staples, along with HN of course:-).

IPad: $1 Billion Later, What Do You Think of It Now?

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