Will the iPad follow these other Apple products that failed?

[Timman_24]

I'm still psyched about the comic reading capabilities. Gizmodo or one of those blogs even had an article about it a couple of days ago. Got me even more excited. And then there's news that Apple will drop the price if the iPad is selling slower than expected, so I can't see how this thing can fail.

Still no news about which one of the garbage telecoms here in the USSC is going to offer internet access for it but I can't say I'm all that worried. I don't think I'd ever take the thing out of my house.

Edit: and if anything it's the Kindle that's gonna fail. It looks so completely obsolete next to the iPad, despite the obviously different market. Yes, we're all aware that eInk is better for the eyes, yadda yadda yadda, but the average person doesn't know about that. It just looks like some ancient B&W device next to the iPad. And Amazon knows it. They are running scared, talking about their own color tablet now (not even using eInk from the sounds of it, so it's gonna be too little too late if it's just another me-too device) and the book publishers are jumping ship into the waiting arms of Apple and higher prices.

I can see Amazon throwing out a "mainstream" tablet within 6 months.

[Boneycat]

I heard google is coming out w/ their own tablet. It's called the Gspot. It should be rather stimulating.

[Nater]

Anyone that thinks this thing is going to fail is living in some sort of irrational Apple-hate fantasy land. I don't think it will be as successful as the iPhone, but it's pretty hard for anyone to repeat that sort of success, even Apple.

I'd also guess that while it's competitors may be technically superior, they'll fail in the most important aspects of UI and applications integration. It's been nearly three years and Motorola, HTC, Nokia. ect. still can't make a phone that can honestly be placed next to the iPhone and not look like crap. It'll likely be more of the same with this new form factor. When you factor in that Apple is making huge margins on the part, and can cut the prices a lot and still make a profit, there is really no likely way for this product to fail.

[ua549]

The major problem with the iPad replacing an e-book reader is the screen technology.
The iPad uses too much power and can't be easily read in daylight. E-book readers do not require continuous power to keep the screen refreshed and the screen gets easier to read as ambient light levels increase. Battery run time is measured in days and weeks, not minutes and hours.

[Vindir]

I heard google is coming out w/ their own tablet. It's called the Gspot. It should be rather stimulating.

I'd bet Apple will make sure the iPad gets in the way of its release. Even though there will be tickled reviews we won't be able to find it.

[ImaNihilist]

The major problem with the iPad replacing an e-book reader is the screen technology.
The iPad uses too much power and can't be easily read in daylight. E-book readers do not require continuous power to keep the screen refreshed and the screen gets easier to read as ambient light levels increase. Battery run time is measured in days and weeks, not minutes and hours.

People are dumb enough to buy an iPad and just charge it every 6 hours like they do with the iPhone.

[md1198p]

It's more than portable enough for what it's supposed to be, a big iPod Touch. If they'd have made it any smaller, they'd have given up a lot of screen space. I'd rather have something made to watch video a little less portable with a bigger screen, most people would. I'd hazard to guess that most of the forthcoming products from ASUS and such will be the same rough size.

But those products will probably run more than apps I would guess. Therefore being more useful and the drcreased portability becomes less of an issue. A big Ipod touch seems stupid to me, the touch is nice because it is small. If your gonna make it bigger it should have much greater capabilities.

[Nater]

I highly doubt the Android=based tablets will have a larger selection of applications than the iPad. Which has more applications; the iPhone or the Droid? All those apps in the App Store will work on the iPad with a minimum of reworking. All they need to be able to do is support the larger screen.

Not to mention that the iPad has capabilities that the iPod Touch does not, from document creation and email to 3G capability.

[wh666-666]

I won't be buying one...

to me it's too big to be a phone/gaming device

and if I want to run programs and appliccations I would op for a netbook or laptop.

not to mention
1- I will be tied down to the apple store for their stuff.
2- no user replacable battery,
3- no usb port
4- more expensive that a netbook

that is just me.. but if other don't mind bending over and pulling their pants down for apple that's their business

Couldnt agree more. Anyone would have to be retarded to buy an Ipad. In addition to what you said, it doesnt even support flash properly!

It is the most useless piece of crap to be produced this century and is a drain on resources that could be put in to products that serve some purpose.

I heard google is coming out w/ their own tablet. It's called the Gspot. It should be rather stimulating.

Lol very funny

I'd bet Apple will make sure the iPad gets in the way of its release. Even though there will be tickled reviews we won't be able to find it.

Dude, he was joking. No company could sell a unit with a name that could cause offense to such a degree.

[James]

I heard google is coming out w/ their own tablet. It's called the Gspot. It should be rather stimulating.

I'd bet Apple will make sure the iPad gets in the way of its release. Even though there will be tickled reviews we won't be able to find it.

It's OK, even though they won't be able to find it, they'll run editorials about how they are the only one to have ever truly seen on in real life and how great an experience it is.

[Soul Assassin]

it doesnt even support flash properly!

It is the most useless piece of crap to be produced this century and is a drain on resources that could be put in to products that serve some purpose.

You could be referring to Flash with your second paragraph and it would be far more accurate than the iPad. I wish nothing supported flash so that horrendous pile of garbage would die. I'm thankful to the iPhone and its brothers that it's pushing the web to move away from Flash and into something decent like HTML5.

[Nater]

Lack of Flash support in a device that is bound to be very popular is not a bad thing at all. Flash and Acrobat Reader are probably the two least secure products you have installed on your computer.

[Timman_24]

Dude, he was joking. No company could sell a unit with a name that could cause offense to such a degree.

Lol, you totally missed his joke.

[Timman_24]

Lack of Flash support in a device that is bound to be very popular is not a bad thing at all. Flash and Acrobat Reader are probably the two least secure products you have installed on your computer.

A little word alchemy there. Let's make it not connect to the internet either, since that is the least secure feature that a device can possibly have.

[young weezy]

The major problem with the iPad replacing an e-book reader is the screen technology.
The iPad uses too much power and can't be easily read in daylight. E-book readers do not require continuous power to keep the screen refreshed and the screen gets easier to read as ambient light levels increase. Battery run time is measured in days and weeks, not minutes and hours.

I haven't held one in my hands yet (obviously), but from what I've read it's one of the most impressive screens ever made. The iPad isn't just an E-book reader, it also does a bunch of other things.

E-book readers were flawed from the beginning. Most people still prefer their books to be actual ink, not e-ink. The Kindle is the de facto standard, and it has "only" sold 2-3 million units. Might sound like quite a bit, but it's really not. Thus, the display of E-book readers doesn't really matter that much. The iPad, on the other hand (and similar devices that will surely soon be released by other companies) can be sold as a general purpose device that can be used to watch movies, play games, etc., and maybe read a book on every once in a while. A month ago I was sure that PixelQI technology was the future, now I'm not that convinced anymore.

Battery life seems to be a non-issue to me, as long as the 10+ hour figure promised by Apple is true. Nobody will use the thing for 10 hours a day, so just plug it in overnight. There might be a few people who will buy a kindle or similar device because they want to take it on vacation without recharging it, but they're the minority.

A little word alchemy there. Let's make it not connect to the internet either, since that is the least secure feature that a device can possibly have.

A strawman argument at best. It is true that Flash is one of the buggiest pieces of crap (especially on OSX, which the iPad (not really but kind of) runs). Of course people will initially be pissed off that their favourite niche streaming site doesnt work or that they cant play this and that game on miniclip or newgrounds, but those content providers will just release their stuff for a dollar on the app store and make a fast buck. I don't like it, but it's already happening.

The benefit of this, and the fact that it can't multitask, is that all the sudden specs don't matter anymore. Sure, Apple may have emphasized the processor that's in it, but only to brag about the fact that they make CPUs now. They've had their big unveiling, and nobody knows how much RAM is in that thing. That's because it doesn't matter.

There are problems with this though: the "every app will run on every device" approach only works until a newer model comes out with a faster CPU and more RAM. The first iPhone 3GS-exclusive apps are hitting the app store right now, so phones are becoming a platform where old models become obsolete just like old computers.

Oh, and it doesn't have a front-facing camera, which I think is the biggest flaw. The iPad would have been great for video chat. But expect version 2 or 3 to fix that.