iPad: Finally, Apple Has Entered The eBooks Market

[Daniel Hatadi]

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/01/apple-tablet-ebook/
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/01/the-ipad-will-violate-the-ki...

It's hard to say how sales of this will go (probably very good), and then sales of books through its iBook store, but with this and the Kindle, piracy worries are definitely lessened.

Not erased, just lessened.

[Jon Loomis]

The trick is to make one that people love. What's great about the iPad is that it's an ereader, but that's almost the least of its functions. It's also a movie player, an iPod, a game console, a personal organizer, an email and internet device, a digital photo album, and so on (I assume there's a word-processing ap for it also). The Kindle looks cold and lifeless in comparison. And let me just say that I don't own Apple stock (wish I'd bought it five years ago, though), but I am a devoted user of Apple products and have been since the late '80s.

[minervaK]

Is it a phone? How hard would it be to put Skype on there and plug in an earpiece? Then you just take ONE DEVICE with you when you leave the house. That's a selling point, in my book.

[Jon Loomis]

I don't think it's a phone, but yeah--there's a skype app for the iPhone, so why not?

[Jeff Ross]

Remember that the iPad cannot multitask yet. So if you are listening to music, it is an MP3 player. If you're reading a book, a shiny book. You will need to shut down one application before you start another. It would be nice to think of listening to pirated MP3s while reading a pirated novel, but you can only do one at a time.

[John McFetridge]

I can ony do one at a time, but I thought that was because of my age.

Maybe Apple should market these to old peope, "The Seniors' iPod."

[Jon Loomis]

Is this true? I can listen to music and simultaneously play a game or read a book or check my facebook on my iTouch--is the iPad really dumber than the iTouch?

[Jeff Ross]

http://www.macrumors.com/2010/01/27/ipad-sdk-3-2-details-external-d...

or (and possibly more fun)

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/31112/hitler-hears-ipad-can-multitask

My wife has a gateway netbook that is as fast as a regular laptop, 3 gigs of ram, HD, HDMI output, and it was only $300. It has a crystal clear screen and you can easily turn it sideways to read book size on. Lovely little thing. And an actual keyboard, not trying to type on the useless screen. Just me, but I think the iPad is a bit of a joke at the moment. it might get better in time, but for now, especially for writers who want to be able to do work wherever they are, a netbook is the way to go. http://www.gateway.com/programs/ecseries/index.php?cmpid=topnav_com...

And finally, a list of what the iPad is 'missing'. http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/01/ten-things-missing-from-the-...

I agree with Hitler (wow, how often do you get to say that?) this could have been amazing but in the end is a big pad to watch movies and cruise the net on. Another device that you carry along with the other devices it lacks ie. phone, camera, keyboard, HDMI output, and an actual computer)

[Jon Loomis]

Well, an iTouch won't run more than one app at a time, either. Why would you want to? But it will play music and run an app, or play music and surf the web, etc., so I would assume that the same is true of the iPad. According the the Apple website, there will be two versions of the iPad: one that's wifi only, and one that's 3G. I'd assume the 3G model would also function as a phone, but I could be wrong about that. The only "missing" thing here that's an issue for me is a webcam, because it would indeed be nice to use the iPad for skype--so maybe like the author of the "ten missing things" article, I'll wait for V2. But compared to a web book, I'd go with the iPad hands-down. It's just a much, much cooler device.

Who knew that Hitler preferred web books to iPads? You just never know about those PC people, I guess...

Some word-processing function would be a fine thing, too--no doubt there will be an app for that.

[Jon Loomis]

Yep--you can buy the iWork suite for iPad at the app store--either all at once or stripped out, one piece at a time. So Pages would be one of the first things I'd add on, if I bought one. The WiFi+3G model is the one to get (GPS, etc), but it's a tad on the pricey side.

[Daniel Hatadi]

I guess if the user base gets big enough, Microsoft will port the Office suite. But that's years away I'm sure.

[Daniel Hatadi]

The iPod/music player part of the iPad will work the same way. So you will be able to do that.

[Daniel Hatadi]

It doesn't have normal phone capabilities, but it does have 3G. Also, Apple's added functionality to the developer's kit to support apps like Skype.

Of course, you'll like like a total idiot with the whole pad on your ear.