have you guys seen the pricing for this monstrosity? $500 dollars for the 16GB, 3G-less version. 3G costs $130 dollars (if you tried hard enough, im sure you could buy a whole 3G phone for that), and getting a version with any real memory space costs an extra $100 on top of that.

couple that with lack of USB, SD card slots and physical keyboard that isnt an added extra (im guessing it will be sold separately, more money that way), this thing is not a replacement for a laptop, unless all you want to do is pay 0.5k US to doss around on the internet zooming in on stuff :/

i voted no btw

It won't support flash so I can't see myself buying that just to go on x404.co.uk lol

I voted Pie. I can see why apple have done it but I don't have any immediate use for it. At least with a laptop on your lap you can do anything you want and it's not restricted. I'll be interested to see what people say about it over the next few months.

A few things strike me, less than 24 hours after The Announcement.

1. It's really too early to say how successful the iPad will be. No-one really foresaw how the App Store and iPhone would work in 2007. With the App Store already in place, and developers falling over themselves to make Apps for a phone nobody thought would be successful, iPad is on to a good start already.

2. A lot of the complaints sound a lot like those about the iPhone. That turned out to be a real turd, didn't it. Whatever happened to that pile of junk?

3. How many pundits moaning about missed features are really upset that their pet feature isn't included?

In a year, with iPad 2.0, millions of new apps, and lots of accessories, I'm sure we'll all wonder how we managed without one.

i wont buy one in a million years, but the lack of obvious features sets them up nicely to say "oh hey!!! heres a new version with all the stuff we conveniently forgot to add to the first one!!" much like they did with the iPhone 3G. its an arsey business tactic that makes you buy the same thing over and over again for a few minor updates, and its really not worth it. Maybe there will be an iPad 2.0, with all these wonderful features that have been left out this round. maybe it will be so awesome and shiny, even i am blinded by it. but till then all i see it as is one giant cash-cow from the worlds biggest shiny object dispenser

Exactly. Hype is one thing, reality is quite another.

I'm utterly ambivalent about it. I'm still ambivalent about iPhones, too. I used to be ambivalent about iPods, until I suddenly "got it".

Correct, but then it's not aimed to be that.
It's essentially an Apple netbook in tablet form.
It's not a laptop replacement.

Mark

I think Heather summarizes it quite nicely. The iPhone has a great UI and I've always said that and respected what Apple have done. I can also notice the quality of the audio output from my mates, through my £1500 car system next to say, a n other cheap mp3 player. However, aside from that, I don't need it, I don't want it, and it doesn't do anything that my £120 Sony phone doesn't do. Plus my phone takes better pictures and talks to more things more easily (especially in what is arguably still a PC dominated/less-proprietary world). On that basis, this thing is much the same. The resolution is crap and 4:3, the price is ridiculous, and the Apple-fied universe doesn't suit me.

However, I'm quite well aware that I'm in the minority and for most people it will be something exciting that they can't wait to get their hands on. Apple are simply the Bose of the tech world. An ok-at-best, crappy-at-worst product, designed and marketed with a flair that is beyond question. These people know how to make money and you can't help but respect that. Will I be buying one though? No.

Best of luck to Jobs though, he's likely to make a killing.

Agreed. The inclusion of iWork apps for an extra fee makes it fit into that slot quite nicely. I wonder if we will see other apps downsized for this device? The screen can certainly handle it.

It is also going after the eBook readers. A full colour screen means that magazines and comics will be content hat will go on nicely. If I had an iPad, I’d drop my paper subscriptions in favour of that device. I don’t know if I’d want to read a book on one, but magazines would be fine.

I’m a waverer. There are things I like, and things I don’t like. I big “don’t like” is the fact that is is not a full blown portable Mac. I’d love a proper tablet Mac (as noted here in the past), but clearly that is not to be for the moment.

Thank you

That's what I was going to write as soon as I saw the comment but you got there first.

No it doesn't, it just as a virtual one, not a real one.

http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/

Scroll down to iPad Keyboard Dock.

I understand it will also support ANY bluetooth keyboard.

I am confused by the virtual keyboard. Take an A4 piece of paper and imagine a full sized keyboard on it. How will you type on it? Where will you put it? I am thinking “back ache” myself, looking at the slouching postures the Apple crew were taking.

I was imagining a kind of broken keyboard myself - half on one side, half on the other for thumb typing. That would require a smaller “frame” and some re-learning.

I dunno - what are the thoughts here on the ergonomics of this device?

I’ll tell you one thing - my other half, who is far less drawn to gadgetry was interested.

Hmm voted Pie but I doubt I'll buying one.
It will be interesting to see how the US price translates to a UK or Euro price. Either way I'm not expecting it to be good as per usual.

Dont like it.

I'd prefer an e-book reader rather than read books on this (becasue of the e-ink is easier on the eyes)
I have an iPod Touch with my music collection on and can comfortably connect to wi-fi when needing to have a quick browse, e.g. google something ive seen
I dont rate the 4:3 format or resolution of the screen for video playback, although the battery life appeals
I'd rather have a 'proper' netbook if I felt the need for such a device
In fact it all seems rather pointless to me


£100 says I end up buying one!!!!