

Live from the Apple 'latest creation' event - ilamont
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/live-from-the-apple-tablet-latest-creation-event/

======
sharms
The funniest part about all of this is I have yet to purchase an apple device
(I run Ubuntu myself), but I can't not watch these presentations.

It would be great if there were other tech companies with such well presented
products and ideas that really made you say 'wow'.

~~~
anigbrowl
Jobs is truly wonderful salesman, all right. He knows how to play a crowd like
a violin.

~~~
SandB0x
It helps that the engadget live bloggers are fawning idiots.

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mojuba
No Flash, a web site with a missing plugin icon was demonstrated probably on
purpose.

~~~
joeyh
Curious how google streetview is working w/o flash?

~~~
glymor
Google streetview also works on the iphone. Drop a pin and touch the little
man.

~~~
uuilly
Google maps app on iPhone is not a web app. iPhone has OpenGL.

------
mrduncan
Interesting that McGraw-Hill isn't listed as one of their book partners. Were
they dropped after their CEO opened his mouth yesterday I wonder?
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1079109>

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ilamont
First thoughts:

\- Looks like a giant iPod touch

\- I'm not convinced the email is phenomenal

~~~
m0th87
I'm not convinced _anything_ is phenomenal on this. Between my desktop,
macbook and iPhone, I can't think of any use cases for it. Is it just a
bigger, faster iPhone? I don't get it.

~~~
DenisM
It's possible that touch makes a huge difference. People who never held an
iPhone don't understand what's so special about touch, but pretty much all new
owners spend first two days not being able to let go of the device poking it
with a finger.

~~~
maurycy
Are you sure? I'm a former iPhone owner, and the touch was main of it
disadvantages.

The touch keyboard is awfully slow. It is a very big step backwards, comparing
to Blackberry or Android G1. And, I know, it sells under "don't expect that
much it's a phone, you can live with it".

As for the tablet, a portable machine - something between a laptop, and phone,
I expect an _option_ to use the actual keyboard. Otherwise, it's going to be
utterly _passive_ machine.

Other disadvantages were, for instance, display which makes iPhone unsuitable
for browsing the web, even in a bed. This is the lesson fully learned by
Apple, though.

~~~
DenisM
Yes I am sure. Many of my friends weren't able to let go of the phone for
several days. It should be noted that none of us are heavy SMS or other text
users; the most I need keyboard for it to setup email/password so I can _read_
email and an occasional quick web search.

------
AmericanOP
No camera.. no video chat... more time to save up for Ipad 2.0!

------
waterlesscloud
Pretty much zero wow so far. It's a big ipod touch.

------
adamt
I don't understand some of the negativity here. My credit card is already
tingling in my pocket ready to pre-order at the first opportunity.

The proof will be in the pudding - but a device with a decent screen size,
with 10 hours battery life, that I can use for browsing the internet from the
bed/living room is great.

I have an iphone, I have an MBP, I have an Acer Aspire One (running Linux) But
all of these are not quite perfect. The speed improvement of the 3GS over the
3G makes a big difference, but it's still not quite the perfect browsing
device. My Acer never gets used - I agree with Steve Jobs that it's worse at
everything. The MBP is pretty good - but it's a bit heavy at 2KG versus < 1KG
iPad and most of the time the keyboard is redundant.

I want one :-)

~~~
jacquesm
If you're halfway smart and not just one of the 'I got it first' crowd I'd
advice your credit card to solidly cling to the inside of your pocket for the
next 6 months.

Let others deal with the inevitable 1.0 bugs.

When dealing with new technology second best is best.

~~~
adamt
Apple's history with the iPhone/iPod though is that the hardare is generally
pretty good at launch and all bugs are in the software/firmware which can be
fixed.

It won't be a business critical tool for me - I will happily deal with some of
the teething issues.

Still want one ;-)

~~~
jacquesm
There were quite a few hw related problems with early iPhones, off the top of
my head, 3G issues, battery life, screen tint (not sure if that one was device
or firmware related), touch screen dead zones.

------
nopinsight
If they include a pull-out or pluggable physical keyboard, arranged to allow
the pad to stand like a frame, it could be a great replacement for most
netbooks and allow for hands-free reading--therefore a Kindle killer as well.

Wonder if they have ever considered the idea and reject it simply for the
aesthetics of having the simplest, smoothest device possible. Aesthetics is
good, but if a small compromise can be made for much greater functionality, it
would be a good trade-off.

I think some other companies might have come up with a device I described
above, anyone here knows of one. I would consider buying it. A link would be
appreciated.

~~~
philwelch
You called it.

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aresant
Waiting on that wow moment, still basically just a huge ipod touch . . .

~~~
thaumaturgy
Hmm. So, we've got a handheld device with a slick UI, that can be used for
video, audio, email, games, and reading, has a long battery life, and
reasonable performance ... the first iteration of the mythical "tablet" that
everyone's been talking about for two years now ... and the general reaction
is that it's too much like a fancy Walkman?

~~~
aresant
Point well taken!

But I'd argue that "the first iteration of the mythical "tablet" was the
iphone 3GS.

It's smaller form factor makes it the more exciting (and marketable) tool.

BUT - reserving judgement for Steve's infamous WOW moment (fingers crossed).

A dock, awesome multitouch, or something along those lines would help a lot.

~~~
rinich
More marketable? Hardly.

My mother wants something that she can lie down on a couch with, read books,
check email, be relaxed. You can't do that in the iPod comfortably.

Note that Steve's doing all this in a comfy chair. That's what this is. It's a
comfy chair device.

~~~
unexpected
This is basically a crunchpad - but it's probably be going to be $1000. Yes
this device has a niche, but it depends on the price point...

~~~
rinich
I know, right? TechCrunch has such an extensive history of creating brilliant,
usable interfaces?

But you're wrong. This doesn't have a niche. This is going to replace many,
many niches. This is going to be what people buy instead of laptops. Unless
I'm a hardcore user that needs pro tools, this will do everything I want a
computer to do. And it will do it sexier, and sleeker, and it won't have any
of the rough edges that my laptop does.

------
maximilian
Its exactly what we should have expected. A giant iPod Touch, nothing
revolutionary, but still cool. I'm sure I won't be able to afford it, but
maybe one day...

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raganwald
Here's a question: Will AAPL de-emphasize the iPod Touch? It seems like the
Touch is now in a bit of a no-man's land: It doesn't have a phone or 3GS go-
anywhere connectivity, and won't be as compelling as a game or surfing
platform.

~~~
GHFigs
It still covers the ground between $200 and $500 for those unwilling or unable
to commit to an AT&T contract, including everybody's favorite segment:
teenagers.

------
sunir
I have observed a Law of Steve Jobs. If he hypes it, it will suck. If he says
nothing, it will rock. The iPhone he said nothing about. Before today, he was
hyping the iPad as the most important thing he's ever done.

~~~
GHFigs
_he was hyping the iPad_

Where?

~~~
sunir
[http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/01/24/steve-jobs-tablet-
most-...](http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/01/24/steve-jobs-tablet-most-
important/)

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phren0logy
Interesting detail: Runs custom Apple silicon, the "A4" chip at 1Ghz. Seems
pretty capable based on the demo. But then, everything seems capable in a
controlled demo.

~~~
orangecat
If it's running existing iPhone apps by emulating the ARM CPU, that's pretty
impressive.

~~~
bitwize
The Apple silicon _is_ an ARM CPU.

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jacquesm
The iPAD has actually been out for a while now:

[http://www.currentdirections.com/hardware/fujitsu/ipad100.ht...](http://www.currentdirections.com/hardware/fujitsu/ipad100.html)

I think Apple may have a little problem here in the trademark department.

~~~
robg
Isn't TM by category though?

Here's the Fujitsu TM:
[http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4004:kb...](http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4004:kb7fdo.2.12)

And here's the likely Apple:
[http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4004:kb...](http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4004:kb7fdo.2.7)

~~~
jacquesm
Absolutely, but they are very close in functionality so I expect a lot of fuss
to be made about this.

If the difference between two devices is screen size and preferred user
interface (touch screen vs buttons) then I think one will have to yield.

~~~
robg
But there's not a conflict about the trademark. Fujitsu's TM is only for
retail purposes. They certainly could have trademarked other uses if they
wanted to. The iPad is pretty much everything but retail (i.e., search the
"Apple" link for any mention of retail use cases).

EDIT: I thought those were permalinks. Sorry. If you go to the USPTO and
search for iPad among the Live uses you'll soon see the Fujitsu one and one
with many, many markets (along with one for bras, one for a medical device,
etc). Though, check out iSlate. Similar filing info as the iPad but not as
broad. Seems like if they were worried at all about Fujitsu they could have
just used iSlate.

------
noonespecial
Finally. The 'pad' from Star Trek is here. I'm psyched. Now if only they'd be
cheap enough for me to leave half a dozen of them laying around.

~~~
thaumaturgy
They will be.

~~~
encoderer
...By the 24th century..

------
sharms
Gizmodo also has a live feed if you enjoy variety: <http://live.gizmodo.com/>

~~~
icey
This one seems to be reloading more reliably than Gizmodo's:

[http://live.gdgt.com/2010/01/27/live-apple-come-see-our-
late...](http://live.gdgt.com/2010/01/27/live-apple-come-see-our-latest-
creation-tablet-event-coverage/)

------
awa
AAPL is down about 2% since the event started... apparently the market doesn't
like what it sees

~~~
GHFigs
"Buy on the rumor, sell on the news."

------
sker
The engadget live feed is pathetic. They're saying "Wow" to any regular
feature that doesn't really have anything impressive. What is their agenda
here?

~~~
DenisM
Their agenda is to make their readers excited.

~~~
TheBranca18
Engadget definitely has a severe bias towards Apple compared to say Sony or
Microsoft.

Their readers are technophiles who can figure out whether to be excited on
their own unless it's not obvious. Seeing some of the stuff on the iPad isn't
terribly exciting for me. They haven't shown the eReading capabilities yet
though.

------
yumraj
I don't know about others, but iPod launch was a truly jaw-dropping event.
iPad, for me at least, is nothing more than a yawn.

------
aufreak3
This is a leisure device, even if iWork is available for it. I was really
hoping for something I can use at college, like the ability to load up PDFs,
annotate them, search, report, sync, share with classmates, etc. I suppose
someone will write an app to do that (no time to do one myself).

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rabidgnat
I bet someone in Boston will hear the announcement and think, "An iPad? So
what? I've had an iPad for yeahs"

This was probably the most predictable Apple "new product" release I've ever
seen. I'm not really thrilled about it, but then again I'm not really a gadget
kind of guy

------
megamark16
Really? The iPad? Sounds like something my wife would send me to the store
for...I'm just sayin' :-)

~~~
parenthesis
Speaking as a Brit, to me, `iPad' sounds like how an American might pronounce
`iPod'.

~~~
megamark16
There's definitely some ambiguity there with the names being so similar.
Especially, as you pointed out, when considering accents.

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louislouis
Not many techies getting wowed by this but the question is will it sell? I
think it will. Infact I think Apple has possibly opened a market for non-tech
savy people like mums, dads and grans who find basic things like email and
internet trivial.

------
bkz
People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.
\-- Alan Kay

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docgnome
TBH, the only thing I can see this being more useful for than a netbook is
reading ebooks, as I don't watch movies on my computer. And given that all it
has is a standard, all be it nice, display I wouldn't buy one. E-ink is far
superior for reading. I can see it being useful for grandma who can't remember
how to right click, but given the closed nature of the device, no thanks. The
hardware looks ok, but not spectacular. Not that that will stop Apple from
making a boat load on them. At this point, Apple could sell rotting fruit and
people would rave about how great it is and buy it by the truck load.

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joez
Waiting for the price. I see it as more of a toy than a tool, so a want than a
need. Consumers are likely more price sensitive on toys.

I can see an amazing play for the casual gaming market and taking a cut on the
distribution with the app store.

Edit: The $499/629 seems appropriate, not too high.

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anigbrowl
iBooks publishing competing directly with Kindle is interesting. AAPL floating
back up, AMZN falling
([http://www.google.com/finance?hl=en&safe=off&q=amazo...](http://www.google.com/finance?hl=en&safe=off&q=amazon&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=we))

------
sliverstorm
Normally I don't get excited about apple products. I wasn't super excited
about this one either, but I was looking forward to seeing apple 'fix'
tablets- that is to say, fix text entry and make a tablet _computer_ more
viable.

Tablets can keep up with regular computers on everything, except text entry.
Writing with a stylus is still imperfect, and so are touchscreen keyboards.
Long emails, command prompt usage, and essays are frustrating without a
physical keyboard. Apple is good at simplifying UI and interaction, so
wouldn't they be the one to tackle this problem?

And what do you know, they didn't even try. This isn't a tablet. It's just an
big iphone with more focus on media.

~~~
awa
Why is writing with a stylus imperfect... I have been using a tablet for a
year and used it exclusively for note taking during my last semester in school
last year... I was on Vista and onenote and it worked out great! The
handwriting recognition was good and the reaction time of the one note page
was as good as a real pen and paper.

With a pure tablet like ipad (no physical keyboard) I would expect the stylus
to be more useful especially for tasks like writing emails.

~~~
sliverstorm
The pointer is never as precise as I want it to be- mine is always a few
pixels off, and every other tablet I've tried has been worse. You can argue or
justify etc all you like, but I have always found this very disorienting.

Handwriting recognition is also approaching perfection, but it's not quite
close enough yet. Maybe for some people with good handwriting it is 'there',
but I'm not one of them, and I have to stop and correct a word too often.
Plus, symbols recognition is tricky, along with words not out of the
dictionary, so command prompt and programming are not fun.

Yes, stylus + touch screen > touch screen, imho. However, correct me if I am
wrong, but Mr. Jobs did not show a stylus once during the presentation.

~~~
awa
I would have liked a touch+stylus screen, if wacom can do it apple should be
able to do it too

------
tfincannon
Where's the expanded multitouch gesture vocabulary from the FingerWorks
technology they acquired? That would have made iPad special.
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1041628>

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ErrantX
I wasn't sold on it till the price (assuming they can get it here to the UK at
as reasonable a price) - that would tempt me as a casual use "sat in bed"
device. I often use my iPhone like that so if it turns on as fast as that I
would buy it.

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mshafrir
Data plans seem compelling. $14.99 for 250MB, $29.99 unlimited + no contract.

------
bitwize
No "wow" event? Big deal. The thing will still sell like hotcakes, be easy to
use, and be the best thing to happen to the tablet/pad/slate computer market
(by way of legitimizing said market), full stop.

------
matrix
What, no e-ink? I was really hoping Apple would take on the Kindle, etc so we
could get some critical mass in that market. Instead we get a glorified
laptop. Bummer.

~~~
rbanffy
But, unlike the kindle, it has games and video.

I say it's a winner.

------
mtalantikite
Looks like the market wasn't liking this until Steve Jobs announced the price
-- right when the price was announced you can see the stock jumping in price.

------
alanl
I Just cant get past the fact that it doesn't have a front camera for video
chat.

Think I might spend my money on a new imac and/or iphone4 this year.

------
DenisM
"Inline video clips" Aha! This should come to the iPhone too - finally! This
will make it possible to create some fantastic products!

------
JGM564
Honestly, I'm just disappointed that something bridging the gap between
iPhones and laptops doesn't have Flash or app backgrounding.

------
bobfunk
Product url working now: <http://www.apple.com/ipad/>

------
fjabre
Pretty amazed there is apparently no front camera.

That's the wow moment I was waiting for.

~~~
sgk284
I'm really disappointed. I was looking forward to being able to easily move
around from room to room while video chatting.

Apple brought nothing new to the table today. They didn't solve text entry on
tablets, they didn't make it easier to video chat (or even voice chat for that
matter), and they didn't come up with a new form factor that is better than a
big flat slab of metal.

It's bad when the biggest wow moment for a product is the price and data plan.

------
thaumaturgy
Apple A4? I smell a renewed deal with Motorola...

~~~
philwelch
Motorola doesn't do semiconductors anymore, they spun that off to Freescale.

Also, Apple bought chipmakers PA Semi a few years ago. The Apple A4 CPU is
probably built by the former PA Semi.

~~~
sp332
PA Semi is fabless, right? So who's knocking out all these A4 processors for
iPads?

~~~
philwelch
According to rumors, TI used to do PA Semi's fabbing.

------
fjabre
Ok. Kindle's dead.

~~~
jacquesm
I don't think so. Kindle targets people reading stuff, this targets people
interacting with stuff.

That's a fundamental difference and e-ink lends itself to reading much more
than to interaction.

Also, the kindle has a battery life that this device can't hope to match and
works well in various light conditions.

~~~
fjabre
Sure.. but it's ugly next to the iPad and as Steve Jobs has proved time and
time again looks count. At a $499 starting price this might not kill Kindle
but it will take a huge bite out of its market. There is clearly no doubt
about that.

EDIT: I am a Kindle owner btw.. I even wrote a blog post defending it against
the new Apple tablet but after seeing this I have to change my mind. I had no
idea that Apple was pursuing publishers to this extent. That was Amazon's
greatest strength but it appears that position is greatly weakened by this
news.

~~~
DanielBMarkham
You gotta remember that Amazon has been out there in the market executing for
over the last year while others have been developing. Plus Amazon has the
inside lane with publishers. And Amazon's infrastructure is second-to-none.

Kindle-killer? Don't think so. If I had to bet on Apple vs. Amazon I'd put my
money on Amazon.

~~~
anigbrowl
I've been watching the stocks of both companies, and apple's has just
overtaken Amazon's (not for the first time, mind). The 'ibook' functionality
and publisher relationships basically caused them to swap places within
moments of being announced. Both are up on today's opening, though down on
that of a week ago.

------
DanielBMarkham
I have to joke. It just seems so overblown. Because of the over-hyped nature
of this event, I think the wags are more interesting than the event itself.

"Just like a iPhone. Except bigger so we'll make even more money!"

"Last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some
commandments written on it"

And still a locked-down platform? Color me not impressed.

------
aresant
This thing seems targeted directly @ the college marketplace so far like the
original imac.

I love my iphone but between email and browsing so far the larger size doesn't
matter to me . . .

Reserving judgement for rest of presentation though. . .

------
anigbrowl
$500 is...impressive.

------
Keyframe
ustream chokes to death at 100,000+ viewers (!!!)

------
vijayr
nice touch showing the amazon kindle ;)

