i think ipad is so stupid, just a oversize iphone.

i rather buy a regular netbook, with way more features.

Negatives of a ipad, no multitasking, no usb plugs, runs apple interface.  I dont see how apple is planning to compete with this things, netbooks from HP and samsung that are coming out will have way more features then ipad, and the usability is much higher. I guess this gadget will be for the apple lovers, and girls who thinks a giant iphone woudl be cool lol.

My girlfirend wanted me to buy one for her coming up birthday, i literally had to smack some sense into her hahahah

Alright bro Asia-play...

I don't think the ipad will be out in the UK till June...

One disadvantage about the ipad..I don't think you can multi-task..

Have you seen the keno speech by the CEO of Apple..Steve Jobs..

120 minutes long...Bloody amazing speech..Well worth watching on Apple website...

How good was the speech...Well RICO was not thinking about wgs for two hours...

I think he said something like..Fifty Billion ipods sold up to date and Fifteen Billions pounds profit last quarter...

Ipad is probably not going to do well. It's good in like a lecture environment or business places but for regular use.. I dont see much practical use other than a luxury item.

And the name... yea. my friends were making fun of it for sounding like a woman's product and people asked about the name during the Steve's demonstrations too.

Just because a product doesn't meet your specific wants doesn't mean that no one else would like it either.  There are many different demographics out there and even though the iPad doesn't fit in yours, that doesn't mean that the product sucks.

Not everyone needs the full capabilities of a netbook.  My parents for example have a $1,200 US laptop, a great 15" machine that I bought them, but all they use it for is to browse the internet, check email and watch YouTube videos.  A netbook would've been a much better computer for them, but then I would still have to deal with all the viruses and trojans that infect their laptop because of my parents opening every email attachment and clicking on random things.  Much like the iPhone, you won't get viruses or trojans on an iPad.  Also, have you ever tried teaching someone who has never used a computer before to use a keyboard and mouse?  It's an exercise in frustration.  What seems second nature to you isn't necessarily so for everyone.

A lot of people really do still read newspapers.  Other than always getting ink on my hands, I don't like how newspapers are so large.  It makes reading them on the bus/train to work or when having morning dim sum difficult.  A laptop or netbook can solve this problem, but so can an iPad -- and the iPad does it better by taking up less space than a netbook and no requiring a desk or lap to rest on.

Thirdly, touchscreens don't take up any extra physical space and is much more intuitive to learn than a keyboard and mouse.  Complete computer newbies can jump right in and it also makes you own tasks easier by not needing to use a mouse to scroll and click through multiple screens and menus to do something.

Some negatives though...

No multitasking.  I used to think that this was a big deal, but I've gotten used to not having it on my iPhone and at this point don't even think about it.  Speculation is that, like with the iPhone, this is may be a battery issue.

No camera.  This was a shock to a lot of people, and I think that if Apple had included a webcam then it would've sold itself easily.

Some of you have to realize that the iPad isn't a netbook nor is it competing with them.  If the iPad were using OS X instead of iPod Touch/iPhone OS 3.x (which is speculated to be renamed to iOS), then it could be compared to the MacBook and other laptops and netbooks, but it's not.  The iPad is totally a larger iPhone.

For those who have already forgotten, the netbook market didn't even exist until a few years ago when the majority of laptops out there were in the 14" to 17" range.  People never really even considered the idea of having an ultraportable laptop computer until they came out.  But now, several years later, the idea of a netbook seems as natural as having a desktop or laptop.  This isn't to say that Apple creates markets, but some of you have to realize and understand that different products will fulfill different roles, and that's what the iPad is doing.  Just because the iPad doesn't fit your own needs doesn't mean that it won't fit someone else's.

I'll also add that when the iPod was first announced, everyone thought that the name was stupid and made jokes about it.  Do you think people still think that way about the iPod name today?

[ Last edited by  Freelancer at 29-1-2010 16:51 ]

yeah, true. there are millions of apple fans that will buy anything apple dishes out. I've heard of apple fans waiting to hear releases months in advance. so you are right, I'm sure millions will line out to get the Ipad but I'm not. Taht's all

copy and paste?!?!? are you serious? lol - i ve never used an iphone b4 ... currently using an android ...

hahaha dont worry - it ll be worth a collector's price one day ;)

Your friends are not the only ones. Take a look at this MadTV video on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UFE2ySjYHg

In my opinion, ipad would be horrible.  The same with netbooks.  The main problem with the netbooks is the small screen size, and lack of screen and sound abilities.  Basically I don't think netbooks are all that great for streaming video, and in some cases websurfing
due to the limited video abilities.

I'm not sure what you mean on this regarding netbooks.

There are 12" netbooks out there now and have been available for months.  And if you want video and sound, the Nvidia ION platform outperforms a lot of Pentium and Celeron laptops out there (yes, these old laptops still exist and are being sold).  Hell, the Atom dual core and ION 2 will be available later in 2010 and will outperform a lot of laptops.

I will try first but I have heard some back feedback on it.

The name might not even be legal, some other company owns the rights to a computer item that has the same name.
I think this product can be pulled off the market.

I heard someone mention this also. I don't think Apple will be forced to pull it off the market. They have been working on this for a long time and there were rumors that it was supposed to come out last September. They have the money to buy the name if they have to and want to keep it.

I will probably buy it when it is hacked =P I need it for watching movies and reading ebooks while traveling. When I am home it will be well suited as my digital photoframe.

Yes, you can use Skype with it, and not just over wifi, but over 3G too (ATT finally lifted the 3G restriction). That, actually, is the most interesting aspect to me (and ATT's data plan). It's $15 a month, no contract for 250MB or $30 for unlimited data. I don't make 250MB's worth of calls a month, so, if they offered the same in the next iPod Touch, there would be no need for a cell phone. As it is now, the iPod works great as a phone in Hong Kong where wifi is, but it would be nice to have phone service everywhere, like a cell phone.  I refuse to pay more than $20 a month for a cellphone, and will not do a contract agreement. I've never had a cellphone, and have been just waiting for the inevitable transition that renders the traditional cell pricing system obsolete. SO, for someone like myself, this iPad announcement is as actually revolutionary, not because of the product, but because of the data plan and pricing. I mean, seriously, if someone told you last month that ATT was going to have $30 unlimited data plan, with no contract, would you have believed them?

And as for the original poster, of course you can browse the web while listening to your music. The iPhone/iPod/iPad limit background process to preserve battery, and allow developers to take full advantage of the hardware (when someone writes an app, they write it to take full use of the system, and don't have to worry about have much ram, or video memory it will have to function). You can run a hacked version that will allow you to keep apps running in the background, but this causes regular crashes of the apps, as other apps take their memory, etc. The iPhone has a much richer application platform as a result of its "sandboxing". As someone who owns an iPod touch, I've never been bothered by the "one app at a time" rule (with the exception of music, of course, which can play all the time). But, for those who aren't concerned about battery performance, just install the hacked OS (or buy a different product!).

I think I'm going to wait for the next version when they iron out kinks and develop new apps.  Seems a little silly in curent form, though very cool nevertheless...

The best notebook I've seen to date is the Sony Vaio X series.

Small, thin, light, and good enough for travel needs.

A little pricey, but it's Sony, what can you do.

People have to remember that the first iphone sucked.  It didn't have 3G and if I remember correctly, it didn't have a camera.  The third generation iphone is pretty slick.  My guess is that the ipad will get significantly better (camera, more power, ubs ports, multitasking, more integrated into tv, etc.), but you'll have to wait until 2011.  Apple has changed the world several times with their inventions (the Mac, ipod and iphone).  They have had some duds, but I think I would definitely buy an ipad once they work the kinks out.

wait ... so the ipad IS capable of multi task?

If you want something that can multitask, you can wait for the Microsoft Courier.