Curious to see if any of our bargain hunters have bought one yet, and what their impressions are of them.
Anyone Get an iPad Yet?
[Deactivated] on 31/05/2010 - 20:43
Last edited 31/05/2010 - 20:44
Last edited 31/05/2010 - 20:44
Comments
i'm with u man
Trying not to sound too much of an Apple fanboy but I had one pre-ordered and arrived on Friday! Totally stoked at how nifty this thing is. I can control my computer from within my bed, watch movies and listen to music as well as surf the net very easily from virtually anywhere in my house. If i hook it up to my iPhone's internet data, i get total mobile computing :D couldn't be much happier. Although i don't think everyone could justify the $600+ minimum outlay for what they could perceive to be just an oversized iPod touch, i really do feel this is in a class of its own.
Are you saying if my iPhone got some 3G in it you can share with the iPad? Is it by bluetooth connection? Now, if that works I might consider getting the Wi-fi version although I might wait for the next generation.
I've tried it and to be honest I dont need it. I just want it. But I can do almost anything I want to be done on my iPhone or my macbook. This is just a nice addition.
honest I dont need it. I just want it.
Ha. Can be said about many Apple's products :)
I think there are many use of consuming device such as iPad. I spend a lot more time reading on the Internet than actually being productive and "making things", and I believe many other people are too. People just want some device that they can turn on, and instantly they are able to browse, read, watch and play.
I have to say that I was once an Apple fanboy that simply can't resist Jobs' reality distortion field, and blogged about every new Apple release — that was maybe 4-5 years ago. I somehow got out of it because the platform is getting restrictive, and in some sense limiting my freedom. Mark Pilgrim and Cory Doctorow both wrote about leaving Mac for Ubuntu back in 2006 — and that was too the end of my Apple addiction.
Now I am just hoping for MSI WindPad running Froyo to come out soon :)
Now I am just hoping for MSI WindPad running Froyo to come out soon :)
Hell yeah. Been running FroYo on my N1 all week and it really is the mutts.
I mean I can totally see why a small tablet sitting around would be handy for a 10 minute browse or whatever. But at apples pricing and stupid restrictions it ain't going to happen round here, not when you can get a device with a sd slot, webcam, USB host, Flash, and be able to do what you want to do with it, not what Jobs wants you to do, all for significantly less outlay. Not to mention the prices of iPad apps!
iPad and iPhone will always have their place though, you know, for those less tech savvy consumers who need to be protected from themselves. Its just so irritating having to deal with the fanboiness that inevitably seeps out.
I'm picking a lot of that has to do with the amount of hard-earned people have invested in their apple ecosystems, like they need to try to justify it to themselves more than anything. Though Scotty, you'd be able to shed some light on that no? now that you've been clean for a good while now.
@stumo: Well I don't deny that they are making some excellent products that are objects of desire for many people. It's just not for me. I got into Mac back in 2003 thinking it's a nice unix backend with nice GUI. But I guess it's just not "unixy" enough so I ended up going back to Linux, which I have used since '95. I'm also glad that I got my freedom back :)
As of why people try to justify — sorry I have no idea. Maybe it's the ecosystem. Or maybe it's just the Emperor's new clothes, where no one wants to adjust their (expensive) mistakes. Maybe it's really so much better, but we are just too weird to appreciate it.
Not that I care anyway.
@scotty: Well this is a surprise - businesses are onto the ipad
http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/ipad/businesses-swallow-t…
Guess weirder things are happening and its not just because its election time
Got one on friday too. The 16GB WiFi base model.
Great device, constantly getting more use than I though it would.
Battery is awesome (over 10hrs +), Apps are only getting better.
I mainly use iPad to stream HD videos with AirVideo, and it works like a charm.Anybody here suggests any cheap case (silicon/ plastic) ?
Looked on ebay, AU ones are $10, whereas from HK it's $5 …Don't really want to spend $48 on an Apple case
dealextreme or focal price have these about $5 delivered. Clear or tinted.
Boy what passion by the above
Wont buy because of steve, doesnt have sd slots etc etc
Waiting and waiting for the PC tablets, which will have more etc. Next years model will have more etc.
Where have you been for the last 30 years??
Every year the next model has more.
I remember debating with a journalist from the now defunct Your Computer magazine, that real men know how to use toggle switches, that was 1980. In 1984 a similar debate with the editor that wysiwyg was just a fad, and that mice was for fanboys. AND the point here is that for "programmers" and those who want to get into the system, the Apple design philosophy is to take people out of the engine bay and enjoy the trip. For those wanting to feel part of the machinery, this isn't their trip.
Then every year that the next windows was going to be more Mac like than the year before.
Then when Apple dropped the floppy, that was going to be its end.
And yes they missed the boat on items like usb and more
Every time they come up with something different, then surprisingly there is a PC competitor gets it and adds it in later to their products.
Hey HP dropped its "new' tablet because it just wouldn't cut it after they saw the ipad, now Acer has a new tablet - with Android (not windows) coming out next year. Not surprising those who ridiculed Apple for delaying international shipping for a month because of demand arent saying boo about waiting for 9 months for this "revolutionary" android tablet that has an SD slot. 9 months to add SD?
Yea I know thats being sarcastic there is more to any new product than an SD slot.
Apple starts trends, that you guy's all rave about a year later. Hey wake up smell the roses whenever they bring out a product, you know now that the milkman will deliver one for you sometime in the future. Whats worse an Apple fanboy or a PC wannabe?
And if they develop a better version, then that's great for the Mac fan, as Apple will have to respond, so vive le difference for all of us.
BTW thanks for hijacking the thread. It was to gauge experiences from new ipad owners not for petty raves by dinosaurs… LOL
As a bargain hunter, competition is what it is all about
It's pretty and all… but the price (as stated above) makes it hard to justify unless your wallet can handle "I just want it"….
Maybe all us "wannabe's" can jump on this when it's available here….. they call it an iPed !
http://www.news.com.au/technology/ipad/worlds-first-ipad-loo…
Ha, go for it - wish you well. Wannabe is right., but then why would you bother, it has most of the negatives others poo poo the ipad for - no keyboard is one of the big ones….LOL. And have you ever used a chinese knock off iphone? And when you compare prices, a Chinese netbook is soo much cheaper than a DELL, so why buy a DELL?
And all the "name brand" android tablets are being promoted as being 20% cheaper than the ipad, when they hit the market in 2011. Now there's a rippoff if they are just the same as these Chinese ipeds, USD399 vs $USD129 for the same thing. Guess I would prefer to be an Apple stock holder rather than DELL or ACER
Mmmm at US$130 I wouldn't mind giving the iPed a try if it's running Android and whatnot.
Here is a review courtesy of Buckscoop where a member purchased one. By member Ninkasi
http://www.buckscoop.com.au/forums/deals-bargains-coupon-cod…
Update - mine arrived and here's the verdict:
Better made than I thought they would be. Still would assume that they are fragile, so treat with care. I expect the screen will scratch quite easily. Being resistive (rather than capacitive like the iPhone) you do have to push on the screen so it isn't as easy to use or as accurate with the finger - easier using a fingernail or stylus. Screen is good and quite bright, but would benefit from being a higher resolution (for text) and display more colours (for photos). Speed is usable, but not blinding fast. Heavier than I thought they would be, but still quite portable. Battery lasts well over two hours - three is probably pushing it. Power cord is in an awkward spot for using the device with it plugged in, but can cope with it. Just need to get a US to Aus power adapter (perhaps around the $7 mark at one of those $2/discount shops). Doesn't seem to go to sleep properly so need to turn it off if not using it. Doesn't come with the Android "Market" application so installing apps is not quite as easy as it could be (need to download the "apk" file for an application you want and install that). Installing a different version of the firmware is painless to do (after backing up, literally download the zip file from the slatedroid site, use "7zip" to extract the "scripts" directory to an SD card, and boot the device with the SD car inserted & wait) - but the benefits of doing so are currently minimal. Definitely does not charge via the usb cable which is a nuisance - this is just used for accessing the memory on the device (internal & SD) when hooked up to a computer. In the future you may also be able to hook up an adapter and use a keyboard with it….
Overall it seems to be a good device that could be better but at the price I do not regret the purchase. My wife is quite happy using hers to read books at night. I will note that one of the units I got is having problems (will lockup at random and screen does a fade/wipe and then have to do a hard reset) so have requested a RMA.
@[Deactivated]: Mmm batter life is a big neg. But hey at US$130 can't really complain.
And that's not the iPed/APad that looks like the iPad. Does a similar job though. And if IIRC the iPed has a 1ghz Intel processor not a 600Mhz VIA
Saw one in person today. Pretty impressive. I can imagine 2 years down the track everyone will just get home from work/school, lie down on a couch, take out their iPad (or other tablets) and that's their entertainment for the night.
Still won't get one though :P
teww expeHnsif!
My 32gb iPod touch is good enough.. for me..
someone made a post in the bargain threads about it being tax deductable? how so? a mod deleted it so i never got a chance to read it.
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/ipad-to-attract-50-per-…
I wouldnt get my (hypothetical) kid an ipad. Sure it would be great on the couch, but as soon as it comes to essay time, its going to be useless.
Dont be so sure - kids now a days can type just as fast on a mobile fone as on a computer. And while driving as well!!
But sadly they make the news when they type while driving.
BS they can type as fast on a fone as a comp..
i'd say it was about the 50% tax deduction for school kids.
Yes one of my accountant friends sent me an info a few weeks ago that iPad, like other notebooks, is eligible for education tax offset.
ummm interesting if I don't buy anything before financial year's end I might just end up getting an iPad haha.
And with the tax deduction, would a 30" Dell monitor qualify?
oh sweet.
rather get the new iphone :)
has most of the capabilities of ipad + camera and phone use
with the exception of reading ebooks etc.
- but i dont need it…hehe
As a computer is tax deductible if used for work purposes so is an iPad. As a teacher I can easily claim for it. I love my iPhone and iPad. As to the restrictions outlined above, there are work arounds to almost all of them, the camera connection kit as an example, which enables it to run USB devices and read off SD cards.
Hmmm, I hear apple is giving free steve jobs skivvys once they hit the 1 million ipad sake mark!
Long live the skivvy!
I think all the bargain hunters are still waiting for their $5 vouchers so they can get some discounted iPad.
Sorry Pete but personally I am giving up on Apple — just can't see myself using one. Too much restriction and its dependency on everything-Apple. Well unless someone gives me one for free of course :)