iPad

They were just trying to fill a gap.


I think this will be good for the elderly more so then the upwardly mobile.

 This all you can eat data for $30 though is going to cause issues, why get an iphone, get the Ipad, unlimited data, an skype it.

Should be able to flip it over an cook more then one egg at a time tho, so double bonus points there.

Nice form an weight, so close to a score of the gods, but not quite.

(Btw, let's keep this civil, gang. It's all fun an games till someone loses an eye, then, its just a game and i have to clean up, ok..)

WR

Exactly what gap does it fill?

Using it as a phone would have very limited usefulness considering it's size.  Even skype or voip would be a pain since it doesn't have a camera for skype and trying to carry it around for phone calls while moving would be quite annoying.

There is nothing new or magical about this device.  I really thought they were going to bring something great.  You know, something that could at least equal the functionality provided by a barely heavier netbook.  With a netbook you have similar size, better connectivity (USB, VGA, HDMI, SD slot) without any extra dongles or adapters and complete compatibility with full blown desktop quality apps.  There are several Atom based tablets coming this year and they will blow this maxipad away in terms of functionality.

I would have actually considered this tablet if it were truly a mobile computer.  As it stands it's just a bigger iPod.  It's not even very useful as an iPod really.  Where are you going to put the tablet when you want to go for a walk and listen to your music?  

I guess I did miss the pun.  I'm an IT guy with 20 years of work experience.  I get a little passionate about things when I see a company blow it with a missed opportunity.  Even if that company is Apple.

I truly would have bought one if it had OSX.  That would have provided a way to get into iPhone development without having to have a full blown Mac computer or Macbook.  I have a hackintosh partition on a couple of my machines to mess around with the SDK and for jailbreaking without waiting for the hacked os updates.  The issue with a hackintosh setup is that updates can cause big problems and it's not always 100% compared to a real Mac computer. 

If they had built this with OSX and given it the standard connection options of a netbook, it would have been "magical" as Jobs stated.  They still could have allowed it to run Apps from the App Store (which is why I think they used the iPhone OS).  They are just trying to stranglehold you into submitting your checkbook to the iTunes/App Store monarchy.

Well, the good news is that Dell, MSI, Samsung, Acer, ASUS and several others are releasing Atom based tablets this year.  They were all shown at CES and I can't wait to see pricing and the first hands-on videos.  This kind of Apple behavior is exactly why I got rid of my iPhone (three times actually. lol) and why I use PC products.  I like having choice and I like having standard connectivity.

It's still a shame though.

This looks like something I'd get the wife or myself for that matter.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/28/msis-10-inch-tablet-launching-this-year-at-500-patently-ignor/

10 in, Tegra powered, with i bet USB an HDMI jacks FTW!!!

Looks like Windows too  

Edit: I totally missed Android, Neat.


WR

I noticed that one earlier.  Very nice!

I'm pretty keen on this one:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/06/the-hp-slate/

I can't wait for more details and pricing!

All these tablet pcs. I'm starting to get excited. I'm going to add a poll. Do you guys think these will eventually replace laptops. My vote is yes.