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News & ArtsTuesday, January 26, 2010
Tech Would You Buy the Apple Tablet?
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 3:16 PM
Before the shit hits the fan tomorrow, it's time for a pre-game poll. Let's pretend that the Apple tablet computer was announced today. Say that most of the likely rumors are true. Let's say it's mostly a media consumption device—e-books, movies, music, TV, internet—with an interface that allows for things like light e-mailing and so on. Say it costs $699.
1
I will probably get one but will wait a few months to find out what the reviews are like and what new applications start to roll out for it.
I never am the first to buy new electronics; I wait to see what people think of it 4 or 6 months after it's been out.
I never am the first to buy new electronics; I wait to see what people think of it 4 or 6 months after it's been out.
4
Depends on what it does, and if you have to buy some sort of wireless data plan. If that's required, I'm out.
6
missing options:
- if it's not called ipad
- maybe once it's second-gen
- if itunes for publishing doesn't suck
- if ifart gets ported
and it's probably going to be $999, definitely not $699
- if it's not called ipad
- maybe once it's second-gen
- if itunes for publishing doesn't suck
- if ifart gets ported
and it's probably going to be $999, definitely not $699
8
I voted no. However, if it came with a get-you-laid guarantee, I'd be reading the fine print on the guarantee and seriously considering it.
9
@3 - the UW Bookstore sells Apple computers at an education discount - any student, faculty, or staff person can pick one up by showing their ID. Think college students also qualify.
As I recall, when I got a Mac Mini that saved me more than $150. So if it's $699 it might work out to $550 or so.
As I recall, when I got a Mac Mini that saved me more than $150. So if it's $699 it might work out to $550 or so.
10
Apple is the Franklin Mint of computer companies.
Fanbois don't buy product -- they collect them.
Every year Apple produces some new $600 white widget and rotund fellows with van dyke beards march out to purchase.
That's the American economy.
Apple is the Franklin Mint of computer companies.
Fanbois don't buy product -- they collect them.
Every year Apple produces some new $600 white widget and rotund fellows with van dyke beards march out to purchase.
That's the American economy.
12
Looks to me like a big flat iphone without the phone or camera, or a laptop without most of the stuff you use a laptop for. I have no idea why I should want to buy this thing. It doesn't appeal to me at all. At least it's design is better than the Kindle though; I couldn't believe people actually walked around with what looked like a Super Nintendo.
14
I'm thoroughly enjoying everybody having such strong opinions about something they've never seen, nor heard any information about other than pure speculation. It's fairly hilarious that some of the rumors have basically risen to the level of accepted fact.
Oh, and Will @9 - Apple's Ed discount is 10%. It basically saves you the tax.
Oh, and Will @9 - Apple's Ed discount is 10%. It basically saves you the tax.
15
@12- I walk around with an actual Super Nintendo and people constantly invite me over for some Street Fighter II.
17
@Anthony at 14:
We did a cost benefit analysis and found that the money saved on the overall price via the education discount offsets the gas price of a trip to and from the Apple Store in Portland Oregon.
As for the may or may not exist tablet...really depends on how capable it is. Will it have ports/bluetooth connectivity for a tactile keyboard/gamestick type thing? Will the apps available for it be better quality/higher-res than those available for the iphone? Weight? Heat?
And if it does have and can do all of those things, is it going to priced at a reasonable level?
We did a cost benefit analysis and found that the money saved on the overall price via the education discount offsets the gas price of a trip to and from the Apple Store in Portland Oregon.
As for the may or may not exist tablet...really depends on how capable it is. Will it have ports/bluetooth connectivity for a tactile keyboard/gamestick type thing? Will the apps available for it be better quality/higher-res than those available for the iphone? Weight? Heat?
And if it does have and can do all of those things, is it going to priced at a reasonable level?
18
I'm a little surprised such an idea is so unpopular here. I know there's no such thing as a "hipster", but I figured, hey, Seattle...
Now if it was just an affordable laptop with a screen I could draw on, I might start to feel Apple wasn't useless anymore.
Now if it was just an affordable laptop with a screen I could draw on, I might start to feel Apple wasn't useless anymore.
19
Depends: what will it do that my iPhone, Kindle, Macbook, and iPod won't? And more importantly, will it be able to fully replace any of these while I'm traveling?
21
I voted yes based on the mythical assumption that I had $699 disposable and that it has nothing stupid like Verizon lock-in. And lets me read DRM-free eBooks. I guess.
To be honest, if I had $699 disposable laying around saying "spend me" I'd buy an Xbox 360 or PS3.
To be honest, if I had $699 disposable laying around saying "spend me" I'd buy an Xbox 360 or PS3.
22
Best I can gather this thing is just going to be a giant iPod Touch—which I think is a cool little device—but I really don't see the point. Macbook's start at $999 now, and they're actually useful. We seem to be going in the wrong direction here.
23
@21 - You just reminded my, the last thing I purchased through iTunes last month was DRM'd all to hell. I thought that was a thing of the past, but apparently not so.
24
#12 Joey DeVilla wrote something similar about netbooks: "like a laptop, only lamer".
* Size: A bit too large to go into your pocket; a bit too small for regular day-to-day work.
* Power: Slightly more capable than a smartphone; slightly less capable than a laptop.
* Price: Slightly higher than a higher-end smartphone but lacking a phone’s capability and portability; slightly lower than a lower-end notebook but lacking a notebook’s speed and storage.
25
Also consider that a $699 price would most likely be subsidized by a $30/month required data contract from AT&T. (The 8GB iPhone debuted at $599.)
It will need to do things the iPhone is incapable of. The damn expensive thing will almost certainly ship with killer apps which, once experienced, will make you more and more reliant upon it in your day-to-day activities, leaving one to wonder how one ever lived without it. Happened to me after I finally caved and bought a used 1st-gen iPhone. Fortunately, the iPhone can be unlocked to work on TMobile with $10/month data.
I can't wait to see what the Jailbreak/unlock community does with this device.
I'm more interested in the innovations that went into this device than I am in owning the latest-and-greatest. Very excited to see the interface, but I'm too cheap/unemployed to consider buying one in the next 2 years.
It will need to do things the iPhone is incapable of. The damn expensive thing will almost certainly ship with killer apps which, once experienced, will make you more and more reliant upon it in your day-to-day activities, leaving one to wonder how one ever lived without it. Happened to me after I finally caved and bought a used 1st-gen iPhone. Fortunately, the iPhone can be unlocked to work on TMobile with $10/month data.
I can't wait to see what the Jailbreak/unlock community does with this device.
I'm more interested in the innovations that went into this device than I am in owning the latest-and-greatest. Very excited to see the interface, but I'm too cheap/unemployed to consider buying one in the next 2 years.
26
You could buy a very decent laptop for that price. I just don't think it's a tool that fills a need not filled by what I already have.
29
It depends on the specs, and probably not first-gen regardless. But at the price point that's rumored, yeah, I think I'd get one before too long.
30
I recently bought a netbook with good screen size and a full-size keyboard. The screen looks great (not cluttered) and it runs firefox with dozens of tabs if necessary as well as itunes and the openoffice suite, all at once if I need. The battery lasts over 5 hours and it is very compact. Tethered to the iphone it has internets everywhere in seattle, and (minus the phone) it cost less than $350.
In fact, even including the iphone probably costs less than this tablet, and I have a working phone and fully functional laptop.
This is not to say that nobody should buy the apple tablet, but doing so wouldn't make a whole lot of sense.
In fact, even including the iphone probably costs less than this tablet, and I have a working phone and fully functional laptop.
This is not to say that nobody should buy the apple tablet, but doing so wouldn't make a whole lot of sense.
31
#30: I have a 386 desktop with 12" monitor that I carry around with a satellite modem. It can run Trumpet Winsock SLIP/PPP for Lynx and Gopher and Lotus 1-2-3. I have games that you could never run, like Commander Keen and QBasic Gorillas. All for $0.49 from Goodwill.
I'm not saying that nobody should buy a Netbook but your shit is pointless! I hope you didn't tell your friends you wasted all that money because you don't know anything about computers lolz.
I'm not saying that nobody should buy a Netbook but your shit is pointless! I hope you didn't tell your friends you wasted all that money because you don't know anything about computers lolz.
32
I'll be so disappointed if Apple goes the proprietary route with this thing. A friggin' big iPod touch? No way!
If it is truly revolutionary it will allow for people to have their own accounts to log in on (so a family can pass it around but still allow for individual consumption/creation/privacy needs) and file management (Finder).
It needs to run independent programs (ability to install software over a Wi-Fi connection or mountable on an Mac Desktop) Not just exclusive App Store gate keepers.
It needs to allow me to remotely control audio throughout the house.
It should be able to be used to control an iTV-like device or in the future be able to sent content to digital TV's (the Mother of all remotes).
Full email, web browsing (With the ability to send flash video content to my TV. Yeah, I said it, Bitch!), camera facing the user for live video teleconferencing, Microsoft exchange network ready.
G3 optional. Some people will only need Wi-Fi.
If it is truly revolutionary it will allow for people to have their own accounts to log in on (so a family can pass it around but still allow for individual consumption/creation/privacy needs) and file management (Finder).
It needs to run independent programs (ability to install software over a Wi-Fi connection or mountable on an Mac Desktop) Not just exclusive App Store gate keepers.
It needs to allow me to remotely control audio throughout the house.
It should be able to be used to control an iTV-like device or in the future be able to sent content to digital TV's (the Mother of all remotes).
Full email, web browsing (With the ability to send flash video content to my TV. Yeah, I said it, Bitch!), camera facing the user for live video teleconferencing, Microsoft exchange network ready.
G3 optional. Some people will only need Wi-Fi.
33
@31 I know enough to build a computer from scratch, and that running a barebones XP installation on an overclocked netbook is good enough for all the portability I need, running AutoCAD and other intensive programs on the machine I built at home.
Your post means shit unless you just wanted to act like namedropping I386 & Winsocks qualifies you to tell me why a fully functional laptop for under $350 is not a good purchase. fail
Your post means shit unless you just wanted to act like namedropping I386 & Winsocks qualifies you to tell me why a fully functional laptop for under $350 is not a good purchase. fail
34
Nope. My work laptop does everything this thing would do, as far as when I am traveling (and didn't cost me anything personally). The app store has no appeal to me. I have a work BlackBerry (free to me again) and I don't need an iPhone. The apps are designed for use while mobile, and this thing isn't really portable like an iPhone.
If the iMagazine store came out, there would have to be a Windows 7 version, and though the "experience" wouldn't be as good on Win7, it would still be legible. I read magazines in the toilet anyway, if I read them at all. I'm not sure I'd want to do that with a computer.
With RSS, I can read almost any article I want in pretty much any magazine, even obscure technical ones. Sure, a few are behind pay walls or only available in print, but I can usually get at least a reasonable synopsis from Slate, Salon, HuffPost, TruthDig or another news aggregator/ezine.
If the iMagazine store came out, there would have to be a Windows 7 version, and though the "experience" wouldn't be as good on Win7, it would still be legible. I read magazines in the toilet anyway, if I read them at all. I'm not sure I'd want to do that with a computer.
With RSS, I can read almost any article I want in pretty much any magazine, even obscure technical ones. Sure, a few are behind pay walls or only available in print, but I can usually get at least a reasonable synopsis from Slate, Salon, HuffPost, TruthDig or another news aggregator/ezine.
35
I have a feeling the price will be close enough to the macbook, that everyone will think, "why get a tablet when I can get a laptop for just $200 more?"
I'm betting that the REAL version of this, (not the version that has no storage or limited features) is $849. There may be a lower price option, but it'll only exist to have a lower price point for marketing. It'll be limited in someway that means it's not really what people will want.
I think a lot of people are going to think that it's really cool, but disappointed when it doesn't change their lives.
I'm betting that the REAL version of this, (not the version that has no storage or limited features) is $849. There may be a lower price option, but it'll only exist to have a lower price point for marketing. It'll be limited in someway that means it's not really what people will want.
I think a lot of people are going to think that it's really cool, but disappointed when it doesn't change their lives.
36
Just going to watch Minority Report and jerk off. That should but the kibosh on any touchscreen tablet arousal.
37
The last time I flew the guy across from me trying unsuccessfully to see the screen of his laptop with the seat in front of him reclined would have been interested in a tablet right about then. Even a netbook is too big for some airline seats.
40
Don't get me wrong, my next purchase will be some kind of mini netbook/tablet like computer, but I don't think the apple one is for me. I did head the rumor that it will play iphone games and stuff, and that really appeals to me because my blackberry has no games but at the same time I'm still not sure. I do really think a stronger PC version of it will come out, but without seeing a physical picture of it no. However if it's built strong I could see myself buying one for school, however if it has to use itunes I'm not even going to reach for my wallet.
41
If its app store takes off like the the iPhone's did, then it will be worth buying. Right now this thing has like 12 native apps. I'll wait.
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