If anyone is in the market for an iPad1, I note that the price for the top of the range 3G version has been peeled by £135 tonight in the UK Apple Store.
For me, there were two major things to come out of the iPad announcement.
First that Steve Jobs was there to give it. Really wouldn't have been the same without him.
Secondly, it's becoming clear that products like this aren't just about the hardware but they're also about the software. OK, so people said the original iPad had things missing and that the iPad 2 is now what the original iPad should have been. I would say that's not an unfair summary. However, software like Garage Band which they're bringing to the iPad shows the awesome potential of what the hardware is capable of thanks to software. We've moved on from the era of just expecting Windows or Mac OS to appear on in a touch screen environment.
For me, the iPad is great because of its simplicity. It doesn't do all the things that my Mac or PC does and it may not even do the things that my phone does. However, for what it's designed for it performs those tasks extremely well. I was also a sceptic when the original iPad was unveiled - I wanted one but I had to take a step back and think what environment would I need to use one?
But since I bought my iPad, it has proved invaluable for passing away many hours of train journeys going to and from work, it provides a great browsing experience for when you don't want to open the laptop or go to the PC. The apps are what make it - with some sensational stuff starting to appear now that really take advantage of the touch screen. Most importantly, it helped me give a presentation at work last week and just worked so much better than having my notes on bits of paper.
I know Apple and its method leave a lot of people cold but imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and you can't deny that many other manufacturers want a slice of the action. I dare say one of them will hit the jackpot and start doing some things better than Apple. But that's good too because competition ensures that everyone strives to create the best product. The winner? Us.
I should finish by saying that yes, I probably will be getting the new one and no, you can't have my old one.
Sput it doesn't have to be a Microsoft solution (which will be coming 2012) but there is Honeycomb, RIM's QNX tablet OS, and HP/Palm's Web OS.
The Apple competitors should get their act together if they want to compete, but part of this new found interest in Tablet and Slate form factor is with the "Reality Distortion Field" Apple has with the media, as well as some people who mistakenly believe Apple invented the form factor. That honour goes to both Star Trek (TNG mainly) and Microsoft back in 2001.
It's Apple who made them so popular, mostly through sheer great design - and thought of them differently. After all, they didn't just shove Mac OS X onto it, did they? As Microsoft have been trying to do for years with Windows.
Sput wrote:Could not disagree more about Flash. Having had an HTC Desire for the past year, I've got to say Flash has been an absolute pig. It might just be poor implementation, but I actively avoid it and I'm not convinced it's that great a loss, to be honest.
Flash has always worked fine for me, I was even able to watch the flash video on the BBC News website before I got 2.2.
The big advantage is that it actually I don't need seperate apps for things like BBC News, iPlayer, LiveStation and TVCatchUp and Flash-based games (although I do have the seperate Kongreate app). I do kind of object to the marginalisation of the web that 'apps' are causing
