It wasn’t the iSlate, it wasn’t the iTablet, it was the iPad. As uninspired as it may sound, iPad is the official name of the latest creation from Cupertino. This brand name has been made fun of several years ago as an iPod spoof (strangely the skits in question were removed from Youtube after the announcement…). If you think about it, that wasn’t so off the mark: the iPad is just an extra-large iPod touch. An XL Touch of some sort.
Branding aside, the device is sleek and seems to do well what it is supposed to do. With iBooks, Apple is openly declaring war against Amazon’s Kindle. This move makes complete sense (see my previous post), as it will help position the device and drive sales. My only two major complaints are the black area surrounding the screen (looks outdated) and the striking lack of multitasking… The latter can be fixed with an OS update. Not the former.
I can say that so far the iPad is not for me, unless Apple announces a gargantuan partnership with major Japanese publishers, and that doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon…
iPad
January 27, 2010
Mihi-chan
January 27th, 2010
I agree with you, expect for the black frame… I think you will need that to be able to hold it without always touching the screen by accident!
If I buy it or not, will depend on if they have the books I need for university or not, since we are sometimes charged ridiculous prices for our textbooks.
Cheers!
yoRgi
January 27th, 2010
iAgree. Concerning the black area I think it is justified by the fact that some space is needed for the hands and the thumbs to hold the ipad without hiding any part of the screen. There is probably nothing they can do about it except changing the color.
Kaishin
January 27th, 2010
@Mihi and @Yorgi You made a good point concerning the black frame. My fingers are much thinner than that, that’s why I missed it …
@Mihi Absolutely, it’s the content that will make the difference.
@Yorgi They can make it narrower, changing color is out of question ^^”
Mihi-chan
January 28th, 2010
About the color: if they want it to be successful in Japan, they will have to release a pink version!
And I really hope that a 3rd party producer will bring out an accessoire that lets you attach it to a plane seat… that would make my flights back to Europe way less boring, since I can never sleep on the plane.
GLaYn
January 31st, 2010
The iPad is not my stuff.
Kaishin
January 31st, 2010
@Mihi A pink version?? ouch, that’s gonna hurt!
@Glayn it could be a good ebook reader though…
GLaYn
January 31st, 2010
dude i think i’m gonna make a rage compaign agaisnt reading on electronic mediums, that’s activity is meaningless, i believe that far 50% of your concentration is lured by light, scrolling animation and a heavily eyes “repositionnement”…i’ll back to the primitive dude…reading books the normal mode.
Kaishin
January 31st, 2010
Agreed Glayn… Staring at light pixels for extended periods of time is strenuous.