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Bought (or thinking of buying) an Apple iPad? You may have been duped!

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Deozaan:
How's that for a sensationalist headline/topic? I figured that with as well as my previous Apple-related thread has gone, I'd start this one up, too.

It’s pretty annoying to always have the iPad compared with Kindle and Nook and to hear all sorts of strange things -

iPad is the best-selling tablet – selling more than the Kindle tablet.

iPad is going to become the #1 eReader.

Kindle was the best tablet before the iPad came out.

--- End quote ---

There are two main ideas that are being propagated -

* The iPad is an eReader and it takes on eReaders like the Kindle and Nook and Sony Reader.
* The iPad is a Tablet and eReaders are tablets too.
It all makes sense when you dig deeper.

The real competitors the iPad is scared to be compared against

There are actually two categories that the iPad is much closer to than eReaders -

* Netbooks.
* Mobile Phones.-http://ireaderreview.com/2010/05/04/pretending-to-be-an-ereader-is-better-for-the-ipad/
--- End quote ---

Of course, I don't expect this thread to be nearly as controversial as the other one, since generally the folks here at DC agree that Apple is all about marketing and hype. They're amazing at marketing, unfortunately what that really means is that they're really good at lying, and selling that lie for an exorbitant amount.

(thanks Allen for sharing this in your Google Reader feed)

wraith808:
Actually, seeing it made me change my views on the paradigm.  Against my netbook, the iPad does well.  The trade off is in multi-tasking on the netbook vs battery life on the ipad.  I don't use my netbook all that much.  Why?  Because it's pretty much tethered to the wall.  When I'm at home, I use my desktop.  Only in a few cases do I use my netbook.  Then when I go out to work- I don't necessarily get to use it daily.  When I finally get to use it- even on standby- in most cases, the battery is dead or almost dead.

I was a nay sayer, but seeing it in person and broadening my horizons when it came to the use of the netbook made me see things in a new light.  It's not going to work for everyone, but I'm now to the point where for the purposes I bought my netbook, the iPad will work better.

JavaJones:
Wraith, it sounds like you either have a crappy netbook, or a broken/old one. Might goes 9+hrs on battery, about the same as iPad as far as I know. I leave it laying around for weeks not plugged in and it still has basically a full charge. Of course mine is only about a year old, maybe a little less, but still. Is battery life really the only differentiator between the two for you? I guess depending on what you use the thing for that may be legitimate, but for me the keyboard is almost a must, as is multitasking, running any app I want, easy file sharing, built-in webcam for video chat, and a zillion other things the iPad just doesn't do. Basically I use my netbook like an ultra-portable general-purpose computer. I "make do" working on it when I don't want to lug around my larger laptop. It would be a whole lot more "making do" using an iPad. But yeah, if I wasn't trying to do any actual work on it, the iPad might suffice.

- Oshyan

Renegade:
I'm just disappointed that the Microsoft 'tablet-book' (Courier) has been torched. It looked really cool. Just like a real notebook (paper).

As for the iPad, I'm going to pass. This whole thing with Apple changing section 3.3.1 has just put a foul taste in my mouth. That and I'm not terribly impressed with my new iMac. Ubuntu is close enough to OS X that I don't really see any significant difference, except that I like Ubuntu better. I feel kind of gypped and deceived by Apple. That colors my perception there a bit.

The Kindle's screen is specifically designed for reading though. I don't know if the display technology in the iPad can keep up. (Things like eye-strain and readability are key there.) But superior technology is no guarantee for success (beta vs. VHS).

However, I do think that you're right with Apple's lies marketing being able to get them into the market there and to do a very good job of it.

wraith808:
Wraith, it sounds like you either have a crappy netbook, or a broken/old one.
-JavaJones (May 05, 2010, 09:21 PM)
--- End quote ---

Nope.  Bought less than a year ago on Amazon.  Top of the line 8.9 Acer Aspire One.  If I want to do any real work, I use my desktop or my laptop.  So this wasn't for real work, but something for the living room and to take around with me- web browsing, writing, e-mail, reading books and comics, taking with me to the gaming session (better than a stack of gaming books).

Might goes 9+hrs on battery, about the same as iPad as far as I know. I leave it laying around for weeks not plugged in and it still has basically a full charge.
-JavaJones (May 05, 2010, 09:21 PM)
--- End quote ---

9 hours?  What do you have the power settings on?  I go full power all the time b/c the lower power settings feel sluggish.  And from my friends that have it, the iPad is more than 9 hours of usage, but that's not empirical in any way.

The Kindle's screen is specifically designed for reading though. I don't know if the display technology in the iPad can keep up. (Things like eye-strain and readability are key there.)
-Renegade (May 05, 2010, 09:24 PM)
--- End quote ---
I read on my iPhone all the time and it's not really a problem other than screen real-estate.

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