Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Do Want?

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  • Lucy Stewart,

    I'm intrigued that people think backlit screens are a showstopper for e-readers though. I'm super-comfortable reading off a screen and underwhelmed by the Kindle electronic-ink look.

    The sunshine thing is something of a dealbreaker for me; I don't mind reading off a screen, but I don't always want to do it indoors, especially at this time of year. (To be fair, it's usually not that comfortable reading books in direct sunlight, either, but you don't have to cut it down as much to make it comfortable.)

    I see a netbook being superior and cheaper

    The thing about netbooks that annoys me the most is the way they've killed the small-to-medium sized laptop market. I don't want a ginormous 17-inch screen on my laptop, or gaming-capable CPU and graphics; I want something actually portable and of a decent but reasonably priced speed. Right now my choices are netbook (not nearly grunty enough, screens about 3" too small) or ginormous $1500+ practically-a-desktop things. Not good enough.

    But jeez, you'd cry if you dropped it, wouldn't you.

    iPod touches are surprisingly durable. This might be, too.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report

  • Sam M,

    When are they going to announce the real name? IPad is surely just a gag.

    I (an unashamed mac fanboy) could hardly sleep last night, such was my excitement. However, I have to say I'm a little disapointed.

    I think they could do so much more if they were less focussed on locking users into captive marketplaces and more focussed on functionality.

    Wont stop me plumping down the cash.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 72 posts Report

  • Lucy Stewart,

    You might need a plug in microphone, but that's about it.

    It's got a microphone; you're good to go. (See here in "The Guts" section.)

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report

  • Danielle,

    Soon enough we'll get over it

    Robyn, stop being so logical and mature. You're ruining my fun!

    It's not essential or anything, but I was thinking the iCarefree might be rather useful for my cooking adventures. I often use online recipes and find myself running back and forth from kitchen to computer, or squinting at the tiny iPhone screen to follow ingredients lists.

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report

  • JackElder,

    If this does fly, I'll be interested to see if it starts a move towards more minimalist phones. Think about it: if you've got a tablet PC in your bag, why would you spend silly amounts of money on a phone that lets you watch movies, access the internet, etc? The integration of media players/internet browsers with telephones has always struck me as a bit odd - two trends pulling in different directions (anything displaying visual info wants to be a reasonable size, phones want to be small so you can hold them up to your ear nicely). Frankly, if I could have a simple phone that does phone calls, texts (which in time would be supplemented by email on the tablet), and which I can sync my contacts up to an external device (such as the iPad), I'd be perfectly happy with that. Most of the other functions currently being larded onto mobile phones strike me as a better fit for this sort of larger form factor.

    Wellington • Since Mar 2008 • 709 posts Report

  • Andre Alessi,

    From Twitter:

    It seems everyone making iPad jokes has forgotten that the best selling game console in the world is straight-up called the Wii.

    Devonport, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 864 posts Report

  • Shaun Lott,

    David: I think if you add one of the existing Apple wireless keyboards, they you have your wish...

    Waitakere • Since Aug 2009 • 113 posts Report

  • Danyl Mclauchlan,

    Finally a product that fills the aching void in our lives that lies between the macBook and the iPhone . . .

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 927 posts Report

  • Shaun Lott,

    Jack - Think you are on the money. I have got way more use out of my iPod touch that I imagined I would, and the iPad is just a more usefully sized version. For a phone, I have the cheapest possible Nokia on the cheapest possible 022 arrangement.

    Waitakere • Since Aug 2009 • 113 posts Report

  • Bart Janssen,

    Yup I want. Hell yes I want and Megan and Danielle can make all the fun of me they like because I will have one.

    This is the device I want for on my lap while I'm on the couch watching TV. No more recycling paper magazines.

    Will it play WoW, well it has open GL so, while I would raid with it I would play the AH.

    Can it be dropped - well I expect to see a U-tube answering that question real soon. And my guess is that it will be tougher than you think. Remember the iTouch they ran over with a car that still worked?

    Reading books? Yeah probably but not exclusively. It will probably change the way I shop for books.

    $10 for pages and keynote and numbers??? Good grief they really are saying those products are trivial now.

    Will it be a phone - um sure why not it's just another app really - but you probably will need some kind of hands free kit because holding to your ear will look really dorky.

    But no camera for skype?

    And no multitasking? Ok this has to change - does anyone do only one thing at a time on a computer now? So you are going to want to have 2 or 10 apps open at once. But I guess it will take some programming.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report

  • Russell Brown,

    I find this ultrasegmentation of the computing device market a little insane. This thing doesn't make phone calls, right?

    And neither do a Kindle or a netbook. I'm more puzzled by the lack of a camera.

    But it's hard to see this as as ultra-niche when it does web browsing, video, email, music, ebooks, word processing, spreadsheets, presentation authoring, OpenGL games and nearly all iPhone apps. The Kindle does one of the above, which seems a bit more niche.

    I think Jack's point is solid: do I want one of these or an iPhone upgrade? Probably the former.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Bart Janssen,

    Danielle I thought of the recipe book thing - but if you've seen the splatter on our recipe books now ...

    Maybe we'll need a good protective cover.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report

  • Andre Alessi,

    What I'm really waiting to see is whether devices like this manage to realise the promise of cloud computing, at least in a limited sense. I'd love to have multiple devices that easily and quickly sync up without too much input from me-if I add a contact into my cellphone, it should appear in my desktop's mail address book at the same time, or if I take a picture on my phone, it should be available on my laptop immediately.

    Most of these things can be accomplished by using third party applications manually, or by using web-based apps or multiple devices from the same manufacturer, but what'd be great if that level of hassle was taken out of the equation, and I was able to disassociate the hardware I was using from the location the data was stored.

    Devonport, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 864 posts Report

  • Lucy Stewart,

    Robyn, stop being so logical and mature. You're ruining my fun!

    I feel obliged to note that this line of humour did not occur to me until I opened this thread, and...I still don't really get it. But at least it's bringing joy to people's lives.

    Jack - Think you are on the money. I have got way more use out of my iPod touch that I imagined I would, and the iPad is just a more usefully sized version.

    This. The iPod touch does everything you need in a portable media device/organiser, and if you're anywhere with decent wireless - e.g. a university campus - the phone capability is pretty much redundant, unless you have a burning desire to have to switch back and forth between whatever you're doing and phone calls on a regular basis. Not everything *needs* to be in one device.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report

  • Danielle,

    Jack, I dunno. My iPhone fits in a little (but rather expensive and fabulous) Minnie Cooper bag. I don't necessarily want to upsize my bag so I can have both a cheap phone *and* an iPad in it.

    Hell yes I want and Megan and Danielle can make all the fun of me they like because I will have one.

    I'm not mocking the wanting! They *do* look cool.

    everyone making iPad jokes has forgotten

    But obvs, people do *get* that soon the jokes won't 'work' (even for the limited number of people who found them funny in the first place). Most pop-cultural jokes don't continue to work. They are time and context-specific. I've been making jokes about Jersey Shore's 'The Situation' for several weeks, but I'm not going to be making those jokes in 2015, am I? (Unless Jersey Shore is an even bigger cultural phenomenon than I anticipated...)

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report

  • James Caygill,

    I'm not really down with the "great, but what it's for?" analysis. Add the $9.99 iWork apps and the thing looks bloody useful. Priced like a netbook, more portable than a laptop, easier to read than a phone.

    Absolutely.

    Apple have just delivered a beautiful replacement for the portfolio I carry around with me all day. The one with a legal pad, pens and business cards.

    Storage is fine - that's in the cloud or on the network hub/external HDD.

    And I can dock back in the office to type when I'm feeling like Tolstoy.

    I'll keep my high spec desktop for gaming - keep my laptop for the long journeys - and use this day in day out.

    My only question now is the crossover in my life between this and the iPhone.

    Christchurch • Since Oct 2007 • 34 posts Report

  • Megan Wegan,

    Hell yes I want and Megan and Danielle can make all the fun of me they like because I will have one.

    I'm so not mocking either. They look pretty.

    But come on, the name is ripe for a couple of days of it. Then I'll grow up and get over it.

    Welly • Since Jul 2008 • 1275 posts Report

  • Bart Janssen,

    I don't necessarily want to upsize my bag so I can have both a cheap phone *and* an iPad in it.

    They would both fit nicely in here.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report

  • Robyn Gallagher,

    My iPhone fits in a little (but rather expensive and fabulous) Minnie Cooper bag. I don't necessarily want to upsize my bag so I can have both a cheap phone *and* an iPad in it.

    This is an important issue! I've noticed that lots of women's handbags have cellphone pockets that seem to be designed for a li'l Nokia, circa 2003.

    There are awesome handbags that I have coveted but not purchased because their cellphone pockets are not big enough to fit my iPhone.

    Also, Minnie Cooper FTW.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • Danielle,

    Danielle I thought of the recipe book thing - but if you've seen the splatter on our recipe books now ...

    Yeah, but it would fit in one of those clear plastic recipe book holders a treat! Although it wouldn't have that indefinable aura of dried golden syrup on your hard-copy Edmonds...

    (Huh: my current iPad-related comments are solely about cooking, accessorising, and jokes about menstruation. I feel like such a *girl*.)

    ETA:

    Also, Minnie Cooper FTW.

    *So* FTW.

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report

  • Shaun Lott,

    There are awesome handbags that I have coveted but not purchased because their cellphone pockets are not big enough to fit my iPhone.

    May I suggest the Pocket? As in trouser Pocket? Or is that just being a Neanderthal male...

    Waitakere • Since Aug 2009 • 113 posts Report

  • Daniel Wilton,

    I want one but I don't think that I want the 1st generation.

    The pluses for me are that it is in the same price range as a netbook, however as it is an apple product, it will last longer than the six months that most of the netbooks I have seen last for.

    This screams perfect for travelling, with the exception of being able to handle photos from your digital camera via a memory card slot.

    If I was still a student and the textbooks were being delivered via this I would be stoked, the only thing that I would want would be a virtual post it note to bookmark important pages.

    This will be great for handling social media in work places where it is frowned upon. Also a great way to handle information when on a client site if you are a contractor.

    Negatives, every tool will want one.

    As for the dropability of the iPad I will be interested to see how it goes, I have an iPod classic (not classic when I purchased it) that has survived the sauna at the gym, being drowned in salad dressing and being bounced, if I can have an iPad that lives up to the same treatment I will be all over it like a large man in a small chair.


    One question I do have is where does this leave the Macbook air? it never really took off and is sort of just sits there in the Macbook range as vanity laptop.

    Wellington • Since Jan 2009 • 54 posts Report

  • Megan Wegan,

    They would both fit nicely in here.

    But not in here. (my current crush.)

    And i'm with Danielle, I can't imagine, when I get around to getting an iPhone, needing one of these as well.

    Except for, you know, the prettiness.

    Welly • Since Jul 2008 • 1275 posts Report

  • giovanni tiso,

    Another question: where's the beverage cup holder?

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Russell Brown,

    I'm enjoying watching people on the internet declare how outraged and disappointed they are.

    Like this apparently serious comment under the Guardian's review:

    Really disgusted by Apple lies and hype after all these years giving them my support.

    Just smashed my iphone to pieces and ordered a nokia n900. Backing up my MBP just now. When I'm done that's going the same way as the pod.

    Thanks a bunch, Steve!

    Really, get over yourself.

    This actually isn't going to fail. Even if it just supplants the iPod Touch -- and that's probably not a bad way to see it -- it'll be fine. Apple has sold 20 million of those in two years, and the iPad does everything the Touch does, but more and much better.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

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