Apple Ipad - Coming to a theatre near you!

**Blue Whale** · 29th Jan 2010, 19:12

Originally Posted by hwchoy

can't see any article text in your link.

You got acrobat reader installed?

I am not disputing your choice. I put a defensive and offensive position at the same time ^^Y At times you might see conflicting side of me appearing well, there are just 8 sides, 9th side just been trigger in AQ recently. Each of distinctive point of argument, sorry if you find as if Blue Whale account is operating by different people...hee. Certainly not calling it spilt personalities which has been misused by people time to time.

Battery constraints, space limiting, old features, no new technology incorporated, old apps, cumbersome file transfer metholody, No phone!, No SMS!, No MMS!, No cameras!. With several entire line of netbook, ebook, thin notebooks to compete with. Will the smart consumer bite this time? I am not, certainly Choy you don't seem to either.

**Blue Whale** · 29th Jan 2010, 19:32

Finally, it's here

by Hedirman Supian
Updated 03:59 PM Jan 29, 2010

I KNOW what you're thinking: Sanitary pad jokes aside (enough already!), what's the big deal about the Apple iPad? And more importantly, when can you get one in Singapore?

The iPad is a tablet computer with a 9.7-inch multi-touch screen that can run the 140,000 applications from the App Store. Just like iPhone, the iPad has an accelerometer, GPS and digital compass. It easily handles music and high-definition movies. And there's that new online bookshop from Apple, iBookstore.

Apple Singapore is keeping mum on the local pricing and availability but over in the United States, the base WiFi model will sell for US$499 ($700) when it launches late March - that's cheaper than some higher-end netbooks and also competes with the larger version of the Amazon Kindle, the DX (US$489).

The 3G version of the iPad, available in the US late April, is unlocked so you can probably buy it stateside and use it here in Singapore, but only if the telcos offer a micro SIM, a smaller version of the SIM card, which is what the iPad uses.

When queried by Today, none of the three local telcos said they are offering the micro SIM for now, although SingTel revealed that it is on the cards.

"We are in the process of co-ordinating with vendors to plan and test the micro SIM," said SingTel's corporate communications manager Cheam Tze Hui.

M1's corporate communications general manager Chua Swee Kiat said it is "premature" for the telco to provide details this early, although it is "keen to build on the success of our recent launch of the iPhone by offering our customers another iconic product from Apple".

Ms Cassie Fong, corporate communications manager for StarHub, said that StarHub is "waiting for information from Apple about its distribution strategy and launch details in the international markets".

Three Ways The iPad Might Change Your Life

The iPad is not just a hyped-up device. Here are three ways we think it might change your life:

1 Simple Computing

I know a blind man who uses an iPhone because he can simply swipe and touch the user interface to operate it. My three-year-old nephew loves playing racing games and popping virtual bubbles on the iPhone. And a family member who's partially paralysed uses the iPhone to play bowling games and check movie schedules.

Sure, these are extreme examples, but it shows how accessible the iPhone is. Now, the iPad has the same intuitive accessibility. Naysayers bemoan the lack of buttons on the iPhone - and now the iPad - but it is this formless user interface that employs natural hand gestures which makes computing on the iPad seem simple, not like rocket science.

In the same way that the Nintendo Wii has opened up the playing field for video gaming, the iPad can open up computing to the rest of the world.

2 Old Media Becomes New

Apple has built quite the software empire with just the iTunes App store and the iPhone alone. Though not available here yet, music and movies have been a popular mainstay on the iTunes store, too. Now Apple plans to repeat its success with digital versions of books, magazines and newspapers on the iBookstore.

Apple Singapore says it has no information on when or if the iBookstore will make it to Singapore. One reckons it might have a few copyright and licensing hurdles to clear before that happens

In any case, the iPad's colour display could allow publishers and content producers to create rich content that can captivate audiences and readers beyond what print can do. If the medium is indeed the message, the iPad, being a rich, Internet-connected device, might open up new ways of storytelling and delivering the news.

News reports could be pushed to the device as the news happens, with high-quality video. You could easily email, Twitter or post the news on Facebook to share with your friends or drag it into a work presentation. Or read a bedtime story on the iPad to your kids with enough animation and audio to transport your little one into a fantasy world.

For content owners and producers, it amounts to more eyeballs and paid subscriptions in Apple's content ecosystem that's already been proven to work. And what about advertisements? You can bet they're going to be more creative and interactive.

3 A Swiss-army Knife For Life

The App Store has changed the mindset of the masses when it comes to applications. Need an app? Just search, select and download it for free or buy a paid app. No complex installation procedures.

Unlike conventional computers, the addition of the App Store makes the iPad seem like a Swiss Army knife with limitless interchangeable tools.

My photojournalist colleague can't wait to get an iPad so he can easily edit and send images to our newsroom while out on assignment (yes, the iPad comes with adaptors so you can transfer photos via USB or SD card). Musicians are raving about how they can tinker with virtual synthesisers and drum machines because the multitouch device is ultra-responsive. The 3G and GPS features would allow you to download a turn-by-turn navigation app.

The corporate crowd hasn't been left out. Apple has remade iWork, its suite of productivity apps, for the iPad so it can crunch spreadsheets and presentations on the device.

The applications and the no-brainer process to acquire them, broaden the iPad's functions, allowing users to customise it with their own selection of killer apps.

Visit the Tech Talk blog at blogs.todayonline.com/techtalk to read how photojournalists can use the iPad.

**hwchoy** · 29th Jan 2010, 20:21

Originally Posted by Blue Whale

You got acrobat reader installed?

I am not disputing your choice. I put a defensive and offensive position at the same time ^^Y At times you might see conflicting side of me appearing well, there are just 8 sides, 9th side just been trigger in AQ recently. Each of distinctive point of argument, sorry if you find as if Blue Whale account is operating by different people...hee. Certainly not calling it spilt personalities which has been misused by people time to time.

Battery constraints, space limiting, old features, no new technology incorporated, old apps, cumbersome file transfer metholody, No phone!, No SMS!, No MMS!, No cameras!. With several entire line of netbook, ebook, thin notebooks to compete with. Will the smart consumer bite this time? I am not, certainly Choy you don't seem to either.

maybe the dumb site couldn't detect acrobat pro instead of reader.

anyway I am simply stating the conditions upon which I will find it really attractive to use this device. you are the one trying to find the USB port on it

**hwchoy** · 29th Jan 2010, 20:26

anyway thanks for the extract. as I suspect it is saying the same thing in the apple site. you can transfer pictures via USB. it does not mean you can access a USB key or a connected USB drive as a storage.

use an iPhone and you will know what I mean. for that matter the iPhone Blue Tooth is also not what you would expect like on a Nokia phone. the iPhone OS environment is fairly closed and controlled and somethings simply do not work as most of us expects.

**blackconvoy** · 29th Jan 2010, 21:28

haha......... we can argue till our fish can talk, but still our views will be a bias one.
every brand got thier die hard supporter. so IMO there is nothing to argue.

as for me i dont find the big deal bout the ipad compare to existing gadgets 'similar' to it. but one thing for sure, the multi touch software by apple
is a 'no horse run'. they are best!!

**hwchoy** · 29th Jan 2010, 21:43

actually I do like it, but I am unhappy that it is unable to function as a more general computing device.

**Blue Whale** · 30th Jan 2010, 07:44

Choy ar...the thing is call disappointing.

For an Apple device, the spec.s just cannot make it. I go for iphone now is like asking me to downgrade from 8.1 to 3mps. sheesh...Even the Nexus one also lower specs than my current one, only strong one is the processor only. I think USB important. Although I do not have ixxxx or facebook, or tweet, I do not feel old, I feel smart. Life easier not tied down, free to do anything ^^Y Yeh.

Now will Vinz do development on Android or Mac OS enviornment...lol.

**blackconvoy** · 30th Jan 2010, 08:34

netbooks vs ipad:

Video chat. Most Netbooks, even low-end ones, now have webcams enabling basic video chat over Skype or any other program. The iPad, however, does not. We wish the iPad had a camera and iChat, especially since it would make the tablet a unique communications device to rival the iPhone. Perhaps cost was a factor, even though most Netbooks manage the feat in a package under US$500.
Run Flash. While Steve Jobs called the iPad "the best Web experience you've ever had," there is a big missing piece right now, and that's the whole Web. Browser-based apps and Flash-driven content are huge elements of cloud computing and of many Web sites, and right now it's not even clear whether the iPad can even run Hulu or Netflix. Atom Netbooks can be slow and stuttery when playing Web video, but at least they can.
Programming. Most people aren't programmers, or anything close to it, but most Netbooks do run on a full Windows 7 OS that can be used for programming or modification. For the friendly hackers out there, that's a deal-breaker on the iPad.
Upload photos from a camera. No USB ports on the iPad mean no connecting cameras or other peripherals, which can be a drag if the iPad is meant as a portable computing replacement for bloggers. Netbooks have at least 2 USB ports standard. The iPad does have a dongle to allow photo and video uploads, but when we're on the go we prefer a direct connection.
Store more than 64GB of data. We expected a little more memory on the iPad. Even the most basic Netbook has a 160GB hard drive. Cloud storage can assist with data, but it's still no replacement for onboard capacity.
Play Facebook games. Without the aforementioned Flash, browser games aren't really possible on the iPad. Those looking to play Farmville will have to wait for the App or just flock to a Netbook.
Swapping batteries. Sure, the iPad is slim, attractive and very showy. But its battery is fixed, while a Netbook can not only swap its battery, but upgrade from a three- to a six-cell or more.
Install CD media (or any media other than from an App Store) With the addition of a simple USB DVD/CD-ROM drive, disc-based software can be installed on a Netbook even without an optical drive built in. Netbooks can also install files off USB drives, or via any other input method. The iPad wasn't designed with this flexibility in mind, but it's still nice to be able to do.
Type on your lap. Yes, the iPad has a virtual keyboard, and even a cool keyboard dock that turns the tablet into a quasi-desktop device. But the dock can't be used for lap typing, and the Apple demos didn't make iPad typing seem as comfortable as pounding away on an old-fashioned hinged Netbook. For long-term writing on the go, a physical Netbook keyboard with an attached angled screen still wins.
Upgrade. Netbooks can upgrade their RAM--albeit slightly--and with a little effort, that hard drive can be swapped, too. The iPad is a fixed entity, so there's no going back once you've picked 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB.

On the other hand, the iPad does do a lot of things nicely, including being more portable. We just felt like Netbooks needed to be stood up for a little. Your thoughts? Any features we left out?

**Blue Whale** · 30th Jan 2010, 10:32

Actually common conclusion that the ipad will do well with journalist. Programmers, nope. Graphics designer? might as well go for MacBook Pro which do the job better. Windows 7, still have wrinkles to iron.

Netbook is a line of failure to make it as consumer product. Netbook as educational tools for the lower income yes, schools, double yes. That was the original concept of netbook.

Notebook is poised to compete with PCs. Never has it been a time when specification between both has been so close. Notebook as server? Testing platform and demos yes, long run, definitely a no. So what do consumers look at? Support structure.

HP? You ever call HP India Helpdesk before? 15mins waiting for agents to pickup then they put you on hold for 15mins, what fxxx kind of support do you call this? Apple helpdesk made 1-to-1 xchange for ipod which is out of warranty, how cool is that for support? Notebook as gaming platform...can try, and still trying. PC is still the domaint player here. Notebook as programming platform, it simply make sense since you need a development platform and showcase to customers. Notebook for graphics designers, they might just go for MacBook Pro. So you ask, what do normal consumer go after then? The coolest looking, best working, best budget ones. To each their own preference but money for value. What you pay is what you get. ^^Y

**hwchoy** · 30th Jan 2010, 12:04

my take on the iPad is this:

first there is no doubt it will be a huge success. Apple has a very large cult following out there who wants such a device, and not much more than that. these are the people who do not need a netbook. Someone like my wife, will definitely be happy with one.

second, to address the people who wants to have something in between a laptop and a smart phone (as Jobs put it) this thing either already address those needs (case 1 above) or needs to be more like a netbook/laptop (like my requirements). for this purpose, it needs to be light and long lasting since otherwise I would simply get a laptop.

third, I still believe apple makes the most useable user interface. all said and done, it is done to the usage that brings the user across the last hurdle. I went for the iPhone because it was the first device that makes browsing on a small screen actually useable.

now that the useability benchmark has been set, I see it as a great benefits to users regardless if you would buy an apple or its competitor. it simply raises the bar for everyone else to meet, just as the iPhone has done.

**Blue Whale** · 30th Jan 2010, 12:07

=) yes yes choy. More competition more consumer products, we benefit. An extra take is that Apple is pushing the price even further down. That is why got people drop glass (really happened) at the Steve Jobs announcement of ipad

**reveru** · 26th Feb 2010, 08:39

actually i doubt that Apple will implement the file system access for people. their concern is with security and also, it's quite typical of them to want to limit what people can do with their products.

i more concerned with whether the 3G version is usable in singapore. and if SingTel is going to be the sole provider a la the launch of iPhone, i'm probably going to skip it because SingTel seems to charge quite expensively in my opinion.

And no complains about the internal battery here. I used to have an Acer and lug 2 batteries around which combined gave me about 4 hours+ of battery life. Now with the internal battery I have 7-8 hours on my mpb! And I guess by the time this battery becomes unusable... Maybe time to change laptop. Haha. They do provide good after sales service though.