It's a giant iPhone: the iPad

[SpecialKO]

This time, going by the various press releases and investor calls, they genuinely don't seem to know who their market is, and it kind of shows with the way they talk up the product. I haven't seen a single thing telling me, as an iPhone/Macbook user, why I would want something like this. I haven't seen a single thing telling users of other smartphones/e-readers/tablets why they should want this instead.

Because it's simple and pretty. Believe it or not, there's many people who buy apple's products mostly for the aesthetics (and because is, apparently, the devil in a suit)[/QUOTE]

People say that all the time, but I bet that market is relatively tiny. Even Apple doesn't believe they can sell solely on that basis, otherwise they wouldn't fill their ads with claims of functionality, capability, etc. Apple's whole schtick recently has been "we have this machine that does all this stuff that addresses all these needs AND it's also pretty". Even when they released the Macbook Air, and spent all that money talking about how thin and awesome looking it was, they spent just as much time talking about the benefits for travelers, and business people, and how the laptop remained a high-performance machine.

 

[Shakey]

This time, going by the various press releases and investor calls, they genuinely don't seem to know who their market is, and it kind of shows with the way they talk up the product. I haven't seen a single thing telling me, as an iPhone/Macbook user, why I would want something like this. I haven't seen a single thing telling users of other smartphones/e-readers/tablets why they should want this instead.

Because it's simple and pretty. Believe it or not, there's many people who buy apple's products mostly for the aesthetics (and because is, apparently, the devil in a suit)[/QUOTE]

People say that all the time, but I bet that market is relatively tiny. Even Apple doesn't believe they can sell solely on that basis, otherwise they wouldn't fill their ads with claims of functionality, capability, etc. Apple's whole schtick recently has been "we have this machine that does all this stuff that addresses all these needs AND it's also pretty". Even when they released the Macbook Air, and spent all that money talking about how thin and awesome looking it was, they spent just as much time talking about the benefits for travelers, and business people, and how the laptop remained a high-performance machine.[/QUOTE]

Removable battery

 

[Espy]

Removable battery

You know, even before I got my Macbook Pro with an 8 hour battery life, I had a Powebook with a 3 hour battery life and I traveled about 2 or 3 weeks out of the month and I almost NEVER had to use my backup battery. It was only on the odd overseas flight that didn't have a plug in that I had to use it. Almost everywhere you go there are plug-ins. I don't really get this complaint unless people are using super crappy batteries in their laptops (which I suppose could be the case with many of the mainstream laptops) in which case... well, you get what you pay for.

The iPad has, I believe a 10 hour battery life which is plenty for almost anyone.

 

[drawn_inward]

It's super under-whelming. With all the secrecy I would have though it would have been revolutionary. I'm with Chaz on this one. I'd rather have a netbook and a smart phone.

I just got an HP netbook as a gift, and it's great. Totally light and it's a fully functional computer, and probably a 1/5 of the cost of the iPad.

 

[Shakey]

Removable battery

You know, even before I got my Macbook Pro with an 8 hour battery life, I had a Powebook with a 3 hour battery life and I traveled about 2 or 3 weeks out of the month and I almost NEVER had to use my backup battery. It was only on the odd overseas flight that didn't have a plug in that I had to use it. Almost everywhere you go there are plug-ins. I don't really get this complaint unless people are using super crappy batteries in their laptops (which I suppose could be the case with many of the mainstream laptops) in which case... well, you get what you pay for.

The iPad has, I believe a 10 hour battery life which is plenty for almost anyone.[/QUOTE]

It's more about being able to replace it when it no longer holds a charge than having to replace it during a trip. It's a difference of being able to keep your laptop until a new battery arrives, or going without your laptop while Apple finds to time to do it for you.

I'm not anti-Apple, but that's one thing that just bugs me.

 

[Espy]

Removable battery

You know, even before I got my Macbook Pro with an 8 hour battery life, I had a Powebook with a 3 hour battery life and I traveled about 2 or 3 weeks out of the month and I almost NEVER had to use my backup battery. It was only on the odd overseas flight that didn't have a plug in that I had to use it. Almost everywhere you go there are plug-ins. I don't really get this complaint unless people are using super crappy batteries in their laptops (which I suppose could be the case with many of the mainstream laptops) in which case... well, you get what you pay for.

The iPad has, I believe a 10 hour battery life which is plenty for almost anyone.[/QUOTE]

It's more about being able to replace it when it no longer holds a charge than having to replace it during a trip. It's a difference of being able to keep your laptop until a new battery arrives, or going without your laptop while Apple finds to time to do it for you.

I'm not anti-Apple, but that's one thing that just bugs me.[/QUOTE]

I can walk into my local apple store and have them replace the battery on the spot... I just don't see the inconvenience of it, especially if it means they are giving me a highly superior battery.

 

[Shakey]

Removable battery

You know, even before I got my Macbook Pro with an 8 hour battery life, I had a Powebook with a 3 hour battery life and I traveled about 2 or 3 weeks out of the month and I almost NEVER had to use my backup battery. It was only on the odd overseas flight that didn't have a plug in that I had to use it. Almost everywhere you go there are plug-ins. I don't really get this complaint unless people are using super crappy batteries in their laptops (which I suppose could be the case with many of the mainstream laptops) in which case... well, you get what you pay for.

The iPad has, I believe a 10 hour battery life which is plenty for almost anyone.[/QUOTE]

It's more about being able to replace it when it no longer holds a charge than having to replace it during a trip. It's a difference of being able to keep your laptop until a new battery arrives, or going without your laptop while Apple finds to time to do it for you.

I'm not anti-Apple, but that's one thing that just bugs me.[/QUOTE]

I can walk into my local apple store and have them replace the battery on the spot... I just don't see the inconvenience of it, especially if it means they are giving me a highly superior battery.[/QUOTE]

Even with the Air? Everything I've heard is that they need to be sent in to have the battery replaced. You can drop it off at the mac store, but they don't replace it there. If not, well, I'm wrong.

 

[Espy]

Not sure, I can't see why it would be any different. According to this article http://www.appleinsider.com/article...r_battery_replacements_take_only_minutes.html if you have a battery and a screwdriver it takes about 3 minutes to do.

 

[Covar]

Removable battery

You know, even before I got my Macbook Pro with an 8 hour battery life, I had a Powebook with a 3 hour battery life and I traveled about 2 or 3 weeks out of the month and I almost NEVER had to use my backup battery. It was only on the odd overseas flight that didn't have a plug in that I had to use it. Almost everywhere you go there are plug-ins. I don't really get this complaint unless people are using super crappy batteries in their laptops (which I suppose could be the case with many of the mainstream laptops) in which case... well, you get what you pay for.

The iPad has, I believe a 10 hour battery life which is plenty for almost anyone.[/QUOTE]

It's more about being able to replace it when it no longer holds a charge than having to replace it during a trip. It's a difference of being able to keep your laptop until a new battery arrives, or going without your laptop while Apple finds to time to do it for you.

I'm not anti-Apple, but that's one thing that just bugs me.[/QUOTE]

It's the same argument as why Mac's are not upgradable. By the time that happens most users will be willing and just go ahead and buy the new mac. My iMac was bought in 2006 and is one of the first gen intel macs. Over four years I've upgraded the ram from 512MB to 2GB, upgraded from Tiger to Leopard to Snow Leopard, and have been completely happy with its performance. I'm probably about 2 years away before I can seriously justify the need to purchase a new mac.