Apple’s iPad Tablet Could Slay eBooks and Netbooks

July 28, 2009 By Rob Enderle

Jobs may be ready to step away from Apple, but not before completing the iPad as his magnum opus.

On smartphones, Apple was late to the market, but if there is another vendor doing a better job of currently defining what a smartphone is, I don’t know who they are. With smartbooks, a new class of product based on smartphone technology that looks like a netbook computer, the market hasn’t even really launched, and already Apple appears to be moving to define it.

Word is they are rushing to try to have a product into the market in the fourth quarter. Were this anyone else, I’d say they had a snowball’s chance in hell of making it, but this is Apple, which likely has a patent on hell snowballs, so let’s chat about the Apple iPad this week.

iPod Sales Slowing

In what was a stellar quarter last quarter from Apple, the one really troubling mark was that iPod sales were slowing. Now, part of this was Apple drawing down inventories in advance of what will likely be a broad product refresh in August or early September, but I think it reflects on the fact that people are focusing more and more on smartphones, and not as excited about MP3 players as they once were. This suggests that Apple needs to move to the next big thing after the iPod, and while they are partially hedging this decline with the iPhone, it will probably be a long time (if ever) before iPhones will ever replace iPods.

Apple needs something exciting this year, and what better than something new and very different.

Newton + Tablet Done Right?

Steve Jobs both panned the idea of a Newton and a tablet PC, and strangely enough, the iPhone, iPod Touch and now this planned iPad are all combinations of both concepts. The iPad is likely the closest to what the Newton was evolving into given its size and capabilities, and the rumored design is identical to a tablet PC, albeit a small one.

If this were anybody else, I’d figure the chances that this will be successful to be slim or none, but Apple’s iPod Touch and iPhone have a user interface that will at least scale to 10 inches (the rumored screen size of this new device), and should work just fine.

Content is Key: Overcoming The Apple TV Problem

The problem for Apple, much like it was for the iPod, which it got done, and Apple TV, which it didn’t, is getting access to the media folks want to watch and play with on the device. It will be about the size of a Kindle DX, but it will need a decent book library if it is going to be used in that fashion. Luckily, there is a Kindle reader already for the iPhone and iPod Touch, but even Amazon doesn’t have perfect access (for instance, the Harry Potter books aren’t available on a Kindle). And Apple has never wanted anyone else to own the critical services on any of their devices in the first place.

Apple TV

Apple TV

This would be a great portable movie and TV viewer as well, but the lack of great content is what has plagued the AppleTV and kept it from joining the iPod, iPhone, and iMac on stage as a truly innovative product. Without decent video content, this just won’t scale to the kind of audience that the iPod or even the iPhone will enjoy. This is probably the most troubling aspect for Apple, because it didn’t really pull this off for Apple TV, and this may suggest the company can’t actually get it done this time either.

Price: Purchase and Wireless

Price will be important too, and it is hard to believe that many of these things will sell at the rumored $800 price. Smartbooks are actually expected to price out below $300 for the most part, and even if Apple were to go for a massive margin, you would think it could bring one out for under $600, if not $500, and hit a price that more would find compelling while still at the high end of the segment. With folks screaming about a sub-$500 Kindle, an $800 device would be difficult to move.

One final problem to work though is wireless access. The Kindle’s bundled HSDPA access from Sprint is wonderful, but it adds several hundred dollars to the price of the device, and putting the iPad on a data plan from a carrier like AT&T would potentially allow an iPhone-like sub-$300 price point. But it would also add a $50 or higher data plan.

These expensive data plans remain problematic, but Wi-Fi isn’t prevalent enough, WiMax isn’t widespread enough, and LTE hasn’t been rolled out yet, which will make the connectivity solution a real problem to solve.

Wrapping Up

If the iPod was a difficulty level of six, and the iPhone was eight, then the iPad will be something like 10 on a scale of one to 10. This will be one of the most difficult products Apple has ever tried to bring to market. Any other company would probably fail, but Apple isn’t any other company. Even if it fails, Apple will have created a potentially unique and advanced offering which could easily blaze the trail for more successful products to follow. I wouldn’t bet on Apple to fail, though. It does that very seldom, and given this may be Steve Jobs’ swan song product, there likely will be more emphasis on getting it right than on any product that came before it.

Given that we tend to remember either the first thing someone does or the last (it’s called primacy or recency) and we think of Steve Jobs now more as the father of the iPhone than the father of the Mac, there is a good chance he will be remembered for this iPad. For his sake, (and for the sake of his employees, given he doesn’t have a sense of humor on this stuff) this had better be a home run.

We’ll see. One thing is for sure: It will be incredibly exciting and I’ll bet Steve, if he can, will actually present this one. You see, this thing could actually become an eBook, smartphone, and netbook killer, and if it did, what a swan song for Steve it would be.

Showing 143 comments

iPad Covers at 11:25pm 14th June 2010 you will also need the covers for it. You don't want your iPad get dirty or scratched right???
GoenduL at 10:19am 1st May 2010 I really interesting with iPad. Unfortunately, while I see on Apple's store, iPad would be starting price at $499. So, I'll consider it again to buy. too expensive for me
Eval at 6:16pm 21st April 2010 You know what I just realized...an app that makes your iPad a keyboard/Monster trackpad for your iMac! How sweet would that be! Ok but to rev the engine down, there are limitations to the iPad. Buyers will just need to make sure they know what they are getting before jumping in. If they don't like it then don't get it, simple.
fresh2love at 1:33am 19th April 2010 wow. is amazing
i like it later i buy one
Dan Gaul at 1:30pm 10th March 2010 LOL, maybe in China but nowhere else. Just like the Chinese iPhone knockoffs.
appleipad at 12:28pm 10th March 2010 apple ipad soon faces competition from chinese made apple ipad CPAD

http://www.myapple-ipad.co.uk/cpad-apple-ipad-c...
iphoneapplicationsdevelopment at 3:35am 10th March 2010 I dont think that netbooks will be useless with the launching of iPad. For instance, Im still not comfortable with the touchscreen and even it will provide keyboard dock, it still will not replace the full sized physical keyboard that brings comfort and easier to use.
Cheap iPad Fan at 4:26am 7th March 2010 I'm definitley going to get me one of these.

Having had a search around which stores are going to be selling the iPad in the UK, it looks like it's not just going to be the Apple Store and Amazon.

Play.com are already advertising that you can register your interest to pre-order. More stores will hopefully mean some competition on price eventually.
ashleynathomas at 3:20am 24th February 2010 It seems to me that if one uses the Kindle App, the Barnes and Noble App and the Sony App and also has access to Gutenberg, feedbooks, manybooks, smashbooks, Lulu, etc that this reader has access to way more books than any other reader on the market. I think Amazon would be smart to add the ability to buy books off any site, or at a minimum, Adobe DRM ePub.

Meanwhile I am going to wait until the actual device comes out to find out how long the battery lasts with wireless and whispernet off and no web browsing or game playing to see how it stacks up as an e-Reader.

If the iPad can display all my RSS feeds as automatically as Apple Mail can, then I would be sorely tempted to buy the 16GB model just to do that and have a lot of other stuff available as well. On the other hand, I fully expect the next Kindle to be in Mirasol Color or some other color screen. Not as vivid as the iPad, but a month on a single charge far outweighs the advantages of the iPad, also ability to read outside, which I do a lot of in the warmer months.
Tablet PC accessories
Schneider at 2:31am 23rd February 2010 The Ipad will own any Laptop or Netbook when you sit on the couch and think about something you instantly want to check in the internet. No waiting for the OS to start. And in my opinion, Laptops look ugly and take away a lot of space in a living room. If I want to work seriously I use a PC.
isa at 11:36pm 18th February 2010 According to www.ipadreleasedate.net it will be out at the end of march..yessss!!!!
chandani at 9:57am 16th February 2010 PLEASE TAKE THIS SURVEY http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3T3MRF6 ON KINDLE VS IPAD THANKS
patlang at 7:08am 15th February 2010 LOL.
patlang at 6:59am 15th February 2010 Our family plans to get 3 iPads this year. 1 for the Kids to watch Dora, Movies and to Play Games. 1 for the wife to surf the web (Buy online, Pay Bills) and to Manage Photos, . 1 for me to do manage my online life (gmail, facebook, twitter, freshbooks, google docs), do Keynotes Presentations and connect to a clients projector.
Happy camper at 1:48am 12th February 2010 We are going to get 3 ipads for the family.

One for our son who needs a device in school for internet, e-mail and word processing/spreadsheet/presentations. One for the wife who wants to surf the web, read books and do e-mail and one for for me to the same (at the same time normally). We have been reading books on laptops in the past ~10 years and have never had the "eye-strain" that everyone is talking about.

We are getting three of these instead of laptops, since we have a computer as hub were things like movie and photo editing, 3D stuff, and server of content.

We really just see the iPad as a nice, easy and inexpensivew way of handling the everyday tasks that used to require a PC. And to do it without the headache that a PC with 100+ weird settings gives (that goes for netbooks too).

So it fits perfectly for us.
Jerry Limonta at 5:43pm 8th February 2010 Check out this iPad community:
http://www.theipadcafe.com
dang at 6:46pm 6th February 2010 Why do you think it's cool?
wee at 10:27am 6th February 2010 I think iPad is cool.
Rob Brennan at 7:44pm 5th February 2010 This announcement threw me for quite a loop. While I didn't find it to be a must-have device like I did for the iPhone announcements, there still is something intriguing about the iPad. I was on the fence as to whether or not this was making a few steps forward or not, but I am beginning to think of more and more ways this device would actually work quite well.
jaytom at 7:53pm 3rd February 2010 i like to buy an ipad with built in phone,camera and webcam and video camera. then only its worth
Apple iPad at 3:29pm 3rd February 2010 Must say that I expected more of the iPad but I think that the portability and price of the iPad makes it more appealing to consumers.
Victor at 7:36pm 2nd February 2010 I think the real challenge for the new iPad will be the iScale application, you can see what i mean visiting www.666ish.com.
pace at 11:14am 2nd February 2010 ok your dumb if u dont like the price they have prices as low as 500
Mac Hoe at 4:57am 2nd February 2010 Yep it could kill the netbooks. With the iPad Apple is created a new niche and it will be called "netpad". NetPad sounds better than tablet pc or slate computer...
patou at 10:30pm 1st February 2010 kiehl.patrick@neuf.fr
itsdacinch at 9:24pm 1st February 2010 This look great, I just cant wait.

John
www.itsdacinch.com.au
sit2k at 7:01pm 1st February 2010 big difference in number macboy.. seems your facts are for morons that think apple actually makes the better product

http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/200...
sit2k at 6:49pm 1st February 2010 show me a real website not a machead site son
veggiedude at 6:46pm 1st February 2010 Taken from
http://tinyurl.com/8h3fto

"In 1999, with a cash balance of *over* $3 billion, Apple paid off $650 million in debt that wasn’t due until 2001."

You have offered no link or 'facts' to your ridiculous assertions. I have blown all of yours out of the water.

Good nite dad!
sit2k at 6:30pm 1st February 2010 when it's a fact it's not an insult son.. you know you're right, when i have 4 billion in my pocket i would go ask for 150 million in investment money nd tell the investor he cant cash it in for 3 years...

lol.. 4 billion in cash.. good luck with that pipe dream
veggiedude at 5:30pm 1st February 2010 Apple did have $4 billion in the bank, with no outstanding debt at the time MS invested the measly $150 million. By comparison, Apple had just paid out $400 million the year before to buy NeXT. Now you are resorting to insults to try prove your point. That will get you nowhere.
sit2k at 4:43pm 1st February 2010 it's a free country son, they can drop office because apple owns corel.. duh!

apple did not have 4 billion in cash you clown they were going down for the count! blew it out of proportion!?!?!? they only own 3% of the computing market and the same today!?!? they have no clue! if it wasn't for bill gates apple would have been gone! in 2008 hey lost money in desktop and laptop sales by selling only a few million and lost hundreds of millions, dell sells more in a month! get a clue, apple is rotten to the core and they didn't have the ipod that company would be an equivelant of apple pie!

i wish that adobe says "we are dropping all support for macs across or lineup!"

that loser is now trying to get quicktime to be a standard on the web and squeeze out adobe flash.

freakin macheads have no clue! you walk around like zombies and listen to jobs say "the consumer doesnt know what they want, you have to tell them what they want!"

dumb sheep!
sit2k at 4:34pm 1st February 2010 windows mobile hardly needs anything besides what built into it already. big difference sonny.. keep

I downloaded 1 app since i have been using windows mobile and thats skyfire.. nothing else!

wait! i downloaded shazam too.. 2 apps! woohoo!

iphone is a toy son and nothing else
Steve at 11:42am 1st February 2010 The iDud.
Steve at 11:39am 1st February 2010 While you're surfing, try and pull up youtube (Damn! - No support for flash) that's ok, at least you can send EMAIL (oh wait. browser still open?, you CAN'T RUN MORE THAN ONE APP. AT ONCE!!!!!) ..If your reply is "what's an app." and you apparently Do know "Diddly about technology" go for it! It will probably make one hell of a drink coaster!
veggiedude at 6:48am 1st February 2010 Such an idiotic thing to say, that Apple was close to closing its doors, not with $4 billion in the bank - and with no outstanding loans. There were many fortune 500 companies at the time that wished they had as good a financial record as that. But because Apple was losing millions each quarter, it certainly looked that way and the media simply blew it out of proportion.

Microsoft would never dare drop Office for Mac, not while in the middle of being scrutinized by the Justice Dept. LOL
veggiedude at 6:39am 1st February 2010 "Apple Dominated With Nearly 100% of Mobile App Sales in 2009"

http://tinyurl.com/yjezy8h

It's no wonder Apple ranks 4th largest company in the world (market cap). Google is 6th.

http://tinyurl.com/ygjegou
sit2k at 6:33am 1st February 2010 i love how indows mobile is left out when it dominates sales over apple and blackbery.. cute
veggiedude at 6:29am 1st February 2010 LOL - I made up the number. Actually, I could not remember the disproportionate number that both Apple and Blackberry commanded - but I looked it up. It is 66% of all PROFITS for the entire SmartPhone market - not bad for two companies that only have 5% to 10% marketshare! WoW!!!

http://tinyurl.com/lyx4ho
sit2k at 5:56am 1st February 2010 lol where do you get these numbers from??????

apple barely sold half of what windows mobile license totals of 18 million plus and nokia owns 55% of the market.

wow.. do yourself a favor don't respond please
sit2k at 5:52am 1st February 2010 150 million invested plus ms office for macs. i remember the conference clearly especially whengates was introduced, everyone in the crowd boo'd gates. mac had nothing and was ready to close it's doors

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/kit-eaton/techn...
veggiedude at 12:42am 1st February 2010 And yet it is the iPad that will change the world, not your netbook.
veggiedude at 12:40am 1st February 2010 At the time Microsoft gave $150 million to Apple, Apple had $4 billion in the bank with no outstanding bills to pay. So it is absurd to say MS saved Apple. The agreement between the two companies was that Apple would drop a lawsuit over MS stealing QuickTime technology. Also, both agreed to put differences aside and agree to conform to GUI standards. If MS did not sell their Apple stocks a few months later, they would have made many billions of dollars from the investment. Today, Apple has over $40 billion in the bank with no outstanding bills to pay.
veggiedude at 12:33am 1st February 2010 Last year, Apple iPhone and the Blackberry had 90% of the mobile market $$$. Not bad for being a small player in Nokia's market huh?

In addition, the app marketplace for 2009 was 95% owned by Apple. Android has a lot of catching up to do.
veggiedude at 12:28am 1st February 2010 It is really what we thought we would get in the early 90's. Remember how Larry Ellison said we would simply have a dumb terminal that hooks up to servers? Well, cloud computing is here. If you don't think so, go argue with Google. They are investing billions into it. Apple has simply stolen their thunder. Don't wait for the future Google netbook to arrive - get iPad. And for all the stuff you said is missing, well, simply run Windows 7 on it and now you can multitask and do all you want. A company has announced the availability - the process is done on a remote server, so no worries of battery drain on iPad. Cloud computing - it is the future.
veggiedude at 12:23am 1st February 2010 It has USB. It has a camera addon. See the specs at apple.com
veggiedude at 12:06am 1st February 2010 No, the original Mac did not introduce the 'Multifinder' for a year or two. The original Mac only had the 'Finder'. Multitasking has nothing to do with the chip. It has everything to do with the battery life. If Apple enabled the OS to do MT, then users would be complaining how lousy the battery life is. Design is all about tradeoffs.
veggiedude at 12:03am 1st February 2010 There is a webcam option, its an addon.
veggiedude at 12:02am 1st February 2010 Like eric says, been around for years. So why didn't you get one? Oh, because they suck. Oh yea.
veggiedude at 12:00am 1st February 2010 If you want multitasking then run Windows 7 on it. Already been announced, and the multitasking is done on a server running Windoze, not the iPad, so no worries about battery life being drained.
veggiedude at 11:57pm 31st January 2010 @ Vixxxen: You are wrong.

The iPad can come with 3G. Unlimited data plan for $30. Compare to Verizon at $60 for laptop 3G.

VoIP software such as Skype now supports 3G. That means you can get and make calls from the iPad.
veggiedude at 11:52pm 31st January 2010 You mean the iPhone operating system, not the software development kit. I like it - and I was hoping for it. I always wanted to get a iPod touch for my dad to browse the web and do email, but at 70+ how can he look at so small a screen? No, this iPad is perfect.

BTW, you can run Windows 7 on the iPad (via a cloud computing solution already announced). Someone will do the same to run OS X and other OS's on it, so multitasking on another server from your iPad will be possible.
Jack101 at 10:06am 31st January 2010 What is the difference from a laptop or a tablet? You have more functions and applications on the laptop. 3G wireless at high cost? It is worse than Kindle in the ebook function in that it has the normal screen and display, which is bad to eyes. So many people already wear contacts. Save your children's eyes. Well, there are people like to be ripped off. I saw people quickly buying "new" gadget and dump the "old" (a few months) ones. Why? Because they are not really so good. Oh, poor people, the slave of marketing, just like the slave of the media.
james braselton at 8:19am 31st January 2010 hi there yes i know that our we are going get 3 of ipads
james braselton at 8:16am 31st January 2010 hi there wow they think 5 million of each be sole soo that adds anouther 150 terabytes too 3 petabytes the internet is geting infint bigger
Tim Price at 4:52pm 30th January 2010 I think it will all depend on the success of the iBook store. If that becomes the dominant place to purchase e-books, the iPad will take over the market.
iPadInsider at 1:23pm 30th January 2010 Amazon just pulled Macmillan books from its store.

http://www.ipadinsider.com/
www.ipadmods.net at 11:52am 30th January 2010 www.ipadmods.net - Ipad info , release date info, Mods - use other carriers for internet service. get that flash support that is missing out of the box, all the lastest hacks mods tweaks all here for you.
Vats Thakur at 7:25am 30th January 2010 really nice product, waiting for it.
Tom Layton at 6:08am 30th January 2010 Oh, you mean the other ereaders out there do color and video. I had no idea!
Edemilson Lima at 5:59am 30th January 2010 I found this funny :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/47043024@N02/
Tom Layton at 5:34am 30th January 2010 For all you Mac haters out there. Remember the Zune? It could do all kinds of things. All the dumb old iPod could do was play music. Now aren't you glad you did not jump on the Apple bandwagon when their stock was trading at $30 a share? Steve Jobs is such a loser. He started Apple in a garage, for god's sake.
Soda241 at 1:00am 30th January 2010 No.. No it won't because Ebook.. are ebook and they cost way to much.. you can't even RENT.. or like borrow a book.. Won't kill a net book, cause a netbook has a OS.. This one? No os..
melvin at 12:30am 30th January 2010 dont know if you mac heads out there know it but there is this product called the psp and other than a keyoard and a touch screen does more functions than the i pad, usb slot,sd slot,internet radio,mp3 player,movie player,ereader,games,a game and movie website,and it costs 139.00 brand new latest version. yes and skype comes installed. fits in your back pocket.
glad i didnt run jump on the iwagon the apple company if not steve jobs is ilost.
john lux at 12:23am 30th January 2010 $500 for this trash... i might be willing to pay $300 for the 64GB 3G version.
jccjkck at 10:23pm 29th January 2010 i agree
just a really big iphone
nongpla at 10:03pm 29th January 2010 apple ... will get my $500 for sure ... i cannot don't have one...:)
gugi at 1:37pm 29th January 2010 hkoguhfuig
a Martin at 7:56am 29th January 2010 Can I cite you comment in a year or so? :)

It's not trying to replace the iPhone (would be quite stupid of Apple...) nor the laptops, it tries to be more of a netbook replacement. We'll see how it goes...
jayne at 6:58am 29th January 2010 ipad looks cool
Lilo at 3:47am 29th January 2010 you will have to wait for iPad G2 to get webcam, then iPad 3g with additionally digital camera + radio, then iPad 3gs a little bit faster and battery lasting 15h
and then we will get iDoAll ... a device which combines everything where you even change the size of the screen :)
UncoTran at 8:57pm 28th January 2010 I highly doubt this product will sell in today's market. I mean, c'mon, About every other person has got an itouch or iphone already (2/3 of my friends have one), and no one is going to be willing to dish out an extra 500 dollars just to lug around a 9" screen that has the same features as a 3" iphone.
Josh Orty at 6:00pm 28th January 2010 You're a moron.
Benjamin Webb at 5:45pm 28th January 2010 This sums it up for me...

http://www.totallytampontalking.com
Rob D at 1:32pm 28th January 2010 Have fun over paying for that device that doesn't do it all...
Rob D at 1:26pm 28th January 2010 Thats about the best thing you can say about this new "magical" product that it will open the door for others to follow and make a productive version. I hope!
Robert at 1:19pm 28th January 2010 Yeah, laughing at the people who will purchase this new $830.00 suppersized itouch. Its the SAME THING just bigger people and faster! If they drop the price it will sell better but there is no way, when you can just get a laptop and a itouch for about the same price, that I would buy this. No matter how nice it looks.
Ian Bell at 12:51pm 28th January 2010 Why would Fujitsu try to name one of their products after Apple? When Apple introduced the iPod years ago, they continued to name subsequent products with an "i" in front of them. Why would Fujitsu try to copy them? Sounds like sour grapes from Fujitsu to me. Plus they let the trademark lapse and only after it was denied did the company raise a big stink to re-open it.

Remember, another company trademarked the name iPad even before Fujitsu, it was for a door keypad ;)
fujitsu at 12:16pm 28th January 2010 I know the Apple Tablet will generate a lot of buzz, even if they chose a name that was trademarked by Fujitsu in 1992 (check out the New York Times article from today). In fact, Fujitsu who has been making tablets since the 80s has a nice history of the tablet PC on this page (scroll down). http://solutions.us.fujitsu.com/www/content/pro...
bighungry at 11:21am 28th January 2010 Lets really look at this thing, it does a half ass job as a ereader, does a half ass job as a pc, HAS NO must have APPS, So in reality it is a jack of all trade but a master of NONE. I guess if someone was desperate enough just to buy the NEW APPLE IPAD, he will get a highly hyped mobile LESS then average PERFORMER, that does alot of things not so great.
Otty at 11:10am 28th January 2010 It's only an evolution of the iPhone... Minus actual voice and real portability. This is amother funny iPad "review" - http://www.askdog.com/2010/01/28/where-can-i-fi...
fretboard at 7:28am 28th January 2010 The iPad is basically an oversized iPhone. I'll buy one soon enough though.
Anonymous at 9:39am 28th January 2010 Like on the iphone/itouch you will probably be able to adjust the brightness vastly.

another thing: you will be able to listen to music and use apps simultaneously, like on the iphone.
there are also apps that allow messenger+internet browsing so that won't be a problem either.
eric at 8:55am 28th January 2010 bill97
windows tablets have been around for years.
topher at 8:45am 28th January 2010 once again, the artical is from July 2009! and it says Apple’s iPad Tablet "Could Slay eBooks and Netbooks" in the title, no mention of smartphones.

So I guess in a way I agree with that - it wont kill smartphones, it doesn't have to, or try to - its a different product.
topher at 8:40am 28th January 2010 The artical is old one from July 2009 and it says Apple’s iPad Tablet "Could Slay eBooks and Netbooks" " in the title, not smartphones.
Robert at 7:59am 28th January 2010 Anyone who went to CES this year knows that there are so many other options for Slate PCs it makes no sense to buy this piece of garbage. For example:

Viliv S10
Netbook Navigator 891A-NN
Stantum Slate

...Point is, there are much better options out there.
Sara at 7:31am 28th January 2010 My netbook runs Flash. I can see the WHOLE internet without limitations.

It can multitask and run more than one app at a time.

It also has the Kindle on it and other ebook platforms.
mark at 7:27am 28th January 2010 "Has he never heard of the ASUS T91" Exactly, who has ever head of it. Not me until you mentioned it here.

In the last 24 hours I seen and heard about the iPad on every radio and TV channel I've tuned to. It takes more than just a good product to gain mass appeal.

You won't pay, but the majority of consumers will, that enjoy continued satisfaction in the end-to-end experience Apple brings to the market. iPad will be around long after other attempts are faded blog entries.
Mary12468 at 6:28am 28th January 2010 I was hoping to see like intel core duo processor. Instead, I get 1GHZ single core? Wtf....
No GPS, No webcam, Only 64GB at max? Give us SD card slot at least apple. No, I don't want to use dongle. I want it to be built in. Hell with you, apple.
I have an Ipod Touch already. Now I am looking at laptops since the magic of this announcement is gone!
sit2k at 6:18am 28th January 2010 I forgot this

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/kit-eaton/techn...

By the way, when steve jobs was doing all the designing before rubinsteins, apple was going out of business. Then steve jobs begged gates for 150 million and office for mac os.

All you macheads can kiss gates butt for saving a defunct company. Guess who's in charge of design?
sit2k at 6:08am 28th January 2010 uh... nokia still owns about 55% of the phone market, apple has an average of 8-9 million iphone sales a year and 7.5 million are sold in the USA. The iphone debuted in india and china sold only 6000 in the 1st month (to a population of 2billion+ combined). It's also failing in japan where they are saying the iphone doesnt just it technology wise and windows mobile is thriving.

Steve Jobs said it's a wonder to type on also. Can someone tell me how do you type on this screen comfortably? You just cant! Maybe you don' know muc about this but nokia has an internet tablet also http://www.mobiletechreview.com/nokia-770.htm

Yes, Nokia is still laughing, so is blackberry and Microsoft (the makers of Windows Mobile). The iphone is a toy in abusiness market that still dominates it. Blackberry is still selling 15 million+ a year, Microsoft is still selling 18+ wm licenses a year while apple is averaging 9 million a year and over 80% of their customer are macheads that would buy their junk not matter what.

Apple till this day has not gotten away from any of rubinsteins (now with palm) designs because they know they will not design any better.
scottgibbons at 5:13am 28th January 2010 Short sighted morons, most of you...a device doesn't have to do it all to be great...this was all said about the iPhone, also, 2.5 years ago. All smartphone companies have since tried to copy it, but have all failed. Nokia is running scared, remember when their CEO laughed at the iphone? A moron too.
majorplonquer at 4:49am 28th January 2010 What is going on? This is just lame. Lame. Lame.

Lame.

A tablet without handwriting? Who thought that one up? I always thought that was the whole point of a tablet.
No multitasking? When was the last time anyone saw a computer that can't even walk and chew gum? 1997?
No Flash? No Java? Can't even display Apple's own website.
No stylus? Can't draw. Can't write.
Removable battery? Forget it.

Just what is the point of this piece of utter rubbish? Lets face it. That's exactly what it is.

iPad? iFad more like. iPass.
Jughed at 3:50am 28th January 2010 Wonder if I can get a suction cup Windshield mount so I can use it as a GPS. Then I can bluetooth my droid to it and use it as a speakerphone.

Saw they will have a docking sation available with a keyboard attached. So it will transform into a...wait for it.....a $1000 net book. taadaaa. Wait a netbook without a usb. BRILLIANT!!!!!
JGF at 2:42am 28th January 2010 Looks great and usable, the ibooks addition will be great for bibliophiles in the same way as itunes is great for music. My feeling is the 64 gb version is the only way to go particularly if you want to enjoy HQ video. The absence of a camera is a little perplexing as this device would be great for video conferences and the like. My general feeling is this device will be a hit.
punkguy at 2:27am 28th January 2010 For those that distinguish ipad as just another product. I totaly disagree. If you saw a movie and said to yourself,"cool, everyone carries a light hand held computer that does everything and I wish I had one of those". Well, this is the beginning of it. This product will cut into every single market whether its books, backpacks, laptops, notebooks. You name it.
Larry at 1:14am 28th January 2010 Dear Apple, why iPad? why seriously use that name. Why not iMenstrual, iPeriod, iModest or iBlood and while ur at it, throw in a free fully functioning apps to test women's menstrual cycle.
dddF at 1:12am 28th January 2010 The BB is not a touch Smartphone, though.
sook at 12:54am 28th January 2010 What so mazing about iPad read full at http://spotill.com/showview.php?ds=22
leo at 12:48am 28th January 2010 Really disappointed, thinking of it will be launched with Mac OS and as a laptop, but thing sucks..
Get an iPod, give it to magician and ask to increase its height and breadth... waste of time to view the launching...
Ryan at 11:40pm 27th January 2010 I was legitimately excited about an Apple eReader. It's not E Ink though? WHAT??? It's obviously not a reader...I would never buy it for that purpose. I want reasons to stop looking at a monitor, not another device that requires me to stare at a backlit display. A quick glance at Apple's site reveals that their really not marketing it as an eReader either. Now the question is, okay, so what? Do I REALLY need yet another browsing device? Ummmm...no.
Karlos at 10:48pm 27th January 2010 Amazingly, apple looks to make a product that is going to sit right smack between the useful size and useful device range - more expensive than an ebook reader and bigger.. smaller than a netbook and less usefull, actually - they are just about the perfect size to compete with LCD picture frames!

Instead of having a picture frame of endlessly looping still frames, now grandparents can enjoy endless footage of their squealing grandkids frollicking about the various summery water playgrounds of the world that their cashed up parents have taken them..

I'd add that, there looks to be a lot of glass to break if one were actually thinking of carrying this anywhere :/

I think I'll wait for an OLED flexible screen device from a more boring company myself..
glenn at 9:41pm 27th January 2010 Ipad is not a laptop or iphone. why doesn't Apple make thinner and lighter laptops which have the same size as that of Ipad. If the company adds some Ebook or other functions in that laptop, this product may be useless. if you spend $300 to 400, you can buy laptop at this time. why do you want to waste your money. is it because this products look nice???? Be smarter!!!!!!
exs120 at 9:33pm 27th January 2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R2Q74x1GLU
Tom Layton at 9:08pm 27th January 2010 If Apple "always move backwards" there are lots and lots of companies that need to take "backward lessons." Apple knows how to make money. They know how to sell stuff and then re-sell a newer version of the stuff without annoying their customers enough to make them switch to other people's stuff. If this is a "joke," they are laughing all the way to the bank.
sit2k at 7:46pm 27th January 2010 1024x768 (a joke by todays standards), as always apple moves backwards just like not having copy and paste for 2 years on ipod or the iphone.

enough said..
Tom Layton at 6:49pm 27th January 2010 If you know what "AD2P" and "voice sat nav" are or "need to sync with more than 1 PC," then you are not the audience Apple is trying to attract. It is trying to attract people who want to sit in a nice comfy spot, watch a movie, read a book, play a game and surf the web without having to know diddly about technology -- people like me! Hurrah Apple! I have my credit card in hand waiting for the iPad store to open.
Webappuniverse Staff at 5:51pm 27th January 2010 I still cannot believe this hot new chip cannot run multiple programs at the same time. The original Macintosh could do this! And no camera?!

Get the latest iPad news at http://ipadsupersite.com
Webappuniverse Staff at 5:51pm 27th January 2010 I still cannot believe this hot new chip cannot run multiple programs at the same time. The original Macintosh could do this! And no camera?!
Vixxxen at 5:50pm 27th January 2010 sooooo true
Joseph at 5:09pm 27th January 2010 http://i48.tinypic.com/20pxcvl.jpg
iOpinionUser at 4:05pm 27th January 2010 I would say most people read the news on the internet on their desktop or laptop. The e-readers are cheaper but still a very very small percentage of the marketplace. This ipad will also be a small percentage of the marketplace. It's a nice looking gadget but I can't see it being that big.
redyouch at 2:40pm 27th January 2010 This year should be interesting with the introduction of the iPad. Hopefully, the old age of printed newspapers and magazines will begin to migrate over to iPads and Kindles. As long as Apple can satisfy both the e-reader market and the cpu-hungry tablet users, this product will be a hit.
ipad-source.com
redyouch at 2:40pm 27th January 2010 This year should be interesting with the introduction of the iPad. Hopefully, the old age of printed newspapers and magazines will begin to migrate over to iPads and Kindles. As long as Apple can satisfy both the e-reader market and the cpu-hungry tablet users, this product will be a hit.
Rob D at 2:27pm 27th January 2010 This is really disappointing! Apple could have really hit a home run today. I think that once people really look at this product and see that it really does nothing new or combine anything; this thing will sit on the selves until they lower the price drastically. I can’t believe that they really think that this thing is worth more then just purchasing a laptop. It’s almost a joke! You still have to connect it to a laptop to place your content on there. No web cam option is crazy also! Just very disappointing!
dang at 2:25pm 27th January 2010 That doesnt appear to be made for the iPad.
Directly from that site:
made for : Touchscreen, Kiosk Terminals, Public PCs, Homecomputer/Laptop
GingerGeorge at 2:20pm 27th January 2010 The main problem of the iPAD is that only few touch software applications are available.
Have a try on google.... close to nothing.
Best I found - http://touchpdf.esferatec.com/
Bill97 at 2:19pm 27th January 2010 I would definitly wait a few months to get a 2 times cheaper, more flexible and Windows based tablet.
krodgerson at 2:15pm 27th January 2010 But it needs a camera for Skyping!!!
Bill97 at 2:12pm 27th January 2010 It is nothing more than a big iphone with a few extra apps.
Does it even do multitasking?
I saw in the specs page that it only read very specific video format!!!! Do Apple know how long it takes to convert a full movie!! Why do they keep avoiding to be user friendly!!!
dang at 1:54pm 27th January 2010 Excellent excellent point. Eye strain is a big concern I would excpect if you plan on using this as an ereader.
Carl at 1:48pm 27th January 2010 FAIIIILLLLLL this is the worst invention ever - who wants to walk around with a giant iphone that has stupid keyboard style, and isnt a phone.
i got my iphone for movies - music and phone , why would i need something else for whilst im on the move...
otherwise i have my laptop which is way worth more to carry round than a slow processing thing!!
stupid and pricey invention that doesnt make sense!!!
major faillageee
Miffymiffster at 1:46pm 27th January 2010 It seems as though the ipad is apple's version of an ereader, with many other functions. When not needing the backlight, I wish there was some way to be able to make the reading experience easier on the eyes. Hours of staring at the backlit display may not be as comfortable on the eyes as compared to the e-ink/ paperlike experience of a traditional ereader.
Vixxxen at 1:27pm 27th January 2010 I Love apple products but this is soooooooooooooooooo RETARDED. It can't slllayyy smartphones ummmm because it's not a phone. I thought we wanted smaller portable electronics, is it just me or are we going BACK in technology. Apple didn't advance anything. I was actually looking forward to this thinking it would have an operating system and I could put software on it. yaaaaaaaaa no. Giant FAIL apple with this USELESS product.
dang at 1:21pm 27th January 2010 The fact it's running the iphone SDK sucks imho
Simon Martin at 12:58pm 27th January 2010 You have got to be kidding! Have you ever read the The Emperor's New Clothes? This is probably the cheapest publicity stunt I've ever seen. What's new? If the courts have any sense of justice they will put Apple back to where it was, in the gutter (until it ripped off other people's patents(yes the iphone blows away every other competitor when it comes to the user interface, but what price functionality?) I gave my iphone to my wife because it didn't support AD2P, voice sat nav, couldn't sync wiith more than 1 PC, non user replaceable battery and now, as the battery doesn't last more than a day, she can't wait to sell it and get something that's fit for purpose. Seriously though who can deny that Apple is only for tose who are fashion conscious and function ignorant?
tanga at 12:27pm 27th January 2010 It's a wonderful start... but I have two very big concern...

How on earth is it going to replace a full sized computer given that it can't run multiple applications at one time?
And no support for peripheral hardware? Can't it have a usb port?
Ami at 12:15pm 27th January 2010 Its a supersize i-phone. Nothing really specatacular like I was expecting. This isnt something I would jump right away to. The e-readers are popular for being aorund 200 dollars and free 3G connection. I really dont think this would slay the ebooks.
iMacDonald at 11:44am 27th January 2010 with the heat of the Imacs, this will be burning down everything it gets near. Hooray!
Mirek at 11:35am 27th January 2010 What is he talking about "blaz[ing] the trail for more successful products"??? Has he never heard of the ASUS T91, which has been commercially available since June of 2009. Sorry, Apple, it's been done and my bet is that it's been done better and cheaper.

What Apple really brings to the table is super-hyped ad campaigns with the press following behind. I work for a living, so I won't pay a big bonus for the Apple netbook or the expensive apps to run on it.
ratnok at 11:29am 27th January 2010 What are you talking about? The Blackberry's sales have only GROWN, and still beat the iPhone.
ratnok at 11:28am 27th January 2010 Slay smartphones? What are you smoking?
Stefany at 11:25am 27th January 2010 This is a device the size of my laptop screen. It definitely cannot take the place of my smartphone because, well, it's not a phone...and I can't put it in my pocket. It's bigger than an eBook & doesn't have a keyboard like a netbook (plus, what protects that screen?) It might turn out to be an interesting & useful device, but it's not going to slay Smartphones, eBooks and Netbooks!
Todd Michael at 11:20am 27th January 2010 The title of this article is a joke. Nothing is going to kill smartphones. Whoever thinks that is out of touch with the common person. Most of us can't lug around a 10 inch tablet and wave it in front of our boss while working.

You must have a sweet job if you think that. Smartphone killer... ha!
Anon at 11:20am 27th January 2010 steve jobs' magnum opus? hardly. it's simply an oversized iPhone with a couple extra bells and half a whistle
xmichaelx at 11:18am 27th January 2010 Slay smartphones? Dumbest of all the dumb comments I've read today.
Bart at 11:12am 27th January 2010 Looks fine but to be honest I was expecting something more revolutionary...
anao at 11:09am 27th January 2010 2010: Year of the man-bag.
nick d at 11:04am 27th January 2010 The iPad is not really as cool as i had hoped it would be. Its just a ipod touch or iphone with a bigger screen. This is definitely not revolutionary but i guess time will tell for sure.
wrpromoteseo at 10:45am 27th January 2010 It's look like big iphone
iPadDude at 3:21pm 11th August 2009 Apple's iPad is not only the next step in the evolution of tech, its the only one on the horizon for late 2009/2010. Touch notebooks failed because they were awkward to use. The iPhone on the other hand has destroyed Palm and Blackberry sales because its ease of use and how applications are accessed. If the Apple iPad is similar, with a bigger screen it will eat into netbook sales, the Kindle for sure, and will grab Mac fans. I would bet on their success if it performs like an iPhone, does not overheat and has a decent battery. If they get that right I'll take two.
rytr23 at 7:21pm 3rd August 2009 The kindle does not use HSDPA - Sprint is a CDMA carrier.. But I do agree there are many challenges for this product. If its full OSX and sub 600 I think it can do well.. if its 800 and the iPhone version of OSX it will be dead in the water.. I really wish they would just release a netbook of sorts with a real keyboard. I would love to use a device like this at school/work but lacking a real keyboard would hamper any real data input. Unless it had a stylus.. hmmm