quote: Mike Blakesley

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Anyone going to get one? What are you going to use it for?

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quote:

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Don't own a computer,

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Then how are you using Film-Tech, you moocher!

I was impressed by the Apple presentation and it looks like a nifty device. But then I literally did the math. I think 32GB would be my minimum wish and for $600 I can have a lot more than what an iPad will offer. In fact, for free I already have an iPod and a laptop with Wi-Fi and a pocket PC... so I think I'm covered except for that fact that kids will never think I'm totally cool.

quote: Mike Blakesley

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What do you want to bet its name gets changed before release date?

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In fact, there's already a dispute about the name because another company has a trademark. A similar situation happened with the iPhone. Money may cure the problem or Apple might actually decide the iPad name is lousy. My wife laughed out loud when I told her the name... before I realized there was anything wrong with the name.
 

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Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 01-28-2010, 05:58 PM:
 
The iPad is the kind of thing the word "meh" was invented for. No multitasking, no tethering, no upgradeable memory, no Flash capability. Plus, the only data plan so far is from AT&T, a overburdened system already on the point of collapse just from the iPhone. Maybe in a few years, not now.
 

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 01-28-2010, 06:03 PM:
 
No. Too much DRM. AND it uses the already troubled ATT network.
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 01-28-2010, 06:03 PM:
 
iRag anyone?
 

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Posted by Alex Edwards (Member # 5413) on 01-28-2010, 06:05 PM:
 

 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 01-28-2010, 06:08 PM:
 
Mike,

iTab sounds like a diet cola drink from the 1960's.
 

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Posted by Jeremy Jorgenson (Member # 2989) on 01-28-2010, 06:21 PM:
 

quote: Mike Blakesley

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Anyone going to get one?

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Not I.
 

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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 01-28-2010, 06:23 PM:
 

 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 01-28-2010, 06:25 PM:
 

 

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Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 01-28-2010, 07:44 PM:
 

quote: Mark Ogden

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The iPad is the kind of thing the word "meh" was invented for.

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...don't forget "Kitteh"
 

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Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 01-28-2010, 08:44 PM:
 
I use my PS3 to surf and occasionally post here. Need to get a keyboard for my PS3 and then I'll be all set
 

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Posted by Greg Anderson (Member # 235) on 01-28-2010, 09:28 PM:
 
And another thing... why does this revolutionary device for the 21st Century have a 4x3 aspect ratio screen?
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 01-28-2010, 10:58 PM:
 
I really do not understand why the "iPad" (as well as the "iPhone") does not support Flash. Sure, I know quite a few people cannot stand Flash-based animations and what not on web site layouts. However, so much video content on the Internet is all Flash-Video based. Gotta have Flash to do that.

I'm still farting around with the Samsung mobile phone I've had for 3 years. So far I have seen nothing that interests me enough to upgrade to a net-enabled "smart phone." Flash support MUST be a part of that. But all or nearly all so-called smart phones do not support Flash at this moment (although I hear rumors the "Android" OS based phones will do Flash some time in the "near future").


Until these idiots can get their shit straight, I'm sticking with the old phone even if it has a "Cingular" logo on it.


BTW, the iPad seems to be marketed as a more fashionable (but much more expensive) version of Amazon's Kindle eBook reader. Until the iPad can properly support all the bells and whistles of the modern day Internet I'll stick with the Kindle if I ever have the urge to read an entire novel via a LCD screen. As it stands, I'll probably just stick to reading books that are printed on dead trees.
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 01-28-2010, 11:19 PM:
 
Apple will not allow Flash because it allows code to be downloaded and run from another source. Flash is essentially an open conduit for viruses and malware.

Secondarily, the iPhone and iPad run under tightly controlled power management systems. Flash does not obey this kind of power management. Your batteries would last a fraction of the time they do, now, if flash ran on the computer.

I am "interested" in seeing an iPad and I will probably visit an Apple Store to try one out but I won't be buying one soon. I'll wait until a few months after the second generation comes out. THEN I'll decide whether I want one.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 01-29-2010, 01:00 AM:
 

 

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Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 01-29-2010, 01:47 AM:
 
Joe, did you make that?

No one can see me right now, but I'm CRYING with laughter. Sometimes, something just hits the spot, and that just did it for me. I'm off to get some Kleenex.


 

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Posted by Julio Roberto (Member # 4976) on 01-29-2010, 04:47 AM:
 
That was really funny, Joe.

Anyway. My worthless (and blunt) opinion. 90% of the people buying this are idiots unless:

-It had an SD slot/USB port for mass storage or
-Its cost was $275

The way it is now, with $500 and no SD slot (or 3G or camera), it's like Apple holding your wallet while looking at you straight in the eye and asking you to bend over. If you wanna take it, it's your choice. But you'll get little respect. At least from me.

Otherwise, it would've made a fun multimedia/games/ebook product for those that don't want a real computer and don't mind the apple-monopoly.

I'll stick with a regular notebook/netbook which, undoubtly, will come down in price even more and be even thinner/lighter/more powerful/longer lasting by the time the iPad hits the streets.
 

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Posted by Paul Gordon (Member # 3320) on 01-29-2010, 07:33 AM:
 
ipad was made for one reason... ebook market! not the netbook market. regarding flash... the thing has a youtube App so you can watch all the videos you want.

The old print media is going to love this thing! and people who hate computers, hate OS's, mice, etc..
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 01-29-2010, 07:56 AM:
 
YouTube, is probably going to be moving away from Flash to use the new HTML 5 standard. They already offer videos to Safari and Chrome users via HTML 5. It's probably just a matter of time before this becomes standard.

Once YouTube/Google make the final steps in this direction others will probably follow.

The death of Flash as a media distribution platform is very likely. The people at SANS (Sys-Admin & Network Security) predict that Flash will be the top target for virus/malware writers in the coming year. There have been several articles on Slashdot regarding Flash's insecurity problems. Adobe has bluntly come out to say that they are NOT planning on fixing the problem any time soon because it would require them to "break" all the content that is already on the web. A patch to fix the problem would mean making all prior versions of Flash obsolete.

Once Flash is dead, Silverlight won't be far behind.a

Therefore, the iPhone/iPad not playing Flash is likely to be a non-issue within the next one or two years.
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 01-29-2010, 12:05 PM:
 

quote: Paul Gordon

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ipad was made for one reason... ebook market! not the netbook market. regarding flash... the thing has a youtube App so you can watch all the videos you want.

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quote: Randy Stankey

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Apple will not allow Flash because it allows code to be downloaded and run from another source. Flash is essentially an open conduit for viruses and malware.

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Uh, Quicktime allows code to be downloaded and run from another source. So much of anything on the Internet is stuff downloaded and run from another source. What the hell is going to make any of Apple's own branded stuff so immune from attack? ALL computer hardware and software is put together by fallible human beings, including anything made by Apple.

I don't see Flash disappearing anytime soon. There is nothing out there comparable to replace it. Silverlight is the only competing technology, but it is nowhere near as widespread as Flash. There is a lot more than just web-based video running on Flash. A lot of web-based games use it. Lots of interactive web sites are built on it.

Adobe does run updates on Flash (and many of its other applications). If anything is broken by an update users can download an updated Flash player free of charge.

If Apple has some sort of poo poo attitude against Flash it's merely more of the "Not Invented Here" syndrome that has gotten the company in trouble in the past. Apple avoided allowing any support of OpenGL on the Mac platform (in favor of pushing the QuickDraw3D API) until it became all too clear the choice was costing them dearly in the computer gaming and 3D animation markets.

If Google incorporates Flash into its Android OS then I think that could cause Apple to rethink its anti-Flash strategy.
 

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Posted by Kevin Fairchild (Member # 4985) on 01-29-2010, 05:19 PM:
 
So this runs iPhone apps? Yea! I can't wait until someone pops this out and starts texting during a movie.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-29-2010, 06:19 PM:
 
Well...it'll be easier to spot, and easier to grab!
 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 01-29-2010, 06:32 PM:
 
I definately WON'T be buying one! I already have an i-Phone and will be upgrading that next week to the 3GS(for just ten bucks!). I already have an H-P TC-1100 tablet computer thats a few years old but it'll run rings around the i-Pad... My tablet even has a solid state drive in it. Windows is much more useful then the i-Phone os is for general purpose computing plus the i-Pad won't be running anything that's fLash based! Not being able to view clips posted on Facebook or elsewhere would suck! Joe says that everything these days should be going to HTML-5 but I say any computer made these days should run both flash and HTML-5 The i-Pad does allow a wireless keyboard... so does my H-P tablet... or I can use the H-P keyboard that clips to it.

So far my opinion of Apple products is that they re not very well built. I am on my third i-Phone in 2 and a half years...

Mark
 

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Posted by Michael Voiland (Member # 5386) on 01-30-2010, 02:20 AM:
 
no
 

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Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 02-02-2010, 10:33 AM:
 
I don't see getting one myself, mostly because I already have an iPhone and because of the cost, but I can see its merits. I think it is suffering from the backlash of people that were expecting so much that no device could have fulfilled everyone's realistic expectations, much less their unrealistic ones.

People looking for a laptop have different needs than what this device addresses. People using netbooks as little laptops for running multiple programs at once, firing up anything more advanced than a web browser, a photo viewer, ebook reader, or media player are also not the target audience, in my opinion.

I think the target application is the segment of people that are looking for an easy way to check E-mail, read some web pages and do simple lookups of weather conditions, etc., and maybe even read a book or a news publication.

Amazon should be very concerned that the iPad does not kill the Kindle. I've never seen a Kindle in person (I've never seen one being used by anyone), but I've read that the e-ink makes reading very easy. While this may be true (don't know for sure, because I've never actually seen one in person), the color screen, media capability, and other features of the iPad may outweigh that quality advantage.

I have found the iPhone to be very handy for being able to check E-Mail, do a quick lookup of something, etc (besides its phone functions of course). The iPad introduces a larger screen, but retains the simple functionality and access to all those apps available to iPhones and iPod Touches.

My parents had their laptop crash back in November, and while they were waiting to replace it, they had an iPod Touch and the EeePC that I lent them to get them through. While the iPod Touch worked fine for quick checks of E-Mail, it's still difficult to read newspaper articles and do any in-depth web browsing. The EeePC has a larger screen, but the keyboard is still quite small and the screen resolution was too small for many web sites that seem to think that fixed-width designs are a good thing.

I see something like the iPad being a good device for those sorts of functions. My dad's not a big fan of computers, but I could see him getting used to the touchscreen interface of the iPad. He doesn't need to run Photoshop, he doesn't need or want to have lots of things running, or anything else complex.

If it's easy to use, and it works, it will be a success for a segment of the population.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-02-2010, 10:40 AM:
 
Those touchscreens - how delicate are they? If you have your iPad on the car seat and happen to drop your keys or something on it, is it going to be history?

I have wondered the same thing about all those touchscreen cellphones that the teenagers have jammed in their back pockets. The difference is, cellphones go out of style every three months or so, so the teens just move on to the next big thing if their phone breaks.
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 02-02-2010, 01:25 PM:
 

quote: Scott Jentsch

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I don't see getting one myself, mostly because I already have an iPhone and because of the cost, but I can see its merits. I think it is suffering from the backlash of people that were expecting so much that no device could have fulfilled everyone's realistic expectations, much less their unrealistic ones.

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quote:

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Apple's iPad—what is it good for? Absolutely nothing! Say it again. Actually, those are the lyrics to the song "War," but they also apply to the iPad, methinks. I'll tell you why.

First off, it's really just a gigantic iPod touch. It's good for all of the things you can already do on the touch, like listen to music, look at pictures, and run a few, weird iPhone apps. The flashlight app should be really entertaining on the iPad, right?

According to various apologists, this tablet is the perfect device for watching movies and reading books, magazines, and newspapers. You know, the kind of stuff that other tablets have been doing all along.

I was hoping that some new paradigm would arise, so this device doesn't become yet another flop (albeit a pretty flop). But it's not much prettier, and I cannot see it escaping the tablet computer dead zone any time soon. It's a black hole that was created 20 years ago with machines like the Momenta. It was reignited by Bill Gates some years back, when he predicted that these things would rule the roost by 2003, or some such thing.

Everyone thought that Apple's entry would be able to turn around this nearly non-existent space. After all, the company revolutionized the MP3 player and smartphone markets, so why not the tablet?

The fact is the space was created long before the invention of the smartphone and MP3 player. The idea can be traced back to Alan Kay's Dynabook concept in the 1970s. Unlike other duds, the tablet computer has been tried over and over again. And let us not forget that Apple itself tried it before with the ill-fated Newton. Let's face it, the idea just isn't flying. The most successful pad thus far is actually the brain-dead Kindle. But it's not a tablet computer—it's an e-book reader.

What did we all expect Steve Jobs to deliver with the iPad? It seems like everyone had their own idea for the device. And now everyone has their own gripe about the thing, including the lack of a camera, the inability to multitask, and the absence of a stylus for drawing and note taking. It seems like not even Steve Jobs could make everyone want a tablet. I can take or leave the thing. If it were $95, I'd buy one. That's not going to happen.

So, what happens now? Well, first people are going to wait and see if the thing sells at all. They will analyze and re-analyze the market, attempting to understand what went right or wrong. If things trend toward wrong, then we'll all have to suffer through endless articles with titles like "Has Steve Jobs Lost His Touch" and "Can Apple Innovate Anymore?" Then the agony begins, as Apple is subject to extreme scrutiny. To avoid this whole scene, I would like to see the iPad become a maxi success.

But I'm doubting this outcome.

The question now is, "what can be done to fix the iPad?" I'm jumping the gun here to make a few suggestions. Here goes:

1. Put a camera and a real phone on the thing. It would be a great teleconferencing machine.
2. Make it multi-task. Cripes, why is this so hard?
3. Add a stylus so people can draw and take notes on the thing. This is actually the strength of tablets. Why was this ignored?
4. Make it cheaper (yeah, right).
5. Give it a handle. Why not?
6. Do something magical. What? I don't know…

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quote: Galen Murphy-Fahlgren

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I guess I don't understand the market this is trying to compete in. It seems like a mobile device, because it doesn't have a real OS, but it is way too big. If it wanted to be a tablet, it should have a tablet OS, which shouldn't be a problem, since I thought Apple was supposed to be good at software. If it wanted to be an ebook reader, it should be billed as such. Even then, why should I buy this over a Kindle, at twice the price?

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It's a mobile device along the same lines that the iPod Touch is a mobile device. Given the state of the "real" OS's out there, would you really want something like that running on a device that is intended to have less generalistic purposes? By not running something like Windows 7 or OSX, you lose the complexity of those operating systems at the expense of all-purpose functionality. This is the same side of the balance that Apple has taken with the iPod line all along.

I agree that it would be nice if it were to have a memory slot, but what would that accomplish, besides it being a "nice" thing to have? That would be an easy way to expand storage beyond the built-in memory, but then it introduces issues like the compatibility of the memory card, the speed of said memory card, and the requirement of having to juggle two memory spaces instead of one, and one of those could be removed at any time. Lots of complexity in such operation, which is never what the iPod was about.

I'm curious whether it will be a good e-book reader. I've never tried to read an e-book on my iPhone because the screen is just way too small (I'm assuming) to make doing so a worthwhile experience. The Kindle that is half the price of the 16GB iPad only has a 6" screen, vs. 10" on the iPad. The 9.7" Kindle is $489, which is only $10 cheaper than the list price on the iPad, and it only has 4G of internal space (probably very satisfactory when all you're storing is B&W e-books).

As far as I can tell, there's no removable battery or memory card slot on the Kindle, either. It's also important to keep in mind that the larger Kindle is very close to the same price, but is even more limited in its functionality than the iPad. Anyone who dismisses the apps that are available for the iPod Touch and iPhone probably hasn't actually used one of those devices. For every flashlight app, there are 100 useful apps that address some particular purpose that extend the usefulness of the device.

I have no idea how the Kindle looks in real life, because I've never seen one in person. If there was one to play with in a local store, I'd be very curious to see it in action.

In contrast, I have first-hand experience with an iPhone 3GS and four different generations/iterations of iPods, and it's something that just about anyone can experience first-hand at a wide variety of retail locations and probably more than a few people around you at any given time. What I'm getting at is if I had $500 to spend on either device, I know which one I'd be more comfortable choosing. Amazon needs to get more Kindles in the wild, and pushing them non-stop on their home page doesn't seem to be doing the trick.

I suspect that Apple will roll out a camera in the final released product. While not a killer feature, I could see that being appealing to a certain number of people, and it might just pull video phone calls out of the obscurity they currently enjoy. Right now, I think webcams are used more for posting YouTube video replies to other YouTube videos than they are for face-to-face video phone calls between friends and family members.

The bottom line is that Apple is being consistent with its history of sacrificing functionality for style and ease of use. I'd bet that my Dad could start using the iPad without too much of an introduction, whereas he resists dealing with a laptop and a mouse (or forbid, the trackpad). I think the iPad will be a very approachable device, and its toughest selling point is the cost. While not extreme in the Apple-sphere, it's not an easy purchase for many people to make.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-04-2010, 11:37 AM:
 
What is the deal with Apple (and others) coming out with products where you can't replace the battery yourself? Do they figure that by the time the battery goes dead, you'll be wanting to buy the next gizmo and will just do that rather than get the battery replaced?
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-04-2010, 12:19 PM:
 
That's probably what they're hoping for, yes.
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 02-04-2010, 12:46 PM:
 
Oh you watch, someone will figure out how to hack the battery thing and post it on YouTube on how to do this procedure yourself.. like someone did with the iPod.

Sad that Apple's stuff is so proprietary .. almost like SONY's 4k projector ..

-Monte
 

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Posted by Greg Anderson (Member # 235) on 02-04-2010, 04:23 PM:
 
So much for Apple's "save the planet" commitment to the environment. How can a company with Al Gore himself sitting on the board produce so many products which practically invite the user to throw them in a landfill just because the battery is old?
 

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Posted by Galen Murphy-Fahlgren (Member # 4535) on 02-05-2010, 12:34 AM:
 
I'm normally the last person to defend Apple, but I do have to say that the battery in my 20gig iPod Photo (with color screen!) that I bought factory refurbished almost five years ago is still kicking strong. When I was in high school, I put the thing through a charge cycle every few days, though I haven't used it nearly as much the last few years. To me, that is a pretty impressive life for a battery. Now, if you combined that kind of battery quality with some user serviceability of the battery, so much the better, but I don't think it is necessary. By the time current device's batteries lose the ability to hold a charge, they will almost all have left service anyhow.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 02-06-2010, 12:00 AM:
 
You're going to get only so many charge cycles out of a rechargeable battery. It does not matter if it has the God-like Apple logo on it or not. Rechargeable batteries are rechargeable batteries no matter what sort of Gucci-Armani fashion chic costumes they may wear. The simple point is you haven't put your iPod through enough charge cycles to drain the battery enough to where it won't recharge anymore. You even said you don't use the device quite so much these days. That's a telling clue as to the device's battery life.
 

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Posted by Galen Murphy-Fahlgren (Member # 4535) on 02-06-2010, 01:30 AM:
 
I realize that, but there is a level of quality that comes into play with batteries, both in terms of hardware and software. Good power management, preventing overcharging, quality manufacturing, these all come into play here. I'm the opposite of an Apple fanboy, but at least as far as my iPod goes, I've been well satisfied with the performance of the battery.

And my point still stands that these are all consumer electronics with a limited useful shelf life anyways. I have an old Thinkpad 770 with a battery that won't hold a charge. The computer otherwise runs just fine, the real pride of 1997 mobile computing technology. If I got a new battery for it, would that change the fact that it is woefully ancient technology, relatively speaking? Unless the iPad's battery's useful life is less than 3-4 years, then it isn't a major factor. Certainly nothing compared to the fact that it appears to be an ill-conceived device from the start.
 

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Posted by Julio Roberto (Member # 4976) on 02-06-2010, 02:57 AM:
 
You got the good one.

My daughter's iPod has gone through 3 batteries already. A friend's iPhone doesn't hold but a few hours of charge. All the apple laptops in the neighbourhood have undergone surgery to the charger's connectors.

Not saying "that's bad", as Bobby said, it's just normal depending on the cycles, heat, etc. Just 1º(c) difference in operating/charging temperature is significant in the battery's life. The Apple laptop chargers are a bad design, though, with the weak too-thin cable and the propietary (how else) connector.

Guess those outdoor's iPods in Alaska last for a long time

Apple makes QUALITY products. For the price, they better be. But as usual, they are neither free of design or manufacturing faults nor are they any higher than other good manufacturers (say Toshiba, Nokia, Sony, Samsung, etc).
 

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Posted by Damien Taylor (Member # 4255) on 02-06-2010, 04:08 AM:
 
Whilist I cannot pinpoint the explicit purpose of the iPad as others have tried, it has been my opinion since I first saw these devices that they would be highly suited to either the elderly, disabled or extreme novices to computing. It is especially difficult to do anything terribly disasterous to the operating system as it is on a conventional computer, and a touch screen can be more intuitive than a mouse and keyboard.

FWIW, I've never had any problems with Apples build quality. Any rechargable batteries need attention paid to charge cycles.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 02-06-2010, 09:29 AM:
 
Speaking of iPods, MP3 players and such, are there any existing threads comparing favorite MP3 players, particularly ones instead of Apple iPods? I'm currently in the market to buy a new MP3 player since the one I had was taken when my house was burglarized in the wee hours of Feb. 1.

I realize a huge number of people love iPods, but I hate iTunes and its penchant for "owning" your music and not letting you make copies of the AAC files and such. Screw that, it's a deal-breaker. If I buy a music file online, I'll get something DRM-free that I can copy onto various discs using a computer or into other devices such as an MP3 player, PS3, etc. Amazon is not too bad; the sell 256kbs VBR MP3 files.

And to get the topic back on topic, for all the trash Steve Jobs talked about "netbooks" (being no more than mere cheap laptops) it would seem that prelude would have required the iPad to at least have a full compliment of notebook functions -including a full version of the MacOS. The lack of a stylus is another puzzler. Even the ill-fated Apple Newton of the early 1990s had a stylus.
 

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Posted by Julio Roberto (Member # 4976) on 02-10-2010, 03:11 PM:
 
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-10/apple-ipad-parts-cost-as-little-as-219-isuppli-says-update1-.html

quote:

---

Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc.’s iPad tablet computer carries component costs of as little as $219.35, less than half its retail price, according to a preliminary estimate by market research firm ISuppli Corp.

Materials for the iPad, due to go on sale in March and April, include a touch-screen display that may cost about $80 and a $17 processor designed by Apple and made by Samsung Electronics Co., according to El Segundo, California-based ISuppli. Apple introduced the device on Jan. 27.

Even the lowest-priced iPad, with 16 gigabytes of memory and a retail price of $499, may be beyond the reach of budget- conscious consumers, some analysts have said. The relatively low price of the iPad’s materials gives Apple flexibility to reduce the retail price over time, ISuppli analyst Francis Sideco said.

“There’s certainly a decent amount of headroom in there,” Sideco said. “If they had to reduce the retail price, they certainly could.”

Bill Shope, an analyst at Credit Suisse in New York, fueled speculation over price cuts when he released a research note on Feb. 8 saying Apple may be flexible on pricing if the iPad doesn’t attract as many buyers as hoped.

“While it remains to be seen how much traction the iPad gets initially, management noted that it will remain nimble,” Shope wrote in the note, citing recent meetings with Apple executives.

Colin Smith, a spokesman for Cupertino, California-based Apple, declined to comment on ISuppli’s research or the prospect of price cuts for the iPad.

Teardown Analysis

Apple rose 17 cents to $196.36 at 9:37 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares had fallen 6.9 percent this year before today.

Research firms conduct so-called teardown analysis of consumer electronics to determine component prices and makers and to estimate profit margins. Researchers at ISuppli didn’t have an actual iPad and instead relied on Apple’s public statements on its features.

The iPad’s most expensive component will be its 9.7-inch multitouch display, similar to the one found on the iPhone though more than twice its size. At $80, the screen will cost Apple about five times the price of the display used on the iPhone 3GS. South Korea-based LG Electronics Inc. is the most likely supplier of the screen, Sideco says. Apple hasn’t disclosed the identity of the maker, and LG spokesman John Taylor didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.

The chip running the iPad is called the A4, the fruit of Apple’s 2008 acquisition of P.A. Semi Inc. for $278 million.

Chip Foundry

Samsung supplies the main applications chip used in the iPhone 3GS and two previous iPhone models. In the case of the iPad, Samsung is playing a role akin to a chip foundry, building the chip under contract based on Apple’s design, Sideco says.

Chip foundry companies including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and United Microelectronics Corp., both of Taiwan, similarly make chips for so-called fabless chip companies that don’t have the means to build their own semiconductor factories. Sideco estimates the A4 will cost Apple about $17 each, about $2.54 more than the Samsung chip used in the iPhone 3GS.

Of the six iPad models that Apple plans to release in March and April, three will have access to 3G wireless data networks and three will work only with Wi-Fi. Each will offer either 16 gigabytes, 32 gigabytes or 64 gigabytes of memory for storing data. The memory chips represent the key variable cost across all six models, Sideco said. The price of 16 GB of flash memory is $29.50, while 32 GB costs $59 and 64 GB costs $118.

The most profitable of the six iPads is the 32-GB version with 3G network access, Sideco says. Its combined materials and manufacturing cost of $287.15 amount to 39 percent of the retail price. The least profitable is the 16-GB non-3G version, which sells for $499. Its combined costs total $229.35, or 46 percent of the retail price, leaving the slimmest potential profit margin of the six.

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And we all know that the lion share of profits from today's devices come from the communication contracts, software and content downloads used ...

To bring it on topic, kind-of-like cinemas. You could almost let people in at cost as long as they buy popcorn ...
 

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Posted by Tom Mundell (Member # 4555) on 02-10-2010, 03:47 PM:
 

quote: Bobby Henderson

---

I realize a huge number of people love iPods, but I hate iTunes and its penchant for "owning" your music and not letting you make copies of the AAC files and such. Screw that, it's a deal-breaker. If I buy a music file online, I'll get something DRM-free that I can copy onto various discs using a computer or into other devices such as an MP3 player, PS3, etc. Amazon is not too bad; the sell 256kbs VBR MP3 files.

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All music from iTunes has been DRM free for some time now; you should have no problem making copies of the files. Of course if you're not going to use iTunes, buying from Amazon or similar will probably be easier anyway, but nothing should stop you from downloading an aac track in iTunes and using it elsewhere. You can even convert to mp3, aiff, or wav though the process is less than intuitive. Everything recent I've bought has been 256kbs AAC format; I don't think they offer the lower bit rate versions anymore.
 

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Posted by Bruce Hansen (Member # 281) on 02-10-2010, 04:57 PM:
 
Here is Apple's newest invention: It is for people who don't live near a population center, and have trouble getting a good signal. It is called Far Area Reaching Technology or iFART. So far I have heard that it stinks.
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 02-10-2010, 05:46 PM:
 
Although it's been a while since I worked for an electronics manufacturer, we had a rule of thumb that the retail price of a product had to be about 3 times the cost to manufacture it in order to turn an acceptable profit. You're selling the product at wholesale, not retail, and you have all kinds of overhead to pay for.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-10-2010, 06:22 PM:
 

 

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Posted by Julio Roberto (Member # 4976) on 02-10-2010, 08:00 PM:
 

quote: David Stambaugh

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Although it's been a while since I worked for an electronics manufacturer, we had a rule of thumb that the retail price of a product had to be about 3 times the cost to manufacture it in order to turn an acceptable profit.

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quote:

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This is a very, very bad thing Lexicon did. And thanks to the super sleuths at Audioholics, they got very, very caught.

The Lexicon BD-30 is a $3500 (!!!), THX-Certified Blu-ray player. Unfortunately, aside from some slight re-branding, it's also a $500 Oppo BDP-83, chassis and all. From the review:

"When we received the player the first thing we did was open it up to get a look at the inside. Imagine my surprise when I found that not only did the Lexicon share the same boards and transport as the Oppo - it was in fact AN OPPO BDP-83 PLAYER, CHASSIS AND ALL, SHOVED INSIDE AN ALUMINUM LEXICON WRAPPER. As far as we could determine, Lexicon didn't change a single thing in terms of the hardware. Heck, they didn't even lift the boards out of the chassis, opting instead to cut out the bottom of their own chassis to accommodate the venting locations, and putting a darker blue filter over the Oppo's VFD display to give it a slightly deeper hue."

The entire thing is so galling that it's actually kind of hilarious... unless you're someone who just found out you paid a 700% premium on a Blu-ray player. Then again, why on earth were you shelling out that kind of money in the first place?

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Posted by Bruce Hansen (Member # 281) on 03-07-2010, 06:40 PM:
 
The launch of the iPad will be delayed till April 4. From what I have heard, it just wasn't absorbent enough. Well, back to the drawing board,... or the bathroom.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-08-2010, 05:55 PM:
 
All the hype about the "cost" of the materials used in the iPad is stupid nonsense. The cost of the materials has about 10% to do with the cost of the item, if that. You still need to consider the cost of the research, development, marketing, design, packaging, shipping, and on top of that, all the costs associated with retail.

Sometimes having the public know too much is a bad thing. They are better off not knowing.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-08-2010, 09:47 PM:
 
There are already lines about 75 people deep outside of most Best Buys. April 3 can't come soon enough. I know Film-Tech will be closed that day.
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 03-28-2010, 06:43 PM:
 

 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 04-04-2010, 10:08 PM:
 
So...anyone buy one yet?
 

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Posted by Jake Spell (Member # 5294) on 04-04-2010, 10:21 PM:
 
Im holding out for the imat. lol
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-05-2010, 12:49 AM:
 
The thing made the front cover of Time magazine last week with talk about how it will "change everything."
 

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Posted by Greg Anderson (Member # 235) on 04-05-2010, 08:11 AM:
 
I guess the folks at TIME are hoping that other people will buy some kind of TIME app... so the cover becomes a full-page ad for their app more than for the iPad.
 

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Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 04-05-2010, 08:21 AM:
 
I have a friend who got one and is so excited, he can't stand it.

He intends to use it extensively in his work displaying ads and other marketing stuff to clients at their location (he's a marketing consultant). I think the iPad will impress his clients in that regard and could become a great tool to showcase product that way industry-wide.

I may get one down the road. I'm already using my iPod Touch for a living room multimedia device (streaming, browsing via Wi-Fi) when it's at home and not at the office. Having a dedicated device with a bigger screen would be nice. This might fit the bill.

I don't see it replacing my laptop for traveling, though.
 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 04-05-2010, 09:32 AM:
 
Judging by the fact I am now on my 3rd i-Phone I seriously doubt the thing will hold up very well. Just don't carry it around mine tailings piles, drop it in the dogs water dish or on the garage floor from 6 feet above or you'll be sorry!

Oh, and I should mention that a charge on my 3GS barely lasts the day. I may have to opt for the auxiliary battery pretty soon...

Mark
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-05-2010, 02:39 PM:
 

quote: Sam Graham

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I don't see it replacing my laptop for traveling, though.

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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Can it connect to a printer (wired or wireless)?

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It cannot physically connect to a printer, but supposedly can print wirelessly (either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth) via some available print apps.

It can also supposedly connect to a wireless Bluetooth keyboard.

Oh...And regarding Mark's question of durability, the Will it Blend guys have had their say...
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 04-05-2010, 05:35 PM:
 
Not only does it blend, but it will also smash!
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 04-05-2010, 06:18 PM:
 
Yes, humans are capable of some really stupid things.
 

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Posted by Greg Anderson (Member # 235) on 04-06-2010, 10:57 AM:
 
I dropped by the Apple store last night just long enough to check out the iPad. Well, first I went past all the iPads on display (a very crowded area) and started checking out the iPod Touch. A few minutes later one of the Apple employees came by to see if I had any questions. I just smiled and said, "Do you have one of these with a bigger screen?"

Typing on the iPad was better than I expected. I don't know if I'd ever get really fast with it but, after a couple of minutes, I was pretty comfortable.

I like it! It's neat... but... at $500 I can't justify it. Maybe if I took the train to work every day. Maybe if I wanted to wow clients as Sam's friend will. But I could throw $500 towards something far more useful for my own needs. I predict that, before Christmas, a second-generation iPad will be far more attractive (more features, lower price).
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-06-2010, 12:55 PM:
 
Yeah...the iPad jr.

Half the price with a 1" smaller screen, or something.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 04-06-2010, 02:16 PM:
 
Looks like some "early adopters" are having some troubles with their new iPads.

Trouble In Paradise: iPad Users Complain Of Wifi Issues

quote: Michael Arrington, Tech Crunch

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Apr 5, 2010

Just one day after launch and there are already scores of complaints on the Apple support site over faulty wifi on the iPad. A typical complaint is that the iPad shows no wifi signal, or a very weak signal, where other devices pick it up just fine:

'Having this issue with my iPad as well. It’s dropping down to one bar in a part of the house the most other devices, including my MBP and my iPhone, get full service. The WiFi is so dense in our house that I often get signal outside on most of my devices. The iPad’s WiFi antenna is like the new iMacs – it’s centrally located behind the Apple logo, and it’s tiny. The difference is the iMac’s Apple logo isn’t usually resting on something; the iPad’s usually is.'

Count me in as someone who’s having iPad Wifi issues as well. The device works fine near the router, but on the other side of the house, nada. But my Macbook pro and my Nexus One and other various devices I’ve brought into the house pick up wifi just fine in that area.

Early Macbook Air users complained of Wifi issues, too. I eventually abandoned the computer because the only place Wifi worked was in the Apple store, even though I was using Apple networking equipment at home.

My understanding of Wifi issues on devices, particularly cramped devices like the Macbook Air and iPad, is that it’s usually a hardware/design issue and something that can’t be fixed via a software patch. I hope that’s not the case with the iPad, because faulty Wifi would make this a very unattractive device. Particularly if they run into Macbook Air type problems.

As one commenter on the Apple site said, “Not spending $500 on something I cant even use. Its going back tomorrow.”

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quote: Joe Redifer

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Do you think that Time, Newsweek, Wired, etc are full of honest, unbiased journalism?

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quote: Joe Redifer

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Yup, even Walter Kronkite and his kin are dreadfully guilty of it.

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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I was sort of thinking about a Kindle, just because I like to read and we go traveling sometimes, and it'd be easier than taking a load of books on a trip. But, I have to admit the iPad's color screen looks cooler than a Kindle.

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I have a Kindle. Although I love it, the Kindle is like a Russian-made Diesel-powered typewriter compared to an iPad.
 

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Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 04-28-2010, 06:15 AM:
 
Probably the best kept secret of the iPad is that you can download the Kindle reader onto it as a free app from iTunes, and then download your entire Kindle library onto it. It looks terrific, the page contrast is excellent, and of course it's backlit, which is what kept me from getting a Kindle in the first place. The only thing you lose is the search function. I actually enjoy using it better than the native iBooks app.

I have a 32gb Pad, and have no problems with WiFi. The only consistent complaint that I hear is that it's too heavy. A pound and a half doesn't sound like much, but I find that after a while I want to set it on my lap of prop it up against something. Ironically, Apple's own case for the thing, which folds into an upright stand, is in shorter supply that the device itself.
 

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Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 05-23-2010, 09:06 PM:
 
Ipad Steering Wheel Mount
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-23-2010, 11:13 PM:
 
I don't think that guy is serious but if he is, I nominate it for the Dumbest Idea of 2010 Award.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 05-24-2010, 11:00 AM:
 
I want to see what happens when he makes a right or left turn. Parallel parking would be lots of fun with an iPad attached to the steering wheel.


Possibly more funny, in dark humor sort of way, is what would happen when the iPad user/motorist ass-ends another vehicle due to being distracted while driving. The air bag in the steering wheel would deploy. That would launch the iPad into the driver's face at high speed. Booyah!
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-24-2010, 11:12 AM:
 
"But officer, I didn't know I was speeding....I was reading USA Today on my iPad and couldn't see the speedometer."
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 06-01-2010, 04:15 PM:
 
Thankfully, he's not serious. Here's a link to the patent he says he has. iPad Steering Wheel attachment patent.

On another note:
iPed

The iPad hasn't reached China yet but the iPed has.

Apple's iPad is not even on sale yet in China but the iPed can be bought in Shenzhen in the country's south for ¥9600 ($124), almost a fifth of the price of the new Apple gadget.

The world's first iPad lookalike runs on Google's Android operating system and is apparently powered by an Intel chip.

Pictures of the iPed, filmed by Japanese TV news and posted on YouTube, show the gadget being sold in a Shenzhen computer mall in packaging that even looks like an iPad box.

The change in vowel is seemingly the only major difference in appearance between the two computers.

A review of the iPed on tech website TECHi says "the iPed is exactly what you're thinking: a Chinese knock-off".

"The iPed is an Intel-driven, Android-based copycat packaged like an Apple product and, to be honest, it doesn't look half bad."

Last week, Apple and its contract electronics manufacturer Foxconn refused to confirm or deny rumours that the iPad was being made at Foxconn's massive Shenzhen factory, which had been hit by a spate of staff suicides.

Apple, now the largest US technology company by value, said yesterday it had sold two million iPads, outdoing even the iPhone on its launch.

Last Friday, the flat, 25 centimetre black tablet computer that Apple claimed would revolutionise the industry went on sale in Australia, Japan, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.

Demand in the United States was so strong that the company pushed back the global rollout.

It goes on sale in nine more countries in July, including Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Last week, Apple dethroned software giant Microsoft as the largest US technology company in terms of market value.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 06-01-2010, 06:34 PM:
 
Amazing how huge it is (saleswise) yet I can't find one person who has one or wants one, except for one or two people in this thread. I've talked to lots of people from age 15 to 60. Maybe it's regional. I have yet to see a Kindle around here yet, either (although I want one of those!).
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 06-02-2010, 12:05 AM:
 
I haven't seen anyone in my town pimping an iPad out and about, although I'm certain at least a few people here have them. LOTS of people here have iPhones.

I'm still not sure I see any real purpose for the iPad, but if anyone can sell people on the idea Apple can. I think the iPad is enjoying the "halo effect" of the iPhone. Honestly I think the iPad has moved 2 million units largely because of the success of the iPhone. It literally looks like a great big iPhone. If the iPhone had not already existed the iPad's chances of success would have been a lot more iffy.

Aside from the strengths of the iPhone, another reason why the iPhone continues to be so successful is because the rest of the mobile phone market in the United States is a complicated mess.

So many other phones have various shortcomings, especially any with a reasonably priced service plan. If you want a phone with a full keyboard so text messaging isn't such a pain in the ass you have to pony up another $20 per month on top of what your voice plan costs. Just about any device labeled as a "smart phone" and many others featuring some enhanced multi-media or Internet capabilities require upwards of $30 per month or more on top of the voice and messaging plans.

Many people look at other phones to avoid the high cost of owning an iPhone. Unfortunately it seems every alternative "smart phone" has the same kinds of high total cost of ownership. The customer has to be willing to give up a lot of features and even some basic functions to save a decent amount of money. In the end, a lot of people just say "screw it" and get an iPhone even if they're not sure that's what they want.
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 06-02-2010, 12:31 AM:
 
As much as I think the ipad is dumb, that iped is simply a POS. The vids I've seen of them showed them to be extremely slow. in comparison. Then again, the thing costs significantly less.
 

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Posted by Greg Anderson (Member # 235) on 12-01-2010, 12:56 PM:
 
Roll call: Who here has an iPad now? I do. I've had it for three months and, while I am aware of its limitations, I still enjoy it a lot. I won't try to talk anyone else into getting one but I try to be generous when people ask questions. Like, when someone I know asks how much the thing weighs, I just hand it over and let them play with it.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-01-2010, 01:52 PM:
 
I finally saw one in real life, at a meeting in October.

Also one of our employees got a Kindle over the summer and he loves it.
 

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Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 12-01-2010, 02:16 PM:
 
I have one. I got it to be a living room internet browser.

It's become quite a bit more than that.
 

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