So you really want an ipad

[trax1]

could you not do that via bluetooth or wifi?

Not everyone has wifi or Bluetooth for their mp3 players, plus wouldn't it just be easier to plug it into the iPad to do it.  Plus there are other things a USB port would be used for, I mean it's not like it takes up so much space & weights so much that it wouldn't have been doable to add it, it's just Apple finding another way to get you to fork over more money making you buy it separate. 

[stran]

From what I've heard it doesn't have Flash or multitasking in the background, just like iphone.. Who knows what else is gimped.

its definitely not a web browser withoit flash support.

[trax1]

its definitely not a web browser withoit flash support.

Apple doesn't like Flash because it would allow other companies to get their software onto their products, which would mean that you don't have to get all your app's & music from the iTunes store, Apple likes to have total dominance over it's products no matter how it effects your web browsing capabilities..

[RTHolmes]

Not everyone has wifi or Bluetooth for their mp3 players, plus wouldn't it just be easier to plug it into the iPad to do it.

can you do that with an iPhone? or any other phones or e-book readers? infact do any of those devices run flashplayer?

my take is its supposed to be a standalone peripheral, likes phones or mp3 players rather than a PC replacement. thats why I asked about the USB port, you could reasonably want card readers, removable storage, more power etc etc as well but all these things add weight and bulk, and reduce battery life. and that market is already very well served by the smaller laptops.

I can imagine using it a fair bit, but not enough to justify the cost.


edit: I thought youtube was flash-based, so how does it play youtube vids?

[trax1]

can you do that with an iPhone? or any other phones or e-book readers? infact do any of those devices run flashplayer?

my take is its supposed to be a standalone peripheral, likes phones or mp3 players rather than a PC replacement. thats why I asked about the USB port, you could reasonably want card readers, removable storage, more power etc etc as well but all these things add weight and bulk, and reduce battery life. and that market is already very well served by the smaller laptops.

I can imagine using it a fair bit, but not enough to justify the cost.


edit: I thought youtube was flash-based, so how does it play youtube vids?

If they had added a USB port to it the weight would be so minuscule you wouldn't notice.  I'm not really sure what you would define the iPad as, but it would be as close to a netbook as you could get and I just think Apple really missed the mark with this thing, I mean the features they left out of it are just ridiculous, like no multitasking, flash support(but that was no surprise), USB port, & camera.

As for YouTube they've started experimenting with using HTML5 video players.

[eagl]

which ports would you want?

Mini display port.  Mini usb.  eSATA would be nice but optional.  Stereo audio output and microphone input (might be there, but the announcement talks about mono speaker, so...?)  SDHC card port, or even microSD.

An IR port so ipads could talk to each other would be neat, but palm never could get the IR communication thing to catch on, so maybe Apple didn't consider it because of that failure.  Almost no laptops have IR ports anymore.  I used my IR port all the time when I was using my palm pilot, but I haven't used one in a while.  Still, an IR port would allow the thing to serve as a huge programmable TV remote or to accept inputs from an IR remote.

Those are just a few of the things I'd expect a portable computing device to have...

[Vulcan]

can you do that with an iPhone? or any other phones or e-book readers? infact do any of those devices run flashplayer?

my take is its supposed to be a standalone peripheral, likes phones or mp3 players rather than a PC replacement. thats why I asked about the USB port, you could reasonably want card readers, removable storage, more power etc etc as well but all these things add weight and bulk, and reduce battery life. and that market is already very well served by the smaller laptops.

I can imagine using it a fair bit, but not enough to justify the cost.

edit: I thought youtube was flash-based, so how does it play youtube vids?

There is a specific youtube app for iphone touch ipad etc.

The point is there are other products hitting the market that are better spec'd, similar size/weight. The ideapad S10 just makes a mockery of the ipad: it has everything you want, multitouch screen, keyboard, card reader, usb, wifi, 3g/wimax, ethernet, 320Gb storage, full OS (Win7 or Linux or whatever)... US$499! It's cheaper than the ipad.

Then the things that the ipad is supposed to do well it does:
 - ebook read: screen nowhere near as good as an eink screen
 - mediaplayer: 4:3 screen, no hdmi output, no non-apple codec support (no avi's, mkv's, etc)
 - web browser: only safari, no flash support
 - gaming: no decent control inputs (imho gaming on the touch/iphone sucks, and yes I have a touch)

From the apple fan corner we hear "you don't need USB, an SD card, or a camera". So why then did apple announce a USB adapter, a camera, and an external card reader for it at launch?

[trax1]

From the apple fan corner we hear "you don't need USB, an SD card, or a camera". So why then did apple announce a USB adapter, a camera, and an external card reader for it at launch?

The reason that Apple didn't include those things in the iPad already built-in was so they could that extra bit of money out of you when you have to buy them.

[Vulcan]

well, ipad is dead, long live ideapad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkOewI35BS4

And it's not the only one like it.

[trax1]

well, ipad is dead, long live ideapad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkOewI35BS4

And it's not the only one like it.

See why would you buy a iPad when you can buy a device like that that looks like it can basically do everything an iPad will but a whole lot more.

I'll be very interested to see sales numbers on the iPad a year out from now.

[Babalonian]

for what?

edit: btw the "camera connecting kit" is actually just a USB adapter ...

So then you're beyond OK and satisfied with Apple making you pay them more money for a universal port that comes standard on every-other modern electronic device?  I don't know about you, but USB is so standard now that I mave more USB to USB cords lying around my aparmtent than what I know to do with them.  And yet Apples latest and greatest inovation.... and it's not even anything special about their extrenal port, it's as fast if not slower than a standard USB port. 

Not everyone has wifi or Bluetooth for their mp3 players, plus wouldn't it just be easier to plug it into the iPad to do it.  Plus there are other things a USB port would be used for, I mean it's not like it takes up so much space & weights so much that it wouldn't have been doable to add it, it's just Apple finding another way to get you to fork over more money making you buy it separate. 

See, here's the thing, Bluetooth adapters are available for everything... the catch (or problem here with iCrap)... They plug into any commonly available electronic device with a universaly-standard (except by guess who....) USB port!

[trax1]

See, here's the thing, Bluetooth adapters are available for everything... the catch (or problem here with iCrap)... They plug into any commonly available electronic device with a universaly-standard (except by guess who....) USB port!

Not sure you understood my post there, I was saying that Apple needs a USB port.