The first point made by the opposition was versatility of the iPad for multiple formats.
"the ability of the product to read multiple formats and be a universal product"
To which I respond with a quote from the apple website:
"Viewable document types: .jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)"
"H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats"
"Audio formats supported: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV"
That should take care of Document, Video, and Audio formats respectively. I'm not sure what other file types you intend to view on the iPad, but I'm fairly certain that this will cover a large portion of them. I also took the liberty to highlight all of the Microsoft specific files mentioned there...
The next volley was this:
"One had to buy all movies from able or convert movies to the apple format which takes a significant amount of time"
I'm not really sure what file types there are for movies, but I can't imagine that there are many. I know that there are codecs and whatnot out the yin-yang, but it seems to me that conversion isn't too much of a hassle. I honestly don't see how one would watch a whole movie unless going on a long trip at which point you would know well enough in advance to have already converted the desired movie(s).
Round Three:
"no stylus comes with this product"
I now direct your attention to the following product:
http://www.hdaccessory.com/servlet/the-1594/Silver-True-Touch-Aluminum/Detail
It's an iPhone Stylus pen. That means it will work with an iPad. It's currently $7.
Moving on:
"Currently no AutoCad app"
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cadtouch-r2/id298053937?mt=8
Who's next?
"It doesn't support T-Mobile's 3G spectrum, so unless you're willing to search at EDGE speeds, you're stuck on AT&T's network"
They do also have an option called wifi. And as a matter of fact, the iPad wifi goes all the way up to "802.11n" a,b, and g also included. I've heard rumored that there is also an opt in plan for a year that will allow you to join any AT&T wifi spot in the world for about $130 a year. (btw that's every McDonald's wifi and Starbucks wifi and a few others I'm sure) Now for the death knell... The t-mobile 3g coverage is significantly smaller than AT&T's. Please enjoy the link to the t-mobile coverage viewer.
http://coverage.t-mobile.com/Default.aspx
NEXT!
"No full OS on the machine"
I'm assuming you mean like windows 7 or OSX? If so then you got one, it's an upgraded iPhone OS, but isn't that kinda the point? If you want a full OS then you have to have the full computer, all of the hardware and everything. You see a full OS will run anything, and in a portable device it would completely fry the electronics because there is no cooling fan. If it was a full OS you could play all sorts of games and whatnot, but then you would kill it. I notice that my laptop heats up whenever I play a graphics intensive game. I suppose Apple could have put in a cooling fan and a few other things to run a full OS, but then it's not an iPad anymore. It's a touch screen computer, and an iPad was not designed to do that.
Fire away:
"Currently no connection to your full PC/Apple. This would be really cool to have remote PC/Apple."
From TUAW:
"The iPad, according to those checking out the SDK code, will also be able to share files with the desktop, and different apps on the iPad will even be able to identify themselves as owners for certain filetypes, which is another cool trick that Apple should teach the old iPhone dog."
Link to it: http://www.tuaw.com/2010/01/29/five-things-to-bring-back-from-the-ipad/
Also there are scores of apps designed to let the iPhone control your desktop and be used as a remote, so that answers that since everything the iPhone can run can also be run on an iPad. (I like VNC lite by mochasoft, it's free)
OK:
"No apps that have not been approved by Apple. By which I mean, you can't download your favorite apps off some web site somewhere. You are strictly limited to the app store."
If you can't find an app that you like in the over 140,000 that exist right now, then you probably won't find one elsewhere. And if you do some searching around with the namesake of my blog (jail-breakers) then you'll see why it's best that you let Apple review them. Most of the time it's because it will brick your machine in time. But it's censorship for them to not want you to have to spend another several hundred dollars with their company because you broke the first one you had...
Round, I dunno?
"No camera."
Version 2 I imagine, one of the parts distributors found the slot for it recently and stuck an isight cam in there. It fit.
Hit me!
"Microphone, but apparently... no voice calls."
I'm gonna go with Skype or Google voice. Both are legit for voice calls now.
Next!
"eBook reader only through iBookstore. No word about loading your own books/PDFs. Yes there are Apps available but not as good as they could be."
140K apps. You can find one you like, and if not, there are PDF readers that let you do exactly what you just said. I also like an app I have called "Classics" it's currently free.
What else?
"Network is GSM-based. That rules out Verizon for your choices."
Yup. Being an AT&T customer since day one I'm a little biased on that.
Scene 5, take 47... Action:
"No multitasking. This isn't OSX. It's not a laptop. Or a mini-laptop. Or even, apparently, a netbook. It's the stripped-down iPhone OS"
I don't see that as a problem. Again, it's designed for you to take out what you need for the day in a much more usable format than an iPhone and then bring it back at night and sync it up. Now I've had experience recently with nothing but an iPhone to work from. It's not easy (mostly because of screen size), but I can work without a laptop because I have access to everything I need on my iPhone. If i can do it on that, then I can do it five times faster on the large screen of an iPad. I have a laptop, and I don't intend to replace it with an iPad. In fact, most everyone I know who has a netbook also has a desktop at home where they keep most of their files etc.
Moving right along:
"16 GB for $500. 64 GB for $700. Some are complaining about the price because of the limited functionality."
The iPhone costs:
$499 (8GB), $599 (16GB), or $699 (32GB)
From the apple website. So it's smaller and has a bit less functionality as fas as processing speed, but it costs more. So when viewed from that perspective, the iPad is a great deal.
NEXT!
"No video out? Does that docking station allow video out, or is it just for the keyboard?"
From the apple site:
"Support for 1024 by 768 pixels with Dock Connector to VGA Adapter; 576p and 480p with Apple Component AV Cable; 576i and 480i with Apple Composite AV Cable"
There you go.
Getting close to the end here.
"the only netbook that's not a USB master (so no access to thumbdrives, etc from it)"
Tell the person who is giving you the thumb drive to hold on a sec, give you access to the wifi network he is on (or create an ad-hock one) and use one of the numerous wifi hard drive apps to just send it over.
Say what?
"Apple doesn't like to sell apps in the app store that duplicate apps it already has. So does that mean that Ray Kurzweil will NOT be able to run the Blio ereader software on this thing because it already has Apple's iBook?"
This is from the Blio website, that last one should answer your query.
The Blio reader will soon be available on the following platforms:
- Windows
- Mac
- Linux
- Android
- Symbian
- Windows Mobile
- iPhone
What else?
"Also it still does not do Flash :("
I'm gonna have to point back to the overheating issue. I've run some flash games and movies on my macbook, and, through the use of an app called iStat, I've been able to monitor my temperatures and fan speeds. Normally the fan runs at about 2k rpm. When I am running flash, it's at 5k. So why on earth would I want to run flash on a device that has no cooling fan? And if you are DESPERATE for flash, just run a remote desktop app and leave your computer up and running. It has a cooling fan and won't get fried due to the necessity of super high speed processing to make the dumb thing work because adobe won't fix their software...
And with that I close this chapter. All said, I believe I have answered every and all issues posed to me about the iPad. Please feel free to respond with any further questions or concerns and I will put them to bed as I have done to these. Thanks.
It's my hope that I can shed some light on these devices, because in truth, they are pretty amazing. I want to help people to get the most out of what they have technologically. Sometimes that means writing an article that combats someone else's opinion. I harbor no ill will, nor do I think less of the intelligence of my opponents. I hope that the people on the other side of this table feel the same way.
Adam
(you don't have to cheat to pass the test)
