ipad is announced officially... (in Off-topic)

and goes for 500 bucks.

www.apple.com

Apparently the same number in sterling too....

Basically a big iphone. I'm not sure what the market is for the ipad. Its not small enough for pocket use, and it can't be used for work. Maybe it is just for use at home when you don't want to rest a laptop in your lap?

All I can deduce is that it's not for geeks. I do however know that a few normal people I know are all about it.

I'm also unsure what it can be used for. No Flash - so browsing is limited, and only the IPhone app store - so no "big" applications. This is a huge IPod, a phone without phone-ability, an expensive ebook-reader.

And it will be the best selling gadget anyways. Welcome the new must-have of the Apple religion.

with all the money schools spend on books, i can see at some point a similar device being used in primary schools and universities. with the correct apps, it could even replace computer labs in universities for most purposes.

Whats the point of it if it doesn't have flash? Although I guess that means you won't be bombarded by Evony ads while surfing the web :).

$499 - The fact it's so cheap in comparison to Apple's normal approach to product launch shows just how concerned they are.

/me predicts iFlop.

The biggest model gives you...64 gigs for 800 bucks...that's pretty crappy...

That's less than half of my music library, a third of my vid library and about the same size as my photo library (high res meets a new baby = lots and lots of photos). I don't like the idea of a machine that's more expensive than the equivalent laptop not being able to do as much. I won't be buying this one for sure...

Wait, it doesn't have the ability to handle Flash? That seems like a rather glaring fault.

And no USB....

Sorry, it does have USB but only through it's dock.

AKA; "iFail".

No Flash.

No camera. (That one breaks my heart in this day and age)

No multitasking. It still can't run background processes.

No widescreen display.

No GPS.

No storage. I don't call 64GB (max size) enough.

No Removable Battery. So much for bringing a spare for flights that last more than the 10-hour rated (I'll believe it when I see it) battery time.

No HDMI.

supporting Flash at this point is giving into and agreeing to allow Adobe and it's millions of developers complete access to every last orifice they can find

There are working versions of Flash for the iPhone, they aren't allowed onto normal phones because of Job's never ending quest for control (see the return of Apple branded (and now owned) procs.

This is the first real big step towards what I've been calling guttop computers...

I can see enough average folks buying one to surf on the couch that it won't be a huge flop.

The possibilities that the facial recognition rumors are slated for release with the next version along with a camera system and the ability to use it for voice confrencing is very real.

Personally I'd like to skip all this and go right to 2560x1600 contact lens based display that interface through a wireless system back to my home computer, that way the portable hardware can do what it's good at (display, input, audio) and leave the actual computing to a real machine.

all hail apples glory...all shiny yet not so useful(to most) and expensive for what its worth.

I'll stick with my cheap laptop that I don't mind dropping because it's tough as nails. And it has three times as much storage!

I love the small print on the Apple site:

(about size and weight:)Actual size and weight vary by configuration and manufacturing process.
(about battery:)Testing conducted by Apple in January 2010 using preproduction iPad units and software performing each of the following tasks: video playback, audio playback, and Internet browsing using Wi-Fi. Battery life depends on device settings, usage, and many other factors. Battery tests are conducted using specific iPad units; actual results may vary.
(about storage:)1GB = 1 billion bytes; actual formatted capacity less.

So it will be heavier, bigger and not store as much as you think and not work for as long...nice!

In fairness to Apple with regards to the spec - everyone does that Johnny.

I know, but still...when the max is 64 gigs it does make it seem even more of a con than normal!

I would really want something with such an interface for taking notes in class, and as a nice ebook to read the vast amount of PDF files I need to. But that's not enough for me to shell out $500 with so many limitations.

This is going to go the way of the Tablet PC.

No one needs the mid size.

We either want the technology to get smaller (with no drop in performance), or to be un-portable, with a massive increase in performance.

For this to be viable, it would need to provide all the functionality of a Laptop, while being smaller.

If it doesn't, it's redundant.

Well, I don't think it necessarily has to be faster than regular computers or smaller than laptops to be successful, it just has to have a showstopper type of feature. The iphone had many of those, with the multitouch interface and the app store. Thats great and all to put in the ipad, but a lot of phones have those features now, so it isn't really a showstopper anymore. The ipad really doesn't have anything more than the iphone, other than a bigger screen and bigger price tag.

Although, apple has long taught us that if you wait for version 2.0, you usually end up with a very nice product. (I got suckered into the first gen ipod, so i waited for the iphone 2.0 :)

i hope apple gets bankrupted. now i hear "ipod" more often than "mp3 player", how the heck did they manage to get that brand power.. just silly

It's becuase the same performance is available smaller. ;)

Screen Size you get, but the moment we sell commerically viable HUDs, is the moment that last vestige goes. ;)

Screen Size is really the only reason Phones are still as large (and in some cases have got larger) as they are.

Remove that form the equipment, and the reductions begin anew.

http://www.fsf.org/news/ibad_launch

Being tied into applications to do things bugs me. I like my choices.

But why is the storage size so low? How much space does memory actually take up? Are there plans to stop letting you download stuff to it perhaps, and go the streaming route? That'll put some pressure on networks...