The iPad

@mark_is_god Said

biggest problem with the ipad is the cost, it is actually ridiculous how they are pricing it.

?429 is the base model, with a tiny 16GB storage and no 3G, which is frankly embarrassing.

to get 3G you need to pay ?100 extra, that is simply stupid, ?100 pound extra for something that comes standard on basically all phones other than budget ones.

add on, or to be more precise, subtract the lack of multitasking and flash, and it is far to limited in functionality.

also the lack of usb and memory card slots is terrible, imagine if any other company produced a similar device lacking both of "features", they would be ostracised for it.

frankly for ?529 i could buy a well specced 13" laptop, which has dozens of more features than the ipad and is capable of being used for actual work, minus the feeling of wanting to kill your self due to the limitations of touch screens.

or if you really want a touch screen internet tablet, wait a couple of months for the avalanche of new tablets.

@norma_sue Said


What would be a fair price? Have you tried one out?

@mark_is_god Said

well considering the ipod touch costs around ?170, and as the ipad offers little extra than the ipod touch other than the bigger screen and more powerful hardware, i can not see how it is worth so much extra money.

base model, 16gb ipod touch = ?149
base model, 16gb ipad = ?429
difference ?280

highest model, 64gb ipod touch = ?260
highest model, 64gb ipad 3G = ?700
difference ?440

as for what i would consider fair, for the base model ipad, no more than ?300 and ideally closer to ?250

and the highest model, ?700 is complete joke, at most it should cost the same as the base model, ?429.
paying ?270 extra for a slightly bigger hardrive and 3G, is ridiculous.

not to mention the data plans they are offering are a ripoff.

@norma_sue Said

I have a ipod and a ipad, I love them both, watching full HD movies while heading down the road is great...

I got the unlimited data plan and wifi as well.

@norma_sue Said

I bet the price will come down as newer ones come out, hang in there. You might even see used ones hit the market soon.

@mark_is_god Said

and that's another point, i really don't understand why people pre-ordered this, when there will be dozens of similar devices released soon, some of which will inevitably match or even surpass the ipad in quality.

@mark_is_god Said

and that's another point, i really don't understand why people pre-ordered this, when there will be dozens of similar devices released soon, some of which will inevitably match or even surpass the ipad in quality.

@jmo Said

I don't really know anything about them, but is there anything you can do with an iPad you can't do with a laptop?

As far as I can tell it's sort of like a mix between an iPod touch and a laptop yet too big for the convenience of the iPod and too small for the capabilities of a laptop.

Or am I talking out my arse?

@jonnythan Said

Not exactly, no. But there's nothing you can do with an iPhone that you can't do with a laptop.

It's a different device entirely. Laptops don't have large touchscreens. Laptops don't weigh less than a kilo.

It's a unique device, and I think it's an error to think of it in terms of whether it's "as good as" other types of devices.

@jonnythan Said

There seems to be no indication that there's anything on the horizon that will match or surpass the iPad in quality.

There's no history of this happening, either, in the MP3 or smartphone market. The iPhone still dominates and, years after release, others are just starting to catch up in the user interface and handset quality departments. And they're just catching up as Appl is a couple of weeks from releasing a powerful, massively upgraded new device.