Jns looks great on an iPad!

[cteno4]

Ok I finally had break down and buy an iPad. Being in the multimedia biz and now my programming system looks to be coming to the iPad soon I had to start playing!

 

I've been really blown away by the iPad. Really is a home run out of the gate, I see why all the potential competitors went back to the drawing board. It really is like being in star trek! Yes it's expensive and a tad heavy, bur really is quite amazing to have all this stuff crammed into this package with a display big enough to really display some content that matches the more natural forms humans are use to. The touch and other mobile platforms are fantastic, but the limitations of their tiny screens really changes the interaction and is not in a human scale. Yes you can slice and dice your content down to fit tiny screen which force you into a very tight posture to look at, but there is a reason why a book or standard piece fo paper is, it's evolved over a long time with us monkeys.

 

Anyhow really impressed with what can be done with the pad. Jrmri layout on the iPad now seems lie a must to control the layout!

 

This is also the first mobile device I have been able to actually type on, my huge hands just rule out using any smaller devices for anything other than a one sentence message and thats painful!

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[Tecchan]

Don't tell me about it...

 

I'm 2 millimeters for buying one...

[cteno4]

Kumo,

 

let me push you over the edge. even though i have been in the computer/multimedia biz for like 20 years now, i usually try to be a 2.0 adopter, i let everyone else work out the kinks and wait for the second gen with better features, less bugs, and cheaper. this time i sort of had to bite at 1.0 due to having to think about starting designing stuff for the ipad so i went ahead. its worth it. the device as is is quite useful and so far pretty flawless. yes this winter a new one will probably be out lighter, better battery life, camera, cheaper, etc, but this is still just tooooo cool for words.

 

so nice to grab and sit anywhere and read the paper or pop over to a web search, all while listening to music at the same time. video on the 132dpi screen is quite amazing and even lower rez stuff looks pretty awesome on it.

 

for the last 5 years i have been predicting the ipad to folks saying that jobs was waiting for the right combo to do it and this is it! really amazing how i think its going to eventually fill in a real niche in computing/mobile communications. keeps you from being a slave to the computer screen and brings back the human size factor to make reading things easily. and oh yes i can read pretty small print on the screen easily w/o the reading glasses which i need to use now on small paper print or if i am going to read a book for a while. the back lighting and high dpi really make it so i can read well w/o the glasses or larger font size!

 

its a chunk of change, but im glad i did it even though i realize now that probably next year ill get a new one and up to 3g. at first i thought 3g would just be a waste on me as i work at home mostly, but now i see how handy carting the ipad around and getting data while on the run will be useful potentially. ill see how hard it is doing it with wifi access i can grab for now.

 

iphone is great for mobile communications and getting stuff you have to have on the fly (but expensive and since im mainly at home i have not gone down that path as it would just be a lot of money spent that i would not realize much out of), but for something to sit around with (or the itouch which i have had for a year now) its not so comfortable or really something that a lot of content can comfortably be delivered on. you can read text and watch videos but you are squinting at a tiny screen while holding your arms in awkward positions. ipad flips that on its head.

 

also just got tired of watching everyone around me on the airplane these days really enjoying themselves and relaxing while i squinted at my itouch!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Martijn Meerts]

iPad is a nice device.. I have a 3g version, but I have yet to actually use the 3g bit =)

 

It has some issues, but iOS 4.2 (coming in November, hopefully in the next few weeks a beta for developers will be available) should help a lot though.

 

Typing on the thing is actually quite nice, I even installed an SSH terminal client on the thing, with which I can log onto my server and run some shell command and generally check up on the machine. I've also got a VNC client installed, so I can use the iPad to use my Mac ..

 

The best thing for me though, I have a Mac Pro, Macbook Pro, iPhone 3gs, iPad, and iTouch I hardly ever use anymore (development testing ;)) and recently also an iMac. I also have a mobileme account, and all the machines and devices are nicely synched at all times. Add an Airport Extreme with USB disk, and backing up using Time Machine is a dream. It's so seamless I keep forgetting I have a backup at all =)

 

I do need to get a 4th gen iTouch at some point though, mainly for the retina display. Will need it for development purposes =)

[cteno4]

LOL, good to know there are others out there! macs are piled high around here. finally got my wife to a mac mini when her pc dies and shes loving it. now wants her work to move to macs! he really wanted it when she saw an air! mac tv will come soon as netflix box. the linage for me has been quite extensive over the years: basis 108 (ok an apple clone 6502/z80), mac plus, mac SE, IIfx, powerbook 100, power computing box, duo 280x, powerbook 5300, g3 powerbook titanium, 8600, pwermac G4, powermac G5, powerbook g4 17", mac mini, and now a quad core. if i kept them all i would have quite a museum! all old ones have gone off to other homes, sometimes 2 or even 3 lasting years of extended service! almost all of them just got so old they were not of use anymore, only a couple died after like 7 or 8 years of abuse...

 

so far i have not run into an OS issue but only been poking for a few days. few older apps not quite working right. few of the newer cranky apps seem to be app bugs from the reviews when i check.

 

will enjoy 4.2 features when the come to the ipad, i have enjoyed them on the itouch.

 

the seamlessness of it all is quite amazing and thus the star trek feeling. most things have been so well designed to bridge the gap. apple luckily was the company to set the standard on this one. as much as i dont like how closed apple can be it is part of why and how they can set standards like this.

 

im hoping that eventually things will open up more like the mac os has. allowing in other programming systems this week was a big big step forward to opening things up some.

 

i hope eventually apple will add some HI customization to the os as with this kind of device there are some things that will need some personalization. the back/menu buttons in the top left all the time i find quite out of place as you have to reach (as a right hander) all the way across the screen, would be nice to have in the bottom right, but other items in the apps may not work so well. part of this will be training my mind though as im sure in a while i will just do it w/o noticing.

 

i really do see how the ipad may really bring the publishing industry back as i was much more willing to drop $$ on content as i started to play. the big hurdle is that most folks dont want to read content on their computer screens, they do way too much of that at work and home now. but if you can do it lounging on the sofa or while watching tv, commuting, etc folks will start paying for it. also the instant gratification of saying ill pay a buck or two to get entertained right now with what i want will also open wallets. all of these things have been around just not in the right mix to make it work and pay.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Guest ___]

ROFLOL, I knew you'd get one. I've already grown past my iPod Touch and moved to an iPhone4, but am waiting till the 2G iPad just so it has the FaceTime

[Tecchan]

The only thing that stops me from buying this one is the screen. The iPad's is great but anyone who played with an iPhone 4 for 30 seconds knows what I'm talking about...

 

The "Retina" screen is more than awesome, it's just perfect! So I'm waiting a little bit... I could pass FaceTime or other things like that, but if I take this one and there is a retina iPad coming out next year, I'll be really disappointed...

 

On the other side, my mother is going in Florida (I live in Switzerland) in october and as the price of this device is a lot more cheaper in the US, I feel really tempted to ask her to take one for me... I could still sell it when the #2 is coming, and if it doesn't have the retina screen, I wait for the next...

 

Last but not least: I'm unemployed right now and even if I have some savings, maybe it would be better to save them for something less... geeky.

 

I'll tell you, but thanks for the advice! :-)

[Martijn Meerts]

I wouldn't wait for a retina iPad.. It's highly unlikely we'll see one anytime soon. Not only would the screen be too expensive, but the hardware wouldn't be able to run the kind of resolution a retina iPad would have.

 

iPhone 4 retina is 960x640 compared to 480x320 on the iPhone 3gs. That would mean a retina iPad would be 2048x1536 compared to the current 1024x768 .. That's a higher resolution than full HD, and even a higher resolution than most desktop pc screens ;)

[cteno4]

Screen is great with the current ipad and i tend to be picky with screens. while its not a retina screen, it is the usually apple level of screen quality. i find it fine for reading and watching videos. only issue is all the smudgies from finger prints. expect my screen protector will help with this as it did that on the touch.

 

i think the ipad works fine at lower dpi as you tend to hold it at a greater distance than you tend to with a hand held devise where folks tend to get up close and personal there for the high dpi makes the difference at these distances.

 

i could see a slightly higher dpi coming out on the ipad eventually as it has more room and power for a heavier graphics system and memory.

 

it is not a cheap item at all, but glad i spent the money on it as spending time on it is just giving me more and more ideas and its just a really nice addition to my life, not complicating it (like cell phones can) but allowing me to browse the news more often or just keep poking at a book or even just throw up a shinkansen youtube video while on a phone meeting. even just turning it into the picture frame is fun with old travel pictures when its just sitting there on the desk.

 

its now made me want the 5g itouch! once the facetime can get hooked into ichat that could be really nice! i am wondering if there is an infrastructure thing they are waiting to do to roll that out. ichat has been invaluable in projects with consultants strung out all across the country. we did check in meetings all the time with 3 or 4 consultants and the client and my video producer and i spent like 4 weeks working 8-12 hrs/day cross country with ichat running full time. it was like we were working in the same office! we just let it run if one of us popped off to the bathroom or something or muted it when someone had to take a phone call. was amazing. also being able to view a video at the same time and both be able to pause, rewind, discuss, etc.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[grumbeast]

I have to concur with everything Jeff says,  like you I'm normally a 2.0 adopter, but my wife wents nuts and got me this lovely present !,  Its just changed the way I do things, I don't surf at my desk anymore, I do on the sofa, in bed, wherever, its just a glorious device (so I had to get the wife one too :)

 

I love watching youtube vids of j-trains on the thing :)

 

Graham

[cteno4]

 

I love watching youtube vids of j-trains on the thing :)

 

Graham

 

my dirty little secret now when sitting on a boring phone conference! its replaced all the desk toys for now!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Tecchan]

I wouldn't wait for a retina iPad.. It's highly unlikely we'll see one anytime soon. Not only would the screen be too expensive, but the hardware wouldn't be able to run the kind of resolution a retina iPad would have.

 

iPhone 4 retina is 960x640 compared to 480x320 on the iPhone 3gs. That would mean a retina iPad would be 2048x1536 compared to the current 1024x768 .. That's a higher resolution than full HD, and even a higher resolution than most desktop pc screens ;)

 

Yeah, I calculated to the potential size of this screen and it seems a bit early to see it coming now...

 

We'll have a retina screen on the iPad eventually, but if you always wait for the next revision you never buy anything! :-p

Maybe I'll take it... Dunno...

[Tenorikuma]

I have to put in my vote as well. My 3G iPad and I are inseparable. Having a fast, light do-everything device with Internet access everywhere I go is amazing, and the Maps app is really amazing when I plan or modify Japanese rail trips on the go.

[Tecchan]

One thing for sure: I won't take the 3G one for the moment.

 

In Switzerland, the 3G subscription is really conveinient but really expensive: you pay only the days you use the 3G but it costs you 5$ per day. If you just chez your mails for 1 minute or surf the whole day, it's the same...

 

With the iPad 3 with retina screen, maybe I'll take the 3G one... ;-)

[Martijn Meerts]

I went with a 3g version because I travel a lot, but I haven't even activated my microsim yet ;)

 

3g in my iPhone is pretty terrible, so I'll definitely use a different provider for the iPad 3g. The main advantage of having a 3g iPad though, is that if you take it abroad, you can just pick up a prepaid 3g data microsim, and plug it into the iPad.

 

Just installed iOS 4.2 beta on my iPad, should be interesting to play around with the new stuff first hand =)

[jdnewemail]

Good to see the mac has a fowling here at this site. I have been a fan of the mac for a long time as well. My question would be is when are the Japanese Model Railroading (and Train ) Magazines coming to the iPad (iPhone) for download saving us a lot of Money?

[Tecchan]

You really got me with this toppic!

 

I'm currently typing from my 32Go WiFi iPad! :-D

It has some defaults, the major one being iOS 4 missing but I love it!!!!! :-)