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I'm sorry, but I just cannot get excited about an Apple tablet. I have a feeling that it is going to be like a macbook air without the keyboard: absurdly expen

by blhack 17y ago

I'm sorry, but I just cannot get excited about an Apple tablet. I have a feeling that it is going to be like a macbook air without the keyboard: absurdly expensive, not all that useful, and replaceable with things in the PC world that are better and cheaper. Apple got lucky with the iPod in that they were the first company to do it right. They carried this success into the iPhone, but their iPhone success is starting to wane in light of the Android. I think that an Apple tablet is going to combine all of the things that I hate about the MBA with all of the things that I hate about the iPhone (appstore nonsense, restricting apps like spotify or anything with similar functionality). Good luck to you, Apple, but I don't see this succeeding. edit: I was mistaken about spotify, that is not available in the US at all. The point was that I was trying to find a subscription music service for the iPhone and couldn't. The general consensus among the people doing the same was that Apple won't allow it.

endtime 17y ago
You don't see it succeeding? If you'd ended your comment with "...but I don't think I'll be picking one up," sure, that would make sense. But do you honestly think 99% of Apple's customers care about, or even understand, the concerns you have?
- blhack 17y ago
  But do you honestly thing 99% of Apple's customers care about, or even understand, the concerns you have? Yes, I do. What will the Apple tablet be competing against? It's the MBA all over again. Unless Apple makes a drastic change in their pricing philosophy, this simply will not be something I see most consumers justifying.
  - ugh 17y ago
    Apple’s products sometimes are relatively boring. The MBA is ok but not exactly revolutionary. Others are. And as a consequence I would always wait until they show what they have. I have problems finding a place in the market for a tablet but I’m pretty confident that Apple could find a spot. Or maybe not.
  - CamperBob 17y ago
    What will the Apple tablet be competing against? It'll utterly destroy the Kindle, for one thing, if they execute well.
petercooper 17y ago
but their iPhone success is starting to wane in light of the Android. Are you trolling? If so, it's a good one because I'm falling for it :-) The iPhone's success is far from waning. Android as a term is barely known outside tech circles whereas even Mac haters at least know what an "iPhone" is. Apple got lucky with the iPod in that they were the first company to do it right. Far from it. The first generation iPod reviewed poorly and sold poorly. It wasn't until near the end of 2004 - and the fourth generation - that it really "caught on." Apple didn't get lucky.. they got it right after iterating and redeveloping a few times. restricting apps like spotify Did they? I have Spotify on my iPhone right now and enjoy it using it most days. It took them a while to approve it, but it takes them a while to approve almost everything.
- blhack 17y ago
  Haha, no not trolling. Maybe things are different here, then? I'm in Phoenix and there are Android billboards/advertisements everywhere. One of the more brilliant ones was something I saw in a mall: it was a multitouch surface mounted in a poster-space running a game; kids were lined up to play it. People are genuinely, organically (as in not prompted by a billboard they just drove post) talking about the Android. Cellphones are something that falls under my umbrella of responsibility at work and I have had several people jokingly beg me to lobby for us to switch from AT&T to verizon so they can get droids. Also, on spotify: are you in the US? I was trying to find my little sister a subscription-based music service she could use on her iPhone and couldn't.
  - DannoHung 17y ago
    Dude, Spotify isn't available in the US, period.
  - dandelany 17y ago
    Anecdotes != evidence. I hate when people make claims like this based only on their own biased perceptions of the situation.
    - dandelany 17y ago
lispm 17y ago
Haha, we'll see. The Mac 128k could not run any useful program and was very expensive. You could not even develop software on it. The iMac did not have a floppy drive, no serial ports and no printer port. It had though so called USB ports (whatever that was). It was immediately useless for many people who could not attach their printers and insert their floppy disks. The 5G iPod was extremely expensive, had a firewire port and no USB. I did not even work without a Mac. PC? No chance. The iPhone? Ballmer: 'the most expensive mobile phone on the planet'. We know what happens, when PC enthusiasts predict the fate of Apple products...
DannoHung 17y ago
> their iPhone success is starting to wane in light of the Android. Qualify this, please.
madh 17y ago
Maybe, but all I know is that every time I use my iPhone at home (not in a mobile situation) I wish it were bigger. A well-done tablet will be fantastic particularly if they find the right size. Such a produce will even spur development of similar devices from competitors, some of which may run Android.
raganwald 17y ago
I have no problem getting excited about an Apple Tablet. However... I can't get excited about rumours and speculation. There's nothing actionable about all this crap unless you're an iPhone developer and you decide to support full screen resolution and not make an assumption about the screen size. Other than that... I suppose this might make some folks hold off on netbooks. Are there any other tangible,a ctionable consequences of this kind of post? Or is it all the tech equivalent of guys in a barbershop arguing about whether Muhammed Ali was the greatest fighter who ever lived?

by blhack 17y ago

endtime 17y ago

You don't see it succeeding? If you'd ended your comment with "...but I don't think I'll be picking one up," sure, that would make sense. But do you honestly think 99% of Apple's customers care about, or even understand, the concerns you have?

blhack 17y ago
But do you honestly thing 99% of Apple's customers care about, or even understand, the concerns you have? Yes, I do. What will the Apple tablet be competing against? It's the MBA all over again. Unless Apple makes a drastic change in their pricing philosophy, this simply will not be something I see most consumers justifying.
- ugh 17y ago
  Apple’s products sometimes are relatively boring. The MBA is ok but not exactly revolutionary. Others are. And as a consequence I would always wait until they show what they have. I have problems finding a place in the market for a tablet but I’m pretty confident that Apple could find a spot. Or maybe not.
- CamperBob 17y ago
  What will the Apple tablet be competing against? It'll utterly destroy the Kindle, for one thing, if they execute well.

petercooper 17y ago

but their iPhone success is starting to wane in light of the Android. Are you trolling? If so, it's a good one because I'm falling for it :-) The iPhone's success is far from waning. Android as a term is barely known outside tech circles whereas even Mac haters at least know what an "iPhone" is. Apple got lucky with the iPod in that they were the first company to do it right. Far from it. The first generation iPod reviewed poorly and sold poorly. It wasn't until near the end of 2004 - and the fourth generation - that it really "caught on." Apple didn't get lucky.. they got it right after iterating and redeveloping a few times. restricting apps like spotify Did they? I have Spotify on my iPhone right now and enjoy it using it most days. It took them a while to approve it, but it takes them a while to approve almost everything.

blhack 17y ago
Haha, no not trolling. Maybe things are different here, then? I'm in Phoenix and there are Android billboards/advertisements everywhere. One of the more brilliant ones was something I saw in a mall: it was a multitouch surface mounted in a poster-space running a game; kids were lined up to play it. People are genuinely, organically (as in not prompted by a billboard they just drove post) talking about the Android. Cellphones are something that falls under my umbrella of responsibility at work and I have had several people jokingly beg me to lobby for us to switch from AT&T to verizon so they can get droids. Also, on spotify: are you in the US? I was trying to find my little sister a subscription-based music service she could use on her iPhone and couldn't.
- DannoHung 17y ago
  Dude, Spotify isn't available in the US, period.
- dandelany 17y ago
  Anecdotes != evidence. I hate when people make claims like this based only on their own biased perceptions of the situation.
  - dandelany 17y ago

lispm 17y ago

Haha, we'll see. The Mac 128k could not run any useful program and was very expensive. You could not even develop software on it. The iMac did not have a floppy drive, no serial ports and no printer port. It had though so called USB ports (whatever that was). It was immediately useless for many people who could not attach their printers and insert their floppy disks. The 5G iPod was extremely expensive, had a firewire port and no USB. I did not even work without a Mac. PC? No chance. The iPhone? Ballmer: 'the most expensive mobile phone on the planet'. We know what happens, when PC enthusiasts predict the fate of Apple products...

DannoHung 17y ago

> their iPhone success is starting to wane in light of the Android. Qualify this, please.

madh 17y ago

Maybe, but all I know is that every time I use my iPhone at home (not in a mobile situation) I wish it were bigger. A well-done tablet will be fantastic particularly if they find the right size. Such a produce will even spur development of similar devices from competitors, some of which may run Android.

raganwald 17y ago

I have no problem getting excited about an Apple Tablet. However... I can't get excited about rumours and speculation. There's nothing actionable about all this crap unless you're an iPhone developer and you decide to support full screen resolution and not make an assumption about the screen size. Other than that... I suppose this might make some folks hold off on netbooks. Are there any other tangible,a ctionable consequences of this kind of post? Or is it all the tech equivalent of guys in a barbershop arguing about whether Muhammed Ali was the greatest fighter who ever lived?