4 ms·

Nice to have a post that deals with the concrete details of what the iPad is today, not what it may become. I agree that some of the UI elements look shoehorned

by gr366 17y ago

Nice to have a post that deals with the concrete details of what the iPad is today, not what it may become. I agree that some of the UI elements look shoehorned in from the iPhone interface, and running iPhone apps on the device just wasn't going to have an elegant solution given the resolution-dependent UIs. But the revolutionary bit is the multitouch/lack of mouse pointer part. The iPhone was a gentle introduction to this new paradigm. It'll be interesting to watch how people catch on and how quickly other companies adopt it — not to mention how Apple handles its patents around this stuff.

joe_the_user 17y ago
Is there a reason no one has called "Gorilla Arm" on the iPad? I suppose it's mostly because it's UI which you aren't supposed to do any sustained or difficult work with. But it seems unlikely that even Joe-The-Non-Geek will be happy with something they can barely use.
- ugh 17y ago
  Doesn’t that only apply to stuff you use standing up? Is that a problem when using a touchscreen lying or sitting on a couch? Or sitting in front of a table?
  - blasdel 17y ago
    You still have to either hold the thing up somehow, or look straight down at it in your lap / on the table. If you use it in a dock, you have to hold your arm out straight in front of you to poke at it (no mice, even with a keyboard). Apple didn't do anything to address Gorilla Arm. They even made the thing weigh 1.5 lbs by stuffing it full of lithium-polymer to get that 10 hour battery life.
  - joe_the_user 17y ago
    No, It's worst standing but I believe a Gorilla arm "effect" results from any devices which forces the user to do extended input without physical support for his/her arms. Just see how long you can sit at a chair with your hands in the standard keyboarding position but without the keyboard. The iPad looks just big enough that any serious input going to require repeated arm-raising whereas the iphone/ipod-touch is small enough you can use it with your hands always resting on a table.
    - ugh 17y ago
      Aren’t my arms supported when I’m lying on the couch or sitting on the table? I would say they are.

by gr366 17y ago

joe_the_user 17y ago

Is there a reason no one has called "Gorilla Arm" on the iPad? I suppose it's mostly because it's UI which you aren't supposed to do any sustained or difficult work with. But it seems unlikely that even Joe-The-Non-Geek will be happy with something they can barely use.

ugh 17y ago
Doesn’t that only apply to stuff you use standing up? Is that a problem when using a touchscreen lying or sitting on a couch? Or sitting in front of a table?
- blasdel 17y ago
  You still have to either hold the thing up somehow, or look straight down at it in your lap / on the table. If you use it in a dock, you have to hold your arm out straight in front of you to poke at it (no mice, even with a keyboard). Apple didn't do anything to address Gorilla Arm. They even made the thing weigh 1.5 lbs by stuffing it full of lithium-polymer to get that 10 hour battery life.
- joe_the_user 17y ago
  No, It's worst standing but I believe a Gorilla arm "effect" results from any devices which forces the user to do extended input without physical support for his/her arms. Just see how long you can sit at a chair with your hands in the standard keyboarding position but without the keyboard. The iPad looks just big enough that any serious input going to require repeated arm-raising whereas the iphone/ipod-touch is small enough you can use it with your hands always resting on a table.
  - ugh 17y ago
    Aren’t my arms supported when I’m lying on the couch or sitting on the table? I would say they are.