4 ms·

Most people that have handled an iPad dismiss that it's just a larger iPod Touch - the old axiom a picture is worth a thousand words certainly applies here. Fo

by aresant 17y ago

Most people that have handled an iPad dismiss that it's just a larger iPod Touch - the old axiom a picture is worth a thousand words certainly applies here. For education / gaming / medicine / industrial / etc etc the apps we see for this format are going to be incredible.

paulgb 17y ago
> For education / gaming / medicine / industrial / etc etc the apps we see for this format are going to be incredible. I wonder how long Apple will be able to sustain the advantage though. In a year or so when Android tablets are available, I'd predict that any new medicine or industry projects would be more inclined to use an open-source tablet. If I were building, say, an e-ticket redemption system for events, and I decided to use off-the-shelf hardware, I would much prefer to build it on Android than iPhone or iPad simply because I would have more control of the devices and not be stuck with a single hardware supplier.
- callmeed 17y ago
  "I'd predict that any new medicine or industry projects would be more inclined to use an open-source tablet." Really? What % of those industries have done that with operating systems and other past decisions?
  - vetinari 17y ago
    what % of those industries have used Macs in the past? There's a reason for that. The Android tablets have advantages, that are only indirectly caused by open source. Having a lot more control over the software, hardware and not to be beholden to a single supplier is invaluable in industrial use.
    - rubinelli 17y ago
      And the API is Java, not some strange language decision makers have never heard of. Big selling point for large corporations and government agencies.
  - paulgb 17y ago
    I'm not aware of any analogous examples. Apple controls the OS, the hardware, and the application distribution channel (I do know about enterprise distribution, but they still control that IIRC.) They've developed a reputation for not being the most friendly to developers, too. Why would you risk a business on that when there is an open source alternative with lots of hardware vendors and a huge corporate backer (Google)?
    - ErrantX 17y ago
      Google as a backer is a red herring. They aren't going to be necessairily any use in fixing your problems at 5am on a Monday morning... On the other hand apple will at least answer the phone when your developer rings them.
zephjc 17y ago
"Most people that have handled an iPad dismiss that it's just a larger iPod Touch" Is that a typo ("have handled" -> "haven't handled")? Because reports of actual hands-on use I've read have been glowing. First example I found from google: The iPad is something to be held and experienced, because so many of its advantages are tactile: how it feels in the hand, of course, but also how the software responds. (Where our opinions differ, we break them out.) - http://db.tidbits.com/article/10960 http://db.tidbits.com/article/10960
- aresant 17y ago
  To clarify what I meant was: "dismiss the perception that it's just a larger iPod Touch" As in I've heard multiple times the iPad is just a big iPad touch, when in fact, it's quite a bit more.
  - zephjc 17y ago
    Gotcha, thank you!
tel 17y ago
A friend of mine at JHU is working on iPad integration in health system informatics. It's a great device and all, but the first thing doctors ask: Can this thing be autoclaved? I don't think Steve Jobs is thinking about that one. Android might be better off.
- JoeAltmaier 17y ago
  Very interesting observation. This thing will be useful for "commercial/industrial" clients with a job to do e.g. people who already go around holding a clipboard. Its NOT a wanna-be IPod/IPhone/Kindle/Laptop.

by aresant 17y ago

paulgb 17y ago

> For education / gaming / medicine / industrial / etc etc the apps we see for this format are going to be incredible. I wonder how long Apple will be able to sustain the advantage though. In a year or so when Android tablets are available, I'd predict that any new medicine or industry projects would be more inclined to use an open-source tablet. If I were building, say, an e-ticket redemption system for events, and I decided to use off-the-shelf hardware, I would much prefer to build it on Android than iPhone or iPad simply because I would have more control of the devices and not be stuck with a single hardware supplier.

callmeed 17y ago
"I'd predict that any new medicine or industry projects would be more inclined to use an open-source tablet." Really? What % of those industries have done that with operating systems and other past decisions?
- vetinari 17y ago
  what % of those industries have used Macs in the past? There's a reason for that. The Android tablets have advantages, that are only indirectly caused by open source. Having a lot more control over the software, hardware and not to be beholden to a single supplier is invaluable in industrial use.
  - rubinelli 17y ago
    And the API is Java, not some strange language decision makers have never heard of. Big selling point for large corporations and government agencies.
- paulgb 17y ago
  I'm not aware of any analogous examples. Apple controls the OS, the hardware, and the application distribution channel (I do know about enterprise distribution, but they still control that IIRC.) They've developed a reputation for not being the most friendly to developers, too. Why would you risk a business on that when there is an open source alternative with lots of hardware vendors and a huge corporate backer (Google)?
  - ErrantX 17y ago
    Google as a backer is a red herring. They aren't going to be necessairily any use in fixing your problems at 5am on a Monday morning... On the other hand apple will at least answer the phone when your developer rings them.

zephjc 17y ago

"Most people that have handled an iPad dismiss that it's just a larger iPod Touch" Is that a typo ("have handled" -> "haven't handled")? Because reports of actual hands-on use I've read have been glowing. First example I found from google: The iPad is something to be held and experienced, because so many of its advantages are tactile: how it feels in the hand, of course, but also how the software responds. (Where our opinions differ, we break them out.) - http://db.tidbits.com/article/10960 http://db.tidbits.com/article/10960

aresant 17y ago
To clarify what I meant was: "dismiss the perception that it's just a larger iPod Touch" As in I've heard multiple times the iPad is just a big iPad touch, when in fact, it's quite a bit more.
- zephjc 17y ago
  Gotcha, thank you!

tel 17y ago

A friend of mine at JHU is working on iPad integration in health system informatics. It's a great device and all, but the first thing doctors ask: Can this thing be autoclaved? I don't think Steve Jobs is thinking about that one. Android might be better off.

JoeAltmaier 17y ago
Very interesting observation. This thing will be useful for "commercial/industrial" clients with a job to do e.g. people who already go around holding a clipboard. Its NOT a wanna-be IPod/IPhone/Kindle/Laptop.