9 ms·

Wow, at that price point and feature set, I think Microsoft finally has something that can plausibly be considered an iPad-killer.

by ykl 12y ago

lostgame 12y ago
When I can actually download an MP3 from my browser and open it on my iPad I'll consider using it as an actual thing again. Until then? It's not a computer. This is.
- freehunter 12y ago
  Kind of off topic, but related: I recently bought an audio book from Humble Bundle and have been trying to figure out how to put it on my iPhone.I don't listen to audio books at home, only in the car or while I'm walking. Anyone know how to easily download an audiobook from Humble Bundle and put it on an iPhone to listen to later?
  - vanderZwan 12y ago
    I don't have an iPad, but perhaps you could download it on your laptop in a Dropbox folder (or a similar service), and then open it in the Dropbox app using something like VLC? That's how I use my Android tablet, at least.
    - HCIdivision17 12y ago
      I had tried that in the past, and it didn't quite work well. I'd bet that it's been updated to integrate better, though. Could be a pretty good solution if you're used to using Dropbox.
  - stonemetal 12y ago
    If I am not mistaken what they give you is a huge MP3. You need to download it, import it to iTunes, and put it on your phone just like you would any other MP3.
    - semi-extrinsic 12y ago
      Wouldn't it just be magical if you could download any file to your phone without needing a computer? Because that's what my $180 (without a contract) Moto G allows me to do.
  - wlesieutre 12y ago
    The "easy" thing to do is to download it to your computer and sync it through iTunes. As far as 3rd party audiobook player solutions, no idea. Maybe there's one that can download it, or maybe they're all tied in to their own audiobook stores. That seems to be the trend these days :(
  - TheDong 12y ago
    No it's not related. HN is not your tech support forum. Especially not for trivially google-able issues.
    - freehunter 12y ago
      It's not trivial. They give me 50 mp3s in a zip folder. The guy was talking about troubles downloading an mp3 to an iOS device. Please, feel free to send me a LMGTFY that has a result showing how to open a zip file of mp3s on an iOS device without having iTunes on a desktop.
      - tinco 12y ago
        http://lmgtfy.com/?q=extract+zip+files+on+ipad&l=1 http://lmgtfy.com/?q=extract+zip+files+on+ipad&l=1 http://lmgtfy.com/?q=play+mp3+on+ipad+without+itunes&l=1 http://lmgtfy.com/?q=play+mp3+on+ipad+without+itunes&l=1 Please consider not posting on HN in the future.
      - TheDong 12y ago
        "without itunes" is a pointless constraint that the parent did not have. Searching "transfer mp3 to iphone" will give you hundreds of results telling you how to install iTunes and transfer the mp3s.
      - M4v3R 12y ago
        As I've said above - you can upload the file to iOS device using GoodReader, and it can extract the zip archive as well.
    - HCIdivision17 12y ago
      You'd think it was trivial, but it's shockingly hard to do without using iTunes. For a person who frequents HN, that's extremely unintuitive. And iTunes is terrible, so that solution is out. It took me forever to realize that just because I can kinda-sorta interact with my iPhone as a storage device doesn't mean that it's even remotely going to actually behave as one. The whole process is infuriating if you go in expecting it to be simple (which, given it's an iPhone, one might reasonably expect). Try to find an obvious way to put an mp3 on an iPhone without some odd middleware software; some of the software looks sketchy - and/or has a cost, and a many suggestions are to just use Google Play or Amazon Music. I also like the Winamp plugin from 2010, as well. That sort of list is pretty much the opposite of trivial. I mean, if it was drag-and-drop, sure, but this that ain't. Personally? I ended up just uploading my music to Amazon and use their app. It's less infuriating than the Music app on the stock iPhone.
  - artmageddon 12y ago
    Most of the ways I can think of pretty much involve iTunes for syncing the audiobook to your device. It's the one thing I can't stand about being an iDevice user. Another way to do it though might be to upload it to DropBox, open it from there, then maybe try to save it in your phone somehow?
  - nevi-me 12y ago
    There's Android for that* * [I know I'm not being helpful, but I couldn't resist. Haven't tried doing that on my iPhone when I had one, but pretty easy to move stuff around on Android or other OS'es]
    - lostgame 12y ago
      Yeah. Let me know when GarageBand runs on an Android and I'll buy one in half a second. I require that app to compose on the go and open my projects in Logic Pro afterwards. It's absolutely the most critical part of my workflow. Composing on the subway, to open files later in Logic and make them into full-blown musical pieces? It's literally what sold me on the platform. Oh. Wait. GarageBand is, and always will be, iOS/Mac OS only. Guess I can't use Android. But then, as a musician, what breaks my workflow more than not being able to simply download MP3's onto my device? It makes me want to bang my head against a wall.
  - M4v3R 12y ago
    As others said - canonical way is to use iTunes. Another way is to use app like GoodReader, which has a file system of its own, you can create folders, and you can download files from websites/URLs to them. GoodReader can not only store and organize your files, but it also opens all the popular formats in the app (PDFs, images, MP3s, etc.).
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
    - walterbell 12y ago
      GoodReader can also sync files via an iOS web server, and open-standard SSH (sftp) and WebDAV, not just the usual cloud storage vendors.
  - motdiem 12y ago
    I download those to dropbox, then either sync them in the dropbox app, or use an app like goodreader or eddy (there are others), which can play from a dropbox folder
  - imaginenore 12y ago
    CopyTrans Manager (free)
drivingmenuts 12y ago
I don't know about iPad-killer, but finally something worth checking out.
- moosey 12y ago
  Agreed. I don't think will have a iAnything killer until other companies step up their marketing in a big way. Apple is a marketing behemoth.
TelmoMenezes 12y ago
What's the difference between a "price point" and a "price"?
zghst 12y ago
The iPad is a lifestyle device, whereas the Surface is a productivity device. The iPad Air 2 is deathly thin and a bit lighter. It is also much much more simpler, has many more (interesting) applications tailored just iPad, where as using the Surface as a tablet is more iffy (ms's app store is filled with garbage and tons of rip offs and clones). When it comes to consumer purchases, play always wins over work. It's Microsoft's job to market this tablet to the masses, so the productivity angle is not very persuasive.
higherpurpose 12y ago
Really? You don't think it's overpriced?

Wow, at that price point and feature set, I think Microsoft finally has something that can plausibly be considered an iPad-killer.

by ykl 12y ago

Wow, at that price point and feature set, I think Microsoft finally has something that can plausibly be considered an iPad-killer.

lostgame 12y ago

When I can actually download an MP3 from my browser and open it on my iPad I'll consider using it as an actual thing again. Until then? It's not a computer. This is.

freehunter 12y ago
Kind of off topic, but related: I recently bought an audio book from Humble Bundle and have been trying to figure out how to put it on my iPhone.I don't listen to audio books at home, only in the car or while I'm walking. Anyone know how to easily download an audiobook from Humble Bundle and put it on an iPhone to listen to later?
- vanderZwan 12y ago
  I don't have an iPad, but perhaps you could download it on your laptop in a Dropbox folder (or a similar service), and then open it in the Dropbox app using something like VLC? That's how I use my Android tablet, at least.
  - HCIdivision17 12y ago
    I had tried that in the past, and it didn't quite work well. I'd bet that it's been updated to integrate better, though. Could be a pretty good solution if you're used to using Dropbox.
- stonemetal 12y ago
  If I am not mistaken what they give you is a huge MP3. You need to download it, import it to iTunes, and put it on your phone just like you would any other MP3.
  - semi-extrinsic 12y ago
    Wouldn't it just be magical if you could download any file to your phone without needing a computer? Because that's what my $180 (without a contract) Moto G allows me to do.
- wlesieutre 12y ago
  The "easy" thing to do is to download it to your computer and sync it through iTunes. As far as 3rd party audiobook player solutions, no idea. Maybe there's one that can download it, or maybe they're all tied in to their own audiobook stores. That seems to be the trend these days :(
- TheDong 12y ago
  No it's not related. HN is not your tech support forum. Especially not for trivially google-able issues.
  - freehunter 12y ago
    It's not trivial. They give me 50 mp3s in a zip folder. The guy was talking about troubles downloading an mp3 to an iOS device. Please, feel free to send me a LMGTFY that has a result showing how to open a zip file of mp3s on an iOS device without having iTunes on a desktop.
    - tinco 12y ago
      http://lmgtfy.com/?q=extract+zip+files+on+ipad&l=1 http://lmgtfy.com/?q=extract+zip+files+on+ipad&l=1 http://lmgtfy.com/?q=play+mp3+on+ipad+without+itunes&l=1 http://lmgtfy.com/?q=play+mp3+on+ipad+without+itunes&l=1 Please consider not posting on HN in the future.
    - TheDong 12y ago
      "without itunes" is a pointless constraint that the parent did not have. Searching "transfer mp3 to iphone" will give you hundreds of results telling you how to install iTunes and transfer the mp3s.
    - M4v3R 12y ago
      As I've said above - you can upload the file to iOS device using GoodReader, and it can extract the zip archive as well.
  - HCIdivision17 12y ago
    You'd think it was trivial, but it's shockingly hard to do without using iTunes. For a person who frequents HN, that's extremely unintuitive. And iTunes is terrible, so that solution is out. It took me forever to realize that just because I can kinda-sorta interact with my iPhone as a storage device doesn't mean that it's even remotely going to actually behave as one. The whole process is infuriating if you go in expecting it to be simple (which, given it's an iPhone, one might reasonably expect). Try to find an obvious way to put an mp3 on an iPhone without some odd middleware software; some of the software looks sketchy - and/or has a cost, and a many suggestions are to just use Google Play or Amazon Music. I also like the Winamp plugin from 2010, as well. That sort of list is pretty much the opposite of trivial. I mean, if it was drag-and-drop, sure, but this that ain't. Personally? I ended up just uploading my music to Amazon and use their app. It's less infuriating than the Music app on the stock iPhone.
- artmageddon 12y ago
  Most of the ways I can think of pretty much involve iTunes for syncing the audiobook to your device. It's the one thing I can't stand about being an iDevice user. Another way to do it though might be to upload it to DropBox, open it from there, then maybe try to save it in your phone somehow?
- nevi-me 12y ago
  There's Android for that* * [I know I'm not being helpful, but I couldn't resist. Haven't tried doing that on my iPhone when I had one, but pretty easy to move stuff around on Android or other OS'es]
  - lostgame 12y ago
    Yeah. Let me know when GarageBand runs on an Android and I'll buy one in half a second. I require that app to compose on the go and open my projects in Logic Pro afterwards. It's absolutely the most critical part of my workflow. Composing on the subway, to open files later in Logic and make them into full-blown musical pieces? It's literally what sold me on the platform. Oh. Wait. GarageBand is, and always will be, iOS/Mac OS only. Guess I can't use Android. But then, as a musician, what breaks my workflow more than not being able to simply download MP3's onto my device? It makes me want to bang my head against a wall.
- M4v3R 12y ago
  As others said - canonical way is to use iTunes. Another way is to use app like GoodReader, which has a file system of its own, you can create folders, and you can download files from websites/URLs to them. GoodReader can not only store and organize your files, but it also opens all the popular formats in the app (PDFs, images, MP3s, etc.).
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - walterbell 12y ago
    GoodReader can also sync files via an iOS web server, and open-standard SSH (sftp) and WebDAV, not just the usual cloud storage vendors.
- motdiem 12y ago
  I download those to dropbox, then either sync them in the dropbox app, or use an app like goodreader or eddy (there are others), which can play from a dropbox folder
- imaginenore 12y ago
  CopyTrans Manager (free)

drivingmenuts 12y ago

I don't know about iPad-killer, but finally something worth checking out.

moosey 12y ago
Agreed. I don't think will have a iAnything killer until other companies step up their marketing in a big way. Apple is a marketing behemoth.

TelmoMenezes 12y ago

What's the difference between a "price point" and a "price"?

zghst 12y ago

The iPad is a lifestyle device, whereas the Surface is a productivity device. The iPad Air 2 is deathly thin and a bit lighter. It is also much much more simpler, has many more (interesting) applications tailored just iPad, where as using the Surface as a tablet is more iffy (ms's app store is filled with garbage and tons of rip offs and clones). When it comes to consumer purchases, play always wins over work. It's Microsoft's job to market this tablet to the masses, so the productivity angle is not very persuasive.

higherpurpose 12y ago

Really? You don't think it's overpriced?