Apple iPad for Techies and Regular Users

Get, Slate, Go - I

This is a sort of second coming that ageing film-stars and out-of-work models would long for. The tablet was an all-but-dead product category, one that never really got off the ground sales-wise, despite the big push from Microsoft way back in 2002. But with the iPad, Apple's wiped the slate clean, opening up the flood gates for a slew of contenders that promise to revitalize an almost obsolete form factor, or to say, completely change the way we interact with our computers. Here's a small peek at what on the cards in 2010.

HP Slate :

Squint a little, and you could easily confuse the HP Slate with the Apple iPad. With a similar sleek profile and a large 8.9 inch capacitive display, it almost is. But it runs on the touch-enabled Windows 7 platform. Along with the netbook specs, it supports Flash and has got multi-tasking capabilities which the iPad lacks. It also packs in 2 built-in cameras (front and back) along with video recording. Looks like HP has all he iPad's bases covered, and then some more.

Notion Ink Adam :

Here's one from my country, India. Notion Ink, a small Indian start-up is talking big with the Adam. This Android based slate not only boasts of a sleek design, but also of the 1 GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 chip that acts both as a chip and a graphics card, allowing you to playback videos at 1080p on the 10 onch display. The real genius is he Pixel Qi screen which can switch from backlit LCD mode for web browsing to a low-power electrophoretic reflective mode for power saving (16 hours) and becomes easier on the eyes.

Fusion Garage JooJoo :
This is from the Singapore-based Fusion garage. Other than iPad, JooJoo is the only other slate that is commercially available at the moment. With a 12 inch screen this Intel Atom/Nvidia ion powered tablet promises full Flash HD and a decent interface over the custom Linux platform. But it misses out in many things - No Apps, no multi-tasking, no e-books and a 5 hour battery life.

More models to come in the next post.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Apple iPad for Techies and Regular Users

Posted by Sourav 4:56 AM

" In 10 years of reviewing tech products for The New York Times, I've never seen a product as polarising as Apple's iPad, which arrives in US stores on Saturday. ", thus goes the saying of David Pogue, the product reviewer for The New York Times News service.

As I have already mentioned in my previous post about the hype that the iPad has created, it is now evident from the above mentioned quote that the iPad has attracted comments from all kinds of people, some 'for' it and some 'against' it.

So here I am going to divide the pros and cons of the Apple iPad as per user reviews from various sources. Let’s have a look at the cons first :

i) The Apple iPad is basically a gigantic iPod Touch.

ii) There’s an e-book reader app, but with 60,000 titles for now, there’s not much to select from.

iii) Reading in direct sunlight is poor, and at around 1.5 pounds, the iPad gets heavy in the hand after a while.

iv) When the iPad is upright, typing on the on-screen keyboard is a horrible experience, and when its turned 90 degrees the keyboard is just about usable. A keyboard dock will be available later, but then the user needs to carry two pieces.

v) The iPad cannot play flash videos. Even though Apple has already provided a list of “iPad-ready” sites like the CNN and some other, but still flash is the web’s most popular video format.

vi) No USB ports, no camera. That means no more Skype video chat.

That’s enough for the negative points. Now let’s look at the pros :

i) The bigger size of the multi-touch screen changes the whole experience. Maps become real, paper like maps.

ii) The e-book reader is filled with endearing grace notes. On turning a page, the animated page edge follows the finger position and curls, just like a real page. Tapping a word gives its dictionary definition or the option to look it up on Google or Wiki.

iii) Apple products are all about apps. The 150000 existing iPhone apps will run on the iPad, either in actual size or doubled to fill the screen. But the real fun will be with the apps made specially for the iPad.

iv) The battery life is excellent. According to Apple, the iPad can play video continuously for 10 hours, but reviews have confirmed that its more than 10 hours...thats almost 4 times of a portable DVD player.

v) Finally, the best thing about the iPad is that, it will give a whole new experience to the users.

The iPad will be available in the stores from 3 April, Saturday.