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Viewing 25 posts - 1 through 25 (of 49 total)
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  • #1254563
    Timothy Reynolds
    BPL Member

    @magrenell

    Locale: New England

    Okay. So. Jobs is still on stage giving his spiel about the now-know-to-be-call iPad.

    It's suddenly struck me, though, that at 1.5lbs, a month of standby time and 10 hours of battery life, accelerometer (potential compass use) and possibly GPS, this thing might have some potential for map/navigation out in the field.

    Whaddaya think? Any discussion?

    Tim.

    #1566792
    Brett Peugh
    BPL Member

    @bpeugh

    Locale: Midwest

    How are you going to protect what is basically a baseless LCD screen?

    #1566794
    EndoftheTrail
    BPL Member

    @ben2world-2

    What I think?

    v1.0 – potential
    v2.0 – truly usable but still darn expensive
    v3.0 – OK maybe time to make a move
    v 4-7 – OK, still thinking about it (but gotta get a cell phone first)
    v8.0 – woohoo, got the iPad! :)

    #1566801
    Rick Dreher
    BPL Member

    @halfturbo

    Locale: Northernish California

    Finally! A gps screen I can read. What, no camera?
    Would also make a fine stove platform for snow camping and possibly a center pole platform for a teepee pitched on soft ground.

    Cheers,

    Rick

    #1566805
    Bradley Danyluk
    BPL Member

    @dasbin

    Just bring iphone + AA charger pack, and you have all of the above in a much, much smaller / lighter package. And a real compass on the 3GS.

    #1566806
    Timothy Reynolds
    BPL Member

    @magrenell

    Locale: New England

    Yep. I feel ya.

    It might even double as a sitting pad. But seriously, I don't think this is quite ready for putting in packs, though I do think it has potential, down the line, as a catch-all nav tool/gps device.

    #1566814
    Rick Dreher
    BPL Member

    @halfturbo

    Locale: Northernish California

    I agree that there's likely a big-screen convergence device in our future and I picture it having a flexible OLED screen and very compact, efficient electronics.

    This Apple thing will certainly put a dent in Kindle sales, even at the rather spectacular prices for the WIFI-3G iterations. As Apple has long taught us, the early adapters take the financial hit for the rest of us.

    Cheers,

    Rick

    #1566827
    Justin McMinn
    Member

    @akajut

    Locale: Central Oklahoma

    Maybe it could be a frame sheet for your pack???

    It is basically an big iPod Touch with GPS and digital compass. It wouldn't really offer a compelling reason to have extra weight.

    #1566829
    Lucas Boyer
    BPL Member

    @jhawkwx

    Locale: 38.97˚N, 95.26˚W

    The only thing it's good for is reading BPL at the airport or work, while wishing I was in the backcountry and not tethered to some electronic gadget. Wait….that's what I"m doing right now on my perfectly functional Macbook. Back to more important things….

    #1566841
    Roger Caffin
    BPL Member

    @rcaffin

    Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

    > at 1.5lbs … this thing might have some potential for map/navigation out in the field.
    Hum – vs map and compass at 1 oz total?

    Cheers

    #1566855
    drowning in spam
    Member

    @leaftye

    Locale: SoCal

    Hmm, iPad with limited capabilities, or Fujitsu u820 that has a keyboard, touchscreen, more pixels, similar battery life (I bet I would get 12+), runs any application (Mapsource, Basecamp, Streets & Trips, Acrobat, Firefox, Office 2007), has 120 gigs hard drive, has multiple wireless options, built-in camera, weighs 1.53 lbs with extended battery (1.34 lbs with regular battery), costs the same or less without strings attached if you know where to shop, smaller (a big plus for me)…..tough decision! Haha! Still though, I'm glad Apple is doing it even if it doesn't exactly make sense yet. Enough Apple fanbois will spend the money to push the technology for these types of computers along at a faster pace.

    #1566895
    Sam Haraldson
    BPL Member

    @sharalds

    Locale: Gallatin Range

    The Fujitsu u820 looks an awful lot like a machine from Apple's Powerbook 100 series (ca. 1991).

    #1566900
    EndoftheTrail
    BPL Member

    @ben2world-2

    > Hum – vs map and compass at 1 oz total?

    If after adding the 1.5lbs — we are still well within our "comfort weight" — meaning we can still hike all day, every day without really feeling the weight on our shoulders — then why not? Same goes for adding a novel — if it gives us reading pleasure at camp without adding pain to our hike. YMMV, of course.

    For me, I doubt I would carry this on hikes out into the wilds, but I can definitely see potential for future world travels.

    #1566901
    JR Redding
    Member

    @grinchmt

    The 32gb Archos5 Internet tablet is 8 ounces, runs on Google's Android, has longer battery life, same GPS capabilities, has a silicone protector available and is $389.00 – At 5 inches the touch screen keyboard is just big enough to actually use properly.

    I think there will be alot of tablet activity over the coming year and we'll see prices drop drastically in the fall.

    As for Apple's Ipad..It's not that much different than what other manufacturers are already doing, or previously announced they would do in Q1 and Q2 2010.

    Seriously, I've seen alot of you guys complain about a 2 lb backpack but you're considering a 1.5 pound Ipad?

    #1566963
    Miguel Arboleda
    BPL Member

    @butuki

    Locale: Kanto Plain, Japan

    I have been waiting for an Apple tablet for more than 12 years! What Apple finally did come out with is exactly what I wanted, something lighter than a laptop, but bigger than an iPhone, something that can hold enough books that I don't have to carry around all that weight (English language paperbacks, for some unfathomable reason, have grown huge over the years!) when traveling and backpacking (though I still prefer reading real books), something that allows me, as an illustrator and sketcher, to be out there with a reasonably-sized screen and do hand-drawings that, again, don't take up a lot of space and weigh a ton the way sketchbooks do and allows me to have a great variety of media, rather than just a pen, pencil, and small case of watercolors (here again I prefer real paper, pens, and media when I don't have to worry about weight and space, but the Brushes app that you can already get for the iPhone, but will come standard with the iPad, is a fantastic drawing and painting app, plus I don't have to worry about my paper buckling in damp weather or ink running, and I can draw while on my back on a bumpy train or car), something that allows me to keep a journal, both handwritten and with a keyboard, something that would allow me to download my hundreds of photos and free up my camera memory, something that would allow me to both carry my original maps that I planned a trip with but also download more along the way, plus be much easier to read than the iPhone, and finally, as someone who has to schlepp around a MacBook Pro for work everyday it would be a lifesaver for my back to have one of these as a sort of go-between my laptop at home and laptop at work, plus would be great for client meetings to show my artwork and portfolio without actually carrying a portfolio or a laptop. Just what I've been asking for for years!

    As any serious Mac user knows, this is a dream come true!

    #1566965
    Jeff Eberhard
    Member

    @eberjef

    Locale: Bay Area

    Check out the video of hands-on with the iPad at the end of this link:

    http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/apple-ipad-first-hands-on/

    I wouldn't take this backpacking, but I have to marvel at the combination of user interface and speed. When you can manipulate a device with quick gestures and have near instantaneous response, it starts to look like sci-fi. It's a step toward the clunkiness of technology disappearing.

    It reminds me of the tech in "Minority Report" (without the creepiness of Tom Cruise, as a bonus).

    #1566970
    BlackHatGuy
    Spectator

    @sleeping

    Locale: The Cascades

    "What Apple finally did come out with is exactly what I wanted"

    +1! Maybe more!

    I'll be one of those early adopter fanboys that will allow the rest of you to get one cheaper later on! And gladly so!

    #1566976
    drowning in spam
    Member

    @leaftye

    Locale: SoCal

    You're 7 years too late to be an early adopter.

    Here's what Apple claims they invented:

    Except I was using it back when it was really invented by a company called Compaq which was later purchased by HP.

    #1566983
    BlackHatGuy
    Spectator

    @sleeping

    Locale: The Cascades

    Whatever. Before the Tablet PC was the Newton. Before that was something else. It's all evolution. I don't really see Apple saying they 'invented' the iPad. They are calling it a 'revolutionary' device, which is the same marketing hype all companies do. It's a great evolution though, in my very own personal opinion. My only choice now is whether to get the 3G version or the wi-fi only version!

    And FWIW, I owed a Compaq computer years and years ago, and before that a Hyundai 8088! How many folks know that Hyundai made personal computers! Did my first programming on a 'faceless' computer, where you typed in your program and it punched it out on 'ticker tape,' which you then fed back through to run your program! Text appeared on the yellow paper in front of you. Ah, those were the days!

    #1566985
    EndoftheTrail
    BPL Member

    @ben2world-2

    To put it all in perspective, Al Gore invented the Internet. So there.

    OK, carry on…

    #1566986
    drowning in spam
    Member

    @leaftye

    Locale: SoCal

    Talk of the iPad doesn't belong here anyway. Now the iPad UL, err, the iPhone….that may fit.

    And no, the Newton and tabletpc are nowhere near the same, although the comparison between the Newton and iPad might be a good one if the iPad was any good as a handwriting tool.

    #1566999
    Bill (L.Dog) Garlinghouse
    BPL Member

    @wjghouse

    Locale: Western Michigan

    I'm excited about it … Well, I'm excited about the rumor that there will be a smaller version about the size of the smaller Kindle.

    A book reader with a color screen
    A web browser
    A nearly full-sized keyboard
    A bunch of apps

    How cool would it be to have all the guidbooks for a particular thru-hike? To be able to keep a journal and upload it to a blog/web page/Facebook/BPL? Be able to browse topo maps? Pull into a place with wi-fi and catch up on email? Take as many books as you want? Listen to music?

    I'd want it to be light enough, when coupled with a proper protective sleeve (cuban fiber) to make this a realistic option. We'll see…

    #1567002
    Miguel Arboleda
    BPL Member

    @butuki

    Locale: Kanto Plain, Japan

    You're 7 years too late to be an early adopter.

    Ah, but I did say I was waiting for an Apple tablet. I was fully aware of the Campaq tablet and considered it at the time, but first, it was too big and heavy, second, and this is a BIG consideration for me, it was loaded up with Windows, which I, most especially at that time, did not and still do not consider a proper OS. I can't tell you the headaches and days of frustration I had trying to keep the Windows system running smoothly, without the absurd worrying about viruses and constant hangups. I never even considered getting a machine that involved Windows and still won't today.

    As to the iPad not being suitable for the G-Spot forum, well, I have an iPhone and while I love it and use it everyday, for just about everything, including travel and walking, I just don't consider it a serious tool for the things I spelled out above. I don't need another smart phone, I need something that will let me do work and hobbies in the field without weighing a ton and yet also being big enough to actually get some work done. Ever tried to write an essay or lengthy journal report on an iPhone? The iPad is the only computer-like device I've ever seen that does just that (I did used to love my Psion 5mx, but it was plagued with problems, and the netbooks that are so popular today just don't cut it). It certainly does fit here in the G-Spot forum!

    It's not the first tablet (back in 1990 I used a Cambridge Z88), but it's certainly the most up-to-date, most accessible, most feature-rich, and has an absolutely huge number of apps to choose from.

    #1567003
    Brett Peugh
    BPL Member

    @bpeugh

    Locale: Midwest

    Personally I will just keep my 2.4GHz MacBook that I made out of spare parts. What I have to ask though, am I going to have to fix these at work? Thankfully we don't do iPods or iPhones.

    #1567010
    drowning in spam
    Member

    @leaftye

    Locale: SoCal

    Ah, but I did say I was waiting for an Apple tablet. I was fully aware of the Campaq tablet and considered it at the time, but first, it was too big and heavy, second, and this is a BIG consideration for me, it was loaded up with Windows, which I, most especially at that time, did not and still do not consider a proper OS. I can't tell you the headaches and days of frustration I had trying to keep the Windows system running smoothly, without the absurd worrying about viruses and constant hangups. I never even considered getting a machine that involved Windows and still won't today.

    At least admit a bias. A proper OS? The iPad doesn't even have a full OS. I can understand if you don't want a Windows OS because you can't get it to run properly. Some people don't think about the changes they make, open attachments thoughtlessly, ignore all sorts of warnings, or install crappy software and blame it on Microsoft or keep silent if the same thing happens on a Mac. I've never had a virus, not in 15 years of continuous Microsoft OS computing, and only recently started using a non-free anti-virus program. I do agree that it's absurd to worry about them when it's so easy to prevent.

    Still though, I think it's ridiculous that Apple installed a hack OS instead of the real deal. They took something that could've been extremely useful and chose to make it an oversized iPhone instead. I guess that could be nice in 30-40 years when I lack the dexterity and eyesight to use a regular iPhone.

    If they really want to make this thing usable, they'll add a real OS and a wacom dual digitizer. The first will make it a proper ebook reader. The second will make it a real tabletpc. That's something I'd consider if they sold it around the $1000 mark….IF, the tabletpc software companies ported their products or suitable alternatives became available. I simply have no need for this extremely limited product, not when there's something that better in so many ways. It's a start, but it's still a generation or two from catching up with its competitors.

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