On Sunday night, I walked out of an Apple reseller empty handed, even though they had stock for the 16Gb 3G + Wifi model.
You see, my biggest gripe about the iPad is that I really don’t need one.
(We can discuss all we can about the differences between needs and wants but that’s for another blog altogether)
I have my iPhone so when I’m mobile, I have the ability to check my tweets, reply emails and do most of what the iPad can.
I seldom carry a bag so my iPad would stay indoors most of the time.
I have my Macbook Pro at home so if I need to surf the web or stalk people on facebook, I have a tool to do that anywhere in the house.
I read but right now, physical books offer a much greater selection of titles compared to what you can find on iTunes SG store.
So yes, I’ll be waiting for the next generation iPad because as it is, the hardware specs are already slightly behind the new iPhone 4, which has double the memory of the iPad at 512MB. The iPad has a 1024×768 pixels resolution across a 9.7 inch screen while an iPhone 4 sports a 960×640 pixels resolution screen across a 3.5 inch screen. That’s about 132 pixels per inch for iPad vs 326 pixels per inch for iPhone 4.
The specs is one thing but pricing is another. Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t really justify it’s price tag for something I don’t need. which ranges from S$728 to $1,228 depending on which model you pick up. And as with all Apple products, every generation tends to get slightly cheaper. So if my crystal ball (recently renamed as Paul) is accurate, we should see the next generation iPad to be slightly cheaper and with better hardware specs. While I’m wishing, I might as well wish that it’ll have a thinner bezel around the screen and perhaps, a camera + Facetime app and a reduction in weight.
But having said that, I know there’s many of you who have bought an iPad. Did it live up to your expectations? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
Actually Apple’s usual practice is to bump up specs but keep the pricepoint the same, i.e. it’s not true that prices go down over time (unless the US dollar drops). But you do feel you get ‘more’ because of the improved specs.
And yeah, if you stick with the Singapore version of the iTunes store, then there’s a lack of content compared to the US store, although it’s fairly trivial to get onto the US store instead. Plus from Singapore you can still use the US Kindle store, which has an even larger (but not as pretty) selection of e-books than the iBooks store.
Generation to generation, the price point is more/less similar so I do agree that we should be looking at a pretty similar price point. But over a few generations, we should see a bigger difference. For example, the first gen iPod (10GB) retailed for US$499 and many gens later, the current iPod Classic (160GB) is going for US$249. A lot of factors come into play – cost of parts etc.
But I completely agree with you, because the iPad is not-so-compelling for me now, it’s perceived as too expensive for me. Any added features and improvements in the next gen *might* alleviate that.
Yes, it lived up to my expectations and more. I like the fact that it is “instant-on”. Laptop still take a long time to boot-up, IMO. I used it to read my DC, Marvel, Image comics. I used to buy comics trade paperbacks but I’m running out of physical space to store them. I also used it to read New York Times online while I sip my morning coffee.
I also read books and that’s one of the many reasons I bought iPad. The longer I delay, the more physical books I’ll continue to buy. Now, my first choice will be to buy eBooks using iBook or Kindle app.
However, it definitely can lose some weight, 150g of it! :)
Great! I must say the comics app looks really good and I’ve read rave reviews about it.
Interesting you mentioned the weight. Do you feel that the weight gets to you after prolonged reading?
Yeah, the current weight does make my wrist feel strained and tired after a while. I can put up with it but I wished it was lighter and I don’t even feel it like how I don’t feel the weight of a book. I’m comparing its weight to Kindle DX which I don’t think many has complained so far. Kindle DX is lighter by 150 grams.