iPad 2

[lelisa13p]

Sir! I'm not patronizing in the least. Seriously! Ask anybody.

My post was intended in the most good-natured of moods. Didn't you see my smilies? I'm just not intense about my feelings regarding the topic because I don't use my iPad for the types of file/photo/film transfers that you mention. Heavy lifting gets done on my laptop. I have an intense & casual-use love affair with my iPad and don't ask it to perform large tasks because I don't have to. Others may have different goals and I respect that.

I forgot to mention that I frequently share pix taken with my iPhone to my iPad using Bump. My sister & BIL, my son & I share pix that way, too.

Please don't assume any snark or attitude on my part because there was certainly none intended whatsoever. I'm very friendly.

[rkevwill]

One can't expect the ipad to equal the flexibility of a decent laptop. In the next couple of years, sure, now, nope. Perhaps those that need more capabilities should look to the 11 inch air. Thats exactly why I don't have an iPad, because my portable needs are equivalent to the 13 inch Air. I don't expect an iPad to be able to do the things I need.

[Varjak]

One can't expect the ipad to equal the flexibility of a decent laptop. In the next couple of years, sure, now, nope. Perhaps those that need more capabilities should look to the 11 inch air. Thats exactly why I don't have an iPad, because my portable needs are equivalent to the 13 inch Air. I don't expect an iPad to be able to do the things I need.

But the point is, that it could be much more of a substitute with technology available today. Remember, out of the box, the iPad didn't at first support full Bluetooth for things like keyboards. This isn't a result of bad engineering or oversights; but deliberate obstructionism.

[rkevwill]

Then don't buy one, simple as that! Of course the technology is available today, but if you don't like what the product offers, why buy one then complain about its limitations! Thats exactly why I don't have one. That also is exactly why I intend to get one for my (much) older sister. It suits her needs much more than a PC or mac does.

[Green Loontern]

There's also the question of cost.

Best Buy is selling the iPad for CDN $550 and up, while two aisles over I can get a Compaq Presario 15.6" laptop for $350.

And although the Compaq has few bells-and-whistles, it still does so much more than the iPad.

Don't get me wrong; I love tablets and will certainly buy one -- but only once the price start matching the performance.

[Hook]

There's also the question of cost.

Best Buy is selling the iPad for CDN $550 and up, while two aisles over I can get a Compaq Presario 15.6" laptop for $350.

And although the Compaq has few bells-and-whistles, it still does so much more than the iPad.

Don't get me wrong; I love tablets and will certainly buy one -- but only once the price start matching the performance.

I'm really not an Apple defender (iTunes is no longer allowed on my computers), but this just seems like a curious argument. I paid US $525 for my HTC Nexus One. Should I have gotten the Compaq instead? No, because I wasn't looking for a hot, heavy hunk of metal to sit on my lap. Did I get my money's worth-- well, while I have put this to a debate elsewhere, yes, at the time I did.

Apple has always designed, marketed and charged for their devices as premium devices. Part of how they control the user experience is-- well, they control the user experience. Nothing has suggested that this is a bad strategy for them. Why ever would you expect the price of an iPad to come down? (Though, actually, their refurbs are quite good, I hear).

Comparing Apple to Compaq just seems like comparing Apples to ... well, you get the idea.

[Varjak]

Then don't buy one, simple as that! Of course the technology is available today, but if you don't like what the product offers, why buy one then complain about its limitations! Thats exactly why I don't have one. That also is exactly why I intend to get one for my (much) older sister. It suits her needs much more than a PC or mac does.

1. I haven't.

2. You're being deliberately obtuse and missing the point. We're not talking about things that are unlikely to be accommodated in a tablet (say a super-powerful CPU, huge amount of memory, hard drive, SSD, etc.). We're talking about things that ARE ALREADY part of some tablets. This isn't a complaint that I can't edit my $200 million movie on an iPad. This is a complaint about Apple's MARKETING idiosyncrasies, not their engineering; because we all know that a card slot and a full BT stack are/were not unreasonable. or would DLNA and a real HDMI port. For the BT stack, Apple came around, as they have with card slots for their laptops.

[lelisa13p]

Ugh. This discussion is becoming tedious.

I don't tell Apple what to make and they don't tell me I have to buy it. I buy if I like. And so far (2+ years) I like my iPhones and iPad.

I'm outta here.

[Green Loontern]

I hear you. In fact I have been an Apple fanboy in the past, and am still prone to bursts of Jobs-worship. (Case in point: I'll go on record as saying my iPhone is the best phone/music player/pocket computing device I have ever owned!)

So when I discovered a need for a mid-sized portable device that would let me surf and e-mail and run a few apps wirelessly from the bottom of my garden, the iPad was a contender.

But in the end, I just couldn't justify its cost versus a basic laptop that does the same things (and more).

I'm fully aware that I settled for an SUV when I could have had a sport coup.

(Edited to add

And I should mention that I don't expect Apple to drop the price of iPads. I DO expect other tablet manufacturers to eventually realize that their real market opportunity lies in dropping theirs. I'll just have to wait for that, though.

[Varjak]

Lelisa, that's hardly a useful comment. If you followed the advice you're suggesting for buying tech, you'd have just not participated anymore. Because YOU think it's tedious, hardly makes it so.

And yes, you DO tell them what to make by what you buy. And the whole purpose of something like BH and other tech sites and publications is to provide feedback. While Apple is a special case (they hardly respond to feedback of any kind); it does work for other tech things.

I find it so amusing that standing up for one's position, based on reasonable facts (that others can disagree with); creates such a furor. If you only knew how much BS I let go by without comment (as I'm sure others do too).