Apple iPad
Unless you have been comfortably tucked away yesterday reading one of those old fashioned, bound paper things or simply refused to listen to any one of 10,000 different media sources – you probably know that Apple unveiled their latest gizmo today called the iPad. The hype has been building for months and the rumors can finally be squashed.
For photographers, no doubt there will be interest in portfolio displays, book publishing, and access to more tools to share our work. As consumers, some will embrace, some will drool, and of course pundits will take their shots. What I find most amazing is the transformation digital media and tools are shaping the way we communicate and interact with the world around us. Apple presented this as the “gap filler” to fill what is between a device like the iPhone and a full blown computer. Our lives are pelleted with so many data streams, from so many different sources, do we need every little gap filled with yet another device?
The iPad looks like it can do a lot of very cool things – games and movies stand out to me, as well as possible new methods for distributing photographs, and possibly eliminating the piles of magazines I rarely have time to read anyway. I am certainly running out of space for them. I do wonder however, when does it become enough?
I love technology and gadgets, but lately I am finding myself just wanting to sit by a tree in my woods and listen to the birds sing, even if I may need my iPhone to identify them occasionally. 🙂
How do you think this new gadget will fit in with photographers?
I’m aiming to have something written up on it soon. When/if you get one keep me posted. I’m sure I’ll eventually see a post about it here.
BTW I drank the Kool-Aid. Mine arrives on Sat. Did you end up ordering one?
Jim, I am still on the fence – look forward to you writing about your experience with yours.
Well, here’s my two cents. I have an iPhone. My wife has an iPhone. I have an iMac. My wife is using my laptop PC. The laptop PC is dying. She does e-mail, the internet, facebook, games, stuf like that. I’m thinking an iPad for her to use. A Mac Book for me to back up the iMac. And all is well.
I’m not sold either. I’m not a mac guy, but I appreciate how competitive and innovative this company has been. Nothing like this to really propel productivity forward (eventually).
I have to agree with you Mark that the iPad will initially be seen as a way to display one’s photos. And if that is all photographers look at the device as, it’s will be a loss to them (see my detailed thoughts on iPad).
Eventually, I think our world will be filled devices like the iPad. As more and more of what we do on computers moves up to the cloud, will you find your stack of magazines replaced with a stack of iPads?
Personally, I see the lack of a forward facing camera on the iPad the real lost revolutionary feature (think 2 way video chat). But look for a new version in a year that has that camera. I’m looking at this immediately as a cheaper laptop replacement for my wife. Lot to consider in the next two months…lots of changes coming.
Tom, I would agree for many people that are already on device overload. But for some looking for something simpler than a computer, but some of the basic functionality, I can see a good fit.
I spend tons of time looking at monitors, I can’t imagine buying another device to stare at. I’d rather “sit by a tree in my woods and listen to the birds sing”. Instead of investing money in the device, I’ll invest time in that activity.
Still, I welcome another format and market for displaying photography. I see a lot of people reading from a Kindle – now I’m imagining them reading a photographic ebook.
One of the groups I think the iPad will have a great fit with is seniors. Think about how many older people you know that just don’t want to mess with computers. (Perhaps many younger people as well! 🙂 ) With the iPhone OS’s simplicity, this could bring a new demographic into the world of web surfing, email, etc. No hard drives to worry about, viruses (yet?), computer maintenance, etc, etc.
Hi Mark, I think that it was almost impossible to miss the release of this device. So much were all the news channels filled with information about it. I must say that Apple computers are not used rather rarely in Czech Republic and in Europe in general. For me the iPad is a nice device with excellent design, size and weight. That’s all. I can imagine such a device as full multimedia device with possibility to play photos, videos and music, perhaps also some games, with some Office applications. It has this all, I know but still it is Apple which is not very spread here as I wrote. Moreover I would really welcome USB port, perhaps more of them to connect other devices such as keyboard, camera, mouse, additional hard drive aso. Also a memory card reader would be very handy. Last thing is battery life. For such a device I would expect life time at least 20 hours, 10 seems to be really not enough.
So I thank to Apple for this device and I really hope that other manufacturers will take it as inspiration and create more useful device with longer battery life time, higher scalability for similar or even lower price. As it was with the iPhone.
Tomas, I believe Apple intends on releasing an adapter to connect a camera too. I don’t know about the other devices. I hope they will open it up to bluetooth printing.
Probably a good device for people who use an iphone a lot. In the Magic of Thinking Big, David Schwartz said that in history whenever there has been a major technology change, it is those who embrace it that become the “haves” and those who do not that become the “have nots.” I have been doing what I can to implement and learn all of the new media and technology of the internet. However, I am not sure that sitting in front of a computer screen all day and poking away at a small hand-held gadget every extra moment has improved my quality of life. What about family, and yes, listening to the birds or the river, and actually having some quiet time to think and clear the mind? Will we become a society of all-brain and no intuition or awareness, knee-jerk, one-liner spewing know-it-all’s? Has anyone done any studies of the health consequences of staring at various screens all day and letting our limbs atrophy? Besides, the more I learn about the internet, the more I notice a disconnect with real people I know in my life that are not so into it. In 1951, my father, pioneer landscape photographer Philip Hyde, left San Francisco to live in the mountains and get “their glad tidings.” He made a large monetary sacrifice but his life became much richer in all the ways that matter. I suppose everyone needs to determine for herself what her limits will be, when the ‘enough’ has arrived.
This device reminds me of the old Star Trek tricorders – one little handheld device that did absolutely everything you needed. I’m now waiting for Apple to release their iTransporter – now that I would buy!
Since I spend almost half my month living in hotels it intrigues me to be able to carry the ipad rather than my laptop for reading/writing emails and blogs, basically the same thing I use my iphone for. I’m not sure all of what can be done with for photographers other than portfolios, websites and blogs. I’m in agreement with Paul, if Earl doesn’t buy one I probably wont either. 🙂 Maybe Earl can put on a few weekend workshops on using the ipad, write a couple of ebooks, maybe create an app for it. The possibilities are endless.
Yes, … a cool piece/toy to have on hand, but I think that I will wait for the one that has the thickness of a charge card and can be rolled up and stuck inside a tube, … or a coat pocket.
Give me something like that in let’s say, a 13×19 size, something that you can take when you meet up with a client, or even when you are a guest speaker at some camera club meeting.
There goes those digital projectors! 🙂
Michael
Hey Mark,
I think the question of ‘what is enough’ is the critical one – I’m sure the new gadget is wonderful, very convenient, nice, shiny, useful, and great. But this overload of ‘stuff’ is an issue.
Cheers
Carl
Apple always targeting education to solidify future users with their technology and establish a solid foundation of future marketshare. I’m not wowed by the news. 1. The price will drop in 2 months. 2. I have an iPhone. 3. I have s laptop 4. There is nothing revolutionary about it that I can’t get with what I already have.
What it has that other ereaders do not:
– built in app platform
– color
– higher price
I can wait on this. It’s not anything revolutionary. Perhaps in a couple of years when there is actual media to consume in some unique way that calls me I’ll want it. I’m not drinking the Kool-aid just yet.
Hi, Mark –
I’m with Earl – I think there are some exciting possibilities for the iPad. I do find the omission of a camera puzzling, the lack of non-ATT GPS annoying, and the lack of Flash support counterproductive for one of its main stated uses, though. The extra cost of the ATT 3G plans doesn’t compete well with Kindle’s free access, either.
So, despite its many attractive features, I’m not as excited by the iPad as I’d expected to be, and might wait until the next version to see what features they add. However, I’m thinking it might be fun to develop some software for it, and that might push me into buying v1.0.
– Jack
Mark, I was following Apples announcement of the iPad yesterday and while there are a few additional features I would of liked to have seen (web camera, usb port,) overall, I’m excited about the possibilities. This is a device that could shift our methods of access and use of media and information as we know it.
I would be happy to switch my magazine subscriptions to an electronic version on an iPad — I wouldn’t miss those little subscription cards falling out all over the house. Plus, it should be easy to store and quickly search past issues. I already enjoy and using an Amazon Kindle for ebooks, no problem there. Certain newspapers would be attractive for me as well.
Then there’s the games, portable photo portfolios (say that three times fast), research, general browsing, blog reading, etc. that normally would have to be done on a less physically friendly appliance.
For many this will be like the three bears….this one is too big (laptop)…this one is too small (iPod/iPhone)…this one is just right (iPad). 🙂
Then there are the uses and applications that haven’t even been thought of or developed yet — that’s where the excitement begins.
Will I buy one? I’m still on the fence but leaning towards yes.
Earl, I would be disappointed if you didn’t buy one! How else am I supposed to find out about it? 🙂
Another reason to buy one…”Don’t disappoint Paul!” 😉
Oh, in my comment…that should have been “usages” instead of “uses.”