Seriously??? - Jan 27th, '10
*THUD*
That's the sound of Apple's new tablet dropping like a rock. It's an iPhone that's too big. That's it. Nothing special. Nothing new. For people with a cool laptop and a smartphone this is just a third device they'd need to carry that replicates functions the other two already do well. So why carry it? And if you want to only carry one divice, the new tablet doesn't do phone calls, so........
Major dud.
13 Comments
Comments:
Just like you never got caught in the iphone lovefest (though I notice you do love your droid) you also never had an ipod. I've had one (in one form or another) ever since they've come out (about a year or so after release when I could afford one). I've watched as they helped transform (not alone of course) the way music has become portable, not to mention podcasts. Today most of what I listen to on my ipod is free. And I never did find another portable device to carry my music around on that I liked as well as my ipod - and yes, I did try 2 other systems/gadgets. Not impressed.
So the tablet is shiney and new and yes, terribly expensive. It's also joining the rank of a LOT of other ebook readers. There are those of us who yes, still read books, as well as online magazine and newspaper articles. The online stuff tends to keep me stuck in my computer chair, and not in perhaps a more comfortable place. Yes I have a laptop - but it's big and heavy, as I'd always planned to use it as a second screen and not as anything portable. If anything I look at my my old Mac Powerbook and wish I could somehow update it - it's light and its 10inch plus size is still extremely portable.
What's important for ebook readers is going to be the ability to keep copies of their books - in case of a hard drive crash, and Apple insuring that they won't be punished for choosing Apple - meaning that they'll be able to read their purchases on other systems. I did see the word "open source reader" bandied about - I'll have to see that in action though.
Like any New Hotness with Apple the truth always comes in the next 6 months. What are the bugs? What's practical, what's not? And the fact that there were multiple ebook readers that just came out at CES is something I'm pleased about - competition is always going to mean better quality down the road. The trick is NOT to be an early adopter (for all that that has been fun with the droid, in the long run it's more practical to wait), and to wait and buy the tech once it's gotten all the kinks worked out.
I'm going to want an ebook reader. But I don't know if I'll want this one. I certainly don't want any of them NOW. I'm going to wait and see the reviews, and then watch them over the next year. And also of course, wait for the prices to go down. Look how few months passes before Apple dropped the prices on the iphone back in day. Will be interesting to see how soon this product gets a price cut.
Also - you do remember which one of us has vast stacks of books right? Just because I haven't read Homor or Ovid recently doesn't mean I won't reread them - but my, how nice it'd be to not have to worry about shelf space for them. Especially since many of those classics are available free online (though perhaps not a translation I like, there's the rub.).
have you tried to read a book on your Droid -
That's what I get for trying to multitask.
And while this is sexy, it still doesn't do things it should. In a few years everyone will be making tablets that make the iPad look like a cheap toy.
This would sense if we spend all our time on the road, but we don't. And a new device just to read in bed may be a bit too much lazy luxery in 2010.
Luxury yes, lazy no.
You take all the books I bought as an undergrad, as a masters, and then in my phd. I've not read all of them. And I sure as hell am not getting rid of some of them til I've finished them. Plus I'll never get $80 back on some of them - and spending so much money on books was painful. Not to mention CARRYING the things around campus, ugh, especially on those campuses where I had no car.
For me now, yes a tablet would be a luxury -though also a space saver. I do think many book lovers will see it as a way to read more without worrying about where to put the books. There are a lot of books I don't get simply because 1) I'm cheap and 2) I know I don't have room - and so I work on rereading what I have.
Where this will really change things will be the current generation of students and academia. They honestly need something like this. And hopefully there will be fewer who have to pay for those $80 texts. (And I had it easy, chem and bio students had much pricier reading lists.)
For the average folk, like me - nope, it's not a necessity. For the people who read books as part of their job? This is going to be helpful. The equivalent of getting a calculator that could do sine and cosine - I was required to get one of those in high school trig class. Made my life a lot easier. But that was high tech stuff back in the 80s, and not all parents were convinced they should be required. That seems quaint now.
(Also I couldn't use said calculator to find sine or cosine to save my life now, I only remember being able to do it back then. Sad.)
Again, I'm not cheering anyone to go out and buy this now. I'm just happy that the tech is starting to focus on this area. And hey, go early adopters. They're the ones that make the tech folk build more stuff. I'm happy not to be an early adopter, but definitely know that I benefit from their purchases.
So I'm already using my computer as an e-reader, and have been for years. Eventually I'll fire up my old Mac and see if I can't get Adobe Reader downloaded on it.
My point isn't that people shouldn't read books.
When the iPhone first came it out the big sell for it was that it'd marry your music and your phone. Only later did it turn into the App Store and the gaming platform - and that's what sells it most today.
I'm still seeing all this as the Version 1 material. In the next 6 months we'll see the ereaders that are better come up with Version 2. In the past I'd have given it more time - but tech advances much faster now. And yes, I think you're right - it'll be a combination laptop and ereader. But the laptop's got to get a lot more lightweight. Mine's like lifting a truck - I didn't buy it for weight.
Oh no, I didn't think you were saying that - didn't mean to imply that. I was thinking more in the "this is going to be more of an everyday tool than a luxury item." But you're right, at the moment yes, it's a luxury item, and my worry is that all of the gadgets will tank because this is hardly the economy to try and introduce a new luxury item into. Unless somehow the reader can be shown to have practical applications - like for students - and money saving ability - like discounted newspaper subscriptions and book sales. Besides of course saving trees, and that sort of thing.
If Apple is smart it'll go about this in the way that it got a good foundation in the college markets - by giving student discounts and hooking up all the textbook makers.
To add your comment, click here.
|