Coolest Toy Ever Until We Get Daemon-style Augmented Reality Glasses*
Apple iPad MB292LL/A Tablet (16GB, Wifi)
Received a 32 GB model as a Father’s Day present. While I am not sure if the iPad will ignite a social revolution, as Howard Bloom does, or further diminish our ability to read for a sustained period of time, as does William Deresiewicz, the iPad is an absolutely remarkable mobile Web 2.0 device. Is it flawless? No. But give Steven Jobs credit as an intuitive psychologist, the man connected Web 2.0 and the potential of infinite app innovation with the fundamental human sense of the tactile and delivered it up to the masses. That’s Edisonian capitalism.
Shloky likes it too.
* Daemon refers to the novel by Daniel Suarez , where a renegade Ai program, “the Daemon” orchestrates and serves a darknet of human agents partly through the medium of augmented reality technology.
July 8th, 2010 at 5:12 am
I considered buying it two months ago, when it first came out. Here is why I didn’t. Please tell me if I’m wrong.
1. The keyboard is too small to create or do any significant editing to documents.
2. It is not convenient to use while walking (unlike an iPhone)
3. It is not useful for many tasks that make an iPhone useful (taking pictures, using GPS, talking, or texting).
4. It is ideal for someone who spends lots of times in airports and on flights (not me, anymore, thankfully)
July 8th, 2010 at 5:48 am
Hi Schmedlap,
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I myself was a skeptic before I was given one.
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1. Yes. But you can use a wireless keyboard with an iPad.
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2. Yes.
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3. There are many GPS apps available and the screen is bigger than an iPhone- Google Earth is better on an iPad than a PC. Agree that a camera function should be added.
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4. Yes. for the traveller it is ideal. I have my Kindle and Nook archive stored on it, can download programs etc. Going to see in September if I can can sync it to my work’s intranet so as to run presentations to the LCD projector wirelessly.
July 8th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
I have been thinking about getting either or kindle or an iPad to use for newspapers, magazines, and reference books (I need to de-clutter). I know the Kindle is much cheaper. Are all of the extra on the iPad worth it? Also, how is the kindle reader on the iPad?
July 8th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
Awesome sci-fi tech comparison.
July 9th, 2010 at 3:50 am
Hi Purpleslog,
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If you have an iPad you effectively have a kindle as you can add the kindle app for free now. Adding newspapers to kindle is a subscription fee while you can read them by surfing on iPad. Kindle has really good magazine subscription prices for mags like The Atlantic and Foreign Affairs. It really comes down to cost – the iPad is a computer and the Kindle is a reader at (now) a reasonable price.
July 9th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
I hate spending money. I really am a cheap SOB. Books are what I splurge on normally. I am on a bit of a spending spree right now (you’re welcome America): Car repairs, new mattress set, and I have a new computer purchase (my old PC is dying) coming in the week. Maybe I should just buy the iPad and be done with it!