Blackb13 at Slick Deals:
Posting from my mobile so bare with me. Verizon stores in the midwest area (chicago) have the first generation ipads on sale. No need for contract. Prices start at $299.99 for the 16GB.
This has been later confirmed. All corporate owned Verizon stores are offering the original WiFi-only iPads at steep discounts: the 16GB WiFi-only iPad 1 is $299. This is a fantastic deal and is better than the refurbished price from Apple by $50.
Brian Chen at Wired:
Indeed, it turns out that a tablet needn’t do everything that a more powerful PC can, according to multiple research studies on iPad usage. Rather, the tablet’s main appeal lies in the approachable touchscreen interface that just about anybody at any age can pick up and figure out.
I think there have been many smart people who have already written much about what I am about to say, but I will say it again since large organizations like Wired still don’t seem to get it. It is not just the approachable touchscreen interface. It is the hardware, the UI, the software, the App Store, and every little detail that no one else thinks about but Apple all combined that makes the iPad an iPad. Forget research studies. Just give an iPad to a two-year old, and watch.
Katherine Noyes at PC World via Daring Fireball:
Yet strong sales are backing up the hype–at least for now–suggesting something about the devices has caught on with consumers.
What is that mysterious “something”? Purely marketing, I believe. Apple is nothing if not master of the glitzy sales pitch, and there’s never been better proof of that than the iPad’s current success.
Mark my words: The device–and all the others of its ilk that have sprung up for a piece of the action–are nothing more than a passing fad, at least in the mainstream.
Today’s mainstream iPad users are nothing but lemmings who have succumbed to the all-powerful marketing geniuses at Apple. All 15 million. Yeah, right.
Bertrand Serlet on Microsoft’s Vista:
If you can’t innovate I guess you just imitate but it is never quite as good as the original.
Unless you’re Apple. Apple ripped off Xerox PARC’s original GUI concept, innovated, and commercialized a GUI-based operating system for the masses. For round two, Apple bought Steve Jobs’ NeXTSTEP operating system (actually the entire NeXT company), made it prettier, and renamed it OS X. Apple then, all by itself, birthed iOS.
CrunchGear: The LG G-Slate is an 8.9-inch Honeycomb tablet that is 3D capable, meaning you can record in 3D and view in 3D. The G-Slate connects to T-Mobile’s 4G network with a US$529.99 price after a $100 mail-in-rebate. You’re also chained to a two-year agreement. If you’re going after the iPad 2 might as well go all the way. My recommendation? Reduce the price to $499.99 out the door without a mail-in-rebate and get rid of the two-year leash.
RIM:
The BlackBerry PlayBook with Wi-Fi will be available in three models and will feature a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) starting at $499 in the United States and Canada.
The BlackBerry PlayBook matches the $499 price of the iPad 2 and will be available at AT&T, Best Buy, RadioShack, Sprint, Verizon, you name it. Unfortunately the 7-inch LCD is limited to just 1024×600 pixels, though resolution wise it is a better-than-iPad 2 169.6 ppi. Available on April 19th.
Toshiba: The DisplayLink-powered Toshiba 14-inch USB Mobile LCD Monitor sports a 16:9 aspect ratio and a 1366×768 pixel format. Although Toshiba thinks this portable monitor is lightweight I think it is rather portly at 2.8 lbs. But you don’t have to carry an AC power adapter since power is sent via the USB connection. Other specs include: 16ms response time, 400:1 contrast ratio, up to 220 nits (when using the optional AC adapter), and 256K colors. What these specs tell me is that the Toshiba 14-inch USB Mobile LCD Monitor is at best mediocre. Price: US$199.99
What I would like to see is a really thin and light 9.7-inch USB mobile LCD monitor with IPS and 1024×768. To connect it to my iPhone 4.
Samsung announced its Galaxy Tab 8.9 and the slightly larger 10.1. Both are very thin at just 8.6 mm, which is amazingly thinner than the iPad 2 (8.8 mm). If you’ve been reading reviews of the iPad 2 one of the features most talked about is how thin it is. Well Samsung beat Apple at its own game when it comes to making tablets thin.
Not only that these two are lighter, too. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 is 470 grams. The larger 10.1 weighs 595 grams. The iPad 2? 601 grams.
The iPad 2 is stuck at 3G. Both the Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1 are moving on and connects to 4G networks, great for data-hungry users that want things to download and upload faster. Recent speed test results show Verizon’s LTE to be fast, faster than most people’s home DSL connection.
The cameras are better, too. There is a three megapixel on the back and a two megapixel on the front. Much better than what the iPad 2 has: single megapixel on the back and a 640×480 up front.
But there are some bumps. First, these second-generation tablets from Samsung continue with wide aspect ratio displays: 16:10. Not exactly 16:9, which would be perfect for HD content, but better for watching HD content than an iPad or iPad 2. So how would watching HD on these Galaxy Tabs be? If you’re an Adobe Flash Player fan, then you’d be disappointed. The most recent version is 10.2 and “fairly jerky” and “series of images” is how Sean Hollister describes his experience using the Motorola Xoom. On the other hand if you’re the type to rip your DVDs and encode them into lean video files the movie watching experience on these Samsung PLS LCDs should be pretty cool. PLS stands for Plane to Line Switching and Samsung claims PLS is brighter, cheaper, and sports better viewing angles than IPS. If this turns out to be true, these Galaxy Tabs even have better displays than the iPad 2.
Then there’s the price. The 16GB WiFi-only Galaxy Tab 8.9 is US$469 and $499 for the 10.1. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be available June 8th while the smaller 8.9 is expected in early summer. The iPad 2 has got some competition.
The iPad 2 is the same iPad. It’s just better in every conceivable way.
That sums it up nicely.
Everyday is an iPhone app that creates self-portrait time-lapse videos. You could take hundreds per day if you can’t wait or you can wait to see how you’ve changed over hundreds of days. Very cool.
DisplayBlog is written and produced by Jin Kim. Subscribe via RSS.