Modern Buddy

Who bought one? Anyone know a someone who did?

I'd love to have one, but being a poor and jobless college student doesnt help. Maybe in a year or two when a better second/third generation model is out with better features.

I dreamed I bought an iPad... (sigh). Hope to do it for real soon.

don't buy into the initial release hype... wait for the next revision.

un_designer wrote:don't buy into the initial release hype... wait for the next revision.

I've been watching apple product patterns years and have noiticed one major factor in each revision is always hard drive space. In ipods and their macs they have always increased the minimum to be larger than the previous year's storage capacity.

I can see the 16GB iPad will probably be 32GB within a year or two in the second/third generation. I dont see much they could improve upon, maybe a thinner body or better battery life, but as far as hardware, I dont expect a camera being tossed in or anything special.

jfrost2 wrote:

un_designer wrote:don't buy into the initial release hype... wait for the next revision.

I've been watching apple product patterns years and have noiticed one major factor in each revision is always hard drive space. In ipods and their macs they have always increased the minimum to be larger than the previous year's storage capacity.

I can see the 16GB iPad will probably be 32GB within a year or two in the second/third generation. I dont see much they could improve upon, maybe a thinner body or better battery life, but as far as hardware, I dont expect a camera being tossed in or anything special.

The extra hard drive space with each revision probably also has a lot to do with how quickly prices fall for memory and how much more they're packing into smaller enclosures without needing huge boosts in power and so on.

I got the iPhone when it was initially released. I'd no inkling then of how it would grow into an indispensible tool and lifestyle accessory. I think the iPad has a similar potential.

Still, not getting one yet. Getting the first iPhone meant that I had to wait far too long to upgrade to a 3GS. I'm just not ready for the iPad commitment… yet…

I just got an iTouch. I hear Verizon will be getting the iPhone this summer...maybe next year I'll get an iPhone. I can definately see how useful it could be!

Why bother when for less than 10% of the cost you could get one of these?

Personally, the only "I-" product that would appeal to me would be the I-gnore.

Features:

- Ultra-compact size
- No WiFi capability
- No cellular capability
- No 3rd party apps
- No touch screen (or any screen for that matter)
- 1 speaker
- 1 button (your choice of colors), that when pressed, recites the phrase
"Go away and leave me the *&%@^! alone" (your choice of languages).

Except for my forays into MB, I absolutely relish being disconnected from the collective. Solitude is a precious commodity.

I'll preface this with the fact that I'm not much into the cult of Mac, what with being one of those crazy bearded Linux zealots and all, but there are a TON of devices that are nearly identical or can do MORE than the iPad that cost a whole lot less. I wouldn't spend the money. Especially when the iPad runs a stripped down OSX instead of the real thing....

To heck with 1st gen I(item). I'm all for beta testing something, but not if I have to pay full price then watch a new and improved version come out for cheaper right after I buy in.

I'd rather have an ereader (or whatever quitchy tech name they're calling the electronic book viewers these days).

Lostmycage wrote:I'd rather have an ereader (or whatever quitchy tech name they're calling the electronic book viewers these days).

+1 I LOVE my nook, but I'd be really ticked if people kept calling it or if my kid wanted to borrow it to look up movie times. That, I really don't want to be THAT connected.

Have it. Love it.

I'll preface this with saying I am an Apple/Mac addict. I'm also an Apple Certified Macintosh Technician. That being said, I never buy into the first product cycle on anything. Trust me it's hard sometimes. I was in agony for a year and a half before i'd let myself buy an iPhone. I think the iPad is cool. I really think it has potential to become much more than it currently is. For me what it currently is doesn't justify owning it. I'll be looking to see how it develops though. The iPhone, iPod touch, iPad OS is starting to become it's own platform as opposed to just a stripped down OSX. As it matures we may see some exciting stuff.

What? There are people out there who dislike Apple products and grouse about how you can buy something else cheaper? Wow, I never knew!

Here's the thing about all the common criticisms I read about Apple products: Yes, you can often find something else that fulfills a similar role for less money. But that's a purely pragmatic, utilitarian view of the world. For many of us, it's not just what it does but how it does it. The design of Apple products goes beyond aesthetics; it makes it very easy to adapt to them, use them, and make them a part of everyday life. It fosters that odd emotional connection that few people have for an Asus or Dell (but that some people seem to have for a Kindle or Nook). There's a sense and a grace to both the physical objects and the interfaces that most other products lack.

These qualities are important to some of us. They're not as important to others. We want and need different things. So be it.

paige wrote:Have it. Love it.

You can't see me turning green with envy, but I am, I assure you.

djelliott wrote:As it matures we may see some exciting stuff.

We already have! Who'd have thought the iPhone OS we saw at the launch of the original model would become what it is now? I'm attached to my iPhone and use it constantly—though seldom as an actual phone.

ericalm wrote: We already have! Who'd have thought the iPhone OS we saw at the launch of the original model would become what it is now? I'm attached to my iPhone and use it constantly—though seldom as an actual phone.

Oh certainly. But can you imagine how the iPad will push this forward even more? I hear you about the iPhone. I'm always doing something with it, but it's rarely talking on the phone.

Kaos wrote:I'll preface this with the fact that I'm not much into the cult of Mac, what with being one of those crazy bearded Linux zealots and all, but there are a TON of devices that are nearly identical or can do MORE than the iPad that cost a whole lot less. I wouldn't spend the money. Especially when the iPad runs a stripped down OSX instead of the real thing....

I could buy a 99 cent cheeseburger, I could buy a $5 cheeseburger, I could buy a $10 cheeseburger.
They are all food that would keep me from starving to death for one more day.
Each of those cheeseburgers would have pros and cons. Size, quality of ingredients, availability, etc.
At different stages of my life I have chosen each of those cheeseburgers. Today it is the $10 cheeseburger.

paige wrote: I could buy a 99 cent cheeseburger, I could buy a $5 cheeseburger, I could buy a $10 cheeseburger.
They are all food that would keep me from starving to death for one more day.
Each of those cheeseburgers would have pros and cons. Size, quality of ingredients, availability, etc.
At different stages of my life I have chosen each of those cheeseburgers. Today it is the $10 cheeseburger.

[wisecrack]
I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a Cheeseburger today.

-or-

I'm gonna hold out for the Bacon Cheeseburger.

[/done]

paige wrote:

Kaos wrote:I'll preface this with the fact that I'm not much into the cult of Mac, what with being one of those crazy bearded Linux zealots and all, but there are a TON of devices that are nearly identical or can do MORE than the iPad that cost a whole lot less. I wouldn't spend the money. Especially when the iPad runs a stripped down OSX instead of the real thing....

I could buy a 99 cent cheeseburger, I could buy a $5 cheeseburger, I could buy a $10 cheeseburger.
They are all food that would keep me from starving to death for one more day.
Each of those cheeseburgers would have pros and cons. Size, quality of ingredients, availability, etc.
At different stages of my life I have chosen each of those cheeseburgers. Today it is the $10 cheeseburger.

I totally agree with that(And with Eric's comment) The thing I find hard to digest is the fact that I can find things cheaper than can do EXACTLY the same thing in the same or better fashion. As an example. I regularly use an Asus EEEPc. It runs Linux. It does EVERYTHING the Macbook air does with the exception that the Air is slightly faster. Its smaller than the Air. For my uses(And I know many will argue) Linux is far superior to the other OS's. The EEEPc also happens to be cheaper at only $200 vs the Air's $1499.

If you want a Mac, install OSx86 on it. I've run that before on my EEEPc and gotten essentially a tiny little macbook.

I'm not arguing that cheaper == better. After all I bought a Buddy, not a China scoot

I'm arguing that there are devices that offer the same, nearly the same, or MORE features and quality at a much lower price point than Apple.

Am I bashing Apple? No. They're fantastic machines, and they are thoughtfully and beautifully designed. You just pay too much to join the club

lmyers wrote: +1 I LOVE my nook,

I have a Sony eReader and use it constantly. The amazing thing about it is the high contrast display and up to 3 weeks of battery life (yes, that is 3 weeks, not 3 hours). As much as the iPad concept appeals to me, the battery life issue is one that is still waiting to be solved for iPad type devices. Supposedly the E Ink Corp is close to a practical and cost-effective color electrophoretic display. That would be a game changer for me.

Kaos wrote:

paige wrote:

Kaos wrote:I'll preface this with the fact that I'm not much into the cult of Mac, what with being one of those crazy bearded Linux zealots and all, but there are a TON of devices that are nearly identical or can do MORE than the iPad that cost a whole lot less. I wouldn't spend the money. Especially when the iPad runs a stripped down OSX instead of the real thing....

I could buy a 99 cent cheeseburger, I could buy a $5 cheeseburger, I could buy a $10 cheeseburger.
They are all food that would keep me from starving to death for one more day.
Each of those cheeseburgers would have pros and cons. Size, quality of ingredients, availability, etc.
At different stages of my life I have chosen each of those cheeseburgers. Today it is the $10 cheeseburger.

I totally agree with that(And with Eric's comment) The thing I find hard to digest is the fact that I can find things cheaper than can do EXACTLY the same thing in the same or better fashion. As an example. I regularly use an Asus EEEPc. It runs Linux. It does EVERYTHING the Macbook air does with the exception that the Air is slightly faster. Its smaller than the Air. For my uses(And I know many will argue) Linux is far superior to the other OS's. The EEEPc also happens to be cheaper at only $200 vs the Air's $1499.

If you want a Mac, install OSx86 on it. I've run that before on my EEEPc and gotten essentially a tiny little macbook.

I'm not arguing that cheaper == better. After all I bought a Buddy, not a China scoot

I'm arguing that there are devices that offer the same, nearly the same, or MORE features and quality at a much lower price point than Apple.

Am I bashing Apple? No. They're fantastic machines, and they are thoughtfully and beautifully designed. You just pay too much to join the club

The key to your success is Linix. Put Windoze on that thing and it's a brick. I love Linux as well. I have on occasion booted macs to an Ubuntu disk to trouble shoot hardware vs preference issues.

djelliott wrote:

ericalm wrote:We already have! Who'd have thought the iPhone OS we saw at the launch of the original model would become what it is now? I'm attached to my iPhone and use it constantly—though seldom as an actual phone.

Oh certainly. But can you imagine how the iPad will push this forward even more? I hear you about the iPhone. I'm always doing something with it, but it's rarely talking on the phone.

Wait.... I can make phone calls on this thing? I thought "Phone" stood for for "grammophone", and it was just a music player with games and the internet!

i'm also going to pass on the iPad... even though i'm a huge apple fan, the iphone's user-experience has always really annoyed me from the very start. i was close to getting an iPhone several times but could never bring myself to do it because it annoyed me that much.

i have a palm pre, and the webOS's gesture and card navigation is much more to my liking. i went and test drove the iPad the other day, and kept wishing i could use gesture.

that said, i can totally see people like my mom or my dad using it though. in fact, there were a lot of older people at the apple store looking at it and all loving it when i was there. that probably sounds really terrible the way i said it, but i did not mean it to be offensive. i'm just saying that the experience is very ... controlled... and so it works well for people like my parents who wants a prescribed way of doing things. i'm sure that apple will keep iterating and improving, but at this point, the iPad just doesn't seem that appealing yet.

my gf has an I phone I think its funny im sure it will be outdated in one year, and become a getto pad like the blackberry

I want one, but I'm waiting a bit. I have both ipod touch and iphone. I just hope Netflix live streaming will come to touch and iphone real soon.

I use a PC with Apple products which, I guess, makes me bi-computerous.

I started with mp3 players, but I broke them while falling down. Since then, I bought Apple products. I haven't broke one while falling. So, there's my logic on getting ipods.

I'm similar, I use a PC with apple products. I do have a mac with snow leopard 10.6.2 running on it, with a touch pad I feel like I cant multi task as well in OSX as I could in windows 7. Both are amazing operating systems and I love them a lot, but for my main use I'm going to run windows. Plus I need it for gaming since all my games are windows only.

I'm a mac cultist of sorts, but I'm terribly disappointed with the iPad.

The hardware is fine, but the software is crippled. When they unleash this thing's potential, I'll be waiting.

Someone else will likely get there first though.

First, I'm a Mac. I was a PC for a long, long time. When I first picked up a Mac for work, I was absolutely hooked. But, like anything else, it has limits. I know those limits and I'm okay with them.

Someone used the analogy of buying a burger. I sort of think of it like when I researched for five or six months before ultimately deciding on getting new Buddy's. First, a friend of mine bought a Chinese job for $600. To me, it seemed perfect. It rode well. It seemed like great value. Then, I started researching further. I had to have a Vespa, but there was no way I'd pay $4,000+ on a Vespa. I searched Craigslist and saw that I could get a Vespa that had the look I wanted for about $2,500-$3,500. I read nothing bad about Vespas. Then, my girlfriend pointed out the Buddy. It sounded good. Resale was good (in case I didn't get the warm and fuzzy). The more I read, the more I had to have a Buddy. And, it had to be new. I wanted the warranty and I wanted a later generation. So, we bought a new 50 and 150 Int'l. I still dig Vespas (Stellas too), but I'm absolutely happy with my purchase. My buddy has since sold the Chinese scoot, bought a Aprilia Mojito Custom and also bought and rebuilt a Vespa P200E. He has spent more on this three scooters than I've spent on my two and I wouldn't trade them for anything.

It comes down to what you want. If you dig the iPad's features, get one. If you want an HP or some other cool technogadget instead, get that. The winner is the person that gets what he/she wants and it lives up to their expectations.

Oh Sure. There you go, inserting rational thought into what is at it's heart a religious discussion.

Spoilsport.
<grin>

Wow, I must be one of the few folks here who is a total PC. I thought I wanted a mac until I bought one for my wife (fine art photographer) and I absolutely couldn't stand it. She loves it and it seems to work well for her. I ran Linux years ago but couldn't get my network cards configured correctly so I ditched it after awhile (I've heard it's gotten much better though). I run windows, looking forward to a windows 7 upgrade, I have a windows phone and I generally like it much better than the iphones I've played with. Full physical keyboard and great outlook integration for work. Maybe I just don't get the whole apple = awesome thing, maybe you need to be an artist to really apprichiate them and since I only minored in art I just didn't get enough of the mac experience in college for it to rub off on me

As for the ipad, I'll wait for the google version running chrome os or the sea on pc versions that will flood the market in the coming years to decide if I even have a use for such a device.

I do want to say a huge thankyou to the ipad as I absolutely love my nook and I have read a few artilces discussing how the ipad has pushed up the release date of color e-ink displays

I don't buy iCrap. There is better hardware out there.

I'm at a total loss on the iPad. Why would I need an iPad when I've got an iPod / iPhone, and a laptop / desktop? For mobility the iPod touch I use can't be beat (work's got me hooked on the Blackberry - not as fun, but rock solid), so why would I mess that up by making it bigger, but not big enough to match my 17" monitor and 15" laptop screen side by side when I'm stationary?

jasondavis48108 wrote: I do want to say a huge thankyou to the ipad as I absolutely love my nook and I have read a few artilces discussing how the ipad has pushed up the release date of color e-ink displays

Yes please, I'll take one of those!

paikkylee wrote:I'm at a total loss on the iPad. Why would I need an iPad when I've got an iPod / iPhone, and a laptop / desktop? For mobility the iPod touch I use can't be beat (work's got me hooked on the Blackberry - not as fun, but rock solid), so why would I mess that up by making it bigger, but not big enough to match my 17" monitor and 15" laptop screen side by side when I'm stationary?

I'm sorry, isn't the subject of the thread "who bought an iPad", not "who refuses under any circumstances to buy an iPad" or "what kind of crazy person spends their money on that when they could get xyz cheaper"?

Syd wrote:Oh Sure. There you go, inserting rational thought into what is at it's heart a religious discussion.

Spoilsport.
<grin>

I think you're right!! It does feel like a religious issue. Those Mac folk and their crusading ways!!!

Unabashed (OK, I've been bashed) Mac guy here, but I'm not jumping on the FIRST-Adopter bandwagon. I love their stuff, but if you've been a Mac fanatic for any amount of time you know it's the second release that is more solid and great.

I think October is when I'll pony up the cash and get my iPad. It will give me time to iron out how to get a MicroSIM on T-Mobile (as I use on my jailbroken and unlocked iPhone) so I can share the plan.

Right now I spend $80 a month, no contract, for unlimited....

VOICE
WEB
TEXT

Sure beats adding another $29 a month for a data-only plan if I can move the chip back and forth between phones.

*Yes, I know it's only EDGE, but when all phones are LTE in a year it won't matter.

Ooooh, sorry to geek out there. Back to your regularly scheduled iPad ranting.

Jeff

I'm really dissapointed in the immaturity and comments made in this thread. I tried to make it as clean and simple as possible, but as always someone has to bring in the "Mac vs PC" debate and begin ranting about which OS is superior, or why this or that product is utter crap. "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" If you're not interested, please dont spam your hate then.

If you have senseless rants and harsh opinions, keep them to yourself. I really dont want another thread of mine locked because of the arguments and rants others cause because they cant keep their mouthes shut. This is probably the third or fourth time others have ruined my threads and ended up getting locked. This thread was created for a purpose, and I intended for the discussions within to be related and non-aggresive.

You're all adults, now start acting like one.

Now back to the intended purpose of this thread, I have a question I havent been able to answer with my googling. Does the iPad unlimited data plan truly have unlimited data? I know back then with the iphones, ATT were being screwed over because of too much network usage from iphone users so they cut the data to 5GB limit per month. I was curious if they kept the 5GB per month cap. If I ever got an iPad I would probably look into the 250MB per month plan since I only check my email and read blogs, but some blogs are image intensive (failblog.org) and could easily take up the entire limit in a week. Although I know wifi doesnt count in your 3G data plan, so it's not like I'd be surfing the web on 3G all day long everyday.

bpatrick5 wrote:

Syd wrote:Oh Sure. There you go, inserting rational thought into what is at it's heart a religious discussion.

I think you're right!! It does feel like a religious issue. Those _____ folk and their crusading ways!!!

As in any religious war, you'll find people on both sides spouting evangelical dogma, and neither side thinks it's dogma, just "common sense".

jfrost2 wrote:Now back to the intended purpose of this thread, I have a question I havent been able to answer with my googling. Does the iPad unlimited data plan truly have unlimited data?

As far as I understand it, "unlimited" means unlimited.

TVB wrote:

bpatrick5 wrote:

Syd wrote:Oh Sure. There you go, inserting rational thought into what is at it's heart a religious discussion.

I think you're right!! It does feel like a religious issue. Those _____ folk and their crusading ways!!!

As in any religious war, you'll find people on both sides spouting evangelical dogma, and neither side thinks it's dogma, just "common sense".

jfrost2 wrote:Now back to the intended purpose of this thread, I have a question I havent been able to answer with my googling. Does the iPad unlimited data plan truly have unlimited data?

As far as I understand it, "unlimited" means unlimited.

As an engineer at a Telco, let me be the first to say: Unlimited is never unlimited. Most of the cell companies charge for transfer over a couple of GB.

There's always an argument about being on the "leading edge" vs. the "bleeding edge". My company bought 2 because there will always be someone who wants to bring one into the enterprise.

Some of the issues that are coming out, slow wireless, issues with iWorks software, also viewing in bright sunlight (not viewable). I don't see main line software vendors lining up to develop apps for it yet. Whether or not it becomes a useful tool or another useless brick remains to be seen.

For my money, I would buy a Mac Book.

bpatrick5 wrote:

Syd wrote:Oh Sure. There you go, inserting rational thought into what is at it's heart a religious discussion.

Spoilsport.
<grin>

I think you're right!! It does feel like a religious issue. Those pick-your-favorite-platform folk and their crusading ways!!!

TVB has it right. It's not just the Macophiles. The PC faithful are just as bad. Also, I'm sorry Frosty, but starting a thread on one of the Great Questions is just looking for trouble. I think the discussion has been quite calm myself.

Work for an iPad developer, so I got one. Pretty amazing tool so far and that's just with software that was available on the release day. Just having our hands on them is helping us understand how we can improve our software.

I love Adam Engst's line about it being "a blank slate." The device really does disappear, leaving little between you and the app. Snappy, too. Still getting used to the onscreen keyboard tho. Typing a little on the slow side at the moment.

(didn't want my first post here to be an NBR one, but oh well...)

Syd wrote: TVB has it right. It's not just the Macophiles. The PC faithful are just as bad. Also, I'm sorry Frosty, but starting a thread on one of the Great Questions is just looking for trouble. I think the discussion has been quite calm myself.

It's much calmer than a thread about Chinese scooters.

PJP wrote:Work for an iPad developer, so I got one. Pretty amazing tool so far and that's just with software that was available on the release day. Just having our hands on them is helping us understand how we can improve our software.

I love Adam Engst's line about it being "a blank slate." The device really does disappear, leaving little between you and the app. Snappy, too. Still getting used to the onscreen keyboard tho. Typing a little on the slow side at the moment.

(didn't want my first post here to be an NBR one, but oh well...)

So a hot topic sucked you in eh? Might as well fire up a new thread on that fancy-pants Ipad O' yours and introduce yourself properly.

jfrost2 wrote:Now back to the intended purpose of this thread, I have a question I havent been able to answer with my googling. Does the iPad unlimited data plan truly have unlimited data? I know back then with the iphones, ATT were being screwed over because of too much network usage from iphone users so they cut the data to 5GB limit per month. I was curious if they kept the 5GB per month cap. If I ever got an iPad I would probably look into the 250MB per month plan since I only check my email and read blogs, but some blogs are image intensive (failblog.org) and could easily take up the entire limit in a week. Although I know wifi doesnt count in your 3G data plan, so it's not like I'd be surfing the web on 3G all day long everyday.

Read your contract and ask your rep about "unlimited". Other than Sprint's tiny little 4G network, I don't believe any carriers have truly unlimited data. On the positive side, I'm sure there's some sort of App that can track it for you. Also, I'd stay away from the first generation wireless iPad. It'll be buggy. Wait until the second gen hits. That'll probably also be the time when Apple looks to other carrier like Verizon and Sprint. Competition breeds better prices and quality.

Finally got my hands on one today. Kinda like my phone… only bigger… which is exactly what it's supposed to be.

Display is nice. Apps launch faster than on 3gs. Typing actually easier than expected. I didn't check out Pages, unfortunately. Next time.

A little heavier than expected, but not bad.

Book reader is what I want every eBook reader to be like.

I'm eager to design a print product that will also work on iPad. The magazine industry is saved! (Ha, well, probably not…)

I like it and know I'll own one eventually, but it will probably be the next gen model.

bpatrick5 wrote:I don't believe any carriers have truly unlimited data...

Lucky me, I've got unlimited data for $5.95 a month on my T-Mobile happy iPhone. (Ya gotta love having a grandfather contract! ) Really though, I don't use the data connection much as I am always near WiFi.

I think I may wait a while longer.