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First round of iPad reviews are in

By | March 31, 2010, 8:49pm PDT

Summary: The first round of iPad reviews hit the intertubes tonight. Great bed time reading.

You don’t have to wait until Saturday. The first round of iPad reviews are in.

Wall Mossberg (WSJ) - “After spending hours and hours with it, I believe this beautiful new touch-screen device from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly, and to challenge the primacy of the laptop. It could even help, eventually, to propel the finger-driven, multitouch user interface ahead of the mouse-driven interface that has prevailed for decades.”

David Pogue (NYTimes) - a) from his “techie” review: “The bottom line is that you can get a laptop for much less money — with a full keyboard, DVD drive, U.S.B. jacks, camera-card slot, camera, the works. Besides: If you’ve already got a laptop and a smartphone, who’s going to carry around a third machine”

b) his “everyone else” review: “The iPad is so fast and light, the multitouch screen so bright and responsive, the software so easy to navigate, that it really does qualify as a new category of gadget. Some have suggested that it might make a good goof-proof computer for technophobes, the aged and the young; they’re absolutely right.”

Ed Baig (USA Today) - “The first iPad is a winner. It stacks up as a formidable electronic-reader rival for Amazon’s Kindle. It gives portable game machines from Nintendo and Sony a run for their money. At the very least, the iPad will likely drum up mass-market interest in tablet computing in ways that longtime tablet visionary and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates could only dream of.”

Andy Ihnatko (Chicago Sun Times) - “What happens when computer designers lets go of every instinct that’s hardwired into their DNA, and starts practically from scratch? They create the iPad. The iPad user experience is instantly compelling and elegant. It’s not every computer and every function. It’s a computer that’s designed for speed, mobility, and tactile interaction above all other considerations.” Plus Andy’s posted a 7 minute unboxing video on his YouTube account.

Happy reading!

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Round, Review, Construction, Jason D. O'Grady

Jason O'Grady is a journalist and author specializing in mobile technology. He has published six books on Apple and mobile gadgets and his PowerPage blog has been publishing for over 15 years.

Disclosure

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady is the creator and editor of O'Grady's PowerPage, which has been publishing mobile technology news since 1995. He maintains an advertising relationship with the following legacy advertisers on the PowerPage:

  • Amazon Associates
  • Google Adsense
  • Tekserve

    • Advertising on the PowerPage is brokered by a third-party agency (BackBeat Media) and he recuses himself from these negotiations.

Biography

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady developed an affinity for Apple computers after using the original Lisa, and this affinity turned into a bona-fide obsession when he got the original 128 KB Macintosh in 1984.

He started writing one of the first Web sites about Apple (O'Grady's PowerPage) in 1995 and is considered to be one of the fathers of blogging. He has been a frequent speaker at the Macworld Expo conference and a member of the conference faculty. He also co-founded the first dedicated PowerBook User Group (PPUG) in the United States.

After winning a major legal battle with Apple in 2006, he set the precedent that independent journalists are entitled to the same protections under the First Amendment as members of the mainstream media.

O'Grady is the author of The Nexus One Pocket Guide, The Droid Pocket Guide, The Google Phone Pocket Guide, and The Garmin nuvi Pocket Guide (Peachpit Press), the author of Corporations That Changed the World: Apple Inc. (Greenwood Press), and a contributor to The Mac Bible (Peachpit Press). In addition, he has contributed to numerous Mac publications over the years, including MacWEEK, Macworld, and MacPower (Japan).

When he's not writing about Apple for ZDNet at The Apple Core, he enjoys spending time with his family in New Jersey.

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They Are All Over eBay.
Fetrow 5th Apr 2010
And I cannot believe the prices.
View in thread
0 Votes
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Apple's marketing $$$ hard at work
NonZealot 31st Mar 2010
and paying dividends I see!! Kudos!!!
0 Votes
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Nah - it's free marketing...
TheWerewolf 1st Apr 2010
These guys couldn't say something bad about an Apple product if their lives depended on it.

Heck, Mossberg did a review of the iPod Shuffle 2 that literally included Apple clips to illustrate points.
0 Votes
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Yeah but I wonder.....
dave95. Updated - 1st Apr 2010
I wonder if these guys were wrong on their early iPhone reviews (or early iPod reviews)? Wonder if NonZ in 2007 passed those reviews off as just marketing also?
0 Votes
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Broken Record...
webmaster@... 1st Apr 2010
My good grief you are boring...
0 Votes
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Ya think...
still not nice 1st Apr 2010
...he's dissuaded anyone from buying Apple?

wink
0 Votes
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The very same marketing and attention linux distrubutors would love to have
andrej770 1st Apr 2010
But of course there is no product worthy enough of all this type attention. LOL Flame on! Flame off! (like the clapper)
0 Votes
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Should have seem the big hooha they made of it on ABC
John Zern Updated - 1st Apr 2010
(ABC is owned by Disney). Sitting on a Red cloth covered stand, covered by a black, silk scarf.

The only thing missing was a bottle of champaigne.

Though I did chuckle when the one comentator called it a "big Iphone without the phone" then she stopped herself, while the other one dismissed the comment as "Isn't it beautiful...", or something along those lines happy
0 Votes
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Said the Zealot...
RealNonZealot 1st Apr 2010
...that also dissed the iPhone before it completely changed the industry.

Ah, the blindness of zealotry.
0 Votes
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Ah NZ, blindsided once again by Apple.
CowLauncher 1st Apr 2010
Maybe you should consider retiring from the zealot biz. You are not very
good at it...sorry. You have resorted to taking potshots from the bell
tower out of sheer frustration.

How many times can you be so wrong and still maintain some cred...even
on ZDNet which isn't exactly a bastion of rational analysis or even
original ideas?
0 Votes
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Message has been deleted.
yobtaf Updated - 1st Apr 2010
0 Votes
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Reality a bit hard for you to digest?
ewelch 1st Apr 2010
Sheesh, no matter how good something might be there are people who
will discount it simply because reality is too painful for them.
0 Votes
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Apple's attention to detail pays off.
Bruizer 31st Mar 2010
MS has never understood what makes a good device. They
throw in every feature they think of because 0.1% of the
people might actually use it. In trying to make a device
everyone wants, they end up with a device most don't
really like.

The iPad really does a good job of understanding the
target audience and creating a good device that many (but
not all) will really like using.

Featuritis kings won't like it because it might not maybe
one day in the future not do something because it did not
include some feature.

Oh well.
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Past tense...
Sleeper Service 1st Apr 2010
I think MS are very aware of what it takes to make a good product these days. Took them long enough though.

I've no interest in the iPad myself but can totally see why it would appeal to certain market segments. The big question is if it's going to appeal to enough of the market to be a mass market success or a niche product.

Time will tell.
0 Votes
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WP7S is a step I'm the right direction
Bruizer 1st Apr 2010
MS is doing better starting with Win 7. Time will tell if this is a luck thing or an
actual change at the coporate level.
0 Votes
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RE: Attention to detail
branchman67 1st Apr 2010
Exactly. Like USB ports, who uses those anyway? I guarantee that versions 2 and 3 of this thing will have to put in a few features that weren't in this one.
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Err...
Sleeper Service 1st Apr 2010
USB ports are used to connect just about anything that doesn't rely on Apple's branded solution.

I guess you could just buy an adapter if you wanted to use a Logitech keyboard, right?
0 Votes
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On reflection...
IT_User 1st Apr 2010
What do you plug into a portable device?

Sure I use usb ports on this desktop, but I also carry a laptop and haven't found occasion to carry additional stuff to plug into it. Sorta defies the notion of "portable."
0 Votes
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A mouse. CF Card reader.
Bruizer 1st Apr 2010
That is what I use my USB ports for on my laptop.

Mouse not needed with a touch designed interface.

CF card reader is available.
0 Votes
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USB Ports
dhays 1st Apr 2010
What about file exchange? Surely not everything you need is on either machine. Some files it would be nice to have anywhere.
0 Votes
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Nope.
Bruizer 1st Apr 2010
File exchange is 99% through network connections. Have not used a USB
key in 2-3 months.
0 Votes
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Agreed
oncall 1st Apr 2010
If your goal is to make a truly portable personal media-consumption device, you really should not need "plugs" of various kinds. IMHO Apple was right to dump all the plugs even if it costs them sales. Sure, adding a USB port might have gotten a few dozen more sales, I really doubt it though. OTOH Apple would never be able to get rid of those plugs once they put them there. Nope, best to cut them on day 1 and endure the whining up front and be done with it.
0 Votes
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For example....
Economister 1st Apr 2010
The iPad could be an excellent viewing/storage device for photos and videos in the field. With no USB port and no SD card slot, I guess the iPad cannot be used for that.

I guess it could be used to store additional music if you have a very small, light MP3 player. No?

I guess it could be used to share photos with grandma. She does not have BT or WiFi? No?

I guess it could be used to share material with your friends that is not copyrighted? No?

Correct me if I am wrong, but the lack of USB/SD ports/slots would significantly reduce the usefulness of the device to me.
0 Votes
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Camera Connection for $30
Carrie Johnson 1st Apr 2010
Yeah, you can use it for photos... check here:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC531ZM/A?mco=MTcyMTgxODg

It's an extra $30 -- or think of it as a $30 rebate if it's not something
you'd use...

What I'm wondering about is if that "camera" USB connector would allow
me to use a CF card reader or other non-powered (or maybe even
powered) USB device...
0 Votes
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You really are an idiot.
Bruizer 1st Apr 2010
The iPad could be an excellent viewing/storage device for photos
and videos in the field. With no USB port and no SD card slot, I guess
the iPad cannot be used for that.

Then get the Camera adapter. If you knew anything about technology,
you would already know that all iPods and iPhones have USB
connectivity.

I guess it could be used to store additional music if you have a very
small, light MP3 player. No?

It is already an MP3 Player.

I guess it could be used to share photos with grandma. She does not
have BT or WiFi? No?

It does have a thing called email with the 3G unit. If not, send her the
email and next time you have a WiFi connection, out it goes and it is
shared. You can also show her the images on a nice big screen.

I guess it could be used to share material with your friends that is
not copyrighted? No?

Why not? It has email. Get RBrowser for it.

Correct me if I am wrong, but the lack of USB/SD ports/slots would
significantly reduce the usefulness of the device to me.

Yep, you are 100% wrong on all accounts. While their are those people
that see only a single way of doing things, there are generally several
ways to skin the cat.
0 Votes
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I bet it never ever changes.
Bruizer 1st Apr 2010
I hear PCs still come with DB-25 RS-232C ports and still have text only
graphics.

Of course version 2 will improve on version 1. Thanks for stating the intuitivly
obvious.
0 Votes
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USB? WHY?
Fetrow 5th Apr 2010
The docking cable actually IS USB, but that isn't the point.

Why do you need USB? To print? Of course not. Get on your network
and print via WiFi.

Keyboard? Apple addresses this through a docking keyboard.

A mouse? I think the touch screen covers it, but maybe not for some.

Reader for memory cards? They do provide this as a docking
accessory.

Size is a real issue, and I am sure they will refine it. I would be signed
up for the 3G version if it wouldn't make my wife go nutz. I don't
want the 3G for the data, but for the GPS.

NOW that is something to complain about. You have to get 3G to get
GPS. $130 extra for GPS is a bit hard to swallow. I can buy a very nice
GPS for much less than that, but it won't have the huge screen.
0 Votes
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"... understanding the target audience ..."
Palmetto_CharlieSpencer 1st Apr 2010
Okay, so what's that target audience? Is the corporate workplace part of it?
0 Votes
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Clearly consumers...
webmaster@... 1st Apr 2010
Apple have been predominantly about consumer devices for a while now.
The corporate market obviously just isn't a lucrative as the consumer
market. there is nothing wrong with that. Consumers have largely been
ignored over corporates for while by the other big manufactures.
0 Votes
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You need to look at it to figure it out
Bruizer Updated - 1st Apr 2010
The problem with tech people is they have serious issue with seeing
tech NOT through their own mindset. They realy think a device should
be all things to all people at all times. To do this, you end up with a
Jack of all trades and a master of nothing. Tech people are far too
concerned with what a device cannot do and not with what a device
can do as well as how. Likewise tech people actually enjoy a learning
curve; it provides challange. They fail to recognize most people just
want to use a device. Feature phones still far out number smart
phones and most people still use a phone for nothing more than
making phone calls and texting.

So armed with that, what is the target audiance?
0 Votes
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Beats me.
Palmetto_CharlieSpencer Updated - 1st Apr 2010
That's why I'm asking. As to my needing to look at it to figure it out, I don't have one to look at.

As a consumer, I'm not into electronics. I don't care about downloading or streaming media, game consoles, connecting my TV to anything other than the DVD and cable, etc. I don't own a cell phone or a laptop. I don't participate in social media. I'm aware of the capabilities of these devices, but they don't fill any needs in my consumer life.

So far, the iPad looks like a consumer device to me. If that's its market, I can ignore it. If it does have a corporate use, then I may need to pay attention to it. I've already made those determinations about most of the technologies I listed above. I'm trying to determine how much attention, if any, the iPad warrants from me in my professional life.

You may be trying to help, but guessing games don't answer my questions.
0 Votes
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So, do you think everyone is like you?
Bruizer 1st Apr 2010
I would think most people are not living out in Montana cabins
without cell phones and laptops. There is almost 1 cell phone is the
US for every single man, woman and child so you are not the average
consumer to not use a cell phone for any personal use.

Most TVs now are connected to the internet (or at least have the
option), DVD players can stream from Pandora/Netflix. People have
MP3 players. In short, they consume electronics for fun and pleasure,
not just to create spread sheets, technical documents and power-
point presentations.

The iPad is targeted to those HUGE number of people that use tech
simply to enjoy it.
0 Votes
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No, I'm not the average user.
Palmetto_CharlieSpencer Updated - 1st Apr 2010
And I know that. I mention my lack of interest in consumer electronics only to indicate my unfamiliarity with the day-to-day use of those technologies. I know what they're capable of, but nothing about their routine operation, or why Apple products are regarded as superior to their competitors. To me, an iPod is just another media player; an iPad is just another netbook. Since I'm not interested in using a media player or a netbook, I've never researched the advantages of one over the other.

If the iPad is aimed exclusively at the consumer market, then I can ignore it and the attendant buzz. If it can be used in those niche applications currently filled by other tablet products, it may be worth looking at. If it will function as a full-featured laptop, then I may need to look at it much more closely. Right now it doesn't look like an alternative to our existing tablet or laptop models, so I may not need to bother with it at all.

"The iPad is targeted to those HUGE number of people that use tech simply to enjoy it."

Thanks. Now there's an answer that gives me an idea how this will affect my job.
0 Votes
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While targeted at consumers, it may impact your job unexpectedly.
Bruizer 1st Apr 2010
If you do IT, there is no reason not expect some experimentation with
it in corporate worlds. Already, the iPhone has been shown to be a
huge hit in many hospitals as a method to gain fast responses on test
results, client charts and numerous other aspects of health care.
While I don't see the iPad being the carry around device, it could be
the nurses station device.

Already, 70 of the top fortune 100 companies are testing the iPhone in
the enterprise in limited capacity. Both Oracle and Sybase fully
support it. This means the iPad is a drop in replacement with a bigger
screen. Same SDK. Same developer keys. So if you are company
doing enterprise development with the iPhone (and that is a large
number of companies), you are already setup to do iPad work.

The simple fact that these devices do not have all the ports, limit what
the user is allowed to do with them and no user access to file systems,
makes them attractive in many areas.
0 Votes
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Bruizer, thanks. No text.
Palmetto_CharlieSpencer 1st Apr 2010
.
0 Votes
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Wow! What a bore you are!
The Danger is Microsoft 1st Apr 2010
All work and no play makes Palmetto a dull boy.
0 Votes
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Ah, I didn't say I don't play,
Palmetto_CharlieSpencer Updated - 1st Apr 2010
Just not with most e-toys. I do have a cheap .MP3 player I won in a contest, but if it didn't have an FM radio I would have given it away. I've purchased half a dozen games from PopCap, but if you're familiar with their products then you know that puts me in the 'casual' gamer category. I've never been much of a movie viewer, preferring books; the DVD player I referred to earlier is my wife's. Neither she nor I use our landline enough to justify even a minimal cell contract, and just don't care if we're not available for hours or days at a time. I almost never feel the need to access the Internet away from home or work. Social media? Sometimes it looks to me like people are spending more time commenting on their lives than living them. I tried blogging and Twitter and gave them up when I found I got no entertainment from writing about what I enjoy doing, when I could be doing what I enjoy doing.

Fun is where one finds it. I find it gardening, bird watching, and running a fantasy NASCAR league. Oh, and have you heard of a little form of non-electronic entertainment we grown-ups call 'sex'? It may come as a shock, but people did manage to find entertainment before the invention of the integrated circuit.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I want to get in a few innings of stick ball before Little Orphan Annie starts.
0 Votes
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Well said...
Carrie Johnson 1st Apr 2010
Seth Godin would be proud. We on the bleeding edge are almost
certainly not the final target market.
0 Votes
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Corporate and Consumer
aristotle_z 2nd Apr 2010
I don't know if you understand this, assuming you are a tech geek,
but corporate workplace users are interested in one thing. Access to
the information they need in an easy to understand format. They really
don't give a crap how it is delivered to them through technology. It is
the geeks that tend to obsess about specs and programs. To a
business user, programs and just a means to an end. I'm a software
developer who writes in-house software and I've had to learn over the
years to think more like a business user than a geek.

if product teams like Salesforce and Business Objects target the iPad
platform either directly with native apps or indirectly through HTML 5
portals that are iPad friendly, expect iPad sales in business to
explode.
0 Votes
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gvdfgfd
tyuyt 31st Mar 2010
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New era cap $15

Bikini (Ed hardy,polo) $25

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0 Votes
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Less Cumbersome, newer 'Tronics....
VONDRASHEK@... 31st Mar 2010
As keyboard built in & keyboard electronics are better on iPAD, experience simpler ,yet better. when iPAD haa beter models out next mounth & various lower cost models are intro'd at June CES, then ipad should be bigger hit than notebook & lappee'.Developeing Market.

drashek
0 Votes
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I will have to wait a bit longer...
MacNewton 31st Mar 2010
In Canada, we always get your tech stuff later... too bad, love to get my
hands on one, anyone got one for sale, let me know.
0 Votes
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Patience Grasshopper.
Arm A. Geddon 1st Apr 2010
It won't be too long:

http://www.apple.com/ca/ipad/

wink

p.s. Just in time for my birthday. happy
0 Votes
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They Are All Over eBay.
Fetrow 5th Apr 2010
And I cannot believe the prices.
0 Votes
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The first round of reviews are in - from the usual Apple Shills...
TheWerewolf 1st Apr 2010
Let's check back in two weeks.
0 Votes
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PC magazine: iPad : Editors Choice. 4.5 out of 5. nt
Davewrite 1st Apr 2010
nt
0 Votes
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Bizarre: NYT, WSJ, USAToday, 3 biggest papers in US all apple shills
Davewrite Updated - 1st Apr 2010
The WSJ, NYT, USAToday are the three biggest papers in US by
circulation.

weird: all Apple shills.

Why is that I wonder?

And lots of people must trust them to buy their papers no?
0 Votes
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Sounds like anyone that doesn't have your opinion is wrong! hmmm
andrej770 1st Apr 2010
Sounds like a certain political party in Washington I heard of that uses a capital R. LOL They ususally resort to name calling too. I know, I know you may not be one of them. But, my grandma used to always say, if it looks like a duck, acts like a duck....well....you know the rest! LOL
0 Votes
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RE: Opinions
branchman67 1st Apr 2010
1) Opinions are like a**holes, everyone's got one

2) Let's not forget about the political party with a capital D, who not only thinks anyone with a different opinion is wrong, but also tells you "You'll learn to like our opinion". And, of course, they'd never resort to name calling. Like calling a president a Nazi, or a fascist, or a baby killer. Only parties with a capital R call people names, not parties with a capital D, heavens no.
  • Flagged
0 Votes
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Wrong blog (both) (nt)
Economister 1st Apr 2010
nt
0 Votes
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Quack Quack
dhays 1st Apr 2010
The other party with a big D is just as down on those who do not agree, resorting to name calling, investigations, coercion, etc.
As for the ipad, Kindle, etc., personally don't see a need for one, I prefer books on paper. I subscribe to several digital magazines, even PC Magazine for a while until they dropped half of their issues and kept the price as is and went digital only. I look at these trade magazines for articles of interest, keeping them for now, but won't forever like a real book that can be touched. This type of unit would be best used for books taht are no longer in print and someone has digitized them to bring them back to the mainstream, then maybe we would talk turkey.
  • Flagged

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