iPad 2 Revealed

Amazing. I can't wait to have one.

If you're seeing this on Facebook, click on the post title to view this video.

So You're Not Impressed by My iPad, But Wanna See Me Draw?

From Retrevo:

According to the Retrevo Gadgetology study using an iPad is lower on the list of things men and women find attractive than even reading a book.

Wow. That infographic pretty much sums up my entire college dating experience. Chicks just don't dig artists. And apparently, they don't dig geeks, either. Who knew?

Luckily, though, I found a Girl who's soft spot is for both artists AND geeks. I found the red-headed Holy Grail. :)

The Galaxy Tab

From the Wall Street Journal:

After seven months of unchallenged prominence, Apple's hot-selling iPad now has its first credible competitor in the nascent market for multitouch consumer tablet computers: the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

The Tab is being introduced over the next week by three major U.S. wireless phone carriers at $400 with a cellular data contract, or at $600 with cellular capability but no contract. The iPad starts at $499 for a Wi-Fi model with no cellular-data capability or contract, and is $629 for the least expensive model with cellular data capability but no contract.

The Tab has a 7-inch screen versus the 9.7-inch display on the iPad. That may seem like a small difference, but the numbers are deceptive, because screen sizes are always described using diagonal measurements. In fact, the actual screen real estate on the Tab is less than half of the iPad's.

I love my ... er - Kristi's iPad. It can get a little heavy when holding it for long periods of time in one hand, but the screen size is perfect by my estimation.

But what makes the iPad simply amazing to me is how quick and smooth it is, and of course how intuitive it is to use. I'm not exaggerating when I say that my two-year-old knows how to use it fluently.

Any competitor to the iPad using a smaller seven-inch screen is going to have an uphill battle in a side-by-side comparison to begin with. But to make up for it, they'd better have a really quick, easy to use operating system. Is Android it? I don't know, but I can't wait to get my hands on one of these to try it out.

SamSung Is Gonna Get Sued

Watching This Made Me Hurt.

Kindle... sort of.

This morning I clicked over to Amazon. On the front page they've always got a huge image of their Kindle reading device front and center. But not this morning.



I can't tell you how mind-blowingly huge that it. It would be like Microsoft pushing Office for Mac on the front page of its website.

The Hackers Are Hacked

From AppleInsider:

Disgruntled at having been characterized as 'malicious' by AT&T, the group of hackers who exploited a hole in the wireless operator's website last week have fired back by accusing both AT&T and Apple of acting irresponsibly in regard to iPad security.

Note to AT&T: Please don't poke the hackers. Nothing good can come of it.

"Tens of millions"

In yesterdays keynote, Steve Jobs went out of his way to say that
Apple would be shipping TENS OF MILLIONS of FaceTime video calling
enabled devices in 2010. And he repeated it.

Folks, I think he was trying to tell us that this fall that the iPod
touch is getting a camera and will have the ability to make video
calls over wifi. Ditto for the ipad next year.

Why does digital cost so much?

From AdAge:

iPad editions and subscription offers for Bonnier siblings Popular Photography and Sound & Vision will arrive later in June, followed by TransWorld Skateboarding and Islands in August.

But consumers who think iPad editions should cost no more than print editions and perhaps should cost less -- given all the money publishers save on paper, printing and distribution -- are going to be disappointed. IPad subscriptions to Popular Science, Popular Photography and Sound & Vision will cost at least twice as much as they do in print.

A year's worth of Popular Science in print, for example, runs you $12 if you order through the magazine's website and $10 if you find it on Amazon. A year on the iPad, however, will cost you $29.95. That's 83¢ a print issue through Amazon, but $2.50 an iPad issue.

Bonnier's subscriptions and pricing strategy will have company fairly shortly. Time Inc. CEO Anne Moore said last week that Time magazine iPad subscriptions are "coming soon." And she didn't sound any more interested in discount pricing than Bonnier. "It's becoming increasingly clear customers will pay for trusted, quality content," she said in remarks at a Time Warner investors day.

Readers won't see it that way, but they'll need to adjust their expectations, said Andrew Degenholtz, president at ValueMags, a magazine-subscription marketer. "They're thinking, 'We're not knocking down any trees, there's no ink being used, and there's no truck being used to deliver it,'" he said. "But there are significant editorial costs, creative costs and research-and-development and production costs," he said.

Bullshit. They're already spending those costs in developing the print edition. The only additional costs they incur are to pay programmers and designers to turn it into a digital edition. And in the case of the Wired magazine app, they're exporting directly from the same original InDesign files that the print version is created with.

I've long wondered why digital downloads aren't significantly cheaper than buying a CD in the store. After all, there are no material costs to buy, no shipping costs, no packaging costs, etc. All that must be done is to create a digital file master for download. Instead of an album costing $10 (or more) on iTunes, it should only cost, maybe $4 or $5. We've always been told that record companies and artists only make pennies per album sold anyway, right? Remove the overhead, drop the price and watch the profits roll in. There are lots of albums I would buy if they were cheaper. I just don't value them at anywhere near $10.

The same should work for magazines as well. You want to increase your readership? Release an iPad edition that is cheaper than your print edition. The world is going digital, and eventually your magazine will go completely digital as well. But it seems that once again, these companies don't seem to understand a thing about their readership. Someone should tell whatever bonehead is making the pricing decisions that if they continue to force readers to "adjust their expectations" it just pisses off the people they depend on to make their money. There's only so many times readers will take a good kick to the ribs (or the wallet) before they go somewhere else, especially if they don't feel as if they're getting their money's worth.

In this age of magazines folding left and right, you'd think that they would understand that a little better. People aren't stopping reading magazines just because. There are reasons people stop subscribing: too many ads, not enough content, not enough good content, price is too high or better options elsewhere.

Hulu fears ABC iPad app could hurt its $9.95 subscription plans

From AppleInsider:

Online streaming service Hulu is expected to introduce a $9.95-per-month subscription plan on May 24, but the company reportedly fears a free streaming application from ABC for the iPad could undermine its efforts.

No shit, Sherlock.

So let me get this straight... I can watch Hulu on my laptop or desktop computer for free, but Hulu wants me to pay $10 a month for the privilege of watching their shows with ads on my iPad? And furthermore, Hulu made Boxee remove its service from the Apple TV because it said that Hulu was only intended for computing devices. Isn't that what the iPad is?

"But the iPad doesn't have Flash and so all the code had to be re-written and Hulu has to recoup that expense somehow!"

Horse hockey. Hulu has yet to turn a profit, and they were going to need to port their stuff to HTML5 soon anyway as Flash becomes more and more unpopular. Besides, ABC's site is in Flash, and they're offering their stuff for free via their iPad app. However, if the Hulu app offered ad-free shows, I'd consider it. I probably would't pay $10 a month, but I'd consider it, at least.

What drives me nuts is that companies are so eager to "grow their revenue streams" and protect their profits (as if they are entitled to make a certain amount of profit a year) that they completely disregard what their customers want, and then usually cry and point fingers at the same customers for complaining when they won't pay another $10 a month for something they're already likely paying for for in cable or satellite subscriptions and for which the networks are already getting profits from in the form of advertising.

I love the ABC iPad app, and I'm glad it's free. Kristi and I love watching the ABC app while we lay in bed at night. And the fact that it's not a battery drainer like Hulu on the laptop is is a nice plus.

Free is how TV ought to be, subsidized by advertising. Hulu is stupid for not wanting as many people as possible to watch its shows on any device. Those extra views are gold to advertisers.

iPad Camera Kit

The day one of my biggest problems with the iPad bit the dust was the day I found out that you could, with a connector kit, upload photos directly from your camera into the iPad. At the time, I wondered how it would work and whether it would be able to handle RAW files.

Today, this from Apple.com:

With the iPad Camera Connection Kit, it's incredibly easy to download photos from your digital camera to your iPad so you can view them on the gorgeous iPad display and share them with family and friends.

The kit includes two connectors, each with a different interface:
The Camera Connector features a USB interface. Just plug it into the dock connector port on your iPad, then attach your digital camera or iPhone using a USB cable (not included).

Use the SD Card Reader to import photos directly from your camera's SD card. Connect it to your iPad, then insert your digital camera's SD card into the slot.

After you make the connection, your iPad automatically opens the Photos app, which lets you choose which pictures to import, then organizes the selected photos into albums. When you sync iPad to your PC or Mac, the photos on your iPad are added to your computer's photo library.

iPad and the Camera Connection Kit support standard photo formats, including JPEG and RAW.

That answers my question. Also, kudos to Apple for including both connectors in the kit and not selling them separately.

However, when I went into an Apple store over the weekend, one of the employees told me that the kit, which was supposed to be available on launch day, was still not in. As of this writing, the Apple Store still lists 2-3 weeks for shipping. Odd.

The Best iPad Review I've Seen Yet

I don't always agree with John Gruber at Daring Fireball, but I always enjoy reading his blog and his insightful take on Apple and tech. And his take on the iPad is simply amazing. I've been reading a lot about the iPad for weeks now, and a lot of reviews since buying one this weekend, and I've yet to see anything that comes close to the substance of Gruber's piece.

I would include excerpts, but I'd just end up copying most of the article. So check it out here. Great work, John, and thanks.

Abilene Christian Publishes First Student iPad Newspaper

From TUAW:

A day after Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad, Dr. Cheryl Bacon, chair of Abilene Christian University's Department of Journalism and Mass Communication vowed that the student newspaper would be the first to make it to the iPad. This week, ACU has accomplished that goal.

The Optimist is a nearly century-old student newspaper publication of the JMC Network, the student media operation at Abilene Christian University. The iPad edition of The Optimist is a dynamically updating version of the print edition with multi-touch photo slide shows, content selectors, updated ACU Wildcat sports scores, and coolest of all, access to five years worth of Optimist archives all right from the iPad.

Kudos to Dr. Bacon and ACU for such forward thinking. I hope the Houstonian at Sam Houston State follows suit.

iPad spotted ... in 2006

Check out this screen shot from the Pixar short "Lifted" from 2006. Doesn't that look remarkably like an iPad?



Pixar is well known for putting Easter Eggs, or hidden things, in its movies and shorts, including characters from movies it hasn't yet released. Only upon watching the films later do you actually realize "hey! That was Nemo in Boo's room!"

I don't think the form factor for the iPhone had been decided yet in 2006, much less the iPad, but wouldn't it be funny if it had and Pixar had slipped this out in plain sight four years ago without anyone noticing until now? I bet John Lasseter and Steve Jobs had a huge laugh over that one!

There's a new tablet computer at our house...

A few weeks ago, I ordered a tablet computer for the Pharaon household. So I was really, really excited when the package arrived yesterday.

As I opened the box, I envisioned all the fun we would have using this great little device. Think of the knowledge it would impart to the kids! The hours spent playing games! This beautiful little touch-activated wonder has voice output, a nice digital display and weighs in at around one pound. Amazing technology!!!!

I surprised Kayci with it last night after dinner, and she took to the intuitive interface immediately. For the next hour or so, she explored the apps and played games and had an awesome time until it was time for bed.

Noble thougt it was cool, and laughed at the funny sounds it made as he carried it around by it's big orange handle. Huh? That's right - orange handle. What? Oh, you thought I was talking about a different tablet computer.

Sorry. I was talking about Kayci's new Speak & Spell, an awesome little device that I spent countless hours with as a kid. I bought one on eBay. Check it out:

Licking an iPad

Oh, you saw that?

Further Thoughts on the iPad

As the release date of the iPad draws near, a revelation has occurred to me: I really want one. This, after I changed my mind about my initial thoughts on it.

But you see, that's just it. It's a want. I think of the iPad as I did the MacBook Air. It's a curiosity. It's cool. It's hip and people will stop and ask me about it when I'm out in public with it. But I don't need it.

I need a Mac. A Mac is built for creating. It's got power and style and it's easy to use. And with design, video and photography projects, that's what I need. But an iPad isn't built to create. It's built to consume. It's built to view photos, not manipulate them. It's built to watch video, not edit it. It's built to read books, not write them. It's built to view web sites, not create it. At the very heart of what I do every day, I'm a creator. I create things. I manipulate things. And I need something more flexible.

That's not to say that an iPad in the house wouldn't be put to good use. It would be perfect for Kristi's daily work on the web. It would be great for the kids on car trips. And it would be a nice machine to watch TV on in bed. But it's none of those things are things that we can't live without. And unlike the iPhone, we won't be first-day adopters.

The iPhone was, and is, very much a need. Kristi commutes to Houston sometimes, and often needs internet, mail and map capabilities in addition to the need to make phone calls. At the time that the iPhone was released, about the only option for those things was on a Blackberry. But the difference between a Blackberry and an iPhone is night and day. Now granted, she can have all those things with a 3G-equipped iPad. But why would we spend an additional amount every month to duplicate the same things she has in her pocket, only in a larger form factor? It'd be a waste of money.

So I'm sure that I'll make the trek to the Austin Apple store on Saturday to at least touch and hold an iPad. I'm really, really curious. But I don't plan on coming home with one. Not yet, at least.

One of My iPad Arguments - The Biggest One - Bites the Dust

So it turns out that you WILL be able to load photos from your camera directly onto the iPad, after all, as showcased in this tutorial video. That was one of my biggest hangups about the iPad in this piece two months ago.

I foresee the iPad being the perfect tool to take on vacations or photo trips. Shoot all day, then download photos from the camera at the end of the day and preview them on the iPad to determine which to keep and which to trash. I don't think I would want to run Photoshop or a really hefty image editor on the iPad with its current specs, but for initial daily viewing, it should be great.

So I guess I'm saying that I'm in.

Now the dilemma: new tires for the front end of the truck or an iPad?

Update: I wonder if it will recognize RAW files?

Will Amazon Sell the iPad?

Here's a question I find strangely interesting... will Amazon sell the iPad? They sell iMacs and other Apple computers. They sell iPods and iPhones. They sell AppleTVs.

But they also sell Kindle, which is the iPad's primary competitor (at least Amazon sees it that way...).

This could get interesting.

iPad Pre-Orders Begin Today

By the time you read this, pre-orders for the iPad will have already begun. According to several news sources, pre-orders will begin at 7:30 am Destructoville time.