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Apple's iPad - The AnandTech Reviewby Anand Lal Shimpi, Brian Klug & Vivek Gowri on 4/7/2010 9:39 PM EST
- Posted in
- Mac
- Apple
- iPad
- Smartphones
- Mobile
108 Comments
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vol7ron - Wednesday, April 07, 2010 - linkThere's been rumors the iPhone 4g will be talked about tomorrow by Apple. Do you have any insight into this?
vol7ron Reply
Griswold - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4g Reply
vol7ron - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkI don't understand the point of this link?
Perhaps you want to look at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone
Data Network Technology and iPhone technology are not synonymous. Reply
A5 - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkUnless AT&T has suddenly deployed a 4G network (or they're going to Sprint), then this new phone isn't going to be called the iPhone 4G. Also, the stuff they're announcing tomorrow are the features of iPhone OS 4.0, not new iPhone hardware. Reply
vol7ron - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkI'd rather not hear about the hardware at this point, but it'd be nice to say that Apple would up the clock on the 3GS (what I have). Hearing about the OS 4.0 is nice.
I thought the "G" has nothing to do do with the wireless technology network. While they both stand for "generation", Apple's iPhone/OS pair will still be called the iPhone 4G, regardless if it runs on 3G Network or CDMA technology, or if the OS is upgraded afterwards; if this is confusing, think about the iPhone 2G - it runs on the 3G network and can be upgraded to OS 3.0, but it is still a iPhone 2G due to the initial hardware/OS release.
The developer meeting was actually quite nice. There were a few surprises, but nothing huge - just a bunch of much-needed updates :) There will more-than-likely be a few more OS4.0 goodies come June with the official iPhone 4G release. Reply
Internet User - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkThat's incorrect. The naming conventions that Apple typically uses were thrown out the window. The first generation iPhone runs on the 2G EDGE network. The 3G (second gen) and 3GS (third gen) both run on the 3G network. We don't know what the fourth iteration will be called. It won't run on a 4G network, but it will be the 4G iPhone. Reply
vol7ron - Friday, April 09, 2010 - linkPerhaps you are right, but I thought I remember hearing Jobs talk about the naming that went into the iPhone.
Technically, I think that what happened supports your argument, but we've all seen companies change their logical naming patterns. The first iPhone, as with any first generation, was called the "iPhone", with no suffixed 1G or 2G. It wasn't until the 3G came out (on OS 2.0), where there was question about its name. I think what was talked about was that the beta versions were considered 1G; the first retail release was considered 2G; and the second was 3G.
The 3GS is where it really breaks that argument, because the 3GS was released with 3.0, so technically it would be called the iPhone 4G. Instead they stuck with the "3G" and added the "S", which they said stands for "speed". However, those "2G" phones that were upgraded to OS 3.0, still work with the 3G network, but are still considered "iPhone" (w/o the suffix, but still unofficially: iPhone 2G).
In either case, I'm willing to say that I'm wrong, since a lot of it is vague memory. That, and the fact that this article is about the iPad and not the iPhone :) I was just a little curious about OS 4.0, but I was offered an exclusive direct link on the developers briefing, so I found everything out anyhow.
vol7ron Reply
nilepez - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkI don't know about AT&T, but Verizon began testing LTE last year and is deploying LTE in some markets this year. Until Apple announces they're partnering with Verizon (or Sprint) or we see FCC submissions, I'll assume it's vaporware....and frankly, I'm not switching from my Sero plan for a phone. Reply
vol7ron - Wednesday, April 07, 2010 - linkPage 2: Since this isn't the 1980s, the iPad only has three four physical buttons on the device.
I might be reading it wrong but the "three four" seemed out of place. Maybe that was supposed to be a "three or four", or perhaps you were going to come back to it?
vol7ron Reply
vol7ron - Wednesday, April 07, 2010 - linkPage 5: "Tap it twice while you're playing music and playback controls appear, Also when..."
Perhaps there should be a period where the comma is and a comma after "Also"?
BTW, not purposefully checking for errors, just looking out for ya.
vol7ron Reply
Anand Lal Shimpi - Wednesday, April 07, 2010 - linkI definitely appreciate the corrections :) Fixed!
Take care,
Anand Reply
odditude - Friday, April 09, 2010 - linkBottom of P12: "Most developers just got access to the iPad on " - unfinished fragment Reply
afkrotch - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkI found a bunch of errors in the article, but I chalked it up to him trying to use the iPad for actual work. Something it apparently sucks at. Reply
strikeback03 - Friday, April 09, 2010 - linklol, I thought the article might have been a little rushed, kinda like the iPad. Great insight and content, but could have stood for a little more editing. Reply
CyberMonk - Wednesday, April 07, 2010 - linkAccording to Apple, you're incorrect about the iPad not having an oleophobic coating. From the iPad's tech specs page: "Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating" Reply
solipsism - Wednesday, April 07, 2010 - link3rd-party accessory are allowed. Bluetooth keyboards already work with it and Apple licenses the iPod Dock Connector port so there is nothing stopping anyone else from selling their own keyboard, dock, or whatever, which I hope they do as the one Apple supplies has no option for folding down for easy travel.
You can even use a simple USB-A(f)-to-USB-A(f) coupler for syncing your photos instead of paying for Apple's adapters. There are other options that already exist in this arena for USB. Reply
Grump642 - Wednesday, April 07, 2010 - linkThink I will hold on till the HP Slate comes out. It will have most of the things on it that the iPad is missing. Reply
afkrotch - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkIf the HP Slate runs Win7, I'd be all over it. I picked up a HP TM2, but the touchpad was broken on it. I went for a replacement, but none available. I'm waiting for more to come in stock, hopefully that's before the Slate comes out.
I tend to jump right into purchases and I'd rather see how the Slate does. If it comes out before the TM2 comes in stock, that might not happen. Reply
joe_dude - Wednesday, April 07, 2010 - linkThat was a very detailed review. Only disagree on the gaming aspect. While the touch interface is cool, the CPU, GPU & memory seriously limits its potential. Others have already mention that.
Nothing against retro-gaming, but Worms, C&C, RE4, Scrabble, etc. are netbook quality at best. Reply
ekul - Wednesday, April 07, 2010 - linkAnand,
An excellent article as usual. While most of the ipad reviews have been quite through you have managed to discuss elements of the device no one else has touched on.
That said I have to disagree with your plea for a moorestown cpu. Even with moorestown being so much more efficient than regular atom based systems it can't touch a cortex a8 for idle or load power draw. Combine that with smaller packaging for arm, lower costs and true SoC designs and it isn't even a contest. The price is lower performance but I'll take the trade for battery life.
Keeping ipad the same architecture as existing iphone OS devices is a big bonus as well, lowering development costs for both apple and app developers. ARM is also providing an excellent upgrade path from a8 to the a9 SoCs that are sampling now and should be in devices shortly.
Once there is a true SoC design based on atom it might be worth considering but for now it's just not ready Reply
solipsism - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkI also thought the Moorestown recommendation was odd, especially when the next page was about the phenomenal battery life. If he made a more detailed case for it perhaps he'd have a point, but the simple "because it's faster" stance is lacking. Reply
Anand Lal Shimpi - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkInitial power specs for Moorestown appear to be fairly competitive with ARM based SoCs. Remember this is Moorestown, and not Pineview. The two chips are very different.
Realistically I don't think it would be Moorestown, but the 32nm follow-on starts to make a lot of sense.
Take care,
Anand Reply
metafor - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkJust curious, what are the initial power numbers for Moorestown anyway? Keep in mind that with the change in bus architecture and the use of LP DRAM, performance will be significantly slower in some cases than current netbooks. Also, would it really compare to an A9-class SoC? Reply
IntelUser2000 - Friday, April 09, 2010 - linkI have a feeling Apple didn't go Moorestown for two primary reasons.
1) Timeframe
2) Cost
Moorestown should be announced shortly, but the devices based on it won't be available until Q3 of this year. That's 6+ months from when the iPad is going to release. And although Intel might achieve both better performance and comparable power usage, but the sacrifice there will be higher cost. Fully integrated SoC like the A4 costs significantly less.
Performance should be quite good. There's a 600MHz version for smartphones that can use Burst Mode to 1.2GHz, and a MID oriented version that probably clocks at 1.3GHz base and does 1.9GHz burst. It's supposed to feature "Bus Turbo" as well.
If they also do a full integrated memory controller unlike Pineview we have a good chance it'll be clock per clock faster than Netbook Atoms. Earlier on Intel claimed "30%" boost over previous platform but clock speeds weren't mentioned. Reply
metafor - Friday, April 09, 2010 - linkMoorestown will be a fully interated SoC. It'll have LP DDR1 and LP DDR2 memory controllers as well as a GPU, the Atom CPU and various peripheral connectivity. It's comparable to the A4 in terms of features although I really would not write it off as "comparable" in terms of power until some data is published. Reply
ekul - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkI'd agree the successor to moorestown is more promising. Are there even any shipping products based on moorestown yet? I don't think apple is going to take a gamble on an untested platform.
I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing performance numbers for cortex a9, especially since there will be real dual core mobile variants, not just hyperthreading. A technique like what MS is planning for IE9, rendering a website on one core and compiling javascript on another, would help bridge the perormance gap along with the higher clocks. Reply
michal1980 - Wednesday, April 07, 2010 - linkreally this is easier then a laptop/notebook?
A notebook by its vary nature I can rest on my lap or a table and adjust its screen. To watch a movie I dont have to hold the thing up.
To type, I dont have to bend to werid angles to hold the device up, etc etc.
IMHO, it seems like alot of the experance is attributed to the newness of the device vs its actual usage. I'm wonder how this newness will wear. Reply
manicfreak - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkCan't you do all of those aforementioned things on an ipod touch/iphone? There are already home automation apps for the iphone right now.
What can the iPad do that the iphone/ipod touch can't? Beside having a bigger screen and longer battery life?
And for such a big device, the performance should be closer to an atom instead of a snapdragon.
If something doesn't fit in my pocket, then I would rather bring a light-weight CULV laptop with me... with touchscreen if one wishes (i.e. Acer Timeline 1820T) or a hybrid notebook-tablet (Lenovo IdeaPad U1). Reply
jasperjones - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - link"there are some things the iPad does much better than anything you might own today. Web browsing, photo viewing, reading email, any passive usage scenarios where you're primarily clicking on things and getting feedback, the iPad excels at."
What exactly makes it better at those tasks? It's not that I disagree but, in my opinion, you didn't drive this point home. I don't understand why you think it's better. And yes, I read the whole article. Reply
solipsism - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkI don't think anything anyone can write can convince you. Many aspects just feel more natural to use. That isn't to say it's perfect everywhere but I think that as a casual mobile consumption device it's much better than a notebook, and much better than a netbook. Reply
TGressus - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - link"I don't think anything anyone can write can convince you"
That's a tough sell right there :( Nothing against your post.
This is the challenge all tablets have faced so far. That said, if anyone has the ability to succeed in this form factor it's the iCult. Reply
Mike1111 - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - link"While I realize that Atom hasn't been suited for such an application until now, there's no reason Apple should've picked the A4 over Moorestown. "
I really think it was the right decision for Apple to go with ARM for the iPad, and that it's the right decision to stick with ARM for at least the next few years.
(1) Mobile version of Moorestown is not available yet, the netbook one draws too much power
(2) Apple has to use ARM in it's iPhone and iPod touch for the next few years, so for cross-device OS, app and SoC compatibility and development ARM was the right choice for the iPad (e.g. if Apple makes safari use the hardware better on the iPad, the iPhone and iPod touch will directly profit from it too)
(3) Moorestown would have been more expensive
(4) With ARM Apple can control and modify the CPU design as needed, they have total control. And Apple likes that.
(5a) There is a clear upgrade path for ARM with the Cortex-A9 and a multi-core version of it.
(5b) The A4 is already fast enough for most people and most iPad tasks (how many reviews mention that the iPad is unpleasantly slow, even for the average consumer?)
It's a real possibility that an iPad with a more optimized OS and safari, a better utilized (and more programmable) GPU (like the SGX545 with OpenCL etc.) and a dual-core Cortex-A9 @1.x GHz will improve the browsing performance beyond that of a netbook. And IF APPLE SAW THE NEED FOR IT (but I don't think they do), it could happen as early as next year (other ARM SoCs like Tegra2, OMAP4 and the dual-core Snapdragon will be available by then with comparable specs, so Apple should be able to pull it off too). Intel's Atom will still be a more power consuming, more expensive and way bigger multi-chip system early next year. And beyond that are ARM quad-core CPUs and dual-core GPUs...
It will take Atom at least 4 years to overtake ARM, in the areas that count for dedicated smartphones/slates/tablets, if at all. At some point, real life browsing will just be fast enough on an ARM slate and Intel netbook, so that 99% don't care about browsing speed as a feature anymore (like it will happen with video thanks to all these powerful but small dedicated decoders/encoders like IMG's VXD/VXE). Reply
softdrinkviking - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkare you saying that there is no clear upgrade path for intel's moorstown line?
and that apple has complete control over the future of ARM?
i didn't know they had already gone that far.
i seem to remember apple fumbling out of the power series of CPUs and crawling into into intel's arms when they realized it was the way to go.
there is nothing to prevent apple from switching to moorstown in a couple of generations, and they have proven that they are willing to make those kind of changes when the situation demands it. Reply
Mike1111 - Friday, April 09, 2010 - link"are you saying that there is no clear upgrade path for intel's moorstown line?"
Of course not. I'm just saying that even if you think the ARM Cortex-A8 used in the iPad is not powerful enough, that there are clear CPU upgrades coming your way for years to come (higher frequencies, Cortex-A9, dual-core Cortex-A9, quad-core Cortex-A9). It's not like Apple is using a quad-core Cortex-A9 @ 4 GHz in 22nm right now, with no better ARM architecture on the horizon and standard lithography reaching a dead end...
"and that apple has complete control over the future of ARM? i didn't know they had already gone that far."
Sorry, what I meant was that Apple has complete control over how they implement the ARMv7 architecture in a chip (since Apple has most likely an architecture license like Qualcomm).
"there is nothing to prevent apple from switching to moorstown in a couple of generations, and they have proven that they are willing to make those kind of changes when the situation demands it."
I agree that Apple can and most likely will switch to Intel if their chips are clearly superior in all the ways that matter for a mobile product. I just think that's at least 4-5 years out for retail devices so there's no point in talking about how Apple should have used Moorestown for this year's iPad... or any iPad for that matter. I don't even think that Moorestown's successor will be ready (Medfield). Maybe Medfield's successor's successor in 22nm will be clearly superior (although parity could be reached a generation earlier). We'll see. Reply
MadAd - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkIts huge. Way too big for car centre consoles. If they cut it in half, so its mid way between that and an Iphone then I would definitely want to upgrade my existing car PC.
Its got all the right airs and graces to be a super satnav/speedcam/music/incar wifi unit, just need to cut the size and sell it with some kind of some kind of quick release device for power and cabling (or ill fabricate one) and its a winner. Reply
teng029 - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - link"Companies like Crestron and AMX supply ridiculously poor touch screen interfaces to their very expensive home automation installations."
How exactly did you come to this conclusion? Have you extensively either used or program a control system touch panel? Reply
Anand Lal Shimpi - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkUsed, but not programmed. Those touchscreen controllers are just not in the same league in terms of UI as the iPad/iPhone honestly. I haven't used the latest incarnations but from the looks of them, they haven't changed tremendously.
Take care,
Anand Reply
athreya - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - link1. Does writepad (phatware) or sketchbook pro (autodesk) allow one to take handwritten notes on the ipad? As in, im not looking for handwriting conversion to pages or word but can notes be taken and emailed across in the body of say a gmail or a Mail message? WHich stylus is the best for the ipad?
2. How do you think iphone os 4.0 will solve the multitasking problem?
3. Between the wireless keyboard and the keyboard with dock which would you recommend and why? Will ANY BT keyboard work with the ipad?
4. Can you tell us how good it is at projecting powerpoint ppts onto a standard VGA projector? Does it support Office for Mac yet?
thanks a lot Anand. Terrific balanced review as always. Reply
strikeback03 - Friday, April 09, 2010 - linkI doubt any stylus works with the iPad, due to the capacitive screen. Reply
dagamer34 - Friday, April 09, 2010 - linkA capacitive stylus would work. Reply
softdrinkviking - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkit occurs to me that i would want a way to protect the screen from getting scratched, and that would mean a
cover or case that would take the place of the clamshell design of a netbook/notebook.
why would i want to pay a price premium for a device with slower performance which only achieves acceptable functionality with the addition of expensive peripherals?
even after all the peripherals, i still lose the ability to effortlessly prop-up a netbook on my lap and type an email, or set a netbook up on a table in a coffee shop.
nothing about the tablet form factor is convenient for on-the-go usage for me.
the only situation where i can possibly imagine this being a preferable form factor is for wall mount usage or some other kind of "always left out in the open" type of use, like a universal remote control, or a mini home television viewer in the kitchen.
but it seems too expensive for those uses to me.
there must be a better alternative. Reply
MacTheSpoon - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkThanks for the great review. I was shocked you'd typed 40% of it with the iPad.
Would you mind doing a comparison between the iPad keyboard and a physical keyboard? Since there is no utility to measure WPM for the iPad, maybe you could time how long it takes to type the same passage on both--something with some semicolons, quotation marks, and/or em dashes would be ideal, as I'm curious how the virtual keyboard stands up when the user must switch between layouts. Reply
Brian Klug - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkYou know, this was something I was dying to address a few times. I'm hoping that the iTextspeed application developers update their code soon to be iPad compatible, because that's something I want to test for sure.
I've gotten to the point where I can touch type in landscape pretty easy, but I can also type pretty fast on the iPhone (around 80 WPM using their application). If and when it's updated, we might do something and include the update.
If it helps any, this was also composed pretty quickly from an iPad. ;)
Brian Klug Reply
solipsism - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - link1) How did you get a 720p video on the iPhone for the video test when the allowable maximum "up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second" video?
2) From my testing, the iPad uses about 20MB more than the 3GS on startup. Most, if not all, of this is for the GPU. I've also noticed that native apps are also using more RAM. While the 3GS has enough to support standard multitasking the iPad does not. Even switching pages in Safari on the iPad would have to be reloaded while the 3GS does not. This will even more of an issue with the 3G version of the iPad. This gives me doubts about multitasking unles iPhone OS v4.0 is much more efficient (making 3.2.2 a stand in, which looks to be the case) and Apple has a more intuitive quasi-multitasking concept to unveil today. Reply
Brian Klug - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkI can't speak about the RAM usage - are you using iStat or similar?
However 720P H.264 video is certainly supported, which is what we used. I tested all the different profiles in handbrake, all of them work if you keep the video at or under 1280x720:
"H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format"
That's straight from http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/
I think you're getting confused with the MPEG4 limitation which is indeed 640x480. ;)
-Brian Klug Reply
Ph00 - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linksorry to be ot but is that a black mouth cur dog? Reply
Griswold - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkI'll wait for iPad v2 with reliably working wifi, no overheating, working PDF export, at least a backside camera for snapshots and maybe short flicks and perhaps multitasking. Ill stop here because any more missing features would seem greedy - apple needs a reason to sell you the 2012 iPad...
As for atom based ipad - are you nuts? Nobody wants that garbage. Gimme a dual core cortex A9 instead. Reply
Mike1111 - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkYou mean the 2011 iPad, right? Because there's no way Apple isn't gonna do a yearly refresh cycle like they do with all their iPhone OS based products. Reply
Mike1111 - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkMy mistake. You meant even iPad v2 in 2011 won't be feature complete because Apple needs some features for the 2012 iPad v3.
Hm, how do I delete a post? Reply
Lemonjellow - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - link"Sure, but so could a TV that made me pancakes. Neither is ready yet or guaranteed."
Can you confirm or deny that someone is working on said TV project? :- D Reply
stcredzero - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkThe review authors are displaying the case configured incorrectly, in picture after picture. The flap needs to be tucked in! This makes the case much more usable in the vertical, taller orientation as a stand. Also, who would set the case up as a stand and try to type in portrait orientation? That's like complaining your car can't do highway speeds in reverse! That's not what it's for!
Tuck the flap in, then review the case. It's much better that way! Reply
TemplarGR - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkI would like to thank Anand for this terrific and just review. Most reviews i have read so far are biased in favour of Apple, but this is just right.
It is the only review so far that describes the total cost of ownership of this device. This device is a luxury item, an expensive toy. The starting price is a joke. 499 dollars for 16gb disk, no 3G, no camera, lack of apps? When you add the additional costs this device brings, it is way overpriced compared to a netbook or tablet pc. An EePc costs 300 while being more complete and far more powerful. And yes it draws more power, but i believe there are netbooks out there with 10+ battery life. I have to admit it also has a better display than most netbooks though.
I like some aspects of the iPad. I really like the touch interface for certain uses. I believe Apple has done a terrific job with its UI. The problem is that Apple charges a lot for just a touch UI compared to netbooks.
Since i am a Linux user and a programmer, i wouldn't buy it anyway. I am against Apple's closed ecosystem practice. But i like Apple's contributions to modern device and UI design.
The reason i am critical of Apple is that i do not like companies which make a practice to sell on hype and marketing instead of tech. Apple is almost like a cult. There are reviews out there(Ars for example) that say that luck of multitasking is a nice feature and makes their lives easier. This is almost pathetic.
I was afraid that Anand was under Apple's influence but i am happy i was wrong and he reviewed it for what it is, a luxury item not able to replace current devices. Thank you Anand! Reply
piroroadkill - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkIs what I gleaned from that review. A nice looking screen isn't useful if the rest of the device is pretty much useless.
There's maybe a single use case, and that's if you want to watch h264 encoded video miles from civilisation. Even then, I'd argue a netbook and a couple of spare batteries would always serve you better. Reply
nquo - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkthoughts on iPad and its potential:
http://nquo.posterous.com/ipad-bigger-than-a-big-i... Reply
Jalek99 - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkEvery local news report I saw today featured iPads. The anchors showing pictures on the device when they have the usual corner of the window or the huge monitors behind them.
Then Jimmy Fallon showing some app on one...
The manufactured buzz is far more negative for me than anything the device itself merits. Reply
Mike1111 - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkHe was asking for 720p on the IPHONE! This can be done by using a 3rd party file manager that allows you to transfer videos to the iPhone without iTunes and then select them inside the app. Reply
Brian Klug - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkAhh, you are indeed correct sir. I didn't do the encode for the iPhone, I'm assuming we just re-encoded again. ;)
-Brian Reply
SunLord - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkDid you know an apple store employee can pick a $499 ipad up for $350 which leads me to think per the norm for apple we be getting ripped off. Reply
piroroadkill - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkWell, no shit, it's an extremely low cost computer (with the possible exception of the screen) priced with a high price point. Reply
manicfreak - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkFrom some of the articles out there, the gross profit for the ipad can be anywhere from 50-60%. I'm not a fan of Apple's product, but I do admire their ability to get almost anyone from the media and the bloggers to hype up their underperformed, overpriced product. Reply
dagamer34 - Friday, April 09, 2010 - linkAnyone who looks at the raw costs of materials and bases decisions of a product being "overpriced" has never taken Business 101.
I'll limit myself to 4 things which that "50-60%" pays for:
1) Running Apple stores and employees
2) Running Apple itself in Cupertino (and worldwide) - employees, board, executives, etc.
3) Apple product support for the first year (phone support, in-person support, etc.)
4) Warranties (i.e. - your iPad breaks in the first year and you complain they should fix it on their dime)
NEVER assume a company gets a "huge" profit when only looking at BOM. That's just idiotic. And it's almost impossible to know how much the points I listed above factor into a product's cost in any great detail without making huge assumptions or pure guesswork. Reply
manicfreak - Friday, April 09, 2010 - linkDoesn't change the fact the profit gained from the iPad is higher than the iPod from the last few years.
Overpriced. Reply
GTaudiophile - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkThat is indeed one of the best episodes of TOP GEAR ever.
And then at the end, they all drive home to Sigur Ros playing in the background. Reply
semo - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - link"There's also an optional VGA output, but I won't point out what issues I have with that."
Why? Reply
Anand Lal Shimpi - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkI was poking fun at it, I thought it was obvious what my issues with a VGA dongle would be. Especially given that Apple's own products haven't supported VGA in years, and the input is definitely not common on modern HDTVs.
It looks like the iPad is missing a TMDS as we don't get any options for digital out (HDMI, DVI, DP). I'll clarify in the article :)
Take care,
Anand Reply
PhilipHa - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkYou may be interested in
contains some interesting performance comparisons between x86 and ARM (but not IPAD) Reply
pervisanathema - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkYou would be much wiser to wait for the inevitable widescreen version with a camera and faster CPU. I guarantee Apple has one in the works and they are simply waiting to screw the early adopters. The 4:3 aspect ratio was obviously picked solely so they would have a compelling reason to force people to buy the next revision. Reply
dagamer34 - Friday, April 09, 2010 - linkOR 4:3 works better with books and it's the same ratio as the iPhone? Reply
Shadowmaster625 - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkYou pick a heck of a time to start complaining about apple's app pricing. Of course they are going to charge an arm and a leg for apps. That's what apple does. That's ALL apple does. This device, all told, requires an over $1500 investment for 2 years.
iPad $500
Bag $30
10 Apps $120
2 years of service $720
Other accessories $50
Taxes ~$100
Total >$1500
It is a ripoff of epic proportions. It's no faster than a penium III notebook I can buy on ebay for $68. This is outrageous. Are you out of your flippin mind? The real economy is in the middle of a depression. Real private GDP is down close to 20%. By and large, the only people who are going to be able to afford this overpriced garbage are people sucking off the government teat. (Like union trash collectors and station agents who make 6 figure salaries.) Nobody who actually works for a living in the private sector is going to spend $1500 on something like this, not if they wish to remain solvent anyway. Reply
strikeback03 - Friday, April 09, 2010 - linkUmm, your numbers are slightly off. There is no service fee for the WiFi-only $500 iPad. The 3G version starts at $630.
Besides that though, I know plenty of people who have the disposable income to buy a toy like this of they wished. Sure it is overpriced, but just as there are consumers who pay $500 and up for video cards ther are some who pay $600-700 for expensive toys like this. It is arguably a better use of money than that $800 netbook Sony came out with last year. Reply
BeAloud - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkThe rumored new smaller iPad could solve the ergonomics flaws of the current device. I would probably be interested in getting one if these rumors are true!
http://www.bealoud.com/technology/ipad-mini-rumors... Reply
Lunarlog - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkI read your article and it was well-written. I do have to disagree that it is a disappointment. In fact, I find the contrary. Part of the issue is that we are coming out of an economic recession - some people are still on hold as to whether or not to part with $500 when they already have a computer. Was is the same spree as the first iPhone? No. But I wouldn't expect it to be - not in these times. I wrote two articles as well on the topic. I'd appreciate it if you would give them a glance:
This article came out the day after the iPad was released:
This article was written shortly after the iPad's initial announcement:
http://www.lunarlog.com/the-apple-ipad-the-good-an... Reply
TheHolyLancer - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkonly when a pokemon rpg comes to the ipad, either with an emulator or otherwise, will it be a gaming platform for it's targeted audience. or maybe let it double as a guitar hero / rock band instrument.
of all the games one there, rts is the only one that seems to be fleshed out. fps, driving, action games involving the taps are mostly broken. only rpgs or tower defense / rts games seems to be the games that should have a better experience on touch based input. who don't want to be like a commander that directs battles via the touch interface. Reply
Sahrin - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkAnand, I've got to say the Apple conversion you've gone through has really cost you a lot of respect in my eyes. I know, as an Apple fan, this won't matter to you (as facts don't). But the reality of it is, Apple is ultimately like religion. When push comes to shove, there is no quantitative difference between Apple and everything else. What it comes down to is technological laziness, and a blind acceptance of Apple as superior to everything else. Jon Stokes at Arstechnica had the same problem. He OC'ed one too many CPU's, or troubleshooted one too many oddball configurations - and something broke, he just gave up; surrended all his technological know-how and competence to the quiet, white cell provided by Apple. I don't mean to say either you or he got 'dumber' - just that, rather than "do it yourself," rather than apply your knowledge on a daily basis you've just declared yourself smart enough and handed over control and understanding of what you do to Apple. It's like the engineer who builds his own car from scratch finally going over and buying a Ford. Is there anything particularly 'wrong' with that? No. But it's a kind of ... lessening of the man to see him surrrender a passion to something because it's easier.
I'm really sad to see someone as intelligent as you are (certainly smarter than I am) give yourself over to this kind of laziness. AT is one of the most trusted review sites on the web; and I hope that over time it doesn't erode the way Ars did into a whining, fawning mess. Reply
splatl - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkWTF Reply
SilverBack - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkThe IPad is junk, inflated price and virtually no feature set, why would anyone want this?
No USB? WTF! Reply
manicfreak - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkI also feel the same way. Reply
samirotiv - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - linkYou are an ass, a hypocrite, and you're absolutely nobody. I don't think you can comment about Anand's intelligence. Your unwarranted hate towards Apple makes you feel that anybody who appreciates an Apple product is unintelligent.
You say there's no quantitative difference between Apple products and other products. So can you tell me another currently existing tablet that I can buy that's half as good as the iPad? Is it the pathetic JooJoo?
If you don't want the iPad because it doesn't have some feature you think you need, then don't buy it. Vote with your money. Stop trolling. I think Anand has mentioned most of it's drawbacks in the review.
Even if a tablet as good or better than the iPad exists, just writing a favourable review doesn't make Anand unintelligent. I think the review was quite unbiased.
Your armchair psychology makes your post sound even less credible. Someone ban this clown.
BTW that was an excellent review Anand, like every other review of yours. Keep up the good work..!! Reply
splatl - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkApple said from the beginning this is not a laptop replacement it is intended to be a device between a Smart Phone and a Laptop. For all waiting for Slate to come out it is still HP crap. Reply
ds1817 - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkAlways refreshing to read a review on Anandtech. The thoroughness and attention to detail are why I've been reading your website for 12 years now. Keep up the good work! Reply
zodiacfml - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkAnother quality review, useful as trying the device myself.
I'm not buying Apple products but you touched on features that it should have.
One is the ability to stand on its own to function as a picture frame, movie screen, and reader while someone is eating or something else.
Support for mouse device and keyboard when it can already stand on its own.
Support for uploading media such as video and photos from either flash cards or directly from cameras. it is such a good device to use with cameras.
one more thing, they could get the intel atom cpu once it gets to a smaller process to improve size and energy efficiency. Reply
Spivonious - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkAnand, I love your writing and have read the site since the GeoCities days, but please learn the difference between "lay" and "lie". Reply
crimson117 - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkMy biggest pet peeve with the iPhone UI is the lack of an indicator for when an app is visible but busy processing something and not currently accessible.
The default Notepad app on the iPhone 3G is a great example - as soon as you tap the icon, the yellow Notepad interface pops right up. However, it actually takes several seconds to finish loading until you can tap to edit a note or tap the (+) sign to start a new note. There's no indicator at all of when the loading is complete - you have to keep tapping periodically until it finally works.
The same is true for resizing a web page using multitouch - there's no indicator that your input has been received but it's going to take a few moments to make it happen.
In Windows 7 when an app is "thinking" and thus you can't interact with it, your mouse pointer becomes a a little circle (aka an hourglass). If an app is ever extremely busy thinking, the app may even gray out to indicate that even Windows can't get it to respond at that time.
The iPhone's lack of this feature just smells of Apple trying to make the device appear on the surface to be more responsive than it really is. Perhaps you'll question whether you tapped correctly, and won't realize that the device is just slower than you expect it to be. Reply
archcommus - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkThis article, like your others, despite being 22 (!) pages long, is a quick, refreshing read. It feels more like you're talking about your experiences and less like you're writing an article as a journalist (which can make some other long reviews a little boring). Also seemed pretty unbiased and highlighted the good and bad. Another solid article, thanks. Reply
Mumrik - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkHehe, this isn't a big deal - it's just amusing:
"Although there's no mute button, holding the volume down rocker for 2 seconds mutes the device instantly."
Nope. Sounds to me like it takes about two seconds to mute the device :) Reply
AstroGuardian - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkGood one. My thought exactly... Reply
leospagnol - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkI'm planning to buy one of them when I travel to US next month. THe Eee 1001P is $ 280.00, and the iPad $499.00 at least. I usually read more than I write during classes and I have wifi available during class. I'll probably buy the Eee, but wich do you think suits this task best? Reply
Mumrik - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkImagine the iPad lying flat on your desk and then imagine the position you would have to sit in all lecture long if you wanted to be able to write.
Then imagine how much of the time you'd have to look down at what you were writing because you didn't have the physical response of a keyboard to make touch typing easy.
Now imagine not being able to multitask.
It would not be a difficult choice for me - Anand said it himself - the iPad is generally not a laptop substitute. Reply
videogames101 - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkI love the M3, great episode there.
Good to know I can watch it on the iPad, lol. Reply
AstroGuardian - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkAs far as i remember, this was not mentioned in the review (the overheating problem):
Personally i don't think it's worth commenting. It's not just the iPad but all other electronic devices will overheat when put out on the sun. And i wouldn't call it overheating but more like misuse. Reply
strikeback03 - Friday, April 09, 2010 - linkMy carputer runs fine with temps in the car over 100*F. Reply
Mumrik - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkMan! You guys must really have been in a hurry to get this review up.
It is long, critical and thorough as I expect from you, but there are quite a lot of grammatical errors and you repeat yourself a lot i places. :-D Reply
Sunburn74 - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkAnand,
When you read the rhetoric between the gtx 470/480 reviews, your most recent Macbook pro reviews, and your current iPad review, its clear the latter is by far the single largest fluff piece ever posted on this site. You seem to have forgotten that people come to your site for one reason. We are the unknowing consumers who turn to your impartial judgement with one, and only one question: should we buy it?
Ryan Smith's gtx 470/480 review was superb. He didn't write "I could see myself buying a $500 gtx 480 for my 4th PC on summer trips to my house in the hamptons where I don't have to be using my real desktop for any real work". He flat out said "Nvidia was too little, too late". He didn't try to sell anyone on what might possibly be on some distant horizon in the upcoming future if you had the extra money; he delineates whether or not people should buy the item right now.
When future potential arrives, then you write another article explaining how the landscape has changed. Anand, your latest article shamelessly bent over backwards to positively sell the iPad in this way. How about comparing the ipad to the ipod touch, the iphone, the blackberry, the android, and explaining if people who own these items that deeply saturate our society what the iPad means to them? How about answering the bottom line question of if I should go buy one right now or if I should wait? How about any statement, however remote it is, on what sort of competition the ipad will face and what that means to the consumer? Who are you serving here? The people? Apple? Or your personal beliefs towards tablet PCs as something you simply want to succeed despite obviously being in infancy?
Anand, don't lose that journalistic sense of justice that requires you tell your readers what they need to know, not how you might use the item if you had extra money for a vacation to australia. Reply
vol7ron - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkA couple of annoyances in the past with the iPhone 3g (aside form no-Flash) has been (1) it's lingering keyboard, (2) safari drop down menu assistance, and (3) delayed shortcuts
An example of the lingering keyboard is when texting someone else. There is no way to hide/autohide the keyboard once it's open. For the text messaging you can go into "edit" mode or simply go back to "messages" page and then back to the text, but why make it hard? I know my IRC apps make it easy to hide the keyboard, by just touching the screen again, why can't Apple just add a button?
While the scrollable, assisted, drop-down menu in Safari is neat, those long-texted options are inadequate. Especially for cases that start off with the same sentence; for instance:
"I am a customer that heard about this site ..." {offscreen: from the web}
"I am a customer that heard about this site ..." {offscreen: from a friend}
"I am a customer that heard about this site ..." {offscreen: from work}
-- basically, you can't see the off-screen stuff until selected. I don't understand that since Apple has made a zoomable, fluid, paging device.
While certain shortcuts would be effective on the iPhone, I think it's the response time that's lacking. For instance, the touch-and-hold period button has a popup option that allows you to select the ellipsis (tri-dot). That would be effective if the popup was more instantaneous - instead, it's faster to type out 3 periods. It's these menus that I hope are still prevalent in the iPad keyboard, but have a better response time.
PS: loved the review. I am thinking about getting an iPad now - as stated before, I will have to wait for a price drop. $500-1000 is not acceptable, especially given the amount of storage. I'd love to see this device price range reduced to around $250-500 (perhaps hopeful future thinking). Reply
Locut0s - Thursday, April 08, 2010 - linkLooks like it. Nice if so! Reply
CSMR - Friday, April 09, 2010 - linkWe are seeing that limited devices (iPhone, Windows Phone 7, iPad) have an appeal to many consumers, who just want to do a small and finite number of things with them. This type of device can be stylish and effective.
But I think Anandtech and other tech sites should have a prejudice in favor of computers rather than locked down devices. Limited devices can be cool, and I'm not saying AnandTech shouldn't review them, but it should prefer systems that are not limited.
Rather than going along with the average consumer tech sites could show the market how to make unlimited systems (tablets running Win7, phones running OSes like android, windows mobile) better designed and more intuitive, and show users how to use these effectively.
The current proliferation of locked-down devices has some strengths but it is a threat to computing. We've been fortunate that computers have been so popular. What if most people no longer use computers, but devices, and the market caters to them? What if the computer market becomes like the console market? What will advanced users do? Reply
Impulses - Friday, April 09, 2010 - linkAnand mentions that the iPad keeps performance decent by relying on solid state memory and a lightweight OS.... I'd like to see those iPad vs. netbook tests re-run against a netbook w/a SSD... I mean, a decent netbook plus a 40GB Intel X25-V is still cheaper than an iPad. ;)
I realize that a $120 drive upgrade to a $300 computer isn't something the average consumer does, but it's pretty common amongst us geeks. /shrug Plus we've seen the X25-V as low as $99 (or $75 for the Kingston version). My X25-V gave my Acer Aspire One a nice kick in the pants, sure it doesn't make it play Flash video any better but it significantly improved multi-tasking, app loading, and hibernation.
A CULV laptop + a decent SSD wouldn't be much more expensive than some of the iPads after you factor in some of the options (stand, apps, 3G, higher capacities, etc). I realize they're not the same type of device, just trying to speak purely to the performance side of the argument here... Reply
Impulses - Friday, April 09, 2010 - linkI wasn't quite done reading the article when I wrote that last post... The battery life numbers for the iPad are pretty impressive, heck even the 3GS numbers seem impressive compared to my 2nd gen iPod touch. I don't know if Plants vs Zombies is just poorly optimized, or if the reduced processing capabilities of my touch drain the battery faster, but I'm lucky if I can get more than two hours of the thing with that game. It just rapes the battery life...
I guess one reason Apple might've skipped out on Moorestown would be battery life considerations, 'specially when playing back media... The degree to which many games seem to drain smartphone batteries these days makes me wonder why we even bother though, I can't possibly consider gaming on my smartphone if it means the battery's not gonna last me thru the day because of it... Despite the fact that this one of the few things I do like about the direction Apple has taken the iPhone OS in (the gaming environment/potential). Reply
Mr Alpha - Friday, April 09, 2010 - linkI can of the top of my head think of two reasons why the iBooks app isn't installed by default.
1. The iBookstore is US only, and the iPad is international. This means they would either have to ship the iPad with an app people can't use or have two sets of firmware, one for US and another one for the rest of the world.
2. The developer license agreement states that you can't duplicate functionality. So if they had included the iBooks app by default they would have had to either kick all other ereader apps and catch hell for it, or ignore it and come of a hypocritical while undermining their own license agreement. Reply
dagamer34 - Friday, April 09, 2010 - linkThe iBooks app does not come with the firmware of the iPad, it is a downloadable app like Remote and iDisk. Reply
fflow - Friday, April 09, 2010 - linkIt's a tempting device in many ways, but useless to me unless I can use it to stream videos from my home server. Are there any DLNA apps for the iPhone/iPad OS that work well? Reply
medi01 - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link"I've always called the iPhone OS a very efficient UI. The ease at which you can perform primary tasks on the iPhone is what I mean by that. "
Yep, copy & paste in particular... :))) Reply
Adul - Sunday, April 11, 2010 - linkTempting as it may be, I think I will wait to see what a few other devices coming down the pipe will offer. It could be an interesting year. Reply
MrJustin5 - Sunday, April 18, 2010 - linkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyEhWeAseSo
Anand, once again, a great extensive review.
But honestly, a 30-year-old Techie who is neither a Mickey$oft Fan or an Apple Fan, could not care less about this simplified and over-priced laptop-wanna-be.
It is not "magical" as Steve Jobs said a number of times durring his Keynote speech about this gimmicky tablet, which is basically a giant iTouch.
Please do not do so many reviews of Apple products. It is NOT top priority, they are NOT life-changing or meaningful products. They are TOYS with a few functional abilities. Like a Corvette is a toy... its fast, it looks good, its expensive, but its also functional to haul a few groceries home and transport you long distances. But in th end, its an expensive toy and so is this iPad. Reply
tikblang - Friday, August 06, 2010 - linkI bought a $2 white HP keyboard from Fry's 3 years ago, (that was the last time I visit an electronic retailer). Can I just buy a $3 female-2-female USB gender changer and use it to connect a reg KeyBoard ? What about a $10 trip-lite USB to PS2 dongle to connect a PS2-KB/Mouse?
I do not like new gadget (lose faith in technology) but got one (and LIKE it) from a Symantec seminar. Reply
AlfieJr - Saturday, March 19, 2011 - linki do get it. AnandTech is a geek site, and this iPad2 review is written by geeks for geeks, evaluating the product by geek criteria. ok. there is some meaty tech stuff in it.
but you don't get it, apparently. the iPad is a consumer product. which the review never acknowledges. instead we get lots of a very self-centered discussion about its suitability for one user - you, the geek.
but it's not designed for people like you. it's designed for dummies like me. it's not a PC replacement or wannabe (tho perhaps the Android tabs are). it's like comparing a car to a small plane. yes some people can drive/fly both, and they are both travel machines. but one is designed for dummies to operate and enjoy, and the other is for pilots with skills.
you need to step outside your own frame once in a while. because the big question the iPad begs for analysis is - is this really the dawn of a new "computing" era, the so-called post PC era? which this review never touched. Reply
richard mensah - Monday, May 23, 2011 - linki love this Reply
omkarphatak - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - linkI see no reason why one should shell out mor than $800 for this contraption..
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/which-is-better-ipa... Reply