“Wow. So Apple has unveiled its iPad, an iPod touch like tablet computer that, so far at least, doesn’t seem impressive at all,” Paul Thurrott writes for Supersite for Windows. “And what’s with the huge bezel? It’s actually … can I say this about an Apple product? … ugly.”
MacDailyNews Take: “The iPad’s bezel is its handle. It’s where your fingers grip the device without covering the content on the screen, no matter which way you’re holding it. Give Apple some credit; they’re not Microsoft, they think things through.” – SteveJack, MacDailyNews, January 27, 2010
Thurrott continues, “The thing I don’t get here is… Nothing new. This has all been done before elsewhere. I’m astonished this isn’t nicer looking or more interesting… OK, this has to be a joke… It’s a joke. It’s gotta be. Right? …A 1 GHz Apple A4 chip (What the???)”
MacDailyNews Take: Oh, trust us, it’s all being iCal’ed for future use.
Thurrott continues, “This stuff is just boring. If Apple wanted this to be a game machine, they should have built hardware controls into that huge bezel.. Overall, this is a letdown. I’d be surprised to see anyone try to claim otherwise.”
Full article – Think Before You Click™ – here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s iPad is obviously destined to be a huge hit.
and don’t let the iPad hit you on your way out…
Paul has to serve up some red meat to his minions, while he still has some.
It’s sad that these people aren’t getting it. The iPad is totally an Apple device. It has specific functionality.
I wonder if the same things were said about the iPhone. Probably.
I couldn’t have asked for anything better. Like the iTouch, except bigger and better. Plus it has the potential to have some killer apps made for it.
This has all been done before elsewhere…
One word, NOT!!!!!!!
LOL… Thurrott of course doesn’t get it. He’s not forwarding thinking enough. He’s incapable of understanding real innovations. He’s a Microsoft whipping boy who always as “may I have some more please”?
Finally, a device that does not directly compete with a Microsoft product. Now Bill Gates can proudly show off his new Apple device in public without hearing about it from Steve Ballmer.
I wouldn’t bother iCal’ing this douchenozzle. He’s gone from somewhat-reserved Apple basher to batshit crazy Apple-baser over the last 6 months. He contributes absolutely nothing to tech conversations. I would argue that he actually makes people who read him stupider.
All that aside, handle, functionality etc. you know you were disappointed a bit by that bezel the first time you saw it. I hate to say it, but I just can’t bring myself to call that an inspiring design.
For any other company, I’d say this was acceptable, but Apple has set the bar too high for us to applaud every lame semblance of mediocrity.
Meanwhile, I’m glad SJ didn’t invite McGraw Hill et al in his presentation.
Other analysts view of the iPad.
“In our view, Steve Jobs and the Apple crew surpassed expectations with the long-anticipated unveiling of the tablet device, officially named iPad,” Mr. Marshall said. “While we were impressed with the specs during the briefing given by Mr. Jobs, it was not until we actually used the iPad for about 15 minutes were we convinced this will be another grand slam product for Apple.”
Thurrott is SO WRONG!!!!
come on people. if they iPad was SO “magical” don’t you think the multi touch screen could tell that your ENTIRE finger was resting on the screen and NOT count that as a gesture?
i’m a self proclaimed fanboy, but this product is NOT magic. its been 5-10 years in the making and seems half baked….very un-apple like.
why would that giant screen be cluttered up with iPhone app icons? so now a 10 inch screen demands the same UI as a 2.5 inch screen. wha?
Thurott is right! First, it’s not beige. And it doesn’t even have a 5 1/4″ floppy drive, fer chrissakes. There’s no command prompt. I can’t even do regedit with the thing. How can I, an IT administrator, implement new paradigms on a go-forward basis to improve my workflow? The truth is that you can’t with this iPad or whatever they call it. And a graphical user interface? Bah. Give me the blue screen any day.
“Overall, Paul Thurott’s analysis is a letdown. I’d be surprised to see anyone try to claim otherwise.”
No one seems to be talking about Stage 2. Don’t think of iWork as the only new iPad app. This of it as a ‘how to’ guide for OSX developers to re-invent their existing software using a touch-screen interface. Imagine when 2011/2012 beings us iPad versions of OmniGroup, MS Office, Photoshop. Imagine all the Windows Desktop apps embracing the platform based in a way they never embraced OSX on the momentum of the iPhone App store. Now imagine Apple getting 10% because they’re the software distribution model. Think long term. Jobs has a plan. This is just the foundation.
Guys, you’re missing the point: Thurott is paid to say these things. Trust me, he can’t possibly really believe them (no one is that brain dead). It’s just his job. He preaches to his lemmings and they lap it up. All is as it’s supposed to be. They will miss the boat and we will sail happily into the sunset with our shiny (elegant, easy to use, aesthetic, fast, reliable) toys and they will be left to suffer with Windoze. Don’t waste your breath or time on them. Just pity them…
i think the iPad has huge potential, but man this homescreen looks awful! almost as if acer or samsung had designed it.
iphone icons lost on a huge grid with gigantic spaces between them? the mpst ugly backrounds they could fine. what is gooing on here?
it almost seems as if steve wants to punish his designers for using the most ugly version because they didn’t come up with something he liked.
I don’t know about you guys but I see potential in this product (as is the case with any other mac product) particularly within the home. I see this device sitting at my table being able to control locks, tvs, DVDs lights and as well as my house alarm and locks and all that stuff. But overall, I see it replacing our ancient house phones. Just imagine when close to 1/3 or more of the population has one of these at home connected over wifi and assigned a number by your company to be able to
make and recive calls. And then with the added camera it will soon have (just my speculation) apple will revolutionize yet again. I sincerley think this ipad realy is the missing link between the iPhone and the laptop
Within one minute of the end of the presentation, a Windows buddy of mine sent me an email claiming 28 PC manufacturers already have a tablet on sale, and what’s the big deal.
I simply reminded him there was probably 28 companies selling MP3 players before the iPod came out, and 28 different versions of smart phone before the iPhone. It’s not the feature set, it’s the functionality.
When the iPad was first flashed on screen, I, too, was underwhelmed. But by the end of the presentation I was stoked. I can totally see how cool and useful this will be, and how this device will help usher in the future of always-on, always-available cloud computing.
I’m no Apple apologist, but this time Thurrot really shows that he is defending his Microsoft blogging business. I can’t wait to hear what he says on Windows Weekly. I have a feeling he will be very stiff.
I was watching a Special edition of mac break weekly and Paul Thurrott said he doesn’t think it will succeed but that he likes it and plans on buying one! Huge difference from his article.
Alright, let’s pretend for a minute you’re in charge of designing the iPad. You decide it shouldn’t have a bezel. This confronts you with two problems.
1. How do you make the touchscreen tell that your ENTIRE finger is resting on the screen and NOT count that as a gesture in a way which doesn’t result in unbelievably convoluted touch recognition logic that cannot possibly function reliably despite its complexity?
2. How do you turn the user’s thumbs invisible so they aren’t constantly blocking the damn screen?
Giving the iPad a bezel conveniently solves both problems. What’s your solution for them?
@ mike g – i’m a self proclaimed fanboy,
Yes, but clearly not of Apple.
The iPad is going to be one of those devices that people are going to have to see “in the wild” to really get. Wait till you see folks in the grocery using it for their shopping lists, or people in Starbucks with their lattes and the NY Times meaning less clutter to clean up, or passengers on the plane watching a movie or even doing some work on those postage stamp sized folding tables.
And the price…before Wednesday, when I’d broach the subject with my husband, he said, “Yeah, but it’s going to be too expensive.” Now, though, he’s at least open to the idea of getting one as an iPhone replacement; I can just use a generic cell phone for calls.
Paul gets what Paul is paid to get, and even then it’s a struggle.
I love how all these people commented on Thurrot’s site complaining about the processor being only 1 GHz. No one has even seen one in person who commented, yet they’re claiming it’s not enough horsepower.
Apple via PA Semi designed the A4 specifically for the iPad, so it could avoid having to take into consideration other uses, like a netbook, optical drives, or whatever. If the processor can be custom-designed for a particular use, then it won’t have to be as powerful to accomplish the same tasks because you can avoid bottlenecks. Plus, you save power, which helps battery life.
I can’t wait for a year from now, when fantastic new apps are out for the iPad and it’s a runaway hit so Thurrot and his minions/hit whores can suddenly say how much they love the iPad.
Is Paul channeling Steve Ballmer, or is he just being his douche-like self?
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