Apple iPad 2 - Big deal or not?

[Shlak]

The price of iPad is good enough

 

[tzimisce]

I am beginning to wonder how sad it must be when the only thing you can judge a product by is whether or not it has flash. I hated flash before the iPad and now I really despise it and its fanboys.

To be fair, different users have different requirements and expectations. Flash may not be an issue to the vast majority of users, but others who need it (for whatever reason) may find that it's reason for them to go to Android instead.

On the other hand, as you point out, the lack of Flash support is a quite tiresome dead-horse criticism that anti-Apple fanboys love to flog over and over.

 

[rogatsby]

I am beginning to wonder how sad it must be when the only thing you can judge a product by is whether or not it has flash. I hated flash before the iPad and now I really despise it and its fanboys.

To be fair, different users have different requirements and expectations. Flash may not be an issue to the vast majority of users, but others who need it (for whatever reason) may find that it's reason for them to go to Android instead.

On the other hand, as you point out, the lack of Flash support is a quite tiresome dead-horse criticism that anti-Apple fanboys love to flog over and over.

Agreed. Web browsing is one if my main uses for the iPad, but I don't miss Flash at all. I wonder what sites those people are visiting. I visit a lot of mainstream sites - Ny Times, other major newspapers, most of the well-known tech sites and blogs, etc., and lack of Flash is not an issue for me at all.

I guess it could be an issue depending on what sites you frequent. For me personally, I don't miss it at all.

And although the Android lovers talk about Flash support on their devices ad nauseum, they don't mention the fact that Flash performance on Android phones is just horrible. I have a Samsung Galaxy S running Froyo, and I always disable Flash because it just runs like crap.

 

[Thphilli]

I am beginning to wonder how sad it must be when the only thing you can judge a product by is whether or not it has flash. I hated flash before the iPad and now I really despise it and its fanboys.

To be fair, different users have different requirements and expectations. Flash may not be an issue to the vast majority of users, but others who need it (for whatever reason) may find that it's reason for them to go to Android instead.

On the other hand, as you point out, the lack of Flash support is a quite tiresome dead-horse criticism that anti-Apple fanboys love to flog over and over.

Agreed. Web browsing is one if my main uses for the iPad, but I don't miss Flash at all. I wonder what sites those people are visiting. I visit a lot of mainstream sites - Ny Times, other major newspapers, most of the well-known tech sites and blogs, etc., and lack of Flash is not an issue for me at all.

I guess it could be an issue depending on what sites you frequent. For me personally, I don't miss it at all.

And although the Android lovers talk about Flash support on their devices ad nauseum, they don't mention the fact that Flash performance on Android phones is just horrible. I have a Samsung Galaxy S running Froyo, and I always disable Flash because it just runs like crap.

I would have agreed with you about flash running like crap, until my Galaxy S phone, the Epic4g, got Froyo. It plays wonderfully and is awesome to have.

I dont think its a fanboy point to make. Its reality. Its an awesome OPTION to have when using an Android device. I wish my iPad was capable of it. I prob would buy an iPad2 if flash was confirmed for it.

And by far its not the only thing to judge a product by. Its just a minor annoyance compared to other things.

 

[Mtnmedic]

I agree with this. Just look at the video end: Flash is already on the run from Silverlight and HTML5. Adobe is hurting. They are a victim of their own suucess in a way; they simply haven't kept up and before they knew it Netflix dumped Flash for Silverlight (and the quality of the stream improved dramatically) and HTML5 is becoming the standard. There was a day, not all that long ago, that Flash ruled and nothing looked like a threat. Except for those who knew how resource hungry Flash really is. Microsoft stepped in and the ultra-light Silverlight took millions of dollars of enterprise streaming away. Now, with HTML5, why go flash? No corporate web designer in their right mind would develop a new site and use Flash video over HTML5.

Bottom line: Apple has no real reason to add flash as it's dying.

Yep. I agree wholeheartedly. Flash is slowly but surely on its way out. And, quite frankly, I don't miss it at all on the iPad. Primarily because the vast majority of ads thrown in your face on the web are Flash-based. All this time I've had the iPad (since May), I've encountered only a few web pages that wouldn't load because they required Flash. Besides, every portable device that I've had which has run Flash has seen crappy battery life with it enabled. Disabling Flash HAS helped significantly. That's one big reason why Flash isn't in iOS devices. And one of the BIG reasons for the iPad's success is, in fact, it's long battery life (the other being the Apps).

So, bye-bye, Flash. I'll be kind enough to show up for your funeral when the day comes.

Michael "Spam, spam, bacon, eggs and spam. Hold the bacon and eggs." Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[Mtnmedic]

You know this reminds me of years ago when MP3 players first came out and the battle between Zune and Apple was fierce. Apple won that one hands down, in fact we don't even call the market "MP3 players" anymore just "iPods". I have a hunch in a couple of years we won't be calling this market "tablets" and we sure as heck wont be saying "Xooms". Funny how Zune and Xoom sound alike

Actually, I have the Zune HD 64GB (as well as the original 120GB) and I love it. I'm an audiophile and I firmly believe the Zune HD is superior (I used to have iPods) in terms of audio quality and the interface is pretty darn nice, using a gorgeous OLED screen. The Zune Pass and Marketplace can't be beat. My mother, sister and I each have Zunes on the same account so all the devices are loaded up with whatever we want, whenever we want and I get to keep 10 tracks for my very own, DRM-free, every month. All at $14.99 a month. Not bad at all. None of us have any need for apps on a serious, dedicated music playing device, since we're doing something else while listening to music or podcasts, like exercising, relaxing, walking, traveling or doing stuff around the house, not playing games and such. If I want to mess with apps and games, do photos, etc., I'll use my iPad.

But we could go around and around until the cows come home about this subject. The point I'm getting at is...if you haven't seen it, go to YouTube and search for the "Zune Man" sketch from Robot Chicken. Funny stuff.

Steve Jobs: "Don't make me kill you."

CD: "You already have!"

BLAM!

Michael "Spam, spam, bacon, eggs and spam. Hold the bacon and eggs." Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[graywolf]

Actually, I have the Zune HD 64GB (as well as the original 120GB) and I love it. I'm an audiophile and I firmly believe the Zune HD is superior (I used to have iPods) in terms of audio quality and the interface is pretty darn nice, using a gorgeous OLED screen. The Zune Pass and Marketplace can't be beat. My mother, sister and I each have Zunes on the same account so all the devices are loaded up with whatever we want, whenever we want and I get to keep 10 tracks for my very own, DRM-free, every month. All at $14.99 a month. Not bad at all. None of us have any need for apps on a serious, dedicated music playing device, since we're doing something else while listening to music or podcasts, like exercising, relaxing, walking, traveling or doing stuff around the house, not playing games and such. If I want to mess with apps and games, do photos, etc., I'll use my iPad.

But we could go around and around until the cows come home about this subject. The point I'm getting at is...if you haven't seen it, go to YouTube and search for the "Zune Man" sketch from Robot Chicken. Funny stuff.

Steve Jobs: "Don't make me kill you."

CD: "You already have!"

BLAM!

Michael "Spam, spam, bacon, eggs and spam. Hold the bacon and eggs." Sent from my iPad using iPF

From a hardware perspective, iPods, and even the iPad's audio hardware, are way more advanced than microsoft's silly iPod wanna-be zune. I'm sure 99% of the world agrees with that.

 

[DontUnderstandMyIpad]

From a hardware perspective, iPods, and even the iPad's audio hardware, are way more advanced than microsoft's silly iPod wanna-be zune. I'm sure 99% of the world agrees with that.

Do you have more information, as to why the iPod would produce better sound? Because from most of the forums I came across, the Zune was found to produce a higher audio quality.

Now, I am sure 99%, or at least a large amount of people would agree that the iPod is the best mp3 player, but that has more to do with MS only selling the Zune in the US.

 

[graywolf]

Do you have more information, as to why the iPod would produce better sound? Because from most of the forums I came across, the Zune was found to produce a higher audio quality.

Now, I am sure 99%, or at least a large amount of people would agree that the iPod is the best mp3 player, but that has more to do with MS only selling the Zune in the US.

128 bit aac audio is pretty awesome. And an oled display on the zune? iPod nano 6g beats that.

 

[DaveSt]

Do you have more information, as to why the iPod would produce better sound? Because from most of the forums I came across, the Zune was found to produce a higher audio quality.

Now, I am sure 99%, or at least a large amount of people would agree that the iPod is the best mp3 player, but that has more to do with MS only selling the Zune in the US.

128 bit aac audio is pretty awesome. And an oled display on the zune? iPod nano 6g beats that.

The Zune supports AAC as well, up to 320 kbps.

 

[tzimisce]

Agreed. Web browsing is one if my main uses for the iPad, but I don't miss Flash at all. I wonder what sites those people are visiting. I visit a lot of mainstream sites - Ny Times, other major newspapers, most of the well-known tech sites and blogs, etc., and lack of Flash is not an issue for me at all.

The only site which I've missed Flash is Timbuk2's Customize-Your-Own-Bag plugin, which I sometimes like to play with and try out different combinations of fabrics and colours. Doesn't really matter if I can't do it on iPad (since I already have a customized Timbuk2 messenger, in any case.)

 

[graywolf]

The Zune supports AAC as well, up to 320 kbps.

Oooohhhhhhh. iPod still is amazing. 320 kbps. And still rocking the awesome screen on the iPods. And don't make me go into all the features iPods have that zune doesn't.

 

[Mtnmedic]

Oooohhhhhhh. iPod still is amazing. 320 kbps. And still rocking the awesome screen on the iPods. And don't make me go into all the features iPods have that zune doesn't.

This is very simple to counter. Just about every audiophile website says the Zune HD is superior as a music player. If you want to do more than just listen to music and radio, iPod is the way to go. Unlike iPod fanboys, I'm dead serious about my music and so is my sister, who is a musician and professional music engineer for one of best recording studios in the world. She says there is a healthy mix of iPods and Zunes at work but many folks there say Zune is the better music player, but not necessarily the best device because you can do more things with an iPod. It's all in what you want your device to do. One thing a lot of people rave about is the Zune Pass. Like the App Store is a good reason why the iOS devices are so successful, the Zune Pass and Marketplace are what keep the Zune afloat. It's a much better subscription model than iTunes if you're serious about getting all kinds of content on your player and discovering new music.

Anyway, they're both good and you can't go wrong with either. I'm not knocking the iPod. I'm saying I've had all versions of both iPods and Zunes and, based on my experience swell as my sister's, the Zune just sounds better. The sad thing is Microsoft has really blown an opportunity to make the Zune shine and really compete against the iPod as a serious music player. The iPod IS the better device, no question about it. But I rest that the Zune is better for music quality. It's just one of those awesome products that never get over the hump because of lack of aggressive marketing and overseas support. Yet another reason why I'll haul off and slap Steve Ballmer upside the back of his head, should we ever cross paths. But that's another rant for another day.

No hatin' here. Much love and respect for iPod.

Michael "Spam, spam, bacon, eggs and spam. Hold the bacon and eggs." Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[Seadog]

For what it's worth, Apple is trying to offer music in studio quality. I understand none of the terms, but apparently all digital music is sold as 16 bit(?) and it is recorded in 24 bit (?). Apple is trying to create a way to offer the 24 bit sound on the iPods.

AAC is a better format for music than MP3, and you can get better sound quality if you do not compress the original, but then an iPod will only holds a few songs. That is the extent of my music knowledge. I love good music, but could never be considered an audiophile.

 

[Tarkio]

The hardware improvements in the ipad2 may not seem to be significant, but they are in regards to new apps. Twice the RAM (if true) faster dual core processing, MUCH faster graphics, 2 cameras and a gyroscope will relegate the first ipad to being stuck with first generation apps.

iMovie will be very useful to me for mocking up rough cuts of commercials and videos on the road. But already Apple has made iMovie only compatible with the ipad2. I think we will soon see many new "must have" apps that are only compatible with iPad2. I'm expecting that I will be able to process photographic Raw files with the ipad2 which was impossible with my original iPad.

So it really doesn't matter if we think the ipad2 is a major upgrade or not. It's a matter of being able to run the next generation of apps.