[NTLK] OT: iPad vs. MS Courier: Sound Off

Steven Goldberg spgoldberg at mac.com
Wed Apr 7 17:35:09 EDT 2010


Jon.
My 2100 is a brick. Face it. It probably weighs MORE than 1.5 lbs ... am I
right? But I used it all of the time. I was pretty hassled by Jobs
cancelling the project ... one reason that I was hassled was that I totally
liked the Newton - and anticipated it's potential ... but I had also spent
about a thousand dollars on Apple stock! I had spent $18 per share. I was
scared that I would lose the money I had invested.

Dude! The stock was trading at more than $241 today! It closed at $240.60!
These iPads have probably pushed the stock price up about $40 in the last
few months.

I ordered 2 of the 64 gig 3G iPads the first day I could. If you can't see
the iPad's potential then you need to sit with me for just a few minutes and
chat!

I don't much care if I can't write on the iPad like I could on my Newton ...
and I read and write for a living. Because I can dictate for free! And the
Dragon app is totally slick. 

I will take notes on the iPad though, with the virtual keyboard while the
iPad is resting on a table. It will be just fine. I have the Newton Keyboard
- and I never used it, or it's dongle - so I don't think I will use the
iPad's keyboard either.

Get excited! Write an iPad app to allow 2 way texting on the 3G model! And
make a gazillion dollars overnight! That's what I would do if I knew how!
Steve

-----Original Message-----
From: newtontalk-bounces at newtontalk.net
[mailto:newtontalk-bounces at newtontalk.net] On Behalf Of Jon Glass
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 2:09 PM
To: newtontalk at newtontalk.net
Subject: Re: [NTLK] OT: iPad vs. MS Courier: Sound Off

On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 10:38 PM, Ryan <newtontalk at me.com> wrote:
> Maybe the iPad is more hype than anything else?
>
> I just did another sweep of reviews and now almost all of the latest
reviews complain about the weight.  It's too heavy.  This leads me to
believe that it is something real, not imaginary.
>

I've tried to say from the start that the tablet concept is flawed, and that
the iPad may very well be a flash-in-the-pan, in the end.
It's simple. A tablet large enough to use/see/read must necessarily be
relatively heavy. And large enough to read also makes it more difficult to
actually enter data. But, with a tablet, you lack the prop for the screen
that the built-in keyboard provides the laptop/netbook. You _must_ hold it,
if you will. It goes beyond the software interface, and comes down to that
simple slate that, while seemingly simple like a book or pad of paper,
becomes more unwieldy with time.

Personally, I have very real concerns that the iPad will not be a long-term
success.

The iPhone, on the other hand, addressed genuine problems that cell phones
had up until its debut--and still have, despite having three years now to
improve themselves. Yes, there is competition to the iPhone, but none are as
complete as the iPhone ecosystem. The thing is, the iPhone scratched a
genuine itch. The iPad, on the other hand, scratches a hype. In fact, as far
as it goes, I believe that the _Newton_ was a better solution to the
perceived problems people have with laptops than the iPad is. By forgoing
the keyboard entirely for HWR, it solved very convincingly the need for data
entry. Granted, it isn't so fast as a keyboard, but try typing while
standing--and the Newton's HWR _is_ faster. If the Newton OS could be taken
from where it left off (not the actual code, but its GUI and way of
operating), and updated to today's technology--especially the hardware-, I
am convinced it would be superior to all else that is out there. I guess,
though, there are still the issues with the resistive touch screen vs.
capacitive...

--
 -Jon Glass
Krakow, Poland
<jonglass at usa.net>

"I don't believe in philosophies. I believe in fundamentals." --Jack
Nicklaus

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