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People are very quick to take the experience of one guy, and an obviously biased blog post, as fact.

I know several people who own an iPad and use them all the time. They've said they have hardly touched their laptops since. Does that mean it's perfect for everyone? Of course not. But just because a few people regret getting them (same with any product, ever released) does not mean the device is doomed to failure.

People are very quick to take the experience of one guy, and an obviously biased blog post, as fact.

I know several people who own an iPad and use them all the time. They've said they have hardly touched their laptops since. Does that mean it's perfect for everyone? Of course not. But just because a few people regret getting them (same with any product, ever released) does not mean the device is doomed to failure.

One not good? Take two! :p

My iPad tryst: I craved, I caved, I gave up

A few days with Apple's wonder tablet nearly wrecked my digital marriage

ifail.widec.jpg

The iPad has some design and functionality issues, as became clear when I took this picture of someone using his iBook to prop up the iPad while listening to his iPhone.

OPINIONBy Josh Belzman

Contributing editor

msnbc.com

updated 8:53 a.m. ET, Thurs., May 20, 2010

Steve Jobs may blackball me for writing this, or even thinking it, but I think you should know: The iPad is useless. Beautiful, but useless.

In the span of about a week I purchased, gave up on and feverishly resold an iPad after realizing Apple already made and I already own the more utilitarian and ergonomic version: the iPhone.

The iPad is unwieldy eye candy. It's an aluminum- and glass-wrapped homewrecker. Just two days with it led me to appreciate my lowly laptop and undersized smartphone more, and Apple's design sense less...

Source: msnbc

The iPad has some design and functionality issues, as became clear when I took this picture of someone using his iBook to prop up the iPad while listening to his iPhone.

That's why they sell a case, which can be used as a stand.:pinch:

Anyway, if I don't like mine, I'll either return it or ebay it :yes:

But unlike a smart phone I have to lug this thing around externally. I can't just put it in my pocket. If I'm going to lug something around in a case around my body I might as well bring a netbook or ultraportable laptop and enjoy the increased functionality.

As a student would you rather carry 20 pounds of books or 1.5 pounds of iPad.

e-Books are cheaper than printed text books. For my Masters I can save $40 - $100 per textbook if I am to purchase e-book version vs full printed textbook.

so my iPad comes free after three semesters, plus I dont have to deal with carrying bunch of books wherever I go when I can use the iPad.

Is not just about being a great e-book reader but also a research tool by using browser to surf the net and get connected to my University Digital Library.

10 hours of battery life for a super light iPad that's easy to hold and responsive and simple to use, sign me up any day.

Find me a Netbook or Laptop that is 1.5 pounds heavy and has 10 hour battery life...

About the size... do you put your text books in your pocket? Do you put your netbook in your pocket? Can your netbook work for 10 hours?

I am definitely not going to use a netbook or iPad to decode or encode music or movies, for that I have my Desktop PC. For all people that see an advantage in having a full blown OS on the netbooks I see a disadvantage.... Performance and battery life suck, plus boot time is annoying as hell.

As a student would you rather carry 20 pounds of books or 1.5 pounds of iPad.

e-Books are cheaper than printed text books. For my Masters I can save $40 - $100 per textbook if I am to purchase e-book version vs full printed textbook.

so my iPad comes free after three semesters, plus I dont have to deal with carrying bunch of books wherever I go when I can use the iPad.

Is not just about being a great e-book reader but also a research tool by using browser to surf the net and get connected to my University Digital Library.

10 hours of battery life for a super light iPad that's easy to hold and responsive and simple to use, sign me up any day.

Find me a Netbook or Laptop that is 1.5 pounds heavy and has 10 hour battery life...

About the size... do you put your text books in your pocket? Do you put your netbook in your pocket? Can your netbook work for 10 hours?

I am definitely not going to use a netbook or iPad to decode or encode music or movies, for that I have my Desktop PC. For all people that see an advantage in having a full blown OS on the netbooks I see a disadvantage.... Performance and battery life suck, plus boot time is annoying as hell.

Id rather carry the weight around just because it would be a great work out :p

As a student would you rather carry 20 pounds of books or 1.5 pounds of iPad.

e-Books are cheaper than printed text books. For my Masters I can save $40 - $100 per textbook if I am to purchase e-book version vs full printed textbook.

so my iPad comes free after three semesters, plus I dont have to deal with carrying bunch of books wherever I go when I can use the iPad.

Is not just about being a great e-book reader but also a research tool by using browser to surf the net and get connected to my University Digital Library.

10 hours of battery life for a super light iPad that's easy to hold and responsive and simple to use, sign me up any day.

Find me a Netbook or Laptop that is 1.5 pounds heavy and has 10 hour battery life...

About the size... do you put your text books in your pocket? Do you put your netbook in your pocket? Can your netbook work for 10 hours?

I am definitely not going to use a netbook or iPad to decode or encode music or movies, for that I have my Desktop PC. For all people that see an advantage in having a full blown OS on the netbooks I see a disadvantage.... Performance and battery life suck, plus boot time is annoying as hell.

For school I rarely need to bring a book to class. Further, since I'm lugging around a backpack at school (because you still need your paper and pens and crap) throwing my laptop in there is trivial. So if I'm doing something school related I'm going to bring my backpack since it has all my stuff in it anyway. The iPad won't save me space and a few extra pounds on my back goes largely unnoticed.

I see the iPad as a convenience device, like the additional functionality of a smart phone, and not so much a productivity device but given the iPad's size it's not all that convenient. Your outlined situation is a fairly narrow scope of circumstances that lead to the device being advantageous to other devices.

...and you need arms like the Incredible Hulk to read anything longer than a page, does not enter into it.

I got a kick out of that line. I thought it was a little heavy at first, esp. compared to other eBook readers such as the Kindle. But I've read on it for countless hours without it bothering my arms. And I'm not the Incredible Hulk.

Look, the iPad is just an extension of what we currently refer to as a PMP. It is for consuming content, not producing content. If you want a kick ass e-Magazine and e-Book reader then the iPad is exactly that plus a little more. Also, the data plan rates with the 3g models I don't think you can beat (price-wise). Although, I think that the 3g iPad models are overpriced.

If you are looking for a device to use as a notepad, then you would do better if you stuck with pencil and paper because entering information in the iPad is painful. I much prefer typing on my iPhone than the iPad.

At the end of the day it is 100% a luxury item. Which really makes the argument as pointless as a thread on how much a person hates BMW or Mercedes. If you are into them, you are into them. If you are not, you think they are pointless and silly.

It's an over-sized iPod Touch. Sure it has some good apps but I've managed to get my hands on one and attempted to use it for my main device but it was useless. So many websites use flash you truly are stuck without it, no multitasking makes doing the simplest of tasks take twice as long and don't get me started on the keyboard.

I know it's Apple which instantly means journalists and consumers will instantly fall in love with it and ignore all its faults but it really is more of a toy then a productivity device. Show it off to your friends but as soon as you need to perform actual work on it it fails at the first hurdle.

It's an over-sized iPod Touch. Sure it has some good apps but I've managed to get my hands on one and attempted to use it for my main device but it was useless. So many websites use flash you truly are stuck without it, no multitasking makes doing the simplest of tasks take twice as long and don't get me started on the keyboard.

I know it's Apple which instantly means journalists and consumers will instantly fall in love with it and ignore all its faults but it really is more of a toy then a productivity device. Show it off to your friends but as soon as you need to perform actual work on it it fails at the first hurdle.

Why would I want to do actual work on it? What would lead you to believe you would want to do "actual work" on an oversized iPod Touch? I'm not sure exactly what you're even comparing this to, unless you're thinking this was meant to replace a notebook or compete with little garbage netbooks, the latter of which I would be hard pressed to try to do "actual work" on either.

I have a desktop and a MBP to do "actual work" on. The iPad is a larger-screened media consumption device. I had a netbook, for about 18 hours, until I returned it because it felt like I was using a cheaply made toy.

Why would I want to do actual work on it? What would lead you to believe you would want to do "actual work" on an oversized iPod Touch? I'm not sure exactly what you're even comparing this to, unless you're thinking this was meant to replace a notebook or compete with little garbage netbooks, the latter of which I would be hard pressed to try to do "actual work" on either.

I have a desktop and a MBP to do "actual work" on. The iPad is a larger-screened media consumption device. I had a netbook, for about 18 hours, until I returned it because it felt like I was using a cheaply made toy.

Funny that, I've been using an MSI Wind U100 for 11 months now every day as my work machine. It gets about 5 hours use a day and aside form being scratched up a bit, it's in immaculate shape. It's a fantastic machine to do work on, especially when you're travelling around.

And sorry, but Steve Jobs himself was comparing it to netbooks, so I think us normal citizens (aka not your God) can do the same

I wish I had a backlash like that going on.

I think everybody does.

I will never own a Apple product for two reasons - price and control, but I will give them props for being able to motivate people to buy their gear.

Is there anyone who bought a netbook that later realized it wasn't what they wanted, or that it just sets and gathers dust?

If you buy something and aren't aware of it's capabilities and limitations, that's your fault. Not Apple's or Microsoft's or Google's or anybody elses, just your fault. Go sell the damn thing on ebay or wherever....

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