iPad

Played with one over the weekend. Very slick. My only real grip is that it is a little heavy for a hand held device. Not sure how bad it would actually be without owning one and using it for a few weeks. My guess is that it's manageable.

I really want to get one but I'm not sure if/when I would get one. I know that if I wait a year I can get one that will be better, with more features and cost less.

I hear you Interseptor. I thought is was a bit heavy as well. I also found it a bit strange that in Pages, you could only access the main formatting bar from the vertical position, even though you can type in either position. Not a deal breaker just strange. Still, most of the iPad apps looked great.

If I don't get one for my b-day this year, I will def get one next year. Although I'm not sure I agree with y'all on the lower price. The iPhone initially had a major drop because it was too over-priced, but after that the price remained steady, the same with the iPods.

What I think Apple will do, is give us more bang for those bucks--Front facing camera for video conferencing (avail in iPhone 4.0), the ability to use an iPhoto style app, etc. They already have an artist app avail that looks kinda cool:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sketchbook-pro/id364253478?mt=8#


So, the possibilities are there, apple just needs to push that envelop a little more.

S7 Jwriter wrote:Although I'm not sure I agree with y'all on the lower price. The iPhone initially had a major drop because it was too over-priced

ORLY? and $500 for this isn't?

How does the touch screen on the ipad work? I'm just curious because if Autodesk made the paint program it's probably pretty impressive. The UI looked great anyway. If it's heat sensitive then that takes away from the painting potential and if it's pressure based then I'd be curious what the sensitivity levels are.

Not sure how exactly it works. It is by far the best multi-touch screen I have ever seen. Incredibly responsive and very fast but it is strange. For instance, your fingernail won't register but the lightest finger touch will. I don't think it's heat because I have a soft squishy stylus thing that works.

Update: According to Wikipedia, here is the answer...

Projected
capacitance

Projected Capacitive Touch (PCT) technology is a capacitive technology which permits more accurate and flexible operation, by etching the conductive layer. An XY array is formed either by etching a single layer to form a grid pattern of electrodes,
or by etching two separate, perpendicular layers of conductive material with parallel lines or tracks to form the grid (comparable to the pixel grid found in many LCD displays). Applying voltage to the array creates a grid of capacitors. Bringing a finger or conductive stylus close to the surface of the sensor changes the local electrostatic field. The capacitance change at every individual point on the grid can be measured to accurately determine the touch location.^[5] The use of a grid permits a higher resolution than resistive technologyand also allows multi-touch operation. The greater resolution of PCT allows operation without direct contact, such that the conducting layers can be coated with further protective insulating layers, and operate even under screen protectors, or behind weather and vandal-proof glass. However, conductive smudges and the like can seriously interfere
with the resolution, making multiple touches necessary to get the desired functionality. Such conductive smudges come mostly from sticky or sweaty finger tips, especially in high humidity environments. Collected dust, which adheres to the screen due to the moisture from fingertips, is a serious drawback for the long-life operation of PCT.

PCT is used in a wide range of applications including point of sale systems, smartphones, and public information kiosks. Visual Planet's ViP Interactive Foil is an example of a kiosk PCT product,where a gloved hand can register a touch on a sensor surface through a glass window.^[6] Examples of consumer devices using projected capacitive touchscreens include LG's LG KE850, Apple
Inc.'s iPhone and iPod Touch, HTC's HD2, G1, and HTC Hero, Motorola's Droid, Palm Inc.'s Palm Pre and Palm Pixi and more recently the LG KM900 Arena, Microsoft's Zune HD, Sony Walkman X series, Sony Ericsson's Aino and now Vidalco's Edge, D1 and Jewel, the Nokia X6 phone and Google's Nexus One.

AtrumX wrote:How does the touch screen on the ipad work? I'm just curious because if Autodesk made the paint program it's probably pretty impressive. The UI looked great anyway. If it's heat sensitive then that takes away from the painting potential and if it's pressure based then I'd be curious what the sensitivity levels are.

Zak's right, it works on pressure sensitivity--at least based on the specs...I think I remember reading something about that. Check out the specs in that link.

S7 K1ll3rKlown wrote:ORLY? and $500 for this isn't?

I think the price issue will depend on what you can do with it.
If you can do solid photo and video editing, as well as executive-style
productivity (Office suite--iWork, Quick Office and Documents-to-Go.),
then imho yes, it's worth it. For half the price of an iBook a student
or office exec can be almost as productive.

Now, $850 is over-priced and hard to argue to the contrary. If $500 was the high price-point, and say $200 was the low then I'd say that would be a preferable range. Of course, the current price points give apple to "flexibility" to give you more (video conferencing, MS Office, etc.) and keep the price the same. This is a classic Apple move.

I watched quite a few vids of people painting on the iPad, looks fun for messing around with but not really suitable for pro level stuff. What I did find that was much more impressive was the Modbook. If I didn't already have a laptop I'd probably pick up one of those next. They're basically just a macbook put into a iPad like case without losing any functionality. And they threw in a Wacom like pen sensor.
http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook

PS: I am probably way out of the loop on the modbook since I don't bother browsing for new tech outside of Wacom.

Touch screen in action...