This just in: Apple ALSO selling more iPods and iPhones than Macs! Compelling! After the break: the shocking story of a Bear who shits in the woods, and is the Space Pope REALLY reptilian? Back after this...
Yes, but few people would say an iPod or an iPhone is a credible alternative to a computer.
I have a 3G iPad, I am frequently picking it up to do casual computing tasks (web, email, entertainment) that I would have ordinarily sat down at my desk for, or grabbed my laptop (MBP) off the desk for.
I like the fact that I can use the iPad on and off all day. It comes alive almost instantly, yet doesn't drain its battery after a couple of hours of use and idling.
The iPad is, to me, one of the first well-executed PC alternatives to come out in about as long as I can remember. I've also had netbooks (EEE 701), various smart phones, PDAs, computers tethered to TV's and other "alternative computing" devices throughout the years. None of them have ever really felt like viable products for me.
You've missed the admittedly rather subtle point I was trying to make, and have assumed I meant that iPods and iPhones were 'credible alternatives to a computer'.
The reason for my sarcastic, annoyed comment is the continual shock and disbelief that a low-cost product that completely freaking nails its intended target is outselling the recently-antiquated paradigm that is the personal computer.
People have been pining for this sort of device in their little black hearts for decades (if you want insight into the zeitgeist of a society, examine their art & culture for their hopes and dreams. Case in point: the Star Trek PADD, etc. Who could possibly NOT want one of those ;) ), and as such the "pent-up demand" comes to me as no surprise.
The iPad won't be the only one of its breed to surface in the near-future, but you can damn well better believe it will always be one of the best if not THE best-of-breed. In fact, I contend that these devices aren't "well-executed PC alternatives" so much as well-executed PC REPLACEMENTS. We may end up seeing the "personal computer" as we know it relegated back to the days of the concept of a "workstation", reserved only for those that need the on-site computing power, and the 'cloud' on the horizon seems make this even more certain.
Yes there have been other tablets. Yes there will be other tablets. "It's not the hardware, stupid!" (It's the interaction model that makes it so successful, and why Apple is miles ahead of everyone else in this respect, and will most likely remain so for the near term.)
Sorry for the rant, and of course nothing personal, just don't like the flavour of other people's words in my mouth and felt like my point was misinterpreted.
I have a 3G iPad, I am frequently picking it up to do casual computing tasks (web, email, entertainment) that I would have ordinarily sat down at my desk for, or grabbed my laptop (MBP) off the desk for.
I like the fact that I can use the iPad on and off all day. It comes alive almost instantly, yet doesn't drain its battery after a couple of hours of use and idling.
The iPad is, to me, one of the first well-executed PC alternatives to come out in about as long as I can remember. I've also had netbooks (EEE 701), various smart phones, PDAs, computers tethered to TV's and other "alternative computing" devices throughout the years. None of them have ever really felt like viable products for me.