iPad launch day: Blogger’s cravings nearing unmanageable levels
posted at 4:06 pm on April 3, 2010 by Allahpundit
The question: Does a man who spends nearly every waking hour at his work computer and who already owns an iPhone really need another portable Apple thingy? The answer: “Need” can mean many things, my friends. Do I “need” to spend seven hundred dollars so that I can explore the periodic table while lounging on my futon, even though my brand spanking new Dell desktop is located six feet away?
Perhaps. Perhaps.
Here’s the dilemma. My home computer is almost eight years old (I know) and on its last legs; the Dell is beautiful and up-to-date, but it technically belongs to the boss. So I need a new one of my very own, but I don’t like laptops and it seems a waste to buy a desktop that does the same stuff as the Dell. If only there were a third option, something geared at personal entertainment that’s light enough to carry around. Something shiny, with bright lights, and sleek enough to make rational human beings start behaving like the apes at the beginning of “2001” when they first see the monolith.
I’m reading articles like this to steel myself, but I can’t lie. I’m on a hair trigger. I could snap and place an order at any time. (Tomorrow’s Media Matters headline: “Teabagger blogger ‘on a hair trigger,’ ready to ‘snap.’”) I fear the fateful hour is near. Exit question: Stick with the Wi-Fi only model or wait a few weeks for the 3G?
Blowback
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I’m 100% geek and I don’t see the appeal. Go figure.
Daggett on April 3, 2010 at 4:07 PM
If you can hold out for the 3G, do so.
If you can wait that long, go buy yourself a gun to satisfy the cravings of male-dom and wait another year for the iPad with all the fixes.
catmman on April 3, 2010 at 4:09 PM
Lucky for me that I can’t buy one through my Dell Account!
skatz51 on April 3, 2010 at 4:09 PM
Did you guys hear of this thing called a laptop? It is really cool. /
CWforFreedom on April 3, 2010 at 4:10 PM
Now THAT is funny…
Seven Percent Solution on April 3, 2010 at 4:10 PM
WiFi and 3G are the same option aren\’t they? I mean after the AT&T network crashes under the shear weight of even more Apple stuff constantly connected.
Ordinary1 on April 3, 2010 at 4:11 PM
Wi-fi. (You’ve got an iphone).
However, just to be a wet blanket, I’ve found it best to never buy the first iteration of anything software-driven.
I shall buy the second iteration – in around six months.
OldEnglish on April 3, 2010 at 4:11 PM
Oh no, mine is a week old and loving Windows 7, why would you need anything more?
fourdeucer on April 3, 2010 at 4:11 PM
It looks like it’s just a big iTouch.
Wait til the gadget geeks figure out the price for a battery upgrade/replacement. I heard it’s going to be quite pricey.
ZeeMI on April 3, 2010 at 4:11 PM
Everything I’ve read about it doesn’t impress me much. Sounds like it’s nothing more than a supersized iPhone.
I’m imagining the 3G capabilities will tie you into a having to use a specific carrier, just like the iPhone did. I’d go Wi-Fi if you do buy one.
ButterflyDragon on April 3, 2010 at 4:11 PM
Never buy version 1.0, wait for version 2.1.
ZenDraken on April 3, 2010 at 4:11 PM
Seven Percent Solution on April 3, 2010 at 4:12 PM
I think you should just get it.
changer1701 on April 3, 2010 at 4:12 PM
Yeah, carry around in a manpurse. But what do I know? I’m cursed when it comes to technology – the can opener won’t even work for me.
Emily M. on April 3, 2010 at 4:12 PM
Futon? iPad would be ideal for you;)
vinman on April 3, 2010 at 4:13 PM
Sorry, Allah. Even if you wear it as a sporran, it still won’t attract girls.
Pavel on April 3, 2010 at 4:14 PM
Read something that’ll cool your jets, Allah.
OhioCoastie on April 3, 2010 at 4:15 PM
Okay I’m a tech idiot but what exactly does it do? It’s not a computer, it’s certainly not a phone – what exactly does it do?
gophergirl on April 3, 2010 at 4:15 PM
DON’T get the 3G model if you already have an iPhone. Reason: you can jailbreak your iPhone (very easy to do) and use it as a tethering device for the iPad. The tethering uses the WiFi in the iPhone and the iPad as a peer-to-peer network and voila, iPad through the iPhone internet. Nerds across America rejoice!
Meric1837 on April 3, 2010 at 4:16 PM
Is having to have the latest of everything some kind of mental disease? Just asking…
docdave on April 3, 2010 at 4:16 PM
I love my iPhone more than my girlfriend, but this I don’t get.
Chuck Schick on April 3, 2010 at 4:16 PM
The Ipad is nothing more than a laptop for computerphobes.
paulsur on April 3, 2010 at 4:17 PM
Going for the 32 gig eh? Well, it has free shipping! So i say go for it, except, i think it doesn’t have flash which might be pretty annoying on teh intrawebz 2.0.
clearbluesky on April 3, 2010 at 4:17 PM
THREE G.
Do not abandon it.
Do so at ye own expense and suffering.
Personally I’d get a MacBook pro AP
then
this summer
not drink red bull for a month and then you’ll have enough foe the 3g model
I’d wait personally
for inputs
and the ability to run multiple apps at once.
Wait for more disk space and a better file transfer method
blatantblue on April 3, 2010 at 4:18 PM
+1
See my last post.
CWforFreedom on April 3, 2010 at 4:18 PM
Knock yourself out Allah…
… and on your way home, don’t forget the lotion.
Seven Percent Solution on April 3, 2010 at 4:21 PM
I am not going to buy a laptop again. The hinges on mine broke.
Holger on April 3, 2010 at 4:22 PM
A man has to do what a man has to do. I would love to get one but the captain would throw me overboard.
taney71 on April 3, 2010 at 4:22 PM
Apple always screws over the early adopters. Buy a netbook in the meantime.
Doctor Zhivago on April 3, 2010 at 4:22 PM
Right on, wrt file transfer. Pages will only save as a Word doc! UGH!
OldEnglish on April 3, 2010 at 4:24 PM
Just played ROCKBAND, drums. Kewl! But I am not appealed by it, thinking I have the Touch. And a Wii. If you’re in the middle of playing drums and you hit the bottom right button, it’ll shrink the screen and mess up the game. Just FYI.
ProudPalinFan on April 3, 2010 at 4:24 PM
You live in Manhattan, AP… The models and honeys are looking for males with an Amex Black, not a FedEx package tracker… Get a good phone and an Armani suit…
phreshone on April 3, 2010 at 4:25 PM
They don’t have a standard USB port on this version yet, so I would not waste my money on it and wait until the next version when they do.
JeffinSac on April 3, 2010 at 4:25 PM
Why so against a laptop, AP? On my second one…I’ll never get a desktop again.
Well, the lines at the Apple store in NY are around the block. Who knows…I might end up getting a base model iPad this Summer, just to have. It does look cool, I can’t lie.
Allah could start dropping some hints to the new bosses at Salem for Christmas gift ideas…but I highly doubt he’s gonna wait that long. He’s probably put an order in already…no willpower haha.
JetBoy on April 3, 2010 at 4:26 PM
Interesting question. I shall have to ask my therapist. :)
OldEnglish on April 3, 2010 at 4:26 PM
Great tool for media consumin’, but not so great for media creatin’ I think.
RBMN on April 3, 2010 at 4:28 PM
You just want to find a place for this app.
rob verdi on April 3, 2010 at 4:28 PM
This may help you decide:
Why I won’t buy an iPad (and think you shouldn’t, either)
Chip on April 3, 2010 at 4:28 PM
I’ll wait for windows/android/linux clone…
ninjapirate on April 3, 2010 at 4:30 PM
It is just unbearable when a wish becomes a desire and turns into a need. Needs must be fullfilled.
fourdeucer on April 3, 2010 at 4:30 PM
From Twitter. I agree.
mimi1220 on April 3, 2010 at 4:31 PM
No thanks, I’ll wait for the HP Slate or Android offering later down the road. I already own an iPad Nano.
1) No Flash
2) 4:3 Screen (huge black bars for movies and tv shows)
3) No USB, micro SD, basically any type of connectivity w/out buying $30+ accessories from Apple
4) No camera (no Skype)
5) No multitasking (want to IM while you do anything else? Sorry…)
6) No HDMI/VGA out w/out again buying overpriced accessories
7) Way overpriced w/ no expandable storage
8) No removable battery (battery dead? Pay $99 for a refurbished iPad is your only option)
9) No e-Ink for reading – enjoy your eyes bleeding from the LED backlit screen
metric on April 3, 2010 at 4:31 PM
ALLAHPUNDIT: You can have mine; not interested…
Khun Joe on April 3, 2010 at 4:32 PM
HOLD OUT for the 3G man!
No 3G, know despair. Know 3G, no despair.
Don’t you want to be able to use it in your friends’ cards – or in your own when you are stopped?
Or don’t even stop….
ElRonaldo on April 3, 2010 at 4:32 PM
errrrr… cars
ElRonaldo on April 3, 2010 at 4:33 PM
heh…Someone opened up an iPad, and look what’s inside…
JetBoy on April 3, 2010 at 4:33 PM
Definitely wait for the 3G
galenrox on April 3, 2010 at 4:34 PM
Don’t want a ‘keyboard’ on a ‘tablet’. Want data entry by ‘writing’ on the screen, and ‘drawing’ on the screen. Even though I have no artistic talent, I want to be able to draw sketches, electronic circuits, blueprints.
And I want to read documents, a camera, and photo editing.
When you can do that, I’m there.
Skandia Recluse on April 3, 2010 at 4:35 PM
Just buy it. I’ll be damned if I can figure out what you’ll use it for, insofar as productivity is concerned, but gadgets don’t always have to be useful.
And don’t bring up the office apps they are rolling out for it…no keyboard kills most of the practical aspects of this device. I guess if you can’t touch-type and don’t need a full OS, you might not hate it.
Don’t forget to buy the matching purse to carry it in.
Asher on April 3, 2010 at 4:35 PM
Ditto. Let the
first buyersbeta testers do they’re job proper.the_nile on April 3, 2010 at 4:37 PM
I don’t like the name of this product. It sounds like a feminine napkin.
Key West Reader on April 3, 2010 at 4:38 PM
Just bought the 32 gig model. Spent all day playing on it. It is a gadget lovers dream. It’s everything you wish the iPhone’s multimedia capabilities were. Have note really tried much in the way of productivity yet, but I can tell you for certain. Don’t listen to them, this is for sure the future of hand held multimedia devices.
By the way, i posted this using my new iPad. Typing is a breeze on this thing. Mac did it right….. Again. My only regret is that my iPhone now is just that…….. A phone.
Mavs00 on April 3, 2010 at 4:38 PM
Can’t put my iPod down. It’s amazing. Just picked up my iPhone to answer a text and it feels like a chicklet compared to the size of the pad. I get wifi everywhere so no 3G (or additional $ to AT&T) needed.
oceansidecon on April 3, 2010 at 4:39 PM
Is Hot Air about the real world or really about how AP thinks he’s at the center of the universe???
snaggletoothie on April 3, 2010 at 4:39 PM
Surely, after the HA acquisition, you can easily afford one.
On a serious note, though, why not let others discover/suffer through the kinks?
It’s that leading/bleeding thing…
Schadenfreude on April 3, 2010 at 4:39 PM
This thing will be a total cash cow when the fanboys start buying all their $30-40 iPad specific apps, and the $200+ worth of accessories to actually connect anything to the iPad.
metric on April 3, 2010 at 4:39 PM
On Easter Saturday, especially, you ought to be more humorous and giving…
Schadenfreude on April 3, 2010 at 4:40 PM
It’s going to disappoint you. Get a desktop upgrade instead. I sense buyers remorse after 2 days. It’s nothing but a media-consumption device.
AUINSC on April 3, 2010 at 4:41 PM
Didn’t the apes in 2001 throw a bone at the monolith? Apple says throwing bones at the iPad will void the warranty.
Cicero43 on April 3, 2010 at 4:43 PM
no iPhone
-
no iPod
-
no iPad
-
get’n along just fine.
esblowfeld on April 3, 2010 at 4:44 PM
For heaven’s sake, just buy the damned thing and spare us.
Do your thing for the economy.
Cody1991 on April 3, 2010 at 4:44 PM
Oh, buy the ‘Wi-Fi only’ version. That way, we can expect another 3 or 4 threads about how you regret not waiting for the 3G model. Go for it…
joejm65 on April 3, 2010 at 4:45 PM
Just remember, AP…Duplos are bigger than Legos but nobody thinks they’re cool.
James on April 3, 2010 at 4:45 PM
The real question on AP’s mind … can an iPad get him laid.
darwin on April 3, 2010 at 4:48 PM
metric on April 3, 2010 at 4:49 PM
Dear Allah – since you’re into Apple stuff, maybe you can ask your new bosses to develop a Hot Air app for the iPhone and iPad? When it comes to apps, it seems that liberal stuff outnumbers conservative stuff. Time to do something about that, and you have the juice to make it happen. Thanks.
joejm65 on April 3, 2010 at 4:49 PM
I’ve watched people using the touch screen keyboard. Can you say pain and fatigue in the hands and wrist after only a very short time suspending your hands above the display to avoid fat fingering (or palming) keys? And how will you prop the thing up on your lap to type?
No USB port? Are you freaking kidding me? I even heard it can’t multi-task, surely that can’t be true.
It’s a slick looking device, but good grief, I want FULL functionality. My little netbook isn’t much bigger or heavier than this thing and it does a WHOLE lot more.
With my netbook, I can choose which carrier’s mobile data plan I can buy.
Really, who needs a big iPhone to pack around….in addition to your phone. Oh, and those who buy this will need to do the exact same thing every laptop owner needs for true portability, get a bag, backpack, or man-purse.
flyfishingdad on April 3, 2010 at 4:50 PM
Hmm, I wonder…
Apple’s Ipad, Will it blend?
evilned on April 3, 2010 at 4:50 PM
Want or Need,that is the question!
AP,can it be SuperCharged,Fuel-Injection is nice,
but,Blown is better!!(I kid AP):)
canopfor on April 3, 2010 at 4:52 PM
I ordered the 3G as insurance for those non-wi-fi areas. What’s funny is Apple is shipping me the case right now, so I’ll have that lying around for a month.
I’m Steve Jobs’ bitch…I’ve learned to live with it.
Jim-Rose on April 3, 2010 at 4:53 PM
Oh,AP,if you do secure said hi-tech gizmo doo dad,
will you have a Hump-Bot,in celebration of!!:)
canopfor on April 3, 2010 at 4:54 PM
I ordered the 3G as insurance for those non-wi-fi areas. What’s funny is Apple is shipping me the case right now, so I’ll have that lying around for a month.
I’m Steve Jobs’ b*tch…I’ve learned to live with it.
Jim-Rose on April 3, 2010 at 4:55 PM
Next, they will create a larger version. Maybe the Max iPad?
azkenreid on April 3, 2010 at 5:01 PM
Then there will be the inevitable ‘This is the first post I’ve written entirely on my new iPad’. It’s gonna be a long April…
joejm65 on April 3, 2010 at 5:02 PM
Oh just get the darn thing, AP. Rationality has nothing to do with it. You work hard, buy yourself a toy.
I know the feeling, after 25 years, I’m still trying to ignore my Ducati lust.
pugwriter on April 3, 2010 at 5:03 PM
Making fun of AP is not humor?
snaggletoothie on April 3, 2010 at 5:05 PM
Get it get it get it get it get it get it get it…
pugwriter on April 3, 2010 at 5:05 PM
This is just made for a Red Eye’s Robot Theater episode…
Seven Percent Solution on April 3, 2010 at 5:05 PM
wait till they find a way to jailbreak it.
Doctor Zhivago on April 3, 2010 at 5:05 PM
Another one that syas hold out ofr the 3G. You won’t be sorry.
OxyCon on April 3, 2010 at 5:05 PM
It isn’t about features, reliability, or practicality, it’s about having the thing.
Get it get it get it get it get it get it get it….
pugwriter on April 3, 2010 at 5:08 PM
I know the feeling, after 25 years, I’m still trying to ignore my Ducati lust.
pugwriter on April 3, 2010 at 5:03 PM
pugwriter:Ducati,two wheels of excitement!:)
canopfor on April 3, 2010 at 5:11 PM
Not having it , getting it..
the_nile on April 3, 2010 at 5:11 PM
I support Apple’s right to free speech, and I’ll exercise my right to freedom of choice. No more Apples in my house so long as they choose to make political statements with their advertising dollars.
http://www.todaysiphone.com/2010/03/steve-jobs-disavows-fox-news/
tnarch on April 3, 2010 at 5:11 PM
Will you be able to make calls with the 3G version? It’ll be hilarious to see people holding the pad to their head. If you think the “sidetalking” Nokia phone looks dumb…
year_of_the_dingo on April 3, 2010 at 5:12 PM
Hey, snot nose. Show some respect.
Key West Reader on April 3, 2010 at 5:15 PM
I may get one sooner for development purposes, but I’m really more interested in the 4G model that should be out next year.
nukemhill on April 3, 2010 at 5:15 PM
iDontCare.
5u93rm4n on April 3, 2010 at 5:17 PM
No brainer. Wait for the 3G so you can for a brief moment be an alpha to all the betas who will suck because they bought the WiFi version. Something like that. Wait. for. the. 3g.
I did the same thing with the iTouch and then bought an iPhone. You’ll be glad you waited.
conservative pilgrim on April 3, 2010 at 5:17 PM
I’ve done Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki, but something light, lithe, and powerful in Italian red would be soooo nice.
pugwriter on April 3, 2010 at 5:18 PM
A few minor issues are starting to show up with this thing already:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/03/apple-ipad-charging-woes-usb-hubs-non-macs-and-weak-ports-not/
AUINSC on April 3, 2010 at 5:19 PM
True.
pugwriter on April 3, 2010 at 5:19 PM
JetBoy and AP aren’t the same person?
Amadeus on April 3, 2010 at 5:20 PM
heh.
Amadeus on April 3, 2010 at 5:20 PM
i Still think it’s a bad name. Now they’re going to put kotex out of bidness. We no longer use ko-tex, we use i-pads.
Gah.
Key West Reader on April 3, 2010 at 5:21 PM
It’s ghey.
daesleeper on April 3, 2010 at 5:21 PM
Careful, Allah. Writing ‘hair trigger’ in this political climate can get you banned. Don’t let Ed see this…
joejm65 on April 3, 2010 at 5:22 PM
I’ve done Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki, but something light, lithe, and powerful in Italian red would be soooo nice.
pugwriter on April 3, 2010 at 5:18 PM
pugwriter:How about a Norton Commando!!:)
canopfor on April 3, 2010 at 5:24 PM
What’s the point of comparing that atrocity with actual computers? Laptops and desktops are in a whole different league from that sissy (but accurately named) pad?
Darth Executor on April 3, 2010 at 5:26 PM
I enjoy working on my bikes, but I prefer not to do it with a tiny tool kit 100 miles from home. :)
pugwriter on April 3, 2010 at 5:28 PM
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