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Comment by mojuba | Hacker News Reader

Excuse my ignorance and non-appleness for this simple, non-technical, potentially stupid question:

While my 13" MacBook Pro rests on my knees, I can smoke with one hand, hold my coffee in the other hand, and read this article at the same time. I started it in the kitchen and finished in the bedroom.

How is iPad going to make my life better? Will I be able to do 3 things at a time with it? I suspect one hand will always be busy holding the thing. It will get tired, let alone that I won't be able to smoke and have my coffee and read an article (and always have the UNIX shell at hand) at the same time.

This seems like an iPad killer in the bad sense to me. I'm sorry.

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Maybe you should quit smoking.

Seriously though, the iPad isn't made for the likes of us on Hacker News (though I still kinda want one). It's for people like my father who don't really give a damn what a computer is as long as it's easy to use.

He probably should care that his arm is going to get tired holding his iPad for more than 15-20 minutes. Seriously, I'm failing to picture any long-time user of this device being really, really happy with it.

I'm jazzed about my Windows slate at 3 pounds, and yes, I can browse and post on HN all day with it, even from bed. You don't have to hold it up to use it in any context you can use a hardcover book.

My iPad will weigh half as much and won't require a stylus.

Because no one ever held a book steady in their hand for more than 15-20 minutes without getting tired...

Hell, I've watched whole TV shows on the bus with my iPod Touch. And don't get me started on games. There will be plenty of problems with the device, it's a 1.0, but there will be plenty of people really, really happy with it.

Surely stands or docks will be(or are) available, but I definitely see your point. Judging by the 'lifestyle' photos and videos, the device doesn't look very ergonomic.

I'll stick with my Eeepc; I'd just get Egg McMuffin grease on the touchscreen anyway. And I wouldn't be able to play MAME while I'm standing in line at the DMV.

Stands and docks are available, for a price. My wife wanted one of these, thinking $500 was worth it, but when I started to look into it I found that the $500 model is pretty crippled. You need to be near a WiFi access point if you don't get a 3G model ($130 more) and $30/month service plan, so no 'internet all the time' unless you pay extra. The $500 model also has 16GB of storage, and I have no idea if that's a lot or a little. Since 64GB is available I assume 16GB is not much. So that's another $200. Now you're looking at $830 rather than $500, and you still don't get any accessories.

Vanilla Dock: $30

Keyboard Dock: $70 (looks really flimsy and has a fixed angle)

Case: $40 (need to protect that screen if you're going to carry this thing around)

Camera connection kit: $30 (you need a dock to use this)

VGA adapter: $30 (you need a dock to use this too)

Basic set of accessories: up to $170

Total Price: $1000. Hmm... nice round number, huh?

So much for a $500 revolutionary computing device.

You need to be near a WiFi access point...

Correct me if I'm wrong – although I don't think I am - but, isn't the point of wifi that you don't need to stay tethered to a router? And the iPad supports 802.11n, so you'll be able to get a decent range with a pretty cheap router. Definitely enough to cover your house and yard.

The $500 model also has 16GB of storage, and I have no idea if that's a lot or a little. Since 64GB is available I assume 16GB is not much.

The size of a movie won't change if you have a 16 or 64GB iPad. And as with everything else, if its enough space or not depends on what you use it for. Personally, 8GB is more than enough space for me, on my iPod touch (and 16GB on my Pre is excessive for what I need). So, I preordered a 16GB iPad.

The availability of a greater size doesn't change the amount of information a smaller size can hold. 16GB is 16GB, regardless of the existence of a 64GB model. It just that there are different sizes that cost different amounts of money.

Total Price: $1000. Hmm... nice round number, huh?

$670-$700 being rounded up to $1000 is a big jump.

I don't have an 802.11n router at home, so I can't say what its range is. My 802.11g does pretty well inside my 3-story house, but drops off a lot into my backyard. Maybe an 802.11n would be better, but that means upgrading my router and possibly other wireless devices.

There's going to be a world of difference between the 3G and non-3G iPads. I can say this from experience having gotten used to my Blackberry with its internet browser (crappy as it is) and my laptop with a Verizon Wireless WWAN card. Having real full internet access wherever you go, without having to search for WiFi access points, changes the way you behave. That's part of the revolution Jobs is talking about with the iPad, but you've got to get one of the 3G models to experience it.

Regarding storage, like I said I really don't know how much I need. I know how much space a movie could take up, which is probably the biggest single thing I would store, but I'm likely to want a few of them. The real question is the applications; how much space do they need? I know that a laptop with 16GB free after installing the OS would be very cramped, but 64GB free is fairly typical (given 80-112GB laptop harddrives.)

The $1000 price point is for the 64GB 3G iPad with a full set of accessories (not the vanilla dock though.) There's no rounding; it adds up to $1000.

There's a dock for that.™ The problem with tablets is you always wind up yearning for the things you get with a laptop and it seems apparent the solution is dongles galore. I guess it's great for the peripheral market.

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