What do you think Apple will announce on the 27th

[diogen]

The iPhone also does not support Flash.

Considering Flash (especially the hidef version) playback is power hungry and doesn't support hardware assistance from video card on the PC platform, I think abandoning it is a good idea in the name of battery life. Regardless of platform.

Diogen.

 

[Jared Twomey]

Considering Flash (especially the hidef version) playback is power hungry and doesn't support hardware assistance from video card on the PC platform, I think abandoning it is a good idea in the name of battery life. Regardless of platform.

Diogen.

I disagree... There is so many sites nowadays that require Flash that it is a deal breaker for me. If I could use it to watch hulu on the go... I would be more compelled to buy it. Without that, I have no reason to purchase this product.

 

[mike123abc]

It is still 60 days away from launch. Perhaps they will have multi tasking and flash working by then. They really need flash for the iPhone. Multitasking would be nice too. The main disappointment I see on it is the screen is low resolution at 1024x768.

If it had a 1920x1080 resolution it would be killer at 10", it would be so fine reading magazines or books on it would be a pleasure.

Of course there still is no mention on the expansion of iTunes to cover subscriptions to magazines and newspapers, the subscription TV service or the book system.

It is almost like they are announcing early to put pressure on media companies to fall in line and provide content. It would be nice traveling over a notebook in many cases.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

The iPhone does not support flash, neither will the iPad.

 

[Peter Parker]

This thing really is magical. can I use it too make a phone call using GSM or is that just for data?

I suspect that the new OS that has been rumored is coming and that it will support multitasking. Flash is another issue. Even though the Iphone does not support it today Ipad support for it may be coming.

 

[Jonhern]

I disagree... There is so many sites nowadays that require Flash that it is a deal breaker for me. If I could use it to watch hulu on the go... I would be more compelled to buy it. Without that, I have no reason to purchase this product.

Not sure it they would block something like the ipad, but hulu blocks ip address from mobile devices. Used to be able to watch hulu on my phone with skyfire but they blocked it, I think they blocked the ps3 as well. But yeah, I think it is silly just to leave flash out, if you want to have it you should be able to turn it on, if you want better battery life you should have the option to turn it off. Don't just cut it out completely.

 

[meStevo]

Considering Flash (especially the hidef version) playback is power hungry and doesn't support hardware assistance from video card on the PC platform, I think abandoning it is a good idea in the name of battery life. Regardless of platform.

Diogen.

I dont know all the details, but as of like October I think Flash has been able to utilize GPU power.

The only good reason they have to exclude Flash on both the iPhone and iPad is to control the content you have access to.

 

[diogen]

I dont know all the details, but as of like October I think Flash has been able to utilize GPU power.

Not sure about that.

Let's put it this way: H.264 at ~6Mbps has been playable on netbooks for a while with CPU utilization around 10%
while Flash is more of hit and miss. Especially on SOCs. Especially after Adobe acquired Macromedia.

I think this will come. Every party is interested.
But as long as it will cut the battery life in half (or thereabout) "perfectionist" like Jobs will never allow it on Apple's platforms...

I believe the iPad is not to win over "infidels". It is to milk the converted. And milk it will.

Just my 2 cents.

Diogen.

 

[Foxbat]

AR Dishpointer will rock on this.

Except there is no camera and no GPS.

 

[Peter Parker]

I dont know all the details, but as of like October I think Flash has been able to utilize GPU power.

The only good reason they have to exclude Flash on both the iPhone and iPad is to control the content you have access to.

Battery life is the other factor. Many comapanies would give you the choise of whether to run your battery down at that rate. Apple made the choice for us.

 

[dont24]

I really don't understand Apple these days. Certainly not a Fanboy, although I use nothing but Macs and ipods at home. They could have made this thing so much better right out of the gate. if I was in the market for a kindle, I'd certainly choose an iPad instead. Look at the Macbook Pro line. Still running on C2D Like I stated, I'm in the market for a 13" Macbook pro, but refuse to pay $1100 - $1200 for something still using Core 2 Duo. I'll continue to play the waiting game.

 

[Foxbat]

A forward-facing camera ala the iMacs and MacBooks would have allowed this to be a personal communicator. An iChat app or video Skype would be killer! Plus, some people had speculated on the camera being able to recognize the user and altering the preferences to match.

Of course, the 30-pin dock connector now allows USB devices to be plugged in. What's to say that this couldn't be used to expand the iPad to increase its versatility?

I'm waiting for someone to announce the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" PAD app. Geordi LeForge would have loved it! I'm assuming Voice Recognition will be there since the iPad has a microphone and the OS seems to be iTouch/iPhone based.

Question: Has the actual resolution of the screen been published? I know Apple says that 1024x768 is supported via the Dock connector, but what about the actual screen? How many dpi?
Edit: D'oh! Read the specs on Apple's iPad site!

We'll see in March...

 

[jayn_j]

I had flash blocked at my old job, and browsing was near impossible. A large number of sites, especially commercial ones would not let me in at all.

I simply don't get it. A touchscreen netbook can be had for around $450, so why would I pay $500-$900 for a machine without a usable keyboard, that has limited browsing capabilities and which is not a good kindle replacement?

 

[Peter Parker]

This thing really is magical. can I use it to make a phone call using GSM or is that just for data?

I.

i found my answer it is for data only so unless someone packages a VOIP app it won't work.

 

[diogen]

... unless someone packages a VOIP app it won't work.

Since "virtually all" iPhone apps run "virtually unmodified" (Apple's iPhone software guru, Scott Forstall),
there are few. And at least one of them even works.

What's more, Apple (AT&T?) allows using VoIP over the cell network
Apple lifts VoIP over cellular restrictions in new iPhone SDK -- Engadget

Diogen.

 

[thowe21]

I had flash blocked at my old job, and browsing was near impossible. A large number of sites, especially commercial ones would not let me in at all.

I simply don't get it. A touchscreen netbook can be had for around $450, so why would I pay $500-$900 for a machine without a usable keyboard, that has limited browsing capabilities and which is not a good kindle replacement?

I agree...if you own an Apple product then you have to go to iTunes to get video, no way would they want you going to hulu.com, cbs.com, fox. com, etc.. It's all about the bottom line for Apple.

I think if Dell/HP can come out with a tablet similar to the iPad but with Flash support, then it would really keep the market competitive. Having that nice of screen on a good portable device like the iPad but without any Flash support is kind of dumbfounding to me.

 

[diogen]

There will be lots of tablets in the next 6-12 months: HP Slate from CES,
Asus
ASUS exec confirms Eee Pad tablet plans, picks a bad day -- Engadget
MSI and even Dell.
MSI's 10-inch Tegra/Android tablet coming this year for $500

They will run Android or Win7.
Now that everybody knows what market Apple will be targeting (creating?) those plans will be adjusted.
They will most likely be PCs in a different form-factor, won't have neither the sexy look nor the obvious shortcomings of the iPad.

Diogen.

 

[mike123abc]

I am going to be in the wait for V2 to come out column. I would like to see:
1. GPS
2. Camera
3. Higher resolution
4. Multitasking and Flash (but I think this one will have before release, or shortly after).

 

[meStevo]

I am going to be in the wait for V2 to come out column. I would like to see:
1. GPS
2. Camera
3. Higher resolution
4. Multitasking and Flash (but I think this one will have before release, or shortly after).

Some of these features to me reek of a 'well lets put out this version, make $$ on our faithful, then put out the next one with half of these features, rinse and repeat...'

 

[Foxbat]

Since Adobe publishes Flash, they either have a version that run on the ARM processor or they don't. If other mobile devices running on ARM don't have Flash, then this is hardly Apple's fault. On the other hand, if it is an issue of Flash on the iPhone/iTouch/iPad OS, then that is a combination of Apple and Adobe's business decision to not support that platform.

Well, according to ARM, Flash 10.1 on ARM is real, as in the partners "have delivered on the commitment to optimizing Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 on ARM®-powered devices as part of the Open Screen Project." This was back in October.

So, since I don't have a MotoDroid or an HTC MyTouch, or other ARM-based phone, is this true? Is Flash available on all ARM mobile devices except those from Apple?