Okay. So. Jobs is still on stage giving his spiel about the now-know-to-be-call iPad.

It's suddenly struck me, though, that at 1.5lbs, a month of standby time and 10 hours of battery life, accelerometer (potential compass use) and possibly GPS, this thing might have some potential for map/navigation out in the field.

Whaddaya think? Any discussion?

Tim.

How are you going to protect what is basically a baseless LCD screen?

What I think?

v1.0 - potential
v2.0 - truly usable but still darn expensive
v3.0 - OK maybe time to make a move
v 4-7 - OK, still thinking about it (but gotta get a cell phone first)
v8.0 - woohoo, got the iPad! :)

Finally! A gps screen I can read. What, no camera?
Would also make a fine stove platform for snow camping and possibly a center pole platform for a teepee pitched on soft ground.

Cheers,

Rick

Just bring iphone + AA charger pack, and you have all of the above in a much, much smaller / lighter package. And a real compass on the 3GS.

Yep. I feel ya.

It might even double as a sitting pad. But seriously, I don't think this is quite ready for putting in packs, though I do think it has potential, down the line, as a catch-all nav tool/gps device.

I agree that there's likely a big-screen convergence device in our future and I picture it having a flexible OLED screen and very compact, efficient electronics.

This Apple thing will certainly put a dent in Kindle sales, even at the rather spectacular prices for the WIFI-3G iterations. As Apple has long taught us, the early adapters take the financial hit for the rest of us.

Cheers,

Rick

Maybe it could be a frame sheet for your pack???

It is basically an big iPod Touch with GPS and digital compass. It wouldn't really offer a compelling reason to have extra weight.

The only thing it's good for is reading BPL at the airport or work, while wishing I was in the backcountry and not tethered to some electronic gadget. Wait....that's what I"m doing right now on my perfectly functional Macbook. Back to more important things....

> at 1.5lbs ... this thing might have some potential for map/navigation out in the field.
Hum - vs map and compass at 1 oz total?

Cheers

Hmm, iPad with limited capabilities, or Fujitsu u820 that has a keyboard, touchscreen, more pixels, similar battery life (I bet I would get 12+), runs any application (Mapsource, Basecamp, Streets & Trips, Acrobat, Firefox, Office 2007), has 120 gigs hard drive, has multiple wireless options, built-in camera, weighs 1.53 lbs with extended battery (1.34 lbs with regular battery), costs the same or less without strings attached if you know where to shop, smaller (a big plus for me).....tough decision! Haha! Still though, I'm glad Apple is doing it even if it doesn't exactly make sense yet. Enough Apple fanbois will spend the money to push the technology for these types of computers along at a faster pace.

The Fujitsu u820 looks an awful lot like a machine from Apple's Powerbook 100 series (ca. 1991).

> Hum - vs map and compass at 1 oz total?

If after adding the 1.5lbs -- we are still well within our "comfort weight" -- meaning we can still hike all day, every day without really feeling the weight on our shoulders -- then why not? Same goes for adding a novel -- if it gives us reading pleasure at camp without adding pain to our hike. YMMV, of course.

For me, I doubt I would carry this on hikes out into the wilds, but I can definitely see potential for future world travels.

Edited by ben2world on 01/27/2010 14:59:25 MST.

The 32gb Archos5 Internet tablet is 8 ounces, runs on Google's Android, has longer battery life, same GPS capabilities, has a silicone protector available and is $389.00 - At 5 inches the touch screen keyboard is just big enough to actually use properly.

I think there will be alot of tablet activity over the coming year and we'll see prices drop drastically in the fall.

As for Apple's Ipad..It's not that much different than what other manufacturers are already doing, or previously announced they would do in Q1 and Q2 2010.

Seriously, I've seen alot of you guys complain about a 2 lb backpack but you're considering a 1.5 pound Ipad?

I have been waiting for an Apple tablet for more than 12 years! What Apple finally did come out with is exactly what I wanted, something lighter than a laptop, but bigger than an iPhone, something that can hold enough books that I don't have to carry around all that weight (English language paperbacks, for some unfathomable reason, have grown huge over the years!) when traveling and backpacking (though I still prefer reading real books), something that allows me, as an illustrator and sketcher, to be out there with a reasonably-sized screen and do hand-drawings that, again, don't take up a lot of space and weigh a ton the way sketchbooks do and allows me to have a great variety of media, rather than just a pen, pencil, and small case of watercolors (here again I prefer real paper, pens, and media when I don't have to worry about weight and space, but the Brushes app that you can already get for the iPhone, but will come standard with the iPad, is a fantastic drawing and painting app, plus I don't have to worry about my paper buckling in damp weather or ink running, and I can draw while on my back on a bumpy train or car), something that allows me to keep a journal, both handwritten and with a keyboard, something that would allow me to download my hundreds of photos and free up my camera memory, something that would allow me to both carry my original maps that I planned a trip with but also download more along the way, plus be much easier to read than the iPhone, and finally, as someone who has to schlepp around a MacBook Pro for work everyday it would be a lifesaver for my back to have one of these as a sort of go-between my laptop at home and laptop at work, plus would be great for client meetings to show my artwork and portfolio without actually carrying a portfolio or a laptop. Just what I've been asking for for years!

As any serious Mac user knows, this is a dream come true!

Check out the video of hands-on with the iPad at the end of this link:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/apple-ipad-first-hands-on/

I wouldn't take this backpacking, but I have to marvel at the combination of user interface and speed. When you can manipulate a device with quick gestures and have near instantaneous response, it starts to look like sci-fi. It's a step toward the clunkiness of technology disappearing.

It reminds me of the tech in "Minority Report" (without the creepiness of Tom Cruise, as a bonus).

"What Apple finally did come out with is exactly what I wanted"

+1! Maybe more!

I'll be one of those early adopter fanboys that will allow the rest of you to get one cheaper later on! And gladly so!

You're 7 years too late to be an early adopter.

Here's what Apple claims they invented:

Except I was using it back when it was really invented by a company called Compaq which was later purchased by HP.

Whatever. Before the Tablet PC was the Newton. Before that was something else. It's all evolution. I don't really see Apple saying they 'invented' the iPad. They are calling it a 'revolutionary' device, which is the same marketing hype all companies do. It's a great evolution though, in my very own personal opinion. My only choice now is whether to get the 3G version or the wi-fi only version!

And FWIW, I owed a Compaq computer years and years ago, and before that a Hyundai 8088! How many folks know that Hyundai made personal computers! Did my first programming on a 'faceless' computer, where you typed in your program and it punched it out on 'ticker tape,' which you then fed back through to run your program! Text appeared on the yellow paper in front of you. Ah, those were the days!

Edited by idester on 01/27/2010 17:54:07 MST.

To put it all in perspective, Al Gore invented the Internet. So there.

OK, carry on...