Alleged 'iPad Pro' Model Shows What the Giant Tablet Might Look Like In-Hand

[tdale]

Interesting thread in light of the Surface Pro 3 unveil.

As in lots of comments over a non Apple product?

There are comments from rational users saying how its good or not so good. From Apple fanboys saying its bad, from Microsoft fanboys saying its good. From rational users saying its good for their or certain uses. Business being a prominent use case.

Bit of everything, just filter out the rants and anger to see the varying opinions. It is however relevant as a new product, a hybrid, amongst existing seperate tablet and laptop products

 

[fmaxwell]

Good to know about YOUR preferences, I'm talking about the consumer at large.

My preferences align with those of a large segment of the consumer population. Therefore, your proclamation about what it would need to sell for was wrong. Who made you spokesperson for "the consumer at large"?

The Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is 799 euros, pretty much on par with the 64 GB iPad Air Cellular. The MaxiPad needs to be rather spectacular to command a 50% premium over that.

You pay crazy high amounts in Europe. I payed $929, the equivalent of 681 Euros for my 128GB iPad Air WiFi/Cell -- and that was list price. I could easily see paying an addition $300 for a MaxiPad. But I see your point about pricing in Europe.

P.S. Let's keep the name MaxiPad going. It's a winner.

Sure. Like said, 4G would be nice (and I'm not getting a tablet without it) but you can live without it, and on something like the Surface Pro, there are lots of ways around that.

Sure, if a Surface Pro purchase entitled me to weekly slumber parties with Scarlett Johansson and Taylor Swift, I'd learn to deal with the lack of 4G. But lacking said slumber party privileges, the Surface Pro doesn't have any features I find particularly compelling. It's a compromise device that's neither a particularly good notebook computer nor a particularly good tablet.

 

[kaielement]

I would buy if it ran osX but I hesitate to think it would knowing Apple. But if it did I think could out sell the tab and note pro seeing as it is running a full os and if it would be cheaper then the Surface pro 3 or in in line with them (699-799) I would buy why. And I wouldn't mind if it ran a 32bt os either. On the other hand baring price in mind the MacBook Ari is already this so to speak. Well I guess for now I will stick to my iPad Air and MackBook Air 11" combo lol.

 

[fmaxwell]

I would buy if it ran osX but I hesitate to think it would knowing Apple.

I don't want it to run any app not specifically designed and tailored for use on a touchscreen; it's a totally different GUI design model. Something designed for a mouse/trackball totally utterly sucks on a touchscreen. I don't want to operate 3mm wide icons with my 14mm wide fingers.

The ability to run standard, desktop apps is what doomed Microsoft's early tablets. USA Today published an article in 2012 entitled Microsoft's long and tortured history in tablets which included:

Another problem was that the pen-based adaptations were skin-deep. Windows remained a thoroughly keyboard-and-mouse-based operating system, and many functions were simply hard to get to with a pen. Third-party applications weren't converted for pen use at all.

There's no reason to believe that the situation would be any different with touchscreens (versus "pens"). That's why Apple should not release a tablet that runs OS X. I want software vendors to be forced to make touchscreen-specific iOS applications if they want to sell to the lucrative iPad market. I don't want them deciding that their existing desktop app is good enough for the iPad Pro (or MaxiPad, as I call it) and that people with iOS-based iPads can go pound sand.

P.S. Microsoft still has not learned. You're not seeing a bunch of software companies releasing new touchscreen-based versions of their apps for the Surface Pro. Instead, Surface Pro users are stuck running a bunch of desktop apps that are frustrating and unpleasant to use on a touchscreen tablet.

 

[zipa]

I want software vendors to be forced to make touchscreen-specific iOS applications if they want to sell to the lucrative iPad market

I want to use what I need, not what software vendors care to port to some gimp-pad. Also, I need (as in have to, whether I want or not) to be able to give live demos of our enterprise apps, which will never, ever be ported to any gimped tablet OS. They probably won't ever be ported to anything outside Windows, but an OSX pad would allow me to run Windows in VMWare for demos.

Also, there's no way around the fact that finger-driven UI's are a horrible waste of screen estate. All touch targets need to be immense and the result is that you can't fit f*&k-all on the screen. It might be acceptable for couch-slouching, but I want none of that for productivity use if I could just as easily plug in a mouse and a proper keyboard.

 

[fmaxwell]

I want to use what I need, not what software vendors care to port to some gimp-pad.

Incorporating what you want and/or need would ruin this potential new iPad product. You don't seem to understand that Microsoft has doing what you are advocating for the last 15 years. They have been putting touchscreens onto undersized notebook computers and trying to sell the resulting devices as tablets since 1999. And they are still failing miserably because of it. Most people want good tablets, not bad notebook computers. Steve Jobs got that. That's why the iPad was a rousing success after one Windows tablet failure after another.

Also, I need (as in have to, whether I want or not) to be able to give live demos of our enterprise apps, which will never, ever be ported to any gimped tablet OS.

The OS is not crippled and your use of the terms "gimp" and "gimped" is offensive. iOS is optimized for a touchscreen device and a low-power ARM processor (for battery life).

They probably won't ever be ported to anything outside Windows, but an OSX pad would allow me to run Windows in VMWare for demos.

Then get a Microsoft Surface Pro 3. It's designed for people like you -- people who want to run unmodified Windows apps on a portable device with a ~12" screen using a plug-in USB keyboard and mouse.

Also, there's no way around the fact that finger-driven UI's are a horrible waste of screen estate. All touch targets need to be immense and the result is that you can't fit f*&k-all on the screen.

Talk to someone who understands how to design touch screen GUIs and you'll learn something. That's why touchscreen apps and OSs have menus and controls that you swipe up, down, left, or right to bring onto the screen. That's why good tablet apps normally don't have rows of always-present icons or "ribbons."

Screen real estate used to make a touchscreen device work well when used as a touchscreen device is not wasted. I realize that you'd probably much rather have an iPhone with a plug-in keyboard and mouse for dialing, texting, apps, etc., but none of the rest of us want that. We want controls big enough to use with our fingers -- just like we want them on our iPads.

It might be acceptable for couch-slouching, but I want none of that for productivity use if I could just as easily plug in a mouse and a proper keyboard.

Any developer will tell you that productivity sucks on a single 12" display. I've got a pair of 23" Samsung monitors in front of me and it drives me crazy to have so little real estate when I'm developing software.

Quit trying to make a good tablet into a lousy notebook computer. You've made it clear that you hate finger-operated touchscreens, you want to use a USB keyboard and mouse, and want to run Windows applications. So buy a Surface Pro 3 and be done with it.

 

[smoledman]

Incorporating what you want and/or need would ruin this potential new iPad product. You don't seem to understand that Microsoft has doing what you are advocating for the last 15 years. They have been putting touchscreens onto undersized notebook computers and trying to sell the resulting devices as tablets since 1999. And they are still failing miserably because of it. Most people want good tablets, not bad notebook computers. Steve Jobs got that. That's why the iPad was a rousing success after one Windows tablet failure after another.



The OS is not crippled and your use of the terms "gimp" and "gimped" is offensive. iOS is optimized for a touchscreen device and a low-power ARM processor (for battery life).



Then get a Microsoft Surface Pro 3. It's designed for people like you -- people who want to run unmodified Windows apps on a portable device with a ~12" screen using a plug-in USB keyboard and mouse.



Talk to someone who understands how to design touch screen GUIs and you'll learn something. That's why touchscreen apps and OSs have menus and controls that you swipe up, down, left, or right to bring onto the screen. That's why good tablet apps normally don't have rows of always-present icons or "ribbons."

Screen real estate used to make a touchscreen device work well when used as a touchscreen device is not wasted. I realize that you'd probably much rather have an iPhone with a plug-in keyboard and mouse for dialing, texting, apps, etc., but none of the rest of us want that. We want controls big enough to use with our fingers -- just like we want them on our iPads.



Any developer will tell you that productivity sucks on a single 12" display. I've got a pair of 23" Samsung monitors in front of me and it drives me crazy to have so little real estate when I'm developing software.

Quit trying to make a good tablet into a lousy notebook computer. You've made it clear that you hate finger-operated touchscreens, you want to use a USB keyboard and mouse, and want to run Windows applications. So buy a Surface Pro 3 and be done with it.

Yet when people try to shoehorn an iPad into a productivity device by setting it up with a case and bluetooth keyboard, that's considered A-OK? The fact is all these devices have compromises.

 

[fmaxwell]

Yet when people try to shoehorn an iPad into a productivity device by setting it up with a case and bluetooth keyboard, that's considered A-OK?

Adding a bluetooth keyboard does not relieve software companies from having to make iOS-specific apps that are optimized for touchscreen operation.

Nor does it force a Core i7 CPU into the case, require four times the RAM, shorten the battery life, increase the case thickness, require fan-forced cooling, and double the device's weight.

It's still a lightweight, low-power, thin, long-battery-life, silent, portable device even if someone adds a bluetooth keyboard. Heck, I have a bluetooth keyboard for my iPad Air and use it on the road. No problem with that at all.

 

[zipa]

Incorporating what you want and/or need would ruin this potential new iPad product.

No, not incorporating it will ruin it for me. And quite frankly, my opinion is the only one that I'll consider when making a purchase decision. I already have a 10" gimp-pad, what the heck would I do with another one that's exactly the same, only a bit bigger?

Most people want good tablets, not bad notebook computers. Steve Jobs got that. That's why the iPad was a rousing success after one Windows tablet failure after another.

I could not care less what most people want. I'm not in the tablet manufacturing business.

The OS is not crippled and your use of the terms "gimp" and "gimped" is offensive.

Gimp, gimpety gimp, gimp, gimp.

Then get a Microsoft Surface Pro 3.

It's not like I have any choice, unless Apple decides to step up and make one as well.

Any developer will tell you that productivity sucks on a single 12" display. I've got a pair of 23" Samsung monitors in front of me and it drives me crazy to have so little real estate when I'm developing software.

Hence the docking station. I can drop that bad boy in the dock and use my twin 30" setup while sitting at my desk.

You've made it clear that you hate finger-operated touchscreens, you want to use a USB keyboard and mouse, and want to run Windows applications. So buy a Surface Pro 3 and be done with it.

Like said, I will, unless some one makes a better one. An iPad that runs OSX and iOS as an emulation layer on top of it would be one example of such a thing.

And do you know what the best part of it would be? If you don't want one, you don't have to buy one.

 

[fmaxwell]

No, not incorporating it will ruin it for me. And quite frankly, my opinion is the only one that I'll consider when making a purchase decision.

Then I hope that they ruin it for you. Because the health of Apple as a company, and their reputation for not making tablets that run software that sucks on a touchscreen, is more important than your single-device-purchase.

I already have a 10" gimp-pad, what the heck would I do with another one that's exactly the same, only a bit bigger?

Replace the one you have in order to get more screen real-estate.

I could not care less what most people want. I'm not in the tablet manufacturing business.

I own 400 shares of Apple stock and I don't want to see Apple make the same stupid-àssed mistakes that Microsoft did.

Gimp, gimpety gimp, gimp, gimp.

Why don't you start repeating the N-word over and over since you're so into using slurs? I guess that's not as safe as insulting people in wheelchairs, is it?

It's not like I have any choice, unless Apple decides to step up and make one as well.

Great. Then go buy a Surface Pro 3.

Hence the docking station. I can drop that bad boy in the dock and use my twin 30" setup while sitting at my desk.

So talking about a 12" screen and productivity is silly.

Like said, I will, unless some one makes a better one. An iPad that runs OSX and iOS as an emulation layer on top of it would be one example of such a thing.

How would it be "better" to make a tablet that is too heavy, too thick, has too short a battery life, requires a fan, and has to be used as an emasculated notebook computer?

And do you know what the best part of it would be? If you don't want one, you don't have to buy one.

Well, I'm invested in Apple, so I don't want them repeating the same mistakes that Microsoft made for the last 15 years.

 

[bingeciren]

business, real estate matters.

if you think differently, you obviously never been in business

From that statement, I get the impression that you obviously have never been in business.

As for myself, I have 25 years of experience running my own company with 400 workers in the health sector.

If you presented your case to our executive committee to equip our team with the large iPad, especially with your criteria and reasoning, it would be rejected.

 

[GlennB]

That's all fine that Apple is increasing the iPad screen size, but my current iPad Air has a screen size that suits me just fine.

But what I really want to know is when is Apple going to put a REAL USABLE SCREEN SIZE ON ITS postage stamp size screen on the iPhone?

I can't use my iPhone without special reading glasses.

 

[sracer]

Yet when people try to shoehorn an iPad into a productivity device by setting it up with a case and bluetooth keyboard, that's considered A-OK? The fact is all these devices have compromises.

Adding a bluetooth keyboard does not relieve software companies from having to make iOS-specific apps that are optimized for touchscreen operation.

Nor does it force a Core i7 CPU into the case, require four times the RAM, shorten the battery life, increase the case thickness, require fan-forced cooling, and double the device's weight.

It's still a lightweight, low-power, thin, long-battery-life, silent, portable device even if someone adds a bluetooth keyboard. Heck, I have a bluetooth keyboard for my iPad Air and use it on the road. No problem with that at all.

Well said. The Surface line of devices make fine alternatives to netbooks and ultrabooks, but subpar tablets. I say this as an satisfied owner of both an iPad4 and a Surface2.

If Apple would add support for mice to iOS' bluetooth stack and maybe expose the file system a little, it would greatly enhance my iPad usage. But that's just me, I know others have different wants.

 

[tdale]

Well said. The Surface line of devices make fine alternatives to netbooks and ultrabooks, but subpar tablets. I say this as an satisfied owner of both an iPad4 and a Surface2.

If Apple would add support for mice to iOS' bluetooth stack and maybe expose the file system a little, it would greatly enhance my iPad usage. But that's just me, I know others have different wants.

I fully agree, iOS needs to be opened up a little.

What is blurring the discussion over the iPad Pro and Surface Pro 3, is that the shortcomings of iOS are not really relevant. That is a shortcoming of iOS, irt is what it is, nothing to do with the innovation and experience of the SP3. In the unlikely event that Apple would free up iOS to help make it more productive instead of consumptive, we could probably thank Microsoft for that, for pushing it along

 

[Tech198]

...well for one, i don't have hands THAT big..

I could use one as a door stop though

 

[fmaxwell]

...well for one, i don't have hands THAT big..

Then you'd have been in real trouble back when Computer Shopper magazine was 11" x 17" and had 800+ pages.

 

[loon3y]

From that statement, I get the impression that you obviously have never been in business.

As for myself, I have 25 years of experience running my own company with 400 workers in the health sector.

If you presented your case to our executive committee to equip our team with the large iPad, especially with your criteria and reasoning, it would be rejected.

If you have to see large reports, compare reports, orders, whatever the case, you need more real estate.

the iPad Pro isn't going to be like the iPad Mini or iPad, its going to have its own size, so us developers are going to have to resize our apps and add MORE features and maybe expand the reports to show more information without scrolling constantly.



for mobile devices its the same case. some or our customers want to take orders with the iPhone, some with the iPad because they want to see reports and it just isn't reasonable on a small screen.

having a bigger screen to show more data is a bad thing? why do we have big computer screens then? you can't go wrong having more real estate if mobility isn't an issue.

 

[pcote]

I have disagree. Capacitative pen technology is vastly inferior to wacom and ntrig active technologies. The best feature on the cintique is toggle cacitative
on-off for the most robust pen experience possible. Ipad pro without pen tech is huge fail

I agree with you but apparently, the iPad's touchscreen is really precise (a finger isn't). I'm pretty sure it can be even better in the future. This is a pretty good beginning:

http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/18/5818192/adobe-ink-and-slide-review

Let's wait another year and see what happens with all this technology.

 

[Aniseedvan]

I think someone has just attached one of their apple stickers to a baking tray

You have just made my lunch break...