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IOS Upgrades Hardware Apple

What's Not To Like About New iPad? 617

Posted by timothy from the let-him-count-the-ways dept.
Hugh Pickens writes "With 3 million sold over the last week what's not to like about the new iPad? Michelle Maltais at the LA Times does a good job of putting together a compendium of gripes about the new device, justified or otherwise. Most people thought that Siri on the new iPad was a gimme; instead it has a scaled back version — dictation. 'If you want Siri, buy an iPhone. Plain and simple.' The new iPad is a little heavier than the iPad 2, thanks to the better graphics processor and more powerful battery. At one-tenth of a pound heavier that really doesn't sound like much, but it can start to matter if you hold your iPad in one hand for long periods or have any kind of repetitive stress injury. Apps designed for Retina display can be up to five times bigger and it's not just a problem for owners of the new iPad. Legacy owners of the original and iPad 2 who have these apps get to feel the pain too, since updates aren't device specific." The list continues, below.
"The hot-selling device can reach up to 116 degrees during intensive use, according to a test by the Consumer Reports. PCWorld tested 43 tablets and found that the third-gen iPad takes the longest — almost six hours — to fully recharge its battery. You'll love the blistering speed of the 4G iPad, you won't love blowing through your monthly data allotment in just 24 hours if you use streaming video. A number of customers have been complaining on the Apple Support page about a weaker Wi-Fi connection that in some cases will hold a connection for only a few minutes. And last, whatever you do, don't drop the new iPad. From waist height, the damage to the third-gen iPad is fairly extensive. 'Only a small portion of the screen survived.'"
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What's Not To Like About New iPad? More

What's Not To Like About New iPad?

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  • News... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jhoegl ( 638955 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @12:34PM (#39466831)
    We make drama where there is none.
    Everything is amazing [youtube.com]

    • Re:News... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Hadlock ( 143607 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @12:49PM (#39466957) Homepage Journal

      I have to agree with this.
       
      They may have paid too much for their "how to bring more traffic to your blog by creating more drama when there is none" seminar paid by Cory "World's Most Annoying Self-Promotionist" Doctorow
       
      The number of crap, negative and leading headlines, along with "the answer is no [wikipedia.org]" question headlines has really spiked since Malda left slashdot. Some PHB decided that they can further monetize Slashdot as a mainstream blog by destroying what little culture Slashdot has and alienating their core long time userbase. Good luck with that, assholes. I've already started looking for a replacement to Slashdot.

      • Re:News... (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 25, 2012 @01:23PM (#39467187)

        Unfortunately, almost everything else is worse than Slashdot. The articles are generally worthless, but the community is still worthwhile and every now and again something worth talking about actually comes up.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by bertok ( 226922 )

        Seconded.

        I've been thinking about this for a year now, and it cracks me up that there's a law that names this effect!

        Lets see some recent Slashdot headlines:

        Can Translucency Save Privacy In the Cloud?
        No.

        When Social Media Meets TV, Are the Results Worth Watching?
        No.

        Will Mobile Wallets Replace Their Traditional Counterparts?
        No.

        Is It Time For the US Government To Back Fusion At NIF Over ITER?
        No.

        Any Smart Phones Made Under Worker-Friendly Conditions?
        No. [slashdot.org] -- it's the first +5 comment!

    • There is a cultural idea of "If you are smart then you must hate things".

      This goes for the Wine Tasters who will discredit popular wine just because it is popular and rave about the more expensive paint splitting stuff just because it is more expensive. So they can seem like they know what they are talking about.

      To Music/Art critics who complain that everything is derivative just to make a point that that they seem a commonality.

      To IT people who say that whatever popular software/hardware is somehow worse

    • Re:Everything Is Amazing And Nobody Is Happy (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 25, 2012 @12:50PM (#39466959)

      I didn't buy an iPad and I am quite happy.

    • Re:Everything Is Amazing And Nobody Is Happy (Score:4, Interesting)

      by FudRucker ( 866063 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @03:09PM (#39468041)
      that sure brings back memories, when i was a kid i had a brother and two sisters and mom was a stay at home mom and dad worked, there was one dial phone for everybody, you know what it is like trying to get to use the phone with that many siblings (especially sisters), cellphones have not been invented, the personal computer not invented, the family car was a 1958 Chrysler Imperial and for fun there was board games or i could go outside and ride my bicycle or skateboard which was dangerous because a pebble could lock up a wheel and off you go flying like a bird without wings so the first lap down the sidewalk was slow so i could brush aside any pebbles, and in an empty lot there was a rust hood of an old car we used as a jump for our BMX style bikes,

  • Coming Soon (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 25, 2012 @12:34PM (#39466839)

    Of course, the next yet-to-be announced version of Android, running on the next yet-to-be announced tablet, will solve all of these problems.

    Isn't that how it works?

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Lumpy ( 12016 )

      Except that nobody is buying android tablets because of their price point.

      The $599.00 android tablets are $200.00 overpriced. You CAN NOT charge apple prices for non apple product unless it is 200% better than the apple product.

      That is like Kia selling the new Optima for $86,500 and hoping you dont notice it's not a BMW.

      • Re:Coming Soon (Score:4, Informative)

        by cmdr_tofu ( 826352 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @01:45PM (#39467375) Homepage

        The $599.00 android tablets are $200.00 overpriced.

        How about the $400 Galaxy Tab 10.1 (lighter, bigger screen and nicer to use IMHO than iPad v. any)?

      • Re:Coming Soon (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Cederic ( 9623 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @04:40PM (#39468615) Journal

        The $599.00 android tablets are $200.00 overpriced. You CAN NOT charge apple prices for non apple product unless it is 200% better than the apple product.

        That'll be why Asus can't make their $599 android tablets fast enough to keep up with demand.

        I'm not saying it's 200% better than the apple product, but they certainly can charge $599 and sell every unit they make the day it hits the shop.

        Except that nobody is buying android tablets because of their price point.

        Some people are buying android tablets because they're under $200. Some people would be buying android tablets at $599 if they could just find one in stock. Some people are buying android tablets at $400 because those tablets are meeting their needs.

        Choice is a great thing, and you have no valid points.

        That is like Kia selling the new Optima for $86,500 and hoping you dont notice it's not a BMW.

        No, it's like BMW selling the new M6 for $86,500 and you buying a $90k Mercedes because of the marketing and proclaiming that BMWs are all shit, overpriced and nobody buys them.

  • "1/10 of a pound" (Score:5, Interesting)

    by DogDude ( 805747 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @12:35PM (#39466843)
    At one-tenth of a pound heavier that really doesn't sound like much, but it can start to matter if you hold your iPad in one hand for long periods or have any kind of repetitive stress injury.

    I'm shocked at how physically inept modern people are becoming. The gnashing of teeth over ounces when it comes to gadgets is truly shocking to me. How does one become so incapacitated that an ounce or two is really worth mentioning?

    • Re:"1/10 of a pound" (Score:5, Funny)

      by tmosley ( 996283 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @12:58PM (#39467013)
      Don't worry, they made it get hotter and hotter so you CAN'T hold it long enough to get a stress injury.

      This also stops you from using up the battery and all your bandwidth!

      Every bug is a feature!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by epp_b ( 944299 )
      Or that one would still be using imperial units in 2012.

    • I know. Americans should gripe using grams!
      Damnit, go metric America!

    • Re:"1/10 of a pound" (Score:4, Insightful)

      by msobkow ( 48369 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @01:36PM (#39467281) Homepage Journal

      How many iPads equal the weight of an Osbourne 1?

      Just curious... both are "portable", and advertised the fact heavily. But society's definition of "portable" sure has changed!

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Attila Dimedici ( 1036002 )
      I/10th of a pound at less than 2 pounds is significant. If the Ipad was a 5 pound item, 1/10th of a pound would be trivial. At less than 1.5 pounds, 0.10 pounds is significant (although not quite a big deal). I would say that the Ipad is close to the upper limit of where that amount of weight difference is significant. Personally, I would think that 5% is about the point where weight difference goes from significant to insignificant for a hand held device. Less than 5% is not significant, greater than 5% is

    • At one-tenth of a pound heavier that really doesn't sound like much, but it can start to matter if you hold your iPad in one hand for long periods or have any kind of repetitive stress injury.

      I'm shocked at how physically inept modern people are becoming. The gnashing of teeth over ounces when it comes to gadgets is truly shocking to me. How does one become so incapacitated that an ounce or two is really worth mentioning?

      It's about 7% heavier, that is certainly enough to notice with a form factor that is already marginal in terms of being able to hold it for a long time. I would say 7% is a big deal, especially considering why: Apple really overdid it with the screen resolution. All those pixels eat battery, partly because of the screen transistors, but mainly because of having to drive an additional GPU. Not to mention making the device run noticably hotter [geekosystem.com] than the previous generation. Thirteen degrees is a lot of heat in

  • Best Part is.. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by rykin ( 836525 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @12:40PM (#39466871)
    The best part about the new iPad is that the previous versions have gotten cheaper. So if you really want a iPad 2, you can pickup a refurb from Apple for as low as $350 (or $400 new) which makes it more competitive with some of the Android tablets out there.

    Note: I am not a tablet user.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Lumpy ( 12016 )

      Refurb? you can get like new ones used for $250.00 The one I bought nobody on this planet could tell it was used, and it came with a smart cover as well.

      Get over your "used is icky" feelings and buy used for even cheaper.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Dzimas ( 547818 )
      I bought a used iPad 2 for $300 earlier this week after placing an online "wanted" ad. I received dozens of responses - some with realistic expectations, some wanting basically new prices. Mine was a pretty specific purchase -- the rear camera didn't work, so I was able to exchange it at the Apple Store. The process took all of 10 minutes and the unit I received is indistinguishable from new. From a market standpoint, I suspect 2012 will be the iPad's biggest year. However, the fact that it's so easy to fin

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Ihmhi ( 1206036 )

      I really wish they would make something closer to the size of the TNG PADD. I think there's one or two tablets out there around that size but I can't be sure.

  • of any of these, only the battery thing means much (Score:5, Informative)

    by YesIAmAScript ( 886271 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @12:41PM (#39466889)

    I have one, the charge times are quite slow. To be honest, too slow. Don't get me wrong, you can live with it, but it does also matter in some situations. And on top of that if you decide to just use your buddies' iPhone charger instead of the included one, you could charge it all through the work day and only pick up 25% charge or something. With the iPad 2, the iPhone charger was an acceptable back-up plan to the stock charger in a pinch. Unless your battery was almost completely dead the iPad 2 would charge completely off an iPhone charger overnight.

    The weight isn't really any different, the reason it's so uncomfortable to hold for long periods is the same as any other iPad, there's simply no good way to hold it without blocking or touching the screen.

    The drop situation is the same for all iPads, even if you drop tested an older one and got different results, you just got lucky on the old one. The screen is a huge expanse of glass on any iPad, you have to be careful.

    WiFi has been the same on the iPad 3 as the 2. I even used mine side by side with a 2 for a bit and the results were the same.

    • That's funny. My iPad 1 takes a fucking year to charge.

    • Re:of any of these, only the battery thing means m (Score:5, Insightful)

      by CastrTroy ( 595695 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @01:06PM (#39467057)
      Taking a long time to charge means that it must have a really big freaking battery. Apple says you can get 10 hours of use out of the thing. That's pretty good considering how fast the processor, and how good the resolution on that screen is. It take 2 hours to charge my cell phone, and it probably doesn't even have 1/10 the amount of battery as the iPad.

      • Re:of any of these, only the battery thing means m (Score:5, Informative)

        by beelsebob ( 529313 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @01:20PM (#39467165)

        It's got a 43Wh battery, that's nearly twice the capacity of the iPad 2, and about 1.5 times the capacity of the 11" MacBook Air.

      • Re:of any of these, only the battery thing means m (Score:4, Informative)

        by msauve ( 701917 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @01:44PM (#39467361)
        "Taking a long time to charge means that it must have a really big freaking battery."

        What it really means is that Apple has hit the limit for the amount of current they can put through their proprietary connector. They've already exceeded the spec for what's allowed through the USB end of their cables. A lithium based battery should be able to be fully charged within 2 hours, absent such external constraints.

    • Don't you sleep?

      That's when my iPad's charge. I lay down at 12, 1, or 2AM, plug it in, pass out, and when I wake up it's charged and if it took an hour or six to charge I give no fucks. It's charged.

    • The lack of Siri seems a bit annoying. Perhaps many people wouldn't use those features on it anyways, but it just rubs me the wrong way when manufacturers remove functionality they already have and could easily have included in order to segment the market or make sure people buy one of everything. For that matter removing features from cheaper models is somewhat reasonable, but the iPad is a premium product with a premium price.

  • Par for the course? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by swb ( 14022 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @12:43PM (#39466911)

    It strikes me that this is just par for the course for most Apple releases.

    iPhone 3GS, iPad 1 -- both of mine had wifi problems until software updates came out.

    iPhone 4 -- antennagate -- appeared totally fine by the time I got my 4 in March of 2011.

    iPhone 4s -- batterygate -- greatly improved in 5.01 and mostly fixed by 5.1.

    Overall, it seems like there's about 6 months after a device's release that Apple releases a serious of fixes to fix or mitigate some deficiency and that by that time the device is largely as good as it will get.

    I just wish they would add bluetooth profiles to the iPad for microphone headsets and mice, although the latter I only want with RDP apps, although I think it might be handy if you were using a full-screen editor, too.

    It kind of makes me wonder why no one has made a BT mouse adapter that plugs into the microphone port or the dock connector. With an open SDK, vendors who wanted mouse capabilities could add support for the hardware.

    • I expect it has some bugs too (Score:4, Interesting)

      by YesIAmAScript ( 886271 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @12:52PM (#39466977)

      I know it has bugs in the LTE connection. It's conked out before, and I even had the WiFi connection disappear after I turned LTE off (to save power). Going to airplane mode and back fixed all the problems, at least for now.

      Also, the bars in LTE mode don't make much sense, or at least aren't what you're used to. With 5 bars I get 30mbps down, with 1 I get 24mpbs down. We've been trained from 3G that 1 bar is a lot slower than 5, so they should rescale the bars so that when you are at half speed or less you get 1 bar.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Sancho ( 17056 ) *

      I believe that apps can now add arbitrary Bluetooth profiles (for their use only.) Ask your favorite RDP app author for mouse support.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Barbarian ( 9467 )

      No microphone headset or bt mouse profile

      I just wish they would add bluetooth profiles to the iPad for microphone headsets and mice, although the latter I only want with RDP apps, although I think it might be handy if you were using a full-screen editor, too.

      Of course there's no BT profile for BT microphone headsets and mice. This is consistent with Apple practice.
      - A microphone headset would let you make private calls with VOIP apps, which might mean less calls on your iphone, or even not need your iphone at all if properly implemented.
      - A mouse might allow development of apps which would require you to use your macbook less and/or not even buy a macbook in the first place.

      • Re:Par for the course? (Score:5, Informative)

        by voidptr ( 609 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @03:26PM (#39468135) Homepage Journal

        Of course there's no BT profile for BT microphone headsets and mice. This is consistent with Apple practice.

        - A microphone headset would let you make private calls with VOIP apps, which might mean less calls on your iphone, or even not need your iphone at all if properly implemented.

        Only problem with your conspiracy theory is that it's complete and utter bullshit, since the iPad 2 and up do support HFP: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3647?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US [apple.com] along with every other profile the latest iPhones do except Phone Book, since it can't actually dial a phone.

        You can use a BT microphone headset with Skype / Facetime just fine.

    • Re:Par for the course? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @01:35PM (#39467279) Homepage Journal

      It kind of makes me wonder why no one has made a BT mouse adapter that plugs into the microphone port or the dock connector.

      Because Apple won't allow it. If it doesn't fit with Apple's paradigm you don't get it, simple as that.

      Note that I'm not trying to troll here, that is simply a fact. If you wanted an open platform you should have bought one.

      • Apple wouldn't allow it? There are no mouse adapters because iOS has no cursor. The OS itself is mouse-less. What would you push around the screen? The non-existent cursor graphic?

    • I just wish they would add bluetooth profiles to the iPad for microphone headsets and mice, although the latter I only want with RDP apps, although I think it might be handy if you were using a full-screen editor, too.

      If you jailbreak, you can add another Bluetooth stack that supports those devices. If you are using Citrix, this idea [xenappblog.com] seems very cool (if it actually works).

  • How to feel better owning an obsolete product... (Score:3, Funny)

    by urbanriot ( 924981 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @01:11PM (#39467091)
    ... justify to everyone else that the new product is actually worse than the previous iteration. (I own an iPad 2 so this works for me!)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Lumpy ( 12016 )

      I bought a ipad 2 just a few days ago. Nothing on the ipad 3 could justify the higher price point to me. Plus I was able to get a like new one used from a guy on craigs list trying to raise money for the new ipad. $250.00 for a 32 gig not 3g was a fair price, and a lot cheaper than a ipad3 that has marginal improvements.

  • They used the exact same super easy to break digitizer glass.

    They really need to go back to the 2X thicker ipad 1 glass. The ipad 2 is incredibly delicate due to the much thinner glass. In fact you can feel it flex while using the ipad 2.

    • In fact you can feel it flex while using the ipad 2.

      I think I can safely say that you are holding it wrong. In fact, unless you are Godzilla, I'd like to see exactly how you manage that.

  • As if Apple products alone have "problems" (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Cheech Wizard ( 698728 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @01:15PM (#39467125) Homepage
    It is so rare that I buy any device (or even furniture, for that matter) which is perfect that I'm surprised when I buy something, anything, which I have absolutely no "Had they...", or "They should have..." comments. I read the article before it was posted here. It's just another bit of "journalism" to fill some space. As I look around my home, there are few things I can not come up with some complaint about, no matter how small. I bought an iPad 2 but read about the "next" iPad a day later and the prediction of a better display. So - I called Apple and cancelled the order. It was too late. BUT - They paid for return shipping and refunded my money. When this iPad came out I pre-ordered. So many of my friends with an iPad liked them so much I was pretty convinced I'd like it and I do. The stuff in the article is what it is. You can't please everyone all of the time. Me? No problems. WiFi - Works fine. Charges up fine. It does everything I *expect* it to do, and does it well. It may not be *perfect*, but there are few things in my life which I have bought that were *perfect*, and being in my 60's that's saying something.

  • Let me know when it can compile. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Culture20 ( 968837 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @01:25PM (#39467195)
    I'm not interested in a computer that can't compile. I deal with it on my iPhone because it's a phone ( but it's really a computer that's faster than my 10yo box), but I'm not going to buy a Mac and a $99 development license just to make a simple RPG assistant (I've been making them with JavaScript as a result; at least they didn't strip all programs that can interpret code).
    • Kind of off topic, but you caught my attention with RPG assistants ... have any you care to show off? I don't have an iPad, but since you wrote them in JavaScript...

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

      "I'm not interested in a computer that can't compile."

      Sucks to be you. You must not have any electronics in your house except desktops, laptops and netbooks. No TV, no remote control, no cable box, no DSL.

  • Obviously, any app can be cracked manually, with enough time invested into it, but is there any mechanism that can be used to at least reliably defeat any automated tools that crack them?

    I know that more effort should be spent on making a good app than on trying to prevent piracy, but if it's something relatively simple to code, and easy enough to obfuscate that automated tools wouldn't find and bypass it, that would probably be good enough, IMO.

  • It is Apple (Score:3)

    by Snaller ( 147050 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @03:37PM (#39468195) Journal

    Well, you asked.

  • Overpriced, proprietary, fragile, hot, hyped! (Score:3, Informative)

    by Paracelcus ( 151056 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @03:42PM (#39468237) Journal

    Apple's products overwhelmingly try to lock you into their marketplace and keep you out of the innards of their devices.
    Many lower end Android tablets can be converted to a main stream Linux distribution (with a little work).

  • I Like Mine (Score:3, Insightful)

    by drcln ( 98574 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @05:04PM (#39468797)

    Mine works great. No complaints here. I see a lot of complaints from people that clearly don't have one. Your opinions have been noted and will be given the consideration merited. That is all.

  • part of the confusion (Score:5, Informative)

    by __aaqvdr516 ( 975138 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @05:13PM (#39468879)

    I'd bet part of the confusion is people charging via the USB port on their computer vs a wall charger.

    USB ports on a computer are limited to 500mA, wall chargers are typically around 1000mA, though some I've seen go up to 2000mA.

    So, someone who is saying "gee this takes forever" is likely the person who is charging via their PC.

    The capacity I have seen listed for the iPad3 is 14000mAh. If you were to do a dead battery to fully charged via PC only, it could take almost 28 hours. (though batteries charging rates are not linear)

  • Text Reflow (Score:3)

    by sonicmerlin ( 1505111 ) on Sunday March 25, 2012 @05:51PM (#39469217)

    The biggest issue is the inability for Safari or any iOS browser to wrap text. Reading websites on a 10" screen can get tiresome on the eyes, especially if your eyesight isn't that great. I don't know why Apple hasn't seen fit to include the ability to wrap text in Safari. It's the main reason I stay away from Apple products and force myself to use Android tablets and smartphones. Without text reflow reading on a mobile device is guaranteed to give you eyestraight.

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