Hasta La Gadget!

The Apple iPad tablet is finally here, but it hasn’t drawn quite the same cheer from Apple enthusiasts and gadget fans that some observers expected.

About 60 percent of the 1,114 readers that took Wired.com’s iPad poll said they would not buy the iPad. Some 41 percent of the 892 readers who took a separate poll said the tablet did not live up to its hype, though they expect it to find a home among high-end consumers.

The quick verdict: “It’s an iPod Touch on steroids.”

The iPad name was the focus of many jokes with, predictably, the comments hitting the “pad” aspect of it.

“I think they should have gone with iSlate for the name,” commenter Navi101 wrote in response to our live coverage of the event. “iPad makes me think of feminine products.”

There’s more. The Jezebel blog, written for women, published an entire article summing up the “best period-related iPad jokes.”

“Not gonna lie, the name iPad makes me shudder a bit,” tweeted Lisa Gumerman. “Kind of even makes me less interested in buying it.”

The iPad name is also symptomatic of the lack of women engineers in IT, said Eve Tahmincioglu on the Huffington Post blog.

“I suspect a room full of female computer engineers would not have named Apple’s new cybertablet the iPad,” she wrote. “This naming faux pas is a perfect example of why we need more women IT professionals in this world. Apple wants women to buy these gizmos, but is anyone really thinking about us gals?”

Still some Apple fans says that customers are likely to warm up to the name after the initial reaction. “It’s a poorly chosen name. But so was Wii, and everyone got over those jokes after the first week,” tweeted Rob Sheridan, creative director for Nine Inch Nails.

Other users focused on the real shortcomings of the device. “What? iPad has no [Adobe] Flash player. That’s what it needs for so many websites. That’s not good,” tweeted Andrea Bakes.

Others pointed to the lack of USB port and multitasking in the device as features that will be missed.

“I don’t understand no multitasking, I mean how can you expect anyone to use this for work?” commented ’spitfiredd’ on Wired.com.

Though Apple’s Steve Jobs introduced the iPad as a device that would occupy the world between smartphones and laptops, potential customers aren’t convinced. A full 71 percent of 934 readers polled said they won’t buy an iPad, because they are happy with their smartphone and notebook.

Some Apple fans are not ready to give up on the device.

“I am not a fanboy at all, and I find it absolutely awe inspiring,” commented NickSA. “This is the future. Hats off to Apple, they have done it again — though personally I would wait till the second generation [of the device] for all the bugs to get ironed out.”

Ultimately, the question is, who really needs an iPad and is the data plan worth it. “Why would you take a iPad with you if you have a iPhone? Do you need to have both?,” commented jescott418. “Why spend an amount on two service plans with AT&T to basically do the same thing? I am scratching my head at who really needs this except for the base model for a coffee table piece.”

And as for the publishing industry, where some had pinned their hopes on the tablet, the iPad is unlikely to prove to be the digital savior that was wished for. About 59 percent of 824 readers who took the poll say the iPad won’t save the publishing industry.

That’s a few hundred readers that publishers won’t be able to count on.

See Also:

• Live Coverage: Apple’s Special Tablet Event
• A Closer Look at Apple’s New Tablet, the iPad
• Will the Apple Tablet Be Called iPad?
• Live Coverage: Apple’s Special Tablet Event
• 5 Features the Apple Tablet Definitely Won’t Have — But Should
• Why 2010 Will Be the Year of the Tablet

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

When Steve Jobs said Apple’s new iPad tablet would have 3G data service from AT&T during Wednesday’s press conference, sighs of disgust could be heard from the audience, presumably from disgruntled iPhone customers.

Prior to the unveiling of the 9.7-inch device Wednesday, a few vague rumors suggested Verizon would carry the tablet. Instead, Jobs announced two versions of the iPad: a Wi-Fi only model and an unlocked, Wi-Fi + 3G model for use on GSM networks. The Verizon network operates on the CDMA standard, meaning Verizon won’t be able to support the iPad.

Why not Verizon? Apple must be keenly aware of the incessant AT&T bashing from iPhone owners. And yet AT&T will be the primary U.S. carrier for the tablet, just as it is for the iPhone.

However, the tablet’s situation is different from the iPhone’s, analysts told Wired.com. First of all, this isn’t a phone. The iPad is a data-driven, media-rich device that you’ll primarily be using in your living room. Second, the tablet does not require committing to a contract for 3G. You can prepay a month ($15 for 250 MB or $30 for unlimited) for when you’re traveling, for example, and then cancel the 3G and just use the Wi-Fi.

But why not Verizon? Surely, Apple must have at least thought twice about sticking with AT&T as its official U.S. partner for the iPad. Dissatisfaction with AT&T did, after all, incite a consumer protest attempting to bring down its network with digital sabotage.

“What is this fatal attraction between Apple and AT&T?” wondered MKM Partners analyst Tero Kuittinen. “Pretty much everybody I talked to really expected Verizon.”

Kuittinen said Apple may have stuck with AT&T to retain a cordial relationship, because telecom analysts expect the iPhone’s exclusivity contract with AT&T to end in the next year, which could invite a Verizon iPhone.

“If they’re planning an iPhone Verizon launch maybe they’ll want to throw a bone at AT&T,” he said.

Ross Rubin, an NPD analyst, said it’s unlikely Apple purposely left Verizon out. The tablet is compatible with new GSM micro SIMs, which supports international carriers, so Apple likely made this decision to simplify its offerings.

AT&T said it plans to continue improving its network to help support Apple’s new device. AT&T iPad customers will have free access to 20,000 hot spots nationwide, an AT&T spokesman said.

“We have a great relationship with Apple,” an AT&T spokesman said. “Today we offer the nation’s fastest network and will continue to increase network speeds throughout 2010 and 11 in advance of 4G networks and devices being widely available which further sets us apart from the competition of the mobile broadband leader.”

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

We love the iPhone book-reading app Classics, and apparently Apple does, too. The iPad tablet includes an app called iBooks, and its similarities to Classics are beyond the realm of coincidence.

The UI is the same idea: a shelf of books that you can tap to choose a title. The pages emulate the look of a printed book page. The 3D page-flipping effect looks almost exactly the same. The only major difference is iBooks has a tool to change font point and type. That and, of course, access to e-books in the iBooks store, which will feature titles from Penguin, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan and Hachette book group. (Classics’ book content is an aggregation of public-domain materials from Project Gutenberg.)

But for the most part, it’s still the classic story of big-corporation-rips-off-independent-business. (And Apple wasn’t the first to borrow Classics’ idea, either.) And this has happened a few times in the mobile app space. A few months ago, Wired.com reported on two developers who were stomped when they inadvertently competed with Apple, as well as one developer whose project was squashed when Google came out with the same idea and offered it for free.

Ryu also acknowledges that Classics’ bookshelf view was heavily inspired by Delicious Library, but he asked Delicious Library creator Wil Shipley for approval before Classics’ release.

Of course, that doesn’t put Classics out of business. It’s unclear whether iBooks will be ported over to the iPhone, or whether it will be an exclusive app on the tablet.

Phillip Ryu, who helped create Classics, said he felt a little hurt, but as a loyal fan of Apple, he isn’t planning on picking a fight.

“It stung a bit as a huge fan of Apple, but in the end it’s a page flip,” Ryu told Wired.com. “We’ll come up with something cooler and let them take this digital reading experience to the next level with iBooks.”

Ryu has made Classics free for a limited time, adding “We figured it’s a good idea to get Classics into as many hands as possible, before people start calling it an iBooks ripoff.”

Classics Download Link [iTunes]

See Also:

• To Play With Giants, App Devs Risk Getting Squashed
• Free Software Turns the iPhone Into an E-Book Reader
• E-Reader iPhone App Rejected Because Users Can Download Kama Sutra …
• Apple Relents, Adds ‘Pornographic’ E-Book Reader to App Store …
• Newsstand: Probably the Best iPhone News Reader

The iPad: it’s a video player! A productivity tool! An e-reader! On the last attribute, at least, there’s plenty of competition for Apple’s new tablet.

Amazon, of course, has established itself with not only the world’s largest marketplace for books, but a substantial number of e-books as well. And the company’s Kindle dominates the e-reader space, although the company does not disclose the exact number of e-readers sold.

So, naturally, we asked Amazon was asked to comment on its latest competitor.

“Thanks for your inquiry,” Andrew Herdener responded. “Customers can read and sync their Kindle books on
iPhones, iPod touches, PCs, and soon Blackberrys, Macs, and iPads.  Kindle is
purpose-built for reading.  Weighing in at less than 0.64 pounds, Kindle fits
comfortably in one hand for hours, has an e-ink display that is easy on the eyes
even in bright daylight, two weeks of battery life, and 3G wireless with no
monthly fees–all at a $259 price.  Kindle editions of New York Times Bestsellers
and most New Releases are only $9.99.”

Our followup question has not been responded to, so we’ll have to read these tea leaves for you: basically, it seems that Amazon views the iPad as a platform, like the iPhone (with its own Kindle app) and views the Kindle as the one true e-reader. Which it may turn out to be.

It’s finally here. Apple’s most anticipated device since the iPhone, a touchscreen tablet dubbed the iPad, has landed. We had some time to test drive it. First impressions? It’s great for what it does, and we’re hoping it’ll expand to become so much more.

Thanks to clunky user interfaces, durability issues and limited utility, the tablet has been filed away as a niche device again and again. Has Apple, the leader in industry and interface design, finally nailed the tablet?

Take a dive into our gallery while we give the device an early critique.