Apple iPad and photographers

Scott Bourne seems to think the iPad will save the publishing industry and those writers and photographers who work in it. ; I'm not so sure. ; I can imagine super newspapers like USA Today and NY Times emerging electronically. ; It'll be interesting to see how local newspapers and major magazines are able to use it. ; National Geographic on an iPad? ; Better buy stock in Western Digital and other makers of hard drives for consumers.

I was a bit disappointed Apple didn't offer something besides iPhoto. ; I guess I better resign myself to Adobe and get Lightroom now. ; I hope Adobe is smart enough to create a LR/PS (already there really with iPhone's version) app for the iPad which can be synced to a desktop system. ; I can not see Scott Kelby et al using iPhoto to show their electronic portfolios to would be customers.

Pricing. ; Well, $500 for only 16GB seems a bit steep to me but prices will drop. ; I paid top dollar for my iPhone and when I feel I need an iPad, the price won't matter much though there's a hefty increase to add 3G capability and another added cost for the service. ; Hey, if I already pay for unlimited iPhone 3G data service, why can't an iPad I get be added on to that?

Lots of questions which will be ironed out in the coming weeks. It will be fun to see if the iPad does change things as much as the iPhone did, if not more.

 

I am looking forward to this device. It is going to be great device to use around the house and coffee shop. One use I am planning on is providing wedding photos, for the bride, on an iPad this summer. It would be nice if it had 128 GB ram though.

 

I would love to see this thing in my clinic as the interface for an electronic medical record.

Unfortunately, Apple doesn't make an EMR. ; Most EMR's are made by programmers, and don't seem to have much idea about what the end user does.

One of Apple's strengths lies in the way they make the user interface. ; Notice in this case that the device has NO buttons. ; The interface is elegant and intuitive and simple. ; Those are characteristics that I feel most consumer electronics should strive toward. ; When it's done well, no depth of functionality is lost.

Well, back to dreaming...

Boris

 

Oh you better believe you'll have to pay more. ; They'll charge you more for using this device, being bigger and more powerful it'll be able to chew through even more data than the Iphone. ; This thing is going to be getting premium pricing all around.

They're already complaining about the amount of data that Iphone users are drawing from their network. ; I can't wait to see how much they complain about people who start using these things.

I think they're trying to get to the point where they can charge an extra premium to people who use more than only a little bit of data per month. ; I'm seeing them making the opening moves for such a gambit. ; Sure, their users are already paying for "unlimited" data, and they're profiting big time from this price premium, but it looks like their network just can't deal with this and they're not willing to invest adequate money into it to maintain capacity. ; So now that they've gotten people hooked on the Iphone they can start tightening to screws on them, raising to prices to squeeze all that they can from the market.

But at the moment there seems to be a mobile voice and data price war on. ; They may have to at least wait a while.

As to this "will it save print" business.. of course not! ; Print isn't dying because people suddenly became allergic to handling paper. ; It's dying because it's finding itself increasingly irrelevant. ; My particular focus is rather specific, I'm all about science. ; I'm not a scientist, I'm just interested in it, I'm sort of a hobby science enthusiast. ; The American mass media is a wasteland when it comes to capable science journalism. ; So I go to blogs written by.. well.. scientists.

It's true that I could get some of those blogs delivered by the wireless feed on the Kindle (or the equivalent function on the Ipad, I assume), but why would I? ; I can get it for free the old fashioned way. ; And I say that with intentional irony.

 

Well I may have to take back what I said. ; According to an article I found somewhere or another.. or rather right here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100127/ap_ ... _tec_apple

The service will be through AT&T and the plans will require no long term contract and they'll offer unlimited data for $30 a month.

I find that EXTREMELY difficult to believe. ; That's far below the average prices that other carriers are charging for their data only devices. ; You could pay $60 a month 5GB of data a month from Sprint.

Unless the Ipad is going to be so limited that you can't do a great deal of general internet browsing on it. ; And that doesn't seem to likely either.

The only guess I can make is that this is nothing more than a teaser rate to get people hooked. ; With no contract AT&T may be able to jack the prices up any time they want to.

 

I think the price wars may be coming.

One of my patients just got back from a three year stint in China, and he was telling me that over there, he was able to get phones for each family member for $8/month. ; Why is it so cheap there? ; Because that's what the market over there will pay. ; Over here, we line up to pay $30/month and more. ; What that says is that the companies can afford to charge way less than they do, and in that instance, given enough competition and no price fixing, we should eventually see prices drop.

Time will tell...

Boris

 

Remember, too, if you just want to use Wi-Fi, you don't have to pay for 3G. ; There are lots of free or pay as you go Wi-Fi services around. The iPad is UNLOCKED so look for other vendors to compete even at AT&T's low intro pricing.

I'm like Tim, I would like an iPad hooked to my iPhone account at a discount. ; I would think AT&T would offer something like that to keep customer loyality but will see if they are willing to do so.

The one thing I believe they will add in the future is a real USB port or two. ; I would like to be able to plug in a hard drive to backup and work on photos and documents without having to worry about the limitation of the iPad's memory. ; Not sure if the camera connection kit will allow anything but a camera device to be plugged in with it. ; Or maybe Western Digital can come with a way to use the docking port to do this. ;

I am intrigued but, like the iPhone, I will probably wait to see how Apple updates the iPad in the future.

Something I'd like to see come out is a bluetooth stylus device so you could work with the iPad like a Wacom tablet.

 

I can't believe I would say this... But I would sell my iphone and get an iPad and replace the cell. I rarely use my iPhone for more than just calls and voicemail. With that the case, the iphone Data plan for me, is a waste of money. The WiFi only option is perfect for me and the no contract is perfect if I get the 3G version. I can pay for only a month at a time as I needed if there is no wifi coverage.

 

I want one... more because I'm an Apple freak and not because I need one.

I agree with Jason, I would downgrade my smartphone and replace it with an iPad too. My blackberry is TERRIBLE for making phone calls so give me an iPad and standard phone and I'd be a happy camper. And the unlimited month to month plan is a few bucks cheaper than my unlimited smartphone contract plan.

 

This is so interesting to hear. ; I've been a holdout on the whole convergence thing for quite a while. ; Prior to the iPad, I would have been quite content with an iPod touch and my old Nokia brick phone. ; Now, I'm not so sure.

I do have a smartphone (Treo), and it's fine, but it's not cool.

Also, what's the big deal with a camera? ; I've never been impressed with the poor quality photos my phone can take -- that's why I got a nice camera.

I agree with the idea of only getting the data plan for the months when it's needed (like when travelling).

I think that even though this was not the giant leap people were hungry for, this could represent the future of portable computing. ; It's very Star Trek like. ; My laptop seem so clunky in comparison.

I don't see this new device as a computer replacement, but a new way to be wirelessly connected. ; It's more of a lifestyle device, almost like when TV first came out.

Fun times to be alive....

Boris

 

I'm pretty excited about this device. I did a blog post this morning on what it could be for photographers. Check it out: http://thedailyflashkube.com/2010/01/28 ... rs-friend/

I like the site and group you have here. How do you guys feel about the high-speed rail being talked about between Tampa and Orlando. Should be a big business boom for both markets.

 

I would need to know a bunch of details before I decide if it's something I'd consider using such as ticket cost, WDW station location/ease of transport from station to parks, location of the Tampa station, travel time when you add the Lakeland stop, and how late the train runs. And even knowing all that I still think I'd prefer to drive just so I could park hop and avoid those darn buses.

 

Hi, flashkube, left a comment on your blog earlier today. ; Nice article.

Here's another article which puts some perspective on the iPad: Ipad: It's Deja Vu All Over Again

Apple has a history of introducing new products and then over time improving them based on customer feedback and as new technologies come onboard (ie., Apple //, Mac, Ipod and iPhone).