Apple + $$$ = IPS

[archer6]

Argh...

For all of us that love our gorgeous IPS displays of the past, we have this mornings announcement of the new iPad from Apple with it's *ahem* IPS display!

I don't know about you, but I'm a bit jealous.

My 4:3 IPS equipped T60's were / are wonderful. Too bad nothing in the T line has seen one since.

Check in with your take on this.

Cheers...

[yak]

Yeah, I've been just reading the event log on engadget, yawning until I saw these three letters: I-P-S. Oh no! Where is Lenovo?

Otoh, reports are that the iPad is heavy, partially due to IPS screen I guess.

[archer6]

Yeah, I've been just reading the event log on engadget, yawning until I saw these three letters: I-P-S. Oh no! Where is Lenovo?

Yes! Where _is_ Lenovo?

On one hand Lenovo is doing some great work, on the other they are ... uh... drifting...

Cheers...

[craigmontHunter]

Apparently it is a standard screen xga screen? that seems unlike apple, who dedicate everything to video and multimedia?

some interesting information here, Apple has apparently built a non-pocket sized ipod touch

Yay x200t

[msb0b]

The X series tablets have IPS panels so if you want one now, there it is.

A tablet computer requires wide viewing angle display so the screen will be readable in the many possible positions it may be used. Therefore, the makers put IPS panels in X series tablets and iPad, but only TN panels on T series and MacBooks/Pros.

I have a slate tablet pc with TN panel (Motion Computing M1300) from 6 years ago, and the narrow viewing angle makes it considerably more difficult to use. The image is fine when it is sitting in a stand or cradled, but it's all washed out when I put it flat on a table.

[Jathm]

I love the fact that so many tech journalists are talking about how IPS is a new technology or even the fact that most of them have never heard of it.

We have seen the glory of IPS and its nice to see it being used again.

[dr_st]

IPS has never left the tablet sector. Only cheap consumer tablets use TN screens (and apparently a very small number of X60 tablets produced during the time where IPS tablet screen supply was extraordinarily low).

[pianowizard]

I love the fact that so many tech journalists are talking about how IPS is a new technology or even the fact that most of them have never heard of it.

And they call themselves tech journalists? IPS is used in many HDTVs.

[emeraldgirl08]

I'm not sure what to make of this device. It's very small. What is it being marketed as? It won't fit in your pocket. It is netbook sized. Doesn't Apple already have a netbook-sized laptop out?

The only thing different about this is there's no lid on it. It doesn't even come with a standard keyboard??? You have to pay for a keyboard??? I wonder what will happen if you try and use a USB Thinkpad keyboard with that?

I don't know. It just screams gimmicky and experimental to me. I assume it comes with a standard hard cover or something to protect it's screen? Oh and let's not forget how Apple makes it hard to put music onto an IPOD. I like dragging my music files or folders to where I want it and not have to use an app called ITunes. I think I'll pass on this.

Oh and everyone gushes over the IPS in it??? It's only a 9" screen! TOO SMALL!

[craigmontHunter]

There is no usb port (I think) - that limits its usefullness.

[emeraldgirl08]

There is no usb port (I think) - that limits its usefullness.

that makes it impractical for my needs then.

It seems to be a hype machine and status symbol.

[ZaZ]

I could see it going either way. If you just want to surf, play a game or watch a movie, it could work well. The nice screen should help. If you expect it to be a full-fledged computer, then you're probably going to be disappointed. The high pixel density may turn some off. The iPhone's is higher, but that sits closer your eyes than a tablet during use.

[rek]

If anyone wants something like an iPad but without Apple-esque restrictions and much cheaper, I can highly recommend the HP TC1000/1100 hybrid slate tablets. They should be available for peanuts around the usual places (I rescued 7 of these from work, who were almost going to throw them out..)

I've been using one of these around the house for what the iPad purports to do, for a good while now. It even has IPS!

EDIT: welp, looks like TC1100s have a better following than I thought, they're relatively expensive on eBay.

[rek]

I love the fact that so many tech journalists are talking about how IPS is a new technology or even the fact that most of them have never heard of it.

We have seen the glory of IPS and its nice to see it being used again.

Hopefully the hype over the iPad (and them singling out 'IPS' technology as a differentiator) will somehow turn consumer attention back towards demanding higher quality LCD panels in their computing equipment.

Some people may not know what on earth IPS means, but maybe they'll start asking companies, "Oh, that laptop is nice, but is the screen IPS like the Apple?" ... much like many ask for "LED" LCD panels, simply because they know it's the new and latest buzzword in display tech.

[archer6]

It seems to be a hype machine and status symbol.

I must say (iPad aside) that Apples Arrogance and marketing hype is something I disdain. The overall mind set of Steve Jobs, and the attitude of superiority fostered on the Apple Campus is a bit over the top. That said, they certainly have their followers. Those that are willing to pay handsomely for anything Apple, a fact that has made the company very cash rich.
.
However there's no arguing the power and influence they've demonstrated with their transition from "Apple Computer" the maker of computers, to "Apple Inc." the entertainment company. Only Apple could create a phone without 3G (at a time when most all the rest had 3G), a non-removable battery, no memory expansion port, and sell it for $600. Then deliver the second gen iPhone _with_ 3G to "wow" the public. Interesting stuff...heh!
.
Cheers...

[rkawakami]

Those that are willing to pay handsomely for anything Apple, a fact that has made the company very cash rich.

Having purchased none of the Apple products I own or have owned, I for one haven't been personally contributing to Apple's bank account .

<iMac, Macbook, iPod Touch; all courtesy of local radio stations>

[asiafish]

Yeah, I've been just reading the event log on engadget, yawning until I saw these three letters: I-P-S. Oh no! Where is Lenovo?

Otoh, reports are that the iPad is heavy, partially due to IPS screen I guess.

Heavy? Official specs have it at 1.5 lbs and with 10 hours battery life. That doesn't sound heavy, especially given the capacity.

[asiafish]

I must say (iPad aside) that Apples Arrogance and marketing hype is something I disdain. The overall mind set of Steve Jobs, and the attitude of superiority fostered on the Apple Campus is a bit over the top. That said, they certainly have their followers. Those that are willing to pay handsomely for anything Apple, a fact that has made the company very cash rich.
.
However there's no arguing the power and influence they've demonstrated with their transition from "Apple Computer" the maker of computers, to "Apple Inc." the entertainment company. Only Apple could create a phone without 3G (at a time when most all the rest had 3G), a non-removable battery, no memory expansion port, and sell it for $600. Then deliver the second gen iPhone _with_ 3G to "wow" the public. Interesting stuff...heh!
.
Cheers...

I think it is just very savvy design and finely-tuned marketing. Apple makes beautiful products that really look and feel different from the competition. Often they make them different enough that there really is no competition.

What is the competitive product to the iPhone, iPod Touch and now the iPad? Yes, there are phones with touchscreens, PDAs and the Zune HD, but none of them match the Apple original when it comes to the integrated package.

Many on this and other PC-oriented forums love to [censored] and moan about closed systems, but how does that really affect the end user? I don't care if I use iTunes, Windows Explorer, WinAmp or any other application (or the OS itself) to load songs and video so long as it is easy to do. I don't really care that my BlackBerry (I use Verizon) has interchangeable batteries because it is still more convenient to grab a quick charge off my laptop than carrying an extra battery around and swapping it out. I don't care that OS X doesn't have all of the themes that Windows does is that it is proprietary unlike Linux because I have the applications I want and need and elegant design that is easy and pleasant to use.

Obviously most of the people who bash Apple stuff do so not because of the product itself, but because of their own lack of real experience with it.

[qviri]

Obviously most of the people who bash Apple stuff do so not because of the product itself, but because of their own lack of real experience with it.

Pretty hard to blame them considering Apple's own habit of bashing things based on unequal footing and sometimes criteria -- consider of many examples only the PC vs Mac ads and today's shots against netbooks.

[beGi]

What is the competitive product to the iPhone, iPod Touch and now the iPad? Yes, there are phones with touchscreens, PDAs and the Zune HD, but none of them match the Apple original when it comes to the integrated package.

HTC HD2 beats iPhone 3GS and ZuneHD is also better than iPod, IMO...

iPad? With no camera, USB, multitasking (??) and flash support it is just a giant iPhone... And just like one, it will collect dust after a month or so, because it will be replaced with more usable product...

And I wonder if Steve didn't include those just to make "v2 wow" (like copy/paste wow in 2009 ) or because "Apple A4 CPU" aka ARM processor would choke...or both...

Fine marketing indeed...

Obviously most of the people who bash Apple stuff do so not because of the product itself, but because of their own lack of real experience with it.

Oh sure, like you are the only one who ever used their products...

What about MBP port confusion aka I-will-take-every-dollar-i-can? New MBP, new policies with (no) firewire, mini-displayport and half of peripherals one owns can be thrown out or wait, you can buy a bunch of overpriced cables just (try) to make things compatible again...

Apple makes very fine (eg MBP and G5...love those screens), but overpriced machines, and that gives me grounds to bash it if I want to...and making idiot out of its users for just the few reasons mentioned above is fine by me...

[t140568]

Just finished watching the Jobs's keynotes speech with my wife. Overall, while I don't see myself buying one, they do appear to be neat little devices. I think the thing that *could* sell me on one would be if I had the opportunity to use one for awhile (Oh, and if I had a need for one.). Seems to me like it would be the experience in using the multi-touch that would sell the device, not necessarily the hardware. To quote a tweet I read earlier "It looks like an iPhone on growth hormones."

[yak]

Heavy? Official specs have it at 1.5 lbs and with 10 hours battery life. That doesn't sound heavy, especially given the capacity.

I don't know. I found the statement somewhere on Engadget (not in the comments) but can't find it now. Maybe I was wrong, who cares

[craigmontHunter]

I don't care if I use iTunes, Windows Explorer, WinAmp or any other application (or the OS itself) to load songs and video so long as it is easy to do.

Obviously most of the people who bash Apple stuff do so not because of the product itself, but because of their own lack of real experience with it.

I hate iTunes. I find it to be slow, clunky and inefficent. That is just normal use. Importing a fairly large WMA library into it was painful, unable to do anything with the computer (P4 3.8, 1gb, 2xhdd). While the computer is not top of the line, I shudder to think about what would have happened on our old (spring last year) computer - P3 1ghz, 512mb of ram, with 3/4 users logged in. It was slow eneough to begin with.

If I had to use Itunes I might get to like it, but so far I don't see anything that iTunes does (and I want) that media player does not.

Heavy? Official specs have it at 1.5 lbs and with 10 hours battery life. That doesn't sound heavy, especially given the capacity.

I think that the size will be too big to balance with one hand and touch the other side - I think it will bee too unwieldly for normal use like a tablet (what use?)

[pianowizard]

Heavy? Official specs have it at 1.5 lbs and with 10 hours battery life. That doesn't sound heavy, especially given the capacity.

Sure it's much lighter than the vast majority of laptops, but you need to keep in mind that these two things are used differently. For laptops, weight matters only when you are transporting it. Once you are at a desk, you put the laptop on the desk, so it becomes "weightless". For the iPad, many people are going to be holding it constantly while using it.

[asiafish]

HTC HD2 beats iPhone 3GS and ZuneHD is also better than iPod, IMO...

iPad? With no camera, USB, multitasking (??) and flash support it is just a giant iPhone... And just like one, it will collect dust after a month or so, because it will be replaced with more usable product...

And I wonder if Steve didn't include those just to make "v2 wow" (like copy/paste wow in 2009 ) or because "Apple A4 CPU" aka ARM processor would choke...or both...

Fine marketing indeed...


Oh sure, like you are the only one who ever used their products...

What about MBP port confusion aka I-will-take-every-dollar-i-can? New MBP, new policies with (no) firewire, mini-displayport and half of peripherals one owns can be thrown out or wait, you can buy a bunch of overpriced cables just (try) to make things compatible again...

Apple makes very fine (eg MBP and G5...love those screens), but overpriced machines, and that gives me grounds to bash it if I want to...and making idiot out of its users for just the few reasons mentioned above is fine by me...

So that HTC phone has as many cool applications and games as the iPhone? I doubt that.

What MacBook Pro ever came without FireWire? THEY ALL have FireWire except for the current consumer-grade MacBook and the original unibody MacBook (not pro). Does every PC have FireWire? Digital video out? I think not. My T400 had a plain, ordinary VGA port, no DVI, no HDMI and no DisplayPort. My MacBook Pro's mini-DisplayPort can replace any of those with a cheap cable, while VGA is limited to VGA and requires a very bulky and expensive cable to make it into anything else.

And nice job clinging to old myths of Apple being overpriced. Apple is overpriced only if you compare them to low-end gear. Compare the MacBook Pro to 15" to a ThinkPad R500 and it will be more expensive. Compare it to a W500 and it will cost about the same. Compare it to a Sony Vaio and it will likely be cheaper. Apple competes only at the high end. Saying they are overpriced is like saying that BMW is overpriced because they don't have a car that competes with the Chevy Cobalt.

Apple gear may not be for you, but if it was overpriced it wouldn't be as popular as it is. Clearly they are doing something right.

[asiafish]

Sure it's much lighter than the vast majority of laptops, but you need to keep in mind that these two things are used differently. For laptops, weight matters only when you are transporting it. Once you are at a desk, you put the laptop on the desk, so it becomes "weightless". For the iPad, many people are going to be holding it constantly while using it.

I beg to differ, and that is the reason why I never have and never will buy a laptop that weighs more than 6 lbs. Being "weightless" would be fine if the laptop stayed on the desk, but if that was the case why not buy a cheaper, more powerful and more expandable desktop?

My laptops move, often. My 15" MacBook Pro goes to work with me every morning and comes home every evening. Sometimes it goes other places and the medium size and medium weight actually become annoying.

My MacBook Air goes with me from courtroom to courtroom almost every morning. It goes with me to airports, trains, rental car counters, subways, to and from parking structures and into more courtrooms. Even at 3 lbs it is not weightless, but about as close as you can get with current technology without sacrificing ergonomics.

An iPad won't work for me as a replacement for the Air because it won't run MS Word, but that is just my specific uses. It will sync with my Exchange calendar and view Word docs, so it might actually do the job. I'll definitely check it out,

[Stargate199]

I was surprised they put an IPS screen in the iPad, what I was really surprised about was the resolution. Only 1024x768. Sure at 9.7" that is a decent resolution, but netbooks in the 10" class are moving to high def screens (720 resolution in some sort of form). Look at the bezel for the iPad. They could of easily put one of these high def screens in it. I think I rather have high def over IPS technology.

[qviri]

So that HTC phone has as many cool applications and games as the iPhone? I doubt that.

Ah, I love the logic of Apple users. With OS X, it's not a matter of how many applications it has -- just look at the awesome ones it's got. With iPhone OS: 140,000 apps, man! So many! Nevermind that most of them have alternatives on other platforms.

Apple competes only at the high end. Saying they are overpriced is like saying that BMW is overpriced because they don't have a car that competes with the Chevy Cobalt.

BMW doesn't run ads bashing the Cobalt -- or any other car, for that matter. If you're going to dish out unfair comparisons and criticism, you better be ready to take some back.

[asiafish]

Ah, I love the logic of Apple users. With OS X, it's not a matter of how many applications it has -- just look at the awesome ones it's got. With iPhone OS: 140,000 apps, man! So many! Nevermind that most of them have alternatives on other platforms.


BMW doesn't run ads bashing the Cobalt -- or any other car, for that matter. If you're going to dish out unfair comparisons and criticism, you better be ready to take some back.

Advertising is advertising, nobody with even half a brain buys into everything said in a commercial.

As for apps, iPhone has MORE and BETTER apps than other phone platforms.

I don't own an iPhone, prefer the BlackBerry for the physical keyboard. Still, I have no illusion that the iPhone is a much better music player, game machine and even computer than the BlackBerry, Droid, HTC or any other smartphone out there. It may not have the highest specification in every category, but people don't use spec charts, they use devices.

The new T510 has some specs that are better than those of my MacBook Pro. Of course, I don't use a spec chart and would rather have my backlit keyboard, unibody enclosure, color-correct LCD and ambient light sensor than a higher specification in processor speed or an extra USB port.

The Apple machine is sleeker, more integrated, and uses my preferred OS without the need to mess with hacks, in a thinner and lighter package. I'll pay a lot extra for that, but fortunately Apple's aren't overpriced anymore, haven't been for years, so I didn't have to.

[qviri]

Advertising is advertising, nobody with even half a brain buys into everything said in a commercial.

Then use your brain and ignore the obviously incorrect statements about Apple products, it should be pretty easy