Of which pretty much defeats the multi orientation capabilities of the device already. Besides, ever thought of what happens when you need to fit more than 1 person into a video chat session on a screen with portrait orientation? squeeze squeeze squeeze (on the human side)
tried using the iPod nano with the camera? Sure, nobody would want to block the lens on purpose, but the form factor does cause this to happen a lot by accident to the point that it gets annoying.

1024 x 768 is XGA, ratio 4:3 ( i think you know that)
so if you gonna play HD (16:9) video, there is definitely black bar at top and bottom
some movies (quite alot) are in 21:9; so that's the full screen you cant get, without missing the content at both end.
if there are iMax then i would be different case
H.264 codec is more important here.
that's why movie are so great in iPad and ipods/iphone.
you still don't understand the meant of mobile os performance. OpenGL is never big deal now for computer OS, but it's quite for mobile OS.

point me out 9.7" HD display (typical 16:9 or 21:9 display)
plus this device is not just going to serve the purpose of movie

Seriously I have yet discover any 10 inch ips panel

dude want to watch movie get a LCD tv just RM1299!!!

Viewing movies on iPad is secondary, camera on the iPad is secondary, multitasking on iPad is secondary...
Sometimes, we tend to forget what iPad is originally meant for....

For me, its quite simple actually. My next notebook is gonna be a 17' MBP. hence the iPad is something that fits nicely in my backpack in addition to the 17' MBP for the times when I don't feel like hauling out that 17' piece of equipment, and when I need something bigger than the phone screen.

- try squeezing in more than 2 ppl into a portrait view webcam and see for yourself.
- you've obviously never really observed ppl when they're relaxing and holding a book, some sort of device or they can look at while lepaking on the couch or anything like that. Hand positions on the device being held tends to go all over the place as they shift to make themselves comfortable or to alleviate that numb butt.

First, there is no evidence that reading on a backlit screen is bad for your eyes. Every study ever conducted has concluded that reading on a screen is no different, healthwise, than reading from paper. That's not to say that some people don't find reading for long periods on a screen tiring, or that an eInk screen is not 'better' for reading the kind of books they are designed to display. Those books are novels and other largely linear text-based works. For these books, devices like the Kindle are great.

It is because ipad is so much more than kindle. I can see that illustrated books will be a vastly bigger and more profitable market for publishers than even bestselling fiction. And I used one example of granny reading a (printed) book to a young child. We're all familiar with the scenario of an adult reading to a child and getting the kid to point to a picture ("can you see <insert character here>?"). Imagine the kid touching that character/illustration and the book bursting into full colour video action of that character doing something exciting. Kids will love it.

I can see the same thing with cookbooks. Optional how-to video of recipes in a Chef Wan book or something. And there are obviously many more possibilities. Whether it ever happens is down to the publishers of course.

and i have used netbooks, and for me, it is crap. i can barely type on in (when trying to use as laptops) due to its tiny keyboard

erm.. there is no HD panel under 10"

minimum hd panel 11.3"
as acer ferrari one

agreed. any serious typing on ipad ought to be done using an external bluetooth keyboard (oh how i wish they have usb) while putting the ipad on a stand. virtual keyboard only for light note taking or editing

sure i could do the same for a netbook, but then whats the point of having that keyboard portion that ends up messing up with balance and center of gravity while on the go?

also virtual keyboard can be useful in certain situation such as numerical data entry for example or as a fancy scientific graphing calculator. lets see the netbook do that efficiently.

all you talks about is e-ink tech

well, i think apple tend to wanna use/switching to IPS panel now

all imac, cinema display, one by one all switching to IPS

speaking of content quality, are you really in HD world?
will you only watch/download HD (720p lowest) video only
(well, i'm this typical person, my movie are 4/6/8/10GB; cuz right now, if watch from distance, DVD quality will make me sleepy)

ok, seem i  miss that out, but i still dont understand, why it must be 16:9 panel?
should be the same thing you been asking, do we need IPS? let find out
for iPad i not so sure, but others, YES IPS panel please

which is why trying to cram a full Desktop OS just like that onto a touchscreen only device is a bad idea. the entire UI needs to be revamped for use on a touchscreen. which is also the main reason why the full OS X is not dumped into the tablet despite it being proven that it can run on a nokia phone.

on the go, inputting while mostly mobile.

think of supermarket stockist. right now, they are either checking stock by paper scraps or pushing big trolley with desktop/laptop with barcode scanner. replace desktop/laptop with ipad (with barcode scanner extension)

or doctors calling up patient medical history, then recording medicine into server

or engineers/technicians entering technical output of large plants

most of this is done using paper scraps currently. ipad has the potential to change this into electronic medium - there is an app for that, lol

if you see the demos, inputting data is done using only 4 fingers or your forearm as support comfortably. netbooks cant do that. the ergonomics is not there.

tablets might, but compared to tablets, ipad wins on cost and weight; and also a more touch inspired OS.

also tablets/netbooks have another disadvantage, mechanical hinges and plastics generally mean its less robust. open vents and fans means dust accumulation. ipad has no mechanical parts except 2-3 buttons. with some 3rd party dock-stopper means no place for dust to get into. aluminium case means you can be rather rough to it.

Secondary features doesn't mean you can't list the features.
Decision is quite easy... this iPad specs might not suit you but to other people (Apple fanbois included).. it suits them well.
If you want to have the specs and features of your dream tablet from Apple, I guess you have to wait much longer.

yes it does say MOVIE!!! you can watch movie on it... so it must be WIDE SCREEN and HD meh.... c'mon.. even if they manage to give you HD so... the screen is small for you to see... by the way 1024 by 768 is considered HD 720P also yes it is not WIDE screen... because it was not design to be a wide screen tablet it is design to be a all rounder tablet... I believe the screen size is just nice for one to hold at vertical and horizontal view... simple as that...

some of you may complaint that the 30pin connector port suc it should be USB... WHY???? USB??? so you can plug in erm.. External Drive... USB Fan... erm... I dont know Keyboard and mouse
hello... Apple approach if you haven't use iPhone is WIRELESS.....
This is an AWESOME wireless device and most of the stuff apple did is streaming.. want see movie stream it from your Harddisk I did that on my 3Gs... want to get some File extract it from the computer... simple... it is AWESOME what Wifi and Bluetooth can replace... Bluetooth can connect to keyboard and mouse (if you want a mouse laa) it does support just need some one to write the software... get a SDK of OS3
hahaha

seriously... when I use my notebook I only use my USB for Harddrive and nope nothing else.. sometime is my external speaker lor...

so is USB that important??? apple prove it with the macbook air that usb is not quite really important..


yes 16:9 is common video standards now a days. no 1024x768 is not 720p. what do u mean by ipad design is nice to hold? do other 16:9 display comes in triangle or circle? it is still rectangle yo~

yea have fun transferring 8gb+ of data via wireless method. speaking of that, the 1st time when someone told me tat a user have to actually pay for bluetooth data transfer capability on an iphone, i lol'ed hard.

---

Added on February 4, 2010, 11:04 pm
ya we are in HD era, but it doesn't mean xga can't play HD content.
As long as It can play, then it's gonna be fine. (with slight black bar at top and bottom, that's all)
4:3 is chosen maybe becuase of iPhone os

HD screeen for ebook? Will be weird, doesn't it?

what's so annoying about black bars when watching movies eh? those stuff are very common what

if the ipad is using 16:9... then we'll get black bars in every app we download from the app store...since they were designed to fit iphone's screen.

with extra 192/2=96pixel (at y axis) black bar extra
should be fine for 16:9 movie, but more obvious with 21:9 movie
plus the big bezel

---

Added on February 5, 2010, 9:34 am
a tablet is a device meant to be held with a single hand when one is on the go. Thus weight is indeed important.

out of curiosity, how many ppl do you think will wish to use a tablet primarily for the watching of movies? compare this to the number of ppl who will value a more portable form factor more?