Mac Tablet!!! ~ iPad Thread

[postjack]

Given how much my wife was looking at paying for her textbooks for one class this semester, I'm all for e-readers/tablets replacing them.

yeah it's outrageous.

I do believe college textbooks are heading towards a kindle or tablet like device. I don't believe the ensuing consumer discount will be as high as we would like it to be. higher profits for the textbook racket will come first.

anyway I love my kindle, but before it was gifted to me I wad a bonafide Kindle hater. I despised the idea of paying for a book I couldn't put on the shelf. but the form factor of the Kindle won me over. maybe I'm a lazy American but it makes reading in bed soooo much easier.

having said all that I am skeptical of the Apple Tablet. I think apple is due for a fail, and if this thing is at the rumored price point of $1000 it could be a fail.

[Mr Minor]

I think the argument of not having to buy books sounds nice, but students are still going to pay high prices to have these books online.  Of course, someone will find a way around it, but don't expect prices for books to plummet due to this sort of technology.  Somebody is getting paid somewhere for these books.

[rowjimmy]

What I've been reading over the past week puts the price at well below $1000.

[mattstick]

I'm certain that the cost of physically producing a text book is a huge percentage of the retail price of the book.  A simple download would have to be priced under $20 imo.

[UncleEbinezer]

What I've been reading over the past week puts the price at well below $1000.

If it comes in at $500 I'm in, but that may be a little too low.

[rowjimmy]

More on the textbook front: http://www.tuaw.com/2010/01/25/is-jobs-looking-to-overhaul-education-with-the-tablet/

[mattstick]

I'm kinda with this guy...

http://www.tuaw.com/2010/01/26/some-personal-thoughts-about-the-apple-tablet/

Some personal thoughts about the Apple Tablet
by Mel Martin (RSS feed) on Jan 26th 2010 at 8:00AM

From every hint, from every rumor, from every direction it seems like some sort of Apple tablet is a done deal. We'll know for sure Wednesday, probably after a "one more thing" from El Jobso.

If a tablet is announced, I'm trying to figure out if I will buy one. I already have a Mac Pro desktop, a very serviceable MacBook Pro, and the latest 3GS iPhone. For reading I have a Kindle, and the 2 week battery life is pretty hard to beat. It's small, it's thin, and compared to the rumored cost of the Apple tablet, it's likely a lot cheaper.

But I think the dilemma will be even rougher on MacBook owners, who already have a nice small information appliance they can take anywhere. Looking at it as objectively as I can, there doesn't seem to be any room in my life for a tablet. It seems like the cure for which there is no disease. I get my email easily away from home any number of ways, and the iPhone is so good at so many things I don't take my laptop on the road as much as I used to. If, as expected, the tablet is smaller than the MacBook, maybe as thin as the MacBook Air, and significantly less expensive than either of those, it will turn some heads, but probably not mine. No way.


Of course it will take some stamina to resist the reality distortion field, and every friend I have will be wondering exactly when I'll get that tablet. I am "Mr. Mac," after all, and that's a lot of pressure. In fact, even now, the more I think about life without the tablet, the more difficult life seems. My resolve is slowly coming apart at the seams as I write these words.

To hell with it! It's not something I need. It doesn't solve any problems I have. I can resist. I am strong. I may be "Mr. Mac," but I am also "Mr. Practical."

Which is exactly what I said when the iPhone came out. 3 days later I was in the Apple Store eagerly holding out my credit card to anyone who would take it.

[UncleEbinezer]

3 days later I was in the Apple Store eagerly holding out my credit card to anyone who would take it.

Only time will tell.   :wink:

[postjack]

I'm certain that the cost of physically producing a text book is a huge percentage of the retail price of the book.  A simple download would have to be priced under $20 imo.

in 2000 I had a class where my "book" was a binder full of black and white photocopied articles. it cost $176. I would predict price drops of 20%, tops. students have to buy the books their professor tells them to, so there is no reason for textbook companies to minimize profit. we'll get the aforementioned small discount just as a "here's a benefit to you" bone, and honestly I'll be glad to get it.

[whyweigh5.0]

I'm with that guy too.  I have a MacBook.  I have an iPhone.  They booth take care of just about everything I need.  One thing that would interest me in the tablet though is the use of a pressure sensitive pen for using in photoshop

[mattstick]

I doubt that $100+ e-textbooks will be the norm.

Plus, every student should know you buy texts on a "need to use" basis, not at the beginning of term.

[postjack]

I doubt that $100+ e-textbooks will be the norm.

we'll just have to wait and see.

[rowjimmy]

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/is-this-the-apple-tablet/
Leaked pics there of what may be the tablet.. not too pretty dues to the security measures but... well you can wait a couple hours anyway, right?

Also of note in that article are the rumors about today's announcement:
tablet will be on verizon
iphone to be on verizon
iphone os update
ilife update
no macbook updates  :cry:

[rowjimmy]

[rowjimmy]

http://gizmodo.com/5458217/is-this-the-outside-of-the-apple-tablet