Apple iPad and photographers

I'm very positive on the whole tablet concept, but I'm fairly strongly anti apple for some very specific reasons.

I stand by my prediction that that price for the data plan can't last. ; With the way AT&T is already complaining about the bandwidth used by their smartphone users there's no way they'll tolerate people using a bigger, more powerful device that's able to handle more data at a time. ; At the minimum I predict AT&T will be imposing severe speed penalties on people that download more than whatever they consider to be an acceptable amount, even as they continue to advertise the plan as unlimited. ; It's what Clear is doing with their Wimax service in Chicago.

Even with price wars coming that pricing won't last.

But on to tablets.. I DO like the idea of a tablet revolution. ; If the AT&T deal somehow turns out to be genuine, reliable, and their service actually works, $30 a month for data for the Ipad looks to be a pretty good deal. ; And while I'll definitely hold out for either an Android tablet device (they're probably coming) or a tablet running a stock windows OS (not ideal for the tablet paradigm, but workable), I can believe that Apple may have done some things right with this device. ; Just not enough to win me over. ; Oh yeah, I'm also holding out for a tablet based on a newer generation of Intel CPUs that's expected this year.


The truth is, I'd probably get a tablet and then a bluetooth keyboard and I'd end up with the equivalent of a very expensive netbook. ; But one that can be made slimmer and more portable by dropping the keyboard and just taking the base tablet hardware. ; I favor sticking with an MS OS because I can retain access to all my usual programs. ; I'm not entirely thrilled with all the cheapo apps that have come out for the Iphone app store. ; I'm sure there are some entertaining and a few genuinely useful ones, but.. I have plenty of useful apps on my PC already, I'm happy to stick with what I know. ; The downside of this approach is that I lose the possibility of having software that can run while the system is on standby, say, allowing me to receive IMs or whatever while the system isn't turned on.

But as a PC it'll be far more expandable. ; I don't have to wait for someone to both write the software for the brand new platform and to also come out with a way to get around the IO limitations of the Ipad (no USB port? ; Seriously???). ; Tablet PCs running an MS OS will have the USB ports and the hardware and software to use those ports already exists. ; It would be fairly easy to add on a wireless USB adapter to get wireless connectivity with standard USB devices.


Scott, you mentioned a Wacom stylus.. not going to be an option. ; You CAN get tablet notebook PCs that have Wacom stylus hardware, that is the screen isn't a conventional touch screen, but it uses the Wacom wireless stylus tech. ; I've heard that they're not supposed to be the greatest for artistic use, but for casual photo editing use I wonder if they'd be adequate.

The Ipad has a capacitive touch screen. ; This is the tech of touch screens that's currently in fashion, I'm not so convinced it's such a big deal, but perhaps the only example of the tech I've used so far has been a poor implementation. ; I dunno. ; You absolutely cannot use normal styluses (stylii?) on it, because of the way it works, it senses the electrical properties of your skin and a normal stylus doesn't share those properties. ; You can get special styluses designed for capacitive screen use, but they still won't give you the kind of performance of a proper graphics tablet. ; Hmm.. it could be possible to come out with a freaky little specially designed stylus that uses the capacitive screen for positional data and then a bluetooth data connection to transmit pressure data.. but that's a highly specialized product that I doubt anyone is going to come out with. ; Still, if the Ipad becomes a big enough hit.. who knows.

I actually would favor a tablet designed specifically for use with a proper stylus. ; I am going against the trend here in that I am NOT in favor of having to drag my finger across a computer screen to use the computer. ; Simply because of getting finger oil all over the screen, it really goes against my instincts to touch a computer screen. ; Well, and for precision. ; I have no problem using a stylus, I still use a stylus on my phone most of the time.

Mind you I'd like to play with a proper desktop interface with a more evolved iteration of multitouch.. I want to be able to move two windows at once!

I do have one approving nod to make towards the Ipad.. they went with an IPS panel for the display. ; Good choice. ; I mean it's nice that it gives a wider viewing angle and everything (unless you're in a crowded public place and don't want people to be shoulder surfing you), but it also is a good panel tech for graphics work.

So long as it doesn't have the problems that Apple has had with some of the screens on their Imacs, anyway.

 

I googled the camera connection kit. ; If the info I found is accurate, all it is is a pair of dongles that plug into the proprietary connector on the bottom of the Ipad. ; One has a USB port (could it be used to gain access to other USB peripherals? ; I have no idea) intended to allow you to plug directly into your camera and download pictures, the other connector has an SD slot. ; And that's it.


Assuming that these connectors aren't too strictly tied to limited software applications I wonder if the USB connector might allow you to plug an external hard drive into the Ipad. ; Of course since you only get one port it's not like you could use the hard drive to copy files from your memory card, not unless you first copy them to the storage on the Ipad and then later move them onto the hard drive once you've swapped dongles.

 

Dan,

That's what I am hoping for. ; It would make sense. ; Either that or someone like Western Digital could create one that hooks directly into the iPad's connector though the USB connection would be better. ; I think all it would need is an app to copy the files. ; I do something like this for PDF files already on my iPhone. ; I think once vendors get a hold of iPads we will see all kinds of stuff just like for iPods and iPhones which will address shortcomings. ; Hey, here's an opportunity for some savvy engineers.

 

Well, I took the plunge yesterday, and bought an iPad. I have an original 2G iPhone, and was considering upgrading to the new iPhone4, until I figured out that the increase in monthly plan costs even for the least expensive plan was more than the $15 per month for the least expensive iPad data plan. I don't do much online with my phone other than email, so the low data cap isn't an issue for me.

First impression is, wow I like the display. Browsing photo websites, images look very good. I need to figure out a proper workflow for importing my own images, as going thru iTunes "optimizes" them, and they look like crap. Loading the same images from my MobileMe gallery from online, they look much better.

Peripherals seem to be starting be to available, although the Apple camera connector kit is 4 to 6 weeks backordered, so it'll be a while before I can try it out. Yes, this device is very locked down, but enough people are using it already that workarounds for most things are beginning to show up, and when the new OS is available in the fall, a lot more should be possible.

Erich

 

Congrats Erich, ; I've had mine since May and really enjoy it. ; Using it right now on our cross country trip! ; Finally got my camera connector kit when we reached Minneapolis a couple days ago. ; Had to have it shipped to my sister's place when I saw that it would arrive home after we left.

Started posting photos to my blog using the iPad, USB Connector and a cable to my 40D. ; My USB reader did not work. ; Might have to look into that new Lexar device.

I have used iPhoto to successfully sync great looking images to the iPad via iTunes, might just be a settings issue.

 

That's good to know, although I've yet to find anywhere what exactly the optimization does or how to change the parameters. I really don't want to have to create separate versions of images just for the iPad.

Please let us know how it goes with the camera kit and being on the road. That's one of my prime interests in using the iPad; to not have to carry around my heavy laptop and its accessories when traveling.

Erich