http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/19/hp-slate-leaks-its-way-into-the-wild-meh/ So the first real iPad competition is a Meh. Sorry to hear that, the article says it's really slow. I for one enjoy competition, i think it makes you better. When people have a choice, you are forced to make a better product. So I hope that these other people come out with great competition for the iPad. Posted from my iPad.
Yeah, as much as I love the Ipad (its the first WOW device for me from apple, as it hits what I have been wanting for so very long), but I always want competition. Competition brings down prices, brings innovation, and basically makes multiple companies work there asses off to get their product better and better. It truly is a good thing.
With these previews so far, I'm still leaning toward the iPad right now for me. I want competition for the iPad, but the HP Slate does not look like it.
My day job right now is selling eReaders at a certain book retailer and have officially grown sick and tired of people coming in to wave their iPad in front of me trying to get me to argue about the two as if they were even in the same range of product. The douchebaggery of these people (mostly middle aged I notice, the younger folks are much less obnoxious a a whole and seem to understand the aforementioned vast difference between them.) is some of the worst I've ever encountered in my daily life. After using one for a while the other day I honestly have to say: "Cool, but not THAT cool. Now go eat a dick." As far as the Slate, it looks pretty much like what I expected, thicker, less elegant, but with a brilliant display. Having a proper OS and being able to actually run desktop-level programs is obviously going to be slower than a super-streamlined system like the iPad. A shame it seems to be lacking even more than expected though. Alas. Maybe next year.
Small form-factor PCs, such as UMPCs and slates, are woefully underpowered. I've said it before and I'll say it again: x86 is too heavy an architecture for such devices. But no one wants to put the work in to, say, develop a slick Linux distro and run it on an ARM-based processor.
As an iPad owner, I agree with you. I don't understand the need to compare unless your doing justification. I never liked the need to shout down another product because you like another product better. I can honestly say I was going to buy the Nook, I liked it way better then the Kindle and I really wanted to get into e-book reading. However I kept hearing the rumors of what would become the iPad. So I held out and I'm happy I did, for I am very happy with the iPad. However that in no way diminish the fact that the Nook is an awesome and useful device. So why should I trash it, it is the best at what it does. (IMHO) Just like people trashing the iPad because its not a laptop. Its not ment to be a laptop, it is in between. While I don't know if it will always be the best, it is to me right now. I can see myself being very productive with it for many years to come. I have already used it for Powerpoint presentations, so I don't have to lug my Macbook Pro around. I can access my e-mail and the web at book stores and Starbucks in a few seconds and enjoy doing so. As much as I love my iPhone, its not the same satisfaction. To me its a total win but I get some people just don't see it that way and I'm not going to yell at you if you don't.
On the topic of nook: i am posting from mine right now at work and able to legitmately say i am testing out product features.
Err. Android ring a bell? There's only going to be like 50 of them on the market by the end of the year.
Yes, working from home tomorrow.. And the competition? Take a look here: http://www.macrumors.com/2010/04/29/ipad-competitors-begin-to-disappear-even-before-being-released/
So, Microsoft kills it's PAD device, and HP puts theirs on indeterminate hold... Seems like they both rushed out of the gate and had to take a step back and say "wait a min".