The State of iPad Satisfaction 443
harrymcc writes "We know that the iPad is selling like hotcakes, but how satisfied are the people who buy it? Over at Technologizer, we conducted a survey of 6,000 iPad early adopters. There are a few places where they were critical — the majority, for instance, aren't happy with Apple's App Store approval process. Overall, however, they're overwhelmingly upbeat."
3G Reception? (Score:2)
Re:3G Reception? (Score:5, Insightful)
Other than the fact that I'm stuck with AT&T, I really like it.
A bittersweet phenomenon. Much as I dislike Apple Computer, the iPad is a cool product, and it's unfortunate the Jobs went with AT&T. Then again, what are the options for a nationwide network provider? Verizon? Please. Sprint? I don't think so. I'm currently on T-Mobile (and I'm very happy with their services, both voice and data) but I doubt they could handle the load of millions of crazed iPad/iPhone users all crying out for their streaming this and streaming that.
... neither can AT&T.
Of course
Re:3G Reception? (Score:5, Insightful)
Once again, Apple didn't choose AT&T because they were the best. Back in 2006, long before the iPhone release when Apple was shopping around for a provider Cingular was the only phone company that agreed to let Apple have complete control over the phone AND agreed to upgrade their voice mail system to handle visual voice mail. AT&T bought Cingular out and honored the contract. It was a Huge gamble, but paid off. It could have easily flopped and AT&T would have been screwed out of the money they paid to upgrade their servers and such.
After the failed Abortion that was the Rockr Jobs didn't want anyone else building an "Apple" phone.
Rumors are that Sprint respectfully declined while the Verizon CEO basically a huge asshole in declining. AT&T even declined, they just managed to pick it up when the Cingular 'merger/buyout' went through.
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It was a Huge gamble, but paid off.
It was a Huge gamble, that's just too early to say if it paid off yet. Note that AT&T is paying Apple dearly for its iPhone/iPad exclusivity. As opposed to its Android phone for instance, it's not getting a dime from Apple's app store, and yet it still had to subsidize the iPhone heavily to get the exclusive privilege of selling the iPhone.
And it's currently providing these deals at a loss for itself. The break even point is just around the corner of course, and analysts are optimistic that this deal
Re:3G Reception? (Score:5, Informative)
It's easy to see how one could get confused. [tmcnet.com] (Video [google.com])
After reading the Wiki: Originally Cingular Wireless LLC, a joint venture between SBC Communications and BellSouth, the company acquired the old AT&T Wireless in 2004; SBC later acquired the original AT&T and re-branded as "The New AT&T". Cingular became wholly-owned by The New AT&T in December 2006 as a result of AT&T's acquisition of BellSouth.
So Cingular (a joint venture between SBC and Bell bought AT&T Wireless), but still operated as "Cingular". SBC bought AT&T. And renamed itself "The New AT&T". Cingluar (With AT&T Wireless) was still being operated by SBC and Bell.
SBC (The New AT&T) then bought out Bell South. Meaning that the joint venture of Cingular was bought by AT&T, becoming an owned subsidiary.
They then renamed Cingular to AT&T.
And remember, Bell South and SBC were both formed when AT&T was broken up for being a monopoly.
Re:3G Reception? (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, but Cingular was already owned by AT&T, they just didn't adopt the AT&T name until they bought AT&T Wireless.
Remember the chain of purchases:
AT&T forced to breakup-->Southwestern Bell turns SBC for no reason, tells all employees that the SBC doesn't mean Southwestern Bell Corp, but just random acronyms with no meaning. Buys Pacbell, Ameritech, Nevada Bell, and SNET; starts records cleanup and reorganizing-->Combines its wireless services, Southwestern Bell Wireless, with BellSouth Wireless and renames it Cingular.-->Cingular buys AT&T Wireless but decides to keep using Cingular brand-->SBC acquires the remains of AT&T and adopts the AT&T name for land line services-->AT&T buys Bellsouth and changes the Cingular brand into AT&T and uses AT&T as the name for all telecommunication services.[source: I was an AT&T manager during the acquisitions and cleanup (SBC period), family members that still work for AT&T or retirees of AT&T]
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I'm impressed that people don't understand the psychology of sunk cost.
Re:3G Reception? (Score:5, Funny)
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It looked good, so I bought it. I bought it so it must be good. *rocks back and forth tearfully clutching ipad*
I wonder how many Linux users feel that way.
"This was a bitch to set up! But... it has more power for setting things up!"
Re:3G Reception? (Score:5, Insightful)
Great around the office (Score:5, Interesting)
I admit I originally bought an iPad as little more than an expensive toy, figured I'd just have it sitting on the coffee table at home for casual surfing, email, etc.
But you know what? I'm finding it a wonderful device to have around the office. Being able to combine typing and freeform sketching on something with the same form factor as a pad of paper is great for taking notes, without "separating" you from other people by having a laptop screen in the way. iThoughts is fantastic for brainstorming and more structured note-taking. I can pull up a design flat, walk over to a designer, ask some questions, and scribble notes or sketch right on top of the design. Just as good as a full colour printer and a box of crayons. ;)
And where it really kills? Meetings. The other day someone asked a question about our new site's stats, so I pulled up a table of figures in Google Analytics and passed it around the meeting, just like a piece of paper. Try THAT with a laptop.
Can it replace a laptop or desktop for doing real work? Hell no. But I'm finding it invaluable for many things that have traditionally been the domain of paper & printouts. It's becoming my new "back of the napkin". When lying flat on a table it becomes far more of a shared, group experience than a laptop can ever be. No more huddling around one person's screen, everyone can see it, and even interact with it, at the same time.
Note that most of these points relate to the tablet form factor in general, not just the iPad.
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The N900 is more of an iPod or iPhone competitor than an iPad competitor, isn't it? Your comment about the iPad being unable to do half the things some other product can do reminds me of CmdrTaco's famous critique of the iPod when it first came out.
I think the iPad is well designed. Deciding what not to include in a product is often a more difficult decision than deciding what to include. Apple is very good at this and I think they have mostly nailed it with the iPad (I don't have one but my wife does). You
Re:3G Reception? (Score:5, Informative)
Stockholm syndrome is very specific in that it only applies to a hostage or captive individual, so unless your iPad is holding you at gunpoint it doesn't quite work here.
The term GP is searching for is Cognitive Dissonance, specifically Post-Decision Dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is the idea that one may possess two conflicting thoughts simultaneously (I love my iPad / This iPad sucks). The mental tension that builds between these two ideas eventually has to be resolved, usually by the introduction of "rationalization". In these cases the specific justification doesn't necessarily need to follow logic (I chose an iPad because it smells like a rainbow), so long as it resolves the dissonance. Its sort of like solving an equation by introducing nonsense to one side. This form of creative logic reduces the tension caused by cognitive dissonance, essentially freeing people from the regret of having made a "bad" (or questionable) decision.
Psych studies have been done on this phenomenon, where it was observed that after giving people (and monkeys, by the way) a choice between two fairly equal items their approval of the item of their choice rose, while it fell for the item they didn't choose. This happens all the time in all types of people. I have a good example myself: When hunting for a PMP (portable media player) I eventually chose a Cowon S9 over the iPod touch. When my girlfriend bought herself an iPod touch, I reacted negatively and joked that she was now part of the Apple fanclub, and asked her when her lifesized poster of her new overlord (Jobs) would arrive in the mail. I also dismissed certain advantages of the touch outright (app store = full of crap, better touch screen = not a big deal, wifi = battery leech, etc) while taking pride in the advantages of my own purchase (AMOLED screen = sexy, broad file format support = better, superior EQ = awesome, etc.). It actually took me a few weeks of using both side by side to rationalize my own purchase in a more logical way. Now i'm at the point where, while i'm not displeased with my purchase, I have seen much of the appeal with the iPod Touch. Ultimately I think i've rationalized them into two separate non-competing categories, where the Cowon S9 is the superior media device (well, it is!) but the iPod Touch has a wide variety of non-media functionality. Thus I can appreciate both items without experiencing any form of cognitive dissonance (regret) over my decision.
Flawed survey (Score:3, Insightful)
Why would most end users care about the App Store approval process? If you're surveying developers say that you're surveying developers. Oh wait, is it just that the Slashdot summary is wrong? Thought so.
Don't survey a subset of the users and then generalize that to all users. It's inherently unfair.
(no, I don't have an iPad and probably never will)
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Yeah, as an end-user, I LIKE the App Store and appreciate Apple's filtering process.
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Right now he can install 100% of iP* apps. Under your scenario, a percentage of the apps that would otherwise be available to him through Apple's App Store would be distributed from other stores, and thus be out of bounds.
If he gave in to temptation to relax his standards at at any time, in order to run any of these non-app store apps, he's become vulnerable to phis
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Most iP* users are like the GP. They like the fact that there is a safe, one-stop shop for all apps.
Proof? considering TFA states the exact opposite and all.
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As soon as you let average users bypass the Apple store ...
You can bypass the app store today, by jailbreaking. The only thing being asked of Apple is to make the latter an officially supported (even if warranty-voiding) operation, just as it is on Android. It doesn't have to be easier to do than today in terms of effort, so as to deter casual users; just make it available somehow.
Re:Flawed survey (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Flawed survey (Score:5, Informative)
Don't survey a subset of the users and then generalize that to all users. It's inherently unfair
Not at all. Unless you are surveying ALL users of a product, then by definition you are surveying a subset and generalizing to the entire population. The trick is picking a representative subset.
The problem is one of methodology. Do you pick a subset with specific, known characteristics, and then generalize that? If so, you've introduced bias.
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Because it limits what apps an end user might want to use. For example, an ad blocking plugin for safari. It exists for jailbroken ipads/iphones and should exist in the app store but Apple will never allow it, thus it's a problem with the approval process for end users.
pardon? (Score:4, Interesting)
Surveying a subset and generalizing the population from which it's drawn is what we call inferential statistics; it's a cornerstone of modern science and social research.
There may be some significant problems with the survey design, however. There's no information about how the survey was conducted (internet? email? something else?), or how the respondents for it were chosen (self-selection? something else?). The information's a bit to sketchy to tell how reliable the survey is.
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Summary FAIL.
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Actually, if you look at the article, you'd see that the Slashdot summary correctly reflects what the article says:
I haven't developed any iPad/iPhone apps, or know anyone who has, but I'm not pleased with their approval process because I actually read and am aware of some of the gaffes they've made with it (Mark Fiore's app, Ulysses Seen, Tom Bouden's version of The Importance
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A majority see the way Apple manages the App Store as a problem: Forty-one percent think it’s a minor issue, twelve percent think it’s a major one, and four percent say it’s unacceptable. Forty-three percent say it isn’t a problem at all.
I don't see that as a majority of unhappy campers. 41% think it is a "minor" issue. Minor issues don't make me unhappy. 12% major and 4% unacceptable totals a whopping 16% vs. 43% "not-a-problem-at-all".
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Personally (Score:5, Insightful)
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/11/dell-mini-5-we-have-it/
Dell tends to make pretty good devices (contrary to the article yesterday), that are very usefull and well designed. So hopefully this will start a good series of android style tablets. This probably wont hurt the apple market but at least it will deliver a useful tablet to those of us who don't want to fight the app store and want some more options.
Re:Personally (Score:4, Informative)
I am waiting for the android based tablets.
Wait no more. [amazon.com]
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I can buy an Archos at Amazon.
Where can I get the Mini 5?
My Archos has 500G of storage and can play much of what an iPad can't.
Re:Personally (Score:4, Insightful)
That tablet is utter crap. I used one for 4 weeks and sent it back for a full refund. I then tried several others.... they all suck right now.
Yes you still need to wait. What is available is junk right now.
Re:Personally (Score:4, Informative)
Not to mention, you can't root it. And it's stuck at 1.6, and won't ever get 2.x. Which is a horrendous issue for Android devices - it seems there are great models (Nexus One) with full rootability and the like. Others that are bound to a carrier can have special root-proof firmware installed (Rogers did just that with a mandatory update - sure it fixed a critical bug, but it also removed the ability to root it). And always the question of whether or not your phone will officially get 2.x. Sure there's unofficial mods (provided you root your phone), but it seems there aren't that many that are "good" (rootable, futureproof, etc).
Probably my one complaint is how carriers have all seemed to conspire to collectively try to hobble Android. Couldn't Google have done an iPhone and pretty much say "This is the way we're doing it, and if you don't like it, tough!" like Apple?
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If the hardware makers would build a CORRECT hardware platform it would work great.
A buddy of mine is running Android-X86 on a Fujitsu tablet from 5 years ago and it works better than all of the current junk out there. $350.00 spent on an android tablet plus it's bigger than a iPad. very cool, just lacking in the battery department.
Self-serving description much? (Score:3, Interesting)
That's sure a self-serving post that's been rating Informative.
Each time the iPhone has changed its hardware "it's been way ahead of any Android devices"?
You point to the resolution of the display and the better camera, and the gyroscope. Those are pretty arbitrary criteria.
I say 4G data connection and a bigger, MUCH more vibrant screen are way more important than the criteria you named, does that now make Android devices "way ahead of" the iPhone hardware?
Or are those not as important as the factors you na
Re:Personally (Score:4, Interesting)
The specs I'm seeing are 8GB built in + 16GB SD card as standard. That's 24GB total. You could up it to 8+32 = 40GB, but that will add to the cost. You can only put applications on the 8GB. And if an application does offer the option of saving to either disk, then that must add complexity to the UI. iPhone is easy - you don't have to worry about where to save data.
For a significantly larger screen. The resolution improvement is far better than simply looking at the screen pixel counts would suggest.
You're comparing a yet to be released Android device with a recently released iPhone. And the Android device is behind. That's my point. Sure at some future time a new DroidX will come out and it might have caught up on the screen res. But by then it'll be up against the iPhone 5, which will have progressed again in various areas - not necessarily the screen. Android will always be playing catch up.
Dont forget the superior optics in the iPhone, the second front facing camera in the iPhone, or the gyroscope in the iPhone. Don't forget the iPhone is smaller in all dimensions, and lighter too. Don't forget the iPhone has videoconferencing. Don't forget the iPhone offers tap-to-focus for both stills and video. etc.
So what do you get with the iPhone? A cool shiny device that works well in many situations and gives bragging rights. What do you get with Android phones? well pretty much unlimited possibilities, wherever the market wants to go and whatever carrier you want to use.
WIth the iPhone you get a 98% satisfaction rating and a 96% good value rating. You get better designed hardware and software. You get hardware that's more advanced than any Android phone, and a wider range of higher quality apps. You have the peace of mind that if there's a phone app that people are talking about, you're almost certainly going to be able to run it, because it'll be an iPhone app.
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The problem with the Archos tablet, if I recall, was that it runs a heavily modified version of Android based on an old release of Android. It uses closed-source Archos software to replace many common Android features. And it doesn't have the Android Market. And it's not as physically large as an iPad. From what I'm to understand, calling it an Android tablet is a stretch, especially if you want to compare it with an iPad, but I'm happy to be corrected by anyone who owns one.
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Likewise waiting on more android offerings, though I was surprised to see nearly 20% of the people surveyed have linux machines.
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Re:Personally (Score:4, Interesting)
Funny, because we replaced all our Dell laptops with MacBook Pros over the last 3 years here because the Dell's started having a number of problems after 18 - 24 months. And these were serious hardware problems like motherboards cracking. It wasn't quite the systemic problems we had with HP laptops, but that was 2 generations of PC laptops from two different manufactures both with quality control problems. And these were $1,500 Dell/HP laptops, not the super cheap $500 consumer laptops.
Since switching to the Mac's the only hardware problems across a dozen laptops we've had is folks have broken a number of power supplies at our favourite coffee shop when they fall from the tall tables onto the ceramic tile floor.
As far as the iPad goes, I've had my 3G model over a month now and I've only gone to my Mac Mini for computer stuff twice. Both times relating to MS Office Documents that iWork couldn't open. (I still use the Mac Mini as a media center attached to my TV at home). I've given up my MacBook Pro and have docking stations, one at the office and the other at home. It does exactly what I need a device to do: Email, Skype chat, web surfing, and document editing with iWork.
As far as that goes though, my iPhone had largely replaced my MacBook a year ago. The only problem was composing any emails that required a long response was impractical. With the iPad docking station, that problem is resolved since it has a full keyboard.
a new way of programming (Score:3, Interesting)
Where I work, we were really upset there was no way to use wireshark on the ipad. So we made cloudshark [cloudshark.org], and I bet a lot of other people are doing identical things -- the beauty of jQuery and other APIs like that is that you can replace 90% of a regular desktop app with a simple web page. There are probably tons of other examples of this sort of thing. There's all sorts of CSS hooks for ipad to accomplish the new modes of use, scolling, double fingers, et cetera. It's frankly very fun.
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I can assure you (since we bothered making it in the first place!), that there are a lot of archived packets that require analyzing. It is this subset which we address. Live capture is simply a subset of packet sources. Also, we suck in capture files from other URLs, so any website can essentially spawn a packet viewer simply by linking their own URL as an argument to our site.
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Mod this up - I found this to be an issue as well. Last night I was fiddling around with the idea of monitoring all traffic going in and out of my local network, specifically the ability to monitor any of the smaller devices using the wifi. The general idea being that once I move into my new place, I might leave the WiFi unsecure and snoop on anyone who decides to drop in.
No matter what I did, I couldn't grab any real info on what the iPad was browsing. I eventually tried ARP poisoning with Cain and while t
I doubt their stats-gathering methods (Score:2, Insightful)
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They know about it because the question was asked. It sounds like something you should not like , so they said they didn't. A fairly obvious case of observer influence. You have to know for certain the subject of a poll independently knows what something is or any question you ask about it is totally invalid.
really? (Score:2, Insightful)
Did you actually read it? (Score:3, Insightful)
iPad owner opinion (Score:5, Informative)
I have an iPad at home, and while I'm a developer by trade, I do not develop iPad/iPhone apps.
I have two major gripes (and they are easy to guess):
1) Flash support. This is purely a practical objection (suspending my philosophical objections). This is a neat toy for having around the house. It is the #1 way my kids browse. There are a lot of child oriented sites that need flash ( my younger kids love pbskids.org ). If apple succeeds in driving flash from the web and everybody uses html5 then I'd be fine, but this will take forever.
2) Printing. I never missed it much on my iPhone, but when you are using the iPad it is hard not to think of it as a "computer", and a computer should be able to print. There are some apps that help here, but there needs to be universal support. I'm sitting on the couch reading an e-mail. Next to me hidden under an end table is my wifi laser printer. I really would like to print an email. I'd also like to print out map/directions to take on a trip. This really needs to be on the iOS list (even if it needs a daemon / iTunes on a computer to avoid having to load printer drivers in the iPad).
You'd Like to Be Able to Print an E-Mail?!?! (Score:3, Funny)
Huh??
What what you do with it then... put it in a beige-colored folder, and file it away alphabetically in that beige-colored file-cabinet atop which you keep your tri-cornered hat?
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>
> Huh??
>
> What what you do with it then... put it in a beige-colored folder, and file it away alphabetically in
> that beige-colored file-cabinet atop which you keep your tri-cornered hat?
>
1) I keep an electronic printout for my personal records.
2) I use the hardcopy in places I would not want to have an overpriced electronic toy.
Fanboys desperately trying to pretend to be some sort of vanguard are so funny. They're almost cute.
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I'm not disagreeing with #2, but I don't get your use cases. Why print an email or directions, don't you have your iPad?
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Maybe I'm printing up directions to some lake a couple hours away where I'm going to go canoeing. I don't particularly want to take the iPad out on the water, and I also don't like the idea of leaving it back in my car baking in the sun in the parking lot.
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So, let me get this right...you want to use an ultra-portable computer, but there are some places you won't take it, and that is a problem with the device?
There are many reasons why one would want to print from any given device, ultra-portable or not. Your fixation on "some places you won't take it" is a red herring. The issue is its (in)ability to print, which is certainly desirable functionality for some.
I don't have an iPad, but if I did I would be more than happy to take it when I visit my sister's family, for example. And wouldn't it be nice if there were an app that had hundreds of readily available "color by numbers" drawings that I could easily pri
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You may want to take the emails somewhere that the iPad is too bulky to take, and you may need directions when you don't have wireless access (with the non-3G device). Or, alternately, you may not want to leave the iPad in your car/hotel room/whatever when you get there, and again it's too bulky to take wherever you're going.
Seriously, a piece of paper folds up and fits into your pocket. Unless you want to carry a backpack or satchel or other luggage with you, you can't carry the device everywhere you go.
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I agree with #2, this would come in handy, and would give rise to some better apps on the ipad.
I don't miss Flash one bit.
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I'd also like to add:
3) File management. Getting files on and off or deleting files requires manual intervention in iTunes. It works, but it's a bit lame. There are other applications that aim to address this, but it should be handled in a comprehensive and systematic way.
4) Safari's handling of tabs. Switching tabs is slow, and when you revisit a background tab it will probably reload the page (which kind of defeats the purpose). There are other browsers that do a better job, but it's silly that App
Survey stinks, iPad doesn't (Score:5, Insightful)
The UI is buttery smooth. This is one thing EVERY other device I've put hands on doesn't even come close to getting right. Android is wonderful, and I love it - but the UI just isn't as fluid and responsive. This may not change how the device works but it certainly changes how you perceive the device is working. I see it every time someone uses an Android phone (myself included): click, click again because it didn't give you immediate feedback or response. Turn the device sideways, wait a couple seconds, flip it back and forth a couple times because the display didn't rotate. Things like that are minor in 'tech, but huge in usability.
The tougher process of getting an app INTO the iTunes app store I honestly think is helping weed out the lower grade fluff we find in the Android market. How many times have you gone looking through apps, found something that looked pretty good, installed it, and it was crap? How many reviews on the Android Market read something like this: Force closes, one star!. It's the same problem with all the various free Windows software that's everywhere on the net. You have more choice, but you have more choices of crap. If people are going to spend the time, money, and effort to get an app into Apple's store, they're more likely to make sure it's something that's worth being there. They want to get paid, after all.
Getting back to end-users, of which I've been exclusively since this thing launched -- it really is awesome. I carry it instead of a laptop nearly every time I would have taken my laptop. I carry it now when I wouldn't have carried anything before, simply because I can. Then again, if I had an iPhone I'd probably leave it home more often. Regardless, the beauty is being able to do real work on it (email, web-based enterprise apps, etc.) without having to take anything else with me. No power cord, no problem - I get a full day PLUS worth of power out of the battery. Battery life + 3G + usable screen size (1024x768 means my work webapps fit perfectly) + a very usable on-screen keyboard = happy camper.
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How many times have you gone looking through apps, found something that looked pretty good, installed it, and it was crap?
None. Not once in fact. You see, those reviews and stars are there for a reason. If something gets crap reviews, don't buy it. In exchange for requiring that tiny bit of due diligence, I have several apps that would never make it though Apple's approval process. Apps that would require voiding my warranty to get on the i-Devices.
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How many times have you gone looking through apps, found something that looked pretty good, installed it, and it was crap?
None. Not once in fact. You see, those reviews and stars are there for a reason. If something gets crap reviews, don't buy it. In exchange for requiring that tiny bit of due diligence, I have several apps that would never make it though Apple's approval process. Apps that would require voiding my warranty to get on the i-Devices.
Who contributes the reviews if nobody tries it until it's reviewed?
I'm quite happy for a particular reason (Score:4, Informative)
I'm an avid geocacher and I've found the GPS accuracy in the iPad to be better than the iPhone, and comparable to my Garmin 60csx (which is more-or-less the gold standard). I use the iPad for a lot of other reasons (the kids like to watch movies or play games on it while we're driving out to a forest preserve) but I was really pleasantly surprised to see that I could pretty much rely on it to get me to the spot.
I'm waiting for Otterbox to come out with their Defender case so I can keep it out all the time through the woods, instead of putting it back in the backpack on the chance I trip over a log or something. The iPad might not be as compact as the iPhone or Garmin, but it beats a day of DNFs.
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I believe that new GPS accuracy is in the iPhone 4 as well. Would be interesting to see how they compare.
Pretty much sums it up (Score:4, Interesting)
I have a 16Gb iPad 3G and I must say that their survey matches my experience.
I don't care about a camera on it. Front or back. And find the only things I wish it had were native print function, and built in SD card reader. The 3G service is OK except at work where my building seems to be some sort of Faraday cage for anything radio related.
I was kind of surprised that iBooks wasn't showing as highly rated as I thought. For me that is the killer app. It makes access to the Project Gutenberg material flat out painless. I know that there are other ways I could get those titles on there and read them if it wasn't built into the app, but this makes it easy.
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> It makes access to the Project Gutenberg material flat out painless. I know that there are other ways
> I could get those titles on there and read them if it wasn't built into the app, but this makes it easy.
Yes... because pointing and clicking through a webpage is such a burden.
Survey has built in bias (Score:3, Interesting)
We aren’t trying to capture a demographically representative sample of all iPad owners and we didn’t normalize the results. The opinions you’re about to read reflect only the experiences of the folks who took our survey–readers of Technologizer and other sites (such as Daring Fireball) that linked to it. Which is fine by us: We were dying to learn what you thought.
Not scientific, not normalized, not statistically meaningful.
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So what? As long as you're upfront about the inherent bias in your sample, there still might be some value in your poll.
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True. But a lot of people on this thread are complaining about the app store comments, etc. This is the reason for the app store comments - built in bias due to the pool from which people self-selected to take the poll. This does not tell anything meaningful. People that self-select to take these generally are either very happy and want to tell everyone, or are pissed off and want to tell everyone. I mean, generally, how many anti-Apple people read Daring Fireball on a daily basis?
Good Lord.. (Score:2)
There were are few places
I'm not a stickler for grammar or spelling and God knows I'm terrible at both but is there not even a forced preview for summaries like there is for comments? There is no way you can even quickly proofread that sentence and not stumble trying to string those words together. Get it together editors.
Faith based summary (Score:2)
Becomming more satisfied... (Score:5, Interesting)
I was about 80-90% satisfied at launch; I could use my bluetooth keyboard from my ancient Palm, take it with me as a laptop substitute when traveling for work or personal, and in a crunch write a report in the notepad app and e-mail it to a co-worker to format and PDF. Now, I'm closer to 95% satisfied after getting a spreadsheet/word processor app and a few other gems.
What I hate is the absurd organization and search capability of the AppStore. Yes, I know about 3rd party tracking/review sites, yes, I am willing to waste hours searching... and ultimately, yes, I am willing to pay $5-10 to try something that may not meet my expectations.
But, I am quickly getting to the point where expensive ($30-80) apps have reviews that state they don't live up to stated functionality, and it is becoming impossible to really experiment with different use-cases.
By far though, I get more satisfaction using the device as a content-creation vehicle rather than a consumption device. Consumption is lost on the ads that cannot be blocked that in turn screw up the page formatting.
(Oh, and it pisses the living sh!t out of me that Slashdot jumps down half a page when you expand a comment!)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
(Oh, and it pisses the living sh!t out of me that Slashdot jumps down half a page when you expand a comment!)
Go to http://slashdot.org/help [slashdot.org]
Click the "Classic Index" link. Select Use Classic Index, Simple Design, Low Bandwidth, No Icons. Click Save.
Click the "Dynamic Index" link. Select Lowbandwidth [sic], Simple Design, Use Classic Index.
Voila, /. as $deity intended it.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Shit, forgot to say:
Click the "Discussion" link. Select Slashdot Classic Discussion System. Set Display Mode to Nested, Sort Order to Oldest First, and Threshold and Highlight Threshold to whatever you want (mine is 5: Score +5 and 3: Score +3 respectively). I also recommend selected Hard Thresholds, Reparent Highly Rated Comments, and increasing comment limit, comment byte limit, and index spill to something large like 100, 1024k, 500.
Skewed Question (Score:4, Insightful)
The story pulls a clever choice of data -- "the majority aren't happy with Apple's App Store approval process", when in reality the vast majority (85%ish) of people answered with the two answers that are the most positive towards the app store (Not a problem at all and minor problem). The fact is that the possible answers that they could give were skewed towards the negative:
Not a problem at all
Minor problem
Major problem
Unacceptable
So, your summary basically says that "of the four possible answers, the majority of people picked from three of them", which is not all that impressive of a feat. Suppose the possible answers were instead:
I prefer to have apps reviewed before purchasing or downloading them
I'm neutral on the app store
Minor problem
Major problem
Unacceptable
By adding a positive answer, rather than a slightly above neutral answer, you change the skew of the response. By have a great majority of negative answers, someone who has not completely formed their opinion will be more likely to say, "huh, I had never thought of it before, but since there are so many negative possible answers, there must be a problem."
Early adopters (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
No kidding. These people couldn't possibly actually be enjoying something. That's unthinkable. They're just playing the role that their great leader Steve demands of them. This iPad crap is just a shiny fad. Just like the iPhone, and the iPod before it. Give it a year, and nobody will even remember these garbage devices, and Apple will continue it's slow sad slide towards irrelevance and bankruptcy.
Because there is no other choice right now.... (Score:2)
I tried several of the Android tablets and the makers are churning out utter crap. Low Processor speeds, really out of date Android 1.5 installs, and NOTHING that has the app store.
Your only choice is the iPad until someone puts out a REAL Android tablet with a 1Ghz+ processor, real ram and storage and a current version of the OS.
The majority? Really? (Score:3, Insightful)
The State of iPad Satisfaction (Score:2)
The iPads are pretty satisfied.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Indeed they love their new owners. The Foxconn plant was scary! Bodies flying everywhere.
It's still too new (Score:3, Insightful)
People haven't had time to get tired of them yet. There are lots and lots of cool gadgets in the world and for a wide variety of them, they are cool for a short time. Only a very select few in history have emerged from the pile as "indispensable." Among these are the palm pilot and later the blackberry. iPod is a very risky move because it is significantly larger than things that fit in pockets.
It's been tried and tested at this point (Score:4, Insightful)
iPod is a very risky move because it is significantly larger than things that fit in pockets.
But also more useful.
The killer app is actually traveling, where you want something substantially larger than an iPhone but without the bulk of a laptop or need to charge while in transit.
And around the house, they are easier for casual use than a laptop. Basically they do fill a useful niche in computing, and from this peak you can see the place where they replace laptops for a lot of people.
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Check DealExtreme. [dealextreme.com]
So far the feedback from most forums is that it sucks. Build quality is all over the place. The touch screen is lacking multi-touch. (Different technology). Some people have had theirs die completely after a few days of use. The battery life is horrible compared to the iPad and it's running Android 1.6.
But it is cheap.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:I Can't Get No Satisfaction (Score:5, Insightful)
And what particular non-corporation made device are you surfing the internet with today? CPU was hand-crafted by an artisan was it?
Poor old iPad owners. Fancy buying something and finding some time later that you like 98% of the other buyers are satisfied with it. Must be truly awful. How terrible for them it must be to be so excited about a new piece of technology that they stand in line to buy it. If only they could have spent that time whining on Slashdot instead.
Re:I Can't Get No Satisfaction (Score:5, Insightful)
I am not sure you would find a single iPad buyer who felt they were sticking it to the man. Most of them were buying a consumer electronic device they felt would be useful and after using it for a month or two, they found that it was useful. This annoys the crap out of you because you had some strange unnatural urge to see it fail, so you denigrate all those people. Millions of people have purchased iPads and our happy with them. If you chose to believe it is because they are not as smart as you, they have medications that will help with your delusions.
Re:I Can't Get No Satisfaction (Score:4, Insightful)
Most of them were buying a consumer electronic device they felt would be useful and after using it for a month or two, they found that it was useful.
Except that this little moral fable ignores some well-known empirical psychology that Apple uses heavily in their branding. Apple devices, with their sleek aesthetics and sexy image, are appealing for reasons that have nothing to do with their functionality.
People feel good about owning them not (just) becauase they're useful, but because they are envied and admired. People feel good about owning stuff that other people wish they could own too. And people who don't see the value in paying a premium for that denigrate such devices as being overpriced toys.
There's nothing wrong with any of this, but it's important to recognize that this dynamic has nothing to do with what your average TrueGeek would consider the "functional" aspects of the device.
An iPad doesn't do anything (for me) that my netbook won't do (cue people who Just Don't Get It lining up to tell me I'm wrong [yes, there's a pun in there]). But I've seen the way iPaddies show off their new toy, and felt both envy and irritation with them, just like everything we know about the psychology of social factors in success would lead me to expect.
This is the genius of Jobs: his company makes products that are hard to be indifferent to. Everyone wants to own one because they we'd get to be the center of attention too, and this is the primary determinant of satisfaction with consumer electronics products.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
So your argument is that it's impossible for a device to be functional if it is also beautiful?
Why are the two things mutually exclusive?
Re:I Can't Get No Satisfaction (Score:4, Insightful)
Apple devices, with their sleek aesthetics and sexy image, are appealing for reasons that have nothing to do with their functionality.
Sleek aesthetics and functionality are not mutually exclusive. Once everyone other than Apple figures that out, Apple might have some competition.
...because they are envied and admired. People feel good about owning stuff that other people wish they could own too.
Insecure people do that. And insecure people project about why they think people buy Apple products.
But I've seen the way iPaddies show off their new toy, and felt both envy and irritation with them
See, just like that.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
One problem is that people have different definitions of "functional".
Lots of us here on /. consider something functional if we can Google around to find out how to edit the .rc file so we can run it from the command line. Most people don't consider anything that requires that functional - they want an easy-to-learn GUI that works out of the box, or immediately after a simple GUI-driven installation process.
Apple can make a computer-based system my mother can use. I'm positive she could learn to use
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, I bought an iPad for two main reasons. One was to make Steve Ballmer cry himself to sleep, and the other was to make me better than my friends. My favorite hobby is to carry the iPad around at parties, show it off, and then explain to my friends how much better I am than them. Occasionally some jerk at the party will try to touch my iPad, and then I have to get all angry and storm out of the party and go home, but then I just get on internet message boards and tell random strangers how much better I a
Re:I Can't Get No Satisfaction (Score:4, Insightful)
98% satisfaction rating says that the technology of the device is good and is keeping customers happy after purchase. You are the one with the problem, not them. You don't know how good these devices are. Nor why people buy them.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Your combination of ignorance and spittle-spewing irrational vitriol makes you a target-rich environment for anyone armed with a bit of logic and a few facts.
>>You have to face it sooner or later... Apple makes its money by being a lifestyle brand, like Levi or American Apparel or Gucci.
Only a /. geek would sneer at "the masses" buying a "lifestyle brand" instead of something that "OMG! Can be rooted, overclocked, and turned into a Beowulf cluster" for the sheer geekiness of it. I'd bet money that you
Re:You know who else? (Score:5, Insightful)
Good sarcasm is timely, relevant, and factual. Yours meets none of those criteria. Oh and usually (but not always funny).
Re: (Score:2)
I thought it was Al Gore who is on the Apple board, not Obama.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, in a way you are right...
If I spent $400 on something, I'm more inclined to tell people I like it so I don't feel like I wasted my money.
If it was $5, I might be more inclined to tell someone if it really sucked.
Re:Private life (Score:5, Insightful)
*yawn* I don't know why you're worried, people like you keep telling everyone how much better Android is and how it's only a matter of months before Apple is eclipsed and irrelevant.
But whatever. If it wasn't for Apple and their iOS, Android would probably still be the same crappy blackberry ripoff that it was when Google bought it, actual useful tablets would still be years away, and the US mobile phone landscape would still totally suck, instead of just mostly sucking like it does now.