Apple iPad: Is it for you? Video

Apple iPad: Is it for you? Video Transcript

>> Hey guys Brain Tong here with CNET.com and joining me today are Senior Writer Ina Fried, thanks for coming out and Associate Editor Josh Lowenshon.

>> Hi.

>> Hi. Now we all know all the hype. Apple just unveiled it's iPad. After many rumors and speculations everybody's been talking about this thing but we want to ask the question is this thing really going to succeed or fail so I just want to throw it out there this is a multifunctional device, we really haven't seen something like it, but where does it replace anything that we have already Ina?

>> I think there's only 1 or 2 things it might replace. It's not gonna replace your phone, it's not going to replace your laptop, it might be a different option for people that want something like a Kindle. It's a portable entertainment device so if you want to browse the web, if you want to read magazines, newspapers, watch some movies, it might replace something else you might buy but it's not gonna replace something you already have.

>> Now what about you Josh?

>> Well I think it's somewhere in the middle. For people who already have an iPhone it's a little bit bigger and for people who want a laptop it's not quite a laptop so it's in this kind of middle comfort zone where it's not one thing or the other so I think there's definitely a market for that and we'll just see how big it is.

>> For you individually does it replace anything that you guys have or need?

>> I travel a lot and so I have a Kindle right now, it's not as good for reading books as the Kindle I don't think but it is better for magazines, newspapers and obviously can do a whole bunch of other things, so as long as the battery life is ok it might kick the Kindle out of my backpack.

>> I think it's tough for me cause I have an iPhone and I have a laptop so I don't really need this. If I didn't have a laptop and I just had an iPhone this might be a nice kind of entry level way to get me into that kind of type of computing cause it does have a few more features than the iPhone. You know a bigger screen for 1 and longer battery life in some circumstances, so you know I think for people who don't have laptops this is a good kind of step up from what they already have.

>> Now there's plenty of features we could go down the list, we're not going to but is there a feature that you think is really gonna help this device succeed or maybe a feature that this doesn't have that's really gonna potentially make it fail?

>> I think the one thing it's still really missing is multitasking and on the iPhone this is still kind of a problem cause other phones have it and this becomes an even bigger problem with something like a tablet because this is actually a kind of a computer and so if you have a computer that can't run multiple apps at the same time you're missing out on some of the really fun parts about having a full size computer.

>> And that's one thing it's again there's really no definition for the [inaudible] some people might classify it as a computer, some people don't even classify it as a computer, so is the multitasking that important I mean it also is part of the battery life right? If you have a lot of multitasking the battery life goes away, is there any killer feature that you think will help it succeed?

>> Well I think there are some glaring omissions that flash support. I think the one thing that may really save the day for Apple is people love multi-touch and a lot of people are criticizing the fact that there isn't some new interface but I've seen the way people react to the Microsoft surface and a lot of people are like how can I have a surface? And in some senses the iPad is a way to start to get that experience. People love it on the iPhone but this is gonna open up to developers some new opportunities.

>> Well if they want to surface they could have $1000 and get a coffee table in their room right?

>> At some point. You can't even do that yet.

>> But you could go to the Rio and play with it.

>> You can yeah.

>> Oh now bottom line who is this for?

>> I think like I said before it's for people who might have an iPhone and they want that same kind of comfort and the experience they're used to but on something a little bit bigger. As for people who are looking for like a really portable version of Mac OS 10 on something that's like a tablet it's not meeting those needs.

>> Yeah I mean I think the Netbook you know if we'd started before Netbooks were out and said who is this for we would have had a tough time and lots of people who have bought them so I think it is for people that want a portable computing experience at a consumer price. I mean it's $500 it starts at, that's a consumer price but it is another device and so you know I think it doesn't have to have a killer app out of the gate but I think pretty quickly there are gonna have to be some experiences of people are like yes I'm willing to pay for it and we may not know what those are we've got to give developers some time. The fact is iPhone apps will run on this but give developers a few months and they're gonna have apps that really work for this specifically.

>> So bottom line will this thing sell or not? Josh.

>> Yeah I don't think it's gonna do as well as the iPhone has though.

>> I tend to agree. I mean I think that future versions of the iPad will probably do better, more like the original iPod it takes a little bit of time to build up.

>> Alright guys thanks a lot for coming out and we'll just have to wait to see this device. The iPad will be coming out to store shelves in late March. For CNET.com I'm Brian Tong. [ Music ]