I think Amazon would do well to add color support to Kindle e-books for use on iPads and iPhones.
The Kindle app for iPad already supports color. I downloaded the Kindle sample of the graphic novel "The Impostor's Daughter", and it displays in glorious color (and has more pages than the iBooks sample of the same work).
"Those of you who doubt that the pixels-per-inch resolution isn’t high enough, just wait until you see the type rendering on this summer’s new iPhones."
Gruber has a history of making very specific "predictions" which are actually leaks from his moles. Maybe he's gotten tired of beating around the bush.
Apple has to increase the pixel density. Android phones have sported 240 dpi displays since November (Motorola Droid).
Competitively, they need to increase the pixel density. I don't think Gruber has any firm sources, but just assumes a higher-resolution display is in the works.
I enjoyed his "curious choice" description of Apple choosing to go with default wallpaper that looks like a series of deep scratches on the screen. Glad I wasn't the only one who gasped "crap, it's scratched!" when I booted it up.
Yeah, when I went to the Apple store to play with one, I thought for like 5 seconds that it was scratched (as floor models on electronics are sometimes beaten up, though usually not 2 days after launch). Then I felt for the scratches and didn't feel them, and then I opened an app, fixing the screen heroically!
In regards to his criticism of syncing, I think it seems like such an obviously missing feature that Apple has to do something about it, namely opening up MobileMe/iWork.com for free (ad-supported) to offer proper competition to Google.
His notes on MobileSafari were interesting. If the iPad is having a hard time keeping a couple of pages in memory due to the lack of traditional virtual memory, then it makes even more sense why Apple is avoiding Flash. Not just the CPU/battery issue, flash is notoriously bad at garbage collecting.
>One thing that’s making it hard for some people to grasp the purpose of the iPad is that no one has an answer to what precisely it is for.
after thinking a bit about it for a while, ipad to me, seems to be more of a media consumption device than either a computer or a phone. i can read books, play video-games etc on it, and it seems to be of the just right form-factor for such activities.
given that, i don't think i would be interested in running any arbitrary program on it. i would prefer my computer for doing that. apple store thus becomes more of a alternate clearing-house of published information. i am probably more concerned about some fundamental erosion of fair-use-rights here than anything else, as building strict copyright controls on such a device is probably much simpler .
if content-providers/distributors find ipad to be a viable platform for disseminating media, then copyright would be back with a vengeance. libraries / physical books might then be passe...
That explains the lack of multitasking. Multitasking would work if background apps just swapped to disk and slept. The current guidance for developers (on exit, save state; on startup, restore state) is a poor man's version of swap.
Very interesting review. It's very hard to say this was sycophantic.
I was very surprised with how primitive the iWork document management was. Also, can you imagine being that constrained when web browsing? I need my tabs.
Funny, but I browsed just as if I had tabs. I effectively had tabs. What I missed was "Open In New Tab.". Instead of concurrently opening, I have to wait for each page.
In Mr. Grubber's defense there's a lot more substance in this review than a thumb up/down conclusion. It's obviously written by and for Apple fans. Friendly critiques are often more valuable than unfriendly ones. I don't want to read a review by someone preaching to me that I need Flash or a command prompt so I can edit my /etc/rc.local file. I'm more interested in a strong focus on the small details of design along with commentary about the bigger picture from someone I agree with on the basics and has a proven track record of understanding Apple.
Would you rather read a review of a new sushi restaurant from a sushi lover, someone who never tried sushi before, or someone who hates sushi? Same idea here.
[+] [-] gr366|16 years ago|reply
The Kindle app for iPad already supports color. I downloaded the Kindle sample of the graphic novel "The Impostor's Daughter", and it displays in glorious color (and has more pages than the iBooks sample of the same work).
[+] [-] iamcalledrob|16 years ago|reply
Hmm, well that's interesting.
[+] [-] wmf|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] portman|16 years ago|reply
Competitively, they need to increase the pixel density. I don't think Gruber has any firm sources, but just assumes a higher-resolution display is in the works.
[+] [-] lawrence|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jackowayed|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] g89|16 years ago|reply
I wrote some more thoughts on this here, if anyone's interested: http://gen89.net/2010/04/07/prediction-free-mobileme-after-a...
[+] [-] unknown|16 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] zacharypinter|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] signa11|16 years ago|reply
after thinking a bit about it for a while, ipad to me, seems to be more of a media consumption device than either a computer or a phone. i can read books, play video-games etc on it, and it seems to be of the just right form-factor for such activities. given that, i don't think i would be interested in running any arbitrary program on it. i would prefer my computer for doing that. apple store thus becomes more of a alternate clearing-house of published information. i am probably more concerned about some fundamental erosion of fair-use-rights here than anything else, as building strict copyright controls on such a device is probably much simpler . if content-providers/distributors find ipad to be a viable platform for disseminating media, then copyright would be back with a vengeance. libraries / physical books might then be passe...
[+] [-] aphyr|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] philwelch|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|16 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] unknown|16 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] rortian|16 years ago|reply
I was very surprised with how primitive the iWork document management was. Also, can you imagine being that constrained when web browsing? I need my tabs.
[+] [-] stcredzero|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Dellort|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] proee|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|16 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] martythemaniak|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jsz0|16 years ago|reply
Would you rather read a review of a new sushi restaurant from a sushi lover, someone who never tried sushi before, or someone who hates sushi? Same idea here.
[+] [-] ugh|16 years ago|reply