The Apple iPad - Anand's Analysis
by Anand Lal Shimpi on January 27, 2010 5:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
Resolution and Video Decoding
The iPad uses a 9.7” IPS panel with a 1024 x 768 resolution. The panel technology is great, the resolution is a bit disappointing.
Video decoding is presumably fully hardware accelerated, but there are limitations here. Apple says you can only decode H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 48kHz. The only containers supported are .m4v, .mp4 and .mov.
This is horribly unfortunate and it means that anyone with existing content not in a friendly format will have to convert it before it’ll play on the iPad. While Apple likes to assume the world revolves around it, the truth is it just doesn’t. This is great for folks who already watch movies on their iPhones and not so great for those who don’t. Luckily with a good enough desktop, transcoding movies to your iPad shouldn’t be too painful.
There’s no camera on the device so I’m assuming there’s no video encoding support either. You can get rid of any image processing as well. In order to hit that $499 price point with such an attractive device Apple most likely had to cut corners wherever possible.
Final Words
Apple never entered the netbook market because it believed the devices weren’t very good. I’d tend to agree. You can get better performance and similar size out of a CULV notebook if you’re looking for an actual notebook. The netbook makes sense if you are using it as a 2nd, 3rd or 4th machine - but then who’s to say that you need to stick with the same form factor as a notebook?
This is where the tablet/smartbook device comes in.
Intel’s Atom processor is more than fast enough for the tasks you’d do on a netbook. The issue is that the OS and its applications running on netbooks are optimized for a class of processor that’s many times faster than Atom.
The iPad isn’t revolutionary, it simply takes an OS tailored to the power of the machine and pairs it with hardware that doesn’t look or feel like a netbook. Assuming that browsing the web, sending emails, using apps and watching videos is as fast on the iPad as it is on an Atom based netbook, Apple will have effectively capped the price of netbooks at $499. And to be honest, there’s no reason netbooks should ever approach that price to begin with.
A device that slots in between a smartphone and a notebook shouldn't look too much like either device. It needs to borrow from the strengths of both and bundle them in an attractive package. As a consumption device, the iPad looks promising. The big unknowns for me are: multitasking support, the performance of the A4 and ultimately whether or not you can actually be productive on the iPad. Based on all of that, we'll be able to figure out how much this thing is really worth.
Like the original iPhone (perhaps even moreso), the iPad is an extremely polarizing device. Even among AT staff it's a hit or miss depending on the person, regardless of their Mac buying history. For what it's worth, Mike Andrawes and I are both excited about its potential. Perhaps it's what we've been waiting for these past ten years.
We’ll find out in 60 days.
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ganeshts - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
I think Tegra 2 is a much better platform than the A4 ; Since a dual core processor is not claimed, I suspect it is a Cortex A8 pushed up to 1 GHz clock rate, and the GPU must be SGX 540 (which is what is being used to decode H264 I suspect). [[ All speculations with some hunches ]]By the way, no webcam / no HDMI output even with docks is downright disappointing. This thing is a joke when it comes to HD playback as you have duly noted. Not even L4.1 or High Profile is supported, No Blu-Ray M2TS or off-the-web MKV playback will be possible.
Feature wise, I think even Notion Ink's tablet is better than this. But, with Apple's marketing & fanboys, it is unpredictable..
Anand Lal Shimpi - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
I think unfortunately this isn't going to be the video playback device it was rumored to be. It'll be great for iTunes content, and for those people who don't mind doing some transcoding, but it lacks the copy and go flexibility that I was hoping for.This is the downside to companies like Apple. They work too closely with the content owners/providers, and thus play it safe with things like this.
But, it leaves room for others to innovate :)
Take care,
Anand
autoboy - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
It is such a disappointment for video consumption considering how nice the display appears to be. 16GB storage is downright pathetic if you ever wanted to play video. 64GB is only slightly better but there isn't a way to add a SD card to expand it. On a device this big intended for high res content, that is a huge misstep. Even 720p itunes video take considerable space. Then you don't have the HDMI port for when you get to your destination.I bought a iPod touch for video consumption, pandora, and audiobooks (i can't use an iphone) and I have been entirely disappointed with the screen quality. After seeing this iPad, I'm still waiting for my perfect video device.
It's not like Apple to leave this much room for others to innovate.
afkrotch - Friday, January 29, 2010 - link
Try the Archos 5 or 7. Might just fit your needs.OBLAMA2009 - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
this would be a revolutionary product if apple somehow jacked the wireless providers into providing 3g for say 10 a month. but without that nobody is going to choose this over a much better performing laptop. nokia invented the ipad a couple years ago except they called it the n800. it was a nice product but you dont see anyone walking around with them do you?Anand Lal Shimpi - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
I don't believe the choice should be between an iPad or a laptop. Presumably iPad users will already have a fast PC of some sort, this would be an auxiliary device just as a smartphone is. The question is whether or not there's room for such a device, and to answer that we really need to see how this thing works in a day to day setting.I've got my notebook/desktop when I do work, my smartphone while I'm walking around, but what do I pull out while I'm on an airplane? Can I get by with just an iPad/iPhone combo for a trip out west or do I still need a laptop? If I need three devices, I'm not sure there's a point. If not, there may be a chance.
Take care,
Anand
BadgerPoison - Sunday, January 31, 2010 - link
I agree with you that the question is whether or not there is room for this device. As you mentioned, this device may have usefulness during travel where a phone is insufficient. I disagree with your analysis of the netbook, and specifically, the value of the iPad over a netbook.There are 2 key benefits of a netbook where the iPad fails. First, netbooks are relatively cheap at $300 with 6.5 hours of wifi or 10 hours radio-less. Second, netbooks are capable of running office applications and being productive. For office applications, web browsing, and video/audio - netbook performance is sufficient in my experience. Together, these make netbooks an excellent choice for productive (professional and student) travelers. Netbooks are gaining a lot of interest at my school, and I see more of them every week.
The iPad looks awesome as a supplement to the TV when lying on a couch, for browsing while traveling, or maybe as an e-book reader. But not for being productive - not for justifying its $499 price for those without discretionary income.
OBLAMA2009 - Thursday, January 28, 2010 - link
yes whether ipad succeeds will depend on how it works once we all get to see it up close. at the very least ipad will probably lead to cheaper windows tablets with greater functionality and low priced mobile data plans that will have the power to replace laptops for light surfing and computingjasperjones - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
Excellent comment. I almost like this better than the actual article :-)I'm not gonna drag along iPad + laptop. It's either ... or. Robustness is a factor in this. An iPad contains big, relatively unprotected piece of glass. What's the expected life time of this thing? The other factor is, of course, productivity, as you discussed.
jimhsu - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
I'm still trying to figure out where this fits between my iPhone, kindle, and yet-to-arrive laptop currently being manhandled by UPS. The "internet capability" saturation has reached a maximum here, and an additional device won't help that.