Yesterday, Apple announced a new gadget called Apple Ipad. The Ipad is very similar to Ipod Touch or Iphone in functionality but the size are significantly bigger. Apple Ipad has 9.7″ screen, which is similar to netbook screens.
Steve Jobs, Apple CEO shows the Apple Ipad.
So, what will this device brings to photographers?
1. Portability & Connectivity
Apple Ipad is slightly smaller than magazine. It is also light (.5 lb) and thin (.5 inch). It is ideal to carry with you all day long. It has wi-fi and 3G connectivity (selected model) so you can access internet in many places. This is great because you can read photography blogs, e-books, browse photo and watch videos on the go.
2. 10 hours battery life
Most laptops and netbooks only lasts for 2-3 hours without charging. So, the Ipad has significantly longer battery life. It is good for all day long reading, watching videos and photo viewings. Great for travel photographers.
3. Showing your works
For pro photographers, you can use Ipad to showcase your work to your clients without having to carry a large and heavy laptops around. It also looks cool.
4. Storage and Expansion
Ipad SSD flash storage is available from 16 to 64 GB. Adapters are available and needed when you want to connect the Ipad to memory card reader and USB port.
However, this first generation Ipad has many cons compared to traditional netbook/laptop.
1. Low res screen 1024×768 (123 ppi)
The resolution is not better than Ipod touch and many laptop screen out there. So, it might not be ideal to view your hi resolution videos or pictures.
2. Hassle and limited storage space
You need an adapter to download photos/videos from your CF or SD card, which is a hassle. Storage space is also very limited especially in the cheapest model ($499).
3. Questionable processor speed
Apple use custom processor called A4. We don’t know how fast is the processor, but it is more likely to be quite slow. Therefore, it is not great for running complex applications like photo editing softwares.
4. No multitasking
You can’t open and run two applications simultaneously which is a great drawback. You can’t run two third party applications at once. But maybe this is a good idea. At least we can focus on one thing at a time.
See how there are many contradicting pro and cons above? This is typical of first generation product. It is far from perfect but we can expect to see it become better as the technology and competition evolve.
Want to get info about when the Ipad will hit the stores? Sign up your e-mail at amazon.com
Other opinions:
Ipad for photojournalist – opinion by ChrissyOne
About Ipad – opinion by Stephen Fry
There are many issues you could have with the iPad. No multitasking, still no Flash. No camera, no GPS. They all fall away the minute you use it. I cannot emphasise enough this point: “Hold your judgment until you’ve spent five minutes with it”. No YouTube film, no promotional video, no keynote address, no list of features can even hint at the extraordinary feeling you get from actually using and interacting with one of these magical objects. – Stephen Fry
8 Things that sucks about Ipad – Gizmodo
A lot of people at Gizmodo are psyched about the iPad. Not me! My god, am I underwhelmed by it. It has some absolutely backbreaking failures that will make buying one the last thing I would want to do.
The Ipad and what it means by photographer by John Omvik
As far as I can tell it will mean as much or as little for photographers as an iPhone does. Great large screen for showing off photos. Software for organizing photos and videos in a neat way. Of course the photo related iPhone Apps will work including the new MobileMe Gallery app that was just introduced last week. Folks who were expecting to be able to download raw images from their D-SLRs from their memory cards will be disappointed “There’s No App” or connector for that, it is not designed for it. If that is what you need, then Apple will be happy to show you a couple really nice MacBook Pro laptops. In fact the iPad itself is not even able to take a photo on its own. It has no camera. This could possibly be one of the greatest omissions, or better said, the feature I would have most liked to see in the iPad. Not just for taking photos, but also for video conferencing with iChat and Skype.
Ipad on the field by Ted Chen, photojournalist
While the iPad is a gorgeous fit for showcasing your portfolio or crunching up in a Starbucks chair reading digital magazines, it’s not for me if I were a globe-trotting photojournalist. But there is hope for the future. Apple always improves its products over time.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t really like iPad, but you can listen to music while showing pictures, I think. There is a slideshow option with music, but I think you can do the same thing like on iPod Touch/iPhone – play music and next show photos. Apple says that A4 is 1GHz so I think it is similar to 1GHz on the other architectures. But still don’t like it
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alfanick/4309128307/
For photography, I’d want to use the iPad to do two things: (1) be able to download my images and copy them to an external hard drive. This might be a little difficult unless they have an adapter that supports 2 usb devices (64GB internal memory is not enough for me — my last trip I shot almost 100GB of photos in RAW format and I copied my cards to an external 2.5 drive). (2) Be able to edit the meta-data of my images and caption/keyword them. As far as I know, there aren’t any programs/apps that can do this.
I think iPad will be great for pro photographers and photojournalists.
One very important feature is that it fits into your photo bag and you can transfer photos from your camera or card to the iPad while on move or upload photos over 3G. 3G uploads are slow but often the only option and then it’s important that you don’t have to sit and wait for the transfers to finish. Besides, it’s not many laptops with 10 hour battery life something I really need for a day of shooting outside my studio.
I’ve had both an HP Tablet PC and a Samsung UMPC. I loved the form factor. Most of the time I was using them standing. With a laptop you always have to find a place to sit down and that’s impossible in many situations. The reasons why I gave up using the Tablet PC and UMPC was poor battery life, very slow to boot (minutes) and hopeless interaction design both with regards to the OS and the software. Apart from that, I loved it.
64 GB is not a lot but usually enough for a full day for me. On a trip it’s not enough but I will also backup to additional drives back at my hotel room anyway. CF card readers will fit into the USB adapter. After all, you don’t have a CF card reader bult-in to most laptops either.
This is definitely not a laptop replacement but with an iPad I will only travel with a single laptop (I need full redundancy on any critical equipment when traveling) and I can leave the laptop in the hotel room most of the time.
iPad should also be great for planning photo shoots, research, making sketches using Pogo Sketch etc. I think iPad will fit perfect into a pro photo workflow but primarily for planning and during the shoot where any existing computer doesn’t really work well at all.
iPad will be great for presenting photos. Of course it’s better with on an Eizo or Lacie but in a meeting outside your office then this has to be better than anything else. Just the fact that you can pass it around is great.
The resolution is not great but it’s pretty good and it’s very quick to zoom and move around in a photo. When a client inspect one of your photos on your laptop and he want to check something in full resolution, it’s not as simple.
Besides lots of photos have a vertical aspect ratio and you don’t turn a laptop on the side to fit the aspect ratio of a vertical photo. In other words, when displaying photos in a vertical aspect ratio, this has a higher resolution then for example a 15″ MacBook Pro. With a LED IPS display, the color reproduction and color space should be better than perhaps any laptop on the market so far.
In a few months I think a lot of software running on OS X will let iPad be used as an input device. A bit like a mix of a drawing board and Optimus Tactus (http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus-tactus/).
I just hope the USB adapter will allow tethered capture.
Too early to say for sure but I think iPad will be great for photographers.
“4. No multitasking – You can’t open and run two applications simultaneously which is a great drawback. You can’t listen to music while viewing your photo. But maybe this is a good idea. At least we can focus on one thing at a time.”
Uh… not true. This is possible on the iPhone and will work the same way on the iPad. The iPod application *does* work in the background. You might not be able to use a third party app like Pandora, but the built-in app will keep on playing just fine.
Thanks for clarifying.
The ExoPC seems to be ok for the camera bag: http://www.exopc.com/en/exopc-slate-comparison.php