Gizmodo and engadget have done numurous articles on this... There is no inference on my part done here.
Regarding Flash support in the iPad. The web pages seen in the demo that Jobs did were more than likely faked to give the impression of faster load times and to not error out. Here's a pretty good article with some investigation : http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/01/ipad-flash/
I hadn't actually gotten around to watching the unveiling until just now, and that thing looks so underwhelming it's not even funny. Jobs was introducing all these features and you could tell the audience was like "ok...and!?".
Believe it or not, the iPhone was also considered "underwhelming" when it was first introduced. Everyone is describing the iPad as a larger version of the iPhone, but the iPhone is actually a smaller version of the iPad. Jobs has been developing this for a decade...I'm looking forward to this.
I think that article is saying the demo wasn't fake, but that some of the promo material was, since it shows flash working.
Actually, you're right. Jobs' demo showed pieces of web pages missing. The promo stuff definitely looked like it insinuated Flash release was a part of the release. My mistake.
I just mentioned in Feedback that my wife, who's an amazing person, by the way, offered to give me the $499 version of the iPad for my birthday. That's tomorrow. Sure, I'd have to wait for it, but should I say yes? Would that be stupid? She really likes her iPhone and iPod, which might be influencing her. Anyway, is it nuts to be an early adapter? Yes, I know the answer to that question, but isn't it also crazy to pass this up? And if I tell her yes, should I go ahead and spring for the 3G version? Is that the way to go?
Unless your income level and/or geekiness overrule everything, you should not be an early adapter IMO. The iPad will drop in price and add features. The price point is just too high right now. But AT&T's $30/month for unlimited data for the 3G version is right on the money. If the 3G version was $399, there would be a mad rush. Of course, the other consideration is your wife likes her iPhone and iPod, which means you should probably accept her offer. Happy Birthday.
With the HP Slate and possibly and Android-based tablet coming out, I think I'm going to wait and see which one is more useful for me. If the HP is a full-blown OS, I'll probably get that later in the year. I just decided I haven't seen enough of an advancement with the iPad to jump on it yet.
If the unlimited data plans of the Android-based or Chrome OS tablets are also $30/month, we got us a fun ballgame to watch. I'll probably jump in.
The official reason Apple doesn't support flash is that adobe doesn't update their stuff that much which is true. They contend most of the crash reports they get are a result of flash. Youtube has an html 5 beta program running now and it might not be long until other sites follow suit.
Yeah. I guess it looks like it's going to be easy to use and intuitive but...it's a $500 iPod touch. "But it runs apps." Ok, but at $500, so what? "But you can watch movies." Ok, but at $500, so what? "But you can surf the web with pinch zoom." Ok, but at $500, so what? If this thing was $250, or even $300, maybe I could see getting one. But at half a grand, it should do more that a friggin' netbook.
